Your pharmacy in the kitchen

Herbs and spices add so much love to the food and our bodies. Check out this article for the details.

http://hlifemedia.com/2010/08/culinary-herbs-natures-pharmacy/

Green Juice for a Sparkling Glow

Green juice is a great way to get some vibrant life energy! I used to drink almost two liters everyday in Montezuma, since I am in San Jose and I don't have juicer, I've been slacking and simply relying on big green salads. The truth is it is never enough, the amount of greens and alkalizing power we get from the greens we eat in a salad. Juicing really supports our intake of vital vitamins and energy. It also shows directly with my mood. Green Juice picks me up! It makes me feel light, energetic and super vibrant. So, today I did a research for a green juice recipe without a juicer and found out that I can just blend all the greens and add a glass of water and enjoy it as is. You can also strain it, but I do want to get the fiber from this delicious drink and it just looks too good to throw away. If I were juice fasting, that is another story.

So, super easy, just blend 2 cucumbers, peel the skin if not organic, handful of spinach, handful of your favorite herbs, i put cilantro, two celery stalks with the greens and a cup of water. Blend it all. Add one lemon juice. Cumin would also work great, ginger of course is so warming and helps to get a warming feeling especially when it is not super hot. It is raining non-stop in San Jose right now.

Here are the five benefits of greens:

1. Chlorophyl
2. Trace minerals (magnesium, iron, calcium)
   
3. Vegetable Protein
4. Enzymes
5. Alkalizing Power
   

Try to add this drink to your daily diet. You can still eat your favorite chocolate, pasta or smoothie. It is just a support to your body to show how much you love yourself and care about yourself. Watch the magic, see your skin glow, your eyes sparkle and your heart melt! Just with a glass of juice a day!

Banana-Maple Oatmeal Cookies

Happy Mother's Day!

It is Mother's Day in Costa Rica. Just a joy to celebrate mother's day
twice in a year. My mom loves raisins and cookies, so I am baking for
her these cookies with double raisins, and veganizing it for me, and
making it gluten-free for my sister. So everyone is happy! (My dad
would eat anything, he is so sweet when it comes to food.) I wish one
day I can make everyone happy, just like these warm cookies right out
from the oven, chewy, healthy and full of love.

Banana-Maple Oatmeal Cookies

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons water
Mix well and wait for a few minutes until the mixture thickens.

1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup gluten free wheat flour (I used brown rice flour)
1 tsp xtan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 banana, mashed
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (or canola oil)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375.

Mix the oats, flour, xtan gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and
cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl. Add the raisins.

Add the maple syrup, vanilla, oil, mashed banana, and lemon juice to
the flaxseed mixture and combine well. Pour into the dry mixture and
stir well but don't overmix.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with a silicon
mat or parchment paper. Flatten each cookie slightly with a fork. Bake
for 15-20 minutes or until bottoms and sides are lightly brown.

These cookies are cakey, if you like your cookies crunchy, I'd
recommend to bake them more. Uff, just realized mom doesn't like soft
cookies and dad doesn't like them hard. So, I guess, mom you will bake
these for 20 minutes for dad, and keep baking five more minutes for
you. Whewww...that was an easy, last minute adjustment:)

Inspired from Fat Free Kitchen, but I could not help and make some
major changes:)

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2010/02/banana-maple-oatmeal-cookies.html

I got about 20 cookies, they are going to my yoga class tomorrow.

I need some help...

My beautiful friends,

I have recently taken some time away from the business and trying to
have a relook at what is working and what is not. Most of you have
already made some great comments about pricing, hours and employees
who do not speak any english. Right now I have the time and the energy
to work more and offer more to the community in Montezuma.

It is very important for me to have your support. If it was not your
smiling faces coming to the cafe every time and showing me how much
you appreciate the cafe even if I was not in my best mood, made me
come this far. I am humbled and grateful for your friendship and love.
Please don't be shy about sharing your comments and I'd love to make
Organico even more inviting so we can all get together more, bring
friends and share many more great memories with love and compassion to
each other. It is my practice now not to take things personal and
accept that it is a good time to listen to my friends and hear what
you have to say. I really appreaciate it.

1. What would you like to see changed in Organico, that might make it
more exciting for you to come more often?

New Dishes

More portions

Prices

Employees (english speaking, more friendly)

Music, entertainment

Furniture
Chairs, pillows

Hours
(Now we are open only for lunch, 11 to 5 pm.)

Breakfast ?

Dinner ?

New Beginnings

I moved for to a beautiful house up in the mountains, with a secret
garden that is so magical, you have to come for a visit to experience
it, because I don't have the right words. The green, the air, the
space, the touch, the dew in the mornings, the coy in front of my
house, the flowers in my backyard and of course the city lights at
night, the view...Magical. I am blessed, grateful to my friends who
made this possible for me, to my beautiful cafe, to my employees who
are helping me so much to live the life of my dreams.... I have no
plans, no direction, only yoga and chanting and the desire to find
inspiration to help others, to be with others, to connect with more
people. And it is happening already. I signed up for San Jose Yoga
Festival, that is coming up in September 11th. We will bake cookies,
make green bars, meet yogis and celebrate life.

I am so grateful, it is growing and growing everyday. Life has never
been so fulfilling and delicious.

I am sorry it took so long to update the blog, but now I have so much
to share, I will be back soon!

burst of happiness...

Gabriel is my best friend in town. Not that i have great girl friends
that i feel close as sisters, and cool guy friends including spiritual
masters and juicy flirts, when it comes to having fun and really being
free of the restrictions of the adult world, only Gabriel knows and
understands me. I am in love with him so much, I am in happy tears.
Plus, he is the best help ever, my chocolate lover. He is honest,
doesn't pretend and knows how to have fun. Super cute, wow. inner
child on board!

high up in the clouds.

Last day in my dream house, it is sooo incredible up here, i am
blessed out. Even though there is no water! I got the pool, so I can't
complain!

Two weeks ago when i came up to this house, I was scared to be by
myself at night. Fast forward two weeks, I was in the pool at night,
with fireflies and the stars. It feels like I found this freedom
inside me that is very liberating, empowering and super fun. I am in
heaven!

Jump!

"Understanding is a delaying tactic...Do you want to understand how to
swim, or do you want to jump in and start swimming? Only people who
are afraid of water want to understand. Other people jump in and get
wet."

i live in paradise. soooo grateful!

Inspired!

Some people are really smart. I can't remember where, but I read somewhere that vegan sashimi with this incredible vegetable works great! It is such a clever, neat idea and I don't know how raw fish tastes, but this tasted so much like fish, I did not want to eat it. Can you guess what this is???

Email me what you think at bakingfairy@gmail.com, and get a free Organico recipe!

Excited!

After spending countless hours of travelling between Santa Teresa and Montezuma in the last month, I decided to take a day off and spend the whole weekend. Sounds great. Now it is already 10:00 pm and I need to pack for a day! What do I take? It is such a big deal to travel overnight, with all my supplement, food needs, yoga clothing (maybe this will be the time I will get back into practicing), dancing clothing, nice dinner dress (don't laugh, i never get to dress here and it sucks because I love to dress up once in a while), and the books, i have soooo much I want to do and there is not enough time. In the end here is what I got:
Green Goddess Chocolate Bars, from Organico of course!
Flax Crackers
Spirulina
Amazing Meal Green Powder
Probiotics
Enzymes
Face Wash
Coconut Cream
Ylang Ylang Body Cream
Make up
Yoga Stuff
Healing Woman, Book about Herbal Healing
Unaccustomed Earth, Story Book
Notebook to write my dreams
Favorite Earrings

Missing night out dress-will think about that tomorrow
Missing sleeping attire-i need to go shopping!

I am excited, so amazing that now really simple things make me excited. I am so grateful to life, my health and body. Pura Vida!

wanderlust

I diagnosed myself with a serious condition, wanderlust. I suffer from curiosity, day dreaming, passion and lack of it, constantly. Now I got some bubbles in my stomach, because it is new moon today and I am doing a liver cleanse. Lets see if I get some clarity tomorrow.

Here is some information
http://www.ener-chi.com/liverarticle.htm

Yam Nut Burger! Looks delicious!

http://hlifemedia.com/2010/02/vegan-raw-yam-nut-burger/

raw and vegan!

for inspiration...

http://gliving.com/sarah-backhouse-diet-revelations-at-halfway-point/#more-4426

confessions of an addict

I am addicted to our chocolate chip cookies. Compared to all kinds of addictions out there, I feel pretty good about our vegan, wheat-free cookies that i have to have one a day. Almost everyday, if we are not sold out. I don't take one out from the case until we close, but if we are closed and there is one left, that is mineee and I am pretty serious about it:) So, i do know it is an addiction.

They are giant, as you can see and packed with lots of chocolate chips. Plus oat flour that we make by simply grinding the oats, flax seeds, raw sugar and homemade brown rice milk. So, in one of my intense why do I love these cookies so much questioning times, I got this idea of an experiment. wanted to figure out what my addiction was...Is the chocolate in the cookies or the cookies am I addicted to? Yeah, this is the big question of my life!!! Pretty entertaining for me:) Really, I don't care about the same cookies with raisins. At the same time, I also don't care about a chocolate bar, (except for our Green Goddess, that is another story and a secret recipe).

So, I made an experiment. I made raw chocolate chip cookie dough drops. With amazing cashew flour, oat flour, same real chocolate chips...Sadly, I could care less for these goodness. They taste amazing, they are pretty much the same exact same thing but I want the cookieeeeee! I think it is also the texture, the cookie is super big and crunchy, well toasted with the oats and flax. The drops are dense, and gooey. I love the crunch and it is lighter. Gooey cashew is super healthy but still, heavy and fatty. I want to try this same thing with almonds now:)

So, I guess am addicted to the crunch and the chocolate chips. I love the freedom that i can enjoy what I love. I love that I love cookies. I love that I make the best cookies in the world and there is not one single thing that I'd much rather have than my own cookies, if baked right. Trust me, to get this recipe right, we have done maybe 25 versions and my amazing friend and super foodie friend Jeff, has been there with me all the way, until they were just right. Thank you!!! We tried it all...From different brand of oats, to different grinding times of those oats, different sugars: agave, dark brown, raw sugar, fruit sugar, then the oils, coconut, cacao, soy, corn, baking times, 15 minutes baking, 20 minutes baking one side and flipping back an other 20 minutes, cooling them in the racks, cooling in the oven, baking temperatures then the storage, wrapping them in plastic bags, freezing or not. And if you have time you can figure out the combinations of all these variables. But it is all done. There is nothing we can add or take because they are just perfect. And here is the base recipe, of course we have our own changes but I am not sharing trade secrets;) Have fun!

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=149

Ylang ylang lemonade

Ylang ylang is my favorite scent and second favorite flower after flor blanca. The smell is sooo beautiful, sensual and totally uplifting. Our gardener Randal brought a huge bag of this wonderful flower to the cafe and we put them in water for decoration. At the end of that day, the water smelled incredible. Totally calling us for a taste. I wasn't sure if we could drink this, neither Randal. I was more thinking that we might have an interesting experience or a trip, and we went for a sip:) Oh wow! This is how water tastes in heaven. Amazing. Still, we did not feel too sure about drinking more and rather washed ourselves and poured the rest back to the nature. These moments of dancing with the nature, discovering something new everyday, sharing my joy with others are the gifts of my life. I am so grateful. 

from organico, lunch time...

reporting from organico, it is not high season anymore so I got time to update my blog and share more what is going on here!

Right now, two minutes ago, a group of four walks in, I feel the very masculine energy, two guys and two girls...they walk in happily, saying, "ooo cool place"..and check out the menu...the big, fit guys are ok with the menu, but it is the girls got a little upset that there is no meat!

they want to leave but they want to be polite and ask:

"only vegetarian stuff?"

me: "yeah...the best!"

he feels relieved, "oh, we'll come back for dessert, then. I need that dead animal in me first." Ok, he did not say the second part out loud, but that is what i heard..really...

then the ipod sings..

"i believe they get to you..." some song that I don't know..wow!

yeah....well, i am still judgemental about meateaters and would never date one:)

Drinking it..

Aloe Vera...Fresh! For some reason, my body was craving for it, I just found out that it's great for B-12-that I lack, plus helps with the digestive system...Check it out and have a sip!

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-aloe-vera.html

Now that we have 4 giant plants, I am blending a piece of aloe with pure lemon juice...and make a shot! You can also add it to a smoothie with flax seeds and lots of greens and a banana! Feels like a massage to my organs. Love it!

raw food at its best!

http://myownrawchef.com/2010/03/kale-tahini-salad/

amazing!!!

Celebrating Ground Hog Day!

i love blogging. I actually love writing, it is a fun hobby that I've been doing a bit too privately these days. Now, I got some juicy things happening, so I can share with love! Thank you for being patient with me, checking the site, sending emails and being my friend! It makes it so much exciting to write.

As you know, I've decided to sell the cafe. Finally! Yeah! 4 years of countless hours and now I am ready to move on. It is exciting and very much liberating. I feel in bliss, having made a decision, on top, things are also moving quite smoothly and incredibly magical. I don't have a buyer yet, but it is all good and I know the universe will bring the right person, when the time is right. For now, my work days are short, we are open from 11:30 to 4pm, serving lunch and ice-cream with only three employees. It is super fun, quick and soooo much easier than the 7 am-11pm shifts and managing 10 employees. What a relief. 

Plus, I get to interact with super cool customers, meet interesting people, chit chat and be more social than the usual...goodbye to the crazy mad woman, who would run to the supermarket 10 times a day and be bitter about it everyday:) I am learning, slowly!

So, it gets pretty interesting..like last week for example, had a great a-ha moment during one of these chats with a quite charming guy from the states. After the classic, how did you get here, my previous life, montezuma history, foreigner community in montezuma, he asked why would i want to sell this "great" business. I said, I really got tired of working. Plus living in a tourist town, where I have the same exact conversation everyday,"like this one we're having" gets pretty boring. He said, wow, it sounds like the "ground hog day!" Amazing. I hope you've seen the movie, if not see it, its great. 

Next day after we had this conversation, on my way to work, it totally hit me, the Ground Hog Day, the boat to Tortuga is on the beach, with many people waiting, I say hi to the local guide, the same guide, Pura Vida to the fisherman, say hi to other few people, trying to hide myself from rest of the locals and go in the back route behind the beach and head to the cafe...Opening up, and the first "buenas dias"....it gets to me even more now:)

Honestly, I feel like out of touch with real interactions, the basics, family and friends. I am living the same things, everyday, trying to add spice and flavor to it, by changing the recipes, but what I crave is being surrounded by real people, more than just super cool, deep conversations with wanderers around the world, who hang out a few weeks, or in the best case a few months. Roots...maybe..but then, would it feel boring? ok, enough therapy for today!

decisions!

wow! i am ready! i put the cafe for sale! It is for real this time. I have had such a beautiful, not always pretty, but beautiful experience in Montezuma, I am now proud to say, I am ready to move on! It is exciting, very very exciting. I wonder who will buy my Organico, my baby...I hope she or he will be vegan, into nutrition, feeding people with love. And they keep the place as is, especially the ice-cream! It is a bitter sweet story. After being here for 4 years, i have decided that I want to be close to my family and friends. At least for a while. Sure, I made friends here as well, that I will miss very much, but it is not the same thing. Plus the transient tourist town is getting to me these days. I hate that people come and go and try to sneak into my life and get entertained and then good-bye, sometimes there is even no good-bye. It hurts me a lot, I take things personal a lot, then i isolate myself and cry a lot and then be depressed and try to feed people with pure love, not really..it is hard. I became an emotional drama queen of the town with a story everyday. It does not end. This is probably true for anyone, anywhere in the world but I feel burned, overwhelmed, drained. I can't. I don't want to. I don't want this job anymore. And it feels sooooo good. So, stay tuned for updates. In the ice-cream corner, the flavor of the month is Vanilla Bean with Cardamom! It is incredible!