Sunset Tea Meditation with Van Van Herbal Tea on New Year’s Eve. Van Van is an herbal infusion that was developed to help clear energy and protect the spirit. An old Hoodoo essential oil blend, Van Van was used to provide magical defense, change bad luck to good, and strengthen amulets and charms. Here’s to drinking more Van Van herbal tea at sunset! Bonne Année!
In unsettling moments, one place that always provides sanctuary for me, is in the kitchen. An unexpected turn of events, recently led me down the coast of California to visit my son, who lives in Los Angeles. We spent the day sharing things we enjoy together: a walk around the lake, breakfast at a new restaurant, conversations on life, while also savoring the quiet moments, and spending time in the kitchen baking cookies, naturally.
Late in the afternoon, at the end of our visit, my son offered to bake some keto-friendly chocolate cookies. The smell of baking never fails to improve my mood and on this particular day, it might just bring a little comfort for a tender heart.
Besides I was really curious, eager to find out how my son would turn out a batch of cookies sans sugar, and minus all of the carb-laden ingredients that make cookies delicious. Keto, or ketogenic is a low-carb diet based on eating real foods that offer healthy benefits. The idea intrigued me. A lot.
And I have to admit, there is something really satisfying and comforting, about watching my son embrace the cooking process in his own kitchen, watching him engage in a dialogue with food that unfolds his story. I find myself standing beside the kitchen island filled with awe, when a realization suddenly hit me and I digress for a moment, becoming conscious of a difference that stands out like night and day—- my son’s cooking style is the polar opposite of mine!
Step inside my kitchen and the first thing you’ll notice when I’m preparing a recipe, is that it’s very organized. Every bowl, measuring spoon, and ingredient is lined up and ready to be creamed, mixed, or chopped and sent off to its final destination. I also mentally prepare in advance for the cooking adventure, absorbing myself fully in the process, like a method actor exploring a character. I completely immerse myself in the recipe, dissecting every angle imaginable, as I visualize and breathe my next creation.
My son’s approach to cooking sharply contrasts with mine. A creative thinker, he allows his existential journey through food to be guided by delight in haphazard curiosity and spontaneous improvisation. “What do you think if I combine ghee with butter?” he calmly asks, realizing there’s not enough butter in the refrigerator. Or, “I just found some cocoa powder I can throw in,” he says thrilled by his discovery. “Maybe add a few salted nuts?”
He relies on a recipe like a set of guidelines to forge his own culinary path, rather than a roadmap with constrictive rules. It adds a bit of suspense to the process and also serves as a nice reminder that recipes, like life, can’t always be perfect.
Tasting along the way, his cooking style is more defined by feel rather than exact measurements. None of his ingredients are precisely measured, as he casually scoops the concoction of cookie dough from the bowl onto the baking pan with sheer pleasure and satisfaction. He pops the cookies into the oven, trusting his own intuition and senses to guide him when they will be ready to come out. Like an ear for languages, it’s a talent.
By contrast, I’m one who slavishly counts the seconds with my kitchen timer, in case I get distracted and forget something in the oven. Plus, I like to play by the rules. So many factors go into baking, it’s as much a science as an art. I’ve learned that the smallest alteration in the ingredient or method can completely change the cooking chemistry outcome. Thinking to myself, I begin to wonder about my son’s baking result.
But by the time the sweet smells of chocolate begin to fill the house, I quickly abandon all conventional baking wisdom, and my sense of anticipation is rising from the seductive aromas emanating from the kitchen.
Still warm from the oven, I eagerly reach for a cookie and gently break it apart with my hands. I can’t wait to taste it! I bite into the brownie-like cookie and taste a hint of flaky salt that carries the intensity of the stevia-sweetened dark chocolate chips melting in my mouth. It reminds me of a super moist lava cake dripping in a silky river of chocolate. I find myself eating slowly, savoring the way the sweet and salty flavors ricochet around each other. Each bite makes me want another. I want more —- a lot more.
Although my son and I have very different culinary styles, we share the same philosophy about cooking, and appreciate the meditative sanctuary that our kitchen offers us. The intrinsic value of a dish, the product of a labor of love— is the joy it brings to each other.
Cooking is about engaging in the moment. It meets us wherever we are, like a yoga practice. It opens a path that is within us, like a treasure waiting to be discovered. It is a tactile balm that soothes our heart. It waits to unfold slowly, like a lotus flower blooming. We find stillness and quiet reflection in our kitchen sanctuary. It is a respite, a contemplative temple of food, where we can retreat, when the noise of life becomes distracting.
Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
½ cup, plus 2 Tbls unsalted butter, softenened
½ cup, plus 2 Tbls swerve sweetener
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract or almond extract
1 ¼ cup almond flour
¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup stevia sweetened chocolate chips, plus a little more for topping
Flaky sea salt or fleur de sel for sprinkling on top
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine softened butter and swerve sweetener until creamy and well-blended.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Stir in the almond flour and mix until combined. Add sifted cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be sticky.
Using an ice-cream scoop, form tablespoon-sized mounds of dough onto the baking sheets and press the tops down a bit with your fingers, or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle several chocolate chips and a little flaky salt over the top of each cookie.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Baked Oatmeal Almond Bars make a nice, healthy treat, especially for those who want something as a grab-and-go in the morning, or for an afternoon snack. They hit an excellent balance of crunchy, sweet, and chewy, with an awesome foundation of oats, almonds, and coconut. You can swap out any kind of nut, seed, dried fruit, or berry you wish. A handful of chocolate thrown into the mixture would not be such a bad idea either.
Oats, almonds, blueberries, and coconut mixture going into the oven.
Ingredients:
2 cups oats
1 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
½ cup sunflower seeds, toasted
½ cup coconut, unsweetened
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk, room temperature or gently warm it
1 large egg, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups berries
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch square baking dish or a half-sized sheet pan or muffin tin.
In a bowl, mix together the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, coconut milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.
Sprinkle berries over the prepared baking dish, sheet pan or muffin tin. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Pour the coconut milk mixture over the oats.
Bake 40 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Serve warm, or cool and then cut into squares.
In unsettling moments, one place that always provides sanctuary for me, is in the kitchen.
An unexpected turn of events, recently led me down the coast of California to visit my son, who lives in Los Angeles. We spent the day sharing things we enjoy together: a walk around the lake, breakfast at a new restaurant, conversations on life, while also savoring the quiet moments, and spending time in the kitchen baking cookies, naturally.
Late in the afternoon, at the end of our visit, my son offered to bake some keto-friendly chocolate cookies. The smell of baking never fails to improve my mood and on this particular day, it might just bring a little comfort for a tender heart.
Besides I was really curious, eager to find out how my son would turn out a batch of cookies sans sugar, and minus all of the carb-laden ingredients that make cookies delicious. Keto, or ketogenic is a low-carb diet based on eating real foods that offer healthy benefits. The idea intrigued me. A lot.
And I have to admit, there is something really satisfying and comforting, about watching my son embrace the cooking process in his own kitchen, watching him engage in a dialogue with food that unfolds his story. I find myself standing beside the kitchen island filled with awe, when a realization suddenly hit me and I digress for a moment, becoming conscious of a difference that stands out like night and day—- my son’s cooking style is the polar opposite of mine!
Step inside my kitchen and the first thing you’ll notice when I’m preparing a recipe, is that it’s very organized. Every bowl, measuring spoon, and ingredient is lined up and ready to be creamed, mixed, or chopped and sent off to its final destination. I also mentally prepare in advance for the cooking adventure, absorbing myself fully in the process, like a method actor exploring a character. I completely immerse myself in the recipe, dissecting every angle imaginable, as I visualize and breathe my next creation.
My son’s approach to cooking sharply contrasts with mine. A creative thinker, he allows his existential journey through food to be guided by delight in haphazard curiosity and spontaneous improvisation. “What do you think if I combine ghee with butter?” he calmly asks, realizing there’s not enough butter in the refrigerator. Or, “I just found some cocoa powder I can throw in,” he says thrilled by his discovery. “Maybe add a few salted nuts?”
He relies on a recipe like a set of guidelines to forge his own culinary path, rather than a roadmap with constrictive rules. It adds a bit of suspense to the process and also serves as a nice reminder that recipes, like life, can’t always be perfect.
Tasting along the way, his cooking style is more defined by feel rather than exact measurements. None of his ingredients are precisely measured, as he casually scoops the concoction of cookie dough from the bowl onto the baking pan with sheer pleasure and satisfaction. He pops the cookies into the oven, trusting his own intuition and senses to guide him when they will be ready to come out. Like an ear for languages, it’s a talent.
By contrast, I’m one who slavishly counts the seconds with my kitchen timer, in case I get distracted and forget something in the oven. Plus, I like to play by the rules. So many factors go into baking, it’s as much a science as an art. I’ve learned that the smallest alteration in the ingredient or method can completely change the cooking chemistry outcome. Thinking to myself, I begin to wonder about my son’s baking result.
But by the time the sweet smells of chocolate begin to fill the house, I quickly abandon all conventional baking wisdom, and my sense of anticipation is rising from the seductive aromas emanating from the kitchen.
Still warm from the oven, I eagerly reach for a cookie and gently break it apart with my hands. I can’t wait to taste it! I bite into the brownie-like cookie and taste a hint of flaky salt that carries the intensity of the stevia-sweetened dark chocolate chips melting in my mouth. It reminds me of a super moist lava cake dripping in a silky river of chocolate. I find myself eating slowly, savoring the way the sweet and salty flavors ricochet around each other. Each bite makes me want another. I want more —- a lot more.
Although my son and I have very different culinary styles, we share the same philosophy about cooking, and appreciate the meditative sanctuary that our kitchen offers us. The intrinsic value of a dish, the product of a labor of love— is the joy it brings to each other.
Cooking is about engaging in the moment. It meets us wherever we are, like a yoga practice. It opens a path that is within us, like a treasure waiting to be discovered. It is a tactile balm that soothes our heart. It waits to unfold slowly, like a lotus flower blooming.
We find stillness and quiet reflection in our kitchen sanctuary. It is a respite, a contemplative temple of food, where we can retreat, when the noise of life becomes distracting.
Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
½ cup, plus 2 Tbls unsalted butter, softenened
½ cup, plus 2 Tbls swerve sweetener
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract or almond extract
1 ¼ cup almond flour
¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup stevia sweetened chocolate chips, plus a little more for topping
Flaky sea salt or fleur de sel for sprinkling on top
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine softened butter and swerve sweetener until creamy and well-blended.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Stir in the almond flour and mix until combined. Add sifted cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be sticky.
Using an ice-cream scoop, form tablespoon-sized mounds of dough onto the baking sheets and press the tops down a bit with your fingers, or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle several chocolate chips and a little flaky salt over the top of each cookie.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
While “better-for-you” energy bars are part of an on-the-go lifestyle, most are hiding a hefty (and expensive) amount of sugar, oil, and calories. It is no surprise that obesity rates have increased in a society when meals are a rare occurrence in a busy schedule.
The healthiest nutrition bars do not contain added sugar and are full of ingredients that provide slow sustaining fuel, with whole foods such as nuts, seeds and fruits. A homemade version is even healthier than almost any energy bar that you can buy in a store, and is incredibly simple to throw together, for a fraction of the cost.
Lemon “energy” treats are primarily dates, sesame seeds, and almonds, and are generously flavored with fresh lemon juice, that add a bit of zing to compliment a blanket of snowy white unsweetened coconut. The later gives this energy treat its pronounced taste that pairs well with the floral-scented lemon.
The inside of this lemony treat is soft and slightly sweet, thanks to the flecks of creamy dates. Dates not only replenish energy and revitalize the body instantly, but also contain the right amount of sugar to bring glucose levels up. It is no wonder that Muslims break their daylong Ramadan fast with this nourishing fruit.
The very best energy boost ultimately comes from healthy living. People who eat real foods, (not processed) drink ample water, and exercise daily will have plenty of energy, the natural way.
Lemon “Energy” Treats
Lemon “energy” treats come from a Whole Foods Recipe that I tweaked, just slightly. I substituted toasted almonds for walnuts, and then added a couple of tablespoons of water to the mixture, using a blender to purée it, instead of a food processor. A small-sized ice cream scoop is handy to portion these energy treats into even 2 “ round shapes. Oh, and one more thing, these raw energy delights are gluten-free and vegan-friendly.
Adapted from Whole Foods
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped pitted dates, (I used Medjool dates)
1 cup toasted almonds
1 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 lemon, zest
1-2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes
Directions:
Place dates, almonds, sesame seeds, lemon juice, zest and water in a food processor or blender and mix until creamy. If using a blender place 1/2 of the mixture into the blender and mix until creamy and repeat with the other half. The mixture will be slightly sticky.
Using a small ice cream scoop, drop mixture in coconut and roll into a ball shape. Chill until ready to serve. Makes 2 dozen 2” sized balls.
Bulgur Wheat Salad
Here’s a whole grain salad that is colorful and easy to prepare with the best of late summer garden sweet peppers and cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients:
Makes about 6 cups
1 ½ cups bulgur wheat
1 ½ hot water
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 sweet peppers, yellow, red, orange, purple, diced
1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 green onions, chopped
¼ cup feta cheese, cut into 1/8 inch squares
1 lemon, juiced
5 sprigs of parsley, chopped
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine bulgur wheat with hot water, cover the bowl and let sit about 1 hour until water is absorbed.
Add minced garlic, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, green onions, feta cheese, lemon juice, and parsley to cooked bulgur wheat, toss to combine.
Drizzle with olive oil, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Carrie Fehr 