Get Natured: Holidays

Hometown 4th of July

This 4th of July was a busy one for us. We traveled north for my 20 year high school reunion and to visit with family. It was a weekend filled with hiking...

...and climbing rocks...

...to see a waterfall (Faery Falls):

We watched the hometown parade complete with loud firetrucks...

...pretended to drive Grandpa's Jeep...

...and played croquet:

We watched Mt. Shasta grow pink with alpenglow at sunset...

...and had a driveway fireworks show:

We dressed up and reunited with old friends, some who I hadn't seen for 20+ years:

It was hustle-bustle, but it felt good to get out of town. The hike to the waterfall was a bit of a wakeup call for my inner adventurer. We had to walk on a skinny and gravely (aka slippery) trail on the edge of a drop-off to get to the falls. The walk was totally worth it- I need more of this!

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." ~ John Muir

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, by Allison

Dinner

Taco beans

For our "Traditional Non-Traditional" Christmas tacos, I started with dry pinto beans. I love the way that they taste when they have been slowly simmered with a few flavorful ingredients. Below is my recipe. You can use these beans in tacos, salads, quesadillas, burritos, and more. They are versatile and provide a healthy dose of protein, iron, folic acid, manganese, and fiber.

Taco Beans
Makes enough for ~6-8 tacos

1 cup dry pinto beans
1/2 a large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried Mexican (or regular) oregano
1/2 tsp dried epazote (optional)
1 tsp (or more) chili powder of choice*
Small strip of kombu (helps flavor and reduces gas-causing sugars)
Juice of 1 lime
Sea salt to taste

1. Soak the dry beans in water overnight (or as long as possible).

2. Drain and rinse the beans and place them in a sauce pan. Add all ingredients except for the sea salt (it may slow the cooking process) and add enough water to cover the beans by a few inches. Bring to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are quite tender. This will take about 90 minutes but will vary depending on how long you pre-soaked the beans. When tender, add the sea salt to taste and simmer for a minute or two more. Drain the beans and remove the kombu and bay leaves.

*Chili powder: I really like the red New Mexico chili powder from Two Spicy Ladies (local to me). I can't wait to try some more of their chili powders too!

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, by Allison

Breakfast

Our "Traditional Non-Traditional" Christmas dinner

I realize that I'm a little late and out of order with this, but I wanted to share a few highlights from our "Traditional Non-Traditional" Christmas dinner. After Thanksgiving has passed, we're usually pretty burned out on standard holiday fare. For that reason, we have created a tradition in our family of serving a Christmas dinner made up of foods that are not of the mashed potatoes and gravy variety.

Being a California native, I am a big fan of fresh foods that are grown close to home. I love combinations where I can taste each ingredient, so I tend to keep it simple. This year, while it was rainy and cold outside, we had a hot and spicy (and super fresh) Mexican meal complete with margaritas made with fresh-squeezed lime juice!

Here are some highlights, in photos:

We started the day with homemade cinnamon rolls. These are a vegan version (I used Earth Balance instead of butter and flaxmeal and water instead of egg) of a recipe by 101 Cookbooks and they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Our main meal was homemade tacos served with fresh-squeezed lime juice margaritas (I'm not a fan of the commercial mixes).

Here are the stars of the show:

<photos removed>

Pinto beans simmered all day with onion, garlic, New Mexico chile powder, bay leaf, epazote, and Mexican oregano.

A simple guacamole made with avocado (of course!), cilantro, fresh lime juice, and sea salt.

Homemade pico de gallo (organic tomatoes, red onion, garlic, lime juice, jalapenos, cilantro, and sea salt).

We used these lovely fresh things to make some seriously delicious tacos.

With warm cilantro lime brown rice on the side.

After our tacos settled, we had homemade Mexican chocolate and orange cake with Grand Marnier mousse.

Feliz Navidad!

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, by Allison

Goals

Welcome 2011!

Happy New Year and welcome 2011!

I have been stewing for a couple of months over my goals for the year and I now realize that I'm on a bit of a different path for 2011. I ordinarily go through quite a process to arrive at my intentions, but this year that isn't working for me. I have a tendency to make choices based heavily on the complexity or difficulty of completing the tasks. Something that is hard to do is worth the glory of the accomplishment, right? Hmm.

By choosing to pursue only really difficult things, I tend to create unnecessary stress for myself. I hold those goals over my own head and try to force things that just aren't ready to happen. It is easy to feel suffocated by this unneeded stress. Some degree of challenge is essential for growth but too much struggling, in areas that I am not truly connected with, is truly pointless.

Rather than choosing to walk the path that is the most difficult to traverse, this year I have chosen this phrase as my mantra: sink in. Instead of creating my regularly difficult To Do list for the year, I want to sink in to honoring what I need in the moment. To assemble a life of "I-would-love-to..."s and "too-good-to-be-true"s. I don't want to spend my time unnecessarily. I want to play and be creative. To explore and make messes. I love this:

"Do your thing and I shall know you." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I did create a list of ideas such as getting to the beach more often, soaking in hot mineral springs, climbing things with great views from the top, simmering pots of heirloom beans, making homemade yogurt and breads, doing more yoga, and writing creatively. My list does fill a page. The difference, though, is that I will navigate the pace and direction of things with my intuition instead of a timeline or spreadsheet. I won't crunch numbers. I'll just sink in.

What are you going to do in 2011?

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, by Allison

Appetizers

Fevers, goals, and party dips

With parties and gatherings stacking up on our calendar this weekend, my four year old spiked a 102+ degree fever on Friday. Deep breaths. Cancel. Reschedule. Tylenol. Apple juice. Sleep...

We seem to be just about back on track today and my boy is feeling better, thankfully.

I have been, in the in-between moments, working on my goals for 2011. For 2010, I had WAY TOO MANY goals. Way. Too. Many. I wasn't able to keep track of the list but, honestly, I think the most important things were summed up by my word for the year: CULTIVATE.

GetNatured was born at the end of 2009 and has been growing and evolving organically into something that feels really good. I completed my second and third triathlons in the summer of 2010 and have built new friendships with some amazing women through my moms' group and tri training.

I haven't chosen a word for 2011 yet, but my general themes include having more adventures and more barefoot time (downtime). I want to write more and "to do list" less. I want to have more reasons to take pictures and fewer reasons to stay indoors.

What are your goals from 2011? Did you choose a word for the year?

Aside from creating goals, I know many people are party hopping this time of year and dips, chips, cheese, and desserts abound. Here are three of my favorite recipes that can be eaten with crackers, pita bread, baguette, or veggies or as a salad topper or sandwich filling:

Roasted red pepper dip (recipe)
Chickpea salad (recipe) - try adding a little cayenne for an extra kick
Spicy edamame dip (recipe)

Speaking of veggies, we received this romanesco in our last CSA box. I LOVE the way that it looks!

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, by Allison

Appetizers

Driveway sledding and vegan sun-dried tomato and pesto torta

I'm finally thawing out after a cold but fun Thanksgiving weekend. We went with family to Lake Tahoe and holed up in a little cabin for a few days.

I looked around online for a Turkey Trot in the area for Thanksgiving morning but I wasn't able to find a race close enough. I am, however, thankful for that in retrospect! Thanksgiving morning was COLD!!

Instead of braving the sub-zero morning, I decided to wait until the sun warmed things up to a balmy 24 degrees to head outside to play with my kids.

We bundled up. A lot.

Then we hit the "slopes" for some driveway sledding!

For the big "feast" (as my 4 year old calls it), I ordered a vegan meal from Whole Foods Market and made a few appetizers (vegan sun-dried tomato and pesto torta), side dishes (sweet potatoes, green beans, and vegan stuffing), and dessert (pumpkin gingerbread with spiced buttercream) to share with everyone. Everything was delicious- especially the sweet potatoes! I used a recipe from OSG and these were the best sweet potatoes I've ever had! Seriously awesome!

Since there were eight of us in a tiny cabin, you can imagine how crowded things were. I didn't take photos of our dinner but I did capture one of the appetizer dip that I invented for the occasion: Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Torta.

Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Torta
1 prepared recipe of cashew cheese (use 2 cups of cashews and as little water as possible)
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts

Divide cashew cheese into 3 equal parts. Line your container/mold with plastic wrap, letting it hang over the sides of the bowl. Place one part cashew cheese in the container and smooth over.
Place second part of cashew cheese and sun-dried tomatoes (drained) in a food processor and process until smooth and well-blended. Add this mixture to the bowl on top of the plain cashew cheese and smooth over the top.
Place third part of cashew cheese, basil leaves, and pine nuts in the food processor (washed after SD tomato layer), and process until smooth and well-blended. Add this pesto layer to the top of the bowl/mold and smooth over. Gently fold the excess plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
To serve, uncover the torta and place a serving plate on top of the bowl. Flip the bowl over and carefully remove the plastic. Garnish with pine nuts and a basil sprig (if you're fancy!) and serve with sliced baguette.

Did you know?... Cashews provide heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, protein, copper, magnesium, iron, manganese, and immune-boosting zinc. The nutritional yeast in the cashew cheese adds B vitamins (including B12) and more protein to this healthy appetizer!

Heading home was a little sketchy. We left a day early, hoping to beat the crowds. The roads were frozen and it was snowing sideways!