NaNoWriMo

I first heard about NaNoWriMo after it happened last year. I thought it was an interesting idea, but that I probably would never have the time to do it. <chuckle>

So, basically, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. Over the years it has become much more than a national event, with people writing in many languages, and towns across the world challenging each other to the highest word count. You’re given from the 1st to the 30th of November to write a novel consisting of 50,000 words. If you submit your work by the end of the contest/month deadline and meet the word count, you win!

I read a blog post yesterday reminding me about it and thought, “you’ve been throwing around the idea of writing a book, so why not use this as a way to get it started?” That thought was then followed by much fear and self-doubt. I told Jim about the “contest” followed by how I’d like to be in a more settled and balanced place before committing to something like that. He laughed replying, “If everyone waited to feel ‘ready’ and have all the perfect conditions, nothing would ever get accomplished.” He totally cut through excuses.

So I’ve registered. You can too, here. The idea is not to have a polished, finished product. I hope not to worry about editing, but rather meeting the word count, which works out to about 1,667 words a day. (Holy cow, what have I gotten myself into?!) I have never been very confident about my writing, as I was always more of a math and science person. I’ll strive to “win,” but even if I don’t, I’ll have written more than if I hadn’t committed to writing at all, and I’ll have had the experience of trying!

So I’m not allowed to start writing until the 1st, but I am allowed to start organizing and planning my plot, setting, characters, themes, etc. Having very little creative writing education, I’m researching and learning a lot! Please send vibes and thoughts of creativity and balance! And if you decide to participate or know someone who is, please let me know! Having a sense of community always helps!

Homemade Raw Almond Milk with Vegan Cookies

I’ve never been a big fan of cow’s milk in anything other than cereal or baking. I however love yogurt, ice cream, and cheese. In my exploration of vegan eating, I wanted to find an alternative to cow’s milk that wasn’t soy milk. Soy milk often has many added sugars and as I’ve earlier,  it tends to upset my tummy. So after asking some vegan friends about it I decided to make Raw Almond Milk. Thankfully a friend brought me Raw Almonds from the US (as they are expensive here)!

I based my recipe off of Natasha’s from The Voracious Vegan. She has it laid out step by step with lovely photos. I didn’t sweeten mine as I was out of agave and didn’t want detract from the almond flavor with maple syrup. I don’t like sweet drinks anyway, unless it’s fresh juice. I also did not have dates, but in the future I will use them. I wanted to make sure that the milk was extra creamy so I used a little less than 3 cups of water, but I’ll probably do the full 3 cups next time. I love that Natasha adds cinnamon, as I would have done that anyway. It’s warming effects are so comforting!

Raw Almond Milk

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Raw Almonds, soaked in water overnight
• 2 1/2 -3 cups Water
• Dates, pits removed and/or Agave (if you would like it sweet)
• Cinnamon (to your liking)
  

Directions:

• After soaking the Almonds overnight, rinse them.
• Put Almonds, Water, and Dates (if using) in a blender and blitz
• Strain the mixture through a cheese cloth, clean stocking, or other fabric
• Put liquid back in the blender, add Agave (if using) and Cinnamon, and blitz
• Save Almond Meal for other use (see below)
• Enjoy it by drinking on it’s own, having it in cereal, or cook/bake with it!

Note: It kept well for the 3-4 days that it took me to consume it (it took all of me to slowly savored it) in the fridge. It may separate, but just shake it up a bit.

So I knew that making Almond Milk would leave me with Almond Meal and I refused to waste it! Many people who have a dehydrator make crackers out of it, but I don’t so I moved on to other ideas. I could have used it to bread veggies or put into a bread, but decided what I really wanted was a cookie to have with my milk! I was surprised by how little is out there online concerning what to do with your leftover nut meal.

So I made two different kinds over a few days. Neither were AWESOME, but I did enjoyed both. To be perfectly honest, I wanted these cookies to be vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free and because I still have very limited baking products to meet those qualifications, I had to get creative. Also to be frank, the reason I didn’t think they were OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD is because I’m getting used to training my palate to enjoy treats that are not filled with horrible stuff. Neither were crispy but instead were a little more cake like, which wasn’t bad, just different. Anyway, I’d like to add that both of these are full of awesome fiber and antioxidant rich dark chocolate!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Cookies (also gluten and refined sugar free!)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Gluten-Free Oats
• 1/3 cup Almond Meal, leftover from almond milk
• 1/8-1/4 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 1/2-2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/8 cup Coconut or Canola Oil
• 1/8 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1/4 cup Chopped Vegan Chocolate, I used dark for it’s antioxidants

Directions:

• Mix all Dry Ingredients and all Wet Ingredients separately
• Add Dry Ingredients to Wet. It’ll be a wet mixture, don’t worry
• Add Chocolate bits
• All cookies (15) should fit on one lightly oiled tray, press flat
• Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until puffed slightly and brown (don’t burn bottoms!)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Almond Oat Cookies (also gluten and refined sugar free!)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup Almond Meal, left over from almond milk
• 1/3 cup Gluten-Free Oats, processed in blender or food processor
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 4 Tablespoons Egg Substitute, I used Flax Eggs (see recipe below)
• Just shy of 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
• 1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 cup Chopped Vegan Chocolate, I used dark for it’s antioxidants

Directions:

• Mix all Dry Ingredients and all Wet Ingredients separately
• Add Dry Ingredients to Wet. It’ll be a wet mixture, don’t worry
• All cookies (15) should fit on one lightly oiled tray, press flat
• Add Chocolate bits
• Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until puffed slightly and brown (don’t burn bottoms!)

Flax Eggs

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Flax Seeds, Ground
• 4-6 Tablespoons Water

Directions:

• Simmer Ground Flax Seeds and Water in sauce pan for about 5 minutes or until it reaches an egg type consistency

Notes:

• 4 T flax eggs=1 egg
• Use the 1:3 ratio to make more
• 1 cup flax: 3 cups water makes about 16 eggs worth
• Refrigerate!

Bottom Line: The Raw Almond Milk was AMAZING! The Cookies were good I will use other “acceptable” baking products with the Almond Meal in the future. My husband liked the Cookies and the Almond Milk (when it was in a Smoothie) and was impressed by my effort and creativity (which warmed my heart). This last bit makes my dietary transition a bit easier!

Flood

It rained about 8 hours straight yesterday. There was much thunder and lightening too. At the beginning of the storm, it wasn’t raining too much. I was at our kitchen sink washing some dishes when I saw lightening strike in our neighbor’s yard. The volume was greater and the sound more disturbing than anything I’ve ever heard. Poor Sasha was outside and it took Jim going out to find her to get her to move inside.

The rain became more powerful and the thunder continued as well. The power flickered many times but never went out. I quickly finished up some cooking I was doing and joined Jim on the couch to read. Lita was in her typical sprawled out position on the floor but Sasha was leaning into me, panting, her heart racing.

I was reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and stopped to talk to Jim about the topic of letting go of attachments. As a practicing Buddhist, it’s part of my path to notice and let go of my attachments without gaining the new attachment of being someone without attachments. The ego is powerful! I can grasp the idea of letting go of my belongings, but the ideas I hold about myself as well my attachment to Jim are more difficult for me to even have the willingness to let go of. Concerning attachments Tolle writes, “Do you realize that you will have to let go of ____ at some point, perhaps quite soon? How much more time do you need before you will be ready to let go of it? Will you become less when you let go of it? Has who you are become diminished by the loss?” I find these questions intriguing.

Anyway, while talking the storm got worse. The rain poured. The sound was tremendous. It was still light out and we looked outside. The road of our community had become a fast flowing river! The builder, an American guy who lives here, was wading upstream with an umbrella. Jim got the camera and the tripod and attempted to take a few pictures. I joined him outside briefly to take a photo of him in the road, water up to his knees. We decided to go check on the creek behind our house and it was at full as it could be without overflowing.

The sky continued to dump water. We quickly picked things up outside. Jim tied our trash bin that was starting to flow away to the carport. As soon as we got inside the water moved up our driveway and then covered both our front and back patios. I quickly sent a Skype message over to our landlord letting her know we’d do everything we can but we weren’t not sure what would happen. She assured me that we wouldn’t be held responsible for any damage. Jim and I then quickly picked up everything we could off the ground, wedged some towels between our front door gate and wooden door, unplugged our electronics, and tried not to panic.

The water came up to both our front and back doors. Any further and it would have come in. This lasted for hours. We kept checking the front and back of the house by turning on our porch lights which thankfully are on the inside of the house. At one point we did get a little stream of water from the front door but Jim was able to stop it. We had some dinner that thankfully only required cooking up some rice and chopping up some veggies, as the beans had been marinating for most of the day. We also fed the girls, but we couldn’t let them out to go potty afterward. Ultimately the rain covered the whole bottom part of our truck’s tires so that you couldn’t see any black.

At some point, after much praying (mostly to calm myself down), the rain started to recede. It took a long while, but the water moved off the patios and off the driveway. The girls were thankful to go out, but weren’t interested in being out for long as it was a bit eerie. The nice thing about the rain here is that it cools everything off. I baked some chocolate pumpkin muffins and we watched 30 minutes of a movie before heading to bed with our books.

We were woken in the morning by neighbors talking outside. The water was off. Thankfully we also use the 5 gallon purified water too. We made breakfast and got ready to head into Jaco. One neighbor stopped by to see how we managed. He lives just next door and had water come though the front door and settle to one side of his house. Most of the homes had it much worse. All the first levels of the townhomes got a couple inches of water and many other houses got a lot of water. One down the road a few houses got over a foot in the house and the stainless steel fridge was carried by the water and toppled over. All the furniture ruined and the flood had completely covered their pool, leaving it a muddy brown. Most of these owners (90%) don’t live here.

When we went into town, no one outside of Bejuco had experienced the kind of flooding we had seen. My new friend Claire bathed in her pool, since she didn’t have water in the morning either. It hadn’t rained in San Jose at all. We saw some trees were knocked over and there was mud on the road in spots on the way to Jaco, but it is miraculous how the earth here soaks up the rain or flushes it our into the ocean. When we went to pay our landlord rent she said she had received an email from Arlene, the HOA lady, and heard about the damage. She was very relieved that her place was alright.

When we returned to Bejuco I talked to Arlene’s husband Greg and asked him how they did last night. They like us were very lucky. He said in the 7 years they’ve lived here they’ve never seen anything like it. The had insurance people come check out the homes that had insurance and have notified all the home owners. He said that the water has come up to your ankles in the road before and that the water in the creek has even come up as high as the bridge before, but the source of the flooding seemed to come from a dip in the creek barrier just east of us where they are building. The builders had taken a chunk out of the barrier month ago to possibly put in a bridge, but hadn’t done so nor covered it back up. The same builders had put in a road that channeled some water from the river at that dip to directly east of our community directing it toward us and toward the ocean. One of the father’s of a family here had managed to rig two of his surfboards in the shape of a “V” to divert the water away from their office which was their major flood spot.

Greg pointed out that the father and son who are the gardeners are cleaning the damaged homes as best they can (without water) to make a little extra money, but that most of the homes’ furniture is damaged. He said that he had contacted the Municipality and hoped that they’d come out and look at the poor work the construction people did in the land to the east of us. He also said he was hoping to get some sacks that he could fill with sand and put in the place of the hole until someone fixes it. I told him that if there was anything we could do to help to please let us know. I then got Jim to help me gather water from the clean community pool in buckets for flushing the toilets. The water could be off for who knows how long.

All that talk about attachments and then they were threatened. What a trip. There were moments where I didn’t know where or how we’d sleep if the water came into our home. What would we do with the dogs? We couldn’t leave if we wanted to. How were all the Tico families coping in their corrugated tin shacks? All I could focus on was staying present. Stay with the breath and the reality of situation NOW. There wasn’t water in the house. All four of us were safe and I prayed that everyone else was alright. That’s all I could do. Why worry when that won’t help?

Thank goodness for being slightly elevated. (Mental Note: If I ever build a house in Costa Rica, put it on a hill or stilts.) Thank goodness for a solid and sturdy cement house. Thank goodness for prayers being answered. Thank goodness for being safe, with those I love, and calm.

The rainy season has finally arrived! What an adventure!

Food Exploration

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately. I’ve been busy cooking a bunch, playing at the beach, creating my own yoga sequence, and reading (mostly blogs participating in VeganMoFo III to get inspiration and ideas). I’m also finishing up Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri which I’m a little depressed about. I’ve already read her other two book and she may just be my favorite author. I’m praying she’ll publish another book soon!

So let me check in about my exploration of vegan, gluten free, and refined sugar free eating. I haven’t bought flour or sugar, but I hope to have some yummy items (collected my both my Momma and Jim’s mom Susy) that meet my dietary wants/needs when Susy visits on the 26th!

For Sweetener I have been using fruit, agave (which I’m out of now <sob!>), real maple syrup (brought to us by Heidi), and a little honey.

I’ve bought ground flax seeds, gluten free oats, and nuts (almonds brought by Heidi) to allow me to do a little baking. I’ve been eating brown rice and lots of veggies, but I have had some wheat pasta, a couple churros and croissants from a local bakery, and some tortillas that have gluten in them. I can’t seem to find brown rice pasta, but they do have the Asian rice stick noodles.

As far as animal products go…I’ve been eating eggs (which I’m praying for the willingness to let go of), fish (it’s so fresh, tasty, and inexpensive here!), a little chicken, some cheese, and a bit of honey. I haven’t bought yogurt in a few weeks. I’d like to add that I’ve been really good about replacing these items with veggies (eggplants are meaty), lots of beans, quinoa (great source of protein) and nuts. I’m not crazy about soy, but I think I need to explore that again to see if it does indeed upset my tummy. Luckily I’ve found vegan margarine and I also use olive oil, some canola oil, and avocados for good fat (coconut oil soon too).

I’m practicing envisioning my life without any animal products, gluten, or refined sugar. I’m willing to let go of honey and continue to ask friends and family to bring agave, maple syrup, and unrefined sugar when they visit. Once I explore baking without gluten and refined sugar I’ll feel more confident about letting go of gluten. Yes, I’ll miss wheat pasta and I’ll have to wait to have brown rice pasta when I live somewhere else, but I can have other grains root veggies. I’m also going to miss being able to eat the delicious desserts and treats at restaurants and bakeries. I know I can made great alternatives though. I want to not want to have sushi, or breakfast tacos with cheddar, brie with fig jam, alfredo sauce, of my Mom’s chicken, and the occasional prosciutto cantaloupe salad with Parmesan, but my attachment to these things and their memories may be a bit more difficult. As I’ve said before, I’ve never been a big meat eater. I grew up eating chicken mainly. Convenience wise it is not easy as most products I have to have brought to me from the US. Also, to be honest, this could become a rift between Jim and I as it requires money going toward new things. Luckily he’s supportive otherwise. I will continue to take action in experimenting new alternatives as well as stay openminded and willing.

Lastly, Jim and I have both seen a shrinkage in our bellies which we are both excited about. I think eating more produce and whole foods rather than processed foods full of carbohydrates, sugars, and preservatives has helped. Taking our (almost) daily walks on the beach have been good too. I’m hoping this fat melting process will continue and will creep down to my butt and legs. Here’s to a healthy life!

Thank Goodness For Visiting Friends and Great Food!

There are some staple grocery items that I could get in Colorado but for the life of me can’t find here (or it costs an arm and a leg). Thankfully we had some guest come visit and with only 24 hours notice, picked up everything we (read I) requested! Here’s the list:

• 2 Bottles Coppertone Sunscreen SPF 8 (Jim’s favorite sunscreen)
• Nutrogena Oil-Free Sunscreen SPF 45 (for my face)
• 1 Box of 40 Tampax Tampons (difficult to find and super expensive. maybe because it’s a Catholic country?)
• 1 Jug of Real Maple Syrup
• Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix (best pancake mix ever! uses almonds. gluten free but not vegan <sob>)
• Quinoa (excellent grain, tastier than couscous, and full of protein)
• Beau Monde Seasoning (great for tuna fish, though I hope to find some vegan use for it)
• Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper (also for tuna fish, but it’s just SO good)
• 2 Bags of Raw Almonds (great for snacking, homemade granola, and hopefully for almond milk)

I was so thrilled that I literally danced while making some delicious fresh Pineapple Pancakes with Cinnamon and Maple Syrup! Jim was amused by my exuberance and thoroughly enjoyed this yummy breakfast that tastes much like pineapple upside-down cake. Huge THANK YOU to Heidi for bring us goodies!

A couple days later I made this wonderful Quinoa Pilaf/Salad.

I cooked the Quinoa (which takes no time at all) and then squeezed the juice of one Lime over it and added a little olive oil, some Cumin, Salt, and a bunch of Fresh Ground Pepper. I then added fresh Spinach, Red Bell Pepper and steamed Baby Zucchini and Green Beans. It was comforting, delicious, and made great leftovers for 3 other meals! I did have Jim’s balsamic grilled chicken with it the first couple times, but that isn’t necessary as it’s great and filling on its own.

Added Plus: It’s vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free, and Jim loves it!

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