The Nutcracker

I am so excited. My little boy auditioned for the Rocky Mountain Repertory Ballet to participate in Nutcracker and made it to be a mouse and an understudy for a party boy! Considering that he was the smallest there ( he is not 5 yet, and the youngest after him was almost 6) and I've done nothing to prepare him ( on purpose, I wanted to see how much he would be able to do just by himself) I am more then happy!
There was a funny situation during the audition though. Parents are not allowed. But I managed to pick in anyway, and saw Justin
jumping and growling. My immediate reaction was : "NOT NOW!" thinking that he is messing around. So , I stuck my hand under the curtain, whispered his name and let him know that he'll be in for a time out if he does not stop. So. The time came for the little ones to show the their parts to the auditioners. And there we go : Justin does everything beautifully and then at the end everyone HAS TO GROWL! It was a part of choreography, and my little boy just stands there with his arm down by the seams. :) They ran it 2 or 3 times and every time he just put his arms down and smiled Finally the director said "justin, show us how scary you can be", on which he very politely replied. "Nooo.. My mommy told me not to do that!" . I almost died. Everyone else too - from laughing. He made the part even though "mommy told him not to". :)

Smoothie of the day

We did it just to taste, but here is some measurements to help

4-5 Soaked Figs

1 Plum

3 small peaches

1 small apple

1 kiwi

2 very ripe bananas

1 cup of water

about 8 oz frozen blackberries

honey/agave to taste.

Blend everything. We loved it so did kids. NOTE: take off kids clothes , or you are in for some good laundry. :)

Cheese

We LOVE cheese. And we are constantly in search for good recipes. This one is not ours, but I'm just copying it in, because we want to try it .

I can't believe it's not cheese...
Makes 1.5 cups
Seriously good cheese, I promise :) Great on pizza.
Nutritional yeast is not technically raw but many raw foodists choose to use it. I’m sure this would still be good without it.
Best at room temperature or warmed in a dehydrator.
Ingredients
½ cup pignoli ( pine nuts - any other nut will do)
¼ cup hemp seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
1 clove garlic
¼ onion
1 lemon, juiced
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons hemp oil
1 sun-dried tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 small red pepper, chopped
Preparation
Whiz all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Use as a cheesy spread or dip or spread thinly on a teflex sheet and dehydrate into slices.

Candy that's good for you!!!

For the nougat
1/4 cup agave

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup cashews

For the dark chocolate
1 cup raw cocoa butter

1 cup raw cocoa powder

1/4 cup agave

1 tsp vanilla

Equipment needs
Dehydrator

Food processor

Chocolate truffle molds

The How-To-Do-It

Start by putting your raw cocoa butter into the dehydrator. It melts at 90 degrees, so setting to 100 degrees will get you there quicker.

Next, process the cashews and pecans together in the food processor until you have a fine meal. Continue to process while adding in the agave and next thing you know, you have a ball of heavenly nougat. Pinch off small pieces of nougat and form into tiny balls to become the center of your truffles. Put these into the freezer to firm up and chill out.

Now that your raw cocoa butter is melted, slowly stir all of the chocolate ingredients together by hand.

Next, fill your chocolate truffle molds about one-third. Place into the freezer to firmly set. Now place your frozen nougat balls into the center of each mold. Slowly pour the chocolate into the molds so that you surround the nougat and top off each mold. Be sure to tap your mold gently to release any air bubbles that might have formed. Place the molds back into the freezer to set.

After about 10 minutes, the truffles should have pulled away from the sides of the molds. If your molds are clear, the tops of the truffles will appear hazy. Turn the molds over and give them a shake and a twist to knock the chocolates out. I suggest doing this over a towel, so the truffles have a soft place to land.

Notes

The truffle molds can be found at any craft mega-store for about $1.99 each; they are plastic and have about 12 pieces per mold. Be careful! Raw chocolate is known to get you high and keep you up all night!

Yield

About 3 dozen truffles, depending on your molds.

Variation:
Caramel Sauce

1 cup dates

1/4 cup maple syrup*

juice of one half lemon

1 tablespoon coconut oil

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup water

1 Soak dates in the water and lemon juice for an hour. Reserve soaking water.

2 Process soaked dates, coconut oil and sea salt in a blender.

Using soaking water one tablespoon at time, blend until you achieve a thick creamy mixture.