Beautiful Canadian Autumn

It's Fall and those famous Canadian maple leaves are turning colours and falling. Here are few of my photos from this fabulous season ...

I hope you're having a fabulous Fall - wherever you are in this world. More raw vegan recipes coming up next week. Until then ...

DIY # 6: Peacock Feather Headband

On a recent trip to the children's museum (with my nephew, not on my own of course!) I collected quite a few peacock feathers. Aren't nature's craft materials the most beautiful? I've been known to collect shells, rocks and flowers for crafting, but nothing compares in beauty to a freshly fallen peacock feather. Plus searching for feathers kept my nephew entertained that afternoon. My first instinct was to try to fashion a necklace with the feathers, but I couldn't find the right findings. Instead I made this quick & easy headband and it came out great. It took less than 5 minutes and is simple, inexpensive and very chic. Here's what you'll need:

• feathers (as much or as little as you desire)
• headband
• hot glue gun

If you scavenged for your feathers like me, you'll need to wash and dry them first. Decide on how you want them placed on the headband. Place a dollop of hot glue on the headband and glue the feathers into place. Careful not to burn your fingers on the hot glue. Set aside for a few minutes to dry. Voila! Your very own couture headband.

Organic Vegan Halloween Candy

Halloween is fast approaching. Do you hand out candy at your house? Chances are (even if you're a health food nut like myself) you do. What is a healthy conscious vegan supposed to do on Halloween? Thanks to various whack-jobs with a large supply of needles on hand, the days of handing out apples are unfortunately behind us. Hand out raisins you might say, well you might as well hang out a sign that says, "egg my house please".

That's why this year I'll be handing out candy from Pure Fun, an organic candy company that makes vegan, kosher, gmo-free, gluten-free, and allergy free candies. Pure Fun's Halloween kit comes with 30 lollipops including a superfood flavour - goji. These lollipops are also sold at a price that is about the same as conventional Halloween treats -only $4.29. A great deal if you ask me. The ginger candy works wonders on a sore throat, although probably too spicy for trick-or-treaters.

Sure it's not "health food" but at least you'll be supporting an organic company and more than likely introducing a lot of kids to organics. Best of all you can have the leftover lollies!

Happy Halloween!

The Vegan One Hundred

I found this on Kiersten's Full of Beans blog, and I thought it was so fun. Here's the low down:

1) Copy this list into your blog or social networking site profile, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out or italicize any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment on this post linking to your results.

The Vegan Hundred:

1. Molasses
2. Cactus/Nopales
3. Scrambled Tofu
4. Grilled Portobella Caps
5. Fresh Ground Horseradish
6. Sweet Potato Biscuits
7. Arepa
8. Vegan Coleslaw
9. Ginger Carrot Soup
10. Fiddlehead Ferns
11. Roasted Elephant Garlic
12. Umeboshi
13. Almond Butter Toast
14. Aloe Vera
15. H and H Bagel NYC
16. Slow Roasted Butternut Squash
17. White truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Freshly ground wasabi
20. Coconut Milk Ice Cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Orchard-fresh pressed apple cider
23. Organic California Mango (in season Sept-Oct only)
24. Quinoa
25. Papaya Smoothie
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet or Habañero pepper
27. Goji Berry Tea
28. Fennel
29. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie
30. Radishes and Vegan Buttery Spread
31. Starfruit
32. Oven fresh Sourdough bread
33. Sangria made with premium fruit and juices
34. Sauerkraut
35. Acai Smoothie
36. Blue Foot Mushrooms
37. Vegan Cupcake from Babycakes NYC
38. Sweet Potatoes and Tempeh combo
39. Falafel
40. Spelt Crust Pizza
41. Salt and Pepper Oyster Mushrooms
42. Jicama Slaw
43. Pumpkin Edamame Ginger Dumplings
44. Hemp Milk
45. Rose Champagne
46. Fuyu
47. Raw Avocado-Coconut Soup
48. Tofu Pesto Sandwich
49. Apple-Lemon-Ginger-Cayenne fresh-pressed juice...with Extra Ginger
50. Grilled Seitan
51. Prickly pear
52. Fresh Pressed Almond Milk
53. Concord Grapes off the vine
54. Ramps
55. Coconut Water fresh from a young coconut
56. Organic Arugula
57. Vidalia Onion
58. Sampler of organic produce from Diamond Organics
59. Honeycrisp Apple
60. Poi
61. Vegan Campfire-toasted Smores
62. Grape seed Oil
63. Farm fresh-picked Peach
64. Freshly-made pita bread with freshly-made hummus
65. Chestnut Snack Packs
66. Fresh Guava
67. Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
68. Raw Mallomar from One Lucky Duck, NYC
69. Fried plantains
70. Mache
71. Golden Beets
72. Barrel-Fresh Pickles
73. Liquid Smoke
74. Meyer Lemon
75. Veggie Paella
76. Vegan Lasagna
77. Kombucha
78. Homemade Soy Milk
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Lychee Bellini
81. Tempeh Bacon
82. Sprouted Grain Bread
83. Lemon Pepper Tempeh
84. Vanilla Bean
85. Watercress
86. Carrot you pulled out of the ground yourself
87. Vegan In-Season Fruit Pie
88. Flowers
89. Corn Chowder
90. High Quality Vegan Raw Chocolate
91. Yellow fuzz-free Kiwi
92. White Flesh Grapefruit
93. Harissa
94. Coconut Oil
95. Jackfruit
96. Homemade Risotto
97. Spirulina
98. Seedless 'Pixie' Tangerine
99. Gourmet Sorbet, not store bought
100. Fresh Plucked English Peas

I love it! Now I have a list of new vegan foods to try. Not sure when I'll be able to make it to NYC for # 68 though ;)

Do You Eat Raw in the Winter?

I awoke this morning to a light dusting of snow. WOW! Summer sure flew by fast. While on the one hand I'm excited about getting out my bamboo yarn and knitting, on the other hand, the colder weather makes me less inclined to eat raw. Does anyone else share this experience with winter and raw food??

Raw Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

To my Canadian readers, happy Thanksgiving! To my readers south of the border - no you're not in a time warp. Thanksgiving is in October here in the true north strong & free. This just happens to be my first raw Thanksgiving, so I've scoured the internet and uncook books for the tastiest dishes. This Thanksgiving I'm giving thanks for quick, easy and delicious raw recipes that don't include cooking a dead bird's carcass.

Pictured above is 1 lightly steamed corn cob topped with a pat of Ani Phyo's raw olive "butter", a simple salad (cukes, tomatoes, green onion, dill and julienned carrots), raw mashed "potatoes" and raw cranberry sauce.

Raw Mashed "Potatoes" (recipe from gone raw)

• 2 cups parsnips, washed and cubed
• ½ cup pine nuts
• squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1½ cup water

Combine everything (except the water) in the food processor. Slowly add the water until the desired consistency - some people like stiff potatoes, others like them runny. I opted to julienne my parsnips first because my food processor isn't that powerful.

Festive Raw Cranberry Sauce

Holy poop! I can't believe I ever used to eat this out of a can. This recipe is so simple and so tasty. Definitely a keeper for the holidays.

• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 apple, peeled (I used Ginger Gold)
• 1 orange (zest first then peel, cut & quarter)
• pinch of cinnamon
• 5 dates, pitted
• raw sweetener (to taste or none at all)

Combine everything in the food processor. If you like it chunky, then just pulse in the processor. If you like it smooth, then the blender might be a better choice.

Ani's Raw All American Apple Pie (recipe from Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while now. With the leaves falling and the crisp Autumn air coming in, apples are at their peak in my corner of the world. So why wait any longer?! Serve à la mode with a dollop of raw serve. I halved Ani's original recipe, so the picture is a mini apple pie.

ALMOND PIE CRUST -

• 2 cups almonds, dry
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups pitted dates

SYRUP -

• 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1 orange, peeled and seeded
• splash of water, as needed to make the blender go round

FILLING -

• 5 cups apples, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced, about 5 or 6 apples
• 1 cup raisins and/or dried cranberries (optional)
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

The directions for this pie aren't on Ani's website, so I won't publish them here. However, you can watch Ani making this pie on ABC here.

Happy (cruelty-free) Thanksgiving everyone!! Wishing you all lots of ...

Happy Birthday Shanghai Monkey!

It's time to celebrate. Shanghai Monkey is 1 year old! Exactly one year today, I published my very first post - vegan pumpkin pie. Since then I've dazzled you (hopefully!) with my posts on raw vegan food, organics, crafts, yoga poses and more! Hugs to everyone that reads, comments and follows the blog. There's lots more goodies to come so stay tuned ...

Yoga Asana of the Month (October)

This month's yoga pose is kid friendly, but fun for adults too! Butterfly pose (purna titali asana) is a great hip opener and can help to relieve tension in the legs. To begin start with your feet together so the bottoms of your feet are facing each other. Pull your ankles as close to your body as possible. Keeping your back straight, unlike the child in the video ;) begin to wiggle your legs up and down like a butterfly's wings. If you can't get much movement in your legs on the first try, don't worry. After a few days your thighs will loosen up allowing you to move deeper into the posture.

Note: The above video is provided by YouTube. I have no control over the ads within this video. I am not affiliated with these advertisers, and do not endorse their products.

RawMarkable Raw Vegan Food

Here are some of the delish dishes I've had these past few days ...

Raw Serve (raw vegan ice "cream")

I've been seeing this super easy and quick raw ice "cream" on a lot of raw blogs. Simply toss a few frozen bananas in the food processor and blend until it looks like soft serve ice cream. Simple eh? To prevent it from melting too fast, serve in a ceramic bowl that has been chilled in the freezer.

Pistachio Raw Serve

Same as above, but I added a cut up pistachio LARAbar ... so many possibilities!


 
Frothy Raw Citrus Zing Juice

I lugged out the juicer yesterday because I had some citrus fruit that needed to be used up quickly. I love how frothy the drink came out, and it made my kitchen smell citrus-y for hours! Here's what went in the juicer: 4 small oranges, 1 large grapefruit and 1/4 inch piece of fresh ginger (that's the zing part).

 
Raw Macadamia Dill Dressing (recipe from Spark Recipes)

Remember the biodynamic dill that I made into a raw sauce? This is a similar sauce, but uses oh-so delicious macadamia nuts. I served it on top of a baby spinach salad with cucumber, red bell pepper, radishes, carrots and 1/2 avocado.

• 1.5 cups nuts (cashew, macadamia, or combo), soaked 1-2 hours then rinsed & drained)
• 1-1.5 cups water depending if you want a dip or a dressing
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice from half a lemon)
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil (or another raw oil)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 teaspoons onion
• 1 large handful of fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon basil, dried

Mix everything in a blender until smooth and creamy. Add more dill if desired. The sauce will keep in the fridge for several days.



Go Ahead and Bragg Raw Noodles

This is another super quick and easy lunch that makes eating more raw dishes soooOoo easy. Simply add a dash of liquid Bragg's, dash of salt and a swirl of cold pressed sesame oil to a bowl of zuke noodles. Mix and enjoy.

New Canada Organic Logo Sighting

I was grocery shopping yesterday when I spotted my very first sighting of the new Canada Organic logo!! Very exciting moment for an organic nerd like me. The new logo, launched in June verifies that the product carrying this logo meets Canadian organic standards (no fakers allowed). The logo was seen on So Nice organic soymilk. The picture quality is pretty poor - I took it on my 4 year old phone. Why don't I get a new cellphone, you might be asking; watch The Story of Stuff to find out.

To find out more about the new Canada Organic logo, read my previous posts on this subject or visit the Canadian Organic Growers website.

Blogger Absence, Raw Food & Peace One Day

Happy Peace One Day! (see end of post ...)

Things have gotten a bit hectic these past few weeks and alas, I haven't been posting my raw food Tuesday recipes. I'm still eating lots of fresh, living raw food - I just haven't posted any of them. Here are a few of the goodies I've been feasting on in my absence ...

Raw Chia Pudding 

• 1 part chia seeds
• 3 parts nut "milk" (or 1 banana mixed in the blender with water)
• dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, etc ... (whatever strikes your fancy)
• chopped fruit (if desired)
• raw sweetener (if desired)

My breakfast for the past few weeks. Very versatile, quick and easy. Mix the nut milk with the spices. Add in the chia seeds and mix with a spoon in a large bowl. Make sure all the chia seeds are covered in the "milk". Place the mixture in the refrigerator. After about 20 minutes stir it again to make sure all the seeds are incorporated - sometimes the seeds can clump together. Place it back in the fridge over night (or at least 10 hours). The chia seeds will soak up the liquid and gradually get thicker.

In the morning add chopped fruit and mix to combine. You can add a squirt of raw sweetener if you'd like. Or just eat the chia pudding by itself. Okay granted this isn't the most visually appealing dish. Grey pudding - yum! Ultimately the pudding ends up tasting like the liquid you soaked the chia in. This is also a very filling breakfast that is sure to give you the energy you need throughout the day.

Raw Rocket Rainbow

Across the pond they call arugula leaves rocket. Pretty cool name eh? This simple salad has been my lunch side salad almost everyday. I tried to combine all the colours I possibly could: rocket, baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, radish, yellow pepper and julienned carrots.

When I took this salad to work EVERYONE who walked by was heard saying, "That looks so good". It is.

Raw Cuke Noodles


A switch up from my usual zuke noodles, this time I used the julienne peeler on a cucumber. I tossed the noodles with a pinch of sea salt and cold pressed olive oil, and served them on a bed of baby spinach.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownies

BROWNIE -

Remember when I posted about my first raw food class?? Well this was one of the dishes we made that night in class. Definitely worth the class fee for just this recipe alone - who knows why it took me so long to make it!! I ended up taking these to a get together (no I didn't eat all these brownies myself).

• ¼ cup cacao powder
• 2 cups pecans
• 20-25 dates
• pinch salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg

Grind the pecans in a food processor (careful not to over process). Place the rest of the ingredients (except the dates) in the food processor and mix well. Add dates one at a time until the mixture starts to clump together. Press the mixture into a square (or rectangular) pan and place in freezer. While the brownies firm up, make the icing.

CHOCOLATE ICING -

• 1/3 cup agave, maple syrup or raw honey
• ¼ cup cacao powder
• 1 ½ tablespoon coconut oil
• dash of vanilla extract (alcohol free)

Mix everything in a bowl. Pour the icing over the brownies and place back in the freezer for 1 – 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and cut into squares. Serve immediately or place in the fridge to keep firm before serving.

In another note, do you know about Peace One Day? Humanitarian, Jeremy Gilley started an international day of peace to create peace between nations, governments and people. Every year on September 21st participants celebrate in union with a day of non-violence and ceasefire. If you haven't seen the incredible, passionate and award winning documentary of Jeremy's journey, then buy, rent or attend a screening today. My local library is hosting a free screening, and I'm wagering yours is too!

My 5 Fav Quick & Easy Raw Vegan Recipes

My raw food transition has been fairly smooth, and I attribute that to quick & easy recipes. Nothing will deter people from trying raw food more than having them make complicated recipes that require expensive dehydrators and hard to find ingredients. Here are my 5 favourite recipes that have helped me along my wild & wacky raw food journey ...

1. SMOOTHIE - Pretty in Pink Smoothie 

Equipment Needed: Knife, blender
Ingredients:

• handful of fresh strawberries, hulled & quartered
• 1 mango, peeled, cut into bite sized pieces and frozen overnight
• 1 banana, peeled, sliced and frozen overnight
• pinch of cinnamon
• water (to make it blend)

Instructions:
Toss everything in the blender and whizz until smooth.

2. SOUP - Creamy Gazpacho

Equipment Needed: Knife, blender
Ingredients:

• 5-6 tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• 1 green onion
• handful of cashews
• 1 clove of garlic
• several sprigs of parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• sea salt (to taste)

Instructions:
Combine everything in the blender until smooth and creamy.

3. SALAD - Avo-Dill Salad

Equipment Needed: Knife
Ingredients:

• 1 whole avocado, sliced into bite size pieces
• 1 tablespoon red onion, minced
• 1/2 large cucumber, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon olive oil (cold pressed)
• 1 small bunch of dill, coarsely chopped
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions:
Toss everything in a large bowl and mix well.

4. DINNER - Raw Burritos Equipment Needed: Knife
Ingredients:

• 2 avocados, mashed
• 1-2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• handful of sprouts
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
• 4 large lettuce leaves (romaine or collard)
• 1 lemon, squeezed for 2 tablespoons of juice
• 1-2 sprigs of parsley
• dash of ground cumin
• dash of sea salt (optional)

Instructions:
In a large bowl combine everything (except the lettuce). Mix well. Spoon the mixture into the lettuce. Fold the top and sides of the lettuce leaf like a burrito.

5. DESSERT - Strawberry ParfaitEquipment Needed: Blender, knife
Ingredients:

• 1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 3 hours
• 1/4 cup raw coconut butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2-4 tablespoons raw sweetener (depending on taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol free or use seeds from a vanilla bean)
• 2 handfuls of strawberries (or substitute your favourite fruit)

Instructions:
Mix everything (except the strawberries) in a blender until smooth. If the mixture is too thick to blend, add a little water. Pour into dessert cups and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, toss the strawberries in the blender and mix. Pour the fruit puree over the parfait.
There you have it - my 5 favourite, fast, easy, delicious raw vegan recipes.

Happy uncooking!

Yoga Asana of the Month (September)

Another animal pose? Yup, you guessed it. This month I'm focusing on cow face pose (gomukhasana). The pose itself doesn't resemble a cow's face at all, but it sure is a good stretch for your body. When in this pose you will be stretching your legs, arms, shoulders and chest. If you can't get your legs stacked on top of each other like in the video, try placing a folded blanket under your bum to elevate the sitting bones.

Note: The above video is provided by YouTube. I have no control over the ads within this video. I am not affiliated with these advertisers, and do not endorse their products.

Creamy Raw Recipes

Breakfast: Raw Strawberries & Dream

Lately I've been looking for smoothie alternatives for breakfast. This simple dish is perfect for breakfast - or dessert if you add more sweetener.

"CREAM" -

• handful of cashews, soaked overnight
• few drops of vanilla extract (alcohol free)
• 1/2 teaspoon of raw sweetener (or more if you like)

Mix everything in a blender until smooth. Pour the "cream" over fruit and chow down! I like the "cream" a bit warm (from the blender) but it could also be made ahead of time and served chilled from the fridge. Sprinkle with cinnamon or cacao if desired.

Snack: Ginger Snap LÄRABAR

This flavour is fast becoming one of my favs. The light ginger-y taste is fresh, which makes it great for a snack.

Lunch: Creamy Raw Tomato Soup

Leftovers from a previous batch of soup. I added an avocado for a creamier texture.

Dinner: Raw Pasta with Raw Creamy Basil Sauce (recipe from gone raw)

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 medium cloves garlic
• Juice of one medium lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion
• A dash of coarse black pepper
• One big handful of fresh basil, leaves only

Mix everything (except the basil) in the blender until smooth and CREAMY (word of the day). Add the basil last and blender for 5-10 seconds. The basil should fleck the sauce with speckles of green. Pour over zucchini noodles.

This one never fails, and the sauce will keep in the fridge for several days. See my previous post where I made this yummy dinner.

Dessert: Raw Peaches N' "Cream"
I have so many peaches right now, that I decided to make this dessert again.

• 3 peaches
• 1/2 cup whole raw cashews, soaked
• 2-4 tablespoons raw honey
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract (alcohol free)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch of sea salt

Soak the cashews for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse. In a blender mix the cashews, honey, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt until smooth. Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Peel the peaches and slice into thin slices. Fold the cashew sauce into the sliced peaches. Spoon the peach and cashew mixture into dessert cups. Allow to chill for an hour or two in the refrigerator.

5 Tips for Raw Newbies

New to raw food? Well so was I four & half months ago. Here are some of my reflections on starting out raw ...

1. The internet is your best resource for recipes, tips and raw info. My favourite site so far is gone raw. Why I like this site so much is that everyday people, like you and me, can post comments and rate all the recipes. A lot of people make the recipe and then go back and post a comment, good or bad, about the outcome. I'm also in love with Ani Phyo. I have tried several of her recipes and not one has disappointed me! She uses simple ingredients that are readily available and most of her recipes don't require a dehydrator. Her book, Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, was the first uncook book I bought and I have no regrets. Her website is also an invaluable resource for recipes as well as her videos on YouTube.


2. One of the easiest and most versatile raw dishes I've found is raw zucchini noodles. It's inexpensive and by changing up the sauce, you won't feel like you're eating the same thing all the time. You can make a marinara with tomatoes, a creamy sauce with nuts and seeds, or a pesto with herbs. I bought an inexpensive julienne peeler to transform my zuc's into pasta.


3. I've found that most raw foods freeze beautifully! I always make a little extra when I make soups, sauces and hummus and then freeze half. A few hours on the counter to thaw and voila! - an easy raw dinner.


4. When you're starting out, go slow. I don't know many people that can go from S.A.D to 100% raw vegan overnight. Breakfast is an easy start for raw food newbies. Toss some veggies and fruits in a blender with a bit of water. The combinations are endless, so you're sure to find something that you like. Dessert is another easy transition to make.


5. Lastly, don't be discouraged if you have some detox symptoms in the first few raw attempts - headache, stomach cramps, fatigue. This is totally normal and you'll probably feel fantastic the next day! Change isn't easy and your body might be going through withdrawal. As you continue adding more raw food to your diet, you'll find these symptoms will lessen and eventually disappear. You'll end up with more energy and a healthy glow. I'll never forget during my first few weeks of eating raw several of my friends and colleagues commented on how good I looked suddenly. That was all the motivation I needed to keep on rawkin'!!!

Stay Tuned Next Tuesday ...

Hello folks, no raw recipes today. I'm doing a short fast (just water). Raw Tuesday returns next week, so see you then ...

Raw Pie Disaster

It's Tuesday again, and another day of raw recipes. Unfortunately the dessert didn't turn out as planned, but everything else was delish!

Breakfast: Raw cereal

See my previous post for recipe.

Lunch: Sun Marinated Raw Red Pepper Soup (recipe from G Living)

• 4 large red peppers, deseeded & chopped
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 6 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil (I used cold pressed olive oil)
• 8 strawberries
• 4 tbsp of honey
• sea salt & fresh black pepper to taste
• water (as needed)

Mix the red pepper, white onion, garlic, rosemary, tomato, sunflower oil and sea salt together in a bowl (it's much better if you can mix all the ingredients with your hand, which will enable all the flavours to mix well). Cover and set aside in a warm area, or you can even leave it under the sun for about 1 hour to marinate.

Then blend all the marinated ingredients, strawberries and honey together in a blender for about 2 minutes until nice and smooth. Adjust the taste and consistency with more salt and/or water if needed. Garnish with fresh black pepper on top.

Snack: Raw Chocolate Shake

• 1-2 frozen bananas
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

Toss everything in the blender and mix well. Serve over ice if desired. This is becoming my favourite hot summer afternoon snack! I drank it so fast I forgot to take a photo.

Dinner: Raw Pasta with Sunny Dill Cheeze

Very similar to last week's dinner, except I used a mixture of cashews and sunflower seeds to make the dill sauce.

Dessert: Raw Strawberry Pie Do-Over Disaster

Remember my 1st raw pie that I thought wasn't strawberry-ish enough? Well I made another one ... this time with more flavourful strawberries! I also made the crust with a mix of almonds, cashews, dried coconut and cacao.

When I got my coconut oil out of the cupboard - it was liquid! I guess the heatwave got to it. But I used it anyway and continued making the filling. Well I guess I shouldn't have used the coconut oil in that melted state, because the pie won't firm up. It's the strangest thing. It's been in the fridge for over 12 hours now and it's hasn't changed consistency. I know some recipes call for the coconut oil to be melted, which this pie recipe did not, so that must have been what went wrong. I had no idea that melting the coconut oil would yield such different results.

Ah, well the coconut oil is in the fridge now ... at least until winter.

Organic Tip # 4: What is biodynamic farming?

I like to think of biodynamic farming as organic +. It encompasses the same principles as organic farming - no synthetic or artificial pesticides, no genetic modifying, no antibiotics and humane treatment of farm animals. However, biodynamic farms go one step further. It uses a holistic philosophy that believes everything is interconnected, plants, animals and the solar system. Makes sense right?

Founded in the 1920's by Rudolph Steiner, biodynamics (biology + dynamic) differ from other farms in the use of 9 homeopathic preparations that are applied to the soil, plants or compost. Some of these preparations include manure fermented in a cow's horn over the winter and then applied to the soil in the spring, Silica (often used in homeopathy) also fermented in a cow's horn over the summer months, or to control disease, a mixture made from horsetail is applied to the plants. Other common ingredients used are: chamomile, yarrow, stinging nettle, oak bark, dandelion or valerian flowers.

Importance is put on the quality of the soil, biodiversity (not mono-culture as seen on large factory farms. Thus you will never see a biodynamic farm that just grows one crop), and crop rotations to control pests and eliminate fertilizers. Biodynamics strives to create healthy plants by replenishing the soil, adding vitality to the plants and enlivening animals.

Astrology is also an important aspect of biodynamic farming. Steiner believed that nature's rhythms (such as the phases of the moon) affects planting, growing and harvesting. Calendula, for instance, according to biodynamics, must be harvested by hand in the early morning. This is when the energy of the plant is at its peak. Biodynamic farmers have complex astrological charts which indicate when is best to plant and harvest each crop.

Intrigued? I hope so. Biodynamic farming not only reduces environmental degradation, but also incorporates spirituality and the cosmos in farming and its products. The video above is a quick shot of my local biodynamic farm. Do an EcoSearch for a local biodynamic farm near you. If you're not fortunate enough to have a biodynamic farm near you, there are a few products available online (and maybe in your health food store) that follow biodynamic philosophies.

Weleda is probably the best known biodynamic product. It's widely available in Canada, and I really like their products. I use Weleda's calendula lotion (it's actually in their baby product line). It's great for healing wounds and it's gentle on my skin. My local biodynamic farm sells Weleda products.

Zhena's Gypsy Tea is also another certified biodynamic product I've seen popping up in health food stores. I haven't personally tried any of these teas yet, but I like the reusable tins they come in and the flavours sound delicious.

"But how will I know it's biodynamic?" I can hear you all asking. In Canada and the US Demeter is the only certifier of biodynamic products. Look for their logo!

To read more about biodynamic philosophy and farming visit the Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association, a US-based non-profit organization that promotes and provides education on biodynamics.

My info source: Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada