carrot cake + in the raw

It's snowing!


Yes it's finally raining here in southern California. I woke up this morning to dewy dampness in the air that my skin has been favoring lately. Funny, I am such a creature of habit yet always striving for the balance of things out of the ordinary. Rain was a common theme while living in Florida and it's been surely missed.

This year has been an incredible journey for me and my family. I have been trying to keep the glue in tack and the foundation down yet encourage fluidity so we can all eventually *sing*. Perhaps that doesn't make any sense for some, but for me it's important to reach beyond my comfort level. I am such a creature of independence and yet I need to root myself in order to gain momentum.

My kids surprise me as well. After years of trying to get them in organized sports and programs (soccer, basketball, team gymnastics, cub scouts, etc.) they had to tell me, "Hey mom I like taking surf lessons really.......Mom, I like tumbling, but I really don't want to be on team gymnastics.......Mom, I like yoga.......Mom, I like guitar lessons.......Mom, I don't want to wear this uniform."

So obvious that these must be my children. I just assumed because I grew up among hippie teachers in San Francisco during the 70's + springing off my love for visual arts, performance art + urban farms in city alcoves that my kids would prefer more organization + team efforts. But they had to tell me where they really felt at peace in their growth.

How sublime.

How obvious sometimes.

Don't get me wrong as team efforts + working with community is what makes people as a whole grow. It just caught me off guard that my own children exactly mirrored what I strive for, so soon.......independence, freedom, fluidity + the creative life.


This garnered taste memories of my mother's pineapple carrot cake she used to make when I was growing up.....


I've been buried knee deep lately.

Emotions have been running high.

It's been a year of transitions and really, lots of surrender.

The more I surrender; the more I find myself at a place I wasn't expecting.

Yet what's been enlightening about the fruits of surrender aside from the element of surprise is also intrigue.

Through my love of fresh foods, ingredients + even raw foods + recipes, this has lovingly lead me down the road of healing on many levels. This brought me to a place of uncovering the healing properties of food and now the healing properties of herbs.

Oh yes, herbs.

There's a whole population of them that have called me forth lately. I have used their healing energy to get us through the move, the transition + even through school flu season.

They also shined through and eased my children through those Indian Summer days when it's HOT COLD HOT COLD + omygosh I'm gonna be sick days......


Appreciating simplicity and thank goodness a shot in the dehydrator was not necessary! 'Tis the real raw deal inspired by Ani Phyo's recipes and my own *thensome* thrown in. The *cake* is made from carrot pulp (from being juiced), sunflower seeds + almonds whirred in the food processor, lots of spices like grated nutmeg and cinnamon, fresh crushed pineapple.........I made the frosting with raw cashews alongside a sultry spin of medjool dates bursting in their own sugar.


This journey of transition this year something else kept knocking on my door.

It all makes sense as I am balancing my love for family life, good whole fresh foods, the vibrant life and now my obsession with the healing properties of herbs......something else came my way. You know I love *light*, I love the sun. I love the beach. I love energy. I love good vibes.

It was so obvious and then I finally responded.

This is after *years* of it crossing my path......calling my name.

You know how sometimes we don't listen to that voice nudging at us?

I am still inquiring. Still a bit skeptical. But totally open.

I just recieved my first Reiki 1 attunement.

Yes, Reiki.

More on all of this later.

Thank you for your patience.

Thank you for checking in on me.

You guys are swell :-)

So this is what I have been up to.

Laying down a new foundation on the other coast. Still cooking, creating, writing, studying, sunning, hiking + loving yoga.

Yes, my hands have been full, yet open to receive........

falling into place

Chinese Dates or Jujubes (isn't that a fun name? makes me want to break out in dance + laughter!) have been a sweet find of mine lately. We discovered we had a Chinese date tree in our backyard when we moved in and my mom was ranting about how delicious they were. Well we didn't have a full harvest of them this season but after a few bites I was tempted enough to buy a bundle at the Korean grocery store. They are similar in texture and taste to an apple without the abrupt tang. What stands out the most is their sweetness + fragrant afterglow that seems to linger after each bite.


It's been an incredible change having practically no rain during the summer months which leaves me more than ample time to play outside.......

The air is temperate and dry during the day.

Sometimes in the morning the fog rolls in the valley and stays long enough to ease me into the day.


I read somewhere their fragrance makes you want to fall in love.......


I am all about the rush.

Thank you for reminding me how sweet life is.


Lately I've been trying to just get all my *stuff* in a row........


Yet I am constantly loving living in the moment.

There's a joy in having the perpetual rhythm then often times I have to break it's silence and look above the expected horizon.


I've also been trying to get more focused on my passions.......I'm always in development. Perhaps a perpetual art project......


Whenever I curate an art exhibit, one of the most mesmerizing parts of the process is the installation of the art. That's when I get to experience the transformation of the work itself and how it effects the space + architecture. The best part of it is the effect it has on the crew you are working with to install the works itself. It's amazing; absolutely amazing to see the change in their demeanor when you catch them experience the installation process. During the installation they are caught off guard and find themselves immersed into the experience of the art as well.

That is what makes art so profound and meaningful or in this case, anything that beckons to what you are innately passionate about. Sometimes you don't know, unless somehow you've been lucky enough to slip into that other dimension and you find your soul swimming in big round fuzzy circles.


It's been hard to resist all the fun going on around me. There's so little time and I want my cup to be full, like always.......


So things are finally falling into place. It's been such an appropriate season for that too. I'm looking forward to sharing the fun of the new seasons with you.....

Happy Autumn!

at the beach. misty clouds. tangerine sun.

Wordless Wednesday.


abrupt thoughts.


mist.


water.


light.












just peeking in ;-)

comfort me with apples

baby asian pears. sprigs of baby roses. thinking out loud by the kitchen window.


It's been Total. Drama. Island.

Really the first words that come to mind!

I've been truly manifesting otherwise but it's like the flood gates opened when I decided unleash those sails.

Thinking about you guys.........hope summer has been swell + full of sights that make you just plain smile.

We were surprised to find our first harvest of asian pears + blossoms of baby roses greet us this past summer. So with that I often think of their sweet fragrance that makes my many senses smile.

I hope you're still there ~ as I miss writing, sharing + sprinkling my thoughts on here. I truly look forward to posting more and look forward to that dialogue again. Thank you for coming around + sending light + love to you.

Be back very soon my dears......

peeling back to light: cantelope smoothie with hints of lychees and the green stuff

cantaloupe has been a morning ritual lately........


Can't find my lights, my white boards, filters, back splash.....nothing. I had them specifically and specially packed to be easily retrieved and they are nowhere to be found at the moment.

I did find my camera.

Where the heck is that eyelash curler now........


so just to let you know the taste memory of litchis/lychees ring a familiar tone to me......they're not as odd tasting as they appear really......there is a familiar sweetness to them and almost wine~like fragrant quality that lingers.......


Biting into lychees reminds of something familiar but perhaps not.


with a slight of a paring knife or even a finely manicured fingernail is just enough to peel back the layers......

What I do is to simplify, everyday.

I took these photos without my special lights, my handmade filters and such that give it the *glow*

In between the uneven clouds passing and tagging around the sun, I was able to capture vibrant beginnings of my ritual morning smoothie.


I recently bought a bundle of fresh lychees. Don't be dismayed by their extraterrestrial type rind. Once you get past their tough exterior, you will find the sweetest flesh to the bite. Interestingly enough, each fruit has a different finish. Kinda like wine or biting into chocolate truffles. They are sweet, soft, slightly sour for some, even briny and has a slight lingering aged like finish that reminds me of strawberry wine. They remind me of things that have been waiting, hidden.....perhaps forbidden. Lychees......the forbidden fruit.




Actually my usual smoothie blend is quite simple: cantelope + chunks of cucumbers with skin and all plus a good douse of electrolyte water.

Ladies.....this has been a perfect blend to hydrate your cells thus your skin.


morning light smoothie: fresh cantaloupe, cucumbers, romaine lettuce + lychees

To simplify, to blend, to glow.......

june gloom: walking through fog

I like things in a orderly disarray........I think


This blog is still alive.

I am here.

Seriously.

Rather than bore you with the 450 boxes I am dealing with (I took a rough count to amuse myself in between breaks), I just wanted to say hi and that I am still planning on blogging about taste memories, life, food + just plain being.

There are fruit trees at this new place; amidst dandelions as tall as my kids with minuscule thorns throughout.

I had a dream last night I was flying in between walls and windows made of wooden crates. I felt boxed-in but then I imagined a big picture window that open to a vast blue sky.

The sky opened up in my dream and I was finally in full sail in its expansiveness.

I will post soon.

I am very sorry I have been delayed.

My kids started their third school in one year.

I know, excuses......I have decided to post about our transitons as well as my continued love of fresh + savory foods.

I am trying to help lead a helm with assurance that it's okay to live like gypsies as we have.

Bare feet and all.

Just walking through and feeling the breeze.......

bright side to double delight

.....a bloom from my fire and ice rose bush last spring.....these *double delight* roses I passed on to my dear friend and neighbor prior the move. It makes me smile to know she can tend to its beauty now.....


Happy Mother's Day!

I was at my mother's house the other day to bring her a pot of homemade soup. She had been feeling out of sorts so I made a vegetable soup with chunky amounts of carrots, yellow + green zucchini, celery and roughly chopped cabbage leaves among other niceties......

Then she made her favorite dumplings which I dotted with freshly minced parsley, sea salt + garlic powder. She showed the girls how to knead + form the dumplings before they were gently simmered in a ginger, onion, garlic + rose infused broth.

I ladled the soup into the very bowls we used for soup when I was little. She used to make me soup when I was sick too.

My mother recently told me she missed her mother's cooking. She told me grandma used to be an excellent cook and she shared with me some of her taste memories from growing up in Korea. Family recipes are often not written.....especially back in the days of my mother's childhood. It made me think about the foods my mother made for us growing up as well as today. It also made me think about passing on the love of nurturing, feeding + healing to my own children, to my family + friends.

Right now I feel like I am in a holding pattern until the next flight. As an old friend and writing mentor shared with me about motherhood: ".....it's about the picking up and putting down in our lives.....we strive for the male counterpart where we cherish to have the long sustained amount of time to complete a project.....as mothers we pick up and put down.....just as the simplicity and moment of sweeping the walk.....take in the moment for what it is."

So as I miss tending to my roses, I am also happy to know that my dear friend has been able to enjoy their blooms. I love the *double delight* roses that have outer petals of pink and red. They were my wedding flowers that I had in my bouquet and in my hair. It was the hottest day of the year, my wedding day.

The double delight blooms in my hair lasted from the early morning photos shoot until we tied the knot at church with a kiss. By the time we drove up to the reception at the wooded retreat center in the hills......they looked like wilted rag muffins.

Back then I didn't have the multi-tasking mode as polished as I do now (or so I think!). I think motherhood does that to you. For the seasoned ladies I know that have not chosen the path of motherhood ~ I have been quite taken with the wisdom that has broadened their horizons as women. It's funny that when one door opens, another opens in unexpected places as well.

Wishing you a day of double delights......