Our Summer in Pictures

Hello Dear Friends!!

Summer has been so wonderful that each time I try to sit down to write here, something such as a walk in the sunshine, a date with a blackberry bush, a swim in the lake, or a picnic by the ocean seems much more inviting!! That is summer for you!

We are happily moved into our new house in the woods, and I am loving having a full kitchen of my own once again as you will see in some of the pictures below. My brothers like to make fun of me for taking so many pictures of the food that I make, and it got me wondering "yes, I do wonder why it is that raw foodists love taking and showing off pictures of their raw food?"

I know that I am not alone in this habit taking pictures of my raw food as though it was my first child, the web is full of raw food pictures! Is it because raw food is so sumptuous and beautiful? So vibrant and delectable? Well yes, it is those things and many more (raw food is colorful, juicy, pretty, glowing, mouth watering, natural, yummy, yummy, and YUMMY!), but I also realized that pictures of food, all kinds of food, are EVERYWHERE!!

It is no wonder that as raw foodists we feel the need to balance out the plethora of cooked food pictures that we see in magazines, on TV, pasted on giant billboards, popping up on the web, on our airplane trays, in the grocery isles, and restaurant windows, with some pictures of the truly nourishing foods that we make at home! Pictures of pizza, lasagna, chicken, burgers, fries, and candy stimulate our appetites for these foods, and likewise pictures of red apples, gorgeous salads, juicy peaches, and green avocados stimulate our appetites to eat raw foods!

So I say go ahead! Let's flood the airwaves with pictures of beautiful, appetizing raw foods! I know it makes me excited to eat this way when I can find inspiring pictures of yummy looking foods. Storm and Jinjee and family have a fantastic project on the go called Take A Fruit Break, and you can even download beautiful free posters that will be sure to get your mouth watering for some tasty raw foods!

So, with that, we hope you enjoy these pictures from our summer 2008!

Ayrie with fresh salad greens from his backyard forest garden. I can't tell who is glowing more, my dad or the greens! An orange breakfast in an orange room. (In a house we babysat while waiting for our own house.)Making fruit faces with my sisters.Blackboard at Cafe Bliss.Cake. My mom made this from blended frozen fruit, just like ice cream cake! Chia pudding with fresh figs and blueberries. Chia has become a staple, I LOVE it!! I made a delicious chia smoothie with spirulina and cinnamon, which I thought was a weird mix of flavors but it worked out yummily.
Sweet flax crackers with guacamole, sun dried tomato sauce and fresh tomatoes, and of course SALAD!!Rosemary/garlic/onion/carrot/flax/pumpkin seed/sesame seed crackers with basil pesto and fresh tomatoes and of course SALAD!!
I Am Honoring Nachos from I Am Grateful, made for a dinner with guests. Made with I Am Kind Refried Beans, I Am Generous Guacamole, I Am Fiery Salsa, and I Am Ravishing Cashew Sour Cream. Served with flax crackers made by mom, and freshly made lemonade. Strawberry Vice Cream. Made with almond mylk and frozen strawberries. Joe aptly noted that is was silly for us to be calling blended nuts and spices "beans" or "cheese" and why didn't we just call it what it was? Just call it a spiced nut pate he suggested. For our "ice cream" he has bestowed the title "Vice Cream." V for vegan, vice for healthy indulgence (we don't really think this treat is a vice in the strict meaning of the word, don't worry.)
Alright! Done with the food shots, here is us on the Sonja after a sail, me about to jump in, David climbing the rat lines for a better view.

David enjoying sunset on a Northern California beach on our way home from the Vibrant Living Expo in Ft. Bragg (a fantastic event!)Setting up the tent to sleep by the sea.

Me visiting the redwoods.
Me swimming in a river, still feeling bon dans ma peau 3 months post Juice Feast!! Strike a pose Katrina!
Enjoying the island abundance of Blackberries, we are going to need a second freezer!
Look at the size of these babies!!

We are off again in a few days to head down to Sedona, Arizona for that fabulish gathering called Raw Spirit Fest! We hope to see you there!!

All love and blissings,

Katrina