Goji berries, raisins and cashew nuts (pictured below) are a great combination as the goji berries naturally sweeten the chocolate.
(Photo: Martin)Sunday, 21 March 2010
Raw Chocolate Bliss
Once you’ve tasted raw chocolate there’s really no going back to the processed, dairy version! Although a tad pricey, Raw Living’s extra virgin coconut butter makes the most divine chocolate (and other desserts too). Just add raw cacao powder to melted coconut butter along with a little agave nectar to sweeten, and then throw in whatever nuts and dried fruit are on hand. I’ve never worked out exact quantities for this as I tend to keep stirring in cacao powder and adding other ingredients until it tastes the way I like it! I'm not addicted, really I'm not!
Goji berries, raisins and cashew nuts (pictured below) are a great combination as the goji berries naturally sweeten the chocolate.
(Photo: Martin)
Goji berries, raisins and cashew nuts (pictured below) are a great combination as the goji berries naturally sweeten the chocolate.
(Photo: Martin)
Friday, 5 February 2010
Stardust & Delerium
'Fallen' by Delerium is one of my favourite tracks from their Chimera album and the perfect accompaniment to the video below featuring highlights from the brilliant fantasy film Stardust. If you enjoyed The Princess Bride, then this is in a similar vein and very nicely done...
Monday, 1 February 2010
Low Impact Woodland Homes
I’ve been dreaming for years about living off-grid, in a quirky little house constructed from natural materials somewhere deep in the woods. Hopefully some day I’ll have the chance to build my own, but in the meantime I’ve been drooling over the photos on Simon Dale’s website: A Low Impact Woodland Home. It took Simon and his family four months, £3000 and an estimated 1000–1500 man hours to build this gorgeous ‘hobbit-esque’ home in Wales. Check out the website for more stunning organic architecture and advice on design and construction.
(Photo: Simon Dale)
(Photo: Simon Dale)Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Immune Boosting Smoothie
I usually make a superfood smoothie every day as they’re not only high in nutritional value and easy to digest, but also incredibly simple and quick to make. You just need to chuck everything in the blender and give it a whiz… for culinary-challenged people like myself that’s a huge plus!
Experimentation is all part of the fun and yesterday I decided to have a go at creating a smoothie recipe that would specifically help boost the immune system and increase energy levels. Barleygrass, ashwaganda and camu camu are all well known herbs for supporting and boosting our immune systems, while Rhodiola rosea is a wonderful adaptogen from Siberia renowned for reducing stress levels and enhancing mental and physical performance. Mesquite powder has a lovely caramelly taste and works a treat for sweetening smoothies and raw desserts – it’s also low-glycaemic and helps balance blood sugar levels.
The combination of barleygrass, raw cacao and mesquite gives it a flavour with a definite hint of ‘mint choc chip’ and it would be fantastic served with ice cubes on a hot summer’s day! Here’s the recipe:
1 ripe banana (peeled and broken into chunks)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tsp barleygrass powder
1 tsp ashwaganda powder
1 tsp camu camu powder
1 heaped tsp raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp Rhodiola rosea powder
2 tsp mesquite powder
1-2 cups pure water (depending on desired consistency)
Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, adding water as desired.
I used 1 cup of water (250ml) as I like my smoothies on the thick side, however it solidified very quickly to a mousse-like consistency, so it would probably be better to add more water initially. That said, the mousse would make a great dessert topped with a handful of fresh raspberries or served with a raspberry and raw honey sauce.
I’ll be writing more on the subject of herbs and superfoods in future posts, but in the meantime you can read about their nutritional benefits at the Indigo Herbs website.
Experimentation is all part of the fun and yesterday I decided to have a go at creating a smoothie recipe that would specifically help boost the immune system and increase energy levels. Barleygrass, ashwaganda and camu camu are all well known herbs for supporting and boosting our immune systems, while Rhodiola rosea is a wonderful adaptogen from Siberia renowned for reducing stress levels and enhancing mental and physical performance. Mesquite powder has a lovely caramelly taste and works a treat for sweetening smoothies and raw desserts – it’s also low-glycaemic and helps balance blood sugar levels.
The combination of barleygrass, raw cacao and mesquite gives it a flavour with a definite hint of ‘mint choc chip’ and it would be fantastic served with ice cubes on a hot summer’s day! Here’s the recipe:
1 ripe banana (peeled and broken into chunks)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tsp barleygrass powder
1 tsp ashwaganda powder
1 tsp camu camu powder
1 heaped tsp raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp Rhodiola rosea powder
2 tsp mesquite powder
1-2 cups pure water (depending on desired consistency)
Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, adding water as desired.
I used 1 cup of water (250ml) as I like my smoothies on the thick side, however it solidified very quickly to a mousse-like consistency, so it would probably be better to add more water initially. That said, the mousse would make a great dessert topped with a handful of fresh raspberries or served with a raspberry and raw honey sauce.
I’ll be writing more on the subject of herbs and superfoods in future posts, but in the meantime you can read about their nutritional benefits at the Indigo Herbs website.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
New Beginnings
A new decade… a fresh start… It certainly feels like an auspicious time to begin a blog on living a more creative and magical life! I’ll be posting photos of my creations (jewellery, artwork, raw desserts, etc.), musings on life and anything inspirational I stumble across. As Tolkien wrote in The Fellowship of the Ring: “Not all those who wander are lost”. You’re very welcome to join me on this journey!
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