Give bees a chance :)

As most of you probably know, we are all affected by the declining bee population. There are some things we can do to help. If at all possible, plant flowers and plants that attract bees. Growing wild in my yard is a pink honeysuckle bush. Right now it is covered with dozens of busy bees and eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies, both great pollinators.

































































There are many organizations to help the bees. The Great Sunflower Project is one of them. Here is a site called Urban Bee Gardens
Check out what you can do in your area to help out our little friends.

Eating raw on the run

Sometimes if I have unexpected errands to run, I don't have anything prepared to take with me to eat. Keep in mind where I am, any errand takes several hours at least, since we live in the middle of nowhere :) When this happens, I can usually find a market with a take away salad bar, or just grab some fruit. Yesterday, while in the nearby town of Ticonderoga, I bought a bag of grapes from the market and headed downtown to enjoy them by the Carillon Falls .













It was only a bag of grapes, but the day was so beautiful, they tasted like the best grapes in the world! I was able to walk around the area a bit, and snap these pictures, before heading home. Here is the covered bridge in the same area.














This is a pic of the falls from the bridge












Today I had prepared my favorite caponata, so I was able to take it with me for lunch in a small cooler along with a jar of water from home.














I stopped by my favorite spot in my area to eat it. The sand/rock area on the left side of the picture is where I usually sit when I come here. The picture is taken from a bridge above the river, just over a spot where it is always raging.












The small oval container fits perfectly with a jar of ice water, which also acts as the ice pack to keep everything cold in my little mini-mate cooler.












This is my favorite place to walk or bike ride to in my neighborhood. Earlier in the week I walked along the river road and looked for the wild edibles mentioned in my previous post.














Here are some pictures of wild edibles I took during my walk, but I haven't been brave enough to eat any of them yet.


clover













milkweed













morel mushroom











There are a lot more pictures I took of plants I have to identify, and I will add them here when I do:)



red trillium









wild strawberry












I thought I would share this photo of a pretty moth. She followed me for a few minutes during my walk, and landed on these new maple leaves when I bent down to take a picture of some plant next to them. I guess she wanted her picture taken!












Wish I was quick enough to get a pic of the pair of deer that almost ran me down, maybe next time!

Wild edibles

Now, for sure, I know I am a full-fledged raw foodist. During a walk today, I stopped by a lovely babbling brook. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the scent of pine was in the air. I took a deep breath, admired the beautiful surroundings, and said to myself...I wonder if those pretty green leaves are edible!!!!


















Of course, you must be very careful when foraging for food in the wild. Some plants are extremely poisonous. Today, the only edible wild plant I knew for sure were the dandelion greens. Click here for some health benefits.













Last year I used some in salads and smoothies. Try to find a field guide to wild edibles or an expert in your area if you are interested in foraging. Click here for a site with lots of information. Check out this page for pictures of many common plants. The pictures may help identify safe wild edibles:) Here is a site with many recipes , some are raw. You may also search 'wild harvesting' or 'wildcrafting plants' for more information. This site looks like it has some great resources.

Here is a salad I made today. I picked the dandelion greens in the woods, where I know they don't spray, and it is far from any traffic.

Dandy salad with sweet orange dressing












for salad combine:
2-3 cups mixed baby greens
1 cup dandelion greens
1 sprig mint leaves, torn
3 strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup red raspberries
1/2 a navel orange, peeled and cut up

for dressing:
1/2 orange, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon agave, or a soft, pitted date
pinch of salt and pepper, optional

combine all dressing ingredients in magic bullet until creamy.

You may notice I am trying out my to-go ware:) They hold more than I first thought, more than 4 and a half cups (liquid measure) in each level!

Here is a website that has another brand of tiffin.
Check these out, too!
One more:)

Rawifying Recipes

Many regular recipes are almost raw already. Has Rachael Ray gone RAW????(Rachael Raw hehe) Well, not quite! Yesterday on the Rachael Ray show, she had a lovely cucumber salad that only required a few tweaks to make it all raw. Check out the original recipe.

Now here it is with the simple modifications:

Pickle-Dilly Salad

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon pink salt
1 clove garlic, peeled and cracked
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
1 fresh bay leaf
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cucumbers, sliced thin

I used the food processor to slice the cucumber very thin.
Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the cucumber.
Let stand at least 1 hour.
I keep it in a jar until serving















This show also featured a pasta dish. Simply leave out the cheese in this recipe, don't toast the nuts:), and of course use your favorite "pasta", like spirialized squash. Recipe easily rawified!












note: I added some sliced black olives and chopped pistachios to garnish and tossed a spoonful of nutritional yeast into the pesto. The "pasta" is yellow summer squash spiralized using the large hole plate, and chopped slightly to resemble elbow macaroni:)

Sorry, I couldn't help but notice a related recipe on the Rachael Ray cucumber recipe for Asian cucumber, spinach salad...so here it is!














The rawified recipe is:
The dressing
1/3 cup water (I like a little less)
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon agave, or a big juicy date
1/2 clove garlic
small knob fresh ginger, approx. tip of pinky size:)
2 teaspoons nama shoyu
pinch of salt and pepper, optional

Combine all dressing ingredients in magic bullet until well blended and pour over salad.

The salad:
3-4 cups spinach
1 good slice red onion, slivered
1 large cucumber, cut in half and sliced thin in food processor
1/2 teaspoon approx. crushed red pepper flakes.

I have to thank Rachael Ray for the recipes above, and also for the inspiration for me to go raw! She had several shows in 2007 featuring Dr. Timothy Brantley, author of the book The Cure. After watching the first show he was on, I read his book, and it was so inspiring, I went raw as soon as I finished it.
Many heartfelt thanks to Dr. Brantley...you changed my life!


Some great recipes are already raw, such as most salads, salsa, guacamole, and gazpacho.

Here is a recipe for taco filling that uses mushrooms in place of meat...thank you, have_mersey!













As you become used to eating raw, you will see how easy it is to rawify recipes.
You can usually substitute dates or agave for sugar, flax seed will thicken dishes in place of eggs, raw apple cider vinegar for any other vinegar, nuts or mushrooms are often used for meat, nutmilks for dairy milk and so on.

Hidden Treasures

Since the warmer weather is here, I wanted to get another reusable container for transporting my raw yummies. We often go on day trips in the summer months, and I don't really like to eat out more than once a day . You may recall I have a large square container and a small single lunch size. Instead of getting one like I already have, I thought it would be nice to have a different size like the two tier To-Go Ware. Of course I can order them online, but sometimes I like to see the item in person. A quick search on their website showed me a nearby bed and breakfast that has a gift shop that stocked them! I made a slight detour in my travels back from Lake George today, and found myself on a two lane road with not much more than trees and an occasional glimpse of a river for several miles. Was I on the right road? Several minutes later I noticed a gift shop sign on a quaint log building...yes, I found it! The girl in the shop sweetly welcomed me as I looked around. Tee-shirts, post cards, candles, moose welcome signs, pine cone picture frames....and To-Go ware! There, hidden among the charming "Adirondacky" souvenirs were my coveted containers.

















They also had two different sets of bamboo utensils, and the cute sidekick containers. The fork, spoon, knife, and chopstick set was lovely, however I figured I could easily just bring along a set from home:) I was thrilled at the weight and size of the containers, just what I needed! I picked up a little sidekick, as it looked like the perfect size for salad dressings. As I drove away, I was thinking of all the things I would fill my new tiffin with. When I got home, I unpacked the box. The quality was great, the top doubles as a plate, and inside the top level....another sidekick! I did not realize that it came with one:) I guess you never know where you may find a hidden treasure.

Rainy days and cupcakes

I've always loved rainy days (and nights!), and who doesn't love cupcakes? Today I enjoyed both.

I was checking the new recipes on gone raw and noticed one new recipe simply said to click on a you tube link for the details. This is an easy task for most people, however where I live, there is no high speed internet connection available.

Anxious to view the recipe, I clicked on the link and waited almost an hour (yes you read it right!) for the short video to load. At least I cleaned the house and did laundry in the meantime:) Once loaded, I can view it quickly:)

After jotting down the ingredients and directions, the rest was easy. I had to make some adjustments for equipment and ingredients, but they came out so cute. Thanks to the adorable MegMcMurray for the recipe Chocolate Pecan Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting. Please view the original recipe from the link on gone raw.

Here is the recipe with my adjustments:
Cupcakes:
2 cups pecans, soaked and dehydrated
1/4 cup buckwheaties, (sprouted and dehydrated buckwheat groats)
1/4 cup dried coconut flakes
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 inch whole vanilla bean
Grind all the above ingredients in high speed blender (blend-tec grind grain setting)

Transfer mixture to food processor and add:
1 cup pitted dates
1 tablespoon melted cocoa butter
pinch of salt
Process until well combined, and mixture holds together. Try not to let it over-mix or the nuts get oily.

Roll mixture into balls and place in mini cupcake papers. I made about 12 one and a half inch cakes, plus tasting!
Let chill while preparing icing. Megan dehydrated these for 10 hours at 110 degrees, but I thought they were yummy and moist as they were:)
I followed the directions for the icing, however, I only made a 1/2 recipe and used 1 inch of whole vanilla bean. I must have missed what was used for the vanilla part, but I did see Meg sprinkling some powder into the blender, most likely vanilla powder I think.

Frosting:
1 cup macadamia nuts
meat from 1 young coconut
2-3 tablespoons honey, to taste
1 inch whole vanilla bean
coconut water, just a bit to thin icing

In blender,grind nuts and vanilla bean
Add coconut meat and honey
Add as much coconut water as needed to create icing.
Let the icing chill about 1 hour or so and frost cupcakes. If you have the lovely fresh cherries Meg had, top each cake with a cherry.
I had some chocolate chips in the freezer, so I sprinkled a few of them on top.
note: .125 cup is 2 tablespoons in choc chip recipe:)

Here are the buckwheaties:

















Check sproutpeople for complete instructions. The most important thing to remember about buckwheat, is that they only soak for 20-60 minutes. After that, you only have to rinse them every 4-6 hours for a day or so. Sprout until the tail is about as long as the seed. Dehydrate at 112 degrees for several hours until crisp. Store in airtight containers for months. May grind into flour for use in recipes.

Memorial Day

While looking for a quick and easy treat for this weekend, I stumbled upon a recipe on gone raw once again! This one is from rawleen . Watermelon Mini Cake Delights. If you don't have a lot of time, this one is perfect. I actually whipped some up while preparing dinner for my family tonight! Thanks to rawleen for this recipe.

Watermelon Mini Cake Delights













If you make cut out shapes with the watermelon, here is a mojito idea for the scraps.

Watermelon mojito













Simply blend whatever scraps you have leftover with a few sprigs of mint and some lime juice. Add a squeeze of agave , and a splash of light rum, if you do rum :)

Here is a nut free version for those who want all fruit. If you can find those little flag topped toothpicks, that would be so cute! Simply stack melon, banana sprinkled with lemon juice, and blueberries.

Festive fruit stars






















For a real time-saver, use several mini cakes to decorate a large cake cut from the center of a large watermelon to be cut into wedges.
Here is a link to another cute 'cake' idea, and check out this creation!

There are more patriotic ideas on my Fourth of July post.

O.K., time for someone to come and take the watermelon away from me! Here is a layer cake using slices of melon, layers of cream and banana slices.


























I love this photo of the sky diver unfurling the American flag. I snapped it last fall at a classic car show. It was quite moving to watch this as 'The Star- Spangled Banner' was playing on a beautiful day in upstate New York.

Of course, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.
Many thanks to our troops and their families, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
I wish everyone a safe and healthy Memorial Day.