sunshine and rain makes my plants happy

I try to juice daily, but some days I can't find the time. If I want to juice I have to remember to wake up early enough before work to give myself time to wash the veggies, juice, and then clean the juicer. I love kale/apple juice. It's one of my favorite combos. I also like to make this one because my husband will drink it and enjoys it. Bonus!

I am so proud of my mini garden. I live in a small townhouse so space is limited. Here I have thyme, dill, Thai sweet basil (still small), chamomile (still small), and catnip. I cannot tell you how much my cats love fresh catnip. It makes a huge difference to give them freshly dried catnip as apposed to store bought catnip that has been sitting there for months.

My spearmint and peppermint always do awesome when it rains. They crave water and like the shade under my air conditioner. I am trying to grow my toothache plant in the black pot there. It has sprouted, but it won't get any bigger. I don't know what to do to help it out.

I think I may have solved the problem of the birds eating my Purple Cauliflower. Chicken wire! Who knew that birds would like such a thing? Every time the sprouts start to get big they get chomped by the birds. Maybe it is the purple stems that attracts them, I don't know. My Bennings Green Tint Scallop Squash is growing higher and higher. No sign of any squash yet. My Manoa Lettuce in the front always grows up fast when it rains too :)

Falafels & Hummus

My dinner last night was falafels with naan, spinach, falafel sauce, avocados, and hummus. I make falafels, not from scratch, probably once a week. It's so easy to make that's why. I either make them into little balls like you are suppose to or I make it into a falafel burger. My favorite part about the falafels is the sauce I make with them.

Falafel Sauce

1/2 cup veganese

2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

1/4 cucumber, chopped in cubes

1 Tbsp dill (I always puts lots of dill though)

pinch of pepper

Hummus

1 can organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

3 garlic cloves

3 Tbsp tahini

1/2 of one lemons juice

2 Tbsp olive oil (I used an italian olive oil with garlic and such added)

sea salt

1 tsp cumin

water, enough to incorporate

Two different smoothie combos I have had in the last two days are

Green Smoothie #1

Small handful organic spinach

1/4 an avocado

1 cup organic blueberries

2 Tbsp chia seeds

Apple juice, enough to blend

1/2 scoop RAW protein powder

Green Smoothie #2

1/2 an avocado

1 cup organic blueberries

1 cup coconut kefir

1 tsp maca powder

2 Tbsp chia seeds

Do you guys like my new bumper sticker? My friend and I just started exchanging "hippy packs" as we are calling them. We send each other random "tree hugger" things that we think the other would like in the mail. It's so fun! You should try it!

Pizza & Cookies

First off, the pesto.

1 bunch of Thai sweet basil

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup soaked cashews

sea salt

1/4 an avocado

enough olive oil to process

Throw it all in the food processor until well incorporated.

I used some naan bread for the pizza crust and then covered it with pesto.

Some apple/kale juice while I'm cooking

My Pizza

2 naan

homemade pesto

handful of organic spinach

handful of crimini mushrooms

half a yellow bell pepper

half a tomato

1/4 an organic purple onion

mozzarella daiya cheese

cheddar daiya cheese

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

This pizza was AWESOME! I was so proud of myself. I had some organic chocolate stout with it and didn't really like it.

Next up, almond milk.

Almond milk is so easy.

Almond milk

3 cups purified water

1/2 cup raw almonds

1 Tbsp agave

pinch sea salt

Blend all ingredients on high for 2 minutes. I didn't have cheesecloth so I had to use my tea strainer to strain it after. Strain the milk through the tea strainer or cheesecloth into a clean glass. Drink! Check out the recipe for raw hemp milk HERE.

Lastly, vegan chocolate cookies.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup white flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup raw white sugar

3/4 cup vegan margarine

1/2 cup raw almond milk

1 tsp vanilla

salt

1 cup or more vegan chocolate chips

Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients separate. Mix them all together. Add chocolate chips last. Bake at 300 for 15-20 minutes.

I had a wonderful day, goodnight :)

Peace Cafe

I finally got to try Peace Cafe! It is located on 2239 South King Street, Honolulu. I kind of had to search for it because it is so small. I passed by it once and didn't even see it until I looped around again. The sign is very small right above the door as you can see. Any way, Peace Cafe is, as far as I know, the only all vegan restaurant/cafe on Oahu. It is a quaint little place with friendly people and great food. My husband described it as the very thing that the cafe stands for "Peaceful."

Their menu is small, but it still has quite a good variety of choices. They have sandwiches on the menu such as a miso-tahini flavored spinach & tofu cube sandwich or a pan-fried teriyaki tempeh sandwich. All their sandwiches come with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, sprouts, & homemade aioli on a ciabatta bun. You can also chose from 5 different "lunchboxes" with choices like Moroccan Stew with spiced chickpeas in tomato broth with brown rice or a Caesar Salad with romaine lettuce in cashew cream dressing with toasted bread. If you have room for dessert, they have different sweets that you can have along side with your coffee or tea.

Don't you love this light? I had to say, "Excuse me, sorry to be in the way but can I just take a picture of this?" to the cashier because it was right next to her head :)

Refreshing complimentary water with lemons

I actually got two sandwiches, because I couldn't chose between the two. I got the Avo-Veggie sandwich and the Cilantro Hummus sandwich. I LOVED both! They were both packed with veggies, especially sprouts. The hummus sandwich had homemade hummus on it, which I liked. I hate when it isn't fresh. The cashier actually told me, Oh our hummus is good! It is homemade and they don't just use lemon juice. We hand squeeze all our lemons. That made me happy. I also found out that most of their ingredients are organic and they try to buy local as much as possible. I think next time what I will do is get the Cilantro Hummus sandwich and ask them to add avocado so that it will be like two sandwiches in one.

I like that the place was air conditioned and very cool inside. It was small, quiet, and peaceful even with the other 6 or 7 patrons that were in there eating at the time. The cashier was the only lady working in the front. She was friendly and helpful. I had a very pleasant experience there and will definitely be back! You can check out their website HERE.

Lychee & Dinner

My friend Stephanie dropped off a bag of lychee for me yesterday. The town she lives in has tons of lychee! They grow like weeds over there! Have you guys ever seen a lychee tree? They are beautiful!

Any way, last night we had a BBQ for Fathers Day at my house. I made some potato salad. Sorry this picture is pretty messy. It's always hard serving potato salad to my family without eggs in it. Potato salad in Guam (where I am from) is suppose to have eggs. My dad said, it was "different."

Potato Salad

4 Yukon organic gold potatoes

1 cup organic veganese

3-4 Tbsp chopped olives (more if you want, I hate olives)

3-4 Tbsp chopped pimentos

Sea salt

Pohnpei pepper (regular ground pepper is fine)

Dill - to taste (I add a lot)

1/8 tsp Marjoram

Boil potatoes until soft. Chop into cubes and leave on skin if you desire. (If your potatoes are not organic, then I don't recommend leaving the skin on.) Add all ingredients and mix. Serve!

This was my plate at the BBQ. Tofurkey sausage with mustard, baked beans, potato salad, and sauerkraut.

New to me, old to some of you

I just recently discovered something called Bentonite. Now, I realize that I am probably way late on this, but I am going to talk about it any way. I only started taking it a day ago, so I cannot say that I have felt any difference yet. I will tell you a little about Bentonite and its benefits though.

Bentonite clay can treat so many different things including the following: neutralizing poisons in the intestinal tract, treat food poisoning, mucus colitis, spastic colitis, viral infections, stomach flu, and parasites (parasites CANNOT reproduce in the presence of clay). It balances your blood and adsorbs radiation (such as cell phones, microwaves, x-rays, etc.) It has shown helpful in treating arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, stomach ulcers, animal and poisonous insect bites, acne, anemia, and more! This clay is a miracle clay! I'll update you guys later with how I feel after taking it for a while.

Adopt-A-Cat Month

This June is Adopt a Shelter Cat month. In celebration, all adult SCARShelter cats adoption fees are dropped to $20. This is for all adults male or female. All SCARS cats come neutered/spayed & microchipped. Most of them have also been tested for FIV and are up to date on shots as well.

This is Boo. She is a mellow, friendly girl. She has a heart murmur, but it is not anything serious. It just means that she is more on the mellow side and never gets hyper. She is around 6 years old. She was surrendered because her owners did not think she would do well on the flight to the mainland. She is spayed, microchipped, and up to date on shots.

This is Sir Wellington. He is a calm, declawed male. He was surrendered with Boo. He is neutered, microchipped, and up to date on shots as well. He is friendly and loving. I think he would do best in a one pet household where he could get all the attention. He is 9 years old and has been through a lot.

This beautiful boy is Casper. He is a flame-point siamese. He does well with other cats and dogs if you give him time. He likes to cuddle, but also likes to do his own thing. He is a flame-point Siamese.He is also, of course, neutered, microchipped, FIV tested negative, and up to date on immunizations.

Check out SCARShelter for more available pets!