thankful for raw pizza

I've shared this delicious pizza with friends and it has gotten their seal of approval and request for the recipe...so I thought it was time to sit down and actually try to write it out.  I don't usually measure anything when I am preparing food like this so use your intuition as you use this recipe...I don't think you can mess this up too much.

Crust

2 cups of flax seeds (soaked overnight or several hours)

2 cups of sunflower seeds (soaked a couple of hours)

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1-2 cups of juice pulp (carrot, kale, or whatever you got)

2 tsp. of sea salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and give it a whirl until it looks like dough. 

Spread thin onto teflex (non-stick) sheets and place in dehydrator on 105°F for 2 days or until the center is dry.

Cashew Cheese

2 cups of cashews

1/2 lemon juiced

2 tsps. tamari

1/2 cup of water

Place all ingredients in a food processor and let it spin until it looks like the consistency of cream cheese.  Add more tamari to taste.

Marinated Shitake Mushrooms

4-5 Shitake Mushrooms

Olive oil

Balsalmic Vinegar

Slice the mushrooms into thin slices cutting off the stems (save those for something else).  Place in a shallow dish and cover with olive oil.  Sprinkle balsalmic vinegar generously on top.  You could add some garlic, herbs, etc. but I don't because the pizza is made with pesto.

Pesto sans cheese

2 cups basil leaves

2/3 cups olive oil

1/4 cup walnuts

3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp. sea salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  I usually make double batches and freeze in ice cube trays and take out a cube at a time as needed.

Assembling the pizza

Additional ingredients:

avocado

kalmatra olives

spinach

a little red pepper looks quite nice too

love

Spread a thin layer of pesto on the crust.

Cover with a generous layer of cashew cheese.

Place thinly sliced avocado on top of the cheese.

Arrange olives, marinated mushrooms over the avocado.

Top with baby spinach or other greens.

Enjoy!

:::

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Life has twisted and turned in the most unexpected ways this year.  Everytime I think its time to say goodbye to so wabi sabi, something says, "not just yet."  Thank you for those who still take the time to read. 

I started teaching full-time at a Friends School this year and my little guy started Kindergarten.  We've moved into an apartment, though we still visit our special place along the creek that I've shared here over the last couple of years.  I'm now experiencing life as a single working mother instead of a stay at home mom...but life is good!  Blessed be~



a splinter in the foot of the planet

pulling a splinter out of

jude’s foot this morning

he is in agony

i am in agony

i know i have to continue

he is begging me to stop

i know in order to get it out

he will scream louder

he will be in more pain

and it will require even more

determination

on my part

to be successful

in these agonizing moments

i got a tiny glimpse

into the heart of Mother Earth

she is agonizing too

agonizing over

all the suffering

her children are enduring

agonizing over

all the suffering

she is enduring

yet resolved to

dig deeper

to reach

a place

where

healing

can

begin

happy new year!

Happy new year according to the 13 Moon Calendar! I spent the most amazing time in peaceburg (pittsburgh) this weekend meeting up with the 13 Moon Walk 4 Peace team and walking 2 different labyrinths in one day on the Day Out of Time. Amazingly, the second labyrinth was a Skywalker labyrinth and according to the Dreamspell calendar (a particular kind of 13 moon calendar) the day a was Red Overtone Skywalker...such synchronicities...wow! And that was how the whole weekend was. Lots of synchronicities, love, peace...a few miracles too!

I completed the calendar above right before the end of the year, and it will be available hopefully today or tomorrow in my etsy shop.  Until then, my wall calendars featuring my photography are available there.  You can also download my free calendar or better yet...visit rhythm of the home to make one with your children.  Get one, make one and get into rhythm!  Blessings and peace~ Elizabeth

moment of mindfulness: walls

Recently, I received wise council from a dear friend. She said, “Elizabeth, put down your guard.” At the time, the words seemed foolish. But over the next couple of weeks, I kept hearing them over and over again. Once I took the advice hardily, an amazing shift happened. I found myself complaining less about external circumstances. I began to recognize, again, that fear is a choice. And that realization allowed me to step into my empowered self. None of this happened overnight, but it was a slow process of recognizing the walls I put up to protect myself because of perceived fears of “what might happen”.

At the same time, I kept listening to this song…



...the words “don’t put your trust in walls because they will only crush you when they fall” reminded me in another way of the false perception of security that we feel when we attempt to separate ourselves from anything. It is an absolute illusion. And honestly, I have to say that I am still learning to feel okay without walls of separation…there is a part of me that wants to run and hide behind something or under something sometimes. But it is useless. The hiding causes more issues than just accepting each and every thing that life throws at you. Just observe it, embrace it for what it is... an opportunity to grow, and then let it go. Whether we hide from or hold onto our fears…we create a world that gives us more to fear. But if we embrace what brings us joy, what makes us feel passionate, what makes us feel connected, we create a world of joy, passion and connection.

Jude and I watched the movie “The secret of Kells” the other night. We had to fast forward through the “scary parts to get to the beautiful parts” (Jude’s words). Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do that in life? The secret of Kells is also about fear and magic. The Bishop and villagers are building a giant wall around the village of Kells to protect themselves from the Vikings. The young boy hero of the story is given a mission that requires him to venture out into the dark forest beyond the walls and what he finds there is both dark and magical. His fears become less and less controlling as he discovers the illusions that they really are. And as he does, he becomes empowered and even more so when it becomes apparent that the walls are useless.



Last week, I felt like I too discovered the illusion that my fears were and as I did the walls crumbled. Life has been so much more magical ever since. I am sure that there will be more opportunities to choose fear, but for now I’ll enjoy the magic and joy that the Universe is serving up because I was able to take that first bold step away from my fears and towards love.

more lessons from turtle

it isn't too surprising that turtle is showing up bigtime in my life right now

last week I taught a group of middle school students about the 13 moon calendar

and I just happened to rescue a small woods turtle the day before
earlier this week Jude and I discovered a larger woods turtle laying eggs in the garden

the next day we found this box turtle laying her eggs on the mountain

what does turtle have to teach us right now?

she is reminding us to have grace and perserverance

these times are challenging right now for each of us in our own unique ways

she is also teaching us about the power of our intention

right now is a huge window of potentiality
lay your eggs wisely

think your thoughts carefully

what do you want????

focus on that

bury those eggs
and walk away slowly
in full faith
that those eggs
aligned with your highest good...

will soon hatch

a 13 moon calendar for you...

In celebration of summer and my article, Turtle Time, being featured in Rhythm of the Home today, I decided to give everyone the opportunity to have a 13 moon perpetual calendar. You can download the pdf calendar by clicking on the link below.

For those of you who have popped over from ROTH after reading my article "Turtle Time", welcome! This calendar will help you find the current day on the 13 moon calendar. If you create the Turtle Time 13 Moon Calendar with your kiddos I'd love to hear how it went, and please post a link in the comment section if you end up blogging about your experience. I'd love to pay you a visit.

13 Moon Perpetual Calendar PDF

homegrown: planting a strawberry pot

My son loves strawberries, but it is very hard to find local organic strawberries.  I have always been reluctant to plant strawberries in my garden because I am not organized enough to figure out what section of my garden to dedicate to perennial fruits or vegetables.  After all these years of gardening in the same place, I am still dragging my heels on that commitment.  So we opted to plant strawberries in a strawberry pot and a hanging planter this year.

We mixed some compost into some potting soil I had.

I put the enriched soil into the bottom of the pot to about 2" deep.

I found an old 1 1/2" diameter pvc pipe and cut it to size.  I drilled holes to line up with the openings of the strawberry pot.

I placed this pipe in the center of the pot.  This way I can fill the pipe with water to ensure that the plants lower in the pot get enough water.

I filled in soil to the bottom of the first openings.

Then gently separated out each strawberry plant.

I placed strawberry plants into each opening and filled soil around them making sure not to bury the crown.

I filled in soil until I reached the next set of openings and placed more plants in  and continued to do this until all the opening had one plant inserted

I filled the container to the top with soil and a bit of the pipe was left at the top so soil would not fall through.   

 I placed three plants in the top of the planter, and now we are waiting for the plants to grow, flower, and provide delicious organic strawberries for us to enjoy!  I'll let you know how it goes.

A couple of side notes:

• We used ever-bearing strawberries for our planter so we could enjoy fruits for a longer time.  You can also try to find a variety that does well in containers.
• You can store your planted strawberry jar in an unheated garage or basement to allow the plants to go dormant.  They will continue fruiting as long as they have that dormant period.