Rainy days, rainy nights mean cloudy skies and little contact with the sun. I can see little bits of snow collecting on the peak of Whistler Mountain which is the only saving grace of this dreary weather. A moment in the morning of catching a glimpse of blue sky perks me up, goodness I miss that good ol' sun! In 8 weeks I will be in the sunny and hot Central America, and goodness I cannot wait! So much prep to do yet for the trip, but we are coming closer every day. It has been a bit of a shock this past week for me, realizing that I am in a town that I don't really know, surrounded by new faces and few close friends. I really did just move here for love! (crazy lovesick fool!) Having time to finally dedicate to you guys and this blog has been super great though! The nutrition course I am taking is coming to a close and I loved it and am hungry for more health filled know how. But the best part about moving here for a time is finding a yoga studio where I truly feel at home. Juvamukti Yoga Whistler, previously Loka Yoga, is a place filled with beauty and love, with incredible instructors who are filled with knowledge and skills to pass on. It is run by a woman named Tina, who has been teaching yoga for over 30 years and she is a powerful spiritual warrior. She runs a teacher training program here in Whistler and I am ever so tempted to enroll for the next session. Life is steering me towards a period of travel and freedom right now. Maybe someday. But the reason I am making this post ladies and gents, is to share with you one of my most recent creations! A vegan chocolate tart that has been sitting in my fridge for the past couple days just taunting me! I've been lazy in documenting it, so I haven't been allowing myself to enjoy more that a couple small samples! The crust I made out of my almond pulp leftover from making a batch of almond milk. I could give you an alternative ingredient, but I truly recommend you simply make yourself a beautiful batch of milk! Crust: 2 cups almond pulp 2 Tbsp coconut oil 2 Tbsp maple syrup Blend for a moment in food processor and press into the bottom of a pan lined with parchment paper. Put in freezer while you make the filling to let it harden. The creamy fudge-like yummy filling! 2 cups soaked or fresh dates 1/2 cup melted coconut oil Blend in food processor until mixture resembles toffee. (You can save some of this toffee mixture to decorate the top of the tart if you want!) Add: 1/2 cup cacao powder (or cocoa) 1/2 cup nut butter (I used cashew) Blend until smooth. Carefully spread this mixture on top of the crust as to not disrupt the crust. To smooth out the top I wet my fingertips and flattened the filling until smooth. Let set in fridge for about an hour, or freeze for a frozen treat! YUM!
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Making your own nut milk. Like any new thing, because you buy it at a store, or have never made the attempt, it seems so far out of reach. I was astounded, once again, how easy it is to make your own nut milk! This year seems to be the beginning of a new trend in my life that brings me profound happiness and self awareness. Breaking away, one by one, from packaged and processed items. Reducing my carbon footprint, one step at a time. Even the simple act of: saving your produce bags, joining a CSA, buying your nuts, seeds and grains in bulk and reusing your bulk bags, saying no at the counter, "I don't need a bag", opting to make your own tomato sauce rather than buying a can... The list goes on and not just when it has to do with food products. How many toiletries to do you own? How many do you use? But most importantly, how many do you truly need? What about your cleaning products? Did you really need to buy that brand new winter jacket with goose down, or could you have found a perfectly good and stylish jacket at your local second hand store? I found a top name ski jacket for $10 and I love it! Every small decision you make every day makes a difference to our world, to the environment and to you. But yes, onto the step I learned yesterday! Almond milk!!! It was shockingly easy to make!
Just take some raw nuts, I chose almonds, but anything would do, I am personally trying an almond/cashew blend the next time. I filled my glass mason jar 1/4 full with raw almonds, filled it to the top with water and let them soak overnight. (At a minimum of 12 hours.) The next afternoon, I put the almonds (which had grown about double in size from soaking) in my blender with a ratio of 3:1 water to almonds and blended the mixture on high (with the lid securely sealed! Messy ;) ) for approximately 5 minutes. I strained my milk using some screening material I bought from the hardware store, but there are also nut bags sold at most health food stores if you'd rather. I found the screening worked just fine, it also doubles for me as a strainer for making sprouts. I mixed about a teaspoon of maple syrup into my milk and put it in a clean mason jar. You could turn your milk into any flavour you like, or simply enjoy it in its raw deliciously creamy form! Stay tuned for an upcoming sweet recipe make with the almond pulp!! I ran a bush kitchen, did a festival, fell in love, enjoyed some nomadic lifestyling and now I'm back to the blogosphere ladies and gents. I've settled myself in this strange little tourist town that has been overrun with Australians called Whistler, B.C. I've joined 2 yoga studios and have begun my training in holistic nutrition! Before arriving here I spent 3 weeks in the Yasodhara Ashram in the by Kootenay Lake in B.C. It's been a whirlwind, but I'm back to making food and am back here to share some recipes with you! It was quite the jolt moving from the Ashram to a little mini city. I was nervous about finding local organic food here, but I was lucky to discover that Whistler has a beautiful Farmer's Market. The Ashram grew 40% of it's own food and got the remaining portion from local farmers and a wholesale organic bulk supplier. I felt like I was in food heaven while I was there. I felt blessed with every morsel. I never quite realized how difficult it is to maintain a local sustainable diet in whole food. It is something that you really need to be mindful of in your ordinary life. I loved how at the ashram I never had to question how my meal was prepared, where my kale was grown, or whether or not it was sprayed with any chemicals. Any who here's a recipe for ya! Garlicky cashew basil pesto on rice pasta For the Pesto: Approximately 2 large handfuls of greens. Your choice here really, I used spinach and basil in mine, but you could use kale, arugula or any green available. Put your greens in food processor or vita-mix and blend until pulverized. Add: 2-3 cloves of garlic 2/3 cup of soaked cashews (Another nut/seed could be used here, like sunflower seeds, walnuts..etc) pinch of sea salt juice from half a lemon Blend until smooth then add approximately 1/4 cup olive oil until rich and creamy. You can put whatever extra veggies you like into the pasta. Roasted bell peppers would be good, or whole roasted garlic cloves, caramelized fennel, roasted zucchini or eggplant? The night I made the dish, I caramelized some shallots with some cremini mushrooms and garlic. I also added some thinly sliced black kale and topped with bean sprouts. So tasty and delicious, this recipe is definitely making a re-run in my kitchen soon! Above are some pictures of the garden and root cellar at the Yasodhara Ashram. I was filled with awe and inspiration while living there. I cannot wait to have the time and the resources to dedicate to creating such a self sustainable lifestyle. My few weeks spent in this beautiful community were such a blessing. Making the choice to leave was a very difficult one for me. I had a force outside of the ashram pulling me away. I mentioned in the beginning of this post how I fell in love this summer. It was the pull of that person that brought me out here to Whistler. Moving mountains, traveling miles just to meet up with one other human. It is remarkable how much impact one person can have on another. How much two energies can long to be reunited. There is something about traveling through the rocky mountains of British Colombia that makes you feel so small. Two tiny humans, but such an incredible force between you. Falling in love has been the most wonderful adventure. |
By Nomes
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