busy busy...

Hm. So much has been going on the past few days!

My family arrived on Thursday, and we've been having a pretty good time! Today I made Kandace's Curried Carrot Soup, which was pretty good. I upped the ratio of carrots to avocado, and added a few shakes of cinnamon. I also used fresh ginger (which I LOVE), but I think I may have actually used WAY too much. This resulted in my adding more carrots and other ingredients to try to balance the flavors. It certainly wasn't bad for my second attempt at raw soup. I even warmed it a bit in the VitaMix, which was delicious.

6 carrots, chopped
1 1⁄2 avocado
2 cups water
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 small lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
a pinch of cayenne pepper
celtic sea salt and pepper, to taste


I had a funny conversation with a friend while walking through the East Village today.

"Oh, so please tell me you're not still trying to eat raw."
"Actually, I am!"
"...Oh. Cause I'm freezing!"

The way she phrased the question put me off a bit. After going 100% raw thirty days ago (I'd been 100% raw for a good, GOOD part of the last year-and-a-half..but never for a NY winter), the whole concept of using food as a way of "warming" (like, heavy starchy crap) pretty much evaporated past the first week or so.


I finally threw out those alfalfa sprouts. They started growing, but BARELY. I did some googling, and apparently you're supposed to grow sprouts in the dark? I always thought my roommate grew ours on the counter, but perhaps I'm mistaken. I guess there's a pretty big difference between "on the counter" and "hanging in the window." I think these guys were getting too much light, and drying out way too quickly in the bag. I'm starting a new batch in a mason jar, and according to one website, I should have sprouts in four days. That would be AWESOME! I want to load up on sprouts and sprout salad before I start my juice feast. :)


Oh, and I tried Sarma's INCREDIBLE sundae last night at Pure Food & Wine. By far, the best, BEST I've ever had in my LIFE. I couldn't believe how incredible it was. Everything was PERFECT -- the candied almonds, the chocolate syrup...aaaah! It took a lot of restraint to NOT go back to Pure for another today while I was in Union Square with my family. :)


After 6 months of no 'poo, I caved and started using Aubrey's Organics shampoo & conditioner. Hm. I had some really good hair days the past six months, but I also had some really BAD hair days. I always loved the condition of my hair while I was using Aubrey's, and its has one of the best ingredient lists, in my opinion, of all the organic shampoos I checked.

I also took out my 7/16" plugs. I've been thinking about it, a lot lately. I'm looking forward to having earlobes again! I've known several people whose ears never go back to their normal shape when they remove their plugs, but I'm confident that with tons of water & greens, they'll be back to their normal size in a couple of weeks.


I made delicious raw vegan granola & a batch of chocolate this evening. I will post pictures & an ingredient list soooooon. I'm super excited for my family's Christmas dinner plans. My mother & brother are staying at my apartment...since I don't cook (ha!), I don't have gas for my stove. On top of that, the size of my kitchen/amount of counter space isn't particularly conducive to creating Christmas dinner for four people, so we aren't cooking, at all! My sister is going to pick up Chinese takeout from an "amazing" Szechuan place, and I'm going to make a GIANT salad, raw onion bread, and some other stuff if I'm feeling motivated. Then we're going to sit around the apartment and watch DVDs. Woo! I was kind of anxious about the whole dinner setup, because I didn't want my family to be obligated to eat my food, OR put their entire Christmas dinner in my roommate's microwave, haha. I also didn't feel like going out to eat with them and just sitting there. It doesn't bother me, but I think my family feels awkward in those situations.