Andrew's GF Birthday Cake Translated

You'll need:

• 125g cane sugar
• 75g almond meal
• 100g dark chocolate (I used chocolate chips)
• 50g potato starch
• 2 tbsp oil (I used roasted almond oil)
• 4 eggs

In a bowl put the sugar, almond meal, 1 whole egg and 3 egg yolks. Stir with a spatula for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the chocolate that has been melted with a minute amount of water (I used homemade almond milk), then the potato starch, the oil and the 3 egg whites whipped until stiff. Pour the batter in an oiled pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes in a 180-200 C/375 F preheated oven. Enjoy ;).

Wild Blackberry Sorbet / Sorbet aux mûres sauvages

Very easy to prepare and packed with flavor.

All you need is:

• About 1/2 lb of frozen wild blackberries / environ 250g de mûres sauvages surgelées
• Some organic apple juice (with nothing added) / du jus de pomme bio (sans rien ajouté)
• Some agave syrup if necessary / du sirop d'agave si nécessaire

Put the berries into a blended and add a little apple juice. Start blending little by little (you don't want the blender to overheat) until you reach the desired consistency. If you feel that the sorbet is too thick, add a little more apple juice. Pour into a container and if needed, adjust the sweetness with a little agave syrup (I used about 1 tbsp or so). Close the container and put it in the freezer. After 20 to 30 minutes, stir the sorbet with a fork. Do this 2 or 3 times to have an homogeneous texture. Then...Enjoy ;)!

Feel free to experiment with different frozen fruits/berries, fruit juice, nut milks and natural sweeteners.

Mettez les baies dans un mixeur et ajoutez un peu de jus de pomme. Mixez petit à petit (vous voulez éviter que le mixeur surchauffe) jusqu'à l'obtention de la texture que vous souhaitez. Si le sorbet vous paraît trop épais, ajoutez un petit peu plus de jus de pomme. Versez dans un container et ajoutez un peu de sirop d'agave si vous jugez que c'est nécessaire (j'ai utilisé 1 bonne cuillère à soupe de ce sirop). Fermez le container et mettez-le au congélateur. Après 20 à 30 minutes, remuez le sorbet avec une fourchette. Répétez l'opération 2 ou 3 fois de manière à obtenir une texture homogène. Ensuite...Régalez-vous!

Vous pouvez expérimenter avec différents fruits/baies surgelé(e)s, jus de fruits, lait végétaux et sucres naturels.

Happy Equinox / Mabon!

While most people feel melancholic and even lethargic in the Fall, I feel awakened, renewed and inspired! (Probably because of my introspective nature...)

Yesterday I celebrated my 30th birthday with a trip to a local mountain (and a homemade GF/DF pear & hazelnut pie) where I was hoping to see some Fall foliage along with a breath of fresh mountain air. We went to an altitude of approximately 3000 feet/1000 meters where there were plenty of oaks but no pines. Though we could feel the change of season, the foliage was just starting to change color. I think we will need to wait a few weeks before seeing any major color change and for the air to get cooler and charged with that specific Autumn smell that I adore.

Yet I was lucky to find & harvest a few wild rosehips (probably from 2-3 different varieties, judging from the differences in size and shape)...Not enough to make jam but once cut, cleaned and dried, I'm sure they'll make a delicious tea ;).

Today I started my Portobello mushroom kit from Mushroom Adventures. I've never grown mushrooms before so I'm very excited about it...And when you know how much they charge for portobellos nowadays! Anyway, 3 to 5 weeks of patience and care are required before the first harvest...

I'm also looking forward to tasting a cup of Castagno Caffé / Chestnut Coffee from Chestnut Trails (just got it today in the mail). It's made of 100% dried roasted chestnuts and is caffeine free as well as gluten free (with the exception of chicory root - which is not pregnancy friendly - and dandelion root, most coffee substitutes are made of grains). Though I've never been a coffee person, I enjoy drinking a cup of faux coffee once in a while (or more often if it's really good).

Andrew's Birthday Cake

A gluten free (using almond meal + a little bit of potato starch) and dairy free chocolate cake that was light, moist and tasty...Both Andrew & I enjoyed it very much. Definitely a keeper!

I found the recipe under a french blog: http://sanslaitsansgluten.over-blog.net/article-13132580.html

The trick about french recipes is that the ingredients have to be measured by weight, not by cups. It's the key to success ;).

Autumn Cinnamon Lip Balm

I like following the cycles of Nature (the cyclical/lunar/seasonal changes in our body remind us that we are Nature's children) and especially the changes of Seasons.

This is very much reflected in my creations and offerings; for this season, cinnamon seemed a natural choice.

Autumn Cinnamon Wise Woman Lip Balm is handmade with organic cinnamon chips infused in a blend of organic extra virgin olive oil & organic sunflower oil, unrefined beeswax, raw honey and vitamin E.

Enjoy ;).

More Paper Incense...

I'm currently making some paper incense which I haven't been doing for a while. I enjoy the whole "alchemical" process of preparing the scented tinctures, which reveal their magic and scents only after a few weeks. Then comes the soaking of the paper (with a brush) which I find quite relaxing, it's like meditation in movement. I'm not sure how letting the scented paper age affects the scent...It's a personal choice that I leave to the ones willing to experiment and surrender to timelessness.

I find that strong aromatic herbs, tree trimmings, resins and spices give the best results. My personal favorites are the wild scents reminiscent of Ancient Woods. I believe that a little bit of the tree/plant spirits and their memory (trees are keepers of time) are infused in the tinctures as well, adding to the uniqueness of the concoctions.

I currently offer some lavender, douglas fir and eucalyptus paper incenses...And plan on adding more soon ;).

Gardening with a French Touch...

I highly recommend reading articles from L'Atelier Vert on kitchen gardening (le potager = the kitchen garden). The current one is on (wild) purslane..."A weed?!" You're gonna say.

Yes! We French people (and I believe Europeans in general) love to eat nourishing weeds, wild edibles and forgotten vegetables (you won't find these delicacies at your local grocery store but if you're lucky you might be able to spot some at the farmers market).

You can also find some in your garden (if you don't spray any pesticides), your neighborhood or the nearby woods. Don't harvest anything you aren't 100% sure about, there are a lot of look-alikes that can be toxic or poisonous. The safest option would be to grow your own...

Don't skip the old posts, they are all very interesting reads... http://www.frenchgardening.com/aupotager.html

Food & Behavior

We are what we eat, it's a fact.
The solution(s) to our health, psychological and behavior problems may well be found in our plates...

http://nourishedmagazine.com.au/blog/articles/food-and-behaviour

Paleolithic Nutrition: Your Future Is In Your Dietary Past

An interesting and informative read:
http://www.nutritionreporter.com/stone_age_diet.html

Autumn Goodies...

I am still in the process of updating my shop with seasonal items...I have 3 or 4 new products that need to be tasted and tested before listing them.

In the Skin/Body Care sections, you will find the following items:

• Autumn Fairy Facial Elixir
• Woodland Fairy Facial Elixir
• Wise Woman Autumn Cream
• La Campagne Face Mask...and more

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=36753&section_id=5101995

I'm hoping to soon add a cinnamon infused lip balm and a pumpkin face mask ;).

In the Artisan Tea section, you can already find:

• Amber Spice Tea
• Journey to Middle-Earth
• Thé d'Automne
• Samhain/All Hallows tea...and more

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=36753&section_id=5096792

I'm working on 2 different & new Chai variations that I'm hoping to add within a few weeks...

I also plan to offer herbal dryer sachets as a natural alternative to chemical, toxic and allergenic scents of commercial softeners.

Thank you for browsing ;).

Automne

"Le vent tourbillonnant qui rabat les volets
Là-bas tord la foret comme une chevelure.
Des troncs entrechoqués monte un puissant murmure
Pareil au bruit des mers rouleuses de galets.

L'Automne qui descend les collines voilées
Fait sous ses pas profonds tressaillir notre coeur.
Et voilà que s'afflige avec plus de ferveur
Le tendre désespoir des roses envolées.

Le vol des guêpes d'or qui vibrait sans repos
S'est tu; le pêne grince à la grille rouillée.
La tonnelle grelotte, et la terre est mouillée
Et le linge blanc, claque, éperdu, dans l'enclos.

Le jardin nu sourit comme une face aimée
Qui vous dit longuement adieu quand la mort vient.
Seul, le son d'une enclume ou l'aboiement d'un chien
Monte, mélancolique, à la vitre fermée.

Suscitant des pensers d'immortelles et de buis,
La cloche sonne, grave, au coeur de la paroisse.
Et la lumière, avec un long frisson d'angoisse,
Ecoute au fond du ciel venir les longues nuits."

Albert Samain

Words of Comfort for Sensitive People

"...Nobody could predict the leap in food allergies that has unfortunately taken place over the last few years. Instead of being defeated, we should take advantage of this, finding new and exciting ways of eating and enjoying sensitively prepared food with the people we love to be with."

From "More from the Sensitive Gourmet" by Antoinette Savill

Celebrate the Goddess through Solitude

"As women, we give ourselves away to many people everyday. Even when this is done in love and joy, it is still depleting if we don't renew ourselves in solitude.
Autumn equinox is a powerful time for inner journeying, being alone in nature, writing in your journal, planning for the months to come. This is a time of year when the Goddess encourages you to get serious about your spiritual path.
Whether your retreat is for an hour, a day or longer, let the rest of the world take care of itself for a while. It's time to care for you."

From SageWoman 2008 Calendar