Around here

Today was my day off, as Wednesdays usually are. I like to sleep in a little, start the day with yoga

and a raw food juice. Pomegranates were on sale at the organic store, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was great and the recipe will follow soon!

At 12.00 hrs. I was to meet my friend B. who works as a music therapist at a nursing home. There is a sort of a exhibition space in their main hallway and I wanted to see that space to get an idea of what it was like. I can exhibit about 15 of my own pictures there and I am thinking really hard what I should hang there. The timeframe is the end of November, so I should make a little haste. It feels like something colourful should brighten up this corridor.

In the afternoon I had a regular session at my osteopath. She works on the deeper levels of organs, tissues and muscles. Very relaxing. She told me my body is responding more and more to her treatment and she is quite pleased with that. Not that I am sick or anything, she balances out my body in a very soft way and relaxed my somewhat tensed shoulders and neck.

It was such a wonderful day today: windy but sunny. It was a joy to ride my bike around town. After the storm of last Monday a lot of leaves were yanked from the trees and quite some debris is still on the streets and sidewalks.

In the evening I made muffins made from the pulp of the juice from this morning like I did before. This time I added a little hemp grains and maca powder. They don't look like much, but my housemates found them quite tasty!

Stormy weather

I went to the beach yesterday, at Wijk aan Zee, with a few relatives. A storm was predicted for today, but it was already quite windy yesterday. 

To us it was the perfect weather for a walk: it wasn't cold, just a bit foggy with a stiff breeze. It is good to let your thoughts and worries be blown away. I could recommend it to anyone who is holding on to worries and thoughts. Be with the elements and your troubles look insignificant.

I know, that is sometimes easier said than done, but realize that what you give attention will grow. So, park your worries in the back of your head or better yet, leave them behind at the parking lot and give attention to where you are at that moment. 

For me it was the beach. I had all my attention on the qualities of sand, water and foam and I had a wonderful and relaxing time.

Maybe it has also something to do with the fact that we went to the beach often when we were kids. Spring, summer, autumn and winter, we always went to visit grandma who lived just a few blocks away from the beach.

Anyways, I came back to the city totally refreshed and excited about feeling & hearing the wind and smelling the sea.

How was your Sunday?

Mango-banana smoothie

I treated myself to a tasteful smoothie today: a mango-banana-chocholate smoothie. I adjusted the original recipe somewhat, since I don't live in a tropical country and fruits like pineapple and mango can be costly (not to mention unsustainable).

It's really easy to make (for 2 persons):
Peel two bananas and a large mango, cut into pieces and put into the blender. Add: 1 spoonful of raw chocolate nibs, 1 teaspoon of maca, 1 teaspoon of hemp, a bit of coconut water and coconut milk. Add additional guava sirup for more sweetness. Blend well and garnish with grains of pollen. It's a good starter of the day. 

Source: The art of raw living food, by Doreen Virtue and Jenny Ross.

Funghi

We are in the middle of Autumn, at the peak of funghi. I always find them rather special, maybe it is because they are here for just a short period of time or because they can be so funny shaped. They come in all sorts and varieties. Looking at them makes me wonder which ones are edible. Wouldn't it be wonderful going out in the forest and just picking them for a meal? Going back to nature, I long for that more and more.

Combine your own muesli

These days I put together my own muesli. I used to eat it how it was sold in the stores, until I read in a magazine that you could order your muesli online (I forgot where) with the ingredients of your choice. That gave me the idea of putting it together myself. Why pay for this service if I can simply do this easily at home? In this way my muesli is different every time I make it without the extra shipping cost.

I start out with a basic spelt muesli.

In this case I added (clockwise): nuts (crush them if you like), extra spelt flakes, dried cranberries, sweetened coconut cubes, unsweetened ground coconut and hemp seeds.

The variations are indefinite and all to your own liking. Mix and put in storage canisters. Soak in raw milk or soy/rice/almond milk 10 minutes before consumption. Enjoy!

Day break

The past couple of mornings have been absolutely wonderful: pink skies slowly turning into blue ones. I rode my bike through the park, being amazed at these soft colors. What a joy!

The moon was opposite this pink sky. Sun up, moon down. The moon makes room for the sun. It's wonderful how nature works and how everything has its place and momentum.

Arriving at work the sky was becoming more blue, until the day really broke and the sun appeared at the horizon.

Its yellow light shone inside, making soft shadows and reflections. A delicate time of the day.

Pumpkin soup oriental style

I had to go to the dentist yesterday at 13.00 hrs for two new crowns. More than an hour later I left the building with my right cheek still numb from anestesia and an overall feeling of disorientation. I decided I needed a little comfort food and made myself a thick pumpkin soup with an oriental bite to it.

• Cut a medium size pumpkin in cubes (leave the peel on when it's a biological pumkpin). Peel and cut a large white onion.
• Put a spoonful of coconut oil in a large pan, add the onions and cook for a few minutes over a low heat. Add a spoonful of Thai red curry paste and stir. Add a little water and mix well.
• Add a stalk of lemongrass cut in large bits, 4 thick slices of galanga and a couple of coriander roots. Simmer for 5 minutes to let the savours blend. Add a little fish sauce or Himalaya salt if you're a vegetarian.
• Add the pumkin cubes and more water and let cook for about 15 minutes or until the cubes are soft. The cubes should not be completely under water.
• Remove all the galanga, lemongrass and coriander roots. Mix the soup with a blender until creamy. Add half a bar of creamed coconut and stir well until the coconut is dissolved.
• Serve with freshly chopped coriander.

Carrot pulp muffins

Every now and then I make myself a lovely fresh juice, like this carrot juice I posted last week. I don't have a slow juicer and the with a regular juicer a lot of pulp is left over. What to do with that? A while ago I found a recipe here for muffins with left over pulp. Thank you Groene Meisjes (Green girls)!

I did it a little differently than the way they described it: I used wheat flour (also a left over) in stead of oat flakes.

It was really easy and done in no time. They taste nice and sweet and I eat them as a morning snack at work.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup of oat flakes

1 cup carrot pulp

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable milk (i.e. rice milk)

1/4 cup agave sirop

1/4 cup raisons

The Green Girls spun the oat flakes in a blender until it became flour. I just used plain flour.

Mix in a one bowl the dry ingredients, in another bowl the wet ingredients. Add together and add the raisins. Put the muffins in the oven (180 degrees Celsuis) for 20 minutes or until they're done. Let them cool off and enjoy!

Some more leaves

All of these pictures were taken last Wednesday, when I posted my first Around here entry. In between all my errands, shopping and to-do's I found the peace of mind to open my awareness and to let in the world around me with the intention on Autumn.

Raw carrot juice

As I promised yesterday, I would share a recipe of raw carrot juice. This is actually a variation that I haven't tried before, but I read it the other night on the menu of a restaurant, I ordered it and liked it very much.

I started out with the ingredients shown above, but after tasting I added more four carrots. You could add another apple if you like your juice to be sweet. The little white thing in the middle is a piece of ginger.

Put the ingredients in the juicer, pour in a large glass and enjoy! It is very healthy and it would be excellent to start the day with this liquid.