Recipe Contest Winners!

Howdy Kitchen Wizards,

We were thrilled to receive such an amazing response to this month’s recipe contest. YUM-DIDDY. Thank ya, thank ya for sending in your mouth-watering masterpieces! You sassies made it wicked hard to pick. I felt like a Miss America judge. Actually, that’s kinda cute. Maybe we should call it a “Kitchen Pageant” instead, the winner will be crowned/sashed Miss Apron? Of course that means we need runners up. But instead of flowers they get CSL prezzies. I like it!

For our first contest, the grand prize winner (Miss Apron), will receive Matthew Kenney’s Entertaining In The Raw. Second and third place winners (runners up) will get a Make Juice Not War bracelet.

Remember, there will be many more chances to win cool schwag and in our contests. Hint, hint: We like to keep things simple, so the less kitchen appliances used the better! Dehydrators are great, but not a lot of us have them, so it will probably increase your chances of winning if the instructions include gadgets that most people would find in their kitchens. Be sure to read the blog and check out the newsletters for details. Sign up here at CSL.com in the upper right column for the newsletter if you haven’t already. Junk mail sucks so we promise to keep your email address top secret.

Winner Time!

Our second and third place winners are… (envelope opening, drum rolling, lights dimming)

Meghan’s Raw Vegan Gluten Free Cocoa Mint Truffles

1 cup raw walnuts, unsoaked
1/2 cup almonds, unsoaked
1/2 tsp salt
15 pitted dates, unsoaked
1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
2 Tbs agave
2 Tbs water
2 drops Peppermint Essential Oil (make sure its food grade- I like Young Living)
1/2 cup shredded coconut or 1/2 cup extra cocoa powder

-Place the nuts & salt in a food processor fitted with the S-blade and process until finely ground.
-Add the dates, cocoa powder, agave, peppermint and vanilla process until the mixture starts to stick together. Add water as needed & process briefly.
-Using about 1 Tbs of mixture, roll into balls.
-Sprinkle coconut or extra cocoa out onto a plate or cookie sheet and roll balls through, giving them a light dusting.
-Keep refrigerated until serving, or even better- eat them right out of the freezer.

Julie’s Raw Wild Rice Salad

1 cup organic wild rice
1 organic carrot, shavings
1 organic red, yellow or orange Bell pepper cut into small strips or diced
1-2 stalks organic celery, diced
2-3 green onions (scallions) or handful chopped onion (to taste), diced
1 clove organic garlic, diced or minced
juice of 1 organic lemon
olive oil to taste
chile pepper to taste

-Sprout wild rice by placing in a glass jar with filtered water to cover, place lid on and let sit for 2-4 days. Change water 2x a day to prevent fermentation. Wild rice will crack open when ready and be soft but crunchy / chewy. If rice doesn’t seem to crack open much you can still eat it if it tastes chewable.
-Rinse and dry rice when done sprouting.
-Combine all ingredients and add to wild rice; mix thoroughly and eat! Refrigerate after combining ingredients.

Our Grand Prize Winner is…(The next Miss Apron)

Ali’s Sacred (yum-yum) Monkey Cookies

2 cups almonds blended to almond flour
1/4 cup or 3 tbs maple syrup (or honey) (whatever amount/sweetner you prefer)
1/2 bag of the sunssweet vegan carob chips (or other chocolate chip of your choosing)
3 big mashed bananas (4 small-ish ones) (ready to peel, but not brown-ripe)
dash of vanilla extract

-Mush the bananas in a large-ish mixin bowl
-Mix in the maple syrup & dash in the vanilla extract
-Combine this with the 2 cups of fresh almond flour
-Mix 1/2 (+) bag of sunssweet vegan carob chips
-The mixture should be moist, but shouldn’t be runny – it should be moldable and pretty much hold it’s shape. add more flour/banana to balance accordingly.
-Place spoonfuls of mix onto dehydrator trays lined with teflex sheets. Flatten to about 1/2 inch tall, round “cookie shape.”
-Dehydrate at 100 degrees for about 8-12 hours* – or until the cookies can be peeled off the sheets and maintain their form. they will be moist and gooey, and are super yummy straight out of the dehydrator.
(*may take less time with an excalibur dehydrator. I have a Nesco – takes 10-12 hrs.)
-Store in the fridge.
Makes about 12 cookies — depending on how many survive the 12 hours in the dehydrator and subsequent “testing” to see if they’re done yet ;)

Congratulations, Ali!

Time to fast again! Can you believe? It really sneaks up on ya. Who’s joining me for Goddess Group today? If you are, remember to keep it green and keep it clean. If not, then remove your fingers from the cookie jar and chow healthy stuff ONLY today. Come on, it’s just 24 hours. You will feel so frickin’ happy you did.

Ok, off to make my 4 quarts of liquid sunlight and then back to writing…

Peace & pageants,
Kris

I heart the Coen Brothers

Howdy carrot tops!

Is there such thing as clean coal?  Hmmm.  Once again it all comes down to advertising.  If I place the word “green” in front of the word formaldehyde does it magically transform it into a healthy substance?  What if I write the word formaldehyde in green letters?  Will the color fool you into thinking that formaldehyde has medicinal qualities?  It is wrong that in the United States of America we can be so misled by all this green washing manipulation.  Once again, the responsibility to translate the madness is on us.  We are constantly bombarded with lies and it effects our health.  “Clean”?  There is no eco-friendly alternative when coal is involved.

Enter the fabulous Coen Brothers.  These groovy chaps directed a funny new commercial for The Reality Coalition (earth rockstar Al Gore’s latest and greatest) debunking the idea.  I love the Coen Brothers!  In fact, I have a ridiculous Joel Coen story that I can’t believe I’m about to share with you.  Let the blushing begin.

Years ago, after they won for Fargo, I was at a cocktail party at Joel and Francis McDormand’s apartment in NYC.  Don’t ask how I got there, I’m still not sure.  At the time I was an unemployed actress socializing with a set way cooler than me.  After a few too many I needed to use the lou.  I remember loving the paint colors they had chosen for the bathroom walls.  Burnt terricotta, very chic.  I marveled with pride at their shower curtain.  We had the same one, a plastic gold fish print.  Then I noticed it…my heart stopped…there, above my head, was the oscar…

Long story short.  I licked it.

Peace & Obama’s plan for alternative energy,

Kris

Puppy tooth fairy?

Puppy people!

I nearly had a heart attack last night when 2 of Lola’s teeth fell out and her mouth started to bleed. I immediately thought EMERGENCY ROOM! My child is dying! Her teeth will choke her as they continue to fall out throughout the night! She has a strange tooth canSer! Oh GODDESS!

Brian and Corinne both laughed at me (which I did not appreciate – until I started to laugh at me too). Is this normal? I guess dog babies are like human babies. It’s all so new to me. I’m a cat woman. Cats don’t lose their teeth or was I just oblivious?

I gave her some cool veggies to chew on and she went wild. Carrot and Kale shrapnel everywhere!

PS. How many of you are feeding your dogs raw food? How about kibble? We’re about to introduce raw and I’m not sure how to do it. Help wise pooch people!

Peace and nervous mother,
Kris

Urban Zen Event with Roshi Joan Halifax

Hiya angels,

I am so excited to spread the news about an amazing benefit event happening in NYC on Friday, June 6th. My very first Zen teacher (and idol) Roshi Joan Halifax will be teaching her Death and Dying workshop at Urban Zen. Donna Karan and The Village Zendo will be hosting this event with all proceeds going to the Zendo (another spectacular place). Don’t let the name of the workshop freak you out folks. It’s REVOLUTIONARY. And not just for those of us experiencing adversity – no, no, if you have a pounding, breaking, passionate heartbeat (and some money to give to a good cause) well then you should truck on over and experience the magic! This LIFE class is for every soul that struts the planet and desires to overcome their obstacles of fear in order to soar. Roshi’s workshop on Death and Dying will engage Eastern and Western psychology, philosophy, and contemplative practices from many spiritual traditions. In her DYNAMIC style, Roshi Joan will offer wisdom and teachings that are ideal for medical professionals, social workers, clergy, community activists, and spiritual seekers.

Studying with Roshi was one of the richest experiences of my life. She is a true gift. Rest assured that she will invite us to dive deep (to the core actually) and heal.

Below is a portion of what I wrote in Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips about Upaya and my experience with Roshi in 2003 – the summer I was diagnosed.

“Nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains is a beautiful Zen monastery called Upaya. If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you’ve experienced those annoying five minutes at the end when you’re forced to inhale “let” and exhale “go.” For me those last minutes were always torture. But when I ran across Upaya, I had a sneaking feeling that the silence within its walls would provide me the opportunity to discover what was inside me.

The woman who founded the monastery, Roshi Joan Halifax, had an electric way about her. I’d never seen such a dazzling female monk before. She had penetrating blue eyes and a shaved head. She looked like a cool cancer survivor, only she wore robes and knew everything there was to know about the Buddha.

I went to a few of her meditation and dharma talks, and though my back felt like it needed the attention of a team of chiropractors after sitting so long, I became hooked. Not only did I need to keep coming to the monastery, I needed to move in.

As I wandered aimlessly around town on the morning of my monastery move, I heard a faint, eerie whimper. It was a goose-bump-producing sound that seemed to be following me around. Wait, I thought, that sound is coming from me. I was letting out tiny yelps of pain. Not now, please Kris, hold it together. It was 2:45, time to go! My eyes welled up as I drove up the mountain. Would I be able to say hello without bursting into tears? What would living in a Zen Buddhist monastery be like?

When I arrived, a nice woman who worked in the office showed me to my tiny (yet tasteful) spiritual cell. I dumped all my leopard luggage in the middle of the floor and wept. I cried until I was exhausted. Then I stared at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity. Now what? Nightly meditation in the temple! Oh, what a treat. As I sat on the cushion counting my breath, the waves of emotion continued to flow. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so exposed. All my gunk was pouring out of me and there was no place to hide. It was embarrassing, and yet it felt good to release the weight I’d been carrying.

Après meditation, it was time for din din with the monks. Bread and soup. I was thankful for it. Until, out of nowhere, the crying started again. Stop! Stop! I begged myself to stop but my tear ducts were on autopilot and there was no way to override the system. I dreaded the thought of being the new freak who had come to the monastery to sort out her problems, but that’s exactly who I was. Thankfully the conversation at the dinner table was light. The monks had watched Margaret Cho’s Notorious C.H.O. video and were gabbing about how it was better than Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. I was grateful for the un-Zen-like chatter. I had a feeling that they had seen these uncomfortable emotional episodes before and didn’t want to make me feel awkward.

That night a pack of coyotes sang under my window and I slept like a baby. The next morning everything seemed better. As the weeks went by I blossomed.

Monastery living was the opposite of the busy, hectic life I was used to. Each day at Upaya included three hour-long meditations, as well as work practices like chopping carrots, sweeping, gardening—anything that needed to be done to maintain the place. In exchange for my help and commitment, I received a room and three simple vegetarian meals (three hots and a buddha-ful cot!). Weekly intensives ranged from calligraphy to yoga and of course plenty of meditation. I loved all the classes, except one. The title alone totally gave me the creeps. It was called Being with Dying, and I vowed to make myself scarce for the roll call. Fat chance!

Just when I had learned all the correct bows and zendo etiquette (like only the head abbot gets to enter from the back of the temple), Roshi Joan Halifax asked to see me . . . privately. Gulp. This was big. In fact, it had an official name, Dokasan. The protocol was very complicated. You had to bow, prostrate (three to four times, I never remembered), and chat. Then do the whole thing in reverse order and leave. Once I had finished making a fool of myself and dishonoring the tradition, I told Roshi that the Being with Dying workshop wigged me out. It made me worry that I’d manifest my death, and since I believed that worrying was praying for what you don’t want, I didn’t want to take that workshop! She laughed and promised me that it wouldn’t be morbid and that if at any time I wanted to leave, I could. Translation: Get your ass to class, I’m watching you!”

In my book I went on to write about how transformative this workshop was for me. Quite simply, it changed my life. It also changed my mind about how I was going to live this delicious life. In a word, FULLY. This workshop wasn’t about dying, it was about exploring all the emotional sandpaper that was making living so raw and scratchy.

OH, and guess who else will be there teaching yoga? Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman!

For the schedule, tix price, additional speakers etc…Check out the PDF posted on the Crazy Sexy Life forum.

Peace and deep zen bows,
Kris

Taking Fun Seriously

Wow, it’s Monday AGAIN, how did that happen?

It’s no fair that the weekend is only 2 days long! Who was in charge of that decision? As history goes, depending who you talk to, I suppose it was God. Perhaps she should have taken into consideration that fun barely has a chance to shake its tail feather in that stingy time frame. Just when our groove gets juicy funky it’s time to go back to the grind. What if fun was serious business, non-negotiable? How would mandatory skipping and frolicking truly transform our lives? Were you ever taught to make time in order to accomplish nothing but a smile?

Imagine how uplifting our lives would be if we decided to take fun really seriously, like it was something our doctors prescribed, something we could not avoid or sacrifice. When we’re working on regaining our health life can get pretty heavy and very complicated. Let’s face it, life is BUSY, add an illness to the mix and it gets TWICE as busy (especially if you wisely choose to incorporate natural therapies). Levity, optimism, downtime – all reminders that there is joy on the other side of worry. And guess what, FUN is alkaline! Yes indeed, as Beth reminded us in her wonderful post, balance (especially pH balance) comes from more than food. In fact, we can eat a perfect raw, vegan, alkaline, organic, localvorian diet and still be acidic due to STRESS. What a way to sabotage the smoothie. Ya work your ass off to get well but ya get sicker cause life sucks and all the play grounds have “do not enter signs” hanging from chains. No thanks!

On Saturday I was faced with a choice, finish my three articles that are due today or go have some fun. All the work was dumped on me at the last minute. Why should I clock in a 7 day work week yet again? My inner kid threw a spaz and immediately tossed a big phat writers block that clonked me in the head and sent me into the sunshine. If you notice, I’ve been trying to take my own advise over these last several months. Why should I boss everyone else around and then be a total hypocrite in my own house. So not sexy.

Time for a grand ole time! Now my grand ole time may seem a little domestically boring but considering that I’m rarely home for any long period, spending time outside or working on my nest makes me happy.

Here’s how it started.

Someone else making my morning juice! HA, no clean up, OH YEAH!

A 2 hour hike up my favorite mountain with my hubby carrying the heavy stuff.

Next stop the FLEA MARKET! One man’s trash is definitely another man’s treasure. I stopped myself from buying more land fill but oh how fun to browse.

Speaking of landfill, off to the dump to recycle. Yes, the dump, I LOVE IT THERE. I especially love the sign that say “No Picking” it sounds naughty and itchy and that makes me laugh.

OK, now for the major wow, TARGET. Finally, some new outdoor furniture purchase during their semi annual sale. I love my new chairs! Cozy, easy to clean, elegant shit. I do feel bad that they come from China and I have total eco-guilt about that but screw it. I guess since I’m a veg head I sometimes allow myself more carbon wiggle room. Lame but true.

SO there you have it. Nothing revolutionary to speak of other than a fabulously fun and alkaline weekend. Oh, we watched “Knocked Up” on Netflix too.

Laughing through Judd Apatow movies is definitely alkaline!

Peace and FUN,
Kris

PS. What’s your idea of a grand ole weekend and when was the last time you had one?