Savour your delights

Russell James is one of my favourite Raw food chefs at the moment and his recipes, if you take the time to make them, are just genius. Here is his Cauliflower cheese from his recent newsletter: 'News from the Kitchen'. I didn't believe before i tasted it that it would be as delicious as it was, creamy and herby and hmm mmmm, infact i might have to go back for another helping! The key to this recipe apart from the cashew nuts is to marinate the cauliflower.

Cauliflower Cheese By Russell James

For the cheese sauce

1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked 20 minutes

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary ( sadly i couldn't find any in the shops to add)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast ( i used organic vegan bouillon powder 2 1/2 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon salt ( i used just a pinch of pink himalayan salt)

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch turmeric

1 spring onions, finely chopped

5 chives, finely chopped

Blend all ingredients except onions and chives in a high-speed blender until smooth.- Stir in onions and chives by hand.

For the cauliflower

1 medium cauliflower, split into small florets (this will be about 4/5 cups)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch turmeric

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, massage in by hand and leave to marinate for 10 minutes

To assemble

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Mix the cheese sauce and cauliflower together and serve in individual portions in small bowls. The bowls can be placed in a dehydrator 1 to 2 hours before serving to warm through.

Sprinkle the chopped chives over the top and serve (with a big green salad)

In love with light

In these days of snow and little light what i crave is the sun and all that it brings with it. Warmth, light and that deep inner happiness and leaping of my spirit. The sun shines and so does my spirit. I start to uncurl and my body feels like it could just drink in the light forever.

The forecast however is snow, snow and more snow, until wednesday at least. So for now i will have to imagine those blissful sunny days to come and instead enjoy the snow as it falls lazily from the sky in big fat flakes while i sit by a beautiful log fire playing with my son. The snow is delicious in its soft icing sugar snow drifts inviting us to make snow caves or simply to dive into it with glee and that is just what we have been doing today. The heaven about the winter is just this: getting out whatever the weather, breathing in some fresh, if chilly air (minus 11 today), and soaking up any light that shows itself, before piling back inside out of the cold with rosey cheeks to warm up again and enjoy it all from the comfort of our sittingroom, preferably with hot scones and a steaming mug of tea by a roaring log fire.

BUT of course ............................. nothing beats the sun.

A conversation with paint

Image dialogueing or writing streams of consciousness in relation to an image or piece of art can be a very powerful tool. It can unlock hidden messages in an art piece or it can reveal elements of a piece that you were not immediately struck by, aware of, or could grasp initially.

I came across a piece of paper yesterday after a huge clear out of my studio on which i had written a stream of consciousness in relation to a painting (sadly i can't currently access the image of the painting) in a group art session back in september 2009. It was a very powerful piece in terms of what i felt when i made it and viewing it afterwards so although i don't do this with everything i make i felt it was very important to write something down after making it to record some thoughts and even to get to some of the deep emotions and message of the piece. I loved the process of getting in there with my hands in the paint using them to touch my feelings in a more immediate way than i felt i could using a paint brush, but it was also rather wonderful to see what came in written form because it brought a different dimension to the visual and the kinesthetic act of making the painting:

A stream of consciousness in relation to my painting:

"Joy of expression, of play with the paint, soothing, feeling its texture on my skin, moving it, wide movements, expansive and expanding. Love, love of art, of life, of freedom. How freeing it is to express oneself in art form, release-no barriers. No Judgement. Raw Power of the kinesthetic process. Release of feelings of known and unknown desires. Need to be real on paper-need to unfurl, to woosh with energy, zinging with aliveness and wholeness meeting oneself in oneness in good and bad- or the not so desirable sides, it's all how we view it.

Power-personal power-identity. Who we are, who we think we are. Who we want to be. How we view ourselves and others-do we stay true to ourselves, make peace with all of who we are.

Whoosh, Zing, Vibrance, Peace, Joy, drive to do something valueable, seize the day, yet also just be. Work with passion, sense, be true, be unrestricted, yet contained and held in some ways. Start somewhere-with joy. Start from this basis-RAW JOY-Ritual a basis to the day.Freedom of movement and positivity of thought. Parallel processes. Love at the heart of all things. Nurturing yourself and others. Create the life you wish to live.

Being alive-what do you want to do with your life?What do you want to create?

Ritual of birth, ritual of life and death. Lightness, spirit, playfulness, heart, passion. Raw energy. GRATITUDE-for life and my people-the people in my life, for spirit, for spirit, for spirit."

****************************************************************************

What was clear from making the piece was the deep joy and connection i felt, the RAW JOY of movement in making the painting and how in life i feel that this corresponding unlocking and flow of life and energy brings the same feelings of connection, joy, gratitude and ultimately of love.

Thinking of gratitude i came across this poem:

'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

" Today I hear the laughter of children at play. Their voices filled the air almost like chimes. And I felt their arms about my neck and their sticky kisses on my face. How blessed I am! Today I heard a mockingbird trilling out every single song it every heard from its winged friends. I closed my eyes and in the trees I heard all the voices I've heard since childhood, and it took me through all the happy, breathless, precious times I loved so much. Today I heard my mother's voice calling to me happily. It was a good, strong, healthy voice that has called to me courage, and hope and peace, and shall continue to call down many lanes to me. Today I heard my child's voice. I heard her singing, I heard her praying, I heard her laughing and talking. I heard her teasing and moving from place to place in all the activities I love to see her in. Now, even more than ever I realize how grateful I am that God has given me the excellent faculty of hearing. I shall with all diligence try to hear nothing evil, but only love and peace which is my heritage. "

I think it is important to express gratitude every day:

Will's Wisdom

In this short video the actor Will Smith talks about his path to success and happiness. It is definately inspiring stuff. He believes you make your own luck and success by working very hard and dedicating yourself to be being better every day, to developing your skill- "greatness is in all of us ".... he is living proof that that is the case and i think he's pretty cool because of his positive ( magnetic) energy and belief in himself.
His father told him 'Don't ever tell me there is something that you can't do. If you want something go and get it. You don't set out to build a wall, you say i am going to lay this brick, just one brick as perfectly as i can and i'm going to do that every day, then you will eventually have a wall.'

If you haven't seen his film In Pursuit of Happyness it is definately worth the watch. Make a choice, decide who you are going to be and what you are going to do. You have to focus, but you will make it it if you believe in something enough. You can create whatever you want to create.

Reach for the bliss

I never intended for this blog to turn into a raw food blog, but for now that seems to be what is drawing my attention and therefore what i am predominately writing about.

I can safely say that eating a diet of mainly raw living foods has transformed my life and these are the few things that have changed since i have started eating this way:

1) I went out and got a radical haircut and loved it.

2) My period pain completely went after 2 months and along with it the horrendous rage and depression before it ( PMS).

3) My periods have totally balanced themselves, so for the first time in my life i can almost time my period to the day. I know exactly where i am in my cycle and i no longer need to worry about them. They are also not clotted and heavy like they were before.

4) My skin is slowly clearing from the usual deluge of blackheads and spots and it is getting softer and generally seems healthier. My skin has been bad for years and years as a result i believe of a leaky gut/food intolerances so this is a fabulous feeling. I feel that once i have done a series of colonics then i think this process will speed up as i feel that the remaining skin detoxing is a result of impacted matter in my colon after years of not having a fully functioning digestive system..sorry but i think true.

5) I lost the remaining weight that i had gained after having my son, infact initially i lost quite a lot which was a little worrying but it has balanced itself out now.

6) My apetite went a bit haywire for a while as i adjusted to this new way of eating. Initially i was ravenous and ate huge amounts of food but it then gradually decreased until i lost my apetite almost completely for a while. Now however i eat when i am hungry which is back to a more regular pattern and i don't seem to be emotionally eating to fill a void etc anymore. I now actually crave greens like i have never done before and i dream about delicious plates of fruit and vegetables.

7)The almost daily low mood/depression, especially prevalent in the winter months has lifted so that for the first time in as long as i can remember i feel an absolute love of life on a daily basis. Wow this is what it is meant to feel like to be alive and zinging every day. Not just a few times when the sun is shining and everything is perfect.

8) I don't feel angry every day for no logical reason and i also feel more patient and just calmer.

9) I am feeling connected, grounded and my brain feels like it is finally beginning to wake up after decades of being asleep woweee that is a good feeling. Of course with M.E my brain does seem to scramble again when i am very tired, making things come out back to front and upside down, but hey it is all improving.

10) I no longer get food hangovers every morning ( unless i eat a lot of cooked foods or things like crisps or shop bought gluten free bread) and my tummy feels good. I am not 100% raw for social reasons and because i sometimes feel i need cooked grains like quinoa, buckwheat etc ( although i am beginning to sprout these more and more) or i just feel like goat cheese, cake etc. I just go with whatever i feel like at the time.

11) I no longer need a sleep in the day, unless i have done something very strenous, stayed up too late too many nights in a row or haven't paced myself, pushing myself too hard, but even then i have a much quicker recovery time than ever before. I don't feel sluggish and exhausted on a daily basis and i have started running daily or every other day which is just utter bliss as i don't seem to be getting the intense fall out that i always had after exercise which would limit me to one or two times a week, or nothing except gentle walks.

12) Due to my son being at Kindergarten we have experienced more than our fair shair of bugs and sickness as a family in the last few months. Usually i would be the first to succumb and then it would take me a good two weeks to get over it, leaving me exhausted afterwards and then i would usually collapse with another bug. Instead i have been the last to succumb and have had the mildest versions ever, having the two bouts of gastric flu for just one day each time and a day or so needing to rest afterwards and with the chest infection just 3 or 4 days, infact i can't fully remember now but i know that i bounced back in a way that i have never done before.

13) An increased sensitivity and intuition which includes knowing in each moment what my body needs and in terms of food being able to leave the foods that my body feels isn't right for it anymore or at least being aware before i eat it what it will make me feel like. It doesn't mean i always follow it but i know that if i do things are much better.
I am sensing and feeling more than ever before but it is not overwhelming me, infact it is incredibly exciting. Last night i closed my eyes to see psychedellic colours and patterns of energy whirling and swirling and when i opened my eyes i could still see this. It felt incredibly soothing, expanding, relaxing and healing and my body felt amazingly warm despite the cold of the room, it was a warmth that began like a cloak or someone wrapping their arms around me (my husband was away) and spread until it radiated throughout my whole body. I have experienced this before when i have been alone and needed comfort or just to know that i am connected and
can tap into this.

14) I don't need to sleep after i have been out in the city centre. Usually i would need to rest in a big way after this.

15) I can't stop talking about it all but i really feel that i have woken up for the first time since i was a child and it is making me buzz, fizz, zing, and vibrate with life, happiness and positivity unlike anything i have experienced. It is almost like i am high on life and i want to shout silly songs and dance down the street ( for example singing yipedy doo dar yipedy day my oh my what a wonderful day)

Long may it all continue.

16) The Physical and Emotional Detox
I have to say i did go through a bit of a detox in the beginning ( i think perhaps it would have been stronger if i hadn't been eating pretty much a whole food, gluten,dairy and sugar free diet for many years before i started...this was perhaps my transition) with my skin initially getting worse, feeling more bloated etc and uncovering layer upon layer of emotional issues that i thought i had dealt with but which had obviously been held in my body/cells and as i started to shift things these issues came up in a big way to be addressed and processed. I can almost chart them via each specific emotion and i wrote them down. Issues around failure, worry, anger, guilt, illness, blame, stress and lack of balance. It has been a fascinating and emotionally tough process but i feel a million times freer and lighter having been through it.

17) I also feel i have shifted out of a place of feeling stuck with no real way forward in a way that was making me truly happy to a place where i feel that i can go with the flow of life unlike ever before and the brick wall that seemed to have been blocking my path has dissolved. I suddenly feel i can be me without hiding or feeling ashamed for anything that i am. I have started to love myself again.

It feels like i am just starting on this path and already i feel fabulously vibrant and happy. I can't wait for what else will come now that things are flowing in a magical way.

p.s I do believe that the raw living foods are responsible for many of these huge changes in me, but it was also undeniably the fact that the time was just right for it because suddenly it seemed just what i needed to do and i couldn't ignore it, unlike before when it seemed too hard. It felt like i was guided into this way of eating on a daily basis as I started to see it everywhere that i looked and not only did it make sense but it just seemed easy.

I know i sound totally and madly evangelical about it all, but it is just what is working for me right now and it is making me madly happy so i don't care at all and that is a first. As is wanting to have a blog and tell the world what i am feeling, "the good the bad and the ugly" or just simply the......

BLISS BLISS BLISS

Raw Food in Oslo

So here are a few things that i have discovered since getting interested in Raw food and moving to Oslo:

1) Organic Box scheme- Fanny and Martins organic vegetable and fruit home delivery/box scheme.

2) Funky Fresh Foods is a wonderful Raw food company run by Josefinn Andrén and Jenni Mylly. They have raw food courses and a raw food cafe that runs for the first sunday of every month for 5 hours at a time. It has the most mouth watering and delicious raw food i have ever tasted. They also do raw food catering and have started to supply the Røtter health food shop in St Hanshaugen ( and Frogner) with frozen brownies, cheesecake and carrot cake. "Everything is raw and free from gluten, sugar, lactose, eggs and preservatives."

3) Røtter Health Food Shop is a wonderful shop in St Hanshaugen and Frogner in Oslo packed with superfoods, health foods, organic fruit and veg and natural products for body and home. They have the best supply of raw foods and they also now stock the Funky Fresh raw frozen cakes: cheesecake, carrot cake and brownies (or the latter "b-RAW-nie" which i can say is just to die for....hmmm my mind literally cleared after eating it in rather a profound way rather than fogging and collapsing as it would have with a normal brownie. The raw cacao in it must be responsible for that!) Read their review here.

4) Helios Health Food Shop  also offers a whole host of wonderful organic health foods, superfoods, fruit, veg, vitamins, natural products for the body and home as well as organic clothes including wool hats and thermals and wooden eco toys among other things. They also have a UK website.

5) RAW FOOD Cafe and Courses by Anne Madhumavi Olsen. She runs raw food courses/cooking classes, has a regular café in her own home (a gorgeous farm house) and provides Raw Food Catering. She has exhibited at trade fairs and has given dietary advice both privately and to groups. Her focus is to show that healthy food can taste good and that it can also be creative and fun! (Update: She has also established the Helt Rå Cafes in Oslo and Sandvika. A totally divine taste experience. See here.)

6) SanaBona is a company that supplies mainly raw food products to health food shops as well as selling online.

7) Give It To Me Raw is a group that aims to connect raw foodies around the world so that you can 'meet' people that live in your own city or one that you might be visiting. Here is the Give it to me raw Scandinavien page.

8) Dønn Grønn seems (as far as my less than perfect Norwegian understanding allows) to be a raw food company run by Asgeir Brevik and Caïla Hoff offering raw food introductory courses, lectures, education, coaching and catering. Please follow this link for information about them in English.

9) Raw Food Meet Ups -there isn't a raw food meet up group yet, that i know of, so perhaps i should start one?

10) Raw food Information and Courses in Oslo. There is also a fabulous video on the website about raw food.

11) An additional find is the Super Nature health food shop that sells lots of Raw foods as well as a whole host of other wonderful products. See a later post for more information.

AND a long overdue update in 2011:

12) Helt Rå - The first Raw food Cafe Restaurant in Sandvika (and also newly opened now in Oslo.)

• Helt Rå Sandvika -Elias Smiths vei 7, 1337 Sandvika,100 metres north of the Sandvika Centre. Tel 9949 2429
• Helt Rå Oslo - Tolbugt.31, 0157 Oslo- in the same premises as the Zen Lounge. Tel 9063 8216

Fudgey Chocolate delights

Well i was so hungry last night that i didn't get as far as making Susan Jane Murray's chocolate Ginger biscuits, instead i did a quick raw version and made these yummy raw fudgey treats:

Fudgey Chocolate Delights

1 cup raisins

1 cup almonds

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp ginger powder

Method

Grind almonds to a powder in your food processor.

Add all the other ingredients and blend together.

Taste and see if you need to add more chocolate or ginger.

Roll into balls and chill in the fridge. They actually increased in fudgeyness after a night in the fridge.

You can of course make many different variations on this theme.

Be warned they may go in one sitting.