Learning to Love:

Salads



I've never been a fan of salads, but I want to be. Sadly, I have never thought of having a salad as a meal until recently. Sure, I ate them as a starter or a side, but really? A meal?

On our last trip to Oregon my friend Lori Jo got me hooked on eating salads because we ate from her garden everyday.... kale, lettuce, arugula, basil, oregano... dreamy. While I don't have a leafy garden we do get a CSA box with lots of goodies.

So, I am inspired now. But I need more help, anyone have any good salad recipes or ideas?!

Cucumber-mint

I just started going to a new yoga class about a month ago, and I love it. The place has a mixture of healing and creative arts. There are art shows, story telling, yoga classes, and nutritional workshops. I really love how small and unintimidating the classes are. Last class Marisol, the instructor, gave us (there were two of us, SMALL I said!) a glass of cucumber-lemon water. How nice is that; sipping on cucumber-lemon water, doing yoga: a dream. So I went home and made some of my own! I used a cucumber from our friend Jen's garden, and I didn't have any lemon, so I used some peppermint from our garden. Amazing!

Never enough of these...

I love succulents. Who doesn't! Justin's parents have some great plants in their backyard, I've taken plenty photos of them before, but I can't stop - they never get old to me.

Raw Cheesecake

Raw vegan cheesecake... That could either sound exciting to you, or incredibly boring. To me, its exciting. I love unique, "healthier" desserts, and this one did not disappoint.

This took a lot of trail and error. First I made something similar, but it was a raw, vegan, peach cream pie. It was horrible. The texture was disgusting, the flavor was bland. I ended up throwing some of it away and pawning off the rest to a friend who I know doesn't like food to go to waste. Then I tried a strawberry pie version, blending it a bit more to get a better texture, and it was pretty good. But it was too liquidity, it didn't hold shape, it kind of melted on the plate.

Since then I think I've found a key ingredient to make it hold shape (coconut oil), and something to better the taste (lemon). Its been a long time since I've had cheesecake, but I would say that it actually tastes cheesecake-ish. It's pretty healthy, since its mainly nut based. That means its probably pretty fattening, but good fats.

Raw Vegan Cheesecake
Crust

• 2 Cups raw pecans
• 4-6 Dates (pitted and soaked with cashews)
• Coconut flakes

Cheese

• 3 Cups Soaked Cashews (Soak a least an hour)
• ¾ Cup Lemon Juice with pulp
• ¾ Cup Raw Agave Nectar (Honey can be used as a substitute)
• ¾ Cup Raw Coconut Oil (melted, emerge container in hot water)
• ¼ ts pure vanilla extract

Topping
Your favorite fruit - frozen and fresh.

Directions
Sprinkle coconut on the bottom of an 8" dish.

In a food processor blend pecans and dates until crumbly and sticky, to form a crust. Gently press the crust into the pan.

Next, blend (in a high powered blender) all the "cheese" ingredients until smooth & creamy. Pour "cheese" evenly over crust and place in freezer for at least 2-3 hours.

Next, prepare topping by blending a bag of frozen fruit until spreadable or chopping fresh fruit. Add a little agave to sweeten if you want.

Defrost cheesecake in refrigerator an hour before serving. Garnish with topping and serve.
Adapted from couple different recipes.

Rays

One of my favorite photos from our trip up north was also the first photo taken, and it was taken by Justin. I love it. I love the dark on the left the light on the right. I love the rays. I love the silhouette of the semi truck. The whole drive, there and back, was filled with puffy white clouds and amazing weather.

Portland

I didn't get many photos of Portland. Almost all my photos are in or around our hotel. The first night we stayed in Troutdale at a McMenamins called "Edgefield." It was so-darn-cool. It's an ex-old folks home turned into an artsy hotel with a vineyard, brewery, soaking tub, garden (they use the veggies in their restaurants), and lots of cool bars. There was no need to go anywhere else.
The second night we stayed at another McMenamins in Portland called the Kennedy School - an old elementary school. They have a bar in the broiler room, and one in the "detention hall", our room was an old classroom with chalkboards. The artwork at all McMenamins is incredible. I love the details everywhere, on every wall, even the sprinkler pipes had faces painted on them.









1) Justin & I on a giant wooden bench at Edgefield.
2) Flowers in the herb garden at Edgefield.
3) Justin in the garden at Edgefield.
4) The-amazing-i-want-to-g0-back soaking tub.
5) Abel & friends at the Bodies of Water show in Portland.
guess I didn't take photos of the Kennedy School.... shoot.

Eagle Point

Eagle Point was our main destination, to see our dear friends Brian & Lori Jo. We love where they live, the property, the scenery, their yurt, their garden, the chickens... it's a mini paradise for us.

From top to bottom:
1) Chicks living on their porch.
2) Their garden. The section on the right was named after me, it has beets, edible flowers, and other luscious plants.
3) Part of their yard and their view. They live next door to a ranch with cows, i love it.
4) They built an awesome chicken coop, they don't mess around.
5) The chickens.
6) Justin got in the mood to weed, so he weeded their "front yard".
7) Post weeding - the front yard of their yurt.

Mineral Springs

One of our first stops on our way up north, Mineral Hot Springs near Shasta. This place is magical. There is an incredible view of Mt. Shasta, you drive on narrow windy roads, through green grass pastures with cows to get there. It just feels special.
First you soak in their mineral tub which is filled with thick hot mineral water that feels gritty against the side of the tub, then you visit their 175˚ sauna for as long as you can without passing out, lastly you jump into their cold, COLD stream and feel the glorious pain of blood rushing through out your body. Then start over again. It's a shocking, wonderful experience.

Palta y palmitos

My favorite lunch right now:

Palm heart and avocado. And yes, I eat a whole avocado in one sitting. Fat, yes, goodness, yes.