Durian Goodness

Here is video of the Durian Goodness!

Durian Love

So we recently bought a whole frozen durian from our local Asian market, Chongs. We've had durian before, Cam loved it immediately, I'm still on the fence and Cam quickly convinced Adi to give it a try and she's a durian lover as well... Here's a photo of the spiky fruit before it was opened. It's HUGE!



Adi was so excited about opening the durian. She could hardly stand waiting for it to thaw. This one had a really mild sweet smell prior to opening. One that was tolerable for me since I'm not a huge fan of the durian stench.



As you can see I'm not so sure about this stuff. I'm trying really hard to like it, but am amazed at how much my 3.5 year old totally LOVES the stuff!



Here she is actually licking the fruit out of the spiky casing. She couldn't get enough!



And finally a big ol chunk of durian heading for her salivating mouth. It was interesting to watch Adi and Cam go nuts over the stuff. I hesitantly had a little bit. I'm still not a durian lover, but rather tolerate it.


After getting the seeds out of each section we froze the durian using round biscuit cutters so it's in individual size portions. It has a custard like consistency and would probably mix really well with banana to make a frozen ice cream. I might like that a little better. I wanted to post a video but we're having a hard time getting it to upload, must be too long? I'll try editing and see if I can get it out there some time, it's worth it just to see and hear how Adi responds to the experience.

Blueberry Ice Cream

The other night when I asked Adi what she wanted for dinner she said, "ice cream". Ha ha. No ice cream for you. With the COLD winter weather lately I've had no desire at all to eat ice cream. But she persisted so I decided to come up with a raw vegan ice cream to make my little princess happy.

Get ready for a really simple recipe.

Blueberry Ice Cream (Serves 2-3)
2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries (you can also use thawed or fresh blueberries if you like)

Break the bananas into 1-2 inch sections to fit in an agar style juicer using the blank plate and alternate blueberries with bananas. Voila. Blueberry ice cream. Adi ate it up :)

I'm Posting This on All Three of My Blogs

John McCabe from Sunfood Living
sent out an email last week about his new book.

Here is what he wrote:


Hello everybody,

After years of work, I have decided to pass over the traditional book
publishing fiasco and to publish my newest book on an
advertiser-supported Web site:
http://www.hempnowbook.com.

People told me, “Oh, you can't do that!”

Yes, I can!

Yes, I did!

Various publishing companies that looked at the manuscript
wanted the book to be shorter, to be focused only on hemp,
and to not contain the “controversial chapters” about the drug war,
political corruption, the prison industry, and corporate greed.

To their proposals to cut my book in half, I say: No, thanks!
That would truly be a book to nowhere.

By publishing the book for free on the Web,
people all over the planet can educate themselves on the topic.
People all over the planet have already been looking at
my other Web sites (http://www.sunfoodliving.com,
and http://www.sunfoodtraveler.com - which is going to be overhauled).
This new site will give them more of my writing to read.

I didn't write the book for money. I wrote it for the environment,
for wildlife, for family farmers, for the health of humanity,
and for a more sustainable world.

According to the authorities and industry leaders who
read through the manuscript as I was writing it,
it is the most up-to-date and complete book on the history,
laws, and uses of hemp, the world's most useful plant.

Even though the U.S. is the world's number one
importer of hemp products, U.S. farmers are not
allowed to grow it, but Canadian farmers are growing
many thousands of acres of it, and they are doing so
largely to supply hemp products for the U.S. market.
Read my book and understand why the U.S. government
refuses to allow family farmers to grow hemp.

My new book has been endorsed by
The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance;
The Hemp Lobby;
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML);
Oregon NORML;
and The Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform.

Also, the people at http://www.VoteHemp.com read
through the manuscript, provided me with information for the book,
and connected me with people to interview.

After years of writing, rewriting, researching, toiling,
interviewing, editing, and more researching and writing and rewriting…

As of today, December 30, 2008…

The complete manuscript of
HEMP: WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW
can be read for free by accessing:
http://www.hempnowbook.com

"Hemp: What The World Needs Now" is the first book to be formulated for this strain of Web delivery by a new company. If you know of any other authors who want to publish their books in the same advertiser-supported format, feel free to contact Sam Estrin: Sam@Odinmetatech.com.

Meanwhile, spread the word about http://www.hempnowbook.com.
Link it to your Web sites.

Educate yourself about hemp and what it can do
to create a more sustainable culture.

Add raw hemp seed powder and raw hemp oil to your
daily diet, and feel your health improve.

And, have a great New Year!

Rock on!

John McCabe

Wheatgrass Juice

Wheatgrass juice is this crazy amazing super packed nutrient dense uberfood (the word superfood just doesn't do it justice). Here are a few of my favorite points from a list of 40 benefits of wheatgrass juice - click here to see all 40

• Farmers in the Midwest who have sterile cows and bulls put them on wheatgrass to restore fertility. (The high magnesium content in chlorophyll builds enzymes that restore the sex hormones.)
• Wheatgrass Juice is a superior detoxification agent compared to carrot juice and other fruits and vegetables. Dr Earp-Thomas, associate of Ann Wigmore, says that 15 pounds of Wheatgrass is the equivalent of 350 pounds of carrot, lettuce, celery, and so forth.
• In the American Journal of Surgery (1940), Benjamin Gruskin, M.D. recommends chlorophyll for its antiseptic benefits. The article suggests the following clinical uses for chlorophyll: to clear up foul smelling odors, neutralize Strep infections, heal wounds, hasten skin grafting, cure chronic sinusitis, overcome chronic inner-ear inflammation and infection, reduce varicose veins and heal leg ulcers, eliminate impetigo and other scabby eruptions, heal rectal sores, successfully treat inflammation of the uterine cervix, get rid of parasitic vaginal infections, reduce typhoid fever, and cure advanced pyorrhea in many cases.
• Wheatgrass Juice cures acne and even help to remove scars after it has been ingested for seven to eight months. The diet must be improved at the same time.
• And one of my own: wheatgrass is easy and cheap to grow at home! Consider the dollars saved by juicing wheatgrass instead of pounds and pounds of vegetables! Eat your veggies to fill up your tummy - juice wheatgrass to get all those nutrients! Check out this post by Anthony Anderson (Raw Model) to learn how to grow wheatgrass without soil!

I have one quick warning about wheatgrass juice. It's a seriously powerful antioxidant. You don't need much. One ounce is enough to kick me in the butt so go easy to start out. When I have it I feel and instant zing and often get nauseous if I take too much. I recommend adding it to a whole food smoothie to help minimize that type of effect. So now enjoy a short video of my 3 1/2 year old daughter helping me juice some wheatgrass.

Triple Berry Cake

My dear friend Heather invited me to a women's retreat this weekend and for the occasion I wanted to make something really special to share with the other women. I've made this cake in the past but didn't remember to take photos before devouring it, so this time I made sure to get pics to post with the recipe that I got from Raw Goddess Heathy. I'm pleased to report that everyone I heard comment on it was wowed at it's delicious flavor and texture but also in awe that it was actually raw!


Triple Berry Cake

This cake is a berry inspired version of Café Gratitude’s mud pie – same concept, but with different flavours.

Crust:
Make a nut crust of your choice.Press into the bottom of a 6” spring form pan, or into a pie plate. (I used 1 cup soaked Brazil nuts and 1 cup pitted dates mixed together in a food processor and also used an 8" pan instead of 6")

Filling:
1 ¼ cup almond milk
1 ½ cups cashews
1/3 cup agave
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ cup melted cacao butter
1 tbs lecithin2 cups mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries), set aside

Blend the first four ingredients until completely smooth. Add the cacao butter and lecithin. Continue blending until incorporated. Transfer 1 cup of this mixture into a bowl. Add the berries to the remaining cream in the blender and pulse the berries until they start to break down, keeping some texture. Transfer the berry mixture into a bowl. Pour half of one cream onto the crust. Pour the other half on top. Continue, pouring the first cream on top, followed by the second. Now, with a knife, swirl the two creams together into a pretty pattern. Chill the cake for a few hours, or until firm.

Fruit Salad

I love pomegranate season. As much as I want to try to eat more locally, I can not resist these gorgeous, wonderful, tasty jewels. I was craving a fruit salad and this is what I came up with, all ingredients purchased from my local co-op and very simple.
What's in it:

• grapes
• pomegranate seeds
• banana
• oranges
• kiwi
• pears
• apples (the only locally grown ingredient!)

This salad hit the spot and provided the color celebration I so needed to visually please my palate.