THE WORLD IS ON YOUR SIDE

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE CAKE

My sister Sarah gave me the macrobiotic, vegan cookbook, LOVE, ERIC by ERIC LECHASSEUR for my birthday in February. I am always on the lookout for recipes that use maple or agave syrup as a sweetener instead of sugar. Even though I was thrilled to have an entire cookbook of sugar free sweets I was very intimidated by it because it is one of those cook books where you don't have half of the ingredients and don't even know what some of them are!  I was determined to pick one to create for Thanksgiving and read the whole cookbook cover to cover before deciding on the STRAWBERRY MOUSSE CAKE. 

As it turns out it was a good idea that I did a test cake on the Monday before Thanksgiving because my mousse did not set.  I was incredibly disappointed. So I emailed the cookbook and immediately got a response from ERIC's wife SANAE.  ERIC created his dessert recipes for his wife, SANAE when she started eating a macrobiotic diet after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  Because she missed sweets so much he stated creating macrobiotic sweets for her. Thus the title, LOVE, ERIC. Anyway, SANAE said I could call ERIC at his restaurant, SEED in Venice, CA for help.

The next day I was able to speak with ERIC and he explained that I probably didn't dissolve the agar enough.  Agar you ask???  Good question.  Agar is a sea vegetable that has gelatin properties and is what this recipe called for to bind the mousse. As it turns out, it takes a while for the agar to dissolve.  So ERIC said I could save my mousse by redissolving the agar and adding it to my liquid mousse.  And so I did and so it worked!!!  My mousse set and was delicious!! 

My second mousse was far more successful and I have a great sense of accomplishment in tackling an intimidating recipe.  I have also learned what agar is and how it works! Thanks ERIC and SANAE! www.loveericinc.com

 

Here you can see what the cake looks like in the cookbook.

 

And here is my slice.......not bad huh??

ALMOND JAMMERS - THE BEST VEGAN COOKIE!!

Over the past few years I have made many modifications to my diet.  I have eliminated dairy, wheat, sugar and a few other things from my diet.  Occasionally I will eat some of these things if I am traveling or out to eat.  Eliminating sugar wasn't that hard for me but I do like a little something sweet everyday.  My friend Liz gave me this recipe which I have modified and it is now a staple food at my house.  It gets rave reviews from all who try it!  Which is plenty of people since I carry some in my purse and give them out to everyone I meet.  My husband calls them JENNY'S JAMMERS - I call them ALMOND JAMMERS!

 

ALMOND JAMMERS

1/2 cup maple syrup or agave syrup - I have found that agave syrup makes the cookies sweeter and a little chewier

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup of oats or spelt oats - grind in blender or food processor 

1 cup of almonds - grind in blender or food processor

1 cup of flour or spelt flour

5 oz (half a bag) of vegan chocolate chips - I use TROPICAL SOURCE dairy and gluten free chocolate chips.  If you are not concerned with the cookies being vegan then any chocolate that melts nicely will work.

Fancy sea salt - for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350.  Get chocolate chips melting in a double boiler. Mix oats, almonds, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Whisk syrup and oil then add to dry ingredients. Blend both.  Make a walnut sized ball then flatten onto cookie sheet. Make a little indentation for chocolate to sit in. Spoon chocolate onto cookie.  Then sprinkle fancy sea salt onto chocolate sparingly. Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes.  Cookies are done when the bottom edges start to brown.  Remove from cookie sheet and let cool.

When my friend Liz gave me this recipe it called for raspberry jam.  That makes a great cookie too.  You can also experiment with different salts.  My next experiment is using a different nut like hazelnuts.  I will keep you posted!  I hope you like em!!

CARRIE'S CURTAINS

I recently finished these RECYCLED FIBER CURTAINS for my friend Carrie's home office.  The three curtain panels measure 8 feet high by 12 wide.  They are batiked recycled kraft paper.  I crumple the kraft paper over and over until it becomes soft.  After I dye and wax the the paper it becomes like a leathery translucent fabic.  The color floods the room and creates a beautiful glow. We decided on green curtains because Carrie's home office is in the wealth and prosperity area of her home according to the Feng Shui layout of her home.  The wealth and prosperity area is a great place for green plants, wood and objects that represent wealth.  I've learned to never underestimate the power of intention when applied to home spaces! 

I love this picture of Carrie and her Curtains!!

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO MOUNTAINS

This is a a light box I made earlier this year titled, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO MOUNTAINS.  I donated this piece to the CASCADE AIDS PROJECT'S annual art auction. 2009 will be the 20 year anniversary of the event!

 

If anyone has any suggestions on how to photograph a light box, please let me know.  I am working on another light box for a  group show at the BEPPU WIARDA GALLERY in January and will need images.  I only had a short time to work on getting images of this piece and as you can see it could be improved on. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!