Getting the Nuts Outta my Life

No, I'm not leaving my boyfriend! lol

I'm talkin' nut-dense recipes.

I'm going back to leaves and simpler times, back when raw worked for me.

In showing myself and my friends what raw can be like (ie. a taste explosion) I've left out how raw can FEEL. And how raw can FEEL is not something that works by explaining a description; rather how raw can FEEL is an experience, and one that just doesn't come by eating dense, heavy, dehydrated foods all the time. I've learned this go-round that this is NOT how the vibrancy and buoyancy happen.

When I first started raw in 2007, I was astounded at the benefits: I felt lighter than air, any ailment that had troubled me vanished, I had the energy of a child, my outlook improved to the point where depression and anxiety became a distant memory. Yet it wasn't just the absence of these states, it was the creation of a whole new level of being; of joy. The weight fell off me as my face just kept looking younger and more supple by the week.

This time, having taken raw courses to keep me motivated and on track and accountable on raw, I am have a very different experience of raw. The benefits are dim, actually. I hover around the same weight, gaining a couple pounds, losing a couple pounds, my energy is lagging and well, need I say more? This is not the vibrancy of raw!

I still love the idea of preparing raw food for others, and I do think that gourmet raw meals have a fabulous place in showing the far-reaching scope of what raw foods can be like, and in helping someone transitioning from S.A.D. to raw, but I think that once someone has transitioned, that this way of eating should dwindle down to 'treats' status...once in a while at a raw pot luck or something like that. I also think that their body will tell them that, just like mine is telling me this.

I'm going back to leaves: smoothies and salads, and avocado sandwiches on flax bread. I did better when I ate raw until dinner then ate a steamed meal! Now, nearly 100% raw, it's the dinner that is dragging me down. Delicious, but too dense.

My weekly dinner friends are going to experience lighter fare as I turn my own eating around. I wouldn't be doing anyone a favor by introducing them to raw if I ignored the real nuts and bolts of raw, nature's bounty. I don't know how to make simple, fancy recipes that would thrill the palette of a mainstream eater, but I'll figure it out. Simple meaning few ingredients, and fancy meaning delicious. I know they're out there!

Is it Doug Graham who doesn't like to eat anything with more than 5 ingredients or that cost more than 5 bucks to make? While I find that admirable, it makes me scratch my head now and wonder how good that could be? Yet I used to eat that way and my health soared beyond my wildest expectations for a woman of 45.

So that's where I'm heading back to. I'm going to re-read my own archives, back when I was thrilled and excited and vibrant, and I'm gonna get me some of that back!

It's a new day around here!

Join me, Rawkers?

*******************************************

Update:

Found a recipe for Nut-Less Bread ala Russell James. That is one solid dude, man. His recipes are divine! He's responsible for that perfect zucchini (falafel) tortilla.

Anyway, it calls for soaked buckwheat groats, something I've never tried. Apparently I wanted to, almost 2 years ago, since I found some in an unopened package on my nuts n' seeds shelf. Go figure.

It says the shelf life is 2 years so I soaked the lil' buggers.

They're in my biosta sprouter as I type this. I read that they sprout quickly, but that you need to soak the hell outta them and that the soak water is starchy and slimy.

So I'll do that and get back to ya!

Then in a couple days, I'll make that Nut-less bread, which is, by all accounts, delicious! I digest flax bread beautifully, but it's great to have an alternative!

Besides, I've kinda had buckwheat phobia, you know the kind...you might have it with thai coconuts or something...it's when you get all interested in a recipe and go down the ingredients list, then see THAT WHICH IS BEYOND YOU and you flip the page and move onto another recipe. We all have some little glitch that stops us from making recipes. Mine used to be thai coconuts but I healed that by learning to crack one open in a clean way at a chef workshop.

And now, to climb my buckwheat wall!

Here are my little soaks now, after their first bath:

this is a three-tiered sprouter, and the water you pour over the top 'floor' drains down that little red button onto the floor below, and so on, into a catch-all reservoir tray on the bottom. I love this thing! It makes sprouting kind of a no-brainer. I hope it does the same for these! (The other two levels contain buckwheat as well.) I'll keep ya posted!

Getting the Nuts Outta my Life

No, I'm not leaving my boyfriend! lol

I'm talkin' nut-dense recipes.

I'm going back to leaves and simpler times, back when raw worked for me.

In showing myself and my friends what raw can be like (ie. a taste explosion) I've left out how raw can FEEL. And how raw can FEEL is not something that works by explaining a description; rather how raw can FEEL is an experience, and one that just doesn't come by eating dense, heavy, dehydrated foods all the time. I've learned this go-round that this is NOT how the vibrancy and buoyancy happen.

When I first started raw in 2007, I was astounded at the benefits: I felt lighter than air, any ailment that had troubled me vanished, I had the energy of a child, my outlook improved to the point where depression and anxiety became a distant memory. Yet it wasn't just the absence of these states, it was the creation of a whole new level of being; of joy. The weight fell off me as my face just kept looking younger and more supple by the week.

This time, having taken raw courses to keep me motivated and on track and accountable on raw, I am have a very different experience of raw. The benefits are dim, actually. I hover around the same weight, gaining a couple pounds, losing a couple pounds, my energy is lagging and well, need I say more? This is not the vibrancy of raw!

I still love the idea of preparing raw food for others, and I do think that gourmet raw meals have a fabulous place in showing the far-reaching scope of what raw foods can be like, and in helping someone transitioning from S.A.D. to raw, but I think that once someone has transitioned, that this way of eating should dwindle down to 'treats' status...once in a while at a raw pot luck or something like that. I also think that their body will tell them that, just like mine is telling me this.

I'm going back to leaves: smoothies and salads, and avocado sandwiches on flax bread. I did better when I ate raw until dinner then ate a steamed meal! Now, nearly 100% raw, it's the dinner that is dragging me down. Delicious, but too dense.

My weekly dinner friends are going to experience lighter fare as I turn my own eating around. I wouldn't be doing anyone a favor by introducing them to raw if I ignored the real nuts and bolts of raw, nature's bounty. I don't know how to make simple, fancy recipes that would thrill the palette of a mainstream eater, but I'll figure it out. Simple meaning few ingredients, and fancy meaning delicious. I know they're out there!

Is it Doug Graham who doesn't like to eat anything with more than 5 ingredients or that cost more than 5 bucks to make? While I find that admirable, it makes me scratch my head now and wonder how good that could be? Yet I used to eat that way and my health soared beyond my wildest expectations for a woman of 45.

So that's where I'm heading back to. I'm going to re-read my own archives, back when I was thrilled and excited and vibrant, and I'm gonna get me some of that back!

It's a new day around here!

Join me, Rawkers?

*******************************************

Update:

Found a recipe for Nut-Less Bread ala Russell James. That is one solid dude, man. His recipes are divine! He's responsible for that perfect zucchini (falafel) tortilla.

Anyway, it calls for soaked buckwheat groats, something I've never tried. Apparently I wanted to, almost 2 years ago, since I found some in an unopened package on my nuts n' seeds shelf. Go figure.

It says the shelf life is 2 years so I soaked the lil' buggers.

They're in my biosta sprouter as I type this. I read that they sprout quickly, but that you need to soak the hell outta them and that the soak water is starchy and slimy.

So I'll do that and get back to ya!

Then in a couple days, I'll make that Nut-less bread, which is, by all accounts, delicious! I digest flax bread beautifully, but it's great to have an alternative!

Besides, I've kinda had buckwheat phobia, you know the kind...you might have it with thai coconuts or something...it's when you get all interested in a recipe and go down the ingredients list, then see THAT WHICH IS BEYOND YOU and you flip the page and move onto another recipe. We all have some little glitch that stops us from making recipes. Mine used to be thai coconuts but I healed that by learning to crack one open in a clean way at a chef workshop.

And now, to climb my buckwheat wall!

Here are my little soaks now, after their first bath:

this is a three-tiered sprouter, and the water you pour over the top 'floor' drains down that little red button onto the floor below, and so on, into a catch-all reservoir tray on the bottom. I love this thing! It makes sprouting kind of a no-brainer. I hope it does the same for these! (The other two levels contain buckwheat as well.) I'll keep ya posted!

Marathon Uncookin' Day!

Join me as I prep not 1, not 2, but 8 dishes today! I'll update here as each is prepped & checked off the list. All my preliminary soaking got done last night, shopping got done, etc...although I do need to run to the store to get an onion. There's always somethin'...heh?

These dishes range from dips & spreads, crackers & breads, salads, entrees, and a big ol' dessert.
You see, it's Wednesday! This means I cater a raw dinner to my friend's office, where we will share the meal together. I've invited her girlfriend along so there will be three of us at the table.

The menu?

Lynelle Scott-Aitken's Beet & Carrot Salad
Mermie's Eat Two Heads of Kale in One Sitting Chips
Alissa Cohen's Angel Hair Pasta with Marinara Sauce
Gabriel Cousens' Chili
Elaina Love's Cinnamon Rolls

And because they are interested in purchasing flax bread (2nd fb recipe on page) from me, I'm making a batch of that, as well as 2 different spreads: Heidi and Justin Ohlander's eggless egg salad and unknown source's (but with my gratitude) hummus.

Phew! Am I nuts? Nah... this is fun for me. I've got it all organized in my mind and all the soaks in jars in the fridge. It's 6:30 in the morning and I'm gonna start in a half hour or so with the stuff that needs a day in the dehydrator: the flax bread, the cinnamon rolls, and the kale chips. Then I'll run down the street to get an onion and poke at the rest of the stuff all day.

I'll check off the list here as I go.

My dinner is at 6:15.

On your mark, get set.... ...GO!!!

this is flax bread 'before' (above) and 'after' (below) looking much like pressed confetti but hopefully tastier ;)

Here I have a Cinnamon Roll, ready to wrap in the teflex sheet it sits on, and into the refrigerator, where it will Chill a few hours before slicing it and popping it into the dehydrator closer to dinner so it can be served warm-ish.

Here's the kale, ready to turn into kale chips...

...and here is the dehydrator, with Flax Bread and Kale Chips.

And now... for my next trick...and not on tonight's menu, but my own... a green smoothie. I fully realized how unappetizing this looks! haha! BUT! It's absolutely sweet and delicious! It is the mixture of celery tops and romaine with apple, banana, and frozen blueberries. YUMMO!I'm doing well, it's not even 9 am yet. Yay! The rest is all stuff that doesn't need dehydrating, so it's a cinch!

Onward!

It's 10 a.m. and I've got the Hummus and the Eggless Egg Salad, and the Chili made.

Eggless Egg Salad on the left, Hummus on the right. Believe it or not, I added a dish, rather simply, actually. I spiked 1/2 the hummus with a jalapeno, seeds n' all. So now I have Jalapeno Hummus too. (not shown here, mainly cuz it looks kinda the same!)

The Chili only takes a couple hours (in the dehydrator, that is...only minutes to prepare!) and I'm fridging the 'sauce' until closer to dinner, while the veggies part of the dish softens in the dehydrator now.

Here's the chili...all that's left to do is warm it in the dehydrator near dinner time. Ain't she purdy?

These are some of the slices off the chilled Cinnamon Roll. These will be warmed in time for dinner.

Time for a wee break! All that's left is Marinara sauce and the Beet & Carrot salad. Those can wait until this afternoon! Yay!

I'm gonna bring the spiralizer and let them have at it with the zucchini. A sort of interactive dinner activity! It's fun, so why not? Plus, it shows how easy it is to crank out 'pasta'.

More pics to come. UPDATE: nope! That's it. So ya don't get to see the beautiful Beet & Carrot Salad, or the Marinara, but trust me, they were a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy!

The dinner went so well :)

YAY!!!

Marathon Uncookin' Day!

Join me as I prep not 1, not 2, but 8 dishes today! I'll update here as each is prepped & checked off the list. All my preliminary soaking got done last night, shopping got done, etc...although I do need to run to the store to get an onion. There's always somethin'...heh?

These dishes range from dips & spreads, crackers & breads, salads, entrees, and a big ol' dessert.
You see, it's Wednesday! This means I cater a raw dinner to my friend's office, where we will share the meal together. I've invited her girlfriend along so there will be three of us at the table.

The menu?

Lynelle Scott-Aitken's Beet & Carrot Salad
Mermie's Eat Two Heads of Kale in One Sitting Chips
Alissa Cohen's Angel Hair Pasta with Marinara Sauce
Gabriel Cousens' Chili
Elaina Love's Cinnamon Rolls

And because they are interested in purchasing flax bread (2nd fb recipe on page) from me, I'm making a batch of that, as well as 2 different spreads: Heidi and Justin Ohlander's eggless egg salad and unknown source's (but with my gratitude) hummus.

Phew! Am I nuts? Nah... this is fun for me. I've got it all organized in my mind and all the soaks in jars in the fridge. It's 6:30 in the morning and I'm gonna start in a half hour or so with the stuff that needs a day in the dehydrator: the flax bread, the cinnamon rolls, and the kale chips. Then I'll run down the street to get an onion and poke at the rest of the stuff all day.

I'll check off the list here as I go.

My dinner is at 6:15.

On your mark, get set.... ...GO!!!

this is flax bread 'before' (above) and 'after' (below) looking much like pressed confetti but hopefully tastier ;)

Here I have a Cinnamon Roll, ready to wrap in the teflex sheet it sits on, and into the refrigerator, where it will Chill a few hours before slicing it and popping it into the dehydrator closer to dinner so it can be served warm-ish.

Here's the kale, ready to turn into kale chips...

...and here is the dehydrator, with Flax Bread and Kale Chips.

And now... for my next trick...and not on tonight's menu, but my own... a green smoothie. I fully realized how unappetizing this looks! haha! BUT! It's absolutely sweet and delicious! It is the mixture of celery tops and romaine with apple, banana, and frozen blueberries. YUMMO!I'm doing well, it's not even 9 am yet. Yay! The rest is all stuff that doesn't need dehydrating, so it's a cinch!

Onward!

It's 10 a.m. and I've got the Hummus and the Eggless Egg Salad, and the Chili made.

Eggless Egg Salad on the left, Hummus on the right. Believe it or not, I added a dish, rather simply, actually. I spiked 1/2 the hummus with a jalapeno, seeds n' all. So now I have Jalapeno Hummus too. (not shown here, mainly cuz it looks kinda the same!)

The Chili only takes a couple hours (in the dehydrator, that is...only minutes to prepare!) and I'm fridging the 'sauce' until closer to dinner, while the veggies part of the dish softens in the dehydrator now.

Here's the chili...all that's left to do is warm it in the dehydrator near dinner time. Ain't she purdy?

These are some of the slices off the chilled Cinnamon Roll. These will be warmed in time for dinner.

Time for a wee break! All that's left is Marinara sauce and the Beet & Carrot salad. Those can wait until this afternoon! Yay!

I'm gonna bring the spiralizer and let them have at it with the zucchini. A sort of interactive dinner activity! It's fun, so why not? Plus, it shows how easy it is to crank out 'pasta'.

More pics to come. UPDATE: nope! That's it. So ya don't get to see the beautiful Beet & Carrot Salad, or the Marinara, but trust me, they were a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy!

The dinner went so well :)

YAY!!!

Comfort Food - Green 'Soothies' and Rawritos

My friend calls green smoothies 'green soothies' and it just couldn't be more fitting!

They are soothing, especially after a couple days of eating gourmet raw. My body just says 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah' when I drink one of those.

This weekend is a soothie weekend. I'm drinking one right now.

I would be lying if I said that's all I've had today...I have indulged in the raw version of Doritos and I'm here to tell you how delightful these chips are!!! Right up there with the kale chips on the addicto-meter!! Ya can't eat just one!!

They take nothing to prep and hours to dehydrate...they're best when they're very, very crispy. I put mine in yesterday afternoon, left 'em in overnight, and took them out today at 1 pm. So, almost 24 hours.

They never actually 'came out'...they were broken off and eaten right out of the dehydrator. Finally, when we snapped apart the last couple pieces, I said, "Well, I guess I'd better shut this thing off!" :)

Before you start the recipe, you'll need to sprout sunflower seeds, which only *sounds* complicated. Just put seeds into a sprouter or jar and rinse a couple times a day and those little sunnies seem to really want to do their thing and overnight or so, little tails start sprouting and Bob's yer Uncle! So easy! Then all you do is rinse them well and use them. Personally, I then dehydrated them a few hours to dry them, but that's a personal choice.

The recipe is by 'Ertarox' from School of Rawk and it is delicious and it tastes just like a bag of SAD (but oh-so-tasty) Doritos. Without further ado, I introduce...

Rawritos!

These are quick, addictive, and yummy. They taste just like Doritos!

3 cups sprouted sunflower seeds

4 cups frozen corn, thawed

*original recipe calls for 1/2 cup Braggs but I subbed 1/3 cup nama shoyu*

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp taco seasoning

2 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Blend well in food processor and spread thinly onto two teflex sheets at 105. Flip them off the teflex after a couple hours or when it becomes easy to peel the sheets off, and at that time, score them and sprinkle them with a mix of 1/3 nutritional yeast, 1/3 taco seasoning, and 1/3 chili powder.

Return them to the dehydrator overnight, and into the next day...however long it takes them to become extremely crispy. They store in an airtight container in the fridge and if they become softer than desired, just re-dehydrate them before eating. They are so addictive that they didn't get to see the fridge at our house. Rawritos turn into a powdery, cheezy, and taco-y red corn chip...like Doritos!

This recipe will go into the Breads/Crackers/Chips of the My Favorite Raw Recipes section, in the column under the posts list.

*********************************************

We went tooling around on the Harley today; it's gorgeous and sunny and Saturday here. (Is it Saturday there? ;) ) We stopped by to visit a friend and then went to our usual produce store, only to find signs all over the windows saying 'Moving to a new location! Everything 50% OFF! So we parked and went in and it was unreal! All the shelves were pretty much empty, but the store was FULL of people, elbow to elbow. We made our way to the produce section, only to find pretty much empty bins. It was like a scene from the end of the world or something. I really needed soothing now!! So off we went down the street to another organic market, this one lush with the colors of the rainbow, all fresh and gorgeous, and filled a couple bags full of greens. What a relief!

So I came home and made a big Vita-Mix pitcher and I sit here drinking it as I hang out with you.

Happy Weekend, Rawkers!

Comfort Food - Green 'Soothies' and Rawritos

My friend calls green smoothies 'green soothies' and it just couldn't be more fitting!

They are soothing, especially after a couple days of eating gourmet raw. My body just says 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah' when I drink one of those.

This weekend is a soothie weekend. I'm drinking one right now.

I would be lying if I said that's all I've had today...I have indulged in the raw version of Doritos and I'm here to tell you how delightful these chips are!!! Right up there with the kale chips on the addicto-meter!! Ya can't eat just one!!

They take nothing to prep and hours to dehydrate...they're best when they're very, very crispy. I put mine in yesterday afternoon, left 'em in overnight, and took them out today at 1 pm. So, almost 24 hours.

They never actually 'came out'...they were broken off and eaten right out of the dehydrator. Finally, when we snapped apart the last couple pieces, I said, "Well, I guess I'd better shut this thing off!" :)

Before you start the recipe, you'll need to sprout sunflower seeds, which only *sounds* complicated. Just put seeds into a sprouter or jar and rinse a couple times a day and those little sunnies seem to really want to do their thing and overnight or so, little tails start sprouting and Bob's yer Uncle! So easy! Then all you do is rinse them well and use them. Personally, I then dehydrated them a few hours to dry them, but that's a personal choice.

The recipe is by 'Ertarox' from School of Rawk and it is delicious and it tastes just like a bag of SAD (but oh-so-tasty) Doritos. Without further ado, I introduce...

Rawritos!

These are quick, addictive, and yummy. They taste just like Doritos!

3 cups sprouted sunflower seeds

4 cups frozen corn, thawed

*original recipe calls for 1/2 cup Braggs but I subbed 1/3 cup nama shoyu*

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp taco seasoning

2 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Blend well in food processor and spread thinly onto two teflex sheets at 105. Flip them off the teflex after a couple hours or when it becomes easy to peel the sheets off, and at that time, score them and sprinkle them with a mix of 1/3 nutritional yeast, 1/3 taco seasoning, and 1/3 chili powder.

Return them to the dehydrator overnight, and into the next day...however long it takes them to become extremely crispy. They store in an airtight container in the fridge and if they become softer than desired, just re-dehydrate them before eating. They are so addictive that they didn't get to see the fridge at our house. Rawritos turn into a powdery, cheezy, and taco-y red corn chip...like Doritos!

This recipe will go into the Breads/Crackers/Chips of the My Favorite Raw Recipes section, in the column under the posts list.

*********************************************

We went tooling around on the Harley today; it's gorgeous and sunny and Saturday here. (Is it Saturday there? ;) ) We stopped by to visit a friend and then went to our usual produce store, only to find signs all over the windows saying 'Moving to a new location! Everything 50% OFF! So we parked and went in and it was unreal! All the shelves were pretty much empty, but the store was FULL of people, elbow to elbow. We made our way to the produce section, only to find pretty much empty bins. It was like a scene from the end of the world or something. I really needed soothing now!! So off we went down the street to another organic market, this one lush with the colors of the rainbow, all fresh and gorgeous, and filled a couple bags full of greens. What a relief!

So I came home and made a big Vita-Mix pitcher and I sit here drinking it as I hang out with you.

Happy Weekend, Rawkers!

I Can't Wait for My Talent to Catch Up with my Passion!

Ok so today might be a bit of a confused, imploring navel gaze.

I've been swinging (and not in a fun way) between eating 'raw heavy' and eating 'raw lite'. Clearly, my body responds tremendously well to eating 'raw lite' -- smoothies, salads, fruit, etc --but I have so much fun playing with food, that I continue to be drawn to eating 'raw heavy'--dense, spiced, dehydrated gourmet.

I keep coming back to the idea that if I was a pastry chef, I wouldn't eat my own pies daily, would I? I mean, would I? Maybe I would. I used to have little fat chef salt & pepper shakers that looked like they ate their own pies.

I've had two days of 'raw heavy' and I feel heavy. So I'm thinking of just smoothie-ing and keeping it light for the next few days.

*kicks the gravel*

Ok, there's more I want to talk about.

For the past two days, I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen, prepping food for myself and others. This creates a lot of HOPE. I mean, when something is humming away in the dehydrator all day long, you kinda get your hopes up that all that time will amount to something worth all that time!

In the days before, I plan my menu, I shop for my ingredients, and inside myself, this sort of mild excitement starts to build about how great it's gonna be.

Is my ego involved in this equation? Well probably! Considering that not only have I not been known for my cookery, I've been infamous for my lack of kitchen prowess. While the joy of uncooking is not lost on me, it's definitely an interesting turn of events in my life. Even my Mother told me over the phone yesterday, "It's such a *surprise* that you've finally found the kitchen!" So really, should it be a big surprise that I am a bit hit n' miss with how things turn out?

Ok so what's this about today?

Well, as I mentioned the other day, I was catering a meal to enjoy with a friend of mine. And I put in my best love and intentions and care into this beautiful lasagna that I'd been rhapsodizing about. Every time I've made it, it has been delicious.

So I made the newbie mistake (or is it the old beer drinker in me?) of thinking, "Hey! If one's good, 8 must be better!" and I kept adding extra layers to my lasagna. I wanted it to be extra delicious because it was going to a guest.

I thought I was doing well, because I learned from last time not to go too thick. Instead, spread each layer thinly so that it didn't get too rich and globby. (Layers are: zucchini noodles for 'pasta', rawcotta cheese, pureed spinach, marinated mushrooms, marinara sauce, and back to the noodles, and on and on.)

What I didn't count on, and didn't realize until I tasted some before I wrapped some up for the trip to dinner, was that more layers = more dehydration time. DOH! I had left it in for 7 hours, which is perfect for a thinner lasagna, but with 3 or 4 additional storeys, it was too wet when I took it out, and so the whole experience was delicious mush. Later, it was said that if it had not been called Lasagna, it would have been delicious as its own thing.

I was so disappointed and had to shore myself up on the way over. Never mind that the herb salad with Italian dressing was divine and fresh to the palette. Or that the raw pizza was heaven-sent, and the flax crackers and carrot bread were a hit, and that the brownies were full of mock SIN. My main dish flopped and I had to fight to remember that this didn't mean the whole entire meal was ruined. Remember, I'm kinda all or nuthin'. (Raw seems determined to cure me of that!)

And of course, the whole dinner wasn't ruined. It was delicious and fun-- so much so that we have agreed to do a different raw menu every week. And I learned from my lasagna mistake and I look forward to serving it again all firm and gorgeous like it oughta be!

I remember as a kid, trying to juggle with those red and blue sponge balls with the white stripe. 'Member those? I got to where I could pretty much do it every time, but as soon as I'd say, "Hey watch this...." the balls would not co-operate! This kinda felt like that. I was that kid again, juggling those uncooperative balls, saying a dismayed, "No, wait! Watch! I can do it! Just wait! Don't go! I've got it! Ah, you weren't lookinnnnnnnng!"

The next day, I went through the whole ritual of Dinner Hope again when I made falafels, tortillas to wrap them in, kale chips, jalapeno hummus, and date nut torte.

All day, I was at it. Which I love, by the way. Nothing like a good day of uncookin'...it's my favorite kind of day.

I decided to use my new Vita-Mix to make the falafel balls. That would be my first mistake. I dunno, I lost count. ;) I gotta hand it to that machine, it's so damned efficient that it made falafel PUDDING in about 6 seconds. Sadly, no 'balls' were gonna be formed today. So I filled up a dehydrator tray with falafel BLOBS. Tasty little f*ers, though, so all good. This date nut torte was HEAVEN and the kale chips (next to the falafels) were a smash hit!
But inside those beautiful, golden tortillas...it got a little lost.

I didn't realize it until this week, because I've been running on sheer enthusiasm, but I guess I'm in a learning curve...not only with my new Vita-Mix, but apparently, with gourmet raw as well.

Don't get me wrong...false confidence built on inspired passion is not at all a bad thing. I mean, enthusiasm is the sparkly beginning of any great endeavour, right? It's how I started painting 5 years ago, didn't know squat, just wanted to do it so I done did it. For the joy of it.

It's weird, though, because gourmet raw dinners turn out so great when it's for just my boyfriend and I. I'm talkin', foodgasms, where we moan and make THE FACE. So who wouldn't want to share that, right? Especially to folks who don't have any idea the amazing tastes that await them in the world of raw. My boyfriend figures that when I think of others eating it, I tend to try too hard and he lovingly suggested to 'not mess with what works'. True, I tried to improve on a perfect thing, that Spinach Lasagna.

As for last night's dinner, it turned out, for the most part, pretty good. It's that darned main course that got me again. The falafels. Separately, the falafel 'blobs' tasted fine-- great, in fact.

The tortillas rocked and were bendable and perfect. The kale chips were over the top fab.

My mistake here was, seeing as there was about 45 minutes until my dinner guest arrived, I thought, "Hey! I bet this will be REALLY great if I assemble the falafels now (meaning spread the jalapeno hummus on the tortilla, add the falafel blobs, the shredded lettuce, the tomato, cucumber, and tzatziki...tuck in the ends, roll it up, and stick it back into the dehydrator so that when dinner's served, the whole thing will be warmed and perfect.

WRONG-O!

The whole thing, though gorgeous, was mushy. Tasty, but mushy. Just like the lasagna. Again with the dehydrator time. OK, I got it now. Adding more wet stuff means adding HOURS more dehydrator time. Not just an extra 45 minutes. More like an extra 6 hours. So next time, I won't do that.

Both my guests each meal were beyond gracious.

I think to be a chef, one should be consistent rather than 'hit n' miss'. So this was a humbling couple days, with a demotion, albeit a self-imposed one. I'm feeling ready to do the food-prep workshops, but I clearly have some bugs to work out with my cooking before I start the personal chef biz. I thought, 'can you imagine if I had a customer waiting for those dinners at the end of the day?' So, not ready. Just need more experience. And these are pretty gentle lessons, really. Knowing what not to do next time is often what saves the day. Or the dinner, anyway!

I know that every cook has thrown out a batch of this or that and not every meal turns out perfectly. So now I have a new goal, to get consistent. I think I'll make a great raw chef one day. Actually, I think I make a great raw chef now, on passion alone!

Big sigh and big step forward, Rawkers!

I Can't Wait for My Talent to Catch Up with my Passion!

Ok so today might be a bit of a confused, imploring navel gaze.

I've been swinging (and not in a fun way) between eating 'raw heavy' and eating 'raw lite'. Clearly, my body responds tremendously well to eating 'raw lite' -- smoothies, salads, fruit, etc --but I have so much fun playing with food, that I continue to be drawn to eating 'raw heavy'--dense, spiced, dehydrated gourmet.

I keep coming back to the idea that if I was a pastry chef, I wouldn't eat my own pies daily, would I? I mean, would I? Maybe I would. I used to have little fat chef salt & pepper shakers that looked like they ate their own pies.

I've had two days of 'raw heavy' and I feel heavy. So I'm thinking of just smoothie-ing and keeping it light for the next few days.

*kicks the gravel*

Ok, there's more I want to talk about.

For the past two days, I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen, prepping food for myself and others. This creates a lot of HOPE. I mean, when something is humming away in the dehydrator all day long, you kinda get your hopes up that all that time will amount to something worth all that time!

In the days before, I plan my menu, I shop for my ingredients, and inside myself, this sort of mild excitement starts to build about how great it's gonna be.

Is my ego involved in this equation? Well probably! Considering that not only have I not been known for my cookery, I've been infamous for my lack of kitchen prowess. While the joy of uncooking is not lost on me, it's definitely an interesting turn of events in my life. Even my Mother told me over the phone yesterday, "It's such a *surprise* that you've finally found the kitchen!" So really, should it be a big surprise that I am a bit hit n' miss with how things turn out?

Ok so what's this about today?

Well, as I mentioned the other day, I was catering a meal to enjoy with a friend of mine. And I put in my best love and intentions and care into this beautiful lasagna that I'd been rhapsodizing about. Every time I've made it, it has been delicious.

So I made the newbie mistake (or is it the old beer drinker in me?) of thinking, "Hey! If one's good, 8 must be better!" and I kept adding extra layers to my lasagna. I wanted it to be extra delicious because it was going to a guest.

I thought I was doing well, because I learned from last time not to go too thick. Instead, spread each layer thinly so that it didn't get too rich and globby. (Layers are: zucchini noodles for 'pasta', rawcotta cheese, pureed spinach, marinated mushrooms, marinara sauce, and back to the noodles, and on and on.)

What I didn't count on, and didn't realize until I tasted some before I wrapped some up for the trip to dinner, was that more layers = more dehydration time. DOH! I had left it in for 7 hours, which is perfect for a thinner lasagna, but with 3 or 4 additional storeys, it was too wet when I took it out, and so the whole experience was delicious mush. Later, it was said that if it had not been called Lasagna, it would have been delicious as its own thing.

I was so disappointed and had to shore myself up on the way over. Never mind that the herb salad with Italian dressing was divine and fresh to the palette. Or that the raw pizza was heaven-sent, and the flax crackers and carrot bread were a hit, and that the brownies were full of mock SIN. My main dish flopped and I had to fight to remember that this didn't mean the whole entire meal was ruined. Remember, I'm kinda all or nuthin'. (Raw seems determined to cure me of that!)

And of course, the whole dinner wasn't ruined. It was delicious and fun-- so much so that we have agreed to do a different raw menu every week. And I learned from my lasagna mistake and I look forward to serving it again all firm and gorgeous like it oughta be!

I remember as a kid, trying to juggle with those red and blue sponge balls with the white stripe. 'Member those? I got to where I could pretty much do it every time, but as soon as I'd say, "Hey watch this...." the balls would not co-operate! This kinda felt like that. I was that kid again, juggling those uncooperative balls, saying a dismayed, "No, wait! Watch! I can do it! Just wait! Don't go! I've got it! Ah, you weren't lookinnnnnnnng!"

The next day, I went through the whole ritual of Dinner Hope again when I made falafels, tortillas to wrap them in, kale chips, jalapeno hummus, and date nut torte.

All day, I was at it. Which I love, by the way. Nothing like a good day of uncookin'...it's my favorite kind of day.

I decided to use my new Vita-Mix to make the falafel balls. That would be my first mistake. I dunno, I lost count. ;) I gotta hand it to that machine, it's so damned efficient that it made falafel PUDDING in about 6 seconds. Sadly, no 'balls' were gonna be formed today. So I filled up a dehydrator tray with falafel BLOBS. Tasty little f*ers, though, so all good. This date nut torte was HEAVEN and the kale chips (next to the falafels) were a smash hit!
But inside those beautiful, golden tortillas...it got a little lost.

I didn't realize it until this week, because I've been running on sheer enthusiasm, but I guess I'm in a learning curve...not only with my new Vita-Mix, but apparently, with gourmet raw as well.

Don't get me wrong...false confidence built on inspired passion is not at all a bad thing. I mean, enthusiasm is the sparkly beginning of any great endeavour, right? It's how I started painting 5 years ago, didn't know squat, just wanted to do it so I done did it. For the joy of it.

It's weird, though, because gourmet raw dinners turn out so great when it's for just my boyfriend and I. I'm talkin', foodgasms, where we moan and make THE FACE. So who wouldn't want to share that, right? Especially to folks who don't have any idea the amazing tastes that await them in the world of raw. My boyfriend figures that when I think of others eating it, I tend to try too hard and he lovingly suggested to 'not mess with what works'. True, I tried to improve on a perfect thing, that Spinach Lasagna.

As for last night's dinner, it turned out, for the most part, pretty good. It's that darned main course that got me again. The falafels. Separately, the falafel 'blobs' tasted fine-- great, in fact.

The tortillas rocked and were bendable and perfect. The kale chips were over the top fab.

My mistake here was, seeing as there was about 45 minutes until my dinner guest arrived, I thought, "Hey! I bet this will be REALLY great if I assemble the falafels now (meaning spread the jalapeno hummus on the tortilla, add the falafel blobs, the shredded lettuce, the tomato, cucumber, and tzatziki...tuck in the ends, roll it up, and stick it back into the dehydrator so that when dinner's served, the whole thing will be warmed and perfect.

WRONG-O!

The whole thing, though gorgeous, was mushy. Tasty, but mushy. Just like the lasagna. Again with the dehydrator time. OK, I got it now. Adding more wet stuff means adding HOURS more dehydrator time. Not just an extra 45 minutes. More like an extra 6 hours. So next time, I won't do that.

Both my guests each meal were beyond gracious.

I think to be a chef, one should be consistent rather than 'hit n' miss'. So this was a humbling couple days, with a demotion, albeit a self-imposed one. I'm feeling ready to do the food-prep workshops, but I clearly have some bugs to work out with my cooking before I start the personal chef biz. I thought, 'can you imagine if I had a customer waiting for those dinners at the end of the day?' So, not ready. Just need more experience. And these are pretty gentle lessons, really. Knowing what not to do next time is often what saves the day. Or the dinner, anyway!

I know that every cook has thrown out a batch of this or that and not every meal turns out perfectly. So now I have a new goal, to get consistent. I think I'll make a great raw chef one day. Actually, I think I make a great raw chef now, on passion alone!

Big sigh and big step forward, Rawkers!

Food Prep Day!

My new food processor is getting a good workout today! I'm really pleased with this purchase. It does everything you want a food processor to do, quickly and reasonably quietly. It's affordable and the 10 cup capacity makes it a really good choice. It's a Hamilton Beach. I was hesitant at first, having gone through a less than stellar juicer of the same make but now that I know more about juicers, I see my expectations were high and hopeful at the time. But HB makes a great FP!

Now I'm waiting, rather impatiently, for my Vita-Mix to arrive. Any day now!

UPDATE!!! IT CAME TODAY!! WEEEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeeeeEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
I wasn't even gonna check today, thinking I was just being impatient, and I'd go check the post office later in the week... but I was on my way to get some ingredients for dinner and there was construction and I had to go another way...right by the post office. And there was a parking spot. And there was still time left on the meter. And there was LOVE in the mail for me!! Yep, there it was!! I was so happy! My postie guy said, "Wow, that's a lot of vitamins!" I said, "It's a Vita-MIX !! Hahahaha! "What's it do??" he asked. I said, "It's a kitchen appliance and it cost more than my freakin' VAN! I laughed like a loon while he just stared at me with his mouth open, bless. :) Anyway, WEEEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeeeeEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Updated: flax bread, above, carrot bread, below

(I love my new pizza cutter! Thrift store, 25 cents, and it's a marvel!
I score my breads after I flip them off the teflex sheets after a couple hours in the dehydrator)

Gremlins!

*aheh-aheh*

I'm making a lot of food over the next couple days because tomorrow evening, I am bringing dinner to share with a dear friend of mine, and the next evening, another dear friend is coming over! So today and tomorrow, I'll be making:

Spinach Lasagna

Flax crackers

Carrot Bread

Falafels with Zucchini (Falafel) Tortillas

Brownies (of course)

Plus, I've got a slice of that delicious Pizza from the weekend in the freezer.

Hmmm I better throw some leaves into the menu...how 'bout a big, gorgeous, fresh salad?

I love days like today.

Hey wait...none of this is for tonight's dinner. There's nothing worse for my boyfriend to come home to food he can't touch! Bahaha! Poor bugger, well, off to the store to see what I can see.

Better make more room in the dehydrator! Lol
Update: My boyfriend ate just fine! ;) I got to play with my new Vita-Mix in time for dinner: Cheesy Marinara with spinach. (Marinara Sauce from Angel Hair Pasta recipe, and Basic Cashew Cheese, with a whack of spiralized zucchini 'noodles'.) The marinara took about 10 or 15 seconds on 'High' and so did the 'cheese'. I love this thing!! And it was delish!!

Enjoy your kitchen time, Rawkers!

Food Prep Day!

My new food processor is getting a good workout today! I'm really pleased with this purchase. It does everything you want a food processor to do, quickly and reasonably quietly. It's affordable and the 10 cup capacity makes it a really good choice. It's a Hamilton Beach. I was hesitant at first, having gone through a less than stellar juicer of the same make but now that I know more about juicers, I see my expectations were high and hopeful at the time. But HB makes a great FP!

Now I'm waiting, rather impatiently, for my Vita-Mix to arrive. Any day now!

UPDATE!!! IT CAME TODAY!! WEEEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeeeeEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
I wasn't even gonna check today, thinking I was just being impatient, and I'd go check the post office later in the week... but I was on my way to get some ingredients for dinner and there was construction and I had to go another way...right by the post office. And there was a parking spot. And there was still time left on the meter. And there was LOVE in the mail for me!! Yep, there it was!! I was so happy! My postie guy said, "Wow, that's a lot of vitamins!" I said, "It's a Vita-MIX !! Hahahaha! "What's it do??" he asked. I said, "It's a kitchen appliance and it cost more than my freakin' VAN! I laughed like a loon while he just stared at me with his mouth open, bless. :) Anyway, WEEEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeeeeEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Updated: flax bread, above, carrot bread, below

(I love my new pizza cutter! Thrift store, 25 cents, and it's a marvel!
I score my breads after I flip them off the teflex sheets after a couple hours in the dehydrator)

Gremlins!

*aheh-aheh*

I'm making a lot of food over the next couple days because tomorrow evening, I am bringing dinner to share with a dear friend of mine, and the next evening, another dear friend is coming over! So today and tomorrow, I'll be making:

Spinach Lasagna

Flax crackers

Carrot Bread

Falafels with Zucchini (Falafel) Tortillas

Brownies (of course)

Plus, I've got a slice of that delicious Pizza from the weekend in the freezer.

Hmmm I better throw some leaves into the menu...how 'bout a big, gorgeous, fresh salad?

I love days like today.

Hey wait...none of this is for tonight's dinner. There's nothing worse for my boyfriend to come home to food he can't touch! Bahaha! Poor bugger, well, off to the store to see what I can see.

Better make more room in the dehydrator! Lol
Update: My boyfriend ate just fine! ;) I got to play with my new Vita-Mix in time for dinner: Cheesy Marinara with spinach. (Marinara Sauce from Angel Hair Pasta recipe, and Basic Cashew Cheese, with a whack of spiralized zucchini 'noodles'.) The marinara took about 10 or 15 seconds on 'High' and so did the 'cheese'. I love this thing!! And it was delish!!

Enjoy your kitchen time, Rawkers!

Raw Music

I had a great raw foodin'-good lovin'-Harley-trippin-bit 'o' singin'-catching up with old friends-kind of weekend.

My version of good times. Mostly all in bars and Legions, just like 'the old days'...where pints flowed and burgers & fries wafted by. Only this time, the pints were lemon water and the fries wafted right by.

You know, back when I quit drinking beer, I remember lamenting, "But everyone ELSE still gets to drink!" Well, yup, they do.

Chatting with old friends, I heard more stories about hangovers and needing to quit, than I heard how wonderful folks are feeling. And believe me, that lifestyle had me in its grips too long feel righteous now. I'm just grateful I managed to climb out.

It would be funny to my old drinkin' buddies, and hell, it's kinda funny to me when I am back in that environment, to think that my drink of choice is now a green smoothie.

I've learned that you can't go all preachy on someone about raw foods; it's definitely a personal journey, and besides, not everyone wants to take that route. So other than one conversation that started with being told, "Holy shit! You're looking GREAT! What the hell are you doin'??!" I kept the raw thing to myself.

After explaining a bit about raw foods to my incredulous friend, I was asked, "Dontcha miss french fries?? Dontcha miss eating whatever you want??"

I said, honestly, "Well, yeah, sometimes, and the odd time, I do indulge. I'm not trying to make raw my religion, I just feel so great the more raw I eat, so I try and keep it that way. Besides, raw can mimic and surpass any cooked foods. Like, for french fries? You can make jicama fries..."

And by this time he was looking at me like I was a martian, so I just shrugged and said, "I do get to eat whatever I want, it's just from the framework of a different menu. (I knew I wouldn't convince someone drinking a pint of Legion beer on tap that the choices within the raw food diet are boundless and exciting...so I kept it light and we just got on to talking about other things.)

Aside from being a lot of fun, this weekend sure did serve as a great reminder of how it used to be for me, and it also gave me such a great feeling inside to know that life is incomparably fabulous without beer, and to an even greater degree, with raw foods.

It was really great catching up with friends, and being called up on stage to sing was wonderful! From singing this weekend, we booked two gigs in June! One on the 6th, and one on the 20th. Yeehaaaa!

A comment from Judy on yesterday's blog post got me thinking about sharing my music here. So here goes.

My boyfriend and I have a CD, Straight Up, and it's available for digital download from Bitmunk, QtrNote, PassAlong, GreatIndieMusic, and Rhapsody.

We took a necessary break from music and now are back at it, and are really enjoying gigging again and are hunkerin' down to record our second cd. We've just booked a rehearsal studio so we can work out our new songs that have been brewing. We write everything we sing. We call our music 'Rockin' Country Blues'. Thanks for asking about it, Judy. I hope you enjoy the tunes.

So here it is Monday, after a couple days in bars. I feel more excited than ever about my life because it feels fuller than ever. I feel like I don't have to choose between my old life in music and my new life in raw foods. I struggle with black and white thinking, and I couldn't picture being a raw foodie in the bar scene, figuring I'd have nothing in common anymore, since I don't drink or even eat pub food.

But there's plenty left.

One, the music, and I see now that I still have my dear old friends, and can enjoy them in a clear way, and laugh and have a blast, waive off the french fries 'cause I have something better waiting for me at home...raw pizza, the gym, waking up happy and clear-headed, planning my workshops, uncooking for my boyfriend, watching my sprouts grow, tending this blog, and... and... and... :)

Happy Combining Old & New, Rawkers!

Raw Music

I had a great raw foodin'-good lovin'-Harley-trippin-bit 'o' singin'-catching up with old friends-kind of weekend.

My version of good times. Mostly all in bars and Legions, just like 'the old days'...where pints flowed and burgers & fries wafted by. Only this time, the pints were lemon water and the fries wafted right by.

You know, back when I quit drinking beer, I remember lamenting, "But everyone ELSE still gets to drink!" Well, yup, they do.

Chatting with old friends, I heard more stories about hangovers and needing to quit, than I heard how wonderful folks are feeling. And believe me, that lifestyle had me in its grips too long feel righteous now. I'm just grateful I managed to climb out.

It would be funny to my old drinkin' buddies, and hell, it's kinda funny to me when I am back in that environment, to think that my drink of choice is now a green smoothie.

I've learned that you can't go all preachy on someone about raw foods; it's definitely a personal journey, and besides, not everyone wants to take that route. So other than one conversation that started with being told, "Holy shit! You're looking GREAT! What the hell are you doin'??!" I kept the raw thing to myself.

After explaining a bit about raw foods to my incredulous friend, I was asked, "Dontcha miss french fries?? Dontcha miss eating whatever you want??"

I said, honestly, "Well, yeah, sometimes, and the odd time, I do indulge. I'm not trying to make raw my religion, I just feel so great the more raw I eat, so I try and keep it that way. Besides, raw can mimic and surpass any cooked foods. Like, for french fries? You can make jicama fries..."

And by this time he was looking at me like I was a martian, so I just shrugged and said, "I do get to eat whatever I want, it's just from the framework of a different menu. (I knew I wouldn't convince someone drinking a pint of Legion beer on tap that the choices within the raw food diet are boundless and exciting...so I kept it light and we just got on to talking about other things.)

Aside from being a lot of fun, this weekend sure did serve as a great reminder of how it used to be for me, and it also gave me such a great feeling inside to know that life is incomparably fabulous without beer, and to an even greater degree, with raw foods.

It was really great catching up with friends, and being called up on stage to sing was wonderful! From singing this weekend, we booked two gigs in June! One on the 6th, and one on the 20th. Yeehaaaa!

A comment from Judy on yesterday's blog post got me thinking about sharing my music here. So here goes.

My boyfriend and I have a CD, Straight Up, and it's available for digital download from Bitmunk, QtrNote, PassAlong, GreatIndieMusic, and Rhapsody.

We took a necessary break from music and now are back at it, and are really enjoying gigging again and are hunkerin' down to record our second cd. We've just booked a rehearsal studio so we can work out our new songs that have been brewing. We write everything we sing. We call our music 'Rockin' Country Blues'. Thanks for asking about it, Judy. I hope you enjoy the tunes.

So here it is Monday, after a couple days in bars. I feel more excited than ever about my life because it feels fuller than ever. I feel like I don't have to choose between my old life in music and my new life in raw foods. I struggle with black and white thinking, and I couldn't picture being a raw foodie in the bar scene, figuring I'd have nothing in common anymore, since I don't drink or even eat pub food.

But there's plenty left.

One, the music, and I see now that I still have my dear old friends, and can enjoy them in a clear way, and laugh and have a blast, waive off the french fries 'cause I have something better waiting for me at home...raw pizza, the gym, waking up happy and clear-headed, planning my workshops, uncooking for my boyfriend, watching my sprouts grow, tending this blog, and... and... and... :)

Happy Combining Old & New, Rawkers!

Pizza, Cinnamon Rolls, and Gratitude

On the menu today...solid foods! Yeah!

I'm making raw pizza ala Alissa Cohen and raw cinnamon rolls ala Elaina Love!

I haven't tried the cinnamon rolls before but I did lick the spoon and the filling tastes JUST like the real thing. They're chillin' in the fridge now, and later I slice them and dehydrate them and serve 'em warm. Sounds good to me. And I'm about to make the optional icing. Optional? Not at my house.

I will take photos and let you know how everything goes.

UPDATE: Here's a kinda silly pic of the cinnamon rolls...silly because it looks like fried chicken. But let me assure you that it tasted just like the sign says: cinnamon rolls. The icing didn't turn out. I just couldn't adjust it to my tastes so in the end, I wastefully threw it out in a fit of awfuckit and started over with a different icing recipe. Maybe I screwed it up, or maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea. Either way, I ended up with one that was just right for me. Anyway, here is the plate of cinnamon rolls that I gave my neighbors.

And the pizza was divine. We loved it. I got rave reviews from my boyfriend!

Here is my gorgeous and delicious creation. All those colors make me happy, and dayum! this was good! This whole dinner was so decadent that we really felt like we ate something naughty but it was all just raw food! (I might pay for this nut-heavy meal anyway, though, after such a light week. We'll see.....but what the hell, it was raw and so good!)


Ok...that was the update, now back to earlier in the day: We may be dining a bit late this evening, since we're meeting up with our bass player and singing today right at dinner time! When I realized the timing of the food and the stage time, I thought maybe I'd have to do this meal tomorrow but we're just gonna chow down on some salad and go do our thing then come back to our feast! Yeehaa. (oooh another update: we ate at 8 o'clock and had a blast playing music, and we got another gig out of it! Weeeeeee!)

Meantime, since everything's in the dehydrator and fridge, I'm gonna go out Harley-ing and thrift-store-ing on this fine sunny Saturday in April.

Yesterday, we attended a funeral for the wife of a dear friend of ours, and it really keys in on the important stuff, love and family and friends and living life in a way that really makes your heart sing.

So I'm grabbin' today and giving it a big kiss.

Muah!

Have a grateful and happy Saturday, Rawkers!

Pizza, Cinnamon Rolls, and Gratitude

On the menu today...solid foods! Yeah!

I'm making raw pizza ala Alissa Cohen and raw cinnamon rolls ala Elaina Love!

I haven't tried the cinnamon rolls before but I did lick the spoon and the filling tastes JUST like the real thing. They're chillin' in the fridge now, and later I slice them and dehydrate them and serve 'em warm. Sounds good to me. And I'm about to make the optional icing. Optional? Not at my house.

I will take photos and let you know how everything goes.

UPDATE: Here's a kinda silly pic of the cinnamon rolls...silly because it looks like fried chicken. But let me assure you that it tasted just like the sign says: cinnamon rolls. The icing didn't turn out. I just couldn't adjust it to my tastes so in the end, I wastefully threw it out in a fit of awfuckit and started over with a different icing recipe. Maybe I screwed it up, or maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea. Either way, I ended up with one that was just right for me. Anyway, here is the plate of cinnamon rolls that I gave my neighbors.

And the pizza was divine. We loved it. I got rave reviews from my boyfriend!

Here is my gorgeous and delicious creation. All those colors make me happy, and dayum! this was good! This whole dinner was so decadent that we really felt like we ate something naughty but it was all just raw food! (I might pay for this nut-heavy meal anyway, though, after such a light week. We'll see.....but what the hell, it was raw and so good!)


Ok...that was the update, now back to earlier in the day: We may be dining a bit late this evening, since we're meeting up with our bass player and singing today right at dinner time! When I realized the timing of the food and the stage time, I thought maybe I'd have to do this meal tomorrow but we're just gonna chow down on some salad and go do our thing then come back to our feast! Yeehaa. (oooh another update: we ate at 8 o'clock and had a blast playing music, and we got another gig out of it! Weeeeeee!)

Meantime, since everything's in the dehydrator and fridge, I'm gonna go out Harley-ing and thrift-store-ing on this fine sunny Saturday in April.

Yesterday, we attended a funeral for the wife of a dear friend of ours, and it really keys in on the important stuff, love and family and friends and living life in a way that really makes your heart sing.

So I'm grabbin' today and giving it a big kiss.

Muah!

Have a grateful and happy Saturday, Rawkers!