No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal

I've been blessed with the best mother-in-law a girl could have.  She is raw vegan and highly supportive of my lifestyle.  I was so tickled when she gifted me with all kinds of goodies to try my hand at making raw non-cooked oatmeal.  Oats, hemp, ceylon cinnamon, raw coconut nectar, strawberries (both frozen and non), and mangoes!  Be still my heart!!!

The non-cook oatmeal recipe can be found here: http://www.theyummylife.com/blog/2012/03/293/Overnight%2C+No-Cook+R...!  Both of us belong to health groups that lovingly posted this recipe.  She dived right in to making it, and I was the procrastinator. *Laughs!  After tasting her sample, now "I'm a Believer" and make my full supply of non-cooked oatmeal without fail.

The original recipe suggests Greek yogurt and milk.  I'm lactose intolerant, so...I leave out the dairy products.  This recipe was made with fresh home-made almond milk with organic almonds. (Yum!)  Below are the list of ingredients that my mother-in-law, (((((Linda))))) and I enjoy using.

 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Oatmeal

½ tsp Ceylon Cinnamon

1 ½ tsp. White Chia

½ tsp. Hemp

 A pinch of Himalayan Crystal Salt  *optional
1T Coconut Secret, Raw Coconut Nectar 

 3/4 cup Almond milk

2T Fruit of your choice (Mango, strawberries, blueberries, raisins, bananas, etc) 

Add oats, cinnamon, chia seeds, hemp, salt, coconut nectar, and almond milk to jar. Put a lid on the jar and shake to combine. Add fruit and stir gently until combined.  Place in fridge overnight.  During the overnight soak, the oats and chia seeds absorb the liquid and soften.  Tastes absolutely delicious!

Rabbit Carving (Soft-Block)

Carved a stamp to create a card for my art pal, RubberRabbit. After I finish making the card, I will use the stamp in a letterbox for kids with the clues based on information about Mimbres/Southwestern art and archaeology.

For blog posts about some of my letterboxing carves and adventures, visit here: http://www.jacquelinegraham.com/search/label/Letterboxing


To learn about letterboxing, visit the following sites:

Letterboxing North America
http://www.letterboxing.org/

Atlas Quest
http://www.atlasquest.com/

New Letterboxers Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newboxers/

Here is an excellent book that we checked out from our local library:

The Letterbox Companion
http://www.amazon.com/The-Letterboxers-Companion-2nd-Exploring/dp/0762746793

Dedication To My Sons

Enjoying the campfire

 

Song dedication to my darling sons. ♥

Simple Man - Shinedown (Originally Lynyrd Skynyrd) 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgFQ6WmxdMs

My sons are my heart, and they never miss a day of giving me a big hug, a kiss on the cheek, and saying "Love you mom".  I don't take these things for granted, especially realizing that they are growing up fast, and will soon be living a life of their own.  I have given my all in being here for them, watching them grow, and showering them with the deepest of love and affection that a mother could give.  My hope is that they remain simple, and stay firmly focused in their relationship with their Heavenly Father.  If they follow through in that important step.....other things in life will fall into place.

I don't care how old each of you get, you are (((((forever my babies))))) in the affectionate sense of the word.  I will, of course, give you space, respect, and room to grow as men.....yet, I am still your mama *smile*, and that mother hen side of me will always be keeping an eye on how you are coming along and progressing, both spiritually and physically.

May Jehovah continue to bless each of you.  I want you to stay close as brothers.....always being there for each other, and looking out for one another. Remember that I am always with you in heart and mind.

Love you always,

Mom

Beautiful Card From A Friend

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Life is SWEET!!!  I received this beautifully handmade greeting card from my dear friend, Janice Bryant, aka Rubber Rabbit!  It is so precious to me that I have it sitting on my dresser by Minnie to make me smile each day.  I want it to be protected, so when I have the opportunity to go shopping, I'm going to purchase a frame for it.  Not only are the thoughts within the card encouraging, it is nice when friends take the time to hand make something with you in mind, and cater it towards your passion and interests.  I am a true animal lover.  I have had animals such as rats, ferrets, cats, guinea pigs......have held and adored a few snakes under the guidance of their owners (would love to become more educated about them and have one of my own, if I could), and currently spoil 3 dogs.  I adore the cute fur-babes on her card, and the "woof" bordered frame.  Talk about a card that made my DAY!

THANK YOU, my sweet, favorite Rabbit!!!  Your card will be forever cherished.

Raw Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Pie

I'm not a fan of chocolate pie desserts (prefer fruity flavors), but this Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Pie is delicious!!!  Raw Vegan and guilt free.  :-)  My mother-in-law, who is a vegetarian and spoils us with lots of love and yummy food, taught us how to make this. Thank you mom!!!

Ingredients:
(FOR THE CRUST)
* 1 cup hazelnuts
* 1 cup macadamia nuts
* ¼ tsp. vanilla
* 1/8 sea salt
* 2 ½ ounces finely chopped dates (approx. 5 fresh medjool dates)

(FOR THE FILLING)
* ½ ounce Irish Moss
* 1 ½ cups hazelnut milk *
* ¼ cup agave nectar
* ¼ well-packed, finely chopped dates
* 1/3 cup cacao powder
* 2 tsp. vanilla
* 1/8 tsp sea salt
* 1 tbs. + 1 tsp. lecithin
* ¼ cup + 2 tbs. unscented coconut butter


Directions:
1. MAKING HAZELNUT MILK In your blender (preferably a VitaMix) liquefy ¾ cup of hazelnuts with 1 ½ cups water. Blend 1-2 minutes. Let steep 5-10 minutes then strain using a nut milk bag (or cheese cloth). Yields 1 ½ cups milk.

2. MAKING THE CRUST In the bowl of your food processer fitted with an “S” blade, process hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, vanilla, and salt until crumbly. Continue processing while adding small amounts of the dates until the crust sticks together. Press the crust into a greased (with unscented coconut oil) 9-inch pie pan.

3. MAKING THE FILLING Blend Irish Moss with ½ cup of the hazelnut milk until smooth and thick. Add remaining hazelnut milk, agave, dates, vanilla, salt, and cacao powder. Blend until smooth. Add lecithin and coconut butter, blending until well incorporated. Pour into prepared crust. Place in the refrigerator or freezer until set (about an hour).

-----------

(MERINGUE)
Makes 2 ½ cups

¾ oz. irish moss, rinsed and soaked 12-24 hours
½ cup water
1 cup coconut milk*
½ cup coconut meat (young thai)
½ c. soaked cashews
¼ c. plus 2 T. agave nectar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1 ½ tsp. lecithin
½ c. coconut butter (oil)

Blend moss and water until smooth and thick. Add coconut milk, meat, cashews, agave, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Blend till smooth. Add lecithin and coconut butter until well incorporated. Pour into a wide, shallow pan and set in fridge for up to three hours. When set, top pie, and if you like, peak with the back of a spoon.

*coconut milk
Blend meat and water from 1 young Thai coconut till very smooth.

~"I Am Grateful ~ Recipes of Café Gratitude". 

Making Almond Milk

LOVE the new glass pitcher that I purchased for almond milk.  My family and friends know how I am when it comes to yard sales, Goodwill, and flea market finds.  I get so tickled by the wonderful deals I encounter.  Was able to get this pitcher for $2.00. *Hooray for me.....giggles!* Thought I would celebrate by making some delicious, nutritious almond milk.  For those who have never tried this, I'll share how I do it.  You can find almond milk in stores, but nothing beats the freshly home-made.

Raw Almond Milk

2 1/2 cup soaked raw almonds (soak overnight)
5 cups filtered water
Pinch of sun-dried sea salt
1 T non-alcohol vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean (optional)
1/12 T coconut oil
3 soft dates, pitted or 2T Agave (determine by personal taste)

Peeled almonds.  Skins (pictured left) saved to make handmade paper.

I started by soaking and peeling the almonds.  Peeling almonds is not as labor intensive as some may think, and makes the milk look creamy and white. I soak my almonds overnight in filtered water. Doing this makes the almonds easier to blend, and removes enzyme inhibitors.....decreasing some of the acidity, making them easier to digest. For information about the benefits of soaking almonds, visit the following sites:

 

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/benefits-of-soaking-almonds-in-water.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rig3vF3WOwM

http://www.bodyecology.com/06/11/09/how_to_eat_and_not_eat_almonds.php

If I'm not readily able to peel my almonds after soaking them, I pour out the water, add fresh water to the bowl....then let the almonds sit in the fridge for a day or 2 until I have the time to peel them. Our family love using almonds for various recipes--like yogurt, raw vegan cookies, ice cream, and yummy almond milk.

http://www.jacquelinegraham.com/2010/10/raw-almond-yogurt.html

 

When we finish a container of milk, there are almonds already soaking and waiting to make the next container or recipe/dessert.  In my experience, peeling is very easy after soaking.....but, if you happen to get a stubborn batch of almonds that are hard to peel.....for those that don't mind a minute or two of heat (some raw vegans do mind), boil a pot of water. Once boiled, remove pot and pour your soaked almonds into it for about 1-2 minutes. Quickly drain and pour the almonds into a cold bowl of water. Test by giving one of the almonds a slight squeeze. It should slip easily out of the skin. Sometimes, nearly shooting across the room! Here is a video that may be helpful. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgXsSGJDLqQ 

On the video, they did this method via microwave. To the health conscious, I would suggest no microwaving.

 

Almonds blended with filtered water.

Above is a photo of my set-up.  To the left, I have a 5 gallon jug of Kangen water http://www.enagic.com/. My mother-n-law has this filtration system, and I love it so much that I'm thinking about selling the units to earn money to purchase my own....so if you're interested, please remember me, my friends!  :-)  In the center is my VitaMix blender.  At medium, then high speed, I blend the soaked almonds, filtered water, and a pinch of sea salt (it brings the flavor to life) until smooth.....then, pour through a nut milk bag to separate the almond meal/pulp.

I save the pulp to dry separately and use as almond flour to make raw deserts, like cookies. It can be store in a container and saved in the freezer to use another day.

Almond Pulp

Last, pour liquid back in the blender and blend in vanilla extract, coconut oil, vanilla bean (if using), and sweetener (dates or agave) until smooth.  I hope that those reading will give this a try. If so, let me know what ya' think!

Rosemary Crackers

Here is another recipe that my mother-in-law and I have become addicted to.  These are Mmmmmm delicious!!  The recipe is from http://www.rawmazing.com/rosemarycrackers/.  Visit this informative site when you have the time.  It is loaded with recipes, and viewing the photos make my mouth water!! 

Rosemary Crackers

1 cup cashews, ground into flour
1 cup almonds, ground into flour
3 teaspoons rosemary
1 teaspoon dried garlic
1/3 cup flax, ground
1/2 cup water
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste (just a tiny pinch will do)
Knobbes Rolling Pin for texture - http://fantes.com/images/9064rollingpin.jpg

1.  Mix all ingredients together.
2.  Spread into a layer about 1/3 inch thick.
3.  Score.
4.  Dehydrate at 140 for 45 minutes, reduce heat and dehydrate at 115 until dry, removing to screen sheets half way through dehydration.  8-10 hours.  If you don't move to mesh screens, you will need to flip.

Note:  If you pre-soak your nuts, you will want to make sure you have dehydrated then completely dry before you grind them into flour.

Makes approximately 2 dozen crackers.

Raw Art Journaling

Raw Journaling in the kitchen!

Wanted to share a few of my journal pages.  What gave me the journaling fever was reading a book written by Quinn McDonald.  The name of her book is Raw Art Journaling.  This book has a wealth of information and examples, and focuses on you, the reader.... helping you find the key to bring out the creativity within. The book is written in a style that is stimulating to the well seasoned journal artist, yet not intimidating to those new to this form of art.  From the very beginning, she gets you to face the challenge of conquering the inner gremlins that may inhibit you.  Through a combination of writing and art, she encourages you to get into the routine of "actively" journaling.  She advises keeping things simple instead of putting off journaling based on the mentality that you must always create monumental pages.  The main goal is joy and contentment in your journey, being yourself, and keeping it raw and real!

Since I am into the raw vegan lifestyle, the thought of raw journaling was quite the love connection.*smile*  This leads to my present topic for journaling.  Health and fitness!

Found Poetry from word clippings.

One of the things that I enjoy doing for health and fitness is backpacking.  The background of the found poetry above is a mixture of watercolor and collage.   The word clippings were found within mail ads, brochures, and various magazines. The drawing of the lady came from the inspiration of a drawing illustration in my favorite hiking magazine, Women's Adventure Magazine.  They can also be found on Facebook.  I changed the image to an African American to depict my personal joy and experience in hiking. When I hike and see the wonders of creation, it brings me a deeper appreciation and connection to my Father, Jehovah. The poem reads:

Hiking.

Word tags and clippings

Almost a religion.
Love the adventure...
plunging ahead
to the beautiful and
cherished forest land.
Waterfall in a downpour.
So special.
I climb high.
Far away from the worries
that weighed heavily upon my soul.
Thirst for living
peace in the moment.
Thank you Jehovah.
Glory and honor to your name.

My next journal page started with a page that I tore out of an old novel. (Shown on the first picture in this post onto the clipboard.)  Quinn instructed the reader to circle words within the page to create his/her own poetic thoughts.  After circling my thoughts, I colored the words in green, drew and watercolored the woman and background landscaping inspired by various health related images that I found on the internet.  I thought of the phrase "Healthy Lifestyle", and within that phrase, I noticed "Heal Thy Life".

Found Poetry from a novel page.

HEAL-THY  LIFEstyle

She didn't smoke.  

She didn't drink.

Her weight, ordinary.

Running......taking aerobic classes.

Longevity meant she would
live her three score and ten.

People reasonably expect

her to play.

Driven. Work hard. Reach.

Squeeze tight.

Lie down for a minute....

muscles sore. 

The next project (pictured below) called for writing down words that came to mind on index cards, movie ticket tags, the back of old artwork, etc.  The words were used as prompts for journaling.  We were instructed to put the cards or tags in a storage container.  I decided to make my own tags.  Here is and example of a few.

Word Tags

                                                                      

 I had my sons to pick a tag from the container.  Thoughts were written based upon the words chosen.
 

Background secrets written with watercolor pencils.  Smear with water to hide the message. (technique taught in book)  Nature Haiku written.

Nature barefoot hike.
The forest embraces me.
Feeling so alive.

Hidden message background with Haiku

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  Quinn even volunteered her time to teach a 2-3 month Raw Art Journaling workshop on my online art group, Artists of the Round Table. When members completed the course, they received beautiful certificates created and hand signed by her! 

Thank you, Quinn!  Darl'in, you're the Best'eses!!!  :-)

Raw Art Journaling Certificates

A Rawfully Delicious Dinner

I enjoyed my weekend immensely!!!  My mother-in-law, whom I refer to as "the one that spoils me RAWten", prepared a raw vegan candlelight dinner that we enjoyed together with some of our friends.  What a joy and encouragement it was being with them! *happy sigh*  We spent hours of playing catch-up with what was happening in each of our lives, laughing and clowning-which is right up my alley, then later watched a movie together.  Missing them as I write this post, and look forward to the day that we get together like this again.

Just a quick post to share some of the delicious food that delighted our taste buds!  :-)

Raw Vegan Spicy Chunky Chowder Soup made with pine nuts and seaweed.

Delicious Salad! 

 Hempesan (Raw Vegan Parmesan Topping) &
Raw Coconut Jerky Bits for our salad.

Vegan Dip and Raw BBQ Crackers

Strawberry Parfait for dessert!  :-)

This is a cool sprouter that Linda has! It's called an Easy Green Sprouter Micro Farm. Must get one of these!  It has a built in water reservoir.  Simply set the timer for when you want it to water the sprouts!  I love it!

If you would like to try some of the recipes, I have included links by a few of the photos.  The Raw Vegan Chowder soup is from the Julienno's Raw Cuisine DVD.   The dip and BBQ Crackers recipe comes from ebooks that can be found here:  Abeba's Krazy Krackers.

What's For Lunch?

Mock Tuna & Salad

I enjoyed a delicious mock-tuna sandwich made by my precious mother-in-law and friend, Linda Barnes.  The two of us are still going strong with the raw vegan lifestyle, and work together as a team experimenting and preparing raw recipes.  She is such an inspiration to me, and spoils me RAW-ten.

My sons gave raw vegan eating a good try.  Whereas, they are not against it, they felt 100% wasn't quite for them.  We decided to have a meeting of the minds. To minimize their meat intake, I prepare alternatives for them, such as Eggplant Parmesan, Seitan veg steak with gravy, Spaghetti with mushrooms and brocolli, vegetarian tofu Stir-fry, etc.

Quick & easy Veggie Taco Meal!

Above is an example of their quick and easy lunch. (Esp. when they are homeschooling. Dustin & Justin homeschooling 12th grade, Josiah getting his registration set up to major in computer programming for homeschool college - classes via video and webcam online.)  They also enjoy big salads for lunch, like spinach and strawberries, or my Vegetarian Southwestern.  I really enjoy making their plates look pleasurable and inviting.  They get the biggest smile, and always tell me how much they appreciate it.  :-)

So far, things have worked out well with our eating and fitness plans. Dustin, Justin, and Josiah has that they wanted to "go buff", and have gotten into body building! *smile*  (Photo below of Dustin)  

 

Proud of you my dears!!!  Keep up the excellent work!

Indoor Rock Climbing At Stronghold

There is great satisfaction in exercising at home, however, sometimes for the sake of change and adding more fun to fitness, I can't help but think along the lines of John Cleese on Monty Python, where he announces........ "And now for something completely different."  My sons and I have been fascinated with rock climbing, and decided to go for indoor training at Stronghold Athletic Club in Columbia, SC (USA). We had a "blast"!  Felt like a kid again, climbing to the very top.  HUZZAH!!!  My music inspiration of the day:

"Can You Take Me Higher"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LASeWCB8J0

 

Some of the photos we took at Stronghold are located in my Multiply photo gallery.  

Drop by and check 'em out!

I have learned that there is a nice rock climbing gym in Atlanta.  Needless to say, we will be heading that way soon.  There is a rock climbing Meet-up group in Atlanta.  How awesome is that!  Hopefully, we can learn a lot of tips from climbers there.  I will be looking into 101 classes at Fox Mountain Guides.  Perfect homeschool PE for my sons.  

This was such a wonderful experience! We look forward to our next visit to Stronghold, as well as climbing in other areas.