Three Days into Session II

I have lived the last four weeks less than a couple miles from a mall.  Generally speaking I am not a mall person however, last Sunday on my walk, I was just curious enough to actually go in for the first  time to check it out.  And there it was .... HALLELUJAH!!  ... a Williams-Sonoma store!!!  It beckoned me inside, seriously, called to me!  The most incredible sales lady offered me a cup of espresso from the new espresso machine they were now selling.  I would give her name, but I am not sure I should for privacy reasons, but let's just say, she may be my new best friend here.  For probably the next hour I checked out all the beautiful things in the store.  Wow, it is the nicest store!  Seriously!  Here I am, in Oklahoma City to learn raw food cuisine and I am in a store specializing in things to cook with!  A few things I absolutely fell in love with are the cute colorful really little spatulas at the top of my blog (yes I have a red one already, but I don't have the other colors!) and these really, really, really cute tiny glasses....

They hold 3.25 oz.!!  They are perfect for everything!!!  Hot, cold, dessert, etc., etc.  Love, love, love them!!!  In addition to my own finds, my new best friend who calls herself the "gadget queen"  and rightfully so, showed me at least a half a dozen gadgets that looked like so much fun!  One of them is this little garlic (and onion) chopper... how fun would this be to use!?!

Good news is, all three of my new favorite things can be put to good use in raw food cuisine just as well as cooked cuisine, so I am planning a trip to my nearby Williams-Sonoma when I get home.  I do have to admit, I got a fabulous sales pitch for the Staub cookware that made me weak in the knees listening to what it does to cooked food.  I guess I am not a 100% convert yet to raw food.
  
Well, now onto Session II at 105 Degrees.  Yikes!  It is so much faster paced than Session I!  These four weeks will be pretty action (and stress) packed.  Right now we are focusing deepening our understanding of the building blocks of raw cuisine.  The food we have made lately is very light and fresh... Spring Rolls ...

Shaved Fennel Salad ...

Arugula Pear Salad ...

All very light and fresh tasting, making one think of spring! 


 Thank goodness for me, who is not completely used to eating this way yet and feeling satisfied, we had a little time to make a special sweet treat too. . . 

These are sold in the 105 Degrees gift shop in "bar" form.   We made them more like a big cookie.  And yes, it is really as good as it looks!


Last night we had the privilege of hearing Phillip McCluskey.  He is an exceptionally eloquent speaker and captivated a standing room only audience with his very personal poignant journey of self transformation on a physical, emotional and spiritual level.  Having been morbidly obese for most of his life, he reached a pinnacle turning point setting him on a life changing path that is truly inspirational.  In the course of two years he lost over 200 pounds on his own version of a raw foods "diet".  I left the lecture having really been "given" something special by him.  His message is not only one of weight loss, but a much bigger one of self-love instead of self-doubt, of stillness and being present instead of living in the past, and of positive thinking rather than negative thinking.  Things we all need to hear and remember on a regular basis.                    


Last but not least ... next week, we have not one, but two involved projects.  One is to think of a topic, research it, and give a five to seven minute presentation on it with "visuals".  Any ideas?  The only one I have right now is about the benefits of juice fasting.  I personally find this topic fascinating and often misunderstood.  


As always, I thank you for taking the time to read my blog!  It is fun to know I have "blog" friends out there!