Kidnapping Rawdorable (or, ShannonMarie springs loose with Spirited Bliss)

So, once more I made the trek out to Spirit Bliss Farm to see Jeff and Helen, pick up my order from Natural Zing, meet up with twitter friends @aromantic, @blaqberry, and her hubs, Alien Implant. I brought my friend ShannonMarie, a little rawdorable girl from my neck of the woods. She's a busy wife and mama and can't usually get away on a Saturday. A very special thanks to her hubs for giving up one of their special "SaturDate Evenings" so we could stay and play.

We had our cameras out and ready to collect the digital memories. Once more, I forgot to wear black, haha. We ate, and ate, and ate some more! Jeff gave us some wonderful goodies to sample and take home with us(thanks Jeff!)

I know! I know! There were more raw dishes besides pies, ice cream, and brownies... I took pics of them, too. Although they each tasted really good, they each just photographed like typical green salads.

We found fresh fruit dishes every where! Different flavored kale chips, and even a peach cobbler with a secret ingredient! mmm. Shannon brought fresh peaches, Blaqberry brought freshly made almond milk and apple cinnamon crackers. I made a Maple Dragonfruit Pie. I was amazed that it lasted the hot car ride. I've posted the recipe at the bottom.

I went outside, admired the ginormous rainbarrel, reminding me of a childhood song(Seriously, I have no idea who these people are). As we explored, we found yellow tomatoes, a few different apple trees, and several kinds of pear trees. Peppers, okra(really pretty, but I still can't get past the slime), miles of cucumber plants, and the healthiest kale I've ever seen!

We were all smiling and enjoying each other's healthy company. 

We definitely had the glow going on.

We spent a great deal of time investigating 

the herbs, veggies, and fruits going on there.

Blaq Berry found a ball and was kicking it around with her hubs. 

We discovered strange bugs, long shadows, and swingsets.

Our raw food meet-up wouldn't be complete without the Raw-Fu pose. I really need to come up with a more flattering stance. 

After dark we asked Jeff about the sounds we heard coming from his back yard. It sounded like a yapping coyote. His guess was maybe a fox? We ventured out into the dark, listening to sounds while spotting bats flitting about overhead. Eeek! As he lead us further and further from the house, we nervously joked about how creepy it was getting and we wondered if he had a dark side we didn't know about... cue the ominous music-Dun, dun, dun...

Before we said our goodbyes(hours later), Jeff took us out on one more wild walk into the darkness. Since he brought us back safely once before, we trusted him again. He said that there were blackberries all over the edge of the woods. None of us had flashlights so we took pictures, then examined the tiny LCD screen to see if we could find an occasional berry in the shot! Good thing there was a big bowlful of already picked berries in the kitchen. Yum!

Mrs. RawbinSan's Maple Dragon Fruit Pie:

Filling whipped up in high powered blender:

1 pkg dragon fruit

3 young thai coconuts (meat only) 

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 vanilla bean

1/2 tsp sea salt

Crust mixed up in food processor (two options make for different flavors)

Option one- 

1/2 cup almonds(ground to powder)

1/2 cup pecans(ground to powder)

1/2 cup dates (soaked briefly)

2 TB cocoa(or raw cacao) powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

Option two-

1/2 cup dates (soaked briefly) 

1/2 cup almond pulp(leftover from almond milk)

1/2 cup dried shredded coconut

1/4 tsp sea salt

Tweet Meet Down by the Bay

Dea came down the first weekend of August to stay with us and spread out a little. She was renting a tiny apartment in D.C. but wanted to show her Italian family some of beauty of the area. I picked them up at the train station and was able to show them farmland. We picked up produce from my local CSA(community supported agriculture) and then went to a local watermen's restaurant. 

The next day we went to my mom and dad's house for an afternoon of chatting,

swimming, kayaking, and sailing.

The tiny specks out on the water are of us 

and our children paddling or sailing little boats.

Dealivinglotus finally gets to meet Blaq Berry.

My hubs is talking with Alien Implant while Enrico takes pictures of the Chesapeake Bay off in the distance. We had raw treats and sweets to share.

Before the sun began to set, we went off to my friend's farm for a carriage ride. My lifelong friend and best buddy, Susie is always looking for an excuse to hook up the Frank-The-Horse for a little schooling. She loaded up my twitter friends and headed on down the road.

A view from the carriage. Waaay Coool!

Dea is "bonding" with Jane. Keep your fingers away from the teeth!

The long driveway. 

The water in the background leads out to my parent's place around the corner.

Frank poses for a picture before we all say our goodbyes.

The last day was a trip to monuments in D.C. I was chauffeur with Dea as my navigator. I'd drop them off at a monument, circle the block or rest in the shade somewhere. Then they'd hop back in the car for another short trip. It seemed to work out perfectly. The bell tower chimed just as we were standing under it. The American flag billowed out just as we were photographing it. My car stopped right under a rainbow to let them out at the cool new National Harbor... My car wouldn't start again. It was stuck in park, in the middle of a busy street, ontop of a crosswalk. I stopped a passerby and as other drivers honked at the car in their way, I had my photo taken, smiling under a rainbow. What else could I do but laugh about it(I did have a little cry about it, too!) The family from Italy had to take a cab back to their apartment and I got a ride home in a towtruck. Well, almost perfect!

From halfway around the world!

In the beginning of August, Dealivinglotus came from Italy to D.C. and met with Rawdorable, Aromantic, DJ, and me at Java Green Cafe for lunch. Really, the most entertaining details of our meetup was written by Shannon. For a great description of our day, go here!

Dea, Nic, DJ, Shannon, and Rawbin. 

Dea walked from her apartment. Shannon and I drove together. I had invited Aromantic to meet us there and as she had some Natural Zing business with DJ, we all gathered at one table. As we dined on the zesty raw food dishes, we also got to sample new and different raw foods available from Natural Zing.

 

Nic reminded me of Mary Poppins as she pulled out one item after another from her magic box. My favorite was the gone nuts Maple Mesquite Walnuts. OMG! they are super fantastic totally delish!
After we finished our food, sampled everything on the table, chatted for hours and hogged DJ's time so long that even his mother stopped by to say goodbye, we finally left the scene, still chattering away! We took Dea to a local Whole Foods where she stocked her temporary home with wholesome goodness for the rest of her trip.

Where do you get YOUR protein?

So often on this raw food lifestyle I get the same question, "Where do you get your protein?" These same people have coffee and donuts for breakfast(1g protein) Some eat fries and a burger(18g protein) for lunch. I always want to ask them, where do you get your greens? I'm not against others eating meat, or cooked food, it's just not for me anymore. I only wish that the people I care about would get more nutrition from the food they eat. 

Did you know that in Canada, August 15, is green smoothie day? 

For those who ask me what I put in my green shake, here's my very first instructional video, set to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs. RawbinSan. Oh, and I know, not all green smoothies are created equal, so before you comment on the 18 grams of protein in a green smoothie, I'll should explain that I put the exact measurements for this green smoothie into nutritiondata.com and came out with 18 grams.

To see the video CLICK HERE!