Raw Chocolate Truffles on Daniel Max's Blog

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? Best day of the year, or commercial imposition? Invention of the Hallmark industry, or a wonderful reminder to love, love, love?

However you see it, most of us seem to agree ~ the day presents a delicious opportunity to enjoy one of nature’s most luscious gifts: Chocolate. Scientifically named Theobroma, or food of the gods, chocolate treats us to a heavenly experience, pointing to the feast that is our divine nature.

Being divine means that chocolate is good for you ~ when it is raw, unfussed, and minimally processed,  of course. Here are six good reasons why.

The Science: Cacao seems to diminish appetite, thought to be due to its monoamine oxidase enzyme inhibitors (MAO inhibitors) which allow more serotonin and other neurotransmitters to circulate in the brain. According to Dr. Gabriel Cousens, MAO inhibitors facilitate youth regeneration and rejuvenation, and encourages weight loss naturally.

Chocolate is Bliss

The Science:  “Another reason to love chocolate is the molecule of bliss called Anandamide, from the Sanskrit word Ananda for bliss. This molecule is a cannabinoid neurotransmitter and mimics the endorphins you get when working out,” says Nicole. Cacao contains enzyme inhibitors that decrease our bodies’ ability to breakdown anandamide. This means that anandamide may stick around longer, making us feel good longer, when we eat cacao

Chocolate is Seductive

To really draw out the flavor of chocolate you have to warm it in your mouth, press it up against the palate, slowly allow it to melt, and gently roll it around so all its various tastes can be enjoyed across the landscape of your tongue.

Have you ever tasted Fortunato no. 4? Listen to chocolate farmers and chocolatiers describe their first tasting of this sensuous delight.

Nicole's Hot Cacao

“Now that you know your favorite food is so good for you, all the more reason to enjoy it,” says Nicole. “Try this yummy, guilt-free hot chocolate recipe: 1 can coconut milk, 1 can water (use the coconut milk can), 2 tbsp Cacao powder, and your sweetener of choice. Add 2 cinnamon sticks and let it simmer on low heat for 15 mins. Enjoy with your loved ones.”

~

Happy Valentine’s Day. May you remember that, even though chocolate is delicious and good for you, love requires no person, no element, no thing ~ for love is an energy that eternally abides within.

If you really knew how much love is in you, seeking you and surrounding you, your heart would burst.  So have a cup of hot cacao and sip on that.

Namaste!

It seems like everywhere I turn someone is sick. Whether it is because a son or daughter is home from school, or a client is unable to make an appointment, the same question keeps coming in ~ Laura, what can I do?

Despite the most beautiful winter anywhere on earth, we still get sick, and when that happens this is what I do, and what I recommend for you ~

Honey Cough Syrup

Honey Cough Syrup

Put three to four spoons of honey into a small bowl and set that in a larger bowl filled with hot water. As the honey softens, remove the bowl from the water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground clove, a shake of ground ginger and a shake of cayenne powder. Squeeze in about a tablespoon of lemon juice and stir well. Take half a spoonful every hour, or to coat your throat whenever it feels dry, itchy, or sore.  You can also stir it into very warm water with the juice of the rest of that lemon to make a tea.

This is delicious, natural, botanical medicine that your children, colleagues, clients will love. It’s also more proof that Nature is the perfect Mother: healing, comforting, loving in so many delightful ways.

Surfing this Sunday then home sick Tuesday/Wednesday

~

May you be well ~ Namaste!

Happy New Year!

I wonder, how can I serve you best this year? There are ideas hatching and plans underway, but I am always keen to get your feedback. After all, I write because you eat! So, please let me know how I can help you.

Meanwhile, since there are so many great recipes already out there but little understanding of the fundamentals of flavor and nutritional health, that I thought I’d take a trip around the various kitchens of the world this year, choosing classics, favorites, and mouth-watering, head-spinning, tongue-tickling, belly delighting dishes to adapt according to Ayurvedic principles. That way, in addition to mouth-watering, head-spinning, tongue-tickling, and belly delighting, the adapted recipes will be phenomenally, fantastically fabulous for your health.

I am calling it Six Tasting the World! What do you think?

In order to take a trip like this, there us much to consider, lots to plan and a great deal of organizing to do. So while I am getting ready, I thought I’d share with you a list of my online favorites to freshen up your pantry of recipes and resources.

Friends:

Sally Tinker Smith blogs about all the things she loves and she is such a love herself that every post is like coming home! Stephanie Weaver is a Gluten-free Goddess, relentlessly renovating recipes to make delicious, digestible dishes for the more than 2 million Americans with Celiac, and everyone else who wants a break now and then from the all-persuasive glutenous grains.

Shruthi, who blogs over at Cardamom Kitchen, is full of joyful esprit and spice-laced loveliness. Plus, she is a genuine genius when it comes to the application of Ayurveda to western ways. Another blogger friend is Kate who is absolutely the picture of Ayurvedic radiance, and her blog is the real deal.

While it is not about food, Pamela’s Walking On My Hands is a blog about learning to live with grace ~ deep wisdom I can always use. Also not usually about food is Gypsy Love Cafe from the amazingly creative, deeply soulful, wildly free and artistic Katariina. I always love seeing what she’s up to.

Classics:

A few everyday classics I turn to for inspiration are 101 Cookbooks, Deborah Madison, Marc Bittman and Sunfood.

Others:

A few others I enjoy looking at, mostly for the photography, are Jenn’s Gluten-free, Tartelette, Glutton For Life and Journey Kitchen.

General:

For an integrated approach to the foodies’ search for pleasure, health, sustainability, and global justice Ecogastronomy is cool. Because they are getting nutritious foods into food banks nationwide, SuperFoodDrive is super awesome! At the Well, Tara Parker-Pope reports on the nexus between medical science, nutrition, and family health with a surprisingly fresh, engaging voice, and of course, Slow Food and Edible Schoolyards remind us that the world is full of very good, very sane people!

New Year's Eve

I wish you all the magic of the cosmos, every happiness in the world, all the love of our Mother Earth, and every dream to come true in 2012. This is our year. Let’s grab hold!

Namaste! 

~

So the other day I made this ~

Cheese Melt with Garden Greens & Yogurt Cardamom Dressing

The next day I made this ~

Kichari with our own Garden Greens & Yogurt Cardamom Dressing

And the next day I was so in love with this dressing, I ate it straight from the jar…

Dipped with bread or rolled up greens, it makes a tasty snack

This dressing is divine ~ utterly perfect when you want to eat plain and simple, yet unique and magical enough to accompany any New Year’s Eve dinner.  So here is the most wonderful dressing you will ever make, just in time to celebrate the most wonderful person you are and the most wonderful year you are about to begin.

Freshly ground Cardamom

But first a  little about Cardamom:

Cardamom has this special “Prabhav” which is a word that sort of means magic. It is a way of defining herbs and spices that have a special potency, or a very unique intelligence that our own terrific human intelligence can’t easily explain or categorize. In the case of Cardamom, it has this particular way of strengthening digestion, while helping to increase moisture throughout the body. If you think about it, that means that Cardamom simultaneously kindles your fire while watering your system. Since water usually extinguishes fire, that seems like magic to me.

Plus, it is so medicinal while tasting so incredibly other-worldy. Because it is warm and moist, cardamom is excellent for Vata, meaning any place, season, time or person in which the Air element is dominant, a condition which shows up as windy, cold, dry, erratic or scattered. Cardamom warms, grounds, hydrates, soothes and improves digestion ~ especially helpful after the holidays, no?

Ground Cardamom gives this Dressing its Prabhav

It’s best to purchase Cardamom in pods, not only because these tiny flowers of ginger are gorgeous but because once ground, flavor escapes quickly. When ready to use, peel open the pods, shake out the seeds and grind. Use a mortar and pestle ~ the seeds submit easily. A spice mill or coffee grinder will do just fine, as well.

Once you make this Dressing you can keep it in a tightly covered jar in the fridge or a week, although it is delicious on everything, so it is not likely to last. And remember that to be Ayurvedic, salad follows the main course, of course!  

Click on Recipe for a Print Version

~

Finally, I want to thank you for journeying with me through the Ayurvedic kitchen this year. In 2012, I plan to travel the world, so to speak, exploring diverse culinary traditions and adapting recipes according to Ayurvedic wisdom to enhance wellness. The working title is Six Tasting the World. Let me know what you think.

I hope you will join me on this great adventure, starting in January by first establishing the basics. Meanwhile, I wish you a safe, happy, and fulfilling New Year celebration.

See you in the New Year.  Namaste! 

Calling all foodies, bloggers, wizards and mermaids, adventurers, lovers, dreamers and inventors, Buddhas, Sages, Sadhakas and Yogis! Inside of you is something eternal and infinite; something as great as a mountain, as vast as an ocean, as beautiful as a star, as sweet as honey, as miraculous as a rainbow. It is a power that knows no bounds. A capacity to create, to heal, to love, to light up the world. You were born to know the magnificence of life, the power within, the radiance of your own truth, the joy of service and the deep, delightful endurance of love.

In this divine time, when we string lights on every tree, mantel, and eave, allow me to celebrate the miracle of you. Allow me, if you will, to celebrate all that light and love married in you, alive, surging, dancing, pulsing, radiating through you with the most divine of spices, Cardamom.

To me, Cardamom is love and light in a pod. It is beauty and wisdom, knowing just what we need physically, while inspiring us emotionally. Cardamom is the journeyer’s companion, the sensual spark to a Yogi’s inner flame.

Oh Cardamom, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Next week, I will! For now, I give you three comforting, delicious ways to stay warm and grounded this time of year. 2 out of 3 are Vegan and all 3 are, or can be made, gluten-free. Therefore, they make excellent “hand-crafted” gifts, and hearty, conversation-starting party foods.

Cardamom Rose Delights

1 cup shredded coconut
6 medjool dates
1 tbls almond butter
1 tbls coconut oil
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp rose water
pinch of salt

Process all ingredients in food processor until mixture is quite smooth. Form into balls or press into molds. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Melissa’s Incredibly Moist Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups Pamela’s gluten free baking mix
1 egg substitute (Melissa uses oil, water, & baking powder mix)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 bag vegan choc chips
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch or two of cardamom

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together, adding water (or spiced apple cider as I did) as needed to moisten and form balls. Cook on parchment paper ~ 10-11 min. They may look soft but do not overcook.

Liscia’s Cardamom Banana Bread

2/3 cup raisins or currants
1/3 cup dark rum or apple cider
1 cup unbleached White flour (or a gluten-free flour of your choice)
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour (or more white flour or make it gluten-free with rice flour!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 ripe bananas
1/3 cup canola or corn oil (Liscia likes to use coconut oil)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-10 inch loaf pan.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the raisins or currants with the rum or cider, and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat, and let the pan sit for 10 minutes.

3. While they are soaking, combine in a large bowl the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Mix well. In a smaller bowl mash bananas with a fork. Add the oil and brown sugar, and beat for 1 minute. Add eggs beating more. With a spoon, stir this mixture into the flour mixture until the ingredients are well blended. Stir in walnuts, the soaked raisins, and their liquid. Pose the mixture into greased loaf pan.

4.  Bake the bread 50-60( but check around 30-40!) until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, place it on a rack, and let the bread cool for 10 mins before you remove it from the pan. Wrapped well, this bread keeps at room temperature for 5 days, and longer if refrigerated.

Celebrating YOU as the light we celebrate this season reminds me of St. Teresa of Avila‘s powerful call to the awakened life ~

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
No hands but yours, 
no feet but yours;
Yours are the eyes through which 
Christ’s Compassion is to look out to the world;
Yours are the feet by which he is to go about
 doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.”

Katariina Fagering's Jesus-Ubuntu

May we all take up the call, inspired by the season, encouraged by our saints, and fortified by Cardamom’s loving light.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holy Days ~ Namaste! 

We are cooking Yams in a variety of heavenly ways, and I have two of those wonderful ways for you here.

Yam Fries

I made these Yam Fries yesterday and they went so fast, my husband barely had time to ask, “What happened to those orange potato-y things you made?”

Oops.

They were delicious! Here is my recipe. You can use either Sweet Potatoes or Yams, and yes, there is a difference. I prefer Yams.

Double-click for Print Version

Sophia Lunch: Spiced Yams in Center

Culinary Creative Process

6 yams

1/4 cup ghee or butter (vegan: coconut oil)

8 dates (pitted and chopped)

1 Tbs. Lemon Juice

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. cardamom

a few handfuls of chopped walnuts

a few handfuls of currants

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce yams in several places and place on oven tray. Bake for about 55 minutes. Cool Slightly. Cut yams in half and scoop out pulp into large bowl. Discard peel. Add all other ingredients and stir until fully blended! Season with sea salt and pepper.

Gather your friends and dance into winter satisfied in the belly and warm in your heart~

Whitney's Spiced Yams

Enjoy & Nourish!

Celebrating the glory of your existance~

Whitney
via Hearty. Golden. Grounding. « Nourishing Roots 

Laura & Whitney preparing the Sophia Lunch

~

The bija mantra YAM, pronounced yum, is said to be the sound of the Awakened Heart. Does that mean a Yam will light up your heart? Awaken greater love? Open the gates to Heaven?

I think so!

Enjoy your Yams and let us know if the doors of your heart fly open.

Namaste!

Have you ever been asked, “How do you prepare a Vegetarian meal? What do you make? Isn’t it hard?”

We get that question a lot. I love it. Because if you stand to the side a bit and take a crooked look, you might notice that nature offers food already pre-packaged, pre-sweetened, pre-loaded with vitamins, minerals, Omega’s, soluble and insoluble fibers, prepared, on-the-go and ready-to-eat!

You really don’t need to do much. Walk over to a tree. Reach up and receive. Sidle up to a bush, or kneel down to pick, pull, or pluck. Considering the busy human activity to extract, package and deliver various bits of chemistry that are already uniquely organized in plant food, it really seems a miracle that nature already has it all, everything we need, and with such perfection, intelligence, beauty, elegance, and variety!

I think about that whenever I roast vegetables. Because it is so simple. And so good. The sugars in the vegetables slightly caramelize with the oils, which lightly salted and spiced, tastes almost like soft, chewy, exotic candy.

~

Did I mention simple?

All you have to do is:

Wash

Spice

Oil

Toss

Roast

It is so easy. Which is why we always include Roasted Vegetables for Thanksgiving dinner ~ when we need it to be delicious, but above all, we need it to be simple.

It is on the menu again this year ~ along with our new “tradition” of Brioche Chestnut Stuffing with a Vegetarian Gravy, and a big colorful bowl of Cranberry Sauce because when you do not add sugar it balances the meal nicely by cutting into the heavy of everything else, encouraging digestion, and sort of living in your body as little bursts of thankfulness because in so many ways they are just SO good for you.

I am also looking forward to trying my Ayurvedic Blogger friend Shruthi’s  Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Kheer for dessert and A Sweet Spoonful‘s Cranberry Scones for breakfast tomorrow.

Oh yes, there is much to be thankful for!

Autumn’s Bounty: Roasted Root Vegetables

On normal days, when this might be a main course with potatoes, or a grain, I like to crumble fresh rosemary and toss it with the vegetables just out of the oven, so the herb gets a quick blast of heat to open out its bouquet. But with Thanksgiving there will be so many other aromas and flavors, best to keep things simple and spice minimally.

click on recipe to print

This holiday, I wish you abundance, joy, peace, and a heart full of thanksgiving. If I had a magic wand, I would fill every belly with nourishing food and every heart with nourishing love. May it begin with you.

~~~

Thanks to Katariina Fagering for the first three photos of the Roasted Vegetables at last week’s Sophia Conference Lunch! 

Breath Of Gaia: Divine Mother Earth

In Yoga, as our revered Dr. Frawley teaches, the feminine divine possesses three primary aspects: power, beauty, knowledge. Through the worship of these energies as Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati we worship Shakti in her cosmic dance of transformation, prosperity and illumination leading to our soul’s final purpose ~ Cit-Shakti, or Ultimate Reality.

Grace

In sacred remembrance of this Truth, my fellow Yogins and I gather every year with Divine Women of our community to celebrate the Sacred Feminine. We call it The Sophia Conference, in honor of the goddess of wisdom, whose loving grace flows through all life, and whose power is available to all who choose to turn inward towards this Cit-Shakti.

Sri Yantra: Matrix of the Heart

Sharing a meal with women in a sacred experience like this is so… well, holy, that considering what to serve for lunch becomes its own sacred contemplation. As is so often the case whenever I surrender to Sophia, answers come in a flash.

This time, the answer came as Tuscan White Bean Soup: a hearty, flavorful soup from Anna Watson Carl’s charming blog, The Yellow Table. I’ve adapted her recipe for Vegetarians and will serve it with whole grain breads for a warming bowl of love on what is predicted to be a cold, rainy day. Our menu also includes Roasted Vegetables, Red Quinoa, Autumnal dips, a plate of Artisanal Cheeses with my Ayurvedic Jam, and many Vegan options. But, like the Moon in a sky of stars, the Soup will be the prime heavenly light.

Cannellini

Why? Blended with root vegetables and Autumn herbs of rosemary and thyme, this soup is like a song of earth’s bounty. There is something, too, about white beans ~ navy, northern, small white, and cannellini ~ that seem so feminine to me. Maybe it’s their shape, with its smooth curves, every one unique, or its almost perfect, creamy skin. But it is their sweet, enduring taste that most assures. I’ll give you power, beauty, wisdom, this protein-packed pod of purity seems to say. I am here for you.

The Yellow Table's Tuscan White Bean Soup with Chard

Vegan Sausage gives this soup lovely texture and added flavor. Try Field Roast for their Vegan Grain version. For the Sophia Conference we added their Smoked Apple Sage, but I’ve enjoyed this soup with their Italian Sausage. It’s thematic ~ and  spicier. You can make the entire soup Vegan by leaving out the Parmesan rind, but you might add a few soaked cashews in that case to give it that extra bit of heft. We serve it with fresh grated Parmesan cheese which finishes the soup with just the right note of dry, salty, enriching sweet!

Click for Print Version

I hope you enjoy it. Remember with every delicious bite, that Food is Divine Love seeking to nourish the power, beauty, and intelligence within you. May your Light shine!

Happy 11.11.11 ~

Flaxseeds

Heard of perimenopausal rage? So many women have been asking me lately for help with this issue that when I saw this article from Kate Geagan, author of Go Green: Get Lean, I had to repost it. Her suggestions are not only helpful for Hot Mamas, they are important health habits for all.

4 Ways to Manage Perimenopause through Diet

Kate Geagan

by Kate Geagan, MS, RD

I remember when my mother hit menopause, she started sporting a button that said, “I’m out of estrogen and I have a gun.” She was, needless to say, joking, but our entire family tiptoed on eggshells until the button came off. While women across the globe know that “The Change” lies somewhere in their future, replete with varying degrees of physical and emotional shifts, most women are shocked to learn that there’s actually another stage many of us hit before then: perimenopause.

If menopause is defined by a single event (a woman’s last period), perimenopause is a bit less “pinpoint -able” as it refers instead to the time before menopause (anywhere from 2 to 10 years) during which the ovaries begin reducing hormone production. The result is fluctuating levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which can set off emotional changes ranging from mild to mentally unhinged. This latter symptom in particular, which Dr. Oz recently talked about as “perimenopausal rage,” is described by many women as a propensity toward unexpected, heightened anger or a vulnerability to more volatile emotional outbursts, even when the moment before you were cool as a cucumber.

While your health-care provider is your best ally to help you manage your hormones, here are a few dietary strategies that may help keep you from feeling the need to reach for a button of your own.

Eliminate Key “Hot Spot” Triggers

Think of Hippocrate’s advice: “First, do no harm.” Sugar, caffeine and alcohol are three compounds in the diet that can exaggerate any hormonal symptoms, igniting a cocktail of emotions when stress is added.  If your blood sugar is sky high after a donut, or your body’s “fight or flight” stress response is over-activated from a mega-jolt of caffeine, you may be creating a perfect storm for that emotional rollercoaster. And while alcohol may seem to settle your nerves in the moment, overdoing it can have lingering effects on your edginess the next day. Eliminate these three things in your diet and you can often see a difference almost immediately.

Omega-3-rich Foods

Happy brain chemistry is dependent on getting adequate amounts of omega-3s in the diet, as research has linked adequate omega-3s in the diet with better moods and lower rates of depression. The brain particularly loves DHA, a key omega-3 fat in the brain which comprises 50% by weight of some brain cells. Enjoy at least two servings of fatty fish each week like salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel, barramundi or bluefish weekly to naturally include some of nature’s richest sources of omega-3s. Snack on one ounce of walnuts, which packs a day’s worth of omega-3s in the form of alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA. Or drizzle two tablespoons of ground flaxseed or one tablespoon cold pressed flax oil on your morning bowl of oatmeal for an added boost. If you absolutely don’t like fish, consider taking a USP certified fish oil supplement (the USP certification will ensure good manufacturing practices). Of course, be sure to check with your health-care provider before adding any new supplements to your regimen.

Load Up on Legumes

Beans and lentils are superfoods which offer several benefits to women going through either perimenopause or menopause. Why? The combo of high fiber and protein help to keep blood sugar stable longer after meals and snacks, providing a nice buffer against those “mood swings within minutes” that many perimenopausal women describe. They also score high points for being low in calories, which helps women in their 40s and 50s maintain a healthy body weight during what is typically a time of creeping weight gain (metabolism can slow as women lose lean muscle mass if they are not involved in strength training). Legumes are also rich in B-complex vitamins, including folate and B6, which serve as cofactors for enzymes involved with estrogen metabolism. Aim to include at least one cup per day (a half-cup provides about 7 grams of protein): Enjoy a cup of pasta fagioli or lentil soup with a green salad for lunch, simmer a pot of three-bean chili this weekend, or savor French, green or red lentils (they’re tinier and more delicate) as your next side dish along grilled fish or chicken.

Think About Adding Some Soy

Should you start stocking up on soy products to help you stay cool as things heat up? Possibly, depending on your personal family history. Some evidence suggests that soy might help thanks to the phytoestrogens that soybeans contain. Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant compounds that can mimic the body’s own estrogen by binding to certain estrogen receptors, potentially helping your body ease through the loss of your own source of estrogen. Though they are about 1000 times weaker than regular estrogen, there is some evidence to suggests that including 2-3 servings of soy food daily may help reduce the severity of hot flashes, protect against bone loss and heart disease, and reduce your risk of breast cancer (a half-cup of roasted soy nuts or edamame as a snack, or a half-cup of tofu in your stir fry all count as one serving). For that, it may be worth a try to see if you start feeling better after a month or two of adding soy to your diet. However, there have also been some studies which have found no added benefit, and adding soy may be contraindicated if you have a personal or family history of estrogen-sensitive cancers like breast cancer, so be sure to talk with your doctor first.

~~~

If you are going through “The Change,” I hope this helps you. If this would help someone you know, please forward it. Women are the preservers of life. Anything we do to support any woman anywhere, creates a better world for all.

Namaste!

Last night we had dinner at home with four wonderful, conscious friends. One of them, Ninh-ji, who began his life in Vietnam, brought the dessert. It looked at first like a delightfully simple silken tofu warmed in an electric pot. Indeed, that is all it was, but served with a ginger syrup, it became divine, sweet succulence. Plus, it turned out to be only the first of three dessert courses!

The next two desserts were utterly inspiring for their color, artistry, alchemy. Little bite-size delicacies of sesame, rice and mung beans, almost like deconstructed Kichari reimagined and delicately sweetened, these treats were not only a delight to the senses, but such healthy, whole body nourishment that when offered seconds, you felt permission, nay encouraged, to say, ”Yes please!”

Ninh-ji had carefully selected each of these treats from his favorite local Vietnamese Bakery, telling us that they are very complicated to make. “Not even my mother was able to make this and she was a great cook!”

I looked today for a picture or recipe online, but don’t know the names and found nothing quite right. I did find this Blog with its colorful, photographic list of many Vietnamese desserts. Also, while not as gorgeous, this site has recipes.  And, for culinary, cultural adventurers, there is a whole world of Asian sweets to explore here.

Instead, I remembered a recipe received yesterday that would make a good substitute. These Sesame Bliss Balls from the Chopra Center are not as artistic, but they look simple to construct, flavorful and every bit as fortifying.

I had to share them with you as they are ideal for the Autumn Balancing Act: Sesame is tonifying, healing and hydrating. Ginger is soothing, calming, and immune-boosting. Cumin and Cardamom work with Ginger to aid digestion and add flavor. Ghee is a prime healer, with innumerable benefits ~ a few of which are mentioned by the Chopra Experts below.

I am off to make these now for a gang of young boys. Lead by our 13-year old, they have been running around the neighborhood all afternoon, engaged in a playful “Battle,” and are now calling out for snacks worthy of a Victory Feast! Wish me luck…

Namaste ~