Weekend Love!!!

Hello Longevity Seekers!

How are you??? Cold? Hot? Rainy? Sunny? Snowy??? What temp are you dealing with right now???

This weekend was a fabulous weekend!

Saturday

I picked up my number and foot pod for the race on Saturday!!! YEAH!! 

I am officially #61!

This was definitely an exciting moment for me.  My first 5K, My first organized race!! YES!

I have made a list of goals and wishes for 2010/2011 and it’s exciting to have some of these Goals and Wishes stricken off the list!

After I picked up my number and T-Shirt I journeyed over to one of my favorite vegan cafes – Flore Vegan!  I had my favorite smoothie!

Flore is a great little place in the heart of Silver Lake!  GREAT AND VEGAN!!!  Check them out if you are ever in Los Angeles!

Flore Vegan

3818 West Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026 

323.953.0611

Sooooo Delicious!

I know this color probably leaves little to be desired BUT it is incredibly good!! Avocado, Orange Juice, Agave Syrup! MMMmmmm! unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it BEFORE I drank it!

 

Opened the shop as usual.  It was a nice and easy day! 

 

Sunday

Now this is one memorable day!

I woke up at about 12 noon!  It had been sooo long since I had slept this late and this soundly! It felt sooo nice.  I was warm and comfortable!  I got up and showered.  Had a cup of “joe” and set out for an hour Acupressure Massage and 1 Hour Foot Massage.

The spa was called – “A Beautiful Day Spa”. 

As I entered the spa, a kind man greeted me and took me to the massage room.  The rooms were dimly lit and quaint.  I lay down and waited for the masseuse to enter. 

Now this was so amazing!  The Acupressure massage was what I needed.  I was pleased with the professionalism and cleanliness of the establishment. 

During the Acupressure massage the very top of my head to the very tip of my toes was massaged!

This was the first time I experienced an Acupressure Massage!  It was heavenly!  Truly an HOUR MASSAGE and TRULY WONDERFUL!  As I lay on the massage table I just kept thinking how lucky I was to be there, how relaxed I was, how thankful I was my “taste tester” was supportive enough to drop me off and pick me up!  Before I knew it, the hour massage was over and it was time for my 1 HOUR FOOT MASSAGE!  Whew!  I felt like a little cat purrring and purrring and purring! 

I got dressed and left the massage room.  I entered another room with 3 chairs.  I chose the chair I wanted and my feet were immediately immersed in hot water with chinese herbs.  While my feet soaked, my shoulders, neck and arms were massaged again! Prrrrr. Prrrrr.  The last 40 minutes the woman massaged every part of  my leg all the way down to my foot. Whew!  It felt absolutely FABULOUS…I wondered if that is what samadhi feels like.  I WAS IN TOTAL BLISS!

And what was really impressive – $20.00 for 1-HR FOOT MASSAGE!! Can you believe that??? AMAZING DEAL!!

After I left the spa, I journeyed over to Whole Foods.  I was looking for pea sprouts.  I love this nutritious green. I was on a mission to have a healthy and tasty meal!

I decided to recreate a specialty I used to order from a Muslim Chinese Restaurant in San Gabriel, California.  The restaurant was named – Tung Lai Shun.  Great Food! The name of my favorite dish was Diu Miao (Pea Sprouts with Garlic).

Started with FRESH PEA SPROUTS:

Then the gravy:

Ingredients:

1 Cup water

1/4 cup Arrowroot

8 cloves Garlic Thinly Sliced

Olive Oil

Preparation: 1) Heat pan with a low heat and 1/2 cup water 2) once steam appears add garlic and splash of olive oil 3) In separate bowl add arrowroot to remaining 1/2 cup water and whisk 4) Add Arrowroot Mixture to pan 5) Once you can smell the Fragrance of the Garlic turn off low flame 6) Add peas sprouts and Mix 7) Wait for peas sprouts to turn bright Green

The Final Dish:

This was a great dish!!! I added this on top of a parsnip I had shredded in the food processor.  I also added a small amount of toasted sesame oil, splash of bragg, and black pepper to the RAW RICE.

All and All and WEEKEND OF BLISS AND LOVE!!!

Namaste!

Please comment and discuss anything with this blog!  

Next Giveaway – FOODMATTERS – Tune in tomorrow!!!

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?….COSMO G!

COSMO G

Cosmo G first appeared to me while I was making notes and doing some food history research.

I had come across a technique called:

supreme

v. to remove the skin, pith, membranes, and seeds of a citrus fruit and separate its wedges. Also as noun, a wedge of citrus fruit. (in French it is Suprême)

It looked pretty easy so I figured with all of this California rain why not do something with oranges.  There have been lots and lots of Organic Oranges around since they are in season.  I have also been blessed with some tangerines, grapefruits and lemons from locals in the area.

With this in mind I segmented 3 large oranges and 3 grapefruits.

Orange Suprêmes…

Grapefruit Suprêmes…

I decided this would become Cilantro & Orange Salad with Mint, Olives and Grapefruit! And all at once Cosmo G was born.  I think I will include this recipe for a Raw Tasting party I would like to host.

COSMO G

3 Oranges, Supremed

1 small Grapefruit – (*Please see note!)

1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro/coriander, chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

1 cup Raw Pine Nuts

1 cup Raw Olives Chopped

Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil

2 Drops Bergamot Essential Oil

Preparation: Combine the oranges, cilantro, pine nuts, and parsley in a large bowl.  In a seperate bowl combine grapefruit, olives, and mint.  Allow each bowl to marinate for 15 – 20 minutes.  Combine the two and sprinkle with olive oil.  Allow this to marinate for another 20 minutes. * (The Grapefruits I used were extremly PITHY.  There was such a small amount of fruit that I ended up with approximately 2 Tbs.)

Here is the Cilantro, Parsley, Pine Nuts and Orange Suprême…

Grapefruit Suprême, Olives, and Mint…

I decided to go with an Italian themed meal.  I set about looking around at the veggies I had.  Eggplant (Aubergine) was the winner.  I had received 2 wonderful Eggplants last week from a client and felt this was the best time to use them.  It is nice when I am able to use vegetables that are grown locally and given as gifts!

I decided I would make some sort of Eggplant Noodle and an Al’Arrabiata sauce.  Nice and Spicy is what I needed last night.  I needed to refuel my fire with some spice.  It was really chilly last night and I was so cold when I got home.  I kicked on the Dehydrator for the first time in a long time.  I figured I would have a warm “Raw Pasta” dish and a nice refreshing salad.

I used my Cai Bao to make a Tagletelle type of noodle out of the eggplant.  I drizzled them with olive oil, Apple Cider Vinegar and a little Nama Shoyu.  I placed them in the Dehydrator for 1 hr at 115 Degrees.

Meanwhile, I made…

RAW ARRABIATA SAUCE

3 Chopped Roma Tomatoes

3 Cloves Garlic

1 Handful Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped

8 Sun Dried Tomatoes

1 Tbl. Cayenne

1 Tbl. Red Pepper Flakes

3 tsp. Nama Shoyu

Preparation: Process 2 Romas, Parsley, Sundried tomatoes and garlic in Food Processor with “S” Blade.  Combine the ingredients just processes in a bowl with the remaining Roma tomato and mix in the spices.  Place bowl in the Dehydrator at 115 Degrees for 1/2 hour.  When both are just warm to the touch combine and serve.

Arrabiata Sauce out with the Romas before the Dehydrator..

Nice and rich looking out of the Dehydrator…

Everything on one plate…

And another…

This was a really good combo in terms of taste!  Sweet & Fresh with a hint of salt from the olives and the wonderful spice from the red sauce on top of the marinated Eggplant Noodles! Delicious.  A definite winner for the tasting menu!

Thanks for stopping by!

Namaste!

HAVE YOU ENTERED THE RAFFLE YET?  ENTER BEFORE

MARCH 27, 2010 AND YOU COULD WIN THE DVD

“RAW FOR 30 DAYS”

SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG OR LEAVE A COMMENT ABOUT ANY POSTING AND YOU ARE ENTERED!  JUST LIKE THAT!

Mango Salad Adventures – Part III & FREE GIVEAWAY!

Thank you to all who have entered the raffle!

If you haven’t joined please find all the details here!

One of the most beautiful things in life is the experience of our senses.

Feeling water on your skin in the shower, the releif felt when you are sitting and are lucky enough to have someone rubbing your feet, sitting and relaxing in the comfort of your home enjoying a really good movie, book or the scent of beautiful food being prepared in the kitchen….

Life can be a beautiful experience.  It can also be a bit of a challenge at times as well.  Just remember to breathe, stay in the moment and accept that nothing except PURE LOVE lasts forever! (I don’t necessarily mean man and woman love either. PURE LOVE IS PURE LOVE!) 

I looked over all of my recipes I keep in a notebook and saw the last recipe I had been working on was a Vietnamese Mango Salad.  It was a nice switch in heat than the previous night.  I also made a RAW SOUP recipe I had been working on!

Here we go…

RAW CO/CONUT & AVOCADO SOUP

1/2 of the flesh of one coconut

Water from one Coconut

2 4″ pieces Lemongrass

2 tbs. fresh mint

1 Large Avocado

4 cloves Garlic

1 Handful Cilantro, chopped

1 Seranno Chile

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbs White Miso

Preparation: Place coconut water, lemongrass, mint, and 2 cloves of garlic into food processor.  Process with the “S” blade until it is uniformly as smooth as possible.  Using a nut bag, muslin fabric, or strainer – Strain liquid.  Set the pulp aside.  Place the broth back into the food processor and add the avocado, lime and lemon juice, miso, cilantro, remaining garlic, and serrano chile.  Process.

VIETNAMESE MANGO SALAD

1/2 cup lime juice (Approximately 4-6 limes)

1 tbs.  Raw Agave Syrup

1 tbl. Fresh Ginger cut into matchstick strips

1 tbl. Sesame Oil

1 Small Shallot, minced

1 Serrano Chile, minced

1 tbl. Raw Sesame Seeds

1 Handful Mint, chopped

1 Handful Cilantro, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/3 cup Sake

1 Ripe Mango, Sliced

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a bowl except the mango.  (Allow to sit about 1/2 hour) Slice Mango and allow to marinate another 15 minutes.  Take out Mango slices and set aside.  Save remaining dressing for the next recipe.

NOTE: I made a sort of Cucumber, Cilantro relish with the rest of the dressing to put on top of the soup.  The texture of the relish went really nice with the creaminess of the soup.  It is included after the mango salad since you will be using the dressing. Also, I made the dressing, then made the soup above, then sliced the mango, etc.)

CUCUMBER RELISH

1 Cucumber, peeled and cubed

1 Handful Fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped

1 Handful Fresh Mint, roughly chopped

Preparation:  Place all ingredients into remaining dressing from Mango Salad.  Allow to marinate 15 minutes and place on top of soup.

Thanks for stopping by!

Live in Light & Love!

Namaste!

Mango Salad Adventures – Part II & FREE GIVEAWAY!

FREE GIVEAWAY!!!

Raw for 30 Days DVD!!!

All you have to do to enter the raffle is leave a comment and/or subscribe to this blog!  (Pretty easy, huh?) I will draw the lucky name on March 27, 2010!!!

Now let’s get to those wonderful mangos!

Last night I began making a spicy powdered mixture for the Ripe Mangos I received from the universe.  I figured that was the best thing to do.

Initially I was going to go with an Japanese theme for dinner last night, however I ended up on an Indian note. I’ll explain…

There is a spice mixture used in Japanese cuisine called “Shichimi Togarashi”.  The ingredients are dried chilies, black peppercorns, tangerine peel, black sesame seeds, minced garlic, and white poppy seeds.

As I looked around my spice cabinet I realized that my memory had failed me once again…No white poppy seeds, and I was also missing  few of the other ingredients.  I went with all of the new indian spices I had purchased at India Sweet & Spice.

This is the mixture I made:

2 tbs.  red kashmiri dried chilis

1 tbs. tangerine peel

1 tbs. lemmon peel

1 drop organic lemon essential oil

1 drop organic orange essential oil

3 garlic cloves

2 tsp. nori

2 tsp. black sesame seeds

2 tsp raw hemp seeds

Preparation: Grind all ingredients and put in a small airtight dish to save.  This will make approximately 1/8 of a cup.

Next…

I cut the mangos into slices and placed them in a large bowl.  I added 1 large scoop of the spice mixture I had just made.

As I was experimenting with my next dish to serve with dinner last night I came up with a RAW BIRYANI RICE recipe!

What is Biryani? Biryani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) (بریان) which means “fried” or “roasted”.

Biryani was brought to the Indian Subcontinent by Muslim travelers and merchants. Local variants of this dish are not only popular in South Asia but also in Arabia and within various South Asian communities in Western countries.

The spices and continents used in biryani may include but are not limited to: peas, beans, cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander and mint leaves, ginger, onions, and garlic. The premium varieties include saffron.

The difference between biryani and pullao is that while pullao may be made by cooking the items together, biryani is used to denote a dish where the rice (plain or fried) is cooked separately from the thick sauce (curry of Meat or vegetables). The curry and the rice are then brought together and layered resulting in a dish of the contrasting flavours of unflavored rice(which has a hint of the aromas and juices of the curry) and intensely flavored sauce and meat or vegetables. (Wikipedia)

RAW BIRYANI RICE

1 Large Parsnip

5 Sund Dried Tomatoes

2 tbls Spicy Sambar Masala

1 tsp Tumeric

1 tbl. Cumin

1 Handful Fresh Cilantro

1 Large Handful Raisins

3-4 Cloves Garlic

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup peas

Preparation:  Peel and chop parsnip.  Place the parsnip in Food Processor with “S” blade and process until it resembles rice.  Place in a bowl and set aside.  Place all other ingredients into the food processor.  It should be a very chunky and be extremly fragrant!!!! YUM!

Here is the Parsnip Rice…

The spice mixture before the rice…

Everything all mixed up and redy to serve…

Here is the final presentation…

I added the peas last, since I didn’t want them to get squished while I was mixing in the spice mixture into the parsnip rice.

My taste tester was quite pleased with this meal I must say!!!  He said he could smell the mangos and chili mixture from the kitchen while he was relaxing in the living room.  Very excited about this dish!  I will definitly be making this again!

Thanks for visiting my blog and don’t forget to ENTER THE RAFFLE!!!

Namaste!

Cauliflower Piquant

Last night I made a cauliflower dish for dinner.  I have chosen to name it “Cauliflower Piquant”.

I will continue to add and subtract various ingredients to this recipe.  Actual Preparation time is about 1/2 an hour.  The only thing that takes a bit of time is warming it in the Dehydrator for 2 hours.

1. Cauliflower – (1/2 Head)
2. Carrots – (1/2 cup)
3. 4 Leaves Dark Kale – (Cut Chiffonade style)
   
4. Pistachios (Raw) – (1/2 Cup)
5. Tamarind Paste – (1 Tbsp Paaste in 3 Tbsp Water) *
   
6. Curry Powder – (1/2 Tbsp)
7. Cinnamin – (1 Tbsp)
   
8. Coriander – (1 Tbsp)
9. Cumin – (1 Tbsp)
10. Dates – (2 Chopped into small pieces)
11. Olives – (8 Olives – Pitted , 2 Spanish, 3 Green, 3 Kalmata)
12. Bragg Liquid Aminos – (1/4 cup) *
    
13. Cayenne – (1 tsp.)
14. Garlic – (1 clove finely minced)
15. Onion – (1 Tbsp. finely minced)
16. Ginger – (1/2 Tbsp. finely minced)
    

Preparation: Cut cauliflower into small pieces and place in a large bowl.  In a small cup prepare tamarind paste.  Set aside.  Combine all the spices, onion, ginger, garlic and Bragg Liquid Aminos in bowl with the cauliflower.  Dice the dates and olives and add to the bowl.  Chop carrots and kale; add to bowl. Add Pistachios and stir all ingredients.  Set in Dehydrator @ 115 for 2 hrs.

*NOTE: If you do not want to use the tamarind paste, I have used raw agave with molasses in equal parts.  You can use Nama Shoyu instead of the Bragg Liquid Aminos.

Champagne with this meal is a nice addition.  I have made this dish in the past a few times before.  I actually used the same ingredients, however this time I didn’t cook any of them.   RAWKIN flavor! The addition of the champagne is nice on the palate.

Day 17 of 30 – 13 to go!

This was a very interesting evening.  On my last post I mentioned that I put the RAW Sesame Chicken “Nuggets” together.  You can find the thread for this recipe here.

I will update with photos before I eat them.  Unfortunatly since it was late and I still had to prepare dinner for last night I forgot to take pictures of the preparation process.  The recipe calls for the “Nuggets” to be in the dehydrator for 4-5 hrs before and then put the sweet & sour sauce on them.  Dehydrate for another1 – 3 hours.

I have the sauce ready and do as the recipe calls.  I am excited about this one.  It also gives me the opportunity to make a RAW rice dish that I have been curious about.  I also found a recipe for Spanish rice.  I will have to investigate this raw rice thing further!  I am a little skepticle that it could be good.  Being the Rice Eater that I formally was.  I will let you know!

DINNER

I did however remember to take pictures before these were eaten.  And quite quickly I might add!  I made my first attempt at RAW RAVIOLI!

I made these with the beet ravioli in mind from the RAW FOOD REAL WORLD recipe uncook book.  I figured if it could really be any vegetable, then I could certainly do it with my favorite red veggie.  The Tomato!  I put a big spoonful of the macadamia nut cheese I had made earlier this week.  The only change I made was that I put a vegan probiotic into the cheese to make it taste a bit sour.  I also added some fresh garlic.  Drizzled them with black truffle oil and served with a salad.

So as mentioned I will make RAW Rice tonight.  I munched on fruit all day yesterday.  By evening this dinner was both wanted and appreciated!

Tomato Ravioli

20  Slices Tomatoes

1 1/2  cups Macadamian Nuts

3 Cloves Garlic

2 oz Basil Leaves

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp onion powder

Black Truffle Oil

Preparation: Take the slices of the Tomatoes and Dehydrate at 115 until pliable and chewy.  Next, Process Macadamia Nuts until chunky.  Slowly begin adding water until a nice fluffy consistency is acheived.  Add basil, garlic powder, garlic, onion powder process again.  Open 2 capsules of probiotic capsules  and stir.  Allow to sit overnight covered.  Once the cheese and the tomatoes are finished.  Put spoonfuls of the cheese onto a slice of tomato and place another slice of tomato on top.  Drizzle with Black Truffle Oil!

More tomorrow!

Namaste!