by Krista | Nov 15, 2013 | Summer
My soul needed storms this week.
Wild, unrestrained, and fiercely beautiful.
I needed madcap nights where the rain fell in sheets instead of drops and gales hurtled leaves through the air as if they were snowflakes in a blizzard.
I needed to be out in it, buffeted and drenched and gloriously alive.
My soul needed the soaking as earnestly as our parched and thirsty soil, and both were fed most lavishly this week as we got hit with one storm after another.
It is so good to see green grass hurtling up through the rich, brown earth, thriving now that their roots have had a good soaking.
The trees look wonderfully vibrant too, their dust-coated leaves washed clean.
Even the animals have perked up. I loved looking outside during the worst of the storms only to see the ducks and geese all over the yard, faces into the wind, luxuriating in the coolness of the tempest.
Last night, in the fine drizzle between two storms, I went outside and beheld the most wondrous skies I’ve ever seen. Brooding and purple, wild and magenta, simmering and blue, like magnificent paintings splashed from one horizon to the other.
Everywhere I looked was a different palette, changing with the light, slashed by bolts of lightning, muddied by sheets of rain.
This sky is one of my favorites: so ponderous and heavy and powerful and marvelous.
It made me smile to see how the colors of the storm were echoed in the dessert I made: Raw Dark Chocolate Cranberry Pudding. It may be gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free but it is lusciously decadent and packed with so much goodness it’s like a jolt of health to the body. Not only that, it’s easy as can be. Five minutes from start to finish.
Simply dump all ingredients – raw cacao, coconut or other non-dairy milk, fresh or frozen cranberries, real maple syrup, and chia seeds – into a blender or food processor and blend 3-5 minutes until it reaches desired thickness. Spoon into glasses and chill until ready to serve.
What sort of weather is nourishing you this week?
Raw Dark Chocolate Cranberry Pudding
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk
1 cup almond/rice milk
1 cup frozen cranberries
5 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 cup good quality, raw cacao
1-2 Tbsp real maple syrup
Directions:
- Pour all ingredients into blender and blend on high 3-5 minutes until mixture begins to thicken.
- Pour mixture into 5-6 dessert bowls or glasses.
- Chill until ready to serve.
by Krista | Nov 12, 2013 | Summer
A dear friend of mine regularly shares soul-strengthening mantras with me. I especially love the one she shared with me last week.
Be Kind.
Be Brave.
Be Well.
I’ve thought of it often the last few days, observing how nearly every situation I face can be bettered by focusing on one or all of those things. It was the impetus for taking some much-needed quiet time to read, rest, write, process, think, face, let go, embrace.
This time of renewal took place as storm clouds rolled in and poured down luscious rain. After months of withering, parching dryness, it was glorious to see the skies darken and hear thunder booming in the distance as the storm drew closer. It was night as I stood out in the tempest, barefoot in the dirt, head tilted back to feel the winds whipping through the yard and watch the massive clouds scudding across the glowing face of the moon. It was fierce and wild and I felt my whole being open up to it, swaying with the wind, letting the cold and wet wash away the thirst and dust and sense of withering that had taken hold of the the countryside. I stayed out there for ages, speaking aloud the truths my soul needed to hear and believe, no one but the wind and trees to hear me.
It’s amazing to me how easy it is to forget the things that help us thrive and heal. They’re so easily overshadowed by expectations and demands and too many responsibilities. After being sick for so long, I’d let my life fill up to bursting with good things that were too, too much. I had no time left for soul work and that is never a good thing.
So over the last week I’ve been making good changes, letting go of demands on myself and my time and focusing on the things that are really, truly vital: Exercising every day, reading good things, writing out my thoughts and feelings so they don’t get stuffed down and left to fester, making healthy food taste scrumptious and nourishing, sitting or walking outside where I can touch and feel the nature around me, spending time with dear friends either through face to face interaction or over the phone, email, Skype, or texting, having fun with Bear by going out for coffee and exploring our favorite second hand shops for treasures.
It’s only been a week but I feel so much better, so much more peaceful and centered and good. A frazzled state is dreadful. 🙂
One of my favorite healthy recipes this week is raw gazpacho. I love this chilled vegetable soup bursting with flavor from garlic and fresh dill, but I don’t have the time or desire to roast and peel tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers. Thankfully you don’t have to. Just throw everything in the blender and puree until smooth then chill until you’re ready to eat it. It’s a delicious and easy way to feed your body good things.
Do you have a favorite mantra that keeps you grounded? I’d love to hear it. 🙂 xo
Raw Gazpacho
Serves 2 (large bowls) or 4 (small bowls)
Ingredients:
6 Roma tomatoes, cored and halved
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cored, cut in chunks
1 large Lebanese cucumber, cut in chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 green onions, trimmed
1 Tbsp organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp fresh dill weed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in blender and blend 1-2 minutes until smooth. Taste for seasoning.
- Chill until ready to serve.
by Krista | Nov 7, 2013 | Spring
When Bear and I left beautiful Stonehenge, NSW, we continued our road trip up towards Tenterfield.
With our area of Queensland going through a parching drought, it was absolutely delicious to drive through the green countryside and clean, cool air of the Tablelands. And when we saw a sign for fresh cherries, we simply had to pull over.
The turn off took us to the pretty Cherry Dale Orchard.
Run by Paul and Jenny Savins, the Cherry Dale Orchard is a family owned and run business and is a lovely spot for a break on a long drive. (Click here to visit their blog and see more pictures of their farm and family.)
You can admire the lush gardens, currently festooned with all sorts of wondrous blossoms.
Or sit in the shade on a comfy bench with a rather stunning view of the surrounding hills.
The Savins have over twenty varieties of cherries plus numerous varieties of apricots, nectarines, peaches, and plums.
I really enjoyed walking over the grounds, tasting the newest crop of cherries, and stocking up on homemade cherry jam and a big bag of fresh cherries.
We’ve been treasuring our purchases over the last week, serving the jam over buckwheat pancakes topped with homemade cottage cheese and happily devouring a big ol’ pan of Cherry Clafoutis that is gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free yet absolutely scrumptious.
Traditionally Cherry Clafoutis is served warm dusted with powdered sugar, but I prefer it cold, especially on the piping hot summer afternoons we’ve been having.
What is your favorite thing to make with fresh cherries?
Gluten-free Dairy-free Sugar-free Cherry Clafoutis
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Coconut oil or butter
1 can coconut milk (or almond/rice/cashew milk)
3 Tbsp real maple syrup
3 Tbsp cherry brandy
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
6 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3-4 cups fresh cherries, pitted
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F (205 C).
- Grease 9” by 13” pan with coconut oil or butter.
- Pour all ingredients except cherries into blender and blend 1-2 minutes until foamy.
- Pour batter into greased pan.
- Add cherries and distribute equally throughout batter.
- Bake 30-40 minutes until top is browned and middle is cooked through.
- Serve warm or chilled.
by Krista | Nov 3, 2013 | Spring
Bear and I were moseying along the New England Highway on our New South Wales road trip, wending our way through green hills on our way up to Glen Innes when suddenly I saw something that had my eyes bug out in amazement.
My normal response would’ve been an elated, “Look at THAT!!!” But after nearly giving Bear a heart attack with previous such startling pronouncements, I’ve learned to calmly say, “OK Bear, we need to pull over up here” and hold back on my unabashed exclamations of delight for when the car has stopped. 😉
With his heart thus beating at a normal rate, he pulled over and drove through this gate.
What I had seen from my car window was this…
…and this…
…and this. Seriously, wouldn’t YOU want to pull over if you saw such a thing? Amazing!!
We found a shady place to park then eased our creaking selves out of the car and looked around us in wonder.
This particular boulder is known as the Balancing Rock. How on earth is it staying put?
We had so much fun trekking all over the Stonehenge Recreation Ground, delighting in the massive boulders erupting out of the gently undulating plateau.
Stonehenge Recreation Ground is located just south of Glen Innes, New South Wales and takes its name from nearby Stonehenge Station, the first property owned by a white settler, a Scotsman named Archibald Boyd. He was led to the area by William Chandler and John Duval, two stockmen known as ‘the Beardies’ because of their long beards.
The Land of the Beardies Festival is held here annually and features a beard-growing competition. That cracks me up. 🙂
It is such a beautiful place and a great spot for a mid-road-trip break since it has picnic areas and toilets and plenty of room for cooped up travelers to stretch their legs.
I loved exploring this area of Australia known as Celtic Country, and would love to return for the Australian Celtic Festival in Glen Innes in May.
Do you have an affinity for Celtic things like I do? If so, what is your favorite Celtic event, place, or experience?
by Krista | Oct 31, 2013 | Spring
As Bear and I packed up to continue our New South Wales road trip, we headed up into the hills leaving the smoky valley behind us.
I rifled through our collection of audio books, pulled out a new Phryne Fisher mystery and popped it in. Then we settled in for the ride with a bit of dark chocolate and a handful of rosemary roasted Brazil nuts.
Only twenty minutes down the road we spotted a miraculous lookout sign and pulled over to see what we could see. I say miraculous for we have found that while Australia has breathtaking natural beauty around nearly every bend in the road, there are next to NO pullouts from which an appreciative viewer can enjoy it. It is most distressing to a passionate photographer like myself who would dearly love to stop every few kilometers to capture stunning mountain ranges, jewel-like alpine lakes, and the fabulous architecture. Sigh. Tis most distressing.
We decided that should I ever win the Lotto, I’m going to make it my mission to spend part of the loot on building lookouts across Australia.
The road just past the aforementioned sign led us to the top of a nearby hill and we clambered out to find ourselves surrounded by fantastic classic cars. We chit-chatted with the owners who were delighted by the not-yet-finished classic car on the back of our trailer, Bear’s 1971 Datsun Coupe. (Yep, he loved my Lucy so much that when he found a similar one in even better condition for a great price, he nabbed it! We now have two Datto Coupes that we’re fixing up. :-))
When the chatting about motors and whatnot was finished, we moseyed up steps set directly on a massive rock, and took in the stunning views from the Moonbi Lookout.
The air was wonderfully cool up there with luscious breezes that felt like summer. Smoke from New South Wales forest fires still smudged the horizon and made us feel so grateful that we only deal with floods in our part of Australia.
I’d love to return one day when the fires are out and the smoke has cleared. You can see the tops of the Blue Mountains in the distance even now, but I can imagine the views are amazing when the air is clean.
I’d also like to see it after the summer rains when everything is wonderfully lush and green. It must look like an Australian version of Scotland or Ireland then.
Eventually we moseyed back to the car and continued on our way. Once we got over the ridge the smoke cleared and we were greeted with clean, cool air, so fresh and invigorating. Down came our windows as we rolled along taking in glimpses of pastoral beauty.
Next time we’ll explore something I never expected to find in Australia…Stonehenge.
Do you have a favorite lookout near where you live?
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