Recently I was in Santa Barbara at a vegetarian restaurant called Adama. It was New Years Day AND Pajama Day. The waitresses bustled around in their sheepy pj's and I sipped a freshly made almond milk chai latte. It was soo good - my husband and I nestled in our little secluded nook and took turns sipping it and ohhing and ahhing. Naturally, they wouldn't give me the recipe (I wouldn't either if it were mine) but I came home and tried to drum it up. Cardamom is my favorite spice so in it went - I think I came pretty darn close!

Almond Milk Chai Latte

1 cup almonds, soaked a few hours

3 cups water

2-3 shakes cardamom

few twirls freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp vanilla powder 

(I use one from Living Tree Community Foods)

1 tsp coconut palm sugar

Add soaked nuts to water in your blender and puree (you need a Vita-mix or a Blend-tec for this)

until smooth - strain through a nut milk bag.

Put back in blender and add spices and sugar choice - blender for a few seconds.

Warm on the stove but do not stir - that way the foam stays!

Pour into mugs and top with a shake of nutmeg.

Pamela's Chocolate Cupcake

The best gluten free mixes I have found are Pamela's - friends don't even know the difference. My daughter's 14 year old friends snuck up in the middle of the night and ate them so I think they passed the litmus test.
Since my philosophy is ALmost all raw, I whipped up an orange cashew cream as frosting.
Orange Cashew Cream
1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked for a few hours or overnight
Add cashews to Vita-mix and add enough water to fill just shy of the cashews
3 Tbsp coconut palm sugar
1/4 tsp orange extract
little vanilla extract or powder
Puree till smooth.

So it’s official – my daughter is sensitive to gluten – my spelt berries are packed away for a while, hopeful that this will just be a short- lived allergy. Goodbye  chocolate spelt cake (for now) and hello all things gluten free. I saved my almond meal today from my almond milk and decided to try my hand at quinoa flour. Here goes:

Cardamom Quinoa Pumpkin  Muffins

1 cup quinoa flour or Bob’s Redmill Cake Flour

½ cup almond meal (from almond milk) or almond flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking flour

1 tsp cardamom

freshly ground nutmeg

2 eggs

1 can organic pumpkin

1/3 cup avocado oil (or any oil)

½ cup coconut palm sugar

¼ cup maple syrip

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix wet ingredients and add dry.  Cover mixture for 5 min till a little fluffy. Pour into greased muffin tins (I used coconut oil) and bake for approx. 12 min at 350 degrees.

Top with orange cashew cream if you like!

Violet Soup

The purple carrots at the Green City Farmers market were irresistible and vibrant - this carrot/ potato soup turned out violet and yummy.
Recipe:
4 large carrots - 1 purple
3 yellow potatoes
8 cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 onion
sage
sea salt

Preparation:
Saute onion in a little olive oil
Boil water and add veggie bouillon cubes
Add chopped carrots and potatoes
cook until soft
puree in Vita mix till smooth in batches
add sea salt and sage
            

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html?pagewanted=2&tntemail1=y&_r=2&emc=tnt

The cultural lies in celebrating Real Food!

http://youtu.be/O2iBla_VAg8

Want Live water? Choose Spring Water!

http://www.takepart.com/article/2011/09/23/government-subsidizes-junk-food-more-produce

Great little blurb on how the government is subsidizing corn syrup over fresh produce.