New Raw Restaurant

 

Oh Mama!  

There's a new Raw Restaurant in town!  

"Organic Lives"

1829 Quebec Street at 2nd Ave., Vancouver, BC, Canada

Open 7 days a week 9AM to 9PM.

Steve and I were toolin' around on the Harley the other day, and we happened by Organic Lives around lunch time.  We just went in to check it out, unable to stay for anything that day.  It's a restaurant, a full juice bar, and a store offering usual and unusual raw food items.  We met the owner, Preet, and told him we'd be back.  Steve added, "I have a feeling you're gonna cost me a lot of money, Man!"  ;)  There's so much in the way of "items" that we will want to fill our pantry with...raw nuts, olives, organic coconut meat, you name it.  And, we were really looking forward to a full meal there.

Well tonight was the night!  I ordered the pizza, and was pleased to see a large plate with 3 wedges and a big side salad.  A meal!  And bang for the buck!  All that for $10! Usually, raw pizza by the slice is $6 or so, and understandably, since the quality, organic ingredients run high, and nut based cheeses are expensive...not to mention the whole thing is labor-intensive to make. (I've 'tried this at home!')  Fortunately, it's also nutrient-dense, so one or two slices will do until you're full, unlike SAD pizza, where 1 leads to 4 or 5 slices.  (or am I being confessional?)  

Steve ordered the Thai Curry, which comes with a salad, on top of which he ordered another type of salad (forget what), then he ordered Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.

Both our meals were delicious!  And filling!! Not so filling that I wasn't also tempted by dessert... I asked what they had in 'chocolate'...and was directed to a Ganache dessert called 'Ridiculous!'  Here's what's left of it. Oh, and I re-named it "Insane!"  I've never had anything so deliciously, freakishly CHOCOLATE.  It was intense, and beyond fabulous.  I told Preet I'd be up all night trying to figure out what was in it.  (hint hint.)  He wasn't givin' it up!  :)   As we chatted further, it came to light that we knew someone in common. Chantale Roy, a woman we'd met in Nelson BC when we ate at her raw restaurant...here, I have a photo and a blog entry about it!  Well you coulda knocked me over with a feather when he said, "She's here now!  She's part of this venture with my wife and I.  I'll go get her..."

Sure enough, out comes this lovely woman, who is just as warm hearted as I remembered her.  Case in point, when I extended my hand to shake hers, she hugged me instead, saying, "Of course I remember you!"

We chatted a while and caught up a little bit.  It's so great to have her in town now!  I'll look forward to seeing her once in a while when we go back.  It was such a nice experience to eat there.

On the way out, I couldn't resist buying a little 50g bag of BBQ Parsnip Chips for 2.99.  DAYUM I enjoyed those!!  I only ate a few in the truck on the way home, you know, just to test them out.  But in the end, I went into a food fugue and ate them all.  

Bahahaha see what I put up with?  (Myself!) haha 

xo

Rawkin'

Sandwich Dinner and Chickpea Salad

 

Yum Yum!

Last night, I had one of those "I don't know what to make" nights, and in the end, decided to make sandwiches and salad.  I used sprouted grain Ezekiel, with eggless egg salad schmeared on both slices, and sliced avocados and thinly sliced (one might say 'shaved') tomato, along with spinach and dulse and pepper. Delish!

For the salad, I chopped some tomato, spinach, and avocado, and mixed in a little lemon, salt, cayenne, and dulse.  Also delish!  Next time, I will gut the tomato of its globby seeds, (such technical talk!) so that it's a drier salad, but it was way good!

I enjoyed a pot of immunity tea (ginger/lemon/cayenne/agave) while laying in bed watching a movie.  Steve went to see Avatar with the 4 boys and they were out all evening, and for some reason, my Internet was down (dontcha hate it when that happens?) and so it was easy to just laze about and go to sleep early.  Aaaahh!

Today, I had a smoothie, and later, some oranges, and I kept it light because I knew what was coming...SAD chocolate cake!  It was my youngest's 18th birthday today (can you say, YIKES?!) and we all had supper together.  

I made a sprouted chick pea salad to bring over, and ate a big bowl of that instead of eating what everyone else was eating:  take out Indian food.  

Those who had some of my salad raved about it! It's very tasty!

I purposely filled up on the salad and made that my main meal, and was able to then enjoy a couple little spoonfuls of the take-out.  Then I enjoyed the heck outta the birthday cake.  Just a small piece, and enough to say I had some.  So I didn't deprive myself, and I had a wonderful evening. 

See those little sprout tails?  I soaked those chicks over night, then rinsed/drained/repeated for another couple days, and WALLA!  Tails!

Here's the Sprouted Chick Pea Salad recipe (from 'Celebrating our Raw Nature' by Dorit, page 122)

1 pound chickpeas, sprouted

3 celery stocks, diced

1 very ripe tomato, chopped

2/3 cup minced green onions

3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

3 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 1/2 tsp chopped fresh mint (Rawkin' note:  I left that out and didn't miss it a bit)

2 Tbs olive oil, more or less, to taste

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tsp dulse flakes

celtic sea salt

cayenne

1 small head romaine lettuce (Rawkin' note:  I left that out and didn't miss it a bit)

3 Tbs raw pine nuts

Combine the chickpea sprouts, celery, tomato, green onions, parsley, lemon juice, mint, oil, garlic, and dulse in a medium bowl.  Season to taste with the salt and cayenne.  Serve on a bed of the romaine lettuce, and sprinkle with the pine nuts.  (Rawkin' note:  As I said, I left out the lettuce;  I just added the pine nuts to the salad.)

Enjoy!

xo
Rawkin'

Kayi Korma - Southern Indian Curry

Kayi Korma - Southern Indian curry

Submitted by denzildragon to goneraw

Yield:  2 servings

Ingredients: 

Sauce:

• flesh of one young Thai coconut
•  handful of raw cashews
• 3/4 cup water or water from the coconut
•  1 level ts ground turmeric
•  ½ ts mustard powder
•  ½ ts ginger powder
•  1 ts garam masala
•  1-2 ts raw agave syrup (or to taste)

Veg:

• 1 small shallot, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, finely sliced (I used a vegetable peeler to slice it)
• 1 red pepper, finely sliced
• ½-1 chili pepper, finely chopped (or to taste)
• 5 or 6 button mushrooms, finely sliced
• ½ bag of baby spinach leaves

Preparation:

In a food processor or blender, blend the coconut meat, cashews, spices and agave syrup, adding the water a little at a time, until a smooth sauce forms.

Stir this into the vegetables, and leave to marinade for a while. If you want it warmed through, leave it in your dehydrator.

I made this last night for my boyfriend and I and we LOVED it!!!  Steve actually said, "This is the best damn raw thing you've ever made!"  

The only thing I did a lil' different was add a pinch of salt, because I think I added too much agave for my tastes.  But then it balanced out and was just fabulous.  We ate them in wraps.  I had two!  The second one, I wrapped in a large lettuce leaf and it was even better than with the tortilla, adding coolness and crunch to the dish.  A+

Bon Appetit!
xo
Rawkin'

Kayi Korma - Southern Indian Curry

Kayi Korma - Southern Indian curry

Submitted by denzildragon to goneraw

Yield:  2 servings

Ingredients: 

Sauce:
flesh of one young Thai coconut
handful of raw cashews
3/4 cup water or water from the coconut
1 level ts ground turmeric
½ ts mustard powder
½ ts ginger powder
1 ts garam masala
1-2 ts raw agave syrup (or to taste)


Veg:
1 small shallot, finely sliced
1 carrot, finely sliced (I used a vegetable peeler to slice it)
1 red pepper, finely sliced
½-1 chili pepper, finely chopped (or to taste)
5 or 6 button mushrooms, finely sliced
½ bag of baby spinach leaves

Preparation: 

In a food processor or blender, blend the coconut meat, cashews, spices and agave syrup, adding the water a little at a time, until a smooth sauce forms.
Stir this into the vegetables, and leave to marinade for a while. If you want it warmed through, leave it in your dehydrator.

I made this last night for my boyfriend and I and we LOVED it!!!  Steve actually said, "This is the best damn raw thing you've ever made!"  

The only thing I did a lil' different was add a pinch of salt, because I think I added too much agave for my tastes.  But then it balanced out and was just fabulous.  We ate them in wraps.  I had two!  The second one, I wrapped in a large lettuce leaf and it was even better than with the tortilla, adding coolness and crunch to the dish.  A+

Half a Dozen Posts in One!

Happy Monday!

Wow, large weekend.  I bought a new uncook book, made a wonderful recipe, we went to see Steve Earle at the Orpheum, ran into folks, we booked some gigs, we recorded more videos, we saw friends at an open mic night, and made new ones... can't complain about a damn thing!  :)

This big blog post will catch you up on all of it!
To start off, I'll show you my new live cuisine recipe book: 

There was a recipe in there that caught my eye right away...Vegetable Stew...one, it didn't have any nuts, which is a raw wonder when it comes to raw cookbooks...and two, it just looked like a great variety of hearty vegetables.

It was such a tasty recipe, it did not disappoint!  Both of us just loved it and gobbled it down!  Sure is pretty, too, heh?  I substituted the sweet potatoes with beets and it was still awesome!

Here is the recipe: 

Vegetable Stew...yield:  3-4 servings

This meal will help you to maintain a raw diet during cold winters.

2-4 zucchinis, cut into bite-size pieces

1 sweet potato, chopped into small chunks or shredded

1 cup green peas, preferably sprouted (Rawkin' note:  I bought frozen organic peas)

1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces

6-8 button mushrooms, chopped

2 cups tomatoes, chopped

4 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tablespoons chopped onion

1-2 teaspoons raw olive oil or hemp oil

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt

Dash of cayenne

Put the zucchinis, sweet potato (or beet) peas, bell pepper, and mushrooms in a large mixing bowl.

Briefly pulse the tomatoes in a high-powered blender (or food processor). 

Add the cilantro, onion, oil, garlic, optional lemon juice, cumin, salt, and cayenne to the tomato puree, and pulse until combined but still chunky. 

Pour into the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. 

Let rest for 2-4 hours before serving (at room temp or in the refrigerator, depending on the climate)

NOTE:  If you prefer a more warming stew, add extra cayenne and dehydrate the stew at 105 - 108 degrees F for 1 - 2 hours.  Optional - Garnish with fresh cilantro and parsley  and serve.

This recipe will live out its life in the MY FAVORITE RECIPES section under 'Raw for the Rest of Us' because it's rare (in my world) to have a filling meal without needing a dehydrator.

This stew sated us all evening as we scurried downtown to the Steve Earle concert.  This was such a lovely sign of abundance in our lives, as a friend went to Vegas and couldn't use his tickets and gave them to us!

We accepted this generosity, and I tucked the ticketmaster envelope in my purse and didn't look at it until we pulled it out for the door person.  She said, Door 3.  Only then did we take a look at our seating...and we were floored to see that we were seated in the 2nd row!!  hahaha!  Score!!  :D  We had a clear view of him from 30 feet away.  We enjoyed the show so much.  He is a straight shootin' guy, and we've been fans for years and it was a pleasure to see him live (and up close!)  I took this photo with my iphone.

During intermission, we ran into the fellow who books the Vancouver City Limits showcases and got to chatting, and the next day he called us and we booked a gig for Feb. 12 at the Rowing Club in Stanley Park!  Yehaaa!

Then on Sunday, we recorded some more music videos of our songs...

Sunday night, we went and sang some songs at an open mic we like to go to, and met up with some friends and had a great time.  We ate salad before we left the house, but we were there a long time, and I got very hungry...and the pub food wafting by was not helping!  But we managed to avoid it and when I got home, I ate an orange and that was fine!  I think all the romance and fantasy that goes into food happens during hunger...but really, as soon as you sate your hunger, it doesn't care what actually made it ok.  You know what I mean?  And I always am wayyyyyy grateful that I opted for the better food.

Oh, and at the open mic, someone just about fell over when I told them my age (46) *bats eyelashes* and someone else complimented me on my...and I quote, lol... "amazing skin!"  (Thanks, RAW!!!!)

I got home and found an email for another gig in early March!  Yeah, Baby! 

Life is sweet and delicious!

Oh speaking of which, here is the 'whole family' enjoying wheatgrass...me with scary morning hair, Steve with his lucky horseshoe and empty wheatgrass shot, Ruby the cat wishing she had opposable thumbs, Gracie looking sweetly hopeful at the "harvest"...

and finally, Gracie in a wheatgrass frenzy!

xo

Rawkin'

PS things that make me happy and grateful:

The day I went ATVing for the first time.  JOY!!!!!!!!!  This was pre-raw, in 2001.  Happy, happy day!  I still get joyful when I look at this picture!  Steve says that's the happiest he's ever seen me, and wants to get me one!  I love that guy!!!

Another thing I ADORE that makes me happy...seeing beauty grow anywhere!

Dinner, EFT, Juice, Weight Loss...

Made savory nori snacks with salad for yesterday's dinner...yum.  I doubled the batch and went for it this time!  As an aside, my non-raw friend made these without a dehydrator and she and her family loved them.  So there ya go, apparently they are delicious just like that.

I nearly went out of my mind with sugar cravings last night.  I did some EFT and tapped it out, and was fine in a minute or two...but it got me thinking that I should start keeping my sugar intake in check.  You hear me mention those brownies about every couple days...there's a clue.

Lately I've been eating apples after dinner and I know that this is not a good thing.  Apples (along with most other fruit) only take about 20 minutes to digest, so if they get eaten after food that takes 20 hours to digest, they sit atop it, fermenting, causing gas and bloating and years of this behavior leads to very bad things. lol.  I'd have to look up exactly what, but I'm guessing it contributes to the usual suspects.

How's that for lazy??

In completely other news:

I am accepting clients for EFT sessions on Tuesdays between 3 and 8 pm in my new...drum roll please... office!  Yay! If you'd like a complimentary first session with me, please contact me via the email in my profile.

EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique, and can be described as emotional acupuncture...without those pesky needles!  Instead of needles, the meridians are gently tapped on with finger tips.  It's jaw-dropping how this gentle and non-invasive treatment garners results.  I've personally blasted through so much of my own stuff, from relationship issues, to core issues, even that hypochondria I have mentioned is fading into nothing as I tend to the different aspects of it.

EFT works by a client focusing on the issue they want resolved, and the practitioner tapping on the meridians while making statements and affirmations.  Sounds so simplistic, I realize.  I remember wondering how it could possibly be effective...until I permanently rid myself of too many issues to count!  Most of my core stuff was anxiety-based, and in the couple years I've been tapping on myself and seeing a practitioner, I've cleared so much energy around so many issues, that it's safe to say that it's changed my life...in all areas... relationships, performance, phobias, parenting, grief, guilt.  When one issue gets worked on, it affects a lot of other issues that have similar roots, so working on one thing often fixes another.

I've had remarkable results when working on others as well, and I get great joy from them experiencing freedom from things that have plagued them so long.  Honestly, some things can be lifted in moments.  People most often feel great relief in the first session, and in just a few sessions with an intuitive practitioner, life-long issues can be gone.  And I mean gone permanently.  I've worked with folks on their core issues of abandonment, their rattled nerves for upcoming concerts, their life-long physical ailments and sudden diagnoses, their fear of public speaking, and the list goes on.

When I saw my Mother this past September, I worked on the pain in her knee, finding the emotions that lurked underneath, that maintained that pain.  We had three sessions in three days, and she went from holding on to the backs of chairs for balance, and wincing with ever step, to wearing high-heels and dancing around to show us her recovery.  She was 78 years old at the time, and thanked me for giving her her life back.  I get tears just remembering it.  She continues to be fine today, and I taught her how to tap on herself so that if it did flare up, she had tools to combat it.  She says she didn't wait for it to flare up, and in fact has been tapping on herself daily since our visit.

Today is her birthday!  Happy 79th, Beautiful Mama!!!

So I'm off to the store to pick up some leaves for dinner. lol.  Salad is on the menu... and I dunno what else...maybe a juice or a smoothie.  I've cut back on nuts for a bit because I like how simple raw dishes make me feel, and I feel heavy on nuts, and just not optimal.  So while all those gourmet dishes I get into making are indeed scrumptious, I do believe I O.D. on them!  So wraps, salads, and and and...?  Help?

Oh, here's some kinda cool news... since being raw in mid December, I've now lost 10 pounds.  Kinda fun when it's a by-product and not an actual project!!
My jeans are saggy in that saddlebag area just below the bum, and I love it, because that's the first place it goes on, too.

I remember, about 3 or 4 years ago, picking up a book at Value Village and laughing at it, because it had a photo of a realllly old man, he looked a thousand, and the book was called Become Younger.  I showed it to Steve and we giggled that he wasn't much of an endorsement for youth.  But in fact, he was!  It was Norman Walker!  Silly me.  Well that book has been in all the rooms of my house, flipped through as I settle in for a bath, or on my desk in a pile of other books, etc.  I don't know how it took me this long to see this, but this alternating combination of raw juices really sounds fabulous, and I'm going to try it out. 

"...drink one or two pints of fresh raw vegetable juices every day without fail.  I drank a whole pint of carrot juice and a pint of a combination of carrot, celery, parsley, and spinach juices, one day, and the next I would drink the carrot juice and a pint of a combination of carrot, beet, and cucumber juices.  I would alternate these juices, one combination one day, the other the next day."

I'm off to the grocery store & I think I just figured out a nice juice to drink while I make us a big salad.  (I'll wait an hour or so before eating after drinking this.)

What's for dinner at your house?

UPDATE:  Well maybe that juice and salad will happen tomorrow evening... tonight, we ended up having Spinach Dip and Hummus with sprouted grain tortillas and a lovely salad!  I made some mango & red pepper dressing (with water for texture, and salt to cut that sweetness down a notch)  It was real good, but my Steve is a die-hard Caesar dressing guy, so he went with that.  He did pose for a dinner photo.  Props for that! :)

xo
Rawkin' 

Things that make me happy....

My beautiful friend, Wildhearted, just mailed me some gifts!!!  I love you, Wildy!  And I love them all very much, and if I *had* to pick a favorite, it would be the salt candle...LOVE THESE!!!

And one of the other things that makes me happy and that I am so grateful to have...

The beautiful soaps that my friend Mermie makes!
My most favorite of all is the coconut soap...I could just take a bite, it smells so great!

Me and Life Should Just Get a Room!

I've noticed that on the whole, my mood is steadily lightening up...from a place I didn't even realize needed lightening.  It's a whole other state of being, this raw thing!  A lighter mood means a higher vibration...which means I'm in the flow, and really noticing it.   I distinctly remember that  feeling from being raw last time; a very sunny, friendly disposition and a real joie de vivre kicking in. After a few weeks of consistently eating raw, my whole outlook improves.

Even my 'default setting' changes (you know what I mean?  like when a good mood fades and you return to your 'normal' default setting, a sort of flat-lining....?)  Well, now, my default setting is higher, so that every mood either returns to 'content' (or climbs back up there fairly quickly if I've been feeling 'off.')

I love it!!

I am having detoxing dreams when I sleep, though!  But that's temporary, and besides, I'd rather have a sweet life than sweet dreams, so it doesn't much matter.  And, I can snap out of the momentary groggy grumpiness a lot quicker and just carry on with my day.

Life is good.  My boyfriend and I were out with our dog one early morning and we were looking at the sky, and just both felt such a love of life and a great sense of well-being and gratitude overcame us, and it just felt so precious to be alive.

******

We had dinner with our 4 grown sons the other night (I have two and my boyfriend has two, and they've all known each other since my 18 year old, the youngest, was in diapers!  They are all 'brothers' and each is so unique and different, yet we are all very tight pieces of family.  My ex is part of that, too, only he wasn't at this family dinner.  He'll be at that next one, as we are planning these every two weeks, rotating houses and sometimes taking the bunch out to dinner.  On Sunday, we all piled on over to a house that two of them share and we all enjoyed pizza!

They ordered some, and I brought a raw one!  It was fantastic, and even though they all loved theirs, they were all really into mine, too, and every last piece of every last pie was gone at the end of the meal.  Then it was time for brownies, whoohoo, and they were inhaled and moaned about within minutes.  Damn, those are fine.

It felt wonderful eating raw in a situation that could have been challenging.  But pizza has been off my menu for 10 years because I gave up dairy in 2000.

Anyway, it was a good night; we played pool, we laughed so much, rolled our eyes at bad jokes, and I marveled at every one of them.  They are such fine young men.  We are so blessed!

I wish the same love & blessings on you, Rawkers!

xo
Rawkin'

Almond Milk & Wheatgrass...just not together...

I bought a tray of wheatgrass at one of the health food stores yesterday.  $12.99 plus a $3 deposit for the tray.  I brought it home and put it in the little green house outside my door.  This belongs to my friend, and I've been keeping it and his plants for him while he's in transition mode, so I didn't even think of using it because it's not "mine"...but I just moved things around and the wheatgrass has a home.  I hear it likes it kinda cold (but not frosty) which it certainly isn't.  We've had the usual West Coast winter...rain instead of snow.

Anyway, went out there and clipped a handful and found that it didn't make much, and it took a couple more good chunks to get a 2 oz shot of wheatgrass, and then I did it again for my boyfriend. 

We've heard that it tastes terrible, but that just wasn't our experience.  We loved its lawn-y sweetness.  And guess who kept following me around when I had handfuls... my dog Gracie.  I gave her a blade or two and she loved it, so I poured out the couple drops left over and she licked that.

We sure loved it.  To both of us, it felt like from our chins to our chests, that something good was going on...it felt clean and green in there.

I thought I'd waited long enough, about 30 minutes, before trying other food after my shot, but I got that wave of nausea about ten minutes after having a bit of almond milk.  So don't do dat!

In any case, we're sold!  Gonna buy another few trays of it, then rotate the 'crops' until they are no more...then gonna plant seeds and do it all again.

So back to the almond milk...yep, it's been a week of 'firsts'... I made almond milk.  I've never done that before, but needed the resulting pulp for a recipe.  I don't have a 'nut milk bag' so I bought some cheesecloth, and that worked, but was messy.  Coulda been my amateur technique.  I ran it though the strainer twice because upon my first sip, discovered it was still grainy.  With a Vitamix and a strainer, there's no need for that, right?  Anyway, a bloody mess, really!  Look at that photo!

While I was at the health food store for the wheatgrass, I asked about nut milk bags, and they didn't have any, but recommended a little mesh produce bag, and it's virtually the same dang thing.  Here is what nut milk bags look like on the excalibur website... and here is what I bought, meant to store produce and keep it fresher, longer.

I'll use the two for produce and the one laying flat for making almond milk...yay.  Steve loves it in his tea.  All three of those mesh bags fit in that little red pouch, which fits into the palm of my hand, and the whole business cost $8.99.


So here is the Brigitte Mars recipe I used to make Almond Milk:  (These directions can be followed to make cashew, hazelnut/filbert, sesame seed, sunflower seed, walnut, or pecan milk.)

Yield: 1 quart

1 cup almonds, soaked overnight then rinsed
1 quart water
1 tbs honey or 2 dates, soaked 20 minutes (I chose dates)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and liquify.  Strain the liquid through a nut milk bag into another container.  (Save pulp for other recipes.)  Store the unused milk in the refrigerator, where it will keep for four to five days.

*****

In other news, lesseeeeeeee.... made a failed batch of kale chips...don't know what the devil happened, but they were not good at all.  Steve liked them, and has finished the whole jar of them, which makes me do two things:  roll my eyes, and wonder if I've lost my taste for them, since they only seemed ruined to my palate. Nah... I musta screwed up.

Tonight we enjoyed collard rolls and kale salad, and then I made us some 'Immunity Tea' (Kimberly Snyder.)
This tea is to be enjoyed all winter, to fend off colds, whether you are just getting one, in the middle of one, or living with someone who has one...this will help boost your immunity.  This tea's got your back!

Instructions for a small teapot:
Turn the kettle off just before it starts to boil
Pour the water onto about 2 Tbs of grated ginger
Let sit for a couple minutes
Squeeze 1/2 lemon into the teapot
Give a small shake (one!) of cayenne into the teapot
Add a packet of Stevia or squirt in a bit of agave, to taste.
Let sit for a couple minutes, and then enjoy.

We found it super-comforting and can see how it would ease what ails ya!

****

So onto things that make me happy...thrill me, even...

The other day, I noticed there were no pens around anymore, and said to Steve, "We should go get another package of those pens."  He agreed, and we moved on with our day, forgetting all about going.  From later in that day up until 10 minutes ago, we started finding pens all over our apartment, pens we hadn't seen before.  Pens from other people, out of the blue...the insurance guy... now I know they're kinda known for their pens, but it's hit and miss with our guy, could go a year without a pen, but last night, he gave us two! We just looked at each other and laughed!  It's raining pens!  Hallelujah! It's raining pens! Hey hey!  Well having a pen handy is a civilized and simple pleasure, but the thrill is that this felt like a direct manifestation.  We've been playing with abundance and law of attraction, and this was a small but potent sign that all is well!

The other thing that makes me happy, is seeing my little dollar store beaded change purse.  It's just so...ME. :)

Have a healthy & beautiful weekend, Rawkers!

xo

Rawkin'

This Post Shall Remain Nameless to Protect the Silly

Pineapple juice for breakfast...best yet. Maybe I added a tad more ginger, dunno...it rawked pretty hard. As Larry David would say...Prit-tay, prit-tay, pretty hard.

Today wasn't a big activity day, just putzed around the house,drank a green smoothie, made the savory nori rolls for dinner, and watched last night's Desperate Housewives episode online (ctv.ca).  It's "my show" (wait, I've said that about a couple shows now...hmmm...) and we went out last night, so I caught up with it today.  I'm like my sweet mom and her soaps.

****

Did I tell you the story about The Girl Who Forgot to Practice Mindfulness and Vitamixed Her Tamper to Shreds?  No?  Oh silly me.  I thought everybody knew.

I have this friend.  Ok ok it's me!

There I was all set to make a smoothie last week, when I realized that the lid was in the dishwasher, in the middle of a soapfest.

What did Einstein do?  Used a plate to cover the open top and turned the Vitamix on.  Sketchy as that sounds, it worked.  I noticed that the smoothie was not splashing about, but whirring away in the bottom half of the container.  But there were some spinach leaves that were just not joining in, so without thinking, I took the tamper and poked at them and heard an ugly noise.  Well suddenly I was thinking again.  Chewed the bottome right off the dang thing.  (That circular ridge is there for a reason!  So is the lid!)

The thing they say about blocks of wood in the Vitamix?  I'd believe it.  It wasn't pretty.  So I waited a day or so to shake off the utter DOHness of it all, and I phoned the Vitamix Corporation.  I saw online that tampers are 16 bucks, plus shipping, but I wanted to know if I could use a money order instead of a credit card.  She asked me when I'd purchased my machine and I told her April '09, then she asked me if I had ever ordered replacement parts from them before, and I told her no, and she said, "Well then the first one's on us!  We can ship that out to you this week."  I was all, "Just like that?!"  She laughed and said, "Yes, just like that!"

Well I'll be.  Rewarded for my stupidity. lol  We all do shit like that, just not thinking, and this time, it manifested in chewing off the end of my nightstick, as I usually call it.  Well I call it something else, too, but this is a family show.

Anyway, Yay Vitmix! Harkens back to Mike at Whole Foods... twice in a very short period of time, I've experienced way cool customer service! 

*****

The nori rolls were as fantastic as the last time we had them a few days ago!  Better, even, since I thickened the pate on each sheet.  I doubled the batch this time, too.

I had an EFT client at 5 pm today (please don't tell them about the tamper) so I had to leave the nori rolls with about an hour left to go in the dehydrator, but I took a little so I'd have something in my stomach.

Later on my way home, I was sure ready for more, and I phoned Steve, and he said he'd been munching on them, loving them, and thought they'd be great with hummus.  It made sense to me, so I stopped by the store on the way home and bought a couple things I needed to make it.

I made us a big salad, the hummus (he was right!  the hummus compliments the nori rolls in a big way.  I think that will be a combo from now on) and some o' dem brownies.  My name is Rawkin' and I'm a rawveganbrownieholic.

*****
So I was telling my friend about my idea for Raw Dinner Party Workshops and the more I told her, the more excited she got until she blurted out:  "Have one at MY house!"  And she named off several people who would likely want to attend.  I said I had a couple, too (you online girlies who expressed interest) and she asked me if a Saturday evening in January was too soon.  And I was on a roll, so I said, "Sounds GREAT!"

*gulp*

I can doooo eeeeeeeet.  right? :)  So stay tuned, 'cause it's-a happening!  I'll be working out details.

Let me know if you still want to come! 


Onto (other)  things that rock my world:

My 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' CD...I adore sad orchestral pieces and sad, sad arias...it just kills me...in a good way.  Also loving my Cello Concertos CD.  Things that make ya go Aaaaahhhhhhh.


The other thing I'm going to include is a Wheatgrass book that came to me out of the blue, as a gift.  You remember Vera, the lovely lady who sold me the Greenstar off craigslist?  Remember how we hit it off?  Well, she emailed me yesterday and asked me if I'd like to have a book called "Wheatgrass...Natures Finest Medicine" by Steve Meyerowitz.  She and her husband are moving (hence the greenstar on cl) and she thought of me when unloading this book.  It coulda gone with a pile going to the Sally Ann or to someone else, but she said she wanted me to have it.  Is that sweet or what?  :)  I'm a blessed woman!!  Thank you, Vera, you sweet thing ya!


Life is good!


xo
Rawkin'

Song Videos, Raw Dinner Party Workshops, EFT sessions...you name it...

What a great day!

I started my day off with Brigitte Mars' 'Breakfast Pudding' (Rawsome, page 141)

Couldn't find un-sulfured dried apricots (sulfates give me asthma...no thanks!) so I subbed in un-sulfured dried mango slices. Wondering the whole time, why was it made with cane sugar, when mangoes are a sweet fruit?

In any case, this pudding was sweet and delicious and tasted a lot like applesauce.

Breakfast Pudding
Brigitte Mars notes: This hearty breakfast is great on a cold winter's morning.

Yield 2 servings (which I ate through the morning, since it was too sweet for Steve.)

12 dried apricots, soaked overnight
2 cored apples, coarsely chopped
1 Tbs tahini
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2" fresh ginger
1/4 cup raisins

Combine everything but the raisins, and blend in a food processor until finely chopped and mixed. Pour the mixture over the raisins, and stir. Chill in fridge an hour before serving. Keeps 2 or 3 days in the fridge.

******

Before we left for rehearsal, something we do every Sunday for 4 hours, I pulled the rawvioli trays out of the fridge, and some frozen marinara out of the freezer and put them all in the dehydrator so dinner would be ready when we got home. (This is a 12 hour dehydrator recipe, but I took it out this morning from it being in there over night, then it spent the morning in the fridge, until it was time to go.)

We recently bought a Zoom Q3, so that we could take videos of our music, raw, eft, etc. So we had fun with it today, recording some songs...enjoy:




Okay, I'm back... :)

Who would I be if I didn't let you in on how freakin' AMAZING the rawvioli was!!??

There are no words!!! It was beyond delicious, and we would each eat a few bites and one of us would say, "OMG!! Delicious!!" "KILLER!" "Ridiculous!!"

Yep, it was that fabulous. My only beef about it was that there wasn't enough. There were 38 small pieces each and maybe it was the flavor that made it feel like I didn't want dinner to end...but I wasn't ok with it being over. So I made us a salad and that made it ok. Next time, though, I'm doubling this baby.

*****

The other day, I arranged to time-share a practitioner's office so now I have a space to take in EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) clients. Tuesdays from 3 pm into the evening. If you're in the Vancouver BC area and would like a complimentary first session, let me know! EFT produces wonderful results for all kinds of issues, often in just a few sessions, and most often, relief is felt in the first session. I take clients with all kinds of issues...from weight, depression, anxiety, etc, and I specialize in "unleashing your creativity with EFT" so that you can sing, write, perform, paint...FREELY.

*****

As for Raw Workshops...I've been thinking of hosting Raw Dinner Party Workshops at peoples' homes. I would come to the host/ess' home with a menu (host gets a free workshop)and all the ingredients, and anywhere from 4-6 workshop participants/guests come and bring their appetites and maybe some wine. :) I would be demonstrating simple and delicious raw dishes for the group, which would be served to everyone. Sounds like a fun night with the girls, yeah?

xo
Rawkin'

Such an inspired day!

Wow what a busy and wonderful Saturday!  I love it when my boyfriend and I are out n' about, seeing friends, shopping, uncooking, laughing, and generally having a fantastic time together.  We started the day off by driving an hour South and having a morning visit with our good friends.  The 4 of us had a lot of laughs, and on the drive home, we vowed to make a greater effort to see our friends more often.  Usually we see folks when they come to our shows, or we go to theirs, but this felt wonderfully right.

I should back up, though... I was born in a little town in Queb...oh wait, not that far!  I woke up with the intention to pee and go back to bed, because I thought the digital clock said 1:30 a.m.  So I did that, and then laid there wide awake, with my brain zipping around everywhere.

I remember reading somewhere that if you are wide awake at night, you shouldn't just lay there for too long trying to fall asleep...at least, not to the point of frustration.  You should instead get up and do something productive.  So I did.  I sat at my computer and before the thing turned on, I noticed, with a very puzzled feeling, that it was light out.  A tiny WTF and a raising of the blinds, I sat there puzzled, just when my computer came on and I saw the time.  It was 7:36 a.m. I don't wear my glasses to bed is my only defense.  I must say, I was somewhat relieved, and suddenly filled with the energy of a person who is supposed to be UP.

I decided to make freshly squeezed orange juice, practically used up a bag of oranges to make 2 glasses with my electric citrus juicer.  Just in time for my boyfriend to wake up.  He loved that; said it made him feel loved to walk in and be handed fresh juice.  (Note to self:  do that.)  It was sooooo delicious.

Then I felt kinda on a roll...and decided to make Spinach Palak (second dip on the page)...with no particular plan for it...lunch/dinner, whatevever.  Just been kinda craving it for the past week, as I've been going over my old stand-by recipes, and I kept threatening to make it, and well, today was the day.

It did not disappoint! It's really fuss-free & easy to make, and takes no time at all.  Do eeeet.  It's so tasty, you will love it.  All you need is a food processor, yay!

After I finished making the palak, I put it in the fridge and turned my attention to my growing hunger. I enjoyed a smoothie, and I popped a Vitamin D3, which I've just started taking this week, as I've mentioned.  No ill effects, or any effects yet, to my little eye, anyway...so...so far so good.

Yesterday, I'd made some eggless egg salad and so when we came back from visiting our friends, it was lunch time and I decided to use the egg salad,  and the palak, and smear it onto large lettuce leaves, with chopped red pepper, alfalfa sprouts, and shredded carrots.  It was so great!  As you can see in the photo, the palak blends right into the color of the lettuce leaf (from the spinach in it.)
*********
Looky what I got today!  Brigitte Mars' 'Rawsome'...a book I've been aiming to own since quite a while back...last year, I think...I got it out of the library and loved it.  I've made several recipes from it before, and have always been blown away by the flavors.  It was only $18.95!  What the heck have I been waiting for?! So we're driving home and I started flipping through it and I immediately read a recipe that caught my attention, 'Rawvioli'.  I've seen this recipe online and it always appealed to me, if not for the name alone. 

So we stopped at a grocery store (insert screeching brakes and u-turn sound here) and picked up the ingredients.  It wasn't for this evening's dinner, it was for tomorrow's dinner, because it takes 12 hours in the dehydrator.  (Sheesh!)

Rawvioli - Brigitte Mars, Rawsome, page 197
3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise into thin strips (I used a peeler)
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup young coconut meat or an additional 1 cup of pine nuts (which is what I did)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp celtic salt
1 clove garlic
2 tsp fresh rosemary
3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 Tbsp water

Combine all ingredients except zucchini in a food processor and blend.  Place a spoonful of the mixture on half of a strip of zucchini and fold the zucchini over the filling, making a rectangle.  Repeat with all the zucchini strips.  (Rawkin' Note:  HOLY LABOR-INTENSIVE BATMAN...but wait'll you taste this, I'd do it in hell forever, it's so good.)  Place the stuffed zucchini rectangles in the deydrator for 12 hours (I go with 105 degrees, but I'll see, since this is my first time making these, and she doesn't say in the book.  At least, not that I've yet read.)  Serve the rawvioli with a pesto or a marinara sauce.

Here they are, a tray and a half of the rawviolis...just as they're going into the tanning booth, um dehydrator.  It says it yields 6, but not around here.  Those are already gone in our minds.  :)  

I enjoyed the savoury nori rolls from the other day SO MUCH that I was bummed that I only made what the recipe calls for.  It asks for 2 cups sunflower kernels.  So I bought a huge bag and soaked 6 cups overnight.  I rinsed them in the morning and let them sit in a jar, but in the evening, I decided to dehydrate them because they were still damp and I didn't like that.  Seems to me they would mold or go 'off' or something, so I stuck 'em on a few trays below the rawvioli and I'm hoping for the best.  I am leaving them in there until morning, at which time I may find dust, I don't know.  I don't know off hand a good time to dry them.  So this is a bit of a gamble.  I had a very large day and I'm too tired to fuss about with them now, so I'm willing to risk their demise, but hope for the best.

My bean mix in the sprouter is showing real promise, with cute little tails showing up already. There are three tiers of this and I look forward to these in my salads this week.

So onto the other stuff my happiness is made of...

My funky new Value Village find...these hightops, sitting upon my paint box.  And while I'm at it, my cherished box of creative expression, my paints.

Enjoy your day, Rawkers!

Kale Salad, Pesto Stuffed Veggies, Lemon Pudding, & Loose Pants

What a fantastic dinner we had tonight!  I made kale salad and pesto stuffed mushrooms.  With the left over pesto, I looked in the fridge to see what other veg I could stuff...at first I thought of a tomato, then a pepper, then I thought I'd hollow out a zucchini and stuff it, then dehydrate it.  Then it dawned on me to just use a veg peeler on it, and spread pesto on the slices and roll it up, like a pinwheel.

This meal was labor-intensive, but I was in the mood for toolin' around in the kitchen, so it was good. A lot of fiddly bits...de-stemming mushrooms and hollowing them out, peeling and rolling zucchinis, a bit fussy... but worth it.  Also, I re-dehydrated what was left of the rawritos from the other day. 

And for dessert, we enjoyed lemon pudding. (More finicky stuff, getting seeds out of lemons.)  There's a bit where you use all the flesh of one lemon, but no seeds. I peeled a nice firm lemon and sectioned it, and I made my job easier by holding each slice up to the light, easily spotting the seeds inside, and just poking them out with a sharp knife tip. It worked great!  Here's a pic of the pudding... it looks more like butterscotch in color, but it has a fantastic lemony, refreshing flavor.

We love this stuff and actually crave it.  Steve reminds me of a little kid when he asks if we can have lemon pudding on the menu "soon".  Well tonight was the night, Baby.

It is now after 11 pm and I'm still nice and sated from our meal.  We both are!   It was scrumptious. Steve called the zucchini pesto 'rolls', "KILLER!" 

So get a load of my alfalfa crop!!  All this from a three-tiered Biosta sprouter.  They are divine, too. So fresh-tasting, it's unreal. They are now in a big glass jar in the fridge, ready for this week's meals, and I put a new seed mix in the sprouter...'Bean Salad' organic sprouting mix.  So in 4 days, we'll be enjoying sprouted azuki beans, mung beans, red radish seeds, and lentils.  I see really tasty wraps and salads in our near future.

We're both starting to really notice a bit of reshaping of our bodies.  I've been noticing that all my pants are roomier and more comfortable, and I'm starting to feel lighter, all around.  I am still having days with a lot of energy followed by days of unpluggedness, but Steve keeps assuring me that this is how I detoxed last time, so I'm just accepting the fact that I am zapped and giving myself permission to nap.  You know, as I typed that, I realize that I probably felt the same last time, but the reason it feels like unfamiliar territory is because I didn't let myself nap last time.  I'm a lot more gentle with myself nowadays.  I like that a lot.

So...onto (other) things that make me happy...

The blue vase has been in our family for eons, the perfume decanter is from my sons' father and I cherish it, and the Zinnia pic just makes me smile.  These three items sit on top of our medicine chest in our bathroom.

And this is Bed Rat.  Need I say more?

xo

Rawkin'

Pineapple Juice, Dehydrator Times, & Nori

Both my boyfriend and I started yesterday off with slightly sore throats, and believe it or not, I thought it was great because I *just* read that pineapple juice relieves it.

So we started our morning with each a juiced  glass of:

1/4 pineapple, skin and all

1/2 apple

1/4" ginger

I made us each a glass from the above recipe. 

Then I went back to bed and slept some more.  In all, I had a very quiet day, with my biggest achievement being walking the dog who was looking at me with big eyes.  Oh, and I slipped the lasagna into the dehydrator at around 2 so that it could continue doing its thing until dinner.

Dinner turned out well, with the lasagna finally being dry enough!  I've come to have no patience (or to use that tired, authoritarian school quote, 'zero tolerance') for soggy foods due to taking gourmet recipes out too soon.

This happens when you plan for them to be done by dinner time (either that day or the next, lol) and they are less than perfect but you take it out and eat it anyway because, well, it's dinner time, damn it!   

I don't want to do that anymore, after recently spending a lot of time prepping pizza, enchiladas, and tacos...only to feel disappointed after all that prep and waiting.  And always because of taking things out 'because it's time to eat' rather than 'it's really ready.'

My boyfriend doesn't seem to mind and loves the flavors and gobbles it down.  True, the flavors are there, but for me, it's a lot to do with texture and I don't like mush unless it's supposed to be mush. (Trying to think of examples of when I like mush, and not coming up with any...) Anyway, so the lasagna made it to the next day's dinner, and it was worth the wait!

In other news...

So, Mike called...you remember, from Whole Foods...about the Nama Shoyu.  Turns out they don't carry it in their Canadian stores.  His phone message was really helpful, though, as he directed me to Amazon, where I could apparently order it for 16 bucks for a couple bottles.  He said he thought that was a good deal!

I appreciate the customer service in a big way, and was impressed with the care he took, even though he was delivering less than optimal news.  Optimal would have been, "I've got 2 bottles set aside for you here at the store!" lol

I got wondering how the almost-used up bottle of Nama Shoyu got in my fridge, then, if it wasn't from WF, or from Capers, with whom they merged.  It wasn't until a couple hours after his message that I remembered that I got it from a local raw food supply store here in town, and well, DOH.  So I'll just go back there in the next couple days and pick some up and get on with these kale chips I'm hankerin' for.

While at WF the other night, I did pick up some dried Nori sheets.  Apparently, Nori is purple until it's lightly toasted, when it becomes green, so since these are dark green, I guess they aren't raw, but whatevs... I don't like fishy tasting stuff, am not even slightly a sushi fan, but  want to add 'sea vegetables' to my diet, mainly for the iodine.  If I can get myself to like it, I'll earnestly search locally for the raw kind.

UPDATE about the rawness of the nori sheets... turns out, they only looked dark green because of the packaging, and they are in fact, dark purple.  So, these are raw!  Yay!  Now, I hope they're good... lol

So tonights dinner is going to be Savoury Nori Snacks with a large salad

Savoury Nori Snacks
From Raw Pleasure Australia's free ebook

2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked 6-10 hours
2 tablespoons lemon juice (can mix it up with lime and some orange too)
3 tablespoons sultanas/raisins/currants
2 cloves large of garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
6 raw vegan nori sheets

Blend all but the Nori sheets into a thick paté

2. Lay out 1 Nori sheet and spread some paté on (about ½ cm thick).

3. Place another Nori sheet on top and press down

4. Continue until Nori/pate is finished

5. Dehydrate on a teflex sheet for 3 hours at 130 degrees °F (54 °)

6. Flip over onto a mesh sheet (dry side down) and lower temperature to 115 °F (46 °C).

7. Dry until crispy! It's easy to cut them in slices with a big pair of scissors after they have been drying a couple of hours. Cutting them up helps them dry faster too.

Variations: Other favorite spices or flavorings as desired (chili, rosemary, basil, olives, tomatoes)

Note: It's very important for taste/texture/nutrition to soak the sunflower seeds.

So I'll report back in with photos, and update when I've eaten some...let ya know what I think.
UPDATE UPDATE:  OH MAMA!  Savoury Nori Snacks are to LIVE FOR!!!  They are not fishy at all... the pate and nori mixed together just makes these sooooo delectable!  To quote the Great Steve:  "Damn!  We're havin' THESE again!"  I'm so happy that I have found a truly delicious way to eat seaweed, without 'putting up with it', but really LOVING every bite.  Yay!  Go make these!  (I'm putting them in their permanent home in Soups and Side Dishes.)  I served us 3 rolls each, along with a gorgeous salad (complete with 'homemade' alfalfa sprouts, ha, fresh from the sprouter) and pineapple-raisin cookies that I made from left over pineapple/apple/ginger pulp.  Just added flax and raisins and Bob's yer Uncle.  Delish!!!

 


And now...

Things that make me happy...

My Gratitude Book:

My assortment of flea market photos from other peoples' old family albums...bittersweet to find them there, but I get tickled about carrying them to their new home (mine) and loving them anew by using them as painting inspiration.  I fall in deeply love with these familiar strangers, and adopt them as my own.  (said the crazy lady.)

Have a beautiful day, Rawkers!

xo

Rawkin'