no canada day cake nor beer here

There's a reason I haven't been posting this past week... and a reason I haven't been around to your blogs. It is a very good reason, but we'll get to that in a moment. For now, here are the handful of beautiful things I've eaten recently. That salad up there was way back on Father's Day, but it was so delicious and so lovingly assembled by my own sister that it has to get blogged. You can't see it for all the chunky/sumptuous organic veg on top, but she bought one of those salad mixes with furry bites of mint and even flowers in it - so posh! All it needed was a squeeze of orange and some sesame oil to make it sing. And also cashews on top!

This is my Om-inspired meal. The bean salad component was actually made at 3 in the morning, the night I got in from camping. No, not shower first, oh no... beans need time to marinade of course! And then the next day I threw together this miraculous pilaf with apricots and cumin seeds that tasted WAY better than I ever could have predicted (what did I do??? It just started melting in one's mouth!), and an addictive tahini-dressed salad with radish greens, red onions, yellow beets, parsley and cucumber.

I think the best part of this was my mother's roommate admitting that she didn't need to make that eggy frittata after all, it was a complete meal on it's own. (duh!). No, actually, the best part was the leftovers.... mmmmmmm.

And this is a last meal of sorts. Pretty good for a last meal, though, eh? The sushi ginger was even the fancy kind I had stored away with shiso leaf in it, ooooooh. And it's probably okay that we polished all this off between two people because..........

It's MASTER CLEANSE time! - nothing but lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and mint tea for 10 whole days. Who'da thought I'd ever do it? Actually, it's going okay. I'm on my 5th day right now, and since P and I are both doing it at the same time, it's been really supportive and fairly easy. I'm not even light-headed anymore, and I have zero cigarette cravings. I can't believe I used to poison myself like that, tsk... not when my skin looks this good right now! Things I have noticed, however:

* one must budget heavy-lifting/long walks in proportion to nap times
* limes are totally allowed and taste way better
* eating food seems weird to me now
* I miss alcohol and coffee, though :p
* P is crazy for wanting to do this for 14 days. It's peach season, after all! Expect 5 more days from me and then back to wanton baking/stirring/blending/concocting of actual real FOOD, I can't wait!

the results of a cornucopified fridge

Well... like a lot of bloggers it seems I have to bear the news that I may not be able to keep up with commenting or even posting quite so often as before (still often - blogging gets my sillies out, and is thus very vital!). I think it's a summer thing. Also, much MUCH drawing to be finished, books to read, hanging out to do... the usual.

Anyway, that craziness up there is natto! Weird food, but strangely delicious. It's a fermented soybean that they eat a lot in japan, with brown rice, chopped scallion and soy sauce, and I've gotten kinda hooked on it. It's full of B12, too (the absorption of which is still in debate, but I'll take my nutrients as I get 'em).

And I tried, oh I did, to give up the oatmeal thing in the morning, but I was crazy hungry by 11 am and went screaming for banana oatmeal bread - go figure. So I'm back, but I'm switching up the flavours and it's so much more fun this way! So far I've tried it with gomasio, kelp and toasted sesames (very good, savoury... completely unphotogenic though), and this morning was amazing - ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, candied ginger, dates, flax seeds and lots of perfect fresh blueberries.

Dinner number 2! Clockwise from the left, it's leftover paratha; sliced mango and avocado; steamed kale; smoky red bean and quinoa croquettes; Vcon gazborscht; big green salad; and get this ---- Aux Vivres chana masala!! P brought it from work and it's the exact stuff they put in my favourite menu item there, the chickpea chapati wrap. It's fatty and addictive and hee hee! We have secret restaurant food! :DD

*sexy shot of the oh-so refreshing gazborscht with homegrown cilantro*

*sexy shot of the quinoa croquettes* (recipe follows, ooh!)

Smoky Red Bean & Quinoa Croquettes (makes about 15, maybe... I'm guessing)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked red quinoa
2 cups cooked red beans (or blackeyed peas)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, diced
1 small sweet potato, diced and steamed
1/2 red pepper, diced small
1 cup spinach, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp gluten flour
2 tbsp flax meal
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp Braggs or tamari
3/4 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
juice of 1/2 lime
1/8 tsp Liquid Smoke
2 tsps olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mush half of the beans and leave the rest whole. In a large bowl, combine everything together along with the beans and mush with your hands until it forms a very thick paste.

2. Scoop out about a 1/3 of a cup and form it into a patty. Repeat, repeat.

3. Heat a bit of olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and cook for about 4 minutes each side, or until nicely browned and slightly firm. Serve with guacamole and chips, or fresh corn, or mango.

dinner of champions!

Sorry, I just have to blog about this one meal - it was fabulous. P and I ran around our tiny kitchen and managed to concoct this feast pretty quickly, and it was so colourful and nourishing and involved more organic foods than ever! Clockwise from the rice, it's Rice Pilaf with Dates and Almonds from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home; steamed kale, yellow zucchini and purple beans (that turned green once cooked but were positively eggplant-coloured before); sprouts as always; fresh dill dressing for a green salad of organic spinach, cucumber and peppers; Vcon shredded parsnip and beet salad, and Vcon tangerine tofu. She's inspiring me, to say the least. :D

And the best parts were leftover in copious amounts the next day (I love how full of yum our fridge is right now). The rice pilaf and the beet salad were sooooooo freaking good. Best breakfast ever!

Speaking of which, I've decided with the change in the seasons and the opportunity to try more creative food than ever to drop my oatmeal habit and start eating what my body wants me to eat in the morning. I'm even getting on the raw train (aaaah, it actually happened!). I'm figuring more grains, more cold food, more oil and less (no) refined sugar. I used to be afraid that lightening up my eating would make me float right off the face of the earth (spacey? me? noooo.....), but I figure with a good basis in cooked 'heavy' food like rice and root veg and beans I can make the rest of everything else fresh-off-the-vine tasty. I'm gonna look into my LifeFood Recipe Book today!

Autumn Latkes w/ Horseradish-Dill Sour Cream

Star and I started Lunch Crew -- every Wednesday we're gonna make something delicious and then eat it. These were suitably delicious!

especially with applesauce. ;)