update... spirooli

oh, I kinda look like skelletor in that picture but I am not. I am just enjoying the last of my groceries in juice form. We are out of all greens and all fruits officialy. I had planned on grocery shopping yesterday after I went to the Raw Vegan Source Store in redmond last night but unfortunately I was stuck in traffic FOR AN HOUR... Seriously NOT MOVING. How can people do that every day? It is the reality of a lot of peoples commutes and I just can't imagine that. I would go imsane. Or at least take the bus so I could read or compute or SOMETHING. I saw so many single occupancy vehicles.
Anyway... I ran out of time and had to get the Zipcar back. As it was I ended up extending the reservation to make it back in time. It is ok though because I spent all my money at the rvs as usual. I wouldn't have been able to buy groceries anyhow. We get paid again today so maybe this evening I can shop for food.
Also, I got my veggie spiralizer and it is awesome. I haven't quite figured it out yet but I am getting there. Once I have it down smoothly maybe I will do a video demo illustrating why every kitchen should have one.
The bike is in the process of being repaired. It is nice to have a leisurly walk to work from time to time, but this day after day 2.5 mile walk is wiping me out. Mostly because it shortens my free time at home and makes me feel like my work day was an hour longer. Usually my total commuting time (by bike) is 20-25 minutes a day. Walking makes it an hour and 20 minutes to an hour and 40 minutes depending on how tiredly I am plodding to/from work. At least today I am making my way there in daylight. Makes me feel like the day isn't quite SO long if I get to spend some time outside in the daylight.
The pouring rain also doesn't help me to enjoy my 40 minute walk to work.
Summer! Where are you!!?!!

Peach Cheesecake!

I made some delicious dessert tonight, a coconut based peach cheesecake. The recipe is an approximation, I kinda just threw it together.
Filling
meat of 2 young coconuts
1T vanilla
2T coconut butter
agave to taste (about 1/4 cup)
juice of 1 lemon
1 T nutritional yeast (weird, right?!)

Peach topping
1 c chopped peaches
2T agave
2T water

Crust
1 c left over almond pulp
6-8 dates pitted
1/4 cup whole almonds
1/4t salt

Process crust, pulp salt and dates until combined add whole almonds and process until whole almond pieces are small but still add texture.
Press crust into a spring form pan.
Blend filling until smooth adding just enough water to allow blending. It is good if it warms just a little while blending to thoroughly emulsify the oil.
Smooth filling on top of crust
Blend peaches and agave and pour on top of filling.
Refridgerate a few hours and run a knife around the edge of your pan while loosening the band.
EAT and ENJOY!

Just said goodbye to some friends who have been staying the last few days. Including our friend Andy seen below ;)

And our friends in Abandon an awesome vegan straightedge band from southern california.

I think blanche will miss them most <3

sad bike...

Here is my wheel... glad it wasn't my head. Don't worry... I always wear my helmet.

My friend grabbed it today to take my hub out and rebuild the wheel. I might be walking for a few days though :(
Had a big breakfast at a friends house this morning, kinda a late christmas party. Everyone brought food or supplies to make food and i was asked to bring my "famous" cinnamon rolls. Not my words but they are damn good. Vegan desserts rule. Anyway, I ate a decent amount of cooked food with my large portion of fruit salad. I feel bad eating the cooked food despite that being my game plan. It was tasty though! I managed to eat less than half of a cinnamon roll and had NO coffee so I am doing well.
I also made sure to start my day with a green smoothie and a pear. That probably helped :)

Thrive restaurant review and more

Well first I have to say that my dinner was dampened by being hit by a car on my bike ride home. I am ok, my bike is not. Maybe I will post a picture tomorrow of its sad smashed front wheel.

Review:
4.5 outta 5 carrots
I betcha didn't know I was a food critic! Well informally anyway...
So I went to the thrive gala of pure decadence which was a fund/intrest raising event they did about 2-3 months ago. Very delicious. I have been eager since then for the restaurant to open, and to eat there.
They have it set up as a restaurant/cafe with a small seating area and a little store section. The interior is well designed with a very "warm" earthy color scheme and presents a casual upscale type environment. The coolest thing about the store section is a wall of bulk bins that they are going to fill as they grow with all sorts of raw nuts and grawnolas and other great treats I would otherwise have to buy online. Right now it is sorta slim pickings but I can visualize the future bounty.
I went with my lovest alex and he had the hummos plate and the "shine" smothie. I had the pasta pomodoro. We also treated ourselves to the mochalatte pie for dessert.
The hummos was good but a little mustardy tasting and the server gave us some flax crackers to go with it. Without the flax crackers I may have felt the dipping selection (celery, carrots, zucchini, and bell peppers) to be a bit lacking. Good flavor and alex said very filling for an appitizer.
The shine smoothie was awesome. Alex said the best smoothie he ever tasted. Of course when I make him smoothies I always spike them with vitamineral green, spirulina, spinach or some other healthy additive. This one was just the fluff. Coconut water, coconut butter, pinapple, vanilla bean and from the taste of it some agave. Sweet and delightful.
My pasta was spiralized zucchini with a great tomato basil sauce on a bed of romaine (odd but I happily munched away on my lettuce). Our server, again, gave me a complementary addition of almond ricotta. Without the cheese the sauce may have seemed a little thin, it should just be part of the dish.
I had had the mocha pie at the tasting so I already knew how amazing it was. Didn't let me down. Although not completely raw as it has a shot of espresso somewhere in it, it tastes decadant and was worth the price considering I couldn't have eaten the whole thing myself. It was a two person dessert. Almost too sweet for me but alex said perfect for him.
Portion sizes were about perfect, not so much I had to take it to go, just enough to feel satisfied as I was taking my last few bites.
It is definetly a higher price point than what I can afford on a regular basis, which is too bad or I would probably go more often and end up spending more overall. Two people for dinner with one drink, one appitizer, one entre, and one dessert was over $40 with the tip. I am more of a $25-30 for two people kind of diner.
Good attentative service, very aware of when we needed attendance. The owner (or one of them?) was there and introduced herself as she had seen us around before.
Overall a very good experience.
Only change I would make is to label the few non raw foods they serve as not raw on the menu. I was a little confused as to what was and what wasn't raw.
I would love to go again and try more delicious food, but maybe in a few paychecks.

2009 1st quarter goals

I can't really make a plan for the whole year... but I think I can come up with the first three months
January:
Diet: Eliminate Coffee (how I love you), refined sugar (how I hate you even though you are so delicious!!!) and refined grains from my diet. Go to one cooked meal or less a day whenever possible. Allow myself to eat above 3 foods in VERY small quantities on special occasions if they arise. Start everyday with a raw green smoothie.
Exercise: Start running again. Even though it is cold and rainy :( And it sucks. At LEAST 6 miles a week by end of January.
Work: Hire some people. Redefine my job description with my boss so I know what I am doing.
Money: Make lots save lots

February:
Diet: Green smoothie every day, leafy green salad every day... listen to what my body is telling me about cooked food and act accordingly.
Exercise: Average at least 9 miles a week running... add 10 miles to my average biking mileage per week (20, so 30 miles per week)
Work: ??? Who knows. Be less stressed and feel productive.
Money: Get back tax returns. Complete emergency savings fund and begin saving for something fun.

March:
Diet: Continue to eat a mostly raw diet with lots of leafy greens. Base my cooked food intake on my bodies response.
Exercise: Consistently run 4 days a week even if my mileage is low. Make it a habit. Continue adding extra mileage beyond commuting to my bike rides. Check out pools for swim lessons for increased efficiency.
Work: Know what is happening in San Diego and have a plan for the next 6 months regarding my future.
Money: Have enough saved to take a vacation

Vacation plans:
Go down the coast with Alex, Blanche, and Joe and visit all our California friends. Eat lots of great live foods! Pick up tons of beach glass. Relax!

Introducing...

my new friend...

As many of you know I have a passion for making raw ice cream... Well... and eating it.
I looked all summer for an ice cream maker on craigslist and they were overpriced and sold before I could even email the person. Well I got a hunch (no one else would want an ice cream maker in winter, right?!) and searched craigslist for an ice cream maker that was close enough to my house that I could easily get it. Found one a block from my work and picked it up today. It is going to make ice creams soo easy for me. YAY! I can't wait for the bowl to freeze so I can try it out.

busy bee

I cannot believe how hectic life has become. One minute I am thinking, "oh just one more week and things will be back to normal", next thing you know INSANITY. People quitting left and right at work and my trusty co manager got a parasite in Nicaragua so he has been SO sick. Poor guy.
I treated myself to a refurbished IPOD shuffle.
I had no idea it would be so cute and tiny. Keep in mind that my hand is the size of a 7 year olds so it is even smaller than it looks. Yesterday I had to drive all over to fedex and to meet a driver because apple got my shipping address wrong and fedex couldn't deliver. Also Apple has an intense theft prevention policy where fedex CAN NOT change the address. It has to get sent back to apple and they have to resend it. So to prevent that I had to intercept the driver with the tracking number and my ID. Luckily I got my little friend. Some of you, the cooler ones ;) will understand my exclamation of "What is THIS?! A pod for ants?!!" when I first saw it. (Zoolander anyone?!)
Today my "pod for ants" and I went for a run around the lake and I listened to harry potter book on ipod to keep my brain occupied.
It has been tough getting my runs in and eating enough food with work being so intense. I am down two pounds, not in a good way. I shouldn't complain... My poor parasite ridden coworker has lost 22 pounds! I took a whole bunch of days for him so he could stay home and rest up until the doctor confirms the stool sample and will treat him. So only one day off in my future.
In other news I am getting gears for my bike. I am converting it from a single to a four speed, well my good friend is helping me, as I really don't know shit about putting gears and a derailleur on a bike. I want to go faster. I also have been thinking about training for a brick or triathlon, with pressure from my superstar (new) athlete friend stacey
I have no good food stories this week as I have no food. I did get my spud order so I have fruit, but I won't get a chance to grocery shop for a bit.
Smoothie of the day:
1 banana, 1 orange (both peeled) and 1/2 c blueberries
plus 2 T hemp protein
Blueberry Juleus