Fiesta!

Tio Fredy and Reid-o

Celeste and JOE!

Dad and Uncle Tom

Nana and Reid-o.

I cannot wait to turn 60. Life just keeps getting better.

Simple Food

Dinner tonight was simple, yet delicious. The details can really make a meal. Salad with mixed baby greens, black beans and black eyed peas, shaved carrots, slivered almonds (roasted for 7 minutes at 350 degrees) and a homemade vinaigrette:

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. agave nectar

1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. sea salt

Shake and pour. Wraps made with hummus, red onion, carrot, avocado, and salsa.

What's for Dinner

This first recipe is absolutely the best. I have had it 3 times in the past 2 days and it get more and more delicious each time. The lime juice at the end is essential to the delicious-ity. I improvised this based on a recipe I found at:
http://www.mynewroots.blogspot.com/
I love this blog. Tons of great health information and also some yummy recipes. This soup requires that you soak and cook your own beans. This means that before making the soup you need to boil your beans and let them simmer about one hour. I used 1 cup black beans and 1 cup black eyed peas.

Bean and Sweet Potato Soup
4 cups cooked beans (from 2 cups dried) + 4 cups cooking liquid
1 large red onion
8 cloves garlic
1 large sweet potato
4 carrots
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground corriander
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. crushed red peppers
14 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
sea salt
cilantro
2 limes

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add spices. Stir until fragrant.
2. Add chopped onion and cook for a few minutes until vegetables begin to wilt a bit. Add garlic, the rest of the chopped vegetables and tomatoes. Stir occasionally.
5.. Add cooked beans to the pot
6. Simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
7. Season to taste. Add the juice of 1 lemon, olive oil, maple syrup, and cilantro.
8. Serve immediately with a good squeeze of lime juice, sliced avocado, queso fresca, some chopped cilantro, and a chunk of toast. Store leftovers in the fridge; freezes well.

We got a bag of cole slaw from the food co-op. I wasn't sure what to do with it as I am not a big mayo person. Then I came across this recipe.
WARM CABBAGE SALAD
½ cup sunflower seeds
1 tsp. sucanat
Sea salt
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3 medium garlic, minced
1 package cole slaw mix (chopped cabbage, carrots, and radicchio)
¼ cup raisins
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
A bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to garnish

Roast the sunflower seeds in a dry skillet until they start to brown. Sprinkle on the sugar and salt and stir until the sugar melts and coats the seeds. Transfer immediately to a plate and set asie.

Now, sauté the onion in olive oil for a few minutes. Add garlic, cabbage, raisins, and vinegar. Stir just a few more minutes until cabbage begins to soften. Do not overcook. Remove mixture to a bowl. Add sunflower seeds and feta. Serve topped with parmesan

Indian lentil and sweet potato stew

Easy stir-fry- recipe to follow.

These baked apples are delicious. The secret ingredient here is vanilla bean. Everyone should bake everything with a vanilla bean just for the scent alone. Simply quarter some apples, then top with vanilla bean, almonds, raisins, pumpkin pie spices, lemon juice, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Serve warm with coconut milk ice cream.

Just a few of the many, many recipes I've made lately. All of them are delicious. The quality of these photos is poor and does not do the food justice. Trust me- they taste awesome. As for the other recipes, well, sometimes you're so hungry that you don't want to wait for a photo before eating.

Long Weekend in Mexico

Boo thought he could come along, so he jumped in my suitcase. Sorry, Boo, no dogs allowed.
Here is the wall that separates the United States from Mexico. Don't you just love that someone painted Mickey Mouse on it??
The rebel in me decides to climb the wall and cross the border!!!
Fredy and I had the most romantic dinner at this restaurant. We were the only ones there. When we walked in there was a 4 piece band serenading us, candlelight, amazing food. So beautiful!
Some of the architecture in Balboa Park, San Diego.

Fredy and I spent last weekend in Mexico where we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company and several naps. We went because Fredy's boss was speaking at the graduation of a local university. We stayed at a nice hotel where we got the top floor suite.

Yogi Boo

I was rolling up my yoga mat after cleaning it and Boo thought he would do a few... I don't know, downward facing doggies?

Agua de Watermelon

Here is a delicious recipe from Fredy. Simply cut the rind of watermelon, cube, and blend with fresh cold water and a sprinkle of sugar.

On pain and other things

I had a thought a couple of weeks ago while taking Boo for his daily walk. I thought about our human tendency to avoid pain. The strange thing is, as we allow ourselves to feel and experience our own pain,a miracle occurs. Our pain softens us. It opens our hearts. Where we were once closed, we can feel empathy and connection with the suffering others are experiencing. We begin to see the interconnectedness of all things. As Jack Kornfield says, "as we allow the world to touch us deeply, we recognize that just as there is pain in our own lives, so there is pain in everyone else's life. This is the birth of wise understanding. Wise understanding sees that suffering is inevitable, that all things that are born die. Wise understanding sees and accepts life as a whole. With wise understanding we allow ourselves to contain all things, both dark and light, and we come to a sense of peace. This is not the peace of denial or running away, but the peace we find in the heart that has rejected nothing, that touches all things with compassion."
Certainly I have felt pain. Things have not always gone as I've wanted them to. I have lost loved ones. I have been sick and tired. But once I stopped fighting against the "is"ness of my life, I opened to the pain. And out of that opening came peace and wisdom. Now I consider suffering my greatest teacher. I am sure I will run away from pain again, but I am also sure it will find me and present the opportunity to soften a little more and open my heart a little wider. This is simply part of the purpose of life- to bring us to a realization of our interconnectedness. When we allow ourselves to open and feel we are suddenly connected to everyone else who has felt what we are feeling. Certainly we are not the first ones to experience pain... or anything really. This realization enhances our ability to love and appreciate not only others, but ourselves. This, in part, is why it is important to allow ourselves to feel fully and to treat ourselves with gentleness and loving kindness- for what you do unto yourself, you do unto others.