Catering!

10:37 Posted In , , , , Edit This 10 Comments »
Hellooooo!!

Sorry for the lack of communication these days, my family and I are going through a very rough patch due to a devastating happening and would appreciate any positive vibes sent! :)

Meanwhile, I am still getting on with life! ;) And recently I catered some raw finger food and green juice for the opening of my friend's yoga centre! Yay! :D
The event was on Sunday, and I only got told 3 days before on Friday so a simple menu was in order! :)

The menu was:
- Marinated Veggie Boats with a raw peanut sauce (lettuce boats with spiralized beetroot topped with marinated veggies drizzled with a raw peanut sauce)
- Spring Onion Cream Cheese Dip
- Sun-dried Tomato & Coriander Humous Dip
- Hot Onion Carrot Crackers for dipping
- Chopped veggies (courgette, bell pepper, celery) for dipping
- Green juice (see 'unexpected twist 2) below!;)

It went so surprisingly well! :D I was so nervous but everyone was coming up and complimenting me and asking me if I sell my food or if I could cater for them or where they can order it! XD Wooo! :D:D I met some lovely people there, too!

2 things unexpected twists happened while making the food!:
1) I was looking for some red bell pepper to put in the cracker batter and I found a long red one! Yay! I sliced it ALL in but then my hands started burning!!!! Ahhhh, it was a jalapeno pepper! Of course with a WHOLE red one in there it would have been too spicy for even any 'expert' hot pepper eater! XD So I picked out most of the slices but it left a reaaally nice background "kick" in the flavor!
2) I was planning to make my 'Thai Green juice', made of spinach, coriander, apple and pineapple. But as I had only 3 days to plan everything, on the Sunday market (I wanted to get the juice ingredients as fresh as poss) but there was noooooo pineapple to be seen! So I had to find a replacement quick! Peaches, figs, nectarines apricots and all the season fruit the like does not juice well - so, I was left with... melons! I choose the yellow Canary melon and the Tiger melon (I think there called that, anyways :) and it went PERFECTLY! :D I liked it even better than the pineapple one!!! Yum, my new fav juice! :D



Raw peanut sauce (almond butter, garlic, ginger, lime juice, agave/dates/maple syrup, sea salt, curcuma) before the curcuma was added! Possibly the best sauce ever according to my mum! ;)



Sun-dried tomato Humous in the making! :D




With crackers to dip!


the Cracker batter!





Marinated veggies for the veggie boats!! :D




Spiralised beetroot mixed with poppy seeds for the veggie boats!





Green juice!

***************

Random pics that I took from one of my latest walks along the lake!
The sky was sooooooooooooo beautifull!!!!!!":D:D





Freedom!!!!!!!

02:59 Edit This 0 Comments »
Yes, I know it's been an AGE since I've posted last!
But I have FINALLY FINISHED MY EXAMS!!!! I have still got lessons till the 17th but after that I am on holiday!!!

Wooo!!!!!

The weather last week was beautiful, but now it is raining... typical! When I have to revise it is sunny! ;)
But I did take some breaks from study to go out... On Saturday it was Environment Day down at Nation at the UN. It was awesome! Lots of stalls and Greenpeace was there! Here are some photos!:










Really cool lady on stilts! :D

I have been feeling that I really want to get active about the environment, so next year I am joining Greenpeace as they have monthly meetings (they stop for the summer hols)! Yay!

I have been enjoying the sun despite being cooped up at home to revise and went swimming in the Lake (Lac Léman) at the Bain Des Paquis with my neighbour and mum. So refreshing! But I did end up gashing my foot on a rock and it was bleeding everywhere! But 3 days later it has already nearly healed! The power of raw, eh! :D


A crow perched on the lighthouse at the end of the pier at the Bain Des Paquis

Baby animals are abounding and on the lake there were several mother swans with their chicks! So adorable! Some pics I took:







Near the train station, Geneva, Switzerland

Summer is a coming! :D

How to make raw Essene bagels!!

02:25 Posted In , , , , , Edit This 0 Comments »
Hellooooo!!

I've been trying to upload these photos for so long, but for some reason Blogger won't let me upload any photos! (it just comes up with an error!?). But anyhow, I found out I can upload pics through Picasa, but only maximum 4 at a time... hence more than one blog post for this!

These bagels (and loaves) are actually quite easy and fun to make - just a bit time consuming because of the dehydration :) My mum and brother adored them!

You do need a juicer with a blank option to make the smooth paste. Unless you don't mind it a bit chunky, then you can try it in a food processor!

1) Soak your chosen grains over night (I choose rye, spealt and barley) in pure water, or untill they are soft

2) Sprout them for 1 day, rinsing them a few times

3) Drain & mix in a bowl. Add seasonings/flavours if you want. I added: garlic, sea salt, cumin and a few dried chopped figs

4) Pulse/mix in food processor untill sticky

5) Put mixture through a juicer (Greenstar or something like that) with the blank option


6) Form as many bagels/loaves of 'bread' as you wish, yet not too big otherwise it will not dehydrate properly!
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(continued on previous post! :)

Raw Bagel sequel! :)

04:58 Posted In , , , , , , Edit This 2 Comments »
(continuation of next post!)
7) Dehydrate at 105° until firm and crispy on the outside... mine even 'rose' like real bread! (I can't quite remember how long it took, but definitely not less than 10 hours!)
They are soft inside and crispy on the outside :)

I served this raw bagel to my mum and brother with avocado slices, onion sprouts, tomato slices, spinach, shredded cabbage, drizzled it with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and topped it off with a raw dehydrated sweet potato chip and a slice of lemon! :) Phew!


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Success! :D

Photos!!!

13:23 Edit This 0 Comments »
Hey guys!
(typing this from a friends Mac, so sorry for any mistakes or whatnot... Im a PC girl!;)
My computer has crashed and has been broken for a while now (not the hard drive, thank god!) which is why I havnt updated but until its up and running, if you are interested in my looking at some of my India pics, then I have an 2 albums full of them on my facebook:)
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=141595&id=527367174
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=141593&id=527367174

When I get my computer back I will post the album I had with all the raw food relevant pics too :) (didnt put them on facebook).
Eeeekk, getting late and I have school tomorrow!

Hope you had/have a wonderfully magic week!

IN INDIA!!!

10:26 Posted In , , Edit This 6 Comments »
Hello!!!

(Before I start, I would like to apologize for any bad grammar, as I am on a Mac but usually use a PC!;)
NOTE: I have got photos of everything (literally, knowing me ;) I write about here that I will download hopefully tomorrow and post here :)

I am now in Mumbai, India! After day 1, it is only just sinking in that I am really here!
Heres the deal:
Me and David left Geneva Friday morning, heading towards Mumbai. BUT we had 2 plane stops to make, one including switching planes! Our plane was left late, which was a little worrying as our plane change at Kuwait was very tight, leaving us only 45mins to switch plane.
The plane was absolutely MASSIVE! I had a window seat, luckily, as I looove looking out! We had TVs on the back of the chairs in front of us BUT at first mine wouldnt turn on, and Davids worked perfectly but after a while mine turned in but wouldnt change channel and wouldnt turn off and David stopped working completely! LOL! Oh well, just means more time to enjoy reading my book and to sleep!...
BUT what we didnt know is that the plane also stopped at Frankfort, Germany to refuel and pick up more people. It stayed there around 30mins! When we finally arrived at Kuwait, we had to run to chatch out next plane to take us to Mumbai! Luckily, we went the only ones (4 others) and a man with a kind of golf car thing speed us to our gate to board (it was so fun! :D)
Then, we finally boarded the plane, and hoped that the next one would have working TVs ;) ... but no such luck!
As we flew over Bombay, I swear I thought we were going over 6 major cities (it was dark by now, as all I could see was a swad of lights) and kept saying, wait, is this STILL Bombay... it is ridiculously HUGE, absolutely colossal!!! As we got lower, i made out roads, stretching off into the horizon, the cars, formed out of their front lights, packed ludicrously close together going back ALL the way of the road!
In total we spend more than 13H on the planes!!!!!! We were very grateful to stretch our legs afterwards!!! ;) We got to Mumbai at 1:15AM (suisse time), being 5:45AM Mumbai time. As I came out of the airport, the heat and humidity hit me hard! And also the SMELLS of India are SOOO different, inside, its kindof like being transported back to the 80s, as most of their furniture is from then. Outside, at first I almost had to block my nose! One word: pollution!
A shover picked us up to go to the Hotel.
As we arrived at The Leela Kepinski 5* hotel (which was only 10mins from the airport) I was dumbsmaked! The entrance is all marble, there fountains, live music, shops, a spa, a gym, etc, etc.... Let me explain: we didnt pick this hotel out of the blue! Davids dad is a Hotelier and owns/manages it, and very kindly invited us to stay. I was quite anxious about this, as I was told that the stark juxtaposition between povety and the rich. As I am typing this in a luxurious air conditioned room, after all Iv seen today (read below) I cant help but feel guilt as I am cosy, safe, and clean, having just gratefully taken a beautiful shower with clean, running water whilst I saw in town others living in the slums, literally covered in filth, no clean water, no air conditioning.... it fills me with pain as my nature is to always want to help people.

First thing we did when we got to the hotel was SLEEP! We though we were just going to take a 1H nap, as we slept on the plane, but we ended up being wiped out for a full 5H! Good, we felt good after that! :)
We then made arrangements to meet Davids dad and his dads girlfriend downstairs for Lunch (although my body clock was fixed for breakfast!). I got a bit nervous about meeting Davids dad actually, I don-t know why, I just wanted to make a good impression. I suppose I just though he would think I am bonkers for eating only raw food!
We got downstairs, me with some raw cookies I had brought for them and went to the outside restaurant place. OMG let me tell you, it was just beautiful the way they had made outside... fountains with lilies, a plant wall (I loved this!), it just seemed paradisal! But I knew, from looking out of my our room window, that it only looked like this at this 5* hotel, like they had constructed an idyllic Garden of Eden to suit the Westerners stereotypical image of India! As from our window, the view presented me with quite a different story! The street we packed with cars, taxis and these 3 wheeled rickshaws, all amongst numerous people weaving themselves around the moving vehicles to get to the other side, no structured 'zebra crossings' here! Dust rose and permanently elevated from the ground, filling the small spaces between rough run down buildings towering ubiquitously.
So sitting outside with Davids dad and Dongmey (his dads girlfriend), my confidence rose from the warm welcome they gave to me. they asked me what I wanted for breakfast, pointing out and complimenting a meat based dish on the menu. After saying I was vegan, they grinned at each other and then commented "well, your in the perfect place!" refering to the fact that a large percentage of inhabitants are vegetarian and there are plenty of vegan options. However, when I pointed out that i ate no cooked food, there faced dropped a little! But they were very interested, asking genuinely curious questions, and David chipped in saying how good he felt on the 3 week juice feast we did! :)
I choose to eat (well, it was the only thing on the menu I wanted to eat ;) a fresh fruit platter (making sure to ask for it sans sauce), and when they asked me what to drink, I asked if they had any fresh coconut water, and to my utter delight they said 'Of corse!!!' When the fruit platter come, I was sooo happy!!! It wasn't just made up of squared apples and pears in a bowl, there was a big triangle cut of papaya, half-flowered shaped watermelon and melon, fresh figs and pineapple, all presented beautifully on a plate!!! YUM! I also continued to gratefully drink 3 more glasses of coconut water! :)))))
After a lovely lunch, David arranged for his friend, Mansi, to come meet us at the hotel. We went upstairs to get ready to go out, and then went downstairs to explore the shops below!... Encountered another culture shock, as the owners of the different shops all were asking us "how about this, would you like to come and see this, im sure you need this.... ect". But what I have noticed is that everyone I have encountered here are such nice and smiley people! We then went outside again, as it is cooler (and really quite cool, i might add!) inside and much warmer outside! I took plenty of pics ;)
When Mansi came, she hugged me so warmly that I liked her immediately.. she truly is such a nice person!!!
As we were walking to take a Rickshaw, on the 'pavement' were holes which revealed mounds of sewage... but you didn't just have to look, the smell was strong enough.... As soon as we exited the hotel gates, I stared seeing dogs EVERYwhere, most of them thin and unowned. :( While walking on the pavement, my heart and throat tightened as I had to walk around an injured dog, lying on the pavement. I was starting to get overwhelmed. I had tears start in my eyes as I saw the glimpse of a motionless skinny dog underneath a parked car. I looked behind us, the traffic pouring past, with a fury of beeps, noise and dust. We had to wait for a rickshaw and as we were waiting a bunch of beautiful young children ran up to us. It was a heart warming and a heart breaking experience at the same time. I suddenly regretted taking my camera out (probably a sign of wealth in their eyes, I especially dont want to look like a rich tourist, that I certainly am not). But these children, their faces lighted with their grinning smiles showing their gapped, yellow and missing teeth, warmed my heart with their grin. They pointed to my camera, I asked if they would like me to take a picture of them and pointe the camera to them. They all joyfully leaped together to all be in the picture, widening their smiles on their faces. I show them the picture of them and they laugh hysterically, asking me to take another one. Their mother comes along, and I get her in the picture, too. A smile appeared on her face as I showed it to her. Then, a Auto Rickshaw appeared, and I said goodbye, wishing I could give something to these children begging for something to eat, but not knowing what to do.
The experience of riding in a Rickshaw was something in itself! Gripping onto David as it awkwardly sped out towards the heard of cars in-front. For the fist few minutes on my first ride to town, I was so scared I might fall out, I wriggled myself closer to the middle of the seat. But after a while, I forgot about this doorless car as my attention was driven to focus on the mass of pollution filling my lungs as we drove packed like a shawl of fish close up to the other cars, taxis and trucks. I also felt a little self conscious at first, as I felt everyone who saw me was staring at me, but I began smiling and waving at them and they smiled and waved back! :) But I was very excited when I saw tons of market stalls with fresh fruit around!! :D

It took around 1H to get to the part of town we wanted, and along the way I was in utter AWE, literally speechless most of the journey as I absorbed through my eyes a whole different world, culture and environment. Perhaps I shouldn't be, but my heart wretched as we drove past the slums, spreading over a vast amount of space, but over-towered by high rise buildings. We passed a MASSIVE plastic bottle mound, exposed just on the side of the road. This is what I find so shocking about Mumbai: nothing is hidden, everything is exposed. First, we visited a bookshop, as David was on a mission to find some certain books. The PRICES were absurdly LOW... minimally half price, if not MORE... most were 5CH (around 5dollars) or under... I was tempted to get a whole load but restrained myself and told myself to be patient. Instead, I just got what a needed: a notebook for study notes which cost 160Rupees which is around under 1CH.
We then met up with Munsi's friend, Puja, a really lovely and kind lady. We then went to A JUICE BARRR!!!!! I was SOOO excited! They had ORGANIC wheatgrass shots! I had a fresh fruit salad, with a shot of wheatgrass (accompanied with a piece of pineapple) and a wheatgrass-orange-pineapple juice.. YUM!!! I was so buzzing with happyness! :D
The others had various other juices on the menu anddd.. a chicken wrap :/
We all started talking about raw food, I explained why I am began and dont eat cooked food and we also talked about our juice feast and they were REALLY REALLY interested and said they wanted to start a juice feast NOW! ;) Plus, when I told them I could make raw cakes, raw cookies, raw 'cheeze' ect ect wich had no dairy, no sugar no refined foods....their mouths DROPED TO THE FLOOR! David mentioned how eating a raw food diet can elevate the symptoms of may 'incurable' diseases such as diabetes, Puja was VERY excited, as her had suffers from type 2 diabetes and said she was going to tell him to eat raw food and juices :D

At dinner we stayed in town and I was SOOO DELIGHTED in the presence of these people that I was not timid AT ALL about asking for raw food at the restaurant... and I was thrilled to see on the menu ' Fresh Juices' and 'Fresh seasonal fruit platter' they all helped me, and all waiters were very accommodating... I ate a yummy lettuce, baby tomato and bell pepper salad, with a fresh melon juice.
We then went to another outside 'restaurant' as they wanted to try some Indian food, but at this place they had NOTHING for me to eat, and I regretted I did not also eat a fruit platter at the pther restaurant, but i didnt really mind...BUT I asked for lime water and as they gave it to me, I had a suspisious feeling about it, which was justified when i took a tiny sip... It was SUPER sweet... ERG... SUGAR! I asked if they had put sugar in it and they nodded enthusiastically as if it were a good thing... Mansi kindly asked if I could have one withOUT sugar, and a sudden quizzical expression took over the waiters face.. 'no sugar?' :)

Eeek, its getting really late here, so I am going to quickly wrap up the day... Very sadly, as we we (they;) were eating, Mansi go the news via a telephone call that her 'Guru' dance teacher had died :( She went out to make a couple calls, and came back in tears :( We went back after that, also because it was getting lateish and I wanted to attempt to do some studying when we got back. But we got back around 10PM, I was exhausted, I had a shower (I felt dirty from all the pollution) and decided to update my blog as a releasing and relaxing exercise! :)))
But must go to bed now, as we are planning to get up EARLY so as I can do a few hours study before we zoom off to town!

Have a life-changing day! - I know I did,
AJ



interest in raw food



Off to INDIA... TOMORROW!!!!

12:39 Posted In , , Edit This 1 Comment »

Chirimoya love! :)
Hello dear ones!
I know, I know I have been naughtily absent these last couple of weeks... as usual, a lot of stuff going on, including exams this week, but among the normal lerks a last minute trip to INDIA!!!!!!!
And I am going for a MONTH!

I really can't quite believe it myself!... Will be flying to Mumbai tomorrow morning, staying a few days there, then going off to an Ashram nearby to do meditation and yoga, then off to GOA by train to stay 1st at an eco retreat centre Bhakti Kutir (http://www.bhaktikutir.com) for around 2 weeks, where I will be working on an organic farm, and also in the kitchen of their organic café to do some raw food! We will then be off to another retreat center The Lotus (http://www.lotus-yoga-retreat.com/) where David will be giving a yoga retreat and I will be doing raw food demos (OMG I am SO nervous!)!!!

And no, I'm not going alone! I am going with my dear flatmate David! His social bussiness AOM is funding the entire trip for me as it is a WORK EXPERIENCE trip more than anything! For this, I am eternally grateful and in awe of his genersity! But it WILL be the FIRST time I have been away from my parents for xmas! I will miss them sooo much, and my brother too!

It is quite daring as I have more important exams after the holidays and I am coming back just 3 DAYS before them!!!!!!!!! BUT I guessed that this is a one of a lifetime oppotunity and it would be ungrateful to let it down.

I will post piccies asap, as I will have certain internet for the first few days at least... but I need to go finish packing now!! :D


Hope everyone is having a mind boggling, love-filled day!



Dragon fruit



Two of are growing kitties! :)