Happy New Year! xoxo

Well, I'm back from my unplanned blogging absence, whew!  I hope that all of you lovely readers have had a wonderful beginning to winter, holidays, and a happy New Year.  Things have gotten so busy here starting around Thanksgiving and I'm guilty of not making time to blog =(  Totally not complaining, it's all been great stuff...I've started working part time out of the house for the first time in about 4 years, that alone has been an adjustment for me ;)  It was crunch time for a deadline with school that kept my schedule really full (thank goodness for my planner so I can remember everything;)  Yes, if you're wondering I'm an old-fashioned paper planner girl, I don't have a smart phone;)  and yes I carry a full sized calendar around with me, I like the visual layout of seeing it all at once;)  ps if you haven't figured this out by now, I am probably not the coolest person you know.  We had a warm and yummy holiday that has been even greater that we've both had time off of school and work together, it doesn't get much better than this! (could I have done without a bout of the stomach flu?, oh sure, but I did survive.  Our little family is currently all cuddled on the couch, fireplace on, hubby watching the Rose Bowl =D  love it.

A couple of days before Christmas we made the big decision to get a new car.  We are now the proud drivers of a new Subaru and I'm butt crazy in love with it!  We've been driving two ten year old cars, so this is pretty freaking exciting, still getting used to it honestly.  What's even better is that Subaru is donating $250 for us to the ASPCA for their Share the Love event.  I believe we've all seen the commercial with Sarah McLachlan and I'm fairly certain cried along with it. 
I was reading Peas and Thank You this week and loved her writing on the occurance of her daughter being upset after seeing the same commercial.  She explained to her that there are things they do on a daily basis with animals and others in mind, share their lives with a lovely Pea Kitty, but most importantly they don't eat them.  I'm so happy to be a fellow plant-based dieter, and I really love reading that blog.

Since Thanksgiving we have been eating lots of yummy food, getting to know our dehydrator, and taking pictures of it all.  This post will be a bit of an anniversary for me, in ten days it will mark the 1 year anniversary of Domestic Dharma =)  Over this past year I have learned SO much, benefited from many recipes and ideas in the food blog world, developed online blogger friendships, and enjoyed sharing the things that I love with you beautiful readers, so THANK YOU all =) 

My very first post was about our date order last January so I guess it's a bit fitting to share with you our delivery this month of wickedly delicious barhis.

My excitement started when I saw this at the front door...



fresh from California





We order from The Date People.



They grow many varieties



and grow sustainably



Opening the box I found this



and these, ahhhhh =D  Maggie's excited too, love that face!



I immediately popped a couple and made a delicious treat with cucumbers, yum.



Another organic snack mix I've been enjoying are raw almonds, choc chips, raisins, raw pumpkins seeds, and dried mango.



There was a sweet baby born recently that I made this blanket for.  I loved how it turned out and also that I finished it in time ;) 







I'm off to spend some time with this new book


Thanks for the recommendation Be Verdant!xoxo

Wishing you all JOY in this new year and always.



Thanks for hanging around through the dry spell!

Happy Holiday!

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday so far!  I got up and first thing this morning I took our sweet potato chips out of the dehydrator.  I'm sure this will wear off, but I have dreams about the dehydrator, what to make next, etc. ;)  I washed off the screens and mixed up a batch of minty macaroons.  Having something minty in the dehydrator sure makes the kichen smell yummy! 
We have a few family gatherings over the long weekend that we're looking forward to, it's so nice to catch up with everyone.  Today we're making raw squash salad and I made thumbprint cookies this morning.  I'm planning to write a little later about the recipes we used, I just wanted to post and wish everyone a happy holiday =) 

A couple of items that have been on my mind recently, one of them is this video from Farm Sanctuary.



and the other is by Kris Carr from the Crazy Sexy Life newsletter:

..."We hope you have a magical ThanksLiving inside and out. Remember, just because everyone else gets glutonous on "T" day doesn't mean you need to join in the anarchy. Load your plate with veggies. Jam on peace and respect your buddhaful belly. "    I Love that!  Have a buddhaful day =D

test post

I've installed a new commenting system, however I don't think it shows up until you click on the links to this post below each post.
I'm just making this test to see if I've fixed it or not...

remember your roots, enjoy the view!

oh boy, this is exciting!  Check out what was delivered this weekend...



We have a dehydrator that found a home with us =D  Thank you Mom and Dad!  What actually happened is my very kind and generous Momma picked out some cute clothes for me to use for school and work when I finish.  She had been shopping at Anthropologie, you all know it's not cheap....anyway I was thinking of how the cost of the clothes could buy a dehydrator.  I don't like to look a gift horse in the mouth, but trying to be frugal in tough times I politely asked if I could maybe return them and get a dehydrator instead ( I may have promised the likes of macaroons from the dehydrator;)?  She said of course just wanted me to get something that I wanted, so we took a drive up to town about an hour from us to do the returns, (I did keep a cute tank).  While in town we noticed an athletic clothing store with yoga inspired clothes, Lucy.  I found these sweet skirted pants inside which I will use for work, and they're organic too.  We had a really great day together that ended with dinner at Cacao Tree Cafe and dessert in the truck at home!  I have a post coming up from our eats at CTC. 

Doesn't she fit well here in the kitchen?



love this too



I had measured this spot a while ago when I started dreaming of getting a dehydrator and figured out that it would fit really nice.



So then it was on to deciding what I wanted to make first!  Ever since I had watched this episode of the Renegade Health Show I've had the BBQ chips in my mind...that's what I chose.  Follow the link for the demonstration video and Abeba's recipe.  Abeba Wright is the self described Krazy Kracker lady , she has a few ebooks on the site with her chip and cracker recipes, I kinda want to make them all!

So first we needed some beautiful organic flax seeds



soaked overnight



and our vita-mix to blend up all the ingredients



this was my batter before adding the flax



and after



I hope I got the right consistency...they're drying away in the Excalibur as I type this (and they smell pretty good!) 



We will find out...tomorrow ;) 

When it gets chilly out I find myself really wanting to work on my crochet projects.  It works out well since we have dear friends that will be welcoming a new babe in a couple of months that I'm making a blanket for.  Baby blankets are really my favorite things to work up.  I gathered supplies and am about half way through.  As you can see Maggie is always my sidekick when I crochet!  Can you spy a kitty belly and little foot??



I've used this yarn for a few kid's projects before and really like it, it's Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton. 

This has been a warm drink of choice lately, steeping these two teas together, yum.  I fell in love with peppermint tea while healing from IBS, I find it really soothing. 



We've also been enjoying lots of brothy veggie soups too this fall.  This one was garlic, onion, celery, mushroom, sweet potato, low sodium veg stock, herbs, Celtic sea salt, and zucchini. 



This is how I will often finish my soups.  I use the juice of a lemon and South River Miso.  WHen I take the soup off the heat, I'll add the juice of the lemon (strained) and pull out a bit of stock to mix the miso in with (I let it cool a bit so I don't damage the living miso) stir it well until the miso dissolves, and return it to the pot. 



I love the flavor they make!

I have some muscles to learn for a quiz tomorrow =D  I colored this weekend ;)  In and out of the lines.



I want to leave you with a nice writing for the day from Ilan Shamir.

Advice from a Tree

By Ilan Shamir

Dear Friend,

Stand Tall and Proud

Sink your roots deeply into the Earth

Reflect the light of a greater source

Think long term

Go out on a limb

Remember your place among all living beings

Embrace with joy the changing seasons

For each yields its own abundance

The Energy and Birth of Spring

The Growth and Contentment of Summer

The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall

The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter

Feel the wind and the sun

And delight in their presence

Look up at the moon that shines down upon you

And the mystery of the stars at night.

Seek nourishment from the good things in life

Simple pleasures

Earth, fresh air, light

Be content with your natural beauty

Drink plenty of water

Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes

Be flexible

Remember your roots

Enjoy the view!

I found this at the store in Muir Woods when we visited there a few years ago.  I love it so much, it hangs on our fridge. 



it's pomegranate season

I saw a gentleman open a pomegranate in the field on the Food Channel recently and I thought it was a bit better technique that I had been using.  His way doesn't cut through as many arils as mine did by just cutting it in half.  I thought I'd share what I learned with you in case it will help you too.

I don't see them organic very often, but when I do I pick up a couple, and they're US grown =)



This method will open pomegranates of conventional practice too in case you were wondering ;) 

Here's how I did it, cut off a little top



Now you can see the cute divisions inside.  I believe there's usually four, but there can be more.



I opened the fruit along the membrane segments as best as I could, this part here is where I saved some arils from being cut.





I just pop the tasty lil guys out into a container.  I think many people use the bowl of water method since the arils will sink and the white membrane pieces will float.  I do it this way, it may be a little slower, but I've never been accused of doing things quickly.  I don't even run fast.



There you have it.  We love the arils on salads, eaten alone, and of course I bet you can't guess this:  blended into green smoothies!  Aside from being really yummy and fun to pop in your mouth, they are a nice source of vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants.  Drink up =)



I had a big desire for pancakes recently.  I haven't eaten much of any gluten for about five months so I was hoping to make them gluten free, but I also wanted them to be like the nice thick diner ones.  I had this mix from Bob's Red Mill in the pantry.  (I'm not excited that it's not organic, but I had picked it up in a pinch from Kroger as they are just down the street.  I have this thing where if I bought it, I will really try to not waste it, so this is where I started)



I chose a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance called Pancakes.  Isa even says in the description 'straight up pancakes, just like at the diner at 2am'.  Perfect.  The GF mix says you can sub 1:1.  However doing that I thought the batter was way thin, so I added quite a bit more mix until it got to the consistency I thought would be good and went with that.  Lo and behold they were perfect, just what I was hoping for.  I added the optional cinnamon and blueberries of course ;) 



We loved them up with fresh raspberries and maple syrup, the real deal.



Raspberries were also seen this afternoon on my bowl of raw buckwheat granola with cacao nibs, banana, and sunflower seed butter.  yummy. 



Did anyone else eat this as a kid:
a bowl of sliced bananas, milk, and sugar?  I did.  I think today's version is a little bit healthier.

I'm bringing you a couple of my money saving tips today:

1.  shop your local food co-op.  They have the best sales.  This is a big 8oz bottle of organic fair trade vanilla extract for, well you can see the price.



2.  refill your addition to everything cinnamon with the bulk spice that you bought.  Buying herbs and spices in the bulk aisle is way cheaper to begin with (and less waste since you're reusing the same bottle over and over) and if you buy the whole foil one pound bag you get an extra 10% off (at Whole Foods anyway).  Ask your local store, it's common to get case discounts. 



That's all for now.  I'm going to watch a movie I picked up at the library , crochet, study.
Have a fabulous night!

massage the kale

Kale salads are a staple in our diet around here, I know I show photos of them a lot, so I thought it'd be fun to show you how I make them.  I don't know how others make them, but this is just what I do.  You can also just eat a kale salad unmassaged, they were actually my favorite meal at Go Raw Cafe in Vegas. 

I start with washed and destemmed curly kale that I julienne.  In the bowl I take very clean hands and massage it kind of like it were bread dough, grab and squeeze, etc.  It's a nice little hand workout!  The kale will begin to breakdown some and start to look and smell like it has been cooked a bit.  You'll also notice the volume seems to decrease a bit, so fill your bowl up before you begin.

julienned kale on left and massaged kale on right



I then like to add lemon juice, oil, and sea salt.  I'll give it another quick massage to distribute the dressing.



additions for these salads were:  raw pumpkin seeds, red pepper, red onion, toms, green beans, peas, and a strangely shaped cucumber ;) 



and raw olives!









and the finished bowls, his and hers massaged salads



I realized I hadn't blogged about my last apple purchase.  Our antique apple growers are done at the market now, so our stash will be it until next year.  Here they are from L to R:  winesap, red delicious, grime's golden, and a solo jonathon she gave me to try.



I think this Jonathon is still in the drawer...



and the winesaps are definitely yummy



but the Grime's Golden are unreal.  They are unlike any apple I've had.  They're a little sweet, but have their own flavor, juicy with a great texture.  If you were to judge them by touch you'd think they were mealy inside, they're not at all.  The growers (Salem Orchard and Vineyard) said GG is the predecessor to the modern golden delicious and that when they have them at the market they sell out first thing in the morning.  I'm so happy that we love them since it's one of the trees that we ordered for the start of our 'orchard', taste untasted ;)  I just had a feeling about it. 



So this should be my last ode to antique apples post for the year =)