below are some snippets of a lovely day my mom and i shared friday in smithville.
the sweetest thing (besides the candy shop) was the feathered family living amongst the flower beds of an angel store.
dad
mom, with the babies beneath her
peek-a-boo!
there were nine chicks in total. the hen kept a watchful eye on her babies while she kicked up the flower beds for food. they were very trusting of humans and came within inches of me!
my mom and i resisted the urge to pick one up!
there's a also a family of ducks living on the grounds. them, not so trusting.
reading averie's post yesterday reminded me of how much i loved greeting cards as a child. i would save them and cut them up to make new ones. i always felt it was kind of silly to buy cards from the store when you can just make them yourself!
a few years ago i got into scrapbooking. i was also a first grade teacher and still have lots of arts and crafts supplies. itching to get crafty, the idea struck to make some textural halloween cards for my niece, alaina, and the two littles ones i sit using only materials i had in the house.
alaina is going as cinderella this year. like most little girls these days, she's really into princesses (much to my chagrin). but that didn't stop me from making her a pretty princess card - the pumpkin coach was too perfect to pass up!
(i should have signed 'your fairy godmother', since i am her godmother. doh!)
evie just turned 2 a little over a week ago. she really likes a scarecrow doll decoration and the color purple, so i created this card for her.
three-year-old j.t. (more commonly called "bubby") loves playing with a ceramic haunted house. he told me that he has decided to be a ghost for halloween. he also wanted to be a robot and a telephone, so we'll have to wait and see what his final decision is!=)
(i can't take full credit for this creation, as i used this card for guidance.)
the napkin ghosts and pipe cleaner bat were my idea=)
amazing the fun you can have with some scraps, stickers, scissors and glue!
ps - i updated my blog look to encompass more of my interests. hope you like!=)
sauce:
1 ripe pear
1 apple
1 medjool date
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 inch piece of vanilla bean, or 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
juice of 1/4 lemon
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
blend all sauce ingredients until smooth. pour over sliced apples.
topping:
1/4 C. walnuts
1/4 C. pecans
1 medjool date
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
drizzle of maple syrup
in a food processor, blend all topping ingredients until crumbles form. optional - mix in a few tablespoons dried coconut, buckwheaties and raisins. sprinkle topping on apples and ENJOY!
in high school i volunteered at my local animal shelter. i'd visit the kitty quarantine and give each cat a little affection through the bars. it broke my heart to see so many caged animals and i would dream of starting a shelter just like caboodle ranch.
the official site for caboodle ranch can be found here. go here to see some really cute videos. wouldn't it be wonderful if all homeless animals had a place like this to live?
this fall marks one year since my introduction to raw foods. while searching for gluten-free dessert recipes, i stumbled upon carmella's blog, the sunny raw kitchen. carmi and i connected via email and before long made plans for her family to stay with us during their journey through the u.s.
(you can read installments of the delicious visit if you'd like: part I, II, and III, and at carmella's blog.)
one of the first raw recipes i made was pizza. it was love at first bite! i followed carmella's herb pizza crust recipe and have adapted it to fit one excalibur dehydrator tray. i've posted the recipe before, but since then have added tomato.
Raw Pizza Crusts
(fits one excalibur deydrator tray and yields 9 crusts)
ingredients:
1 1/4 C. raw buckwheat groats
2/3 C. raw sunflower seeds
5 T. ground flax
1 C. summer squash
1 medium tomato OR 1/4 C. water
1 T. olive oil (more for a softer crust, less for a crunchier crust)
1 tsp. herbs of choice (oregano, basil, thyme, parsley...)
1 tsp. fresh garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
love
preparation:
1. soak buckwheat groats and sunflower seeds in filtered water a few hours. (some sources say overnight is fine, others no longer than four hours. do what feels best to you.)
update: i'm told buckwheat groats should be soaked no longer than 30 minutes. thanks, rick!
2. rinse soaked groats and seeds thoroughly.
3. you can use prepared flax meal or make your own by processing a few tablespoons flax seeds in a dry grinder (a coffee grinder or magic bullet works nicely).
4. chop squash and tomato. you may prefer to remove the tomato seeds and skin. or you may prefer to nix the tomato and use water instead. i use tomato because of the lovely color it adds to the crust. soaked sun-dried tomatoes will also work.
note: raw pizza crusts are very forgiving. don't be afraid to play with the ingredients to suit your preferences.
procedure:
in a food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth.
spread onto teflex sheet and score into 9 crusts.
dehydrate at 145° for one hour, then turn down to 115°.
after a few hours the batter will peel nicely from the tray. at this point, flip batter onto mesh screen and dehydrate at 115° until dry.
crusts may be stored in the fridge a few weeks or frozen for months. they thaw quickly at room temperature.
the toppings:
there are many nut cheese recipes out there. some involve fermentation with powdered probiotics or rejuvelac. i'd like to try fermenting nut cheese, but for now find the simple recipe below to suit my taste buds just fine.
Quick and Easy Cashew Cheezy
2/3 C. raw cashews, soaked
1/4 C. water
1-2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes
process all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy.
dehydrating the cheese enhances the flavor and reminds me of melted mozzarella.
Marinated Veggies
chop veggies of choice and coat in a mixture of equal parts olive oil and shoyu and a squirt of agave and crushed garlic if you'd like.
choose your favorite pesto recipe and top with tomato sauce or cashew cheese and veggies.
Avocado and Veggies
simply mash up an avocado, season to taste, and top with veggies.
***
in the not-so-mainstream news:
john and i have been keeping a watchful eye on what is unfolding in many parts of the world. we don't recommend protesting nor rioting mainly because what you fight, you become. our solution is as simple as refusing to play the game. when you step back and take a fresh look at it, that's what it is - a game. and it's all our choice.
this quote sums up our favorite author/researcher david icke, whom we had the privilege of seeing sunday in new york city.
by mainstream standards david is considered controversial, though personally, john and i find him to be inspiring and the message he delivers empowering... peacefully standing up to injustice while choosing love over fear.
i was going to post a video of david speaking, but instead chose this beautiful video he used to start the show. the information he shares may not be for everyone, but love surely is.=)
savoy cabbage, dinosaur kale, collard, green leaf lettuce, fennel, kabocha squash, red bell pepper, tomatoes
week 16
more savoy cabbage, romaine, arugula, radish, red leaf lettuce, pattypan squash, tomatoes, bell peppers also pictured: a bag of local spinach from a farm market
purchasing a medium basket for muth's weekly csa last winter was a wise investment. it felt like a lot of money at the time, but the experience was well worth it. (the price averaged to a smidge over 24 dollars a week).
i loved going to the farm and seeing where my food was grown. the produce was of the highest quality and grown organically. i was also introduced to some new favorites like canary melon, white bell pepper and kabocha squash.
(if you'd like to see the bounty i brought home each week, click here.)
i'm thinking part of my resistance to the end of summer was the end of the csa. but as the saying goes, 'when one door closes, another opens', and i may have found a new source of local organic greens and brassicas.
in other news, we have a new furry addition to our family! meet charlie.
isn't he adorable?! alaina's aunt missy found charlie and his siblings outside her home. i believe the mother was injured and had to be put down. =(
i get lots of emails from my local shelter looking for kitten fosters. i'd looove to foster kittens but i'm not sure how biggles would react. maybe talking to the people at the shelter would be a good idea. (duh =)
if anyone has fostered kitties, i'd love to hear your experience! how did your pets react to the house guests?
