Sunday, March 28, 2010

confessions of an addict

I am addicted to our chocolate chip cookies. Compared to all kinds of addictions out there, I feel pretty good about our vegan, wheat-free cookies that i have to have one a day. Almost everyday, if we are not sold out. I don't take one out from the case until we close, but if we are closed and there is one left, that is mineee and I am pretty serious about it:) So, i do know it is an addiction.

They are giant, as you can see and packed with lots of chocolate chips. Plus oat flour that we make by simply grinding the oats, flax seeds, raw sugar and homemade brown rice milk. So, in one of my intense why do I love these cookies so much questioning times, I got this idea of an experiment. wanted to figure out what my addiction was...Is the chocolate in the cookies or the cookies am I addicted to? Yeah, this is the big question of my life!!! Pretty entertaining for me:) Really, I don't care about the same cookies with raisins. At the same time, I also don't care about a chocolate bar, (except for our Green Goddess, that is another story and a secret recipe).

So, I made an experiment. I made raw chocolate chip cookie dough drops. With amazing cashew flour, oat flour, same real chocolate chips...Sadly, I could care less for these goodness. They taste amazing, they are pretty much the same exact same thing but I want the cookieeeeee! I think it is also the texture, the cookie is super big and crunchy, well toasted with the oats and flax. The drops are dense, and gooey. I love the crunch and it is lighter. Gooey cashew is super healthy but still, heavy and fatty. I want to try this same thing with almonds now:)

So, I guess am addicted to the crunch and the chocolate chips. I love the freedom that i can enjoy what I love. I love that I love cookies. I love that I make the best cookies in the world and there is not one single thing that I'd much rather have than my own cookies, if baked right. Trust me, to get this recipe right, we have done maybe 25 versions and my amazing friend and super foodie friend Jeff, has been there with me all the way, until they were just right. Thank you!!! We tried it all...From different brand of oats, to different grinding times of those oats, different sugars: agave, dark brown, raw sugar, fruit sugar, then the oils, coconut, cacao, soy, corn, baking times, 15 minutes baking, 20 minutes baking one side and flipping back an other 20 minutes, cooling them in the racks, cooling in the oven, baking temperatures then the storage, wrapping them in plastic bags, freezing or not. And if you have time you can figure out the combinations of all these variables. But it is all done. There is nothing we can add or take because they are just perfect. And here is the base recipe, of course we have our own changes but I am not sharing trade secrets;) Have fun!




Ylang ylang lemonade

Ylang ylang is my favorite scent and second favorite flower after flor blanca. The smell is sooo beautiful, sensual and totally uplifting. Our gardener Randal brought a huge bag of this wonderful flower to the cafe and we put them in water for decoration. At the end of that day, the water smelled incredible. Totally calling us for a taste. I wasn't sure if we could drink this, neither Randal. I was more thinking that we might have an interesting experience or a trip, and we went for a sip:) Oh wow! This is how water tastes in heaven. Amazing. Still, we did not feel too sure about drinking more and rather washed ourselves and poured the rest back to the nature. These moments of dancing with the nature, discovering something new everyday, sharing my joy with others are the gifts of my life. I am so grateful. 

Friday, March 26, 2010

from organico, lunch time...

reporting from organico, it is not high season anymore so I got time to update my blog and share more what is going on here!

Right now, two minutes ago, a group of four walks in, I feel the very masculine energy, two guys and two girls...they walk in happily, saying, "ooo cool place"..and check out the menu...the big, fit guys are ok with the menu, but it is the girls got a little upset that there is no meat!
they want to leave but they want to be polite and ask:

"only vegetarian stuff?"
me: "yeah...the best!"
he feels relieved, "oh, we'll come back for dessert, then. I need that dead animal in me first." Ok, he did not say the second part out loud, but that is what i heard..really...

then the ipod sings..

"i believe they get to you..." some song that I don't know..wow!

yeah....well, i am still judgemental about meateaters and would never date one:)


Drinking it..

Aloe Vera...Fresh! For some reason, my body was craving for it, I just found out that it's great for B-12-that I lack, plus helps with the digestive system...Check it out and have a sip!


Now that we have 4 giant plants, I am blending a piece of aloe with pure lemon juice...and make a shot! You can also add it to a smoothie with flax seeds and lots of greens and a banana! Feels like a massage to my organs. Love it!


Sunday, March 21, 2010

raw food at its best!

http://myownrawchef.com/2010/03/kale-tahini-salad/

amazing!!!

Celebrating Ground Hog Day!

i love blogging. I actually love writing, it is a fun hobby that I've been doing a bit too privately these days. Now, I got some juicy things happening, so I can share with love! Thank you for being patient with me, checking the site, sending emails and being my friend! It makes it so much exciting to write.

As you know, I've decided to sell the cafe. Finally! Yeah! 4 years of countless hours and now I am ready to move on. It is exciting and very much liberating. I feel in bliss, having made a decision, on top, things are also moving quite smoothly and incredibly magical. I don't have a buyer yet, but it is all good and I know the universe will bring the right person, when the time is right. For now, my work days are short, we are open from 11:30 to 4pm, serving lunch and ice-cream with only three employees. It is super fun, quick and soooo much easier than the 7 am-11pm shifts and managing 10 employees. What a relief. 

Plus, I get to interact with super cool customers, meet interesting people, chit chat and be more social than the usual...goodbye to the crazy mad woman, who would run to the supermarket 10 times a day and be bitter about it everyday:) I am learning, slowly!

So, it gets pretty interesting..like last week for example, had a great a-ha moment during one of these chats with a quite charming guy from the states. After the classic, how did you get here, my previous life, montezuma history, foreigner community in montezuma, he asked why would i want to sell this "great" business. I said, I really got tired of working. Plus living in a tourist town, where I have the same exact conversation everyday,"like this one we're having" gets pretty boring. He said, wow, it sounds like the "ground hog day!" Amazing. I hope you've seen the movie, if not see it, its great. 

Next day after we had this conversation, on my way to work, it totally hit me, the Ground Hog Day, the boat to Tortuga is on the beach, with many people waiting, I say hi to the local guide, the same guide, Pura Vida to the fisherman, say hi to other few people, trying to hide myself from rest of the locals and go in the back route behind the beach and head to the cafe...Opening up, and the first "buenas dias"....it gets to me even more now:)

Honestly, I feel like out of touch with real interactions, the basics, family and friends. I am living the same things, everyday, trying to add spice and flavor to it, by changing the recipes, but what I crave is being surrounded by real people, more than just super cool, deep conversations with wanderers around the world, who hang out a few weeks, or in the best case a few months. Roots...maybe..but then, would it feel boring? ok, enough therapy for today!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

decisions!

wow! i am ready! i put the cafe for sale! It is for real this time. I have had such a beautiful, not always pretty, but beautiful experience in Montezuma, I am now proud to say, I am ready to move on! It is exciting, very very exciting. I wonder who will buy my Organico, my baby...I hope she or he will be vegan, into nutrition, feeding people with love. And they keep the place as is, especially the ice-cream! It is a bitter sweet story. After being here for 4 years, i have decided that I want to be close to my family and friends. At least for a while. Sure, I made friends here as well, that I will miss very much, but it is not the same thing. Plus the transient tourist town is getting to me these days. I hate that people come and go and try to sneak into my life and get entertained and then good-bye, sometimes there is even no good-bye. It hurts me a lot, I take things personal a lot, then i isolate myself and cry a lot and then be depressed and try to feed people with pure love, not really..it is hard. I became an emotional drama queen of the town with a story everyday. It does not end. This is probably true for anyone, anywhere in the world but I feel burned, overwhelmed, drained. I can't. I don't want to. I don't want this job anymore. And it feels sooooo good. So, stay tuned for updates. In the ice-cream corner, the flavor of the month is Vanilla Bean with Cardamom! It is incredible!