Superfood Squares

This recipe is based on Shazzies Superfood video posted a couple days ago. It was changed because of preference and what I had in stock to work with. I still need to work on this recipe, it was an experiment.. but someone at work wanted me to post the recipe ( I brought in lots to share) So, here it is!

Superfood Squares

Base:
1 c raw cacao
1 c hemp seeds
1 c lacuma powder
1/2 c mesquite
1/2 c goji berries (soaked 10 min)
cocoa butter (4T aprox, melted)
1 t reishi mushroom - powdered (4 x 500 mg caps)
1 t Fo-Ti (4 x 600mg caps)
1 T camu camu
1 t slippey elm powder
1/4 t schizandra berry
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 c agave

Process in food processor and then spread into pan lightly oiled with coconut butter.
Next time I would mix in another 1/2 c (at least) goji berries soaked and whole after processing.

Topping:

1/2 c hemp seeds
1/2 c maca
1/2 c lacuma
1 T mesquite
1 T org vanilla powder
1/8 c agave
1 T coconut oil 1 t Liquid purple corn
1-2 T melted cocoa butter
Dashes of vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt & cayenne

Carioca night , Ayhuasca - getting ready and the most amazing Sorrel Chia Tea ever!

Good Morning! I had planned on getting up early to post about Tonya's lecture Wed eve.. it was so great ..but I've just had so much going on & it takes time.. so one day next week we will have a Tonya day.
Right now I am getting ready to leave for my Carioca night - Ayhuasca ceremony ritual thing I am doing tonight and I thought I would come here & look it up quickly. My friend yesterday asked if I looked it up & I haven't really yet. Heard stories, lots of stories. I am excited, a little nervous, but over-all really looking forward to it. Ayhuasca Basics here.

It is taking place somewhere up north 1 1/2 hours out of the city, somewhere in the forest.. I think. Mi-San has the details.
Everyone wears white. I just had my sewing machine out.. but its not working, Ahhh.. cause I just found the most gorgeous white skirt I thought I had lost, its all layered and lacish.. I have it fixed with a couple of safety pins, it works. & I bought another, a white wrap.. really, really nice too.. Ah, choices. & 3 tank tops to pick from, 2 white sweaters.. I am just bringing it all LOL
I love clothes!

& we are supposed to fast today.. or at least eat lightly. There is a list of certain foods that we def shouldn't have. Most of them I wouldn't eat anyway, meat, dairy, caffeine.. but also some other things like ripe bananas.. Mi-San has the list. Yesterday I hardly ate, which is rare but I think I had this on my mind & know day 1 fasting is hard. Yesterday I had the Superfood Bowl of Bliss and the some cantaloupe later.. In the afternoon I visited my Chocosol friends - Graham & Matieu - had Sawako Snow samples, small juice - freshest, organic produce hand cranked with the highest vibe, greatest energy ever!
& then an amazing drink that totally would rival my memories of the best Kool-Aid flavour concoction I ever had as a kid. It was the coolest drink I think I have ever had.
& that was it.. I was a little hungry later but just got my mind on other things.

How to make Graham's Sorrel Chia Tea:
Steep Sorrel and cinnamon sticks in a big clay pot overnight. You can use room temp water or water just hot enough not to burn your hand. In the morning soak chia seeds. I think Mattieu said 1/2 c per 1 liter. ..but I will experiment one day & come revise if necessary. Strain Sorrel (Jamaica flowers) and cinnamon. Add chia and sweeten with honey (or agave).
It tastes amazing and the texture is so cool!!

k. I am out of here in less than an hour.. really better get going. still have to pack!
Much Love!

My totem animals, Medicine cards, Now - time and a Superfood Bowl of Bliss

Wow, I was so tired yesterday.. came in from work, laid in bed & fell sound asleep for 3 hours.When I woke up I had this urge..I have been wanting for a long time to reconstruct my personal totem. I have totem animals, I got them one time from a spread I did with Medicine Cards.. but I had long since lost the list.. but I knew they would all come back to me. & they did. 7 animals come from the spread and 2 come to you on their own. My 2 were fairly unclear at the time, when I did the spread.. but I asked for them last night & they came.

& the interesting thing is that I knew down deep what they were. I painted them into my painting.. well almost (I painted a black cat & I have a black cat but my Right animal - which guards my left brain male side is a Black Panther (cool, huh? - and the Mayans call him Midnight Jaguar - Jags totally make my head turn!) & my Left animal, guards my right female side - is an Owl (silent, magic, wisdom, insight).

see..? I painted them in this painting I did a long time ago.

Now it's possible I picked them & that they came to me because they were already in my painting.. like I chose them. But I don't think it works this way.. they came to me & I subconsciously just knew it then & painted them in. I was thinking of that this morning.. how sometimes I feel like I just know what is going to happen. I really think everything has happened already.. or at least is happening right Now.. I mean like everything past & future is enclosed in the Now.. all happening at once.. and it feels like it has already happened. Because the past has happened, therefor the future must have happened also.. but its not really in the future, its all right Now.. but because we can only see linearly, its hard to get & hard to explain.

Do you ever see the future & then come to experience what you had already seen. ? ..or deju vu's also. I sometimes see the house I am going to live in. I am traveling a lot, flying on planes. ..and this is not just wishful thinking because I know of some problems I am going to have in the future ..and I don't really feel like I can change them (although maybe I can & just don't know it yet) But I know about them & am walking toward them.. although they are not that big.. my Main future is very exciting!!! I knew that as a child & was always very content & happy.

I am so happy I have my animals tight around me again.
& I don't want to lose them again.. but I don't think they ever lost me.
They are:
North - Hawk
South - Blue Heron
East - Coyote
West - Rabbit
Above - Horse (I ride my horse to reach the dreamtime! - he connects me to the stars)
Below - Butterfly (She grounds me! lol)
Within - #39 - the Swan - all about grace and transformation, faith and acceptance.

Every one of my animals is exactly right in their place & have a lot to teach me & they all relate to each other.. they read like a story, on many levels.

Getting totem animals is very magical.. I have a book & deck of Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson.
It was was so important for me to re-construct my totem and get back in tune with these animals before tomorrow night - Carioca (ayhuasca) Night. I felt like they had been calling me for the last while.. and last night I stayed up for hours reading, studying and meditating on them.

ok back to food.. (although that was deep soul food!) ..but back to the Raw stuff
& my favorite.. something totally amazing to hold me over for the morning, and quick cause I am running out the door.. (well, not today, day off, Yay! ..but usually)

Superfood Bowl of Bliss

1 T almond butter
1 T coconut oil
1 t honey
1 T cacao powder
2 T hemp seeds
1 t maca
1 T bee pollen
& sometimes but optional - a bunch of goji berries & a cap of Host Defense (I'm on the mushrooms lately)
I often try to get in Fo-Ti lately also.. but its strong.

Mix all together & it's like a little bowl of chocolate icing.
A beautiful and magical, blissful way to start the morning!

Strawberry Cheezecake

Finally, here it is..

Strawberry Cheezecake

Crust:
1 c walnuts
1/2 c pecans or almonds
12 honey dates
dash Celtic salt

Process together for 1 min. until mixture becomes crumbly, just before it starts forming a ball. (If it gets to this stage, it'll still taste great). Press into bottom of pan.

Cheezecake:
2 c cashews (soaked approx 4 hours - to soften)
1/2 c pine nuts (not soaked - or use macadamias, soaked)
1/4 c agave
1/2 lemon - juiced
1 t vanilla
dash Celtic salt

Blend together until pureed into creamy consistency in food processor. Spread on top of crust and refrigerate while you make topping.

A springform pan would probably work best., but I used a pie plate. After removing from fridge, once set - I transfered onto a plate and cut and smoothed around the edge.. it was really easy to do. Then make and spread strawberry sauce on top.

Strawberry Sauce:
1 1/2 c strawberries
1/4 c agave
dash lemon juice
dash Celtic salt
1 t ground flax (or psyllium - to thicken a bit)

Puree in blender. Spread strawberry sauce on top. Return to fridge until ready to eat.

This freezes really well also. Which is what I plan to do with most of this one now, slice it and freeze. .. and the mini cheezecakes as well.

I made another recipe last week using cashews and coconut as the cheezecake base.. it was really good also. I brought it to work.. Mi-San said it was better than sex. Wow (not sure about that one, but.. ; ) It was really good.. I didn't post that recipe because it was more work. I made it in a high speed blender, my Blend-tec. It was really thick.. I tried putting the coconut through the juicer with the blank screen but it didn't get fine enough. I didn't think the food processor would have made it creamy enough.. so I used the blender but had to keep helping it turn, so thick - it was just more work.

So mainly based on this, even though the pine nuts are expensive, the recipe with them wins out. & I am really into pine nuts these days (& cedar nuts - Anastasia influence)

All in all.. this is a very easy to make & amazingly delicious dessert. & It's been my experience that most people prefer it to the cooked traditional version.

Enjoy!

Random day - Flowers, quotes, recipes, Stephen Hart and 6 Billion others

These are pictures of flowers in my neighbourhood. I took them with my new camera.. they will be used as subjects in a few upcoming paintings. My post today is taken from the randomer than random (although we know nothing is random) files. That means today is a fun day! : ) Random days always are!

“When you have only 2 pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, (Raw, of course) and a lily with the other” Chinese proverb

This is a link to a new friend of mine's website, Stephen Hart. We have been sharing recipes and raw ideas for awhile and I could write a whole post of info .. but just in case I want to make sure I at least post his website: www.hartworks.org/wellness.html There is a lot of info on healing MS & more here! & I love the travel sprouting set-up!!!

This is cool also! 6 Billion Others

I saw a weed today
that had the majesty and
beauty of the most
perfect flower.

Can it be that
Life, indeed, depends
entirely on how we choose
to perceive it?

-G Jampolsky, 32, out of the darkness into the light

(from heather havey e-mail)

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling; but in rising every time we fall." – Confucius

I was a doctor in my dream last night. How cool is that!!!! very. The same people I work with in real life I was working with there in this very very cool old mansion.. I think it was a fasting retreat also. But I was taking patients. Think I had just become a doctor, a bit of a novice.. but everything went really smoothly. I think I was divinely guided. But of course we all are always!

Recipes from Vegan Fusion. They are not all raw, but there are a few - Zaphods Live Chi tabouli, Cashew Cheeze, Live Fettucini Alfredo etc .. and there are some great ideas to take from the cooked & tranform-translate into wonderful living food creations!

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." - Marcel Proust

Lettuce Boats - Veg in Tahini dressing, The Raw Greek, Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes

I made these lettuce boats last night for dinner. They were so good. The dressing was so simple, but amazing.

Tahini Dressing

1 heaping T of tahini
1/2 lemon - juiced,
1 garlic clove - chopped
salt & pepper & cayenne

(& a couple drops of something I can't even find here on the internet, called Spice for Life, it was given as a promotion by The Best Food Ever & contains about 20 million ingredients. It's a crazy powerful spicy liquid. ..am just tasting it. A dash of tabasco could substitute.)

Diced vegetables: tomato, cucumber, red onion, zucchini ..and some chopped cilantro.

It was so good. My husband thought it tasted Greek.

& speaking of Greek, I found this great Greek Raw link - The Raw Greek. Mmm.. her food looks so good!

I just received an announcement on Facebook that Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes are going to be here on the 21st. click here for more details.

I love this video by Matt. Randy, my brother, had it up on my website before.. but I just went & looked & it's not there. hmm.. I was so happy when he found it (on his own) & put it up.. (he's not raw) I always get excited when someone gets into the raw thing! ..anyway, here it is:

Raw Food TV Spot with Matt Monarch

Fruit salad with Strawberry Macadamia Cream Dip and more Raw Food Blogs

I made Kaiya a fruit salad with a Strawberry Macadamia Cream Dip that looked like this yesterday. The dip was made from 1/2 c macadamias, 6 strawberries, 1/4 c agave, 1/4 c water, 1-2T lemon juice all blended together. Really good!

I'm still doing the paro-parasite cleanse & not eating agave (I am eating fruit), so I tasted the dip but it was hard not to sit down with the whole bowl & eat it all!

I have found some new raw blogs lately:

Raw food Passion

My Raw Food Blog

Inspired Raw

Rawstazia

Rawvolta - Let's Raw and Roll the Food!

Raw food Wednesdays - from What the hell Does a Vegan eat Anyway?

& Pookies adventure in Costa Rica

Enjoy!

pic from www.dorothylane.com

Portobello Pizza, Ceasar Salad, Ice Cream, Fruit & Jack Johnson

My Portobello Pizza

I poured a bit of lemon juice on the mushroom cap & topped with:
Tomato Sauce - sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, red pepper, olive oil, garlic, onion, fresh basil & oregano, jalapeno.
Arugula Walnut Pesto - arugula, walnuts, olive oil, basil, garlic, salt.
Toppings - cut up red pepper, green onions, pineapple and black olives
Pine Nut Sauce - pine nuts, water, bit of lemon juice and salt

It was really good, but to be honest I might go back to a reg pizza crust next time. (& by regular I do mean dehydrated : )

Ceasar Salad Dressing

1 c cashews &/or pine nuts
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c water
3 garlic cloves
1 T dijon mustard
1/2 lemon - juiced
1 t nutritional yeast (opt)
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
dash cayenne

Cherrys picked from a tree on our street. My neighbour brought them for me for breakfast! : ) Yay!!

Lunch - a case of mangoes
Snack - a bowl of lychees

Dessert - Banana Chocolate Ice Cream - Frozen bananas put through juicer (with blank screen) & then mixed with raw chocolate powder, agave and some chopped dates.

Life is good. My painting is finished. I have the day off & there's lots of sunshine, good food & good music!! : )
p.s. Thanks Wayne for the Jack Johnson cd, am really enjoying it!

Jack Johnson - Times Like These

Being, Anne Wigmore, wheatgrass, The Real News, Flower chocolates, Swedish and Video lessons

Favorite recent memories:

the big line-up at work.. I'm the only one on the floor & I apologize to the man who is standing next and he says calmly "I'm not waiting, I'm just being" (...he got that from the Power of Now, gotta love that book! : ) I appreciated that immensely.

Anne Wigore used to drink up to 64 ozs of wheatgrass a day! That's a lot of wheatgrass!!! She was really into experimenting with her body. Often she would go through the day eating only 1/2 a papaya, a bit of her energy soup and wheatgrass.. and have lots of energy. She founded the Hippocrates Health Institute and is considered The mother of living foods. (more on her from a past post here)

I spoke to a man who said that his eyesight was healed after drinking 2ozs of wheatgrass a day, every day - 5 months after starting this, he realized that he didn't need his glasses anymore to read things and he was amazed at how it was healing his body.

..a waterarian

The picture I missed & have to share verbally. The Real News.com - who reside on the 2nd floor of our building, right above us.. and who I know best from asking us to turn the music down, lol - they were preparing for a party and in our kitchen at work preparing fruit platters and I was still working..

I was juicing wheatgrass for a customer amidst piles and piles of fruit prepared to go on trays covering the whole counter and I barely just uncovered the wheatgrass juicer to make this juice: baby finger bananas, cherries, melons, grapes, grapefruit, oranges, lemons and limes cut up, strawberries, other berries, pineapple etc & etc.. it was beautiful! fruit everywhere!.. enough for about 300 people!!

The small pic I took is from their reception - launching party.. it didn't turn out great, but it's all I have.. you can barely see, or not, Paul Jay, the executive director, CEO. You can see an interview with him, see the space and the concept - it's pretty huge - a tv network with no gov't funding, no corporate funding, no advertising - The Real News. I recommend watching.. if I was going to watch the news, I think I would watch it here. Maybe one day I will.

Making flower chocolates - the best tasting, soothest and creamiest ones ever! Raw cacao, hemp butter, cocoa butter, agave, vanilla, maca, ginseng, slippery elm, a bit of maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon and Celtic salt. Mmmm.. these are going quick!


Flowers on flowers, my painting above, the backdrop flowers is a painting I was up till 1:30 last night working on & am heading back down soon to work on more.. along with my white flower (which is anything but white! and my new weeks flower) .. g2g going!!! ...

random Swedish lesson: "bytt e bytt a det koer aldrig er igen" translates something like trading something with someone and you got something really magical and the best trade ever. : )

video lesson: Room tone - take 60 sec- 2 min of average room sounds of space after taping, to use to edit into sounds if needed.

LoVe LiFe!
Be Happy
~HuGs to all~

Cranberry Scones

Wow! This is exciting..this is the first picture taken with my new camera uploaded onto my blog. These are the cranberry scones that I made at work on Saturday.. 2 variations.. the ones on the right have carrot pulp in them ..but i actually preferred the ones on the left.

Mi-san is trying to stay all or primarily raw.. but I noticed one downfall is the muffins that they bring into work sometimes. I remembered making these scones a long time ago & how good they were and was thinking they may be a good alternative. The recipe is adapted from a Boutenko recipe but I keep changing it.. that's the fun with recipes. Not to mention that I want to try other variations.. orange/walnut, cacao/goji, blueberry/banana, strawberry/pecan, mango/macadamia...

This is basically& roughly the recipe I used- it will still undergo some modifications, like chopping up the cranberries, there were too many & they were too sour kept whole.. but all in all these are delicious.. & I have eaten lots of them in the past few days!

Cranberry Scones

2 c almonds- soaked, then rinsed,drained and processed(ground)
2 c flax seeds - ground
2 c apples - processed(pureed)
2 c raisins
1 c pineapple - chopped
1 c cranberries (orig recipe, pic above, had 2 cups) - pulse chopped in processor
1 c juice or water - opt, if needed to mix easily
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c honey
dash salt

Mix all ingredients together.. drop by large spoonfulls onto teflex sheet and dehydrate at 115 degrees for a few hours, remove from teflex onto mesh screen and continue dehydrating for another 4-6 hours.. will still be experimenting with various times.. but I think this is a good general guideline.
Enjoy!

Crimson & Clover - Strawberry and Pecan Salad

For Christmas when I was 6, in grade 1, I got a turntable and a bunch of records.. one had a bunch of pop songs on it. I still remember some of the songs.. the Archies - Sugar Sugar, the Animal's - House of the Rising Sun, Steppenwolf's - Born to be wild, the Lovin' Spoonful's - Do you believe in Magic.. but Crimson & clover was my favorite song .

It still makes me happy when I hear it. : )

Crimson And Clover

(T. James/P. Lucia)

Ah, now I don't hardly know her
But I think I could love her
Crimson and clover

Ah when she comes walking over
Now I've been waitin' to show her
Crimson and clover over and over

Yeah, my, my such a sweet thing
I wanna do everything
What a beautiful feeling
Crimson and clover over and over

Crimson and clover over and over
...

Strawberry Pecan Salad w/ poppyseed dressing

1 head red leaf lettuce - chopped in bowl with
10 strawberries - sliced
handful pecans

Dressing:

1/4 c agave
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 c apple cider vinegar
2 T tamari or shoyu
2 T red onion - chopped finely
1 T sesame seeds
1/2 T poppy seeds
dash paprika
salt to taste

The dressing is my raw version of Willa's amazing recipe, which was made with sugar & worcestershire. It translates to raw quite well. Thanks Willa! .. It' s delicious.

My Bizzarro moment of the day - listening to Jim talking about the Gardiner being closed because of the Becel Ride for Heart event.. I burst out laughing.. sorry, but just the thought of a ride to support heart disease being supported by Becel seems hilarious to me.. whats wrong with this picture? .. and then I look out the window, driving through Little India and see the Mona Lisa restaurant - specializing in Pakistani, Indian and Chinese food (what.. no Italian?) and listening to Paul Anka crooning his version of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit on the radio. Whoaaaaa...!!! weird & wonderful moment.. life can be so surreal sometimes! Enjoy every wacky moment!!! : )

pic from http://www.flickr.ch/2006/09/

My life: work, people, food - Mex spice blend, parties and creating

so I think it's finally time to write some personal stuff.

Let's see.. what's been going on? lots of work.. but Thank God I like where I work.. I get to meet lots of interesting people..many raw people, some starting out on their raw journey.. some far into it. & we tend to attract people who are health conscious, sometimes athletic, sometimes combating some disease and trying to cure themselves naturally. It can be very inspiring in that sense. Also we tend to attract free-thinking creative people: artists, musicians, metaphysicians, environmentalists, etc.

Sometimes I feel like some people are just drawn there.. I feel I was.. I have this belief that I, and most of us, have lived many lifetimes before this one (or simultaneously, but thats another topic) anyway.. I sometimes, no- I often, feel like people are brought here that I have known before.. and it is like this meeting ground. Anyway, whether or not this is true, I really enjoy the people who tend to show up there.

People I have met in the last few days.. a guy who has been raw for 15+ years, he said he used to be 80% but for the past few years has been 92% and is feeling better all the time. One thing I've learned is that going raw is different for everyone.. almost everyone has their own way of transitioning and maintaining the lifestyle/diet. & Thats the way it should be.. it's hard ultimately to follow 100% someone else's style.. it's best to listen to everyone and follow your heart and pick what works well for you. (providing you have good common sense and want the best for yourself - which isn't always the case.. but like I said, everyone's different)

..a guy who's wife was just getting back from Hippocrates and he was stocking up on his way to pick her up from the airport, loaded with 2 boxes full of sprouts, wheatgrass, coconut cakes, etc .. he had been raw a few weeks, months? and was really into it.. he said they're calling it The Diet to Save the Planet.

a few people who were just transitioning and were looking or interested in raw information. I love that.. when it's not too busy & I have a bit of time to talk. Perfect place to come.. thats one thing I def have.. raw info. ..& I love to see people excited and inspired.

I got some great recipes.. talked to a lady who is not raw but incorporates a lot of raw concepts. She makes sesame milk every 2nd day, big batches which she keeps in the fridge, trying to get calcium into her daughter. She uses it in smoothies & whenever she can, . I hardly ever make sesame milk.. and haven't been eating tahini much lately, go through phases with food. But I am going to try this as a change from almond milk. She says to soak the seeds (overnight), rinse well and blend 1 c seeds to 2 c water.

I got a recipe from a guy who uses his almond pulp and makes a bread out of it with bananas, cacao, flax, agave, sometimes walnuts.. I have almonds soaking right now mainly for the purpose of getting pulp to try this.

What else is going on in my kitchen?

I am excited that I finally got it together to make a Mexican spice blend. I have not been able to find one lately & have thought that I should try just mixing one up myself. Most Mexican-taco seasonings have maltodextrin or msg or other additives. So, this is what I mixed up & it works.. although it is really spicy so if you don't like hot & are going to try this.. cut down on the hot stuff. (& next time I will definitely double this- it's really good.)

Hot Mexican Spice Blend

1t Onion powder
1t Garlic powder
1t Celtic Salt
1/2 t Chili powder
1/2 t Cumin
1/4 t Coriander
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 t cayenne

Grind all together in spice (coffee) grinder.

That was fun - great success.
Jim & I just got in from our biggest grocery shop yet -300$. wow. I had just moved & reorganized my spices earlier this week & just restocked. Spices are fun.

What has been going on in the party scene?

I actually missed a big Raw party last night - my sister in law & family just opened their pool & had their 1st pool party of the season. That was great seeing friends I only get to see usually these days at get-togethers.. some times life can get busy. But thank God for sister-in-laws holding pool parties! yeah, she had lots of raw food for me when I got there.. salads and cut-up fruits & veggies. But, just in case, I brought a raw pizza. I had made a circular earth Bread sheet, spread pate, sundried tomato pesto, sprouts, shoyu, cucumbers, red peppers, etc

anything else?

My brother hasn't sent out the USB cable yet, like he said he was going to.. he's fallen in love and I think he's lost sense of time and space and everything mundane temporarily.. thats ok, he's really happy! .. so I went & bought one & will be experimenting with getting video downloaded onto the computer, editing and then getting it online. I'm kind of excited about this. I (& esp Mi-San) have lots of raw contacts!

& now I feel I am typing too much & need to get painting. Down to the art cave..
hast luego mi amigos.. Caio4now.

Keep it colourful.. spicy.. and fun!

We Like it Raw, GLiving, Sarma, Spicy Thai vegetable wraps, Ginger Tea and my new dentist

2 great resources for the raw foodist:

We Like It Raw - 'We Like It Raw is about bringing presence to food. We cover superfoods, supermodels and sustainability, testimonials, restaurant reviews and so much more.'
I like their before and after page.

GLiving - The Contemporary Green Lifestyle Network
'The G Living Network is all about a next-generation lifestyle simply called G. The G Lifestyle is the next generations preferred lifestyle.'
Check out their food section and their green chefs. Some great videos!

Both of these 2 links have Sarma of Pure Food and Wine as a guest blogger/chef.
Her (& Matthew's) book Raw Food, Real World is one of my favorite raw books!

One of my favorite recipes of hers is the Spicy Thai Vegetable Wraps

Can you tell I am having fun with the links button now that I've finally figured it out!

I went to a new dentist yesterday. I think I am going to absolutely love it there. They served me fresh squeezed carrot juice after my 1st appt. I went back for a second appointment (cleaning) a few hours later.. it was that good! They served a ginger tea that was amazing.. but had brown sugar in it. So I copied it, raw style, last night.. I may be hooked onto something new.
It's so easy, so good!

Ginger Tea

1/2 " ginger peeled & sliced
1/2 lemon - juiced
Pour in water, just hot enough not to burn your finger and let steep a few minutes.
Strain and add agave to taste

Cookies and Ice-Cream for breakfast

One of the wonderful things about eating raw is that I feel good eating anything I feel like, whenever I feel like it. For instance I am sitting here now, typing this, with a container of cookies, fresh from the dehydrator - mmm, & a bowl of ice cream.. for breakfast! Loving it & knowing its really good for me also. It's just a win-win situation.

The cookies are something I came up with to use up the almond pulp from making almond milk yesterday. They're quite good. This is the recipe.. but you can substitute things. I used hemp butter.. I just happen to have some that Michael made & gave me awhile ago.. but it's not the easiest thing to come by. So use almond butter or hemp seeds ground or more nuts and coconut butter.. you know. My Mom sent me this amazing organic vanilla powder.. same deal, just use regular vanilla.. but anyone who's been raw for any length of time knows that recipes are easily changed & often come out great.. It's really fun to experiment with raw foods.

Cookies

1 c almond pulp
1 1/2 c dates
1 apple
1 banana
1 T hemp butter
1/2 t vanilla powder
1/2 c walnuts
1/2 c coconut flakes

Blend 1st 6 ingredients in food processor. Then add walnuts & coconut and pulse chop in.
Place by spoonfuls on teflex sheets & dehydrate overnight. 115 degrees. You can then transfer to mesh & dehydrate another couple hours.. mine didn't make it to this stage.

Ice Cream

There are so many ways to make raw ice cream. The simplest is probably just putting fresh fruit through a juicer with a blank screen (single or twin gear juicers) You freeze the fruit first and then put it through. Bananas & mangoes stay soft when frozen. For berry flavour alternate berries with banana. You can also use coconut & cashews and lots of other things.

Many people use a food processor to make ice cream - make cashew cream in ice cube trays first - then they can be blended with other fruit in a processor.

I made this batch in my blender (K-tec, now known as Blend-tec) I had bananas that needed to be used up so I put them in with some maple syrup (I know not raw - you can substitute agave), hemp butter, and squares of Chocosol chocolate that I happen to have here. Mine are a vintage batch - we were joking about collecting different flavours, we could trade them., sell them on Ebay.. they change the flavours so much! lol (Their Sawako Snow w/coconut would have been amazing also.. ). Oh & then after it was blended I chopped up a few chocolate cookies and mixed them in. I called the ice-cream Chocolate Cookie Explosion.

p.s. if any Chocosol people are reading this.. I know I owe Michael a ton of cookies!!! (I really stocked up on chocolate when he left and we're bartering.) & I will make more soon. Tell him, ok? .. and say hi & give him a hug for me.. & well, give everyone a hug from me.. I am having a very funny visual of you all hugging over there.
Oh, and what about a phone #??? That's just crazy.. the only business I know where you can't call. & no way to get in touch with you through your website.. how underground can you go???
http://www.chocosoltraders.com/

I miss you! Big HuGs!!!

The Italian in Thailand who goes to Fruitopia for Paella and shares everything!

Sometimes I have a dilemma.
When I come up with a really good recipe and I want to share it ..and yet I plan on making part of my business with recipes. Should I give them all away now or save them for the upcoming book. Not that I've started a book yet.. other than in my thoughts.

..and yet I love the saying "Share everything with everyone"
and I am getting there..

and I have sooo many recipes. But this one is such a classic. This feels kind of like handing down your grandmother's secret recipe, which normally only gets shared with people close to you.
I last shared it with Amy (of Chocosol) and she made tons of it for their huge Valentines party. ..& I think she did a better job than me of making it. But its so easy to make.. just throw everything in the blender & blend, thats it.

My Favorite Tomato Sauce

3-4 tomatoes
1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno
1/2-1/3 red pepper
1 T olive oil
1 T honey (or agave)
1 T apple cider vinegar
Lots of basil & oregano

herb tip - of course fresh & from the garden is best. I grow lots & at the end of the season, pick it all & blend with some olive oil & freeze it to use during the winter.

Blend and then pour on top of spiralized zucchini. It's so much like the real thing it's incredible.. but honestly, it's even better!

Ok so I wanted to share that with you to share my dinner for the last couple nights.
I love this variation I just came up with.
I was calling it (to myself):

An Italian in Thailand

2 T coconut dream
2 T agave
2 T lime juice
1 T tamari (mine was oriental ginger flavor)
1 t curry
sambal oelek or chilis or hot peppers to taste (last night it was really hot, I was sweating!)
Celtic salt
and 4 heaping T's of Tomato Sauce

Mix all together. I spiralized & then chopped the zucchini pasta a bit and I would have added a bit of chopped cilantro also if I had it.


Tonight I am planning on making Paella. I watched a video on how to make it at Freshtopia.net
It looks so good! see the video here: http://www.freshtopia.net/vlog/
I love this website.. Love Tanja! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Here's her creation which she says is just as good & maybe even better the next day, as the saffron continues to infuse the dish with flavour for up to 24 hours.

Tanja's Fresh Paella Recipe

Saffron Dressing:
Whisk together,
Lg pinch saffron soaked in
2T lemon juice for 20 minutes or more
2T olive oil
1t agave syrup or honey
dash sea salt

Marinated Mushrooms:
1/2C oyster or other mushrooms marinated in
1/2C water
1/4C rice-wine vinegar (apple cider would work too)
2T nama shoyu or soy sauce
1T dulse flakes
1t paprika

Paella “Rice”:
1 1/2C turnip, chopped
1/3C pine nuts
1/4C bell pepper
2T onion
1t garlic
2 sm. tomatoes, chopped
1/2C fresh peas
1/4C parsley
1/4C sun-dried tomatoes soaked well, chopped

Pulse turnips, pine nuts, bell peppers, onion, and garlic in food processor until grainy rice-like consistency. Stir in tomatoes, peas, parsley and saffron dressing. Top with drained marinated mushrooms, sliced green olives, additional finely chopped parsley and a dusting of paprika.
Enjoy!

painting - emundi heirloom artscape yr 7 - from http://www.houseoftola.com/gallery/joes/emundi_heirloom_artscape_yr_7

The House of T.O.L.A. (Theater of Life Artistry)

The Galleries within hold the brushstokes of literally thousands of people, all composed live at the event under the hand of the artist Bob Gammage. He has his own gallery and his original artscapes all carry a Certificate of Authenticity.

Bob is a colourist, creating images you can step into. He is a painter, writer, philosopher and sculptor.......a bohemian who lives where his feet are, and he endevours to abide by one rule no harm.

photo from http://www.rcapub.com/Thailand_Full_Moon_Party.htm

Picnic

Expressionist salad to eat in the Woods

Wild Rice - soaked (sprouted)24 hrs
Red Pepper - chopped
Carrots - chopped
Celery - chopped
Green Onions
Raisins

Dressing - apple cider vinegar, lemon, maple syrup, mustard, garlic, olive oil, salt & cayenne (100% - substitute mustard powder and agave)

Top with some dehydrated spicy nuts.. maybe chili cashews

The Shins - New Slang



painting by Alex Cameron (Mom & I saw these at the Bau-Xi gallery today - and yes, it was another Ferris Beuller day! : )

Happy Easter, Earthlings, Chocolate Berry Smoothie, Granola, vegetarian lions and another Nye poem, things to think about

Happy Easter!

My mom sent me this pic. : )

I was thinking about how animals are so related to Easter.. the bunny, chicks, eggs..
and about Earthlings – the movie we have been trying to show @ work & which twice was postponed. It will be shown there soon.

It is also online:
http://veg-tv.info/Earthlings

EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby.

I was listening to Moby earlier this morning while painting.. Play.. very loud.. it’s really good get-out-of-yourself music. : )

With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, EARTHLINGS uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests. There are many worthy animal rights films available, but this one transcends the setting. EARTHLINGS cries to be seen. Highly recommended!

I was going to just come here & post a granola recipe & my chocolate berry smoothie that I had for breakfast. Mmm.. chocolate

ok,ok.. before I go & get heavy again

Chocolate Berry Smoothie

1 heaping T almond butter
2 c water
2 bananas
lots of berries (I used org blueberries & strawberries)
handful goji berries
1t maca powder
lots of raw chcolate (I used a few squares of Chocosols chocolate – any flavor is good

Buckwheat Granola

2 c buckwheat – sprouted 24 hours
2 c almonds – soaked 12 hours
1 c walnuts - soaked
1 c pumpkin seeds - soaked
1 c sunflower seeds – soaked
1 c dried cranberries
1 c raisins
2 c org strawberries
1 orange – peeled

these things were all chopped up in a food processor & mixed with a liquidy syrup-paste made from blending together:

1 apple
2 c date paste
½ c maple syrup
1 T vanilla
1 T cinnamon
1 T salt

these are all really approximate amounts. When it is all mixed well together spread out on Teflex and dehydrate for approx 24 hours, flipping onto a mesh screen ½ way through drying.

I want to post one more thing – while on the animal topic – something Mom shared with me, a revelation she had around Christmas at a reading in church. It was from Isaiah 11: 1-9 . The reading was showing what the peace of Christ will bring.

Starting from 6: ‘The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ..’

Interesting.. it is saying that eventually even the lions will be vegetarian!
Cool!

Another Nye poem:

Making a Fist
by Naomi Shihab Nye

For the first time, on the road north of Tampico,

I felt the life sliding out of me,

a drum in the desert, harder and harder to hear.

I was seven, I lay in the car

watching palm trees swirl a sickening pattern past the glass.

My stomach was a melon split wide inside my skin.

"How do you know if you are going to die?"

I begged my mother.

We had been traveling for days.

With strange confidence she answered,

"When you can no longer make a fist."

Years later I smile to think of that journey,

the borders we must cross separately,

stamped with our unanswerable woes.

I who did not die, who am still living,

still lying in the backseat behind all my questions,

clenching and opening one small hand.

Power smoothie, Slow movement, White Easter, celebrations and 50$ day

My green smoothie has grown up!

A basic green smoothie may go something like this:
40% spinach and sunflower sprouts &
60% banana, pineapple, mango, pear

& that would be delicious.

But my super powerhouse green smoothie (inspired by a video I posted yesterday) goes something like this:
40% spinach and sunflower sprouts &
60% banana, pineapple, mango, pear
then add:
a handful of goji berries
1-2T flax seeds
1T black sesame seeds
1T powdered maca
1 cap (opened & poured out into blender) Host Defense, mycomedicinals – a blend of 17 mushrooms
3 caps of herbs:
1- Fo-Ti
2- Ginkgo biloba, Ginseng, Schizandra, Ginger, Rosemary, Peppermint and Yerba mate
3- Dandelion, Sarsaparilla, Burdock, Licorice, Yellow dock, Kelp, Cayenne, Echinacea, Plantain


I was thinking about something that I have been talking about with a few people lately. We were talking about Slow Food. I bought a book about 2 years ago, which I haven’t read yet, even though I like the concept of it, it’s called ‘In Praise of Slow’ A Canadian journalist, Carl Honore, wrote it & incidentally I discovered it was edited by my neighbour.. only after I had bought it. cool.

Honoré shows the benefits of slowness, with chapters related to food, transportation, meditation- exercise, medicine, sex, work, and parenting. It’s become a cult movement challenging the fast paced society we live in, and creating a more comfortable, sustainable life where we are more connected to each other and the land.

What I find, what we were talking about, is that the faster you go the more you don’t have time to do all the things you want to do., the more you do, the more it seems you need to do. .. it works this way on a material level also. Have you ever noticed that the more you have the more you need. When you get rid of things it almost seems like you have more. I’ve had times when I have gotten into zen-mode and seriously cleaned up, tossing lots of stuff.. You end up keeping all the good stuff and appreciate it more. You notice these things more without all the less meaningful things surrounding them. Slow can be directly related to this.. you appreciate the things you are doing. You are more mindful.. the most important things still get done.. and in a more conscious way.


Its snowing out – my brother told me there is a saying something like: If you have a green Christmas You’ll get a white Easter.

I like these sayings. I also like the idea if having a celebration every day. One day I am going to get a calendar and find something to celebrate every day. & not just Valentines and Christmas kind of days. I remember a few great days I have posted in the past, like:

Aug 8 - Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbors' Porch Day &
July 25 – Give love and thanks to Water day. (from http://www.thank-water.net/english/index.htm )

any further submissions-ideas are welcome (comment or e-mail me: robin@rawketscience.com)

My husband & I were talking about 50$ day last night. We haven’t celebrated it in awhile. We made up this holiday about 18 years ago.. it was just before we were married, before Dylan was born. How it started was one night I went to the store and then discovered I had lost 50$. I was sad & felt bad about it. Then Jim suggested we should make a holiday out of it instead and every year on that day we go out and spend 50$. It’s as if we lost it but we use it to buy ourselves a present. and we did that for a few years.. it’s a great celebration. (not that I really need a day to spend 50$) ..but it’s a good excuse to do so. We had in the meantime forgotten the date and last night the day has been set:

July 5th is now officially 50$ day!

We have shiatsu treatments booked for this afternoon at 2:30. Yay! : )

Have a powerful, supremely conscious, celebratory, relaxing and very good Friday!

pic from http://criss.site.voila.fr/

Taco Salad Wrap

Lately I have been eating a lot of wraps. That often happens when I buy collards as the bunch has 7 or 8 big leaves. (Although they are great in green smoothies also, but..) I finished the last one this weekend with something new. My intention was to have a taco salad for dinner & then I decided to put some of the salad in the collard leaf. I layered with some cedar (pine) nuts, my taco dressing, crushed up corn chips –I have lots, have been experimenting, spicy (or any) flax crackers would work also. Then I topped with some salsa I just made and wrapped up and ate. It was great.

I have the rest of the salad the way I usually do. It’s a tossed salad – which incidentally always seems to have iceberg lettuce, which I rarely eat – least nutritional, but this salad is less about nutrition as it is taste & texture. Top the salad with dressing, mix, then add crushed up corn chips and salsa. Optional is the crushed pine nuts mixed with nutritional yeast & salt & spices, .. gives a sort of cheesy taste.

Taco Dressing

2T almond butter
½ lemon squeezed
1 T hemp oil
1T water
½ T agave
1 t Mexican (taco) seasoning
½ t salt

Mix together in a bowl.

Salsa

4 tomatoes
1 onion
½ red pepper
3T celery leaves (I usually just chop down a bit from top of stalk)
Cilantro – to taste
1-2 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno
½ T vinegar (or lemon squeezed)
1 t salt
½ t chili & onion powder

Sometimes I chop up ½ of the tomatoes, red pepper & onion and process the rest. Last night I put them all in the food processor, but pulse chopped some of the ingredients and finely blended the rest. Blend all together in a bowl. & Enjoy!