raw vegan alfredo (with noni)

there's a noni tree right outside which is dropping its fruit all over the driveway.  if you know noni fruit, you know that it's aroma is, well, less than pleasant.  it's just downright funky.  then again, noni is supposed to be so good for you (high in fiber, protein and macronutrients: vitamins A, B3, C, iron, potassium and calcium, etc) ... don't you just hate it when it works out that way? 

anyhow, i was trying to think of a great way to ingest all the noni goodness while masking the nastiness, and jason, my friend and housemate, mentioned that he'd had it in an alfredo sauce at a raw food cafe.  wow!  what a great idea!  noni does have that cheese-like funk after all..  perfect for alfredo!

so i found this recipe on Vegan Yum Yum and used noni pulp in place of the nutritional yeast:

Hurry Up Alfredo
Makes 2-3 Servings
1 Cup Soymilk
1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast* (i used noni pulp instead)
3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked is awesome)
1 Pinch Nutmeg
2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
Black pepper, to taste

Just throw it all in the blender or food processor and blend until smooth (the longer you blend the smoother it will be).

I served it over penne pasta and dressed it up w/ some spicy vegan sausage, fresh basil and cracked black pepper.  It was quite delicious, if i do say so myself.  om nom nom!

i'm back in the bacteria

i finally got my new kombucha brew cranking here in hawaii. yay!

to get it started, i just bought a kombucha beverage from the store, let it sit on the shelf until a little scoby formed on the top (just a few days). then i made a small batch of sweet tea to get it growing in the bigger jar. just a couple weeks in now, and it can't be stopped! i have the first bouncing baby scoby to give away. takers?

kombucha info:
* what is it?
* how to brew your own
* fun with flavors

green goodness

peanut butter banana smoothie w/ spirulina!

(click here to read up on the health benefits)

sexy time in the fish tank

first of all, i never before pondered how fish have sex, or that they even do it at all.  i mean, doesn't the chick lay the eggs and then the dude comes and fertilizes them or something like that?  hmm.... 

well, i found myself shocked and fascinated the other day.  i was having a drink at a bar that had an aquarium built into the wall.  the water was a bit murky and the tank was probably way too small for the 4 or so koi swimming around inside.  anyway, while watching them swim back and forth and back and forth, i couldn't help but notice that one possessed what sure appeared to be a penis (about 1/2" long!).  and as if that weren't awkward enough, another fish (which i presumed to be female) was incessantly chasing him around the tank, sucking on it whenever she got the chance. (!!!!)  i couldn't help but to stare for a while, and i even let the lady sitting next to me in on my little secret (i think she thought i was a weirdo).  

so, this little encounter inspired me to google "fish reproduction" to find out what was really going on in that algae-coated liquid love den.  and i still didn't find a clear answer.  evidently, there are at least three modes of reproduction--heterosexual, hermaphroditic, and parthenogenetic--found in fish (wow).  and i couldn't find mention of a fish penis anywhere.  supposedly, when a female koi is preggers, the male(s) chases her around and tries to slam the eggs out of her.  after that romance is over, they often times feast on the caviar.  

sure, everybody needs the lovin'.  but that's a little bit kinky if you ask me.  ;)     

the farming life for me!

...so here's what i've been up to since my return to the sandwich isles (click the links for more info). 

~this is where i live (there is a house in this picture):

~a lot of my time is spent planting and harvesting this stuff .

















~i'm also surrounded by oodles of heliconia and ginger flowers like these (which we cut to sell to local florists):

















~i'm propagating and planting fruits & veggies, too!

~i wash my hair with this:

~i make yumminess w/ the abundance:

~i'm forever smitten w/ nature: 

~and i rarely go into town in fear of being ostracized for my dirty fingernails (keeping them clean seems impossible these days, true story, hehe):

~plus, i'm in good company.  so far, so good!  :)

permaculture

i recently completed an intensive 2wk permaculture design course in northern thailand. it was an awesome experience; i learned a lot, and i got to study/work with a fabulous group of folks. the course was hosted by the panya project and we also visited a bunch of other really cool farms & projects.  here's a sampling of photos from the trip.  let me know if you'd like some more info on the course &/or these farms.  cheers.

curly, the goat

bamboo hut

adobe hut

collecting shroomies

going to harvest bamboo

my bamboo basket

bamboo dishes/utensils

hearty lunch

teak leaf thatched walls

bicycle washing

amazing banana

save your seed

artistic adobe construction

mushroom farm

homemade cheese

earthen house

hen house

making adobe bricks

kombucha cultivation

composting toilets

laos (just a glimpse)

i was only in laos for about a week, but i'm so glad i made it across the border.  my friend, jason, and i spent 2 days going down the mekong river by slow boat, a coupla days in luang prabang (quite a lovely city) and a coupla days in vang vieng (one helluva tourist town surrounded by the most breathtaking landscape imaginable).  then we were back on the winding roads, through ventianne (the capital city) and then all the way to bangkok.

steps up to a temple

windows of an old temple

view from the temple in luang prabang

gold reclining buddha in l.p.

falls near luang prabang

young monks having fun

vang vieng

you can drink this stuff

passion fruit flower

landscape in vang vieng

a cave-dwelling buddha

temple in vang vieng

 

taro, rice, mountain, sky

longtail boats on the mekong

strolling down the mekong river

dugout canoes