Bring On the Heat!

It’s been super humid-hot the last couple-few days and I’m loving it!! We (Rowan, Rich, and I) have been working outside tending to the lawn, the gardens, and the bugs. Peas went POW overnight. Sugar snaps are sooo sweet and crispy—not like what you get in the store. And Ro-Ro can’t get enough of the sweet pod peas. Every batch I’ve brought in she’s gobbled up, so I guess I won’t be freezing any!! Maybe I’ll plant a bunch more for a fall crop.

Most of the lettuces have bolted, so we’ve had salads, wraps, and green smoothies. What I won’t be able to use up right away is being frozen for smoothies later. Carrots are ready and Ro munches one every time she’s out to the garden. Green beans have a ways to go yet, which is good because I’m still looking for some raw green bean recipes. Anyone know a good one?? Send it and I’ll post it. Parsley’s growin’ well and I look forward to fall harvest and Jinjee and Storm’s tabuli recipe which is one of my favorites.

Rowan’s been in her kiddie pool every day---and mommy’s joined her a couple times as well!! She’s so funny to watch as she tries to squirt me with water from the rubber duckie’s bottom—but get’s it turned the wrong way and squirts herself instead! LOL . . . but she’s learning fast. She also discovered that mommy screams and daddy runs away when she squirts the coooold water from the hose at them. Giggle, giggle, giggle says Rowan.

I made a batch of what have you cookies. Started with the hazelnut pulp leftover from milk and just kept adding. They have: nut pulp, juice and pulp from 3 oranges, cinnamon, raw honey, vanilla, flax seed, black sesame seed, chia seed, hemp seed, and coconut flakes. I can’t wait to taste them as the batter was super yummy. Rowan helped and it was all I could do to keep the spoon and her fingers out of her mouth, then out of the dough again! It’s not like cookies that are baked, so germs that won’t get destroyed in an oven are not wanted in the dough.

Today Rowan ate:
lots of green smoothie—a full blender, as she couldn’t get enough.
two salads—red leaf lettuce, onion, and carrot pulp
lots of peas
a carrot from the garden
hazelnut banana milk with flax oil, vanilla, and sea salt
¼ of a huge watermelon
the rest of the cookies I made on father’s day—about 7 cookies

Enjoy your evening!
~Rowan and Sharilyn

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's a special Valentine Recipe just for you. Created by Tristen and strait from his book Raw Creations from a Seven-year-old, this Raw Coconut-Strawberry Ice Cream is a treat even non-raw step-dad Rich loves. We hope you'll try it, and know you'll scream for more if you do!

Raw Coconut-Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:
Meat from 2 baby coconuts
1 cup frozen strawberries
½ cup fresh strawberries
1 T. coconut oil, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 T. raw honey
enough coconut water to blend

Directions:
Chop up the 1 cup of the frozen strawberries in the blender until they’re small chunks. Pour in a bowl and set in the freezer. Put the coconut meat, fresh strawberries, oil and vanilla in the blender and blend, adding a verrry small amount of coconut water as you need it. You want it as thick and as smooth as possible. Pour this over the chopped frozen strawberries and stir together. Pour into a sealable container and put it in the freezer. Stir it every couple of hours as it’s freezing to help keep it soft. Serve and enjoy.

O.K., I just can't help myself. Today I threw together a Strawberry Shortcake for breakfast--and again, my non-raw husband chowed down. Here's what I did:

Raw Strawberry Shortcake

1. Grind 2 coffee grinders full of cashews--ground up of course

2. Grind a large handful of dates, ground in the coffee grinder with a little of the cashew "flour" so it wouldn't stick and clump.

3. Pour into a bowl and add a spoonful of honey and a dribble of vanilla and mix. That's the shortcake. You can shape portions into cups/cakes in small bowls.

4. Pulse-blend a couple large handfuls of strawberries and a spoonful of honey. Leave lots-o-chunks!

5. Pour over shortcakes, garnish with a strawberry half, and chow down!

We hope you receive lots of love from yours, and hugs to all who take the time to read our blog!!!

~~Sharilyn, Tristen, and Rowan

Carrot Juice Buzzzz

Well I did it again. I drank carrot juice in the p.m. and it is now 3AM Friday morning and I’m still an energizer bunny. I couldn’t help myself, I was just seriously craving carrot juice! I thought I was gonna hit the sack earlier when I was talking with my mom, but after getting off the phone and remembering to water the plants, getting sidetracked by the new newspaper (we don’t have television, so it’s one of my few links to the outside world and I can get anxious to read it), and researching some herbal preparations in the book I just got at the library tonight, I wound myself up again. Hopefully I’ll manage a few ZZZZs before the sun comes up, or rather, before the kids get up.

Tristen and Rich came up with a fantastic (so I hear) dressing today. I listed the ingredients below. I never would have thought to put carob on a salad. Cinnamon either. Just goes to show how un-conformed children are to the “norm.”

Today Tristen ate:
oatmeal with honey
carob sesame milk
½ avocado
banana
raw chocolate cupcake with coconut icing
salad-cukes, carrots, romaine with, get this, ACV-EVOO-honey-orange juice-carob dressing
raw chocolate ice cream

Ro-Ro ate:
oatmeal with honey
banana sesame seed milk
another ½ bowl of oatmeal
carrots and sweet potatoes
carrot-cucumber juice
freshly shelled walnuts and almonds

~~~Sharilyn, Tristen, and Rowan