A Needed Rest

I am signing off for a few days of R&R.
Hope your last days of August are full of fun and joy.

Hair, Skirts and Desserts..

K had a wonderful play date yesterday that turned into a sleepover.
I was a tad worried that they may grow tired of one another but that was so not the case.
It was so beautiful to watch my girl as she spreads her wings and gains her confidence and trust again.
I seems that I can't let anyone leave my house without a treat of some sort.
Our cheerful little friend chose to have a skirt made for her.
She picked the fabric and was very specific on how she wanted it.
I was inches away from having it completed when her ride came but I finished it shrtly afterwards.
If she's looking here it is!!
Hope it is what she was wishing for.

K had a great hair day.
I love when she has it done like this, the mohawk gone flopsy look.
My lovely wild spirit.

I was recently featured on Crafty Crow again and Kiko of Planting Acorns
( http://kiko72.blogspot.com/) made a seashell wind chime from my tutorial.
Love the response and the comraudery out on the bloggesphere.


And now for dessert.
We had a wonderful, but quick, evening super at our beautiful neighbours up the road.
I always love to bring stuff to dinner dtaes not only to help out and share but to ease the amount needed to prep for a crowd.
Share the workload sort of thing, especially when feeding so many mouths.
Since my new favorite dishes seem to be desserts I whipped one up, literally in 15 minutes, and we had that after our feast.
The last one I called Delish, this one should be called "Oh My Gosh".
I must brag, it is that good.
A frozen creamy rich chocolate ganche with raspberry puree topping on a coconut cashew crust.

Recipe???

Sorry not till tomorrow, I must put the young'ens and myself, to bed.

Sweet dreams folks.

Sewing for the Girls

I think I missed my era.
At times I wish I were a '70's girl.
These shorts are a throwback to the day, although they should be shiny and yellow.
I am going to make them in my size next but am pretty sure i won't be modelling for you guys.
E is a crazy dresser and she loves flashy patterns and retro designs, these are it for her.

Since the evenings have gotten cooler K has asked for another pair of pajama bottoms.
I had to make them bigger than usual so they will last longer than 3 months.
She loves pink and anything with skulls, so this fabric was a real winner.

I have amaged to sew a lot of things these last couple of days but nobody will model them for me.
Guess I will have to use a clothes hanger tomorrow to display them.

Delish

I created an amazing dessert for a dinner party this evening.
It has no name but if I had to call it something it would be Delish.

A coconut crust, layer of chocolate ganache, a cashew cream layer and topped with a raspberry coulis and a sprinkling of cocoa nibs.
Chilled to perfection, everyone had second helpings even after a huge gorgeous seafood feast at Uncle D's house.
I love when people are taken back that raw foods can actually taste that good.
He he!!
Secrets out.

Oh!! Yah!! Baby!!!

Soon to be camping in true Hillbilly Style.
Oh Yeah Baby!!
While out running a few errands this morning we also took advantage of some garage saleing.
I spotted this beauty down the road and knew it was destined to be ours.

You betcha!! Asking $400 but took $150 cold hard smackeroos and now we are the proud new owners of this piece of heaven on wheels.

When checking out such things there are a few details to never overlook.

Such as if the wheels actually turn and hold up the trailer.

Check.

If the roof or windows leak or are broken.

All clear.

Mouse poop and rodent infestations.

Not one speck.

Stove and fridge in working order.

Yup.

Other than a good scrub and hose out all we need are new foamies (because that is just me, who knows where these have been?)...and some new curtains to match the fabric I'll be covering the new foam in, we are off to the races.

Okay I may redo the linoleum and give it a splash of new interior (and probably exterior) paint, this baby is ready to roll.

Hey did you notice the tail light too...

The wonders of duct tape.

Guess I'll be replacing that as well.

All in all it is incredibly cheaper than the new travel trailer we just about bought last year for over $20 000.

So I have no qualms in detailing this to the hilt of hilly billy fashion.

Images Brought to you by My Nikon D90

I had to bring my camera in for a desperate cleaning and felt almost naked without it around.

I got it back this afternoon and it feels brand new, so new I was like a kid in a candy store snapping pictures all around the yard.

I have missed a few good food photos ops lately but made these desserts to a BBQ the other night.

Delish Raw-a-misu above.

And a divine Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake pictured below.
I am eating a piece as I type this and am finding it hard to juggle both so excuse me a minute.........

This is Jerusalem Artichoke aka. sunchoke.

I am 5'10" and so this tells you how crazy tall this stuff gets.

I have so many ideas for next year for this stuff.

Plus it's good eating.

J had the camera for a few moments and I am a complete ham.

This tends to leave most pictures of me absolutely horrible.

When I am 80 and the grand kids look at my albums what will they think?

Say a liitle hello to my garden friend, Willy the snake.

kiss kiss

While taking these pics we heard a bit of a commotion.

Looking over we busted 2 kitties, scaling the wire, trying their hardest to get into the chicken coup.

Little stinkers.

This one even tried to go across the netting on top of the pen in hopes of finding a way in.
Wonder what they would have done if they actually made it in?

Peek A Boo Pumpkin.

We have quite a few in the garden and I love watching how big they get.

The kids have already picked theirs for carving and eating.

This is my first year trying Edamame beans (or soybeans).

They seem to be doing quite well.

I have great productive patches of pole and bush beans, I am in my glory.

E picks her snacks and nibbles away while she works weeding and harvesting.

Her pick for today.

A volunteer Cosmo.

Happy day, hope your was too.

Zucchini Pastas and Sauces

One thing that I find humorous about raw food recipes are the names.
There seems to be a need to label foods as to what they are "replacing" when in fact they should just be what they are.

A friend once said to me that she would be more inclined to enjoy what I am serving her if I just said it was a salad.

So instead of zucchini pasta with such and such sauce served with garlic bread I should just say it is a zucchini salad with a creamy cashew pesto dressing served with a herbed garlic flax seed cracker.

Touche!

Here is a recipe for a Zucchini Salad (or maybe Zucchini Pasta with Alfredo Sauce)

First you need one of those fancy spirolli machines that can make noodles form anything, zucchini, beets or carrots.

I personally do not have the space and so I just use a hand held julienne slicer and am quite content with that for now since I don't make pasta every day, hardly every week even.

1 medium zucchini is enough for 1 nice sized serving.

You make the Alfredo Sauce by blending 1 1/4 cups soaked cashews (about 4 hours and rinsed), 3/4 cups water, 1 tsp agave syrup, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp miso (preferably light).

Blend till smooth and this will keep for 3-4 days.

Alfredo Sauce can be used for a raw lasagna as well.

Liberally mix in some Alfredo Sauce till you get the "noodles" well coated.

To the mix I sometimes as a dollop of Pesto Sauce ( if using raw ingredients any recipe will do as they are raw anyways) or a Marinara Sauce for extra goodness.

Blend 1 1/2 cups roma tomatoes, 1 pitted date, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp basil and 1/2 tsp rosemary.

Blend until almost smooth and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.

On top I toss in some diced tomatoes, maybe some fresh garlic and basil and of course a thick coating of Rawmasean Cheese.

Blend together 1/2 cup cashews (dry) ground into a powder with 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 tsp salt and 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast.

Believe me this is so worth buying some yeast if you do not have it in your pantry already.

Happy eating.

Requests for Some Recipes

I believe in Raw foods for so many reasons.
The best reason of all is just how wonderful I feel.

In order to toot it's merits I feel sharing knowledge is key.

Please try one of these following easy recipes and incorporate them into your diet, even just one at a time, to get comfortable and a sense for how easy it is to transition to raw.

I am sharing what works for me and ideas that can be used in so many ways.

One of the most important thing for me to find a substitue for was milk or yogurt because I used them daily.
I had to find comfortable replacments to make the transition easier and now I couldn't imagine it any other way.
The simplest version of milk was to use almonds but you can use any nut or seed or combo of to make a milk.
Playing around with all the different flavours can be fun.
Almond Milk for me is the most versatile.
I also use this to make a raw yogurt from but that is another post.

Soak 1 cup of raw almonds overnight.
Rinse and blend together with 6 pitted dates (about 1/2 cup), a splash of vanilla (or for real yummy flavour use 1 vanilla bean), a pinch of salt and about 5 cups of water depending on how thick you like your milk.
I like mine thicker for berries and my cereal.
Will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

For chocolate milk add 1-2 tbsp of cocoa and a splash of agave syrup.
For a milk resembling eggnog add a dash of nutmeg.
The possibilities are endless.
I do not strain my milk and I like the grittiness and extra fibre but you can try that as well but it is one more step I am comfortable in leaving out.

Fruity Leather/ Roll ups

For a quick fruit leather I blend 4 apples (cores removed), a banana and a splash of lemon juice together till pureed and pour onto dehydrator sheets.

Usually it takes about 10 hours so either do this first thing in the morning or at the days end.

Of course all ingredients and dehydrators are not the same so times can really vary.

Just keep checking.

I sometimes add raisins or dates, some cinnamon or berries and each time the flavour changes.

Tamari Almonds

Using about 2 cups of dry almonds I mix about 1/4 cup of Bragg's sauce, 1-2 tbsp onion powder and a pinch of salt and soak for about an hour.

Lay them out flat on a dehydrator tray and dry for 12-16 hours.

These will be crunchy and add a great touch to a Kelp Noodle Pad Thai.

Kale Chips

There is no end to how these can be flavoured.
I have come up with a beautiful salt and vinegar version that I have just about perfected.(another post again)

For a quick starter idea blend 6 cups or so of garden fresh kale with 2 Tbsp olive oil, a tsp of agave syrup and 1 Tbsp salt.
I cut the stem out so it makes for easier eating but that is simply my preference.
You can adjust and play with the flavours to make them sweet, savoury or tart and tangy.

People gobble these up and although I have tonnes in the garden I cannot seem to keep ahead and save any for the off season.

Cashew Cream Tarts with Blueberries and Chocolate drizzle.
This has many parts but doesn't take long to make and assemble.

For the base/crust I use 2 variations.

One is a coconut crust but in this photo I used an almond and date crust.

Use equal parts nuts and dates, so you can imagine the possibilities.

For this on I used 1 cup almonds and 1 cups dates with 1/2 tsp salt.

Blend in a food processor till well blended, but not powdered, and press into bottom of a pan.

Or you can take the time to line a cupcake tin with wax paper and press into each "cup".

Put tart/pie crust into the fridge to stiffen up while working on the remaining parts.

The cashew creme is delicious simply as a topping for berries and fruit, or in a parfait.

In this recipe I use 1 cup cashews, 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1/2 cup water and a splash of vanilla.

Blend until smooth and fill in the tart shells.

The remainder (if any) can be kept for 3-4 days in the fridge for a great touch to ice creams and crepes.

Any fruit or berry can be used to garnish the tops, in this case I choose blueberries.

Take as many as you think you'll need and toss in some agave syrup.

With a sprinkle of cinnamon stir all together and add to the top of your tart.

For the garnish you can sprinkle on some cocoa nibs of a dusting of cocoa powder.

I really like to use a chocolate sauce.
Place 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 3/4 cup agave syrup and 4 tsp olive oil and blend till smooth.

This is so delicious and can be used in so many ways.

It will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge but I believe that it is impossible; it could never happen

around here with my kids.

Sorry for the lengthy post but I hope you will enjoy a new recipe and let me know how they work out for you.

I can assure you these have all been tried, tested and true in my kitchen and if I can do it with our hectic schedule I believe anybody can do it.

Happy Un-Cooking!!!!

Raw Desserts for Hot Days

I love desserts, but who doesn't?
What I love more is that Raw food desserts are tasty, nutritious delights that can be indulged in guilt free.
Even better is that they are quick and easy to make.
I never say no to the girls when they as for any of these.

Here is a Cashew Cream Tart with Blueberries and chocolate drizzle.
Best eaten cold from the fridge.


Here is 2 frozen treat made from cashews.
There is a Mexican Chocolate Helado and a Banana sorbet.
Taste even better with a sprinkle of cocoa nibs or a drizzle of chocolate or berry sauce.


These little morsels are Lemony Coconut Balls.

This dessert is fabulous to show off Raw to my non-Raw friends.

Chocolate Orange Bars.

I will eventually get to posting all these recipes and have a side bar of recipes so you can find some to try.

Till then if you really want to try something out let me know and I will forward a recipe or you can just stop on by and have some with me and some tea.

A Jackson Pollock Lesson..Art in the Sun

I love to teach the girls (any willing kids really) about the great artsists

and their style.

Jackson Pollock was an Action Artist in Expressionism.

He esssentially made huge splatter paintings and it is an awesome medium for kids to do outdoors.

So we threw down large sheets of paper and has 6 container or watered down paint(for cost sake) and let them fly at it.

It was fun but they realized it takes a long time to splatter a whole page full of paint.
They tired after a while and I hung them to dry.

Maybe we can line the bedroom walls with these sheets for some summer clolour.

Maybe not.

On The Menu for Today

Such a busy day in the kitchen but still managed to have 2 play dates, and an afternoon at the beach.

I spy in the dehydrator today....
Cheezy Pleezy Kale Chips

Chocolate Gogi Rawnola

Banana Spears with Cinnamon

If your garden is growing as much as mine then maybe you are having the annual dilemma of what to do with all those zucchini.

How about...

Zucchini Alfredo

Zucchini Homous (with herbed flax crackers)

Here is one of the beautiful zucchini plants, this one is called Ambassador.

Today's yield.

(I should have put something beside them as a size reference I guess.)

Zucchini Nut Bread

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Zucchini Crusted Pesto Pizza (which the kids devour)

Zucchini Pie.......Zucchini Lasagna........Zucchini Gumbo........................................................................

I feel like Forest Gump of the garden.