Berlin's Whimsy

friday with nothing to do.

Well, not really. A house full of kids, chickens in the yard, and a garden bathed in 90-degree heat offers plenty to do. Always. But I'm finished with my first term of summer courses and awaiting my next round.

The kitchen always draws me in, though, asking for more to learn, more to make, more to do...

My plant-based diet is still enjoyable. I made my own soymilk I this morning.

I'm also trying to perfect the Mexican version of the drink, Horchata. My kids love this spicy rice milk beverage offered at a local burrito joint. I'll post a recipe when I feel I have perfected our own version!

I also bought this excellent vegan cookbook, The Complete Vegan Kitchen, which would be useful for vegans and non-vegan alike! We could all use more fruits and vegetables in our diets. The book briefly discusses a vegan diet and whys and hows of it all and also includes a forward by the Olympic athlete, Carl Lewis (who happens to be vegan). I highly recommend this cookbook!

Blueberries are arriving in the markets and we're enjoying them in every way we can. We especially like smoothies colored richly purple from a big handful of blueberries. Today, I'm drying blueberries in my dehydrator to add to baked goods and for snacking. They are scrumptious this way! Blueberries also make a tangy sorbet when a little lime zest is added.

And in between all of these kitchen experiments, I relax on the couch with a big pile of knitting. Instant relaxation. I hope you are enjoying this mid-July Friday as much as I am!

your energy. your life.

My health instructor said something the other day that has stuck with me. She reminded us that we all create so much energy. You see, physiologically, our bodies are processing and converting food into energy constantly. But where do we put that energy?

She offered this: "We all have so much energy to give to this world. What are you choosing to do with your energy? Is it spent wasted, or are you doing something with it? Think about what you have to give in this life... to yourself, to others, to this world..." I believe it's similar to the concept that we can all choose to do wonderful things---each one of us---simply, large or small, silently, or with fanfare. We have so much to give.

I continue to think about this concept. It's true, when I study the amount of energy our bodies produce (enough to keep us warm, enough to walk to the corner, enough to plant a garden, enough to have children, enough to conceptualize improving our life) it is truly amazing. And then I thought about where my energy goes. Thankfully, I don't expend most of it on useless activities. I feel fairly pleased with where my energy goes but I admit there is still a lot more to give. Hmmm, where will my energy go today?

on health.

When it finally rains on the high desert, everything feels refreshed. Including me. The air smells of sagebrush and all I want to do is stand outside and breathe it all in.

But I don't have the time. I am taking condensed college courses this summer. Every single day is equivalent to a week of classes so it is not difficult to imagine the amount of information jam packed into each session. Thankfully, my first class is full of interest for me: health & wellness. What I learn each day in this class underlines my commitment to providing a healthy and nutritious lifestyle for myself and my family.

I will include more of my experimentations with healthy and sometimes vegan cooking here, as well as introduce a couple new helpful gadgets for review and possible recommendation. 

Meanwhile, I have been really enjoying the healthy cooking show series on Youtube entitled 'Everyday Dish.' For example, the following program illustrates what is called 'raw vegan sour cream' and though I realize fully this won't replace sourcream anytime soon, the program is very helpful in demonstrating how to open a coconut, scoop out the flesh, and process up a coconut sour cream that I believe would be wonderful on curries!  Mmmmm.

amongst the leaves.

After a hectic holiday weekend, wandering through my garden is a much needed respite. It's no secret that summer is a challenge for me. It's hot. It's dusty. Too many activities.

But there are bright spots. Like the garden. Every morning, I go out amongst the leaves with a sense of wonder.

I find new leaves carrying morning dew drops like offerings to the rising sun. 

New bugs.

Always more weeds.

And delightful discoveries. 

Summer mornings in the garden are to be treasured. 

all in its place

My daughter created this little map. Within, she illustrated a layout of her own personal village where those that are important to her live close-by. She enjoys doing this: creating lists of friends, understanding her heritage, asking about her ancestors. It all needs to be in its place. Perhaps it is a form of security in trying to understand her own little slice of this vast world. I can imagine with all the changes in her life over the last couple years, these little illustrations help to put it in some form of perspective.

Don't we all desire perspective, though? To understand where we've been and where we're going? I know I do. I thought about this and I thought about the way my daughter handled it, drawing her own little map. Perhaps she's onto something----illustrating our own personal dream village. A village encompassing all that you love and that loves you in return. What a wonderful vision!

And sometimes I think our chickens might even need a little of this perspective---- especially when they peer through our windows so longingly, waiting for us to come and tuck them in for another night in their little coop.

Maybe we all need to have a place for everything and everyone. All in its place.

seeking knowledge.

I seek knowledge today. In a classroom amongst other students. A different form of education than what I am used to. Though I doubt this class will satisfy my current hunger: a hunger for the knowledge of life and the whys and hows of it all. For example, why do people do the things they do and if they ever really know why. Or, if it's possible to truly understand another person, or even oneself. And why someone keeps dumping chickens at the end of my Mom's driveway... Oh, the quandaries of life. :-)

And in this pursuit of knowledge, I wish I understood it all. That I possessed the kind of wisdom that could answer my questions. Even just one.

And on the flip-side, I wish I didn't understand people as well as I do. That I couldn't see through the superficial games people play in an attempt to hide the substantive information underneath----the real stuff. The need for power. The need to hide feelings. To protect oneself. To take things out on others rather than recognizing our own issues and truly owning them. And I wish I wasn't so human in the fact that I sometimes play these games, too.

The human condition is so full of ambiguity. Sometimes I wish to be something else----- it seems animals are free to act upon their needs and show their true emotions. None of the usual human self-protective games and sidestepping the truth that is such a part of the human condition.

Nonetheless, I truly am of the human variety with all the flaws that come with it. So, I seek knowledge. And even though I may not learn the answers to what I seek in my classroom today, I will learn new experiences through interactions with more humans. 

summer food scenes.

Summer is the season of fresh flavors. Delicate flavors juxtaposed against the rich and sometimes brash tastes of summer's green crops. My kids lean towards those sweet and delicate flavors-----juicy peaches, bright red strawberries, fancy cherries, dripping watermelons; the expectation of summer in one bite.

Often to my children's consternation, I try to pass off vegetables more readily than even those wonderfully sweet fruits. We are beginning to harvest vegetables from our little garden, so my vegetable repertoire is growing steadily.

My kids turn their noses up at arugula, claiming it is "too spicy!!" I find this confusing since they absolutely love pesto made up of spicy basil. Recently, I made a pesto out of the arugula leaves from our garden and amazingly they ate it right up! The recipe was like this one only I substituted arugula for the basil and toasted walnuts for the pinenuts. I also drizzled a bit of sweet balsamic vinegar over the top. Stirred into warm, pixie-like pinwheel pasta, they found it a little more than passable.

I also keep cooked quinoa in the refrigerator, ready for a quick saute' with seasonal vegetables. I saute' the veggies in a wide skillet with some olive oil and garlic, adding some good-quality curry powder and a bit of fenugreek. I then add the cooked quinoa and stir it all around a bit to mingle those fresh flavors. To make it more pleasing for the rest of the crowd, I toss it with this feta cheese (the BEST!). It is great served at room temperature which lends itself to picnics and potlucks. This Yumm-y Sauce is absolutely GREAT on top!

found and made.

I cannot help but keep my eyes firmly on the ground when I go for a hike. For good reason, too: how else would I find a little rock shard with the faintest impression of a tree...

... and ready for my outlining and defining with a pen at home...

What kinds of treasures are you finding on this fine summer day?

Breathe in.

So far, this summer...

My son turned 13. And I sighed a long, sentimental sigh. Breathe in, breathe out.

And he slept outside with friends. Dear, sweet friends that make him happy. Me, too.

 
 
My children & I went hiking----just us, taking in the vast beauty around us while discussing our changing lives.

So, perhaps you will excuse my absence here while I took the time to catch my breath!

A Soapbox full of Vegan Cupcakes

I am gently dabbling in a vegan lifestyle. I have not adopted it fully, but rather along the same lines as the cookbook author, Mark Bittman. He chose to eat a more vegetarian and vegan diet based on his own health needs, but he also points out the great benefits a plant-based diet has on our planet. You can read and listen to his thoughts on the subject here. His book, Food Matters, goes into more detail and is worth reading.

Anyhow, I have always leaned towards a vegetarian lifestyle both in my desire for healthy foods and my own philosophical beliefs about animals and sustainability. Because I am not a person to view things only in black and white but to rather take a bit of this and a bit of that and mesh them together along with my own values, I have never fully adhered to a vegetarian diet. I don't know that I will now, either, but we'll see where it takes me...  

Nowadays, becoming a vegan is much easier and I have been experimenting with it a bit. There are great products on the market that allow you to create yummy foods without relying on animal products. In the process, I developed a strong love for Earth Balance spreads. Their buttery spreads (and in stick form) are so yummy, I'd rather use that than real butter! Other staples to a vegan diet (ones that I already like, thankfully) are tofu, soymilk, and nutritional yeast. I plan to experiment a bit with making my own soymilk and tofu soon....

Rather than calling myself a vegan or vegetarian, I view myself as health conscious. Cutting back on the products derived from animals will greatly benefit my own health, and perhaps help the planet a little bit in the meantime.

So, in my experimentation, I discovered that I love vegan cupcakes! The recipe is here. They are moist and yummy. Next time I make them (very soon, I hope), I will try adding some Earth Balance in place of some of the oil. The recipe is from the book, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

And on top of all the cupcakey-chocolatey goodness, this vegan frosting is absolutely fabulous! (Vegan or not). It is thick and buttery tasting----but it is so much better for you than the regular butter cream frosting. Try it and let me know what you think!

Rich Chocolate Frosting that happens to be Vegan

1 C. Earth Balance Buttery Spread

4 C. powdered sugar

2 T. vanilla extract

3 tsp. espresso powder

4 T. plain soy milk

1/2 C. good quality cocoa powder

In a bowl, mash the butter with the back of a spoon until it is smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, reserving 1 T. soy milk to check for consistency. If the frosting is too dry/thick, add the remaining soy milk (or more). Whip the frosting a bit until it reaches a glossy and smooth consistency.