tahini noodles

ingredients:

1/2 lb. of whole wheat spaghetti

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

2 large leaves of swiss chard, chopped in fine strips.

5 small leaves of mint, chopped

6 large leaves of basil, chopped

sesame seeds

tahini sauce: 1/4 cup of tahini 2 T soy sauce or tamari 3 T water 1 T rice vinegar 1tsp dijon mustard 1 T chile garlic sauce 1 T braggs amino acids *1/16 tsp of cayenne pepper 1 T agave nectar or sugar 3 T chia seed gel pinch of salt healthy pinch of black pepper

cook noodles, drain and rinse in cool water to cool down the noodles. add sauce, shredded carrots, mint, and sesame seeds.

if you would like to try a variation of this you can use peanut butter instead of tahini.

sauce is also really delish as bread dip or salad dressing.

note--i make a double of the sauce recipe because i like to have a little extra on the pasta. the recipe will only make enough to lightly coat the noodles. serve with crusty bread and salad.

yums!!

* if you don't like things to spicy omit the cayenne and decrease the amount of chili garlic sauce.

this recipe was adapted from the "nearly raw tahini noodles" recipe on the veganyumyum site. if mine doesn't quite do it for ya you could try hers out.

chocolate....

okay, everyone race to the store and grab a bag of these fabulous tasty treats. they are tortilla chips made with chocolate cocoa...sound crazy, maybe?? but they are incredibly delicious. there is a subtle underlying flavor of a deep dark chocolate combined with typical tortilla chip expectation. it's like dessert and a salty snack all in one. the company that makes 'em is called "foodshouldtastegood" and they are delish...check 'em out!

taste the rainbow

taste this rainbow of garden loving goodness. this image is a couple weeks old......now our poor lil' tomato bushes are pretty dry from all the heat. although, we have had a couple good rain storms over the last few days. oh, how i miss the real rainstorms from the midwest (sigh). although, i am happy that they have subsided a bit up there.....they definitely didn't need anymore rainfall. at least, not where my parents live in southern illinois.

i just wanted to share a photo from our garden bounty. i love the varying shapes, sizes, colors and flavors. i always buy to many plants for our small garden space...oops. we're feeling pretty lucky (as is our bellies) with all these since some of our friends only picked a couple from their plants. it's about time to cut the plants back so we can get our second crop in the late summer. hot damn, tomatoes...yippy!!

grilled not-cheese sandwich & wilted spinach

ingredients for grilled not-cheese sandwich:

8oz or firm tofu, drained

1/2 cup chickpeas, drained

1.5 T tahini

1.5 T miso

4 T chia seed gel

3 T lemon juice

4 T nutritional yeast

2 tsp. onion powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1.5 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. mustard of any kind

1/4 tsp. cayenne

3-4 medium sized tomatoes, diced

6 slices of pickled jalapenos, diced

12-15 basil leaves

8 slices of favorite bread......mucho mucho on seedy bread, but i'm a sucker for seedy bread.

olive oil spray

combine everything thru the cayenne in a food processor or blender and blend til smooth. if possible, refrigerate for an hour or so to allow flavors to blend.

put diced tomatoes & jalapenos in a bowl, mix together.

take the bread and spray olive oil mist on one side of each. place that side face down on the skillet. spread some not-cheese mixture on the up side of bread in skillet. then place some tomato mixture on top of spread putting 3-4 basil leaves to cover tomato relish and place the other piece of bread with sprayed olive oil side facing up. allow bread to brown fairly well on each side. make all sandwiches the same way and let cool slightly before indulging. NOTE: allow bread to get good, brown & crispy so the cheesey mixture and spicy tomato topping can't make the bread soggy-dog.

ingredients for wilted spinach:

2 bundles of spinach

3-4 cups of water

braggs amino acid

balsamic vinegar

thoroughly rinse spinach with water while bringing water to boil in saucepan. once water is boiling add spinach and allow to cook for a couple minutes to wilt. remove from heat and drain for about 5 minutes in a colander. serve up in bowl and add 1 part braggs and 1 part balsamic to spinach to taste....maybe 2T of each for starters. if you like it less tart use a bit less of each or use less balsamic than braggs.

dig in :O)

plates by ayumi horie 

carrot juice

this is my new favorite drink.

to make this drink, using a juicer...juice up:

4-5 carrots

4-5 celery stalks

a piece of ginger about 2 inches long

pour above juice in cup and mix in 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne.......

this drink is sweet, peppery and spicy. this is not for the faint of heart....if you don't like spicy things, you might want to try less celery and ginger and omit the cayenne.

ChEers!!!!!!

sweet & swanky cup

our good friends from edwardsville (where chris and i went to school) rick dunn and kirsten jacobsen came down for the art of the pot tour as well. rick was one of the participating artist's this year. they both make incredible pots and it was a great time to hang out with them here in austin since they had never been before. you can find his contact info on the art of the pot website if you can't live without a swell mug like this one.

i couldn't :O) www.artofthepot.com

rick also made the lidded jar in the background of the carrot juice photo above.  the one with the pale blue lid and terracotta colored bottom.

orange yum

my friend trish brought me a new delish smoothie last night. it was uber yummie and orange...personal perfection

here's the ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of peaches

1 1/2 cup of pineapple

4 carrots

1 inch piece of ginger

and blend it all up....cheers!!

the sweet little cups are from an artist named bernadette curran.  i couldn't decide between the bunny and the lil' pig....so i got em both :O) her work is amazing not to mention she is about as sweet as they come. chris and i bought these from her during the art of the pot tour a couple weeks ago. the art of the pot tour is a really great thing that happens in austin on mother's day weekend. 4 local austin potter's open their studios featuring their work the work 0f 2-4 other invited national potter's to show and sell their work. the patron's can drive to each location and check out the studio, meet the artists and buy pots....it doesn't get any better than that!!! check out the details at www.artofthepot.com. if your in austin you can put it on your hit list for next year.

naked fig newton's

this is a recipe from my best friend trisha...

Naked Fig Newtons

2 1/2 c groudnd pecans 2 c figs (stems removed) 2 t vanilla extract 1/4 c water 1 c coconut

In a food processor combine pecans, figs, and vanilla. Pulse until chopped and then add water slowly until you have a mixture with a texture able to form into balls. By the spoonful, roll out balls and flatten in hand then dip both sides into coconut. Keep in sealed container in fridge up to 1 week ...if they last that long!

love, trishie

this star bowl is one of chris' www.chriscampbellpotter.com

lemon tahini salad dressing with greens & beets

this salad dressing is delish...i got the general base recipe from my good friend rebecca...i added cashews and chia seeds.

ingredients:

1/2 cup of lemon juice 1/4 cup of tahini 1/4 braggs amino acids 1 long stalk of celery 1/4 cup of water 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp. cumin 2T olive oil 1/4 cup of cashews

pulverize all ingredients in a food processor or blender

for the salad:

mixed greens...romaine, red leaf, beet greens

a few chopped basil leaves

cooked, sliced beets

sliced apples...with a smidge of lemon juice to keep from oxidizing

a small handful of dried cranberries

sliced almonds

a handful of roasted sesame seeds....roast in dry skillet til brown and aromatic

assemble salad, top with dressing and enjoy!

-the plate is a piece by chris richardson...a good friend of mine from college. the small pitcher is from charity davis-woodard. www.charitydaviswoodard.com

beet green asian wraps with spicy peanut sauce

wraps: 1 bunch of beet greens, washed and cut into manageable pieces for wrapping 2 apples julienned or cut into thin strips 1/2 block of tofu, drained, patted dry with kitchen towel and cut into thin rectangular strips 3 T sesame seeds, toasted in dry skillet til brown...don't skip the toasting part 2 T of lemon juice to drizzle over apples to prevent oxidation

spicy peanut sauce: 1 1/2 cup of peanut butter 2 T sesame oil 1/4 cup of lemon juice 1/4 cup of braggs amino acid 1/16 to 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 T paprika 1/2 tsp. black pepper 5T chia seed jelly....optional if you have it........i put it in for the additional omega 3 & 6 and energy giving properties...........it does not alter the flavor one bit.

mix together with a whisk.

add more lemon juice or water to make a thinner sauce.

to assemble: take a beet green and pile on a few of the apple "sticks", a piece of tofu, some sesame seeds and roll it up, dip in sauce and enjoy.

-dishes by my hubby chris www.chriscampbellpotter.com

tofu fries

these are super easy to make.

1 block of firm tofu, drain, and squeezed dry...without crumbling it. when i say squeeze dry i mean take a clean kitchen towel (not the fuzzy kind more like a linen) and put tofu in the center. press the towel firmly on each side of the tofu and some moisture will wick from the tofu into the towel. then, cut into about .75" x .75" x 2 " pieces

for seasoning crunchy bit: a pinch of cayenne, and some paprika, salt and pepper and some breadcrumbs. mix well

when you cut the tofu into pieces the cut edges will be damp from the moisture of the tofu which makes it perfect for rolling in the crumbly seasoning.....

spray thin layer of olive in the pan and sear the tofu fries on each side. let each side sit for several minutes without disturbing otherwise your crumbly seasoning might stick to the pan instead of the tofu.

let cool a good 10 minutes or so before eating them. it let's the tofu stiffen up a bit. they are really good with horseradish ketchup.

we like to make these with whole wheat apple pancakes for dinner. these make a really good companion for the pancakes because they are spicy, salty, savory goodness, but also because they will give ya some protein to balance out the meal.

WARNING: if your expecting these to taste like potatoes you will be sad when you bite into one of these, but if your open to something new give 'em a whirl.

"naked"

these little babies will become the "links" for a long link necklace made of limpet shells and other misc. white shells for a customer in miami. i wanted to photgraph them before i put the necklace together so i can reference the images for further experimentation. somewhere in the middle of making this piece i realized that i was really excited to see the stones "naked". they have all the fun little soldered swirls, bubbles, dots, and spots that is continuous in my work but without a visible functional detail.......none of the fussy stuff, like bails, links, or earwires that my pendants earrings and bracelets require. i was thinking it might be fun to make some pieces like this that have a pin on the back so they can function as a brooch. these little brooches can be individual or be collaged into a family. to be continued.....

oh, also, my green smoothie this morning (day 12) was really good and i omitted all other fruit except the pineapple....i am learning that the banana is a thickener, stevia plus works just as good as agave nectar, and my body is waking up in the morning looking forward to my new green breakfast smoothie. that in itself is yummy.

green smoothie

green smoothie....sound crazy, it's actually really good. try this recipe and see what ya think :O) this is adapted from a smoothie recipe from my friend cherie. i just made this recipe for the first time this morning.....yummie!! i started making green smoothies last summer after i read the book "green for life" by victoria boutenko about putting more greens in your daily diet. i flunked out quickly when my ancient blender produced a very chunky version of what you see in the picture. yikes is right....that lasted 3 days. the right blender will make this smoothie a delight to have. read on....

ingredients:

3 - 4 cups of fresh spinach...somewhat compact in the cup

1 frozen banana or a ripe one will do....if ripe, use 4 ice cubes also

1/2 cup of fresh pineapple

2 T of honey or agave nectar.....agave nectar is sweet like honey but it doesn't have an aftertaste, just straight up sweetness

15 raw almonds....small handful-the amount that can easily fit in the palm of your hand

1 slice from a piece of fresh ginger, 1/8" thick....it's good without it, i didn't have any today so i skipped it

2 T ground flax seed

1/16 tsp. of cayenne pepper

1 cup of water

in a high power blender....i use a vitamix vitaprep 3 and have found the best results with that blender, it's an investment....but i use mine typically twice a day. it does way more that just function as a blender. with the high power of this blender i can make almond butter, chickpea flour & flax seed meal all out of the raw ingredients, you know the ingredients are much cheaper at the store then the premade product..............okay, enough with the vitamix infomercial........blend all of the ingredients until everything is completely pulverized. this smoothie is so refreshing, slightly sweet and with a bit of zing from the cayenne.

i am doing the 30 day green smoothie challenge. i vow to have a green smoothie of some sort for the next 30 days and see if i have any positive changes. today is day 6....i'll keep ya posted. go green!!

to many bananas in the freezer nut bread

ingredients:

2 cups wheat flour or semolina flour...or combination of the two

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup of apple sauce

1/2 cup of honey

4 T ground flax seed

2 cups of overripe bananas

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cup of carob chips

1 cup of raisins...if ya like em

1 1/2 cup of pecans

1 T cinnamin

1/2 tsp. stevia plus

....................................

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

mix wet ingredients together. mix dry ingredients together and combine the two, mix thoroughly. spray loaf pan and fill with batter. bake for one hour & 10 minutes. check after an hour to see if the inside is done. if not, bake another 15 minutes or so. the top will get really brown. actually the loaf in the picture looks done on the outside and the sides but when i sliced a few pieces the inside was still a little doughy.....so i will be cooking this a bit longer.

-the tray is one of chris' pieces and the cup is one of our friends' pots....rick dunn. he will be participating in the art of the pot tour this year in austin. i am so excited to see a bunch of his work. yippy!!