Love Of Zines

All my life I`ve loved making little books and panflets about various things – When I was a kid I made a nice little book on our galaxy, with color pictures and everything, using my dad`s computer. Unfortunately I lost it, but I remember the great joy that I had in making it and in informing people about various stuff. Many years later I made a zine on how to care for gerbils, when I used to have a dozen and couldn`t keep them all anymore. Although it was a simple little beefy zine printed only on one side of the papers, I had a blast making it and I knew that thanks to it, my gerbils would always be in good hands and the owners wouldn`t get any nasty surprises.

Since I changed my eating habits over 3 years ago I`ve often had the desire to make zines dedicated to food. I wanted to help people start making good choices in their life with something I had experience in. I wanted to inspire people with new ideas, but for various reasons I just couldn`t put my zines togehter. At one point I printed out a 22-full-page, one-sided food zine of this blog but it wasn`t quite what I wanted. While those I gave it to were highly pleased and appreciative, it wasn`t made the way I wanted it and it didn`t contain all the information I would like to have in it. Now that I`m settled back in Montreal and am getting serious with food again, and after being inspired from going to Montreal`s zine fair, I`m happy to say that I`m finally putting my food zine plan into action!

At first I thought about making a big fat zine that included everything, but now I`ve decided to make a Food Zine Collection of about 6 zines. With time I will evaluate which are most popular and make a higher-quality, beefier recipe zine with more information from the more popular zines. For now, these are the 6 food zine topics that I plan to put into print:

#1 UnReFiNeD Recipe Book: A bunch of wholesome recipes of mixed variety, meaning some will be vegan (all will be vegetarian), some will be raw, and some will be gluten-free (and easily labeled as such). There will be photos and some nutritional value information. Knowing me, there will probably be a bit more desserts than anything else, but still a nice mix =P. There will be basic cooking and food storage tips, plus a glossary explaining less-common ingredients and kitchen equipment. The zine will also include an informative summary of my other food zine topics.

#2 Rawesome!: An introduction to eating a raw food diet and the benefits of doing so, without the need to buy extremely expensive ingredients and kitchen equipment. This zine will include various tips for beginners, as well as a big handful of simple raw recipes and a bunch of information on growing sprouts.

#3 Food Politics: A look into today`s problematic food system and what to consider with the growing, shipping and packaging of what becomes our food. There will be an informational list of dangerous ingredients, as well as lots of information on eating a healthier, wholesome diet.

#4 Eating On A Budget: Various tips on eating inexpensively while eating healthy, and trying to do so in not too much time. Dumpster diving (etiquette, what to watch out for), eating healthy while traveling (plus my own travel stories), and foraging are the main topics that will be discussed.

#5 Be Proavtive!: Suggestions on how you can help your community by gathering, cooking and serving food to the public, and teaching good food habits to those you care about. Also, various funny stories and odd combinations included.

#6 Growing Greens & Remedial Herbs: A look into growing simple gardens, indoors and out. There will be a section on growing sprouts, along with a handful of sprout recipes, and a section dedicated to the growth and use of remedial herbs.

I hope you`re as excited about these as I am! As you see, they will basically be a nicely-categorized, updated version of my blog with added goodies, in paper. I plan on printing them into the usual half-page-sized zine and hope to color code the covers. The inside will most likely be black and white to cut down on costs. They will be available in person and by mail once they are completed and will cost approximately 1$-5$ each, with a special price for all zines purchased together. Stay tuned for the release date!

If you want to help me decide which recipes I should include in my recipe book, you can review my recipes you`ve tried on food.com (under the name Ravenhood) and allrecipes (these are waiting approval right now), or simply review them on the pages they`re on here. I`d also be really appreciative of your thoughts on my food zine collection and topic selections. Thanks in advance!

Woof! Woof! Woof!

While in Prince Edward Island, I did some unofficial Wwoofing. I had previously done some research on organic farms in the Maritimes and came across a couple of them that were into Wwoofing, so I contacted Margie, who specializes in greens and sprouts, and went to her little farm.

What is Wwoofing you ask? Their mission statement is: “WWOOF Canada’s mission is to raise consciousness about ecological solutions to environmental issues through support of a community of people who are passionate about sustainable organic stewardship of food, animals and land while respecting nature and protecting natural resources.”. Basically, it’s an exchange of labour and ideas for shelter, food, and knowledge. It’s a great way of learning about sustainable gardening and living, and a great way to make new friends. It involves no money, but the use of the site itself is not free – There’s an annual fee. Wwoofing has been happening for a while now, and all over the world too! For more information, check out their website.

I got to meet another Wwoofer called Mizuho, from Japan, who’d started her journey in Vancouver. She was a really sweet and polite girl and she gave me some awesome gifts, including the cutest bunny charm which now hangs in the van – It’s a plushie with sheets pinned onto its stomach – All in Japanese, it says “safe driving” on the first page, my name on the second, and Mizuho’s name on the third. She reminded me of how much I can’t wait to travel to Japan. One day, I will!

We did various things – harvested some greens and bagged them for the farmers market, put compost around the raspberry bushes, dug weeds out of the compost piles. I strained myself working hard at first and, after not having done much physical work in a while, I really overdid it. I couldn’t run even if I needed to.

I left the biggest for last, after having pulled out various weeds and mushrooms from this compost hill. It was lots of fun! I also relieved a peach tree from its overabundance in unripe fruit. I don’t know why, but I felt the strangest satisfaction in doing this. A deep, comforting, peaceful, familiar satisfaction, but I’ve never done this kind of thing before.

On one sunny evening we all went out for a picnic on the South Eastern edge of P.E.I. and it was fantastically refreshing. We dined on sprouts and salad, strawberries, bread and guacamole. While at Margie’s, I got to dive into her many sprout books and came across some amazing recipes, especially in Sproutman’s books, with Essene bread and Mochi being high on my “to-make” list. I finally got to read some of Simply Raw too! She has some great recipes, such as: Ketchup, Indian carrot soup, Cashew cheese icing, Tomato marinara sauce and Chili.

What’s this, a plate of scrambled egg!? Yes indeed. Margie’s brother has his own big farm full of various produce and animals and supplies her with free-range, almost-organic eggs. I’ve been a strict vegan for about 9 months now and decided to have an egg to see how my body would react – If it would react really badly or if it would be boosted up. In the end, I felt nothing. It was strange cooking and eating an egg again!

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While in Charlottetown, I visited The Root Cellar, a health food store located downtown – 34 Queen Street. It’s a small health food store with not much in it but still better than nothing considering where it’s located. The farmer’s market on the other hand is pretty impressive; It’s always packed with both sellers and buyers, local produce and meats and truly hand-made  products.

Crudessence

I’ve been lucky to dine at a raw food restaurant TWO times in less than one week! The first time was with friends, of which who informed me of such a wonderful restaurant, situated at 105 Rachel Street West (Thanks Purna!). Expensive but definitely worth the experience, Crudessence (which means “Raw Essence” in English) packs their tiny little restaurant and veranda with loads of delicious healthy raw vegan food. Their menu and the taste of their food is quite different from what Live in Toronto has to offer, which makes things fun. They will be opening a second restaurant in the downtown area next summer, so that means that business is going well!

During these two outings I got to try all kinds of things from the menu! Here they are:

Lasagna, made primarily with zucchini and tomatoes, along with sprouts and salad and the most delicious, slightly spicy sauce. It wasn’t as amazing as I thought it’d be, but it was really tasty nonetheless.

I also got to sample a salty crepe – Made with sprouts, cream sauce and an amazing cheese mimic.

Robin got some spring rolls. They were huge and very tasty. The same delicious sauce was served as my lasagna.

This cheesecake alone is worth the trip to Crudessence, and it’s worth the 6.75$ price tag! It is absolute bliss. Both Purna and I never thought we would ever taste real cheesecake again, but this hits the spot. It tastes JUST like real cheesecake. It is sooooooo gooooood. I’m pretty sure it’s made with coconut oil, cashews and agave nectar. Honestly though, I don’t think the goji berries and orange zest look good on it.

I shared a brownie but unfortunately it wasn’t like the one that I had sampled at the Raw Festival – It simply had way too many walnuts.

We did some MAJOR sampling when we went out to eat with my mother and her boyfriend on our second outing there.

Again, the same spring rolls that Robin purchased last time, but cut into four pieces. These are really simple and mostly made of veggies but I find them super tasty.

The sushi was awesome! No fishy taste. It was actually very soft in texture, and the mustard sauce in the sushi (and spring rolls) was super delicious.

Robin, on another occasion, got some sushi-to-go, as they are well known for their take-outs. A great idea considering their store is so small.

We all got drinks. My mom got a refreshing minty drink called something like “combo-mojito”, I got a delicious Elixir drink made with bananas, strawberries and a bunch of superfoods, and Alain got what got dubbed the salad drink, made with kale, parsely, fennel, apple and lemon juice – None of us really liked it, it was really strong in flavor.

It was pretty though! And eventually it started separating. We were curious about what ingredient turned part of the drink pink but forgot to ask to find out.

Robin enjoyed some Passion Kombucha (fermented sparkling tea, made locally) which I must say was Very sparkly and zippy! Very enjoyable but not something I would drink regularly. They come in 3.50$ bottles, in three flavors.

We got the nachos and they were okay. Honestly they weren’t amazing at all, and the nachos weren’t crunchy at all which we all assumed they’d be.

But THESE. Oh yes these were delicious! I forget the name of it, it’s something like “Chapiti-Zaatar” – hummus with “yogurt” and the most amazing soft crackers ever. I would Definitely buy this again.

Robin got himself the miso soup. It was warm and loaded with mushrooms, goji berries and seaweed. Pretty salty, the flavor was nice I guess, but it’s not something I would order myself. It’s not entirely raw – They boil water and then throw the veggies in before serving it to you.

The cheese pizza “Pizzuki” is AMAZING! It’s super flavorful and what makes it extra special is the olives and capers on it. There’s lots of cheesy filling on it, and the olive oil crust makes it all the more flavorful – ~Mmmmm! It also came with zucchini pasta, which was really nice, but could’ve been even better with a more flavorful sauce.

This was “couscous” made with cauliflower and I think the same amazing hummus, sauce and crackers from the Chapiti-Zaatar appetizer.

Since the last time I’d been at Crudessence, I had my eyes set on this – Banana chocolate hazelnut crepe. How could I say no!? It was super delicious. I feel like it should be a couple of bucks cheaper though.

We were really sad to hear that they were out of cheesecake, but we got other delicious desserts. We got the “Noir-Desir/Black Craving” which was a super rich fudgey chocolate cake – Yum!, but I personally found the flavor and texture of the chocolate mousse especially astounding, and the raspberry sauce on top is the best I’ve tasted so far. The chocolates were fun – We all got to try a piece of each, and we all ended up with the same feedback: The rich fudge chocolate, orange chocolate, and mint chocolate were delicious, the maca one left a bad aftertaste in your mouth, and the spirulina one was just plain bad. My favorite one was the orange chocolate one, but I’m a sucker for that stuff.

That’s right. I’m a plate licker.

So what would I order if I went again, now that I’ve tried most of the stuff on the menu? I’d definitely go for the Chapiti-Zaatar thing (whatever it’s called!), with a small side dish of sushi and spring roll. As for desserts, well, I feel highly tempted by the cheesecake, but I’d probably go with the chocolate raspberry mousse and finish it off with one orange chocolate.  I got to try their brownie at the Raw Festival (I didn’t see it on the menu at the restaurant and forgot about it until now) and must say it’s surprisingly rich and flavorful and of course very chocolatey. That would be nice too…

On a side note… I know that raw food is an aquired taste for those who are unfamiliar with raw vegan eating, but I have experimented with it a lot and nonetheless, there were a couple of items on the menu that I and others found unpleasant in taste (like the spirulina chocolate), or way too salty (like the miso soup). What I was a little disappointed about was their reaction to this feedback. On two different ocassions and with two different waitresses, we expressed how we felt about the foods we didn’t like and they in no way tried to make up for it. Most restaurants will offer a replacement or something of the sort when something like this happens (especially when a whole table of four people have the same feedback about a certain food) but nothing was offered, just a “I’ll tell the cook in the kitchen” from one of the waitresses. This is something they could work on.

Christmas All Over Again

I have been meaning to make these for a long time – A healthy version of a Christmas Fruitcake – You know, those dense loaves filled with walnuts, oranges, cranberries and chocolate chips? (Well, that’s the type of fruitcake I was brought up with, but there are a variety of other types) For my first blindfolded try at it, they came out really great, and they actually got the “these are the best muffins I have ever had in my life” speech, and from someone who’s only new to eating healthy too! So I’m pleased with the results. Next time I’ll bake them into a true Christmas Fruitcake Loaf. Speaking of Christmas, one of my favorite “cakes” or “breads” is the Panettone. Raisin and lemon zest filled, hazelnut chocolate filled…  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you have missed out! I wonder if there’s a way I can make an Unrefined Vegan version of it…

I just couldn’t wait!

~Fruitcake Muffins~ Makes 12 muffins

Dry Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour, 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, 2 tbsp ground flax seed, 3 tbsp finely chopped dates (dusted with flour, not packed) some mini chocolate chips (I used 1/2 tbsp of pure pressed cocoa powder chopped into small pieces), 1 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients: 1/2 cup date paste* (recipe in “Recipes: Dips/Spreads”), 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (including pulp), 1 small/medium mashed banana (makes 1/3 cup), 1/4 cup water, 3 tbsp small frozen cranberries, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1/2 tbsp orange zest (packed)

Directions: Mix dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until combined. Pour into a lightly-greased 12-cup muffin pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Let cool before eating.

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I wanted to say something about baking while I was on the subject – Baking usually consists of flours, and even if you’re using whole grain flours, it’s not as nutritious as the whole grains themselves. Using freshly ground flour is much better, but very few people own their own mill or know where to source fresh local flour. So consider eating whole grains too instead of just using flour as your grain source. Boil up your favorite whole grain and mix it with fruits for breakfast, with beans for lunch, or with vegetables for supper.

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This has become a favorite staple in the house, and for good reason! Every time I make Sprout Hummus (see “Recipes: Dips/Spreads”) I end up using more sprouts and less salt, which is all for the better.

So far I’ve made this hummus with just canola or a mix of alfalfa, cloves, radish and canola, sometimes adding some fenugreek to the mix. Fenugreek is an awesome seed, it has such a delicious aroma!

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Today I treated myself to some baked yam. It’s shaped like a diamond so I cut it in half and ate it as if it were an ice cream cone, with nothing else but… a tiny bit of Maplenut Sauce… I read one of Vegan Reader’s articles, informative and entertaining as it wrote about the Native Americans’ diet, and came across something intriguing – Yam, with peanuts, maple syrup, salt, pepper and warm spices. I just had to try this out (without the pepper and warm spices), so I mixed a little bit of maple syrup and natural peanut butter together (more or less equal parts), added a pinch of sea salt. I let it warm up over the woodstove and drizzled it on my yam and Oh My Garlic it was so heavenly I’m still in serotonin land. And so Maplenut Sauce was born and will quickly make its way to my Dips/Spreads Recipes page =)

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Michal is having her first giveaway for her Veganversary, check it out!

Also, don’t forget about my own giveaway, ending in less than 2 days!

Sproutin’ & Jammin’

I’m glad I got back into sprouting, they are a fun addition to salads and dips, and they are full of life.

Pictured is a mix of canola, radish, alfalfa and clover from Mumm’s Sprouts. They are going to be turned into Sprout Hummus today =).

**If you’ve entered the Valentine’s Giveaway already, please note that I’ve decided what the extra gift will be: Garlic chive seeds from Mumm’s! There’s an additional way to enter, so check it out in my earlier post.

I’m still on my lemon juice & zest kick, so here’s a smoothie with a kick! It looks tame, but it’s not.

Zesty Banana Smoothie:

Ingredients: 1 banana (yellow but not heavily spotted), 1/3 cup applesauce/ pureed apple, 1 tbsp ground flax seeds, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp packed lemon zest

Directions: Add all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

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I found a huge block of frozen raspberries in the freezer that no one was using so I thawed them out and made jam! A tart jam, that is. I know nothing about making jam but I think it’s pretty simple: Simmer fruit until lots of water evaporates and you’re left with a thick sauce, add a sweetener to sweeten and preserve, and store in clean glass jars.

I made mine with only 1/2 cup date sauce. If you want a sweeter, darker flavor, add more date sauce. I think it’s delicious and really flavorful, Robin says it’s great on toast but too tart to be eaten alone. Am I now immune to tartness?

Tart Raspberry Jam Makes 3 1/2 to 4 cups jam

Ingredients: 7 cups raspberries (thawed from frozen), 1/2 cup to 2 1/2 cups date sauce

Directions: Simmer raspberries uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours. Make sure to stir every few minutes so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, slightly lowering the temperature as the water evaporates. Once you’re almost done simmering, stir in date sauce and simmer for another 15 minutes or until desired thickness. Fill up sterilized mason/ glass jars and screw cap on tightly.

Next time I’ll use lots of date sauce to make a sweet Raspberry Date Jam.

Valentine’s Day Giveaway!

Hello my fellow readers, I wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day with you by hosting my very own first giveaway!

Behold, cocoa beans from Mexico’s state of Chiapas! I bought these while backpacking in Mexico this winter. I purchased them from a company named Ki-Xchocolatl, which makes delicious cocoa powder. I believe they are organic but I’m not 100% sure. They are not shelled so you’ll have to take the shells off. The original package has already been opened but I promise I’ve been sanitary about it =). I like to crush them up and use them in truffles. One thing I would love to do if I ever go back to Mexico is to go to Chiapas or Tabasco where they actually grow and harvest cocoa.

Plus a bag of garlic chive seeds from Mumm’s, they make tasty HOT sprouts! These aren’t meant to just be eaten alone by the handful, but they make great flavor enhancers. This package has also been opened, but like the cocoa beans, I’ve been sanitary about it. I’ve bought a variety of sprouts from Mumm’s and although they aren’t cheap (with the garlic chives being the most expensive), they have always wielded great results. Surpisingly enough, they are a local company in Saskatchewan, located just a couple of hours away!

There are 8 ways to enter for a possible 11-12 entries in total, comment separately for each of them, and please include your e-mail address or a link to your blog so that I can contact you. Giveaway ends at midnight on February 19th (Canadian Central Time). I will randomly pick a winner and contact them during the weekend and ship out the package on February 22nd. This giveaway is for Canadian and United States residents (Sorry, I’m too poor to ship any further!). It’s also only for those who regularly check my blog or are interested in starting to stay tuned to my blog and aren’t just looking for freebies, please. This is a little thank you to all the neat people I’ve met online since I started blogging =).

1) What is your favorite chocolate recipe? What is the most unusual chocolate recipe you’ve ever heard of? What do you think would make an unusual but deliciously flavorful truffle? dates + cocoa powder + ____? (worth 1 point)

2) Although carob has a distinctly different flavor from cocoa, it’s popular as a substitute. It’s naturally sweet and caffeine-free. What is a tasty carob recipe you’ve made or heard of that’s fit for an “Unrefined Vegan” and that’s tried and true? (worth 1 point)

3) What is your favorite sprout recipe (besides adding it to a salad)? If you’ve never tried sprouts before, why is that so? Have you ever heard of them before now? Does it strike you as odd to be eating these things? (worth 1 point)

4) Tell me what you like most about my blog, and what you would like to see more of. (worth 1 point)

5) Tell me how blogging has changed your life and what fantastic people you’ve met over the internet in doing so. (worth 1 point)

6) How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? How do you celebrate it? Are you able to muster up the courage to confront those you admire on this day or is it simply too daunting? Is Valentine’s Day a popular event at your school? (worth 1 point)

7) Make one of my chocolate-based recipes and leave a review.  (worth 3 points, and worth 4 points if you include a picture… Don’t cheat! Those who have made one of my chocolate-based recipes in the past are elligible.)

8 ) Blog about my giveaway and leave a link to your post. (worth 2 points)

I look forward to your replies!

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What do I think of Valentine’s Day? Like with most other holidays, I’m not very cooperative, a.k.a. I’m a poor customer. I don’t believe that one day should suffice to tell someone you love them or admire them. I don’t believe spending money is the only way to do this either. And flowers? “I killed these flowers as a sign of my love for you” – Just doesn’t appeal to me. A little pot of flowers would be a much nicer and longer lasting gift! Handmaking something (or some special baked treats!), doing little things that make them realize you pay attention to them and know what they like and dislike, and Telling them what you think of them is important. I have trouble with that, I have a hard time expressing myself and showing excitement and gratitude, so it’s hard for the other person to pick up on that and know what’s really going on. And for those who want to tell someone they love or admire them… Don’t hesitate! It’s your honest feelings, and they are positive feelings. No one would be unhappy to hear such things, unless they’re really shallow – Then that’s a good sign that maybe you shouldn’t deal with that person! Have courage and go for it, or you may regret it for the rest of your life.

After seeing everyone else’s cute heart shaped treats, I felt the need to make my own too… Happy Valentine’s Day! =)

All Kinds of Goodies

Robin’s sister recently asked me to help guide her as she transitions to a healthy wholesome diet. She’s currently vegan, unrefined and wheat-free as us, and she found the most unusual but delicious recipe – Norweigan Flatbreads.

They have a nice sweet flavor if you let them crisp up, and crisp they sure do! I haven’t made them myself, but I’ve watched her make them. I’m still waiting for her to share the recipe with me! It’s wonderfully simple: dark rye flour, pureed baked potato, and sea salt. I’ll definitely be posting the recipe when I get my hands on it.

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And finally, I have a new dip recipe to share! After deciding to start sprouting again, I cruised the internet for some recipe ideas and came across a Sprout Hummus recipe on “Sprout People”. As usual, I made a couple of changes, and ended up with a really tasty and flavorful dip! It’s gotten a lot of praise so far.

Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups sprouts (I use a mix), 2 tbsp tahini, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/6 tsp sea salt, 2-3 garlic cloves (minced)

Directions: Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until decently smooth. Serve with crackers or spread on bread. If I remember correctly, this recipe makes around 3/4 cup. As for the type of sprouts I used, it was a mix of seeds like alfalfa, radish, canola etc – No lentil seeds.

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Another recipe that’s gotten a lot of praise is my new Lemon Poppy Muffins. I’m especially surprised with the results since this is the first time I baked muffins with rice flour – Rice’s properties keep surprising me! The dough was extremely light and fluffy as I scooped it into the muffin pan, and the final result was one of my lightest muffins as of yet. I used more baking powder than usual so that obviously helps but, for rice being gluten-free, it sure can make well textured baked goods! I wanted to make something with bananas and lemon juice and I had just bought poppy seeds, something I’m really unfamiliar with, and wanted to experiment. This is the first time making these so I plan on messing with the ingredients (especially the baking powder and baking soda which I still don’t understand…). Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients: 3/4 cup brown rice flour, 2 mashed bananas (about 3/4 cup), 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp ground flax seed, 1 tbsp poppy seeds, 1 tsp packed lemon zest, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground ginger, 1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions: Mix dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Pour wet ingredients into dry mixture and stir until combined. Pour into 6 muffin pan cups and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

These made a batch of 6 muffins. I took 3 for myself and gave the other 3 to Robin, who went to the garage with them. As I was eating them I realized how delicious they were and I literally suddenly ran to the garage in the freezing cold to steal Robin’s last muffin before he could take it back. Sounds like he’s in love with them too as he was sad to have lost his 3rd muffin… hehehe…

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I was able to get my hands on some cheap organic parsley and lemons, so I made myself a tabouli-ish recipe for supper. Fresh parsley, millet, lemon juice, green onion, spinach, tomato, and a bit of apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, spices and sea salt. With a piece of Norweigan Flatbread of course!

I also toasted up some of my garlic & herb bread with mushrooms, green onions and tahini, speckled with a bit of sea salt and black pepper, for Robin. He likes his mushrooms with his bread. This time I added 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast (yes, I finally bought some! It actually does give off a cheesy flavor, but it’s not cheap) to my bread recipe and, although Robin reported that it didn’t have that much of a cheesy flavor, he says the bread was overall more flavorful than the last batch.

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I plan on making some rice milk again, but I also want to have a go at almond milk. I’m also looking forward to making raw cranberry sauce… But I’m running low on lemons! Suddenly it seems I’m going through them so quickly! Well, I’ve been using them for their juice and zest for green smoothies, sorbets, muffins, tabouli, dips and sauces…

Oh and as for the Oats ‘N’ Rice Pancake Crisps… Do whatever you want with the quantity of water and the temperature of the rice milk! Really, it’s so variable… Use hot or room temperature rice milk, and just add water little by little, make sure it’s not too liquidy, and make sure your pan is decently hot.

Quick Post

This will be a short post, but I do plan on writing another post soon with lots of info, recipes and pictures. I’m pretty busy working on  my sailboat right now, considering it’ll be moved into the water and I’ll be living on it by the end of the month!

I’ve been making sprouts every couple of days, they’re so delicious and fun and easy to make! Lately I’ve been sprouting seeds from “mumm’s”, they’re a neat Saskatchewan company. I usually throw my sprouts into a salad (consisting of lettuce, corn, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, green onion, garlic, and dressing), while Robin usually throws his inbetween two slices of kamut bread; He’s grown a fond love of sprouts as well.

One of my corn salads, with a little bit of chopped snow pea sprouts and dried tomato.

And a sneak-peek at one of my new delicious decadent treats, which taste just like Ferrero Rocher!

Sprouting and Dehydrating

Exciting news! I plan on building a solar dehydrator this week (I’ll post pictures), and I’m going to start sprouting my own sprouts as well. I think I’ll start with millet, sesame and buckwheat, and I’m hoping to get some rye berries and try that out. But not alfalfa… I’m just not a big fan of it, I think it has too strong of a smell and taste. I really like sprouted green lentils though!

I’m still in the process of renovating the blog. It should be cleaned up soon.