Gothic Granola

$(6,4)@#, the pen name of one of my plush cats, answers a question from the mailbag. Or from the aether, as Ownie has heard this question quite a bit. Dear $(6,4)@#, What’s this smoothie craze all about? Why does putting my food in the blender benefit me? Clearly it does, if I see juices and smoothies in the cold case at every place from Wawa to Whole Foods. How do I make a good smoothie? Smoothie Seeker pear-kefir

This recipe has been on my recipe bucket list for over a year. Ownie Mom has had this recipe in her pile of recipes to make for about the same amount of time. She beat me to the punch—or roll, in this case—on New Year’s Eve by making these for brunch.

Though it is now full-blown Lent, I’m sharing my Mardi Gras luncheon because there’s nothing about it that’s sinful or off-limits in the fasting and abstinence sense, as far as I know. I can and will go on at length about how food is not “sinful” and should not cause guilt. Food is neutral. We bring the guilt as a side dish or a sauce. We also have the ability not to partake, but instead to enjoy our treats or what-have-ye mindfully and in appropriate-to-ourselves amounts.

Post III of III in Simple Gifts series Missing. What’s missing? What does it mean to miss something? What am I missing? What are you missing? What do I miss right now? I saw this article on missing someone was “recommended for me” when I was reading an article about yoga on Mind Body Green.  What my cookies say about me, I tell ya.

Lady Neona Tribute: Tahini Soup There's a branch on my spiritual family tree that this morning curled towards light coming from a different direction. The Lady Neona Alansyn of the Abbey at Kilbride Croft has left us mortals, passing away to--another round on the wheel of rebirth? Nirvana? Who's to say? All's there is to say is what's in front of us: that she is beyond the suffering she experienced in this lifetime as she bravely fought cancer to the end.

Post II of III in Simple Gifts series Changing your health, particularly losing weight, isn't just about letting go of pounds, it's also about letting go of that which doesn't serve you: people, jobs, over-the-top responsibilities, habits...in short, Revolution! A revolutionary new way to have a brownie is this proteinaceous snack or pudding or dessert. It will satisfy you and give you energy to burn without a crash because the plant protein and fibre will slow down the absorption of the sugar from the dates.

This recipe is ridiculously simple. I had beet stems leftover from buying beets in November. Instead of chewing through them raw or using them in juice, I decided to tenderize them in a quick “refrigerator pickle” with sauerkraut.   For fun, I threw in some raw apple cider vinegar, caraway seeds, and German mustard.   So that the beets and acidic juices wouldn’t turn a container pink, I used a glass container.   I stuck it in the back of the fridge and forgot about it for a few hours. When I took it out, the beet stems had become slightly less chewy and the sour, salty sauerkraut had balanced their natural sweetness.   Success! Similarly, I made stinky raw daikon more palatable by grating it on a mandolin cutter and combining it with sweet crushed pineapple for a slaw of sorts. Then I ran these recipes together and made daikon kraut slaw.