Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Beloved friends, I hope you are resting and enjoying this final day of 2014. The Chinese year of the horse has been quite a gallop, hasn’t it? Yet when we look back, there is so much to be thankful for. Most of all, that we have each other – a conscious, loving community of soulful, heart-centered people nourishing the world with mindfulness, presence, love.

I personally have felt so supported this year. That was diagnosed years ago as a severe deficiency, as an underlying cause of all that was imbalanced in my body, and in my life. Given that both Yoga and Ayurveda tells us that all problem arise from “the mind,” I set about to change that. So today I really want to pause and give thanks to all who support me, and who support the ways I love and grow and thrive – by every now and then having a read, showing up in a class, attending a workshop or Retreat, dropping me a line, showering us with smiles, or sharing a simple meal. I am so fortunate to live the beauty I love, to paraphrase Rumi, and it is due mostly to you, our community of beloved friends and divine souls.

So, today I give thanks for you.

Here is my gift. A little bite of sweet, tart, rich, light up the new year deliciousness. You can make it right now in ten minutes if you have a bar of dark chocolate (who doesn’t after the holidays?) and a basket of fresh raspberries in your pantry. You can actually make it with any fruit, but red is best for the color, and raspberries give it just the right pop.

As for the chocolate, I used what remained of a Scharffenberger 70% bittersweet dark chocolate baking bar. You can use anything, just keep it dark – for beauty, for taste, for balance, and for all those anti-aging antioxidants.

Chocolate Raspberry Tart
Serves 8-10

5-6 ounces dark Chocolate  (there’s a good list of some of the best here)
1 T Coconut Oil
1 basket fresh Raspberries, rinsed and pat dry
Cinnamon, Cardamom dustings

a scharffenberger baking bar

Break up the chocolate and very gently melt it over a low flame watching it carefully and stirring constantly, or use a double boiler to be safe. You want to be sure you are only melting the chocolate – not cooking it, and certainly not burning it.

Warm a tart pan (see this great article on the different between a tart and a pie and the dishes that help us make the best of each), and coat with the coconut oil. Pour in your melted chocolate and spread evenly across the pan. Lightly set your raspberries on the chocolate with their points facing up. Completely cover with berries, then refrigerate to set (I sealed it with a plate to not crush the berries).

Remove from the refrigerator at least ten minutes before serving so the chocolate softens enough to be able to cut and serve without breaking. Once plated, dust with cardamom, cinnamon. A dollop of yogurt is good with this and makes a beautiful contrast in dark and light. I also served it with the pear coulis below, which can be added to sparkling water for a delightful new year’s sparkle.

Pear Coulis Sparkler
Serves 3-4

1 Pear
1-2 T Lemon juice, depending on how juicy your pear was

Puree the pear with the lemon juice in your blender. You might need to add a teaspoon of water just to get it to puree, but try not to add too much water, nor to over blend. If you do it will turn brown which is less pretty, although every bit as delicious.

Add 2-3 spoons of pear coulis to a glass of sparkling water – or omit the lemon, and add to champagne.

I wish you and your loved ones every joy this coming year.
Let’s remember: we have everything it takes, and we are the ones to light the world with love.

Happy New Year!

Thank you always! 

The Holiday List

I offer you a collection of holiday gifts curated just for you – mostly things you can make in your kitchen, or download from your computer, or have someone else wrap and mail, so you can free yourself from the tyranny of last-minute shopping, crowds and traffic. The holidays should be a time of ease… and love, song, joy, merriment, sacred celebration and divine remembrance. I wish you all of that.

Homemades: To me this is what the season is about. Here are a few things you can make with ingredients you probably have on hand or can easily find: Rose Face Cleanser, Almond Face Moisturizer, Turmeric Body Scrub, Soothing Foot Scrub, Anti-aging Natural Sunscreen.

Food is always a gift of love and these Ferments in reusable mason jars would be unique, or Farmhouse Cheese wrapped in butcher paper and string. Cardamom Cookies are pretty in parchment tied with a red ribbon, while the Cardamom Truffles pictured here are elegant, and these Pecan Cranberry Bars are festive.

Books: Of course I have to mention my husband Bhava’s book Warrior Pose, available for just $1.99 on Kindle til the end of the month. I also want to mention one of my teacher’s new books – Dr Suhas’ Hot Belly Diet which, much more than a diet book, is a great introduction to Ayurveda.

A couple of dear friends, deep, heart-centered women, have recently written books, too: Siobhan Wilcox wrote the Thrive Now Blueprint: Self-Care & Success Strategies for Parents of Special Needs Children which is a great book for all people everywhere who love children and want to see them grow strong into a loving, affirming world; and Kathy Eldon whose life is a magnificent adventure and everyday act of courage, chronicled in her memoir In the Heart of Life.

Music: Every Yoga class I teach finishes with people coming up afterwards asking about the music. The most requested are always from these three favorites: my husband Bhava, Jim Beckwith, and Steve Gold. Steve has a free download for you here. 

Food: Tidings of peace come in a gift box of Tizi’s Teas. Her Immuno Chai with Tulsi, Pippali, Ashwagandha, dandelion, rose, licorice, vanilla and peppermint has been my warm companion these dark, delicious December days.

alison miksch, getty

To me, nothing says love like an oversized jar of Ghee. Then there’s my new potential love interest, Aloha, who’s running a Free Trial (if you are willing to pay for shipping) of their greens-on-the-go which might be just the right nudge for the new year.

Clothing: I believe in “local” and supporting your local Yoga Studio when it comes to clothing. They usually have organic, sustainably sourced clothing with affirming messages.  We are happy that our local will soon be carrying the ultra eco Satva Living. Yoga Journal has a give-away of Satva’s comfy Yoga gear right here right now.

Kevin Donuhue, Kevala

We are also hoping Kevala’s cool give-back tees will soon be coming to our studio. Kevala supports 50 non-profits with their sales, and are so generous they offered us to share with you a special 15% discount, with free shipping, which you can claim here with this code: 15present.

Self-care: You probably know I am devoted to Floracopeia. I love their purity, their consciousness, and their Seva. I also love their sets.

More recently, I have fallen in love with Dr. Pratima’s Love Oil. Her Ashwagandha, Amla and Rose Rejuvenating Face Cream is pretty exciting, and this would be the ultimate pamper.

The gift of true presence: We have guided audio recordings to take with you wherever you go: Bhava’s Meditation, our Yoga Nidra for deep relaxation, and Yoga practices for home or travel are all available here.

New Year New You: Start the year with love and support. Start the year exactly as you intend to live it. Start the year with my new New Year New You Program and get 21 days of guided Yoga + Ayurveda + Healthy Eating with daily affirmations and meditations.

This would be an awesome gift ~ and if you purchase in December you immediately get three bonus items: Melissa Ambrosini‘s Meditation for Manifestation, my Ayurvedic mentor Dr. Suhas‘ interview with Tami Simon on Agni: Ayuveda’s secret to good health, and Bhava speaking with Dr. Emmett Miller on The Power to Heal. All wonderful to enjoy as the holidays give us time to pause, rest and deepen into love.

Giving: We love so many, but here is where our attention is these days: Give Back Yoga, Warriors for Healing, Ganga Action Parivar, Shakti Rising, Elephants, Trees, Seeds & Soil.

***

Note: I am suggesting these ideas because I love them – and usually the person/s and purpose behind them. I believe in them. I do have an affiliate with Amazon, where you will find the books, but haven’t yet figured out how to create the links, so for now it’s irrelevant. As for Bhava and his gifts, I have… well, conjugal relations. I admit. I am in love. There is, in that, clear benefit.

  ***
Also on the Blog:

 A Vegetarian Christmas Dinner: Menu + Recipes
Christmas Cookies
Christmas Chocolate
Christmas Culinary Delights

What are your favorite holiday treats? What does the season man to you?

Leave a comment below and I will pick three names to send each a box of
Tizi’s unique and delightful Chai in celebration of your New Year.
~ Congratulations to Marcelle, Tara and Sharyn who will receive Tizi’s Chai, and to Jennifer who gets the brownies. 

Wishing you happy holidays – holy days –  always! 

Pumpkin Love: Poetry in a Pie

Pumpkin is like a mother: embracing, enhancing, enveloping. Whatever you give to pumpkin she highlights, holds, affirms.

Have you ever noticed, for instance, the way pumpkin embraces ginger, softens into cinnamon, rises up for nutmeg. She is tasteful with clove, grounding for cayenne, elegantly delightful with the green herbs of basil, sage, tarragon and thyme.

No wonder pumpkin pie feels like a warm hug.

Pumpkin is a power food when it comes to weight loss, heart health, anti-aging, and immune strength. Low in calories, pumpkin is full of fiber and rich with the antioxidants, the chemistry of youth, that help your body forgive and forget the occasional food trespass.

It is the added sugar, wheat and heavy creams that weigh down dear pumpkin, diminishing its power to lift you up. Fortunately, pumpkin is so forgiving that forgoing sugar, grain and dairy does not have to mean forgoing flavor.

How like a mother ~ forgiving and so giving!

Personally, I think food tastes better when you can actually taste each ingredient. So it was a delight yesterday when the boys followed each bite with a chant of “Mmmm, this is so good!” But I was certain after our house painter swallowed it down with eyes of delight, gently offering me his plate afterwards with a serious, “Best I ever had, Señora.”

If it is good for someone who doesn’t owe me a compliment and isn’t used to our food ways, then I think it must be good for all. I know it is good to all, so when you serve up this pie for the holidays you can be sure you are loving your loved ones as mother nature loves you. And that is lot to be thankful for. 

For this, I roasted two small pumpkins at 475F for about an hour, or until a knife ran through the middle with ease. But Pacific makes a good organic purée in a box you could use if you have less time, or want to make it in a jiff.

Healthy Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust

2 c Hazelnuts, toasted
4 medjool Dates
hefty pinch pink Salt
1/2 t Vanilla
dash Cinnamon

Pulse all the ingredients in your electric blender until you have a chunky pulp. Press into a pie pan, spread evenly and refrigerate.

Pie Filling
1 c Cashews, soaked 2-4 hours
2 medium Pumpkins (or 4 cups Pumpkin purée)
6 Dates
1 T Coconut Oil
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t Nutmeg
1/4 t Ginger
1/4 t Clove
1/2 t pink Salt
optional: generous splash Cardamom
2 T Chia Seeds (more if you like it firmer)
Optional: 1-2 T Raw Honey

Set your oven to 475F. Pierce your pumpkins and bake 30 minutes or until a knife cuts through easily.

Allow to cool. Slice open and remove the seeds. Peel the pulp from the skin and place in your electric blender. Add dates and purée. Drain the cashews and add along with the coconut oil and spices to your purée. Blend thoroughly. Taste and adjust your seasonings. I like lots of cinnamon and nutmeg so might have added more. Add honey according to your taste.

Add Chia Seeds, pulse lightly, just enough to mix in the seeds. Pour into the crust, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, dress it up with a shower of cinnamon, a border of hazelnuts, a maze of honey, or a waltz of raspberries. Serve with a dollop of honey or maple syrup infused yogurt.

Know your dosha? 

If you are Vata: You might prefer it with another 2-3 dates.
If you are Pitta: Replace the honey with real maple syrup.
If you are Kapha: Increase the amount of ginger, cinnamon and clove.

If there are leftovers, this is delicious for breakfast. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Holiday Home Made

I am not much of a holiday shopper. I hope that doesn’t sound humbug. I just don’t think the shopping mall has much to do with the spirit of the season, and I’d rather walk on the beach with friends, or travel to the mountains with my family, or share a meal with loved ones. I prefer the gift of time… the gift of togetherness… the gift of nature…. gifts of love.

Home-made presents give the gift of all of the above – your time, your caring heart, nature’s beauty and love. Here are six last-minute ideas you can make in quick time, with ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard – all in the comfort and peace of your own home. After all, this is still the season when we should be doing less, turning in, and staying warm!

1. Soothing Foot Scrub: With magnesium to calm, cinnamon to warm, and peppermint for that holiday tingle.
2. Radiant Skin Facial Moisturizer: With rose at the heart of these delicious ingredients, Ayurvedic skin care is Edible Beauty.
3. Cookies: Delicious Cardamom or darling Gingerbread.
4. Dessert Bread: Liscia’s Cardamom Banana or Drisana’s Primal Coconut.
5. Chocolate Pâté: Wrap in a red, silk ribbon for extra richness. Keep refrigerated until gifting.
6. Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Bark: A colorful, healthful recipe demonstrated in this charming, short video from Melissa Clark of the NYT.

Thank you for joining me on this culinary journey of Nature’s love. I wish you days of light, seasons of joy, generous gifts of peace ~

Namaste!

Related Posts

• Vegetarian Christmas: A menu of favorites including chestnut soup, and a vibrant winter salad
• Hans’ Walnut Loaf: Dressed on a serving platter with pomegranate or cranberries would be pretty as well as hearty
• Flourless Chocolate Cake: Serve with your favorite red fruit warmed up with a bit of water and maple syrup

~

Primal Pumpkin Coconut Bread

Last week we returned from a Holistic Health Cruise where a variety of presenters discussed a diversity of topics. But when asked, all seemed to agree on one thing: With all the popular diets these days, Paleo, Vegan, Atkins, South Beach, Raw, one’s head could really spin. So what do they all have in common? Avoid processed, refined, packaged, and focus on organic, seasonal, whole, “you could have gathered it yourself” foods. Once again, we return to Ayurveda, where individual differences are appreciated and the only absolute is to source from nature.

So, along comes the divine Drisana Carey with this Primal Pumpkin Bread that had us all begging for the recipe. Before I could even ask,  she was generous enough to drop the book containing the recipe at my doorstep.

It is called “primal” because the recipe aligns with the principles of Mark Sisson’s  Primal Diet, a mature approach to eating like our ancestors, yet thoughtfully considering the stresses and environmental toxins of our modern lifestyles. On his website, where he touts the immense health benefits of pumpkin, Sisson offers an alternative recipe for Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie which actually looks like a great improvement on the usual in terms of both health and taste. 

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this Primal Pumpkin Bread, with all its protein and clean energy, would be a great meal to begin the holiday. After all, it is so real, so whole, so natural, so delicious, you could say it’s the very taste of thanks-giving!

It would also make a great holiday dessert ~ with all the potassium, magnesium, healthy fats and antioxidants to help balance the season’s excesses.

The creamy frosting makes it especially moist, creamy and teasingly wonderful. You could make it Vegan like the one topping these Lemon Cupcakes, or replace it with something like this Vegan Cinnamon Frosting. And while I love baking up pumpkins, you can also make it quick and easy with a box of pumpkin puree. 

Primal Pumpkin Coconut Cake

1/4 cup ghee or coconut oil, melted
6 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup maple syrup (Drisana substitutes half the maple syrup for molasses “to add iron and potassium”)
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon clove powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup pecans
3/4 cup dark chocoloate chips

Melt the ghee/coconut oil in a small saucepan and set aside. Grease a bread pan, or muffin tins. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Crack the eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer or into a large mixing bowl. Beat with your mixer or wire whisk. Add in vanilla, maple syrup, pumpkin, and mix until thoroughly combined. Sift coconut flour, ghee or oil, spices, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat, or whisk, until there are no lumps. Stir in the coconut flakes, chopped apple, pecans and chocolate chips. Pour the batter into your baking dish or muffin tins. Bake for about 30 minutes for bread, or 15 minutes for muffins – in any case it is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove it form the oven and turn onto a wire rack to cool, then generously cover with the Cream Cheese Frosting.

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup organic whipped cream cheese (Tofutti for Vegans, or make it yourself)
2 tablespoons cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cream cheese, honey and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Spread on cooled cake.

Drisana brought this delicious cake over to join in celebrating Haunani, who is having a baby in December. Remember Haunani from this post? She is a divine, light-filled, love-drenched soul. We are grateful for her presence in our lives and wish her, husband Tad and their soon-to-emerge baby, perfect health, every happiness, infinite love. We are also grateful to Drisana and Mark Sisson for this gluten-free, nutrient-rich, potent pumpkin pleasure.

What are you grateful for this holiday harvest season?

Namaste!

*

Gluten Free Cookies

After reading David Perlmutter’s book, Grain Brain, we are going gluten-free. For me, that is not difficult. Wheat has been off the menu for a while now. But there are those in the house who feel that life is just not complete without a chocolate chip cookie after school.

In an effort to prove that life can be effortless, delicious and complete without wheat, I am on a search for the world’s best GF Chocolate Chip Cookie. Along the way, I’ve found these delicious looking treats ~

1. Easy Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Nutella Cookies from Life Made Sweet
   2. Almond Joy Cookies from Salmonberry
   3. Gluten Free Classic Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie from Recipe Renovator
   4. GF Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks from LivLife

But we are looking to be sugar free, too, so I’ve been busy in the kitchen adapting recipes. The photo above is my favorite recipe so far. I’ll post that for you next week.

Meanwhile, what are your favorite Gluten-free recipes?

I look forward to experimenting with your suggestions.

Namaste! 

Flourless Chocolate Cake

On Sunday, Celeste came over for a class we called “Learn to Love the Kitchen.” Given she had just been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, I wanted to include something really delicious and easy to make so she wouldn’t feel it’s a diagnosis of labor and deprivation.

Sunday with Celeste

Celeste arrived after a morning of writing. Not very purposeful writing, and not even very useful, but full of flow and ease, and a healing making right with the world kind of sweetness.

You see, I was taught to write in a stream of consciousness: “Don’t think, just write.” “Put pen in hand and begin.” “Let it flow.” “Be uncensored.” “Afterwards,” they would say, “you can go back and edit.”

This way of writing has been like therapy for me. It helps keep me alive to the river of life. It restores my faith that all is flowing towards some ocean, symbolic in Yoga for expanded consciousness, the cosmic mind, our oneness.

It’s one reason I put this quote from Norman MacLean on my personal website ~ “But when I am alone in the half light of the canyon all existence seems to fade to a being with my soul and memories… Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.”

“Under the rocks are the words…” he goes on. And it feels that way to me. Writing helps dislodge the rocks, underneath which are buried the words. There, a river runs through, and everything fades to a being with my soul and the memories…

Sometimes I think I write for my life. To unfurl the coiled and sometimes twisted emotion, energy, experience and restore balance, perspective, peace.

At least that is how it began. Now I write to cultivate a divine essence, or a relationship with that. It’s a relationship that includes food, Nature,  you, even my own spirit ~ elated as it is to now be so free.

In his novel, A River Runs Through, MacLean writes: “My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things – trout as well as eternal salvation – came by grace; and grace comes by art; and art does not come easy.” 

Which makes me think not only of writing, and blogging, but of the kitchen, and all that we do to maintain health. Maybe our work is our art, and even our diagnoses can be seen not as labor and deprivation, but as acts of art leading us towards grace.

The art of our labor came for Celeste and for me, in this Flourless Chocolate Cake, which I affectionately call, “Nutella Pie.” It is simple, with only about 5 main ingredients. It is also messy. MacLean promises all good things – trout as well as eternal salvation… and that must include chocolate cake, don’t you think?

This little delight is made with hazelnuts, almond milk, dates, eggs, and some spices. It is not made with sugar, flour, dairy, or any junk. I ran the nutritional data on it and it seems to have about 150 calories per slice, plus a lot of vitamins, minerals, fiber and good-for-you love. I served it with a Coconut Cream Coulis and strawberries, but raspberries would be pretty, too.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Hazelnuts, 1 cup
Dates, 6 large, pitted and chopped
Almond Milk, 1 cup
Vanilla Extract, 1 Tablespoon
Coconut Oil, 1 Tablespoon
Eggs, 3 large
Pink Salt, a pinch or two
Raw Cacao, 1/4 cup scant
Cinnamon, 1 big shake
Cardamom, pinch
Maple Syrup, 1-2 Tablespoons, (optional)

Set your oven to 335F. Pit and chop the Dates, then soak them in pure water for at least ten minutes. Toast the Hazelnuts lightly (about 3-4 minutes in a toaster). Put the nuts in a Vitamix or electric blender and grind until it is a powder. Drain the dates and add to the hazelnuts, along with the Almond Milk, Vanilla and Coconut Oil. Blend until it is creamy. You might have to stop, stir, and blend a few times to get it to really come together.

In a small bowl whip the eggs with the salt. Add to the hazelnut mixture and blend some more. Once that is creamy, add the cacao, spices, and maple syrup.

Grease a 9″ round pan, or muffin tins,with a dab of coconut oil. Pour in the mixture and smooth with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for 2o-25 minutes for the cake/pie, or 15-20 minutes for the minis.

Serve warm or at room temperature with plain yogurt or this Coconut Coulis.

Coconut Coulis

Coconut Milk, 1 can
Raw Honey, 1 Tablespoon

Chill the Coconut Milk for at least one hour. Spoon it into a bowl and blend with the Honey. Whip it until it gets a bit fluffy and thickens. Drizzle over your Chocolate Cake. It is also wonderful with fresh fruit.

“Study after study shows that cocoa flavanols can disarm cell damaging free radicals, preserve cell membranes, protect DNA, prevent the formation of artery clogging plaque, improve blood flow to the heart, lower high blood pressure, and prevent blood clots that can cause a heart attack or stroke. ~ Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD

I hope you enjoy this delicious reminder that food is a love story, and that Mother Earth is always loving you!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Namaste ~

Cardamom Cookies

The ever sunny, always giving, Randy-Skippy-Arjuna (RSA) Spicocchi brought these over for dessert recently. We had what we call our “India Dinner,” an evening we host one month before departing for India where we teach at the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh. We prepare a multi-course Indian meal together with our fellow travellers (photos here), so they can meet each other and learn about the adventure ahead. These divine little treats, laced as they are with India’s own peppery and exotic Cardamom, were the perfect sweet complement.

You may have noticed I don’t write often of sweets or treats. There are two reasons for that. The first is personal: I am Kapha enough that dessert, bread, pasta and the like, had to be struck from the plate long ago. The second reason is well explained here.

On the other hand, every now and then we are asked to provide a dessert, or want to show our love with a treat. Some people find the stresses of the day melt away a little more easily with a morsel of something warm, soft and sweet, and, with chronic stress being arguably more dangerous to your well-being, melt away I say. Plus, some of you have asked for more baking… and, they are gorgeous, aren’t they?

I had an Acupunturist once tell me that when it comes to diet, it is important to break the rules now and then. His theory was that the digestive system needs to be challenged occasionally, and he pointed to Fergus the Forager as proof. Given that I had a bad “frites” habit at the time, I was happy to adopt that professional justification.

I could justify it Ayurvedically, too. After all, digestion is a fire. The dosha, or bio-energy, of fire is Pitta. Pitta is muscular, competitive, success-oriented. It loves a good challenge. Pitta naturally distinguishes between good and bad, right and wrong, healthy or not. Discernment is a positive quality of Pitta. Whether it is your vision, your mind, or your digestion, if you have positive Pitta, it discerns.

I wonder then, dear reader, professor of all things healthy, connoisseur of true food and enduring nourishment, if we could say that the small intestine ~ that most Pitta of organs, responsible for the second stage of digestion, the stage where the essential is separated from the non-essential ~ actually needs a break from perfection once in a while to test its clarity, strength and power, and keep it in good working order?

What if, too, that is the principle behind all metabolism, including your mental and emotional metabolism, the heart and soul’s capacity to digest information, experience, life itself? Could cultivating your inner fires of passion, devotion, discipline, clarity, discernment really help you release the non-essential, preserve the essence, heal and grow in wisdom and compassion? I offer my husband as a thought-experiment.

How’s that for justification?

In truth, this cookie is pretty healthy. We use a GF flour, coconut palm sugar which has a low glycemic index, good-for-you ghee instead of butter, Himalayan salt with 88 trace minerals, and, of course, Cardamom which is a Pitta support, helping metabolize sugar, and reducing those levels in the blood where it can be so dangerous.

So when cookie cravings arise, try these. My husband saw them and pronounced them the prettiest cookies ever. After tasting one, two, and then three, he also declared them to be the very best cookies ever. From my very own world expert on cookies, that felt good to hear.

One more plus ~ I made them in less than ten minutes (plus cooking time)!

Cardamom Cookies
Recipe adapted from Randy Spicocchi

Organic GF Flour, 2 1/4 cups
Baking Soda, 1 teaspoon
Pink (Himalayan) Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee, 1/2 cup room temperature
Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, 1 1/2 cups
Ground Cardamom, 3 teaspoons
Organic, Free-range Eggs, 2
Vanilla Extract, 2 teaspoons

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
 In a large bowl, cream together ghee and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in cardamom, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually incorporate the flour mixture until the dough comes together and no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet.
 Randy likes to sprinkle a combination of cardamom and the palm sugar over the top “for added sweetness.” I like it for the dusting of contrasting color.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until cookies are set and very light golden around the edges.
 Allow to cool for 3-4 minutes on baking sheets, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Cardamom is mother nature’s answer to our occasional need for a sweet splurge. Isn’t she amazing to always anticipate our needs? Next time you need a little extra comfort, I hope you will enjoy these Cardamom Cookies and savor Mother’s Love.

What warms your heart when life’s seasons turn cold?

~

P.S. Have you seen my new website, with information about my upcoming Winter Cleanse?

Thank you & Namaste!

Ojai Valley Inn’s Gingerbread Cookies

Looking for something serene and a bit special for our end of the year retreat we took the advice of our Ginseng Yoga Studio co-owner Cindy Bennett and headed to the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa.  We arrived just in time to wander about before dark, to enjoy the natural setting and get our bearings.

Have you ever walked through a grove of Eucalyptus after the rain?  It is one of the things I most love about southern California winters, and one of the delights that greeted us as we explored this beautiful valley. Eventually we stopped at one of the many restaurants at the Inn, the causal  Cafe Verde, to peek at a possibility for breakfast in the morning, and possibly warm up with a cup of tea.

Instead we came upon a group of families gathered around the large open kitchen, where the chef was giving a Cooking Demonstration, showing the children how to make Gingerbread Cookies. I didn’t get there in time to take photos of the demonstration, or of the kids, but I did get the recipe!

It is not Ayurvedic to eat a lot of sugar, but if we put that aside, and if you make this with Ghee and gluten-free, then you have a fairly healthy cookie. After all, the spices are Ayurvedic, exactly the ones we use to fan the digestive fires, which might be helpful this season, no? I mean, who couldn’t use a little more fire in the winter?

Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups flour, I’d use gluten-free: like Bob’s Red Mill
1 1/2 t Baking Powder
3/4 t Baking Soda
1/4 t Salt
1 T ground Ginger
1 3/4 t Cinnamon
1/4 t Cloves
6 Ghee
3/4 c Coconut Sugar
1 large Egg
1/2 cup Molasses
2 t Vanilla

In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well-blended.

In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well-blended. Add molasses and vanilla and continue until well blended. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.

Divide dough in half. Set in two bowls and cover. Let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours and up to 8.

Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour over dough and your rolling pin. Roll dough out until it is 1/4-inch thick. Use your gingerbread cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Place cookies on the baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes.  Remove from oven. Allow to stand until cookies are firm, then move to a wire rack. Once cookies are cool, decorate away!

Wishing you a Joyful Holiday and a Happy New Year!

Namaste!

~

All photos are from the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa website, with permission. 

Related Posts I’ve enjoyed:
Stephanie Weaver’s GF Gingerbread Cupcakes
Whitney Kear’s Pumpkin Cake
Kerala Rose’s Indian Buttery Cookie

Cardamom’s Divine Delight

Calling all foodies, bloggers, wizards and mermaids, adventurers, lovers, dreamers and inventors, Buddhas, Sages, Sadhakas and Yogis! Inside of you is something eternal and infinite; something as great as a mountain, as vast as an ocean, as beautiful as a star, as sweet as honey, as miraculous as a rainbow. It is a power that knows no bounds. A capacity to create, to heal, to love, to light up the world. You were born to know the magnificence of life, the power within, the radiance of your own truth, the joy of service and the deep, delightful endurance of love.

In this divine time when we string lights on every tree, mantel, and eave, allow me to celebrate the miracle of you. Allow me, if you will, to celebrate all that light and love alive in you, dancing, pulsing,  surging, radiating through you with the most divine of spices, Cardamom.

To me, Cardamom is love and light in a pod. It is beauty and wisdom, knowing just what we need physically, while inspiring us emotionally. Cardamom is the journeyer’s companion, the sensual spark to a Yogi’s inner flame.

Oh Cardamom, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Next week, I will! For now, I give you three comforting, delicious ways to stay warm and grounded this time of year. 2 out of 3 are Vegan and all 3 are, or can be made, gluten-free. Therefore, they make excellent “hand-crafted” gifts, and hearty, conversation-starting party foods.

Cardamom Rose Delights

1 cup shredded coconut
6 medjool dates
1 tbls almond butter
1 tbls coconut oil
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp rose water
pinch of salt

Process all ingredients in food processor until mixture is quite smooth. Form into balls or press into molds. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Melissa’s Incredibly Moist Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups Pamela’s gluten free baking mix
1 egg substitute (Melissa uses oil, water, & baking powder mix)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 bag vegan choc chips
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch or two of cardamom

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together, adding water (or spiced apple cider as I did) as needed to moisten and form balls. Cook on parchment paper ~ 10-11 min. They may look soft but do not overcook.

Liscia’s Cardamom Banana Bread

2/3 cup raisins or currants
1/3 cup dark rum or apple cider
1 cup unbleached White flour (or a gluten-free flour of your choice)
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour (or more gluten-free flour or Liscia says try rice flour!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 ripe bananas
1/3 cup canola or corn oil (Liscia also likes coconut oil)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-10 inch loaf pan.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the raisins or currants with the rum or cider, and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat, and let the pan sit for 10 minutes.

3. While they are soaking, combine in a large bowl the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Mix well. In a smaller bowl mash bananas with a fork. Add the oil and brown sugar, and beat for 1 minute. Add eggs beating more. With a spoon, stir this mixture into the flour mixture until the ingredients are well blended. Stir in walnuts, the soaked raisins, and their liquid. Pose the mixture into greased loaf pan.

4.  Bake the bread 50-60( but check around 30-40!) until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, place it on a rack, and let the bread cool for 10 mins before you remove it from the pan. Wrapped well, this bread keeps at room temperature for 5 days, and longer if refrigerated.

Cardamom Flower

Celebrating You as the light we celebrate this season, reminds me of St. Teresa of Avila‘s powerful call to the awakened life ~

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
No hands but yours, 
no feet but yours;
Yours are the eyes through which 
Christ’s Compassion is to look out to the world;
Yours are the feet by which he is to go about
 doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.”

Katariina Fagering’s Jesus-Ubuntu

May we all take up the call, inspired by the season, encouraged by our saints and sages,
and fortified by Cardamom’s loving light.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holy Days ~
Namaste! 

The Taste of Love: Chocolate Pâté

Think about something you love for a moment.

How does that thought make you feel? If you could taste it, what would be its flavor?

Sitting in an Emergency Room earlier this week waiting for my husband to be wheeled off for a CT scan followed by an MRI, I thought about that, the taste of love, and noticed on that day that love’s taste was bitter.

Narayana and Lakshmi, Cosmic Lover and Nature’s Love Goddess

Of course, we normally think of love as sweet, associating it with what we call “comfort” foods ~ Mom’s Mac Cheese, home-baked cookies, warmed milk ~ or with a romantic “diner à deux” with a rich menu of courses, wine, and a sumptuous dessert.

But on that day, under stark hospital lights, love tasted anything but sweet. What if they find a tumor? An aneurysm? Could this unbearable pain he has had for two weeks now be a symptom of something fatal? Or, not fatal but also not curable, not knowable, never-ending?

According to Ayurveda, the sweet taste is the taste that gives us strength, patience, endurance, health. Love is like that, isn’t? It fortifies us. It is grounding, pacifying, reassuring. It makes us more accepting, more generous. It helps us feel whole.

Bitter, on the other hand, is the taste associated with the emotion of loss. Grief has a bitter edge to it. This is not bitter as we usually think of it. Not the bitter of frustrated resentment as in, “My, how bitter she has become since her divorce.” The taste of that emotion would actually be sour, as in “sour grapes.” Combining the elements of fire and earth, sour feelings are like fire buried underground, a subterranean seething.

Cacao Pods

Bitter, instead, relates to letting go, surrender, releasing the old. Its taste combines the elements of air and space. Foods that taste bitter help us lose weight, loosen Ama, unclog the system, lighten up, eliminate toxins, clean wounds, purify the tissues.

Which brings me to Chocolate. Of course.

In its essence, chocolate has a bitter taste. It is almost unpalatable without the leavening of something sweet like sugar, milk, maple syrup, or honey. Chocolate, or choco-late, is cacao, a pure bitter, and “late” meaning milk, a sweet.

Monday helped me understand more fully why chocolate then, is the food of love. True love, enduring love is sweet. It strengthens, affirms, uplifts and expands us.

Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love

But deep, pure love is also like a fire. It lights us up. It purifies. It burns away our false, constructed ego, eliminating the toxins of selfishness, defensiveness and pride. It restores innocence, unclogs channels of self-expression and authenticity, renewing energy.  It puts our priorities into proper perspective. It forces us to face our interdependency, bringing to the surface buried fears of inadequacy, loss, annihilation. In this sense, deep love has much in common with the taste of bitter and its effect on us. It purifies.

Bitter and Sweet, chocolate helps us dissolve our mental strategies and resistance to life’s flow, restoring trust so we can melt back into the heart, allow connection, strengthen our bonds of oneness and remember what is true.

Chocolate Love

After Monday, my love for my husband is prioritized. Gone is anything that distracts. It feels clearer, stronger and purer than ever. Best of all, we are fortunate that the thumping, sleep-depriving, shrieking pain was only the result of a pinched nerve. A very pinched, very distressed nerve, but one that is now calmed and finding its way back to normal.

So we have a lot to love and to celebrate this Valentine’s Day. I am going to splurge and make a Chocolate Pâté.

Chocolate Pâté

The simple recipe for this sumptuous dessert lets the chocolate speak for itself, and it doesn’t just speak, it resounds. Loooooooooovvvvvveee ~

Chocolate Pâté

168 grams of 100%  Cacao (Ghirardelli and Scharffen Berger make the perfect Bar)
2/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup ghee
1.5 tablespoon Jaggary, or Evaporated Cane Juice

Ingredients

Put all ingredients into a medium size pot and cook over very low heat, stirring constantly. After a few minutes, once chocolate has mostly melted, turn off the heat. Continue to stir until the consistency is smooth and even.

Line the bottom of a small loaf pan with a large piece of cellophane, or parchment paper, leaving excess wrap to hang over the sides. Give the chocolate mixture a few minutes to cool, still stirring, then pour it into the loaf pan. Cover with the wrap, and refrigerate 5 to 6 hours, until firm. Before serving let stand at room temperature one hour, then turn out onto a plate and sprinkle with cocoa or cinnamon powder. Garnish with figs, blueberries, blackberries and serve with Crème Fraîche.

A Dusting of Cinnamon adds Spice

This is such divine succulence from the Mother. With food like this, her eternal, delicious love is hard to deny!

~ Happy Valentine’s Day ~

La Molina

Sally Bernstein has many great ideas for Valentine’s Day over at Sally’s Place, including loads of recipes and gift ideas. That is where I discovered La Molina Gianduja Spread, inspired by La Molina, the chambermaid and chocolatier to 17th century Queen Marie-Therese. Nothing like the love of a good woman!

Eggless “Egg Nog” Lassi

Your belly will say, “Thank you,” when you complete your meal with Lassi, a yogurt-based drink that keeps your digestive fires blazing and your immune system strong.

Seeking a Vegetarian response to Egg Nog, I stirred 1 cup of fresh Yogurt, made from raw milk given by grass fed cows (I like St. Benoit), together with 1 cup Water, 6 pitted Medjool Dates, 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup, 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract, three good shakes each of Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Clove powder, and a tiny dash of Sea Salt and fresh ground Black Pepper.

Less water and more dates would make it a thicker blend. You could also add a few raw skinned almonds or cashews for a thicker consistency.

Put all this in the blender and mix it on High Speed until it is good and frothy, then serve it as an after dinner “digestif.”

It is so delicious I think I’ll call it New Year’s Lassi next week, and keep on drinking it right into the new year!

Let me know what you think.

I wish you many blessings of Joy and Peace  ~

A Vegetarian Christmas

I wanted to share with you our Christmas Dinner Menu, in case you are still looking for ideas. Feel free to print out this menu – just double click on it for print version. I have attached links below to all the recipes.

Chestnut Porcini Soup is featured in Edible San Diego, and is the creation of Patrick Ponsaty, Chef de Cuisine at Mistral, the signature restaurant at Loews Coronado Bay Resort.

Sage Bread is from Delicious Living, the magazine for Real Food, Natural Health, Green Planet.

Brioche Stuffing With Chestnuts and Figs is from the New York Times Well Recipes, but I’ve adapted it and posted  my vegetarian version here. This Christmas I will add to it raisins, fresh cranberries and rosemary.

Roasted Root Vegetables: Red Beets, Indigo, Orange & Cream Colored Carrots, and White Parsnips ~ Nestled alongside the Stuffing, this will roast in a bit of olive and safflower oil tossed with rosemary, covered in foil for the first thirty minutes and left uncovered the final 10.

Oregon Blue

Vegetarian Gravy

Cranberry Chutney

Winter Greens & Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue Cheese

Buche de Noel

Egg Nog Lassi

Enjoy ~

I wish you a Holiday Season full of Love, Light and Peace.

Winter Greens

In Ayurveda, we seek to include all six tastes in our meals in an order that matches the process of digestion and ensures optimal breakdown, absorption, and wellness.  I have seen many clients and students overcome chronic digestive discomfort simply through the wise sequencing of the six tastes.

For balance and health, our meals begin with the sweet taste, include some salt, sour, pungent, and follow with astringent and bitter. Salad greens offer some combination of the astringent and bitter taste, so following your main course with a salad is not only trés European, it is trés Ayurveda!

Which brings me to Christmas. Our Christmas Dinner will include a Winter Greens Salad with a lovely mass of color, and delightful bursts of tangy astringent and woody bitter flavors. We will pair it with Rogue Creamery’s Oregon Blue Cheese made from raw milk drawn from grass-fed cows. It’s an update on tradition and a tasty delight.

WINTER GREENS

Mesclun of fresh Farmer’s Market Greens
4-5 Spring Onions, chopped
1 cup dried Cranberries
1/2 cup Pepitas
1/2 cup Pomegranate seeds

Toss ingredients together in a bowl and serve with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette.

WALNUT OIL VINAIGRETTE

2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Olive oil
3 tablespoons Walnut oil

Whisk together vinegar, garlic, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then whisk in oils in a slow stream until emulsified. Toss greens with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Christmas Salad

Chestnut Porcini Soup

Chestnut Porcini Soup

I found this recipe in Edible San Diego, a wonderful new magazine about local farms, markets and restaurants. It is featured in a profile of Patrick Ponsaty, Chef de Cuisine at Mistral, a restaurant overlooking San Diego Bay.

The original was not vegetarian, but with some adaptations is now a perfect “Opening” to our Christmas dinner. It would also make a great meal for those days after Christmas, when you want something hearty and hale. It’s certainly a creative way to use up any Chestnuts remaining from Christmas!

CHESTNUT & PORCINI SOUP
Makes 5-6 servings

1 yellow onion, medium dice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 bouquet thyme
1 pound porcini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 pound white mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
4 ounces white wine
9 ounces chestnuts
42 ounces vegetable stock
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon black truffle oil
4 ounces heavy cream
1 sprig cilantro, for garnish

In a medium stockpot, sweat onions in olive oil until translucent, then add chopped garlic and thyme. Add ⅓ of mushrooms and cook them until sweated out. Repeat with the next ⅓ and the next ⅓ until all mushrooms are cooked.

Once mushrooms have evaporated and have started to caramelize, deglaze with white wine.  After all alcohol in wine has evaporated add chestnuts. Cover with chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook for 30–45 minutes.

Remove from heat and add truffle oil. Place small amounts in a blender, add a splash of cream each time and blend until smooth. Repeat this process until all is blended. Use a whisk to mix all the batches together.

Check for seasoning and serve hot. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Chestnuts

Mistral is the signature restaurant at Loews Coronado Bay Resort.

Buche de Noel

Our Christmas Dessert

Morgan and I love to bake, so yesterday he invited friends over and we had a holiday-treats-baking-party.

Morgan is creative, adventurous and very clever. Ask him what he wants to be when he grows up and he will tell you, as he has been telling people most of his 13 years, “An Inventor!” If you show interest, he will tell you, too, of the details, features and purpose of the numerous, extraordinary designs he is already imagineering.

This year he led his Robotics team to the Regional Championships where they demonstrated a “Nanobot” designed to eliminate cancer. With organizations like Dean Kamen’s First our children have terrific opportunities to imagine and engineer solutions that will make us all  safer, happier, and healthier. We are dedicated to that, so we do what we can to keep his curiosity and creativity engaged.

Yesterday, that meant setting an Invention Challenge in the kitchen. The mission was to create  a new recipe, without looking anything up, for a divine Chocolate Peppermint Brownie that would make the boys say, “We HAVE to make this again!” But it had to be made without flour, milk, eggs, sugar, or anything we couldn’t pronounce, or anything that comes in a can, box or freezer ~ and it had to be so good we could devour it in one sitting, but so healthy that we would still feel great after we did.

Demonstrating their great technical prowess, the boys created a success, although what we made didn’t exactly come out like a brownie. It had more of a pudding consistency, but it wasn’t that, either. Morgan’s friend suggested we call it a “Prownie” as a merging of the two, which led to a whole chorus of linguistic possibilities, but ultimately we decided to call it a Buche de Noel.

We had two reasons. First, once it is served on the plate, it does look like a Yule log. Second, while it accidentally tastes much like the traditional French Christmas dessert it is named for, we think that most people won’t know what a Buche de Noel is supposed to taste like, so they won’t arrive at ours with preconceived expectations that might otherwise divert them from enjoying ours as much as it deserves.

There may be a third reason:  is it possible that it tastes even more divinely delicious with a name, itself, so divine? The beat of the “B,” the bass of the “Ooo,” the soothing “Shhh” that sounds like a sled whirring through snow.  Sleigh bells ring, Are you listening?

We called it a “Buche de Noel”

AN AYURVEDIC CHRISTMAS: BUCHE DE NOEL

This recipe makes a tremendously satisfying treat. Read on for the health benefits of its two main ingredients, almonds and peppermint.

2 cups Almonds, blanched and skinned
8 Dates
1/2 cup Almond Milk
2 tbsp. Maple Syrup
2 tsp. Peppermint Oil or Extract
3 shakes Cinnamon
1 shake Nutmeg
Pinch of Sea Salt
1/4 cup Coconut Flakes
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cacao Baking Bar, broken into small pieces
1 tsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread (or Ghee, if you are not Vegan)

Begin by soaking the cherries in fresh water. Place the coconut flakes on a toaster tray and toast for one minute. Watch carefully, as coconut can burn easily. Put the remaining ingredients except chocolate and “butter” in a juicer or food processor and blend, blend, blend. You may have to stop and start a few times, scraping the sides often, until you get a smoth consistency.

Melt the “butter” in a medium size pot over a very low heat. Pour in the almond mixture, add the chocolate pieces and stir. Keep stirring until the chocolate is melted and  thoroughly integrated into the mixture.

Transfer to a serving pan and spread the mixture evenly across the dish. Dry the cherries and sprinkle them with the toasted coconut over the top.  You can also add a crushed candy cane to decorate the “buche,” if you are not too strict about the no sugar rule. Allow it sit for one hour before serving.

“Buche”

Health Benefits

If you are planning on making treats this holiday season but don’t want the sugar blues, consider a little deconstruction, and focus on the basics. Many of the traditional Christmas aromas and flavors, like clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts and peppermint are also considered medicine in Ayurveda.

Almonds, for instance, are highly regarded in Ayurveda for their nutritional value and their Vata pacifying benefits. They are demulcent, expectorant, and a great tonic. Almonds are good for coughs, wasting diseases of the  lungs and kidneys, muscle tension and pain. They lubricate the skin and the microcirculatory channels, supporting all the tissues of the body, and strengthening the immune system. Almonds provide several essential nutrients and are 20% protein. From an ounce of almonds (about 24 nuts) you get about 5.6 grams of protein. They are also rich in Vitamin E and magnesium and contain calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

Peppermint

Peppermint has anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. It is an excellent stomach digestive, soothing for colds, flu and fevers, relieving for sinus allergies. Stimulating to the mind, it enhances concentration, calms the nerves, develops emotional endurance and is extremely effective for taking the edge off tension headaches. No wonder it is so omnipresent this time of year!

Mother Nature wants to nourish you. Her food is medicine to help you to be your best. Allow her to support you this season, so you can feel the love that is the essence of all life, and the true reason to celebrate these holidays.

The The Yoga Journal Online has a tidy overview of Ayurvedic Healing Foods, including the almonds, dates and ghee we used in this recipe.

Happy Holidays!