This past week I had the joy of visiting my sister and new nephew, Michael, who is appropriately named after my wonderful father. It was a blissful week of diaper changing, shooshing, burping, rocking, singing and doting on this new precious angel. Though the days were extremely busy with little "down" time I found myself in awe at the beautiful task of motherhood. My sister, selfess and caring as she is, was a sight to behold. Runing on little sleep she amazed me with her stamina, patience, grace and such unconditional love for both Michael and her sweet two year old Charlotte. As I watched her nursing and caring whole heartedly for her children I coudn't help to think how lazy my life seemed back in Seattle. I silently realized how much I take my time for granted, how much I take the luxury of working from home for granted, and how much time I spend on myself. 

Whether or not you are a parent, aunt, uncle, sister or brother, husband or wife we all know what it is like to care for others, but do we fully grasp the call we have on our lives to put others before us, to serve and love despite the lack of sleep, free time or strength we may have? I was deeply challenged by this very quesiton. 

I am not saying taking time for yourself is wrong, but I challenge you and myself to evaluate how we spend our days. I have to ask myself: am I cutting corners cleaning the house, am I throwing together a lowsy meal for my husband because I would rather waste time on the computer, am I helping my friends, am I reaching out to my community? All these questions swirled through my head as I watched my sister pour everything she had into those two little ones, and at the end of day she gave what little she had left to her husband. Sure, she struggled and felt spent at times but what a hard day's work she had, what a ministry she lead, what an inspiration she is!

Although we don't have children (yet:) I really want to put in a hard days work, whatever that looks like. I want to be productive and put all I have into everything I do. I want to invest in others and share my free time. And my prayer is that when the time does come and God blesses us with children I will remember everything my sister taught me, not just how to properly swaddle a baby, but how to be selfess, humble and giving...even when the days are long and I feel I can't give any more of myself. 

Haley, you are my inspiration and I can't thank you enough for giving me so much to look forward to!

I would like to start this post off by saying that the Seattle summer has officially started! The sun is out, not a cloud in the sky and we are lookin at 89F for the high today...wooo doggy that's hot! Time to get the fans out (no one in Seattle has air conditioning). The 4th was a rather gloomy day as Seattle squirted out one last bad rain storm but we hunkered down at home, played board games and listened while our neighbors serenaded us with a thousand bottle rockets.

Since summer is here that means one thing, less time in the kitchen and more time outside. Our garden needs tending and my lilly white skin needs some sun. So these days I am looking for no fuss recipes that are easy to prepare so Im not wasting any time slaving away in the kitchen. 

As I've mentioned before we are huge fruit leather fans and with our new dehydrator we find making these natural snacks to be a cinch (of course you can use an oven if you don't have a dehydrator). This particular combination of flavors is my favorite. Raspberries are in peak season right now and they taste like candy! The vanilla bean adds such a unique twist, kind of earthy. Together they make a delicious treat, perfect to grab on the way out to the garden or down to the beach.

It would only be fair to make some extra for friends and family :) I lined this old vintage box with wax paper, slipped some leathers inside, and garnished with baker's twine....a fun and inexpensive gift!

Now, I hate to change the subject after talking about something so tasty but on to business! THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the givaway! I LOVED reading all of your favorite summer memories and I really appreciate you taking the time to share them with me. I wish I could design a banner for ALL of you but I just don't have the time:) I will definitely have another giveaway in the near future so stay tuned.

Alrighty, I put every single one of your names in a hat and drew....drum roll please.....

Missy!!! You are the winner! Send me an email at roostblog at me dot com and we will get started on your custom blog banner! Congratulations :) This giveaway was super fun so I will definitely have another one!

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Oh Summer how I love thee! We have just started receiving our produce from our CSA and not only are we thrilled to be supporting a local, organic farm we are just tickled pink to have such beautiful, chemical free produce that was picked the day before. Dark leafy greens, fragrant herbs, summer squash and my personal favorite zucchini. Zucchini has become a new staple in our home and this particular dish I make about once a week.

Using an inexpensive spiral slicer I turn a plain 'ol zucchini into pasta like curls and lightly drizzle the slightly sweet tomato basil sauce on top and voila! A lovely and light summer dish straight from the farm to our table.

If you are not involved with a local farm, CSA, or other share program I highly encourage you to look into it. Not only are you supporting your community, you are providing healthy foods for your family that didnt travel thousands of miles to get to your home. Local, organic agriculture is not just a trend it is a movement, one that is spreading like wild fire out here on the west coast. If you arent sure how to get involved check out Local Harvest to find farms and CSA's near you!

PS. Fellow bloggers, don't forget about my giveaway for a FREE CUSTOM BLOG BANNER ends Sunday at 11pm!!!

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A few cool and rather unwanted days have snuck back into the area causing an uproar amongst flip flop and short wearing enthusiasts, myself included. Junes here are always unpredictable, and one must be prepared for light drizzles and cool breezes even though everyone else is working on their tan while sipping iced tea. To battle these uncertain elements I always turn to a warm, comforting meal and of course a good book to remind me summer is truly near.

 Despite not eating any grains or starches we are fortunate enough to have a wonderful and healthy alternative, almond meal. A small bag of finely ground, blanched almonds can make a whole slew of delectable treats inluding pies, tarts, cakes, breads, and crackers. These days we are trying to incorporate more raw foods in our diet but there are some days, as formerly mentioned above, where a cooked meal is a necessity. 

Even if you do not have any diet restrictions I encourage you to give almond flour/meal a try. It is extremely low in carbs, high in protein and this particular crust requires no butter, lard or eggs yet it is just as moist and crumbly as a regular tart crust.  

This dish is as easy as it is comforting. No chilling the crust required. You just mix the ingredients together, press the dough into a the pan and bake. 

For those of you still plagued with these cruel, chilly days this recipe should be at the top of your list. And for everyone else, this would be perfect for a light picnic on the beach.....send me a postcard:)

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Summer is finally in full swing here in Seattle and I could not be more thrilled. I love the rain so Seattle winters do not bother me, however, come June I am always ready for the sun. Growing up in the south June was always a hot month full of beach trips, swimming pools, cool watermelon and young Chilton County peaches.  Luckily I no longer have to endure the high temperatures and horrid humidity (sorry mom!) , but  I am so very thankful for the fond memories of my youth and the magical Junes of the past. 

Another reason I love June is because the freshest, juiciest, most beautiful produce starts poppin' up in our markets. Ripe strawberries, fragrant citrus, and sweet apricots were the first summer fruits to adorn our fridge. I love eating apricots plain but when deciding which flavor fruit leather to make I found these golden gems to be the perfect fit. 

If you've seen some of my recipes from the past you can tell I have a crush on lavender. If I can somehow sneak it into a recipe, I will. So bear with me because I just bought a new stash of this magical fragrant herb :) Of course you can omit the lavender, heaven forbid, if you wish to do so. But I encourage you to try it. At first bite of the leather you get a zing of lavender but as you chew it fades into a soft ball of sweetness and you are overwhelmed with apricot. Delish!

 Since we are not eating sugar(aside from honey) we are limited on what sweet "snacks" and "treats" we can have so these fruit leathers are just perfect for when we have a craving. You can use any kind of fruit combonation you like. Raspberries, bananas, mangos and apples all work well in a leather. There are also several ways to make leather, the most common is made in a dehydrator which is the method I prefer but you could also use an oven on a low temperature.

When you make a batch of fruit leather you will have more than enough so put some in a pretty package and give a neighbor, friend, or coworker a healthy and sweet snack!

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Thank you everyone for all of the sweet birthday wishes! It was a splendid birthday indeed and I feel so loved and blessed. So far 25 is great!

Since we are not eating any grains I've had to brainstorm ideas for homemade granola since I cannot make my traditional recipes which call for oats and maple syrup. Lately I've been delving into the world of raw/live foods, which in a nut shell means foods that are not cooked or altered in any way that would break down the digestive enzymes and important minerals and nutrients. 

I've been reading and doing a lot of research about what happens to certain foods once they are cooked and the benefits of eating raw fruits and veggetables. When you cook a vegetable the natural enzymes that aid in breaking down the sugars and starches are zapped by the high heat resulting in a "dead" vegetable....thus the reason for referring to  "raw" foods as "living" foods. Now Im not saying that cooked vegetables have absolutely no nutrients but it is certain that they are drastically deminished and the final cooked product may be harder to digest without those important enzymes.

Where are you going with this Coco?....well the reason I call this recipe "rawnola" is because it is just that...raw. Rather than cooking the granola in the oven I dehydrate it in a dehydrator at a very low heat for several hours, resulting in a crunchy "this tastes like it was baked" rawnola. Of course if you do not have a dehydrator you can easily make this in your oven set on the lowest temperature.

One more thing I would like to address are the nuts. Nuts are high in protein, potassium, calcium, magnisium, and healthy polyunsaturated fats. However, nuts also contain enzyme inhibitors on the outer skin. The inhibitors are useful to seeds and nuts because they keep them from sprouting prematurly; however this is not good for us because it makes the nuts and seeds harder for us to digest. Neutralizing these inhibitors will awaken a whole slew of healthy enzymes that are nurishing for our bodies.

So how do we break down these inhibitors? Soaking. Soaking, sprouting and fermenting has been around for thousands of years so this method is not the latest fad or trend. By simply soaking your nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains for several hours in warm, filtered water will allow the final product to be brought to its fullest potential. Our bodies can then naturally digest and use the minerals and vitamins that would otherwise have been insoluble. 

This delicious rawnola is naturally sweetened with raw dates and honey and the hint of the fresh vanilla gives a unique flavor with each mouthful. I love to snack on this when I have a "sweet craving" or just needs somethin' crunchy.

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