happy in small ways

Good Morning all!  It's starting to feel a bit like winter here.  We've been having nice sunshiney days, but our leaves are pretty much all fallen since it's been so windy.  Hope everyone has had a great recovery week from the Halloween festivities =)  I've been reading updates on Facebook about things folks are grateful for in November.  Something that I'm definitely grateful for are the wonderful farmers and vendors braving the cold at the FM yet and their lovely goods.  Here's our week's loot of greens getting washed up:

lots of curly kale, red romaine, and butter lettuces



I didn't take any pics this week, but we got some delicious and beautiful purple broccoli, Russian kale(one of my favorites), curly kale, bibb lettuce, garlic, kabocha squash, red peppers, and this raw bread that I'm in love with.



It's made my the monks of the Detroit Zen Center, it's SO good and has lots of onion and olive flavor! 



I'm hoping to order our dehydrator later today!  Very exciting, we'll see if I can make raw bread that I like this much =)  I think I've decided on the Excalibur with the silicone sheets. I've been having such a hard time deciding on the plastic (more affordable) vs. stainless steel.  I try to not have plastic around when I have the option not to, it has taken me a long long time, and honestly I'm still a bit undecided...I've emailed Excalibur again today to hopefully learn more about the plastics used.  Does anyone have thoughts on this (I know I've asked before, but I'm still having questions) and know if the low temps affect the plastic?  I do like that Excalibur has silicone sheets now.  What trays do you all use?  I'm kind of unsure of what I'd need.

We've also been enjoying this kimchi from the Brinery, a local fermenter.  He makes a vegan kimchi (sans fish sauce) that I picked out among many other options like sauerkraut, pickled carrots, and beets.  I bet the beets are fabulous, may have to try them next ;)



it's really tasty added on a salad with a good amount of spice.  He uses local organic vegetables too. 



As I was reading HEAB I was intrigued by a recipe for a grain free pumpkin spice bead from a Spoonful of Sugar.  I wanted to try it, so I subbed two medium sized bananas for the eggs.  (I don't usually buy non organic AB, but I had picked this up while travelling. It's pretty much gone now.  We go through nut butters fairly quickly ;)



all mixed up, no grain flour, no sugar, no gluten, and vegan =)



and after baking



mine really didn't drop much at all!  It was nice and dense and yummy.



I've been on such a nutB&J craving that I smeared some on top of this bread, sunflower seed butter and strawberry jelly



and I've been enjoying this interesting snack too:  brown rice wrap, banana, raw almond butter, and jelly
(in Massachusetts, Trader Joe's had their own brown rice wraps too, does your TJ have them?)



in other decidedly more healthy food ;)  a wonderful lunch of guac, raw cheddar cheese dip, tomatoes and carrots from the garden, celery, local red pepper, and the monk's raw bread. 



Have a fabulous day!  Mom and I are heading to Anthropologie for some returns that will allow me to get a dehydrator =)  yea!

I've been thinking about this quote the last couple of days:

'In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.'  ~Edith Wharton