Aloha Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffins

Make these mini muffins on the weekend for a wonderful mid-morning or afternoon snack during the week. Little hands will love them! This makes approximately 80 mini muffins that store well in the freezer. Simply remove muffins (from freezer) 15 minutes prior to eating.

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups spelt flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups of rice milk
1 cup pure maple syrup
½ cup canola oil

½ cup dark chocolate chips (71% cacao or greater)
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Mix flours, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk rice milk, maple syrup, and oil. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Using a spice grinder or food processor, pulse chocolate chips and coconut until coarsely chopped. Fold into batter. Pour into prepared muffin pans and bake at 375 °F for 15–20 minutes.

Home

There is a beautiful space inside of me where I dwell. When it is open, I feel as though I am nestled among the stars. Other times, I can hardly stand to be in my own skin. When I take a bath, I often put my head beneath the water and listen to my heartbeat. There it is, thumping away in perfect rhythm. Thump thump. Thump thump.

 
My mother was once my home. I lay protected in her womb. Safe from sounds that startle and words that sting. I listened to her heartbeat. I heard her every breath. Her thoughts ran through my umbilical cord and I knew her every wish. Being born is being wrenched away from comfort and what we know. We are thrust into the unknown.

I listened to my baby’s heart before she was born. It was a strong heartbeat. When I pressed my MP3 to the phone, my mother remarked excitedly, “It sounds like a washing machine!” But my baby’s heart could not sustain her on its own. When I learned this news a cold wind blew through my soul. And, for many months, I suffered in silence. She’s three now. After her bath, she likes to run around naked and is blissfully unaware of the fine white line on her chest. I pray that she will always know just how lovely, beautiful, and amazing she is.

We are a circle, my mother, my daughter, and me. Our hearts tie us together. Like ocean waves crashing on the shore, my mother’s heartbeat fills my ears until her time here is done. My daughter’s amazing heart will beat in her chest for many years to come. And my heart... how long will it go on? How many more days will I lie in my watery bath and hear its steady drum? My beautiful heart—my earthly home?

†I gave this as a gift to my mother for her birthday a few years back along with a glass heart. I’m not sure she appreciated the energy of the piece; but, I like it. It’s intimate and gives voice to some of the pain I’ve experienced surrounding my daughter’s heart surgery. Something I haven’t been able to write much about.

I'm in Love

At 7:44 a.m., I awoke to another breathtakingly beautiful foggy morning. Alone, at the reservoir, I could see water droplets drifting through the soft morning light. It was magical! I love these moments. I’m not at all lonely when I’m with my camera. I can totally lose track of time. My thoughts slow down. I am calm and completely at peace. Nothing brings me greater joy at the moment except playing my ukulele.

Incidentally, I have a new Kala tenor uke in my closet. It’s a Christmas gift for Hope from her grandpa. When she’s at school, I take it out and play. Pure bliss! So much easier to play than my baritone, which has metal strings. (I have to press fairly hard when playing certain chords so that it doesn’t buzz.) I think I might be in love...

Thinking

The primary cause of unhappiness is never 

the situation but your thoughts about it.

~ Eckhart Tolle

Lotta Love Almond Cookies

Nature’s Emporium (our local health food store) makes cookies that are similar to this. It took us a while to figure out the ingredient proportions, but I think we’ve finally got it!

• 2 cups sliced almonds
• ½ cup whole almonds
• 2 cups almond meal/flour
• Zest of 2 lemons, finely chopped
• 1 cup pure maple syrup

  

Place sliced and whole almonds on a cookie sheet and toast at 350ºF for 15 minutes or until browned. Watch them carefully—they burn easily.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Separate the whole almonds from the sliced almonds and set aside. Grind sliced almonds in a spice grinder or food processor.

In a medium bowl, add ground almonds, almond meal/flour, lemon zest, and maple syrup and mix until blended well.

Using two spoons (dough is too sticky to work with hands), form small balls and place them about 2” apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Press a toasted whole almond into the centre of each ball and bake at 350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes. Cookies are done when the edges are just starting to turn brown. Remove from oven and let rest on the cookie sheet before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about three dozen cookies.

OM! Granola

Maybe you’re wondering, “What does food have to do with my spiritual practice?” Well everything, really. What we eat affects our body chemistry and state of mind. Our bodies are most efficient and harmonious when we eat wholesome foods mindfully. This homemade granola is an excellent and delicious way to start your day. Add fresh blueberries or raspberries (both are packed with antioxidants) and serve with rice milk or organic kefir.

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
⅓ cup slivered almonds 
handful of chopped macadamia nuts
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut 
3 T candied ginger, rinsed
2 T pumpkin seeds
4 T cold-pressed virgin coconut oil, melted 
3 T unpasteurized honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the first six ingredients (oats through pumpkin seeds) into a medium sized bowl and mix. Melt the coconut oil and stir in the honey and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Stir the oil/honey/vanilla mixture into the oat mixture and combine. Pour the granola mixture onto the baking sheet and spread into a fairly thin layer on the pan. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden, stirring every so often.

Thanks to Liv Life for this recipe. We usually multiply it by six to make enough granola to last two weeks. OM!

The Perfect Stillness

Love is
the perfect stillness
and the greatest excitement, and most profound act,
and the word almost as complete
as His name.

~ Rabia