This week’s recipe theme is ALL AMERICAN So I made an apple pie…raw!! I try to keep most of my diet to raw food – it gets more difficult for me as it gets colder outside! But I don’t usually follow raw recipes. I just throw veggies together and mix up the “sauce” ingredients or I just eat fruit plain and simple. But a friend of mine posts the most divine looking raw desserts (as well as breakfasts, lunches and dinners!) on her blog, she inspired me to try one for myself.

You will need both a blender and a food processor. Because, I guess you can’t put liquid stuff in the food processor or it will seep out of every crack and crevasse..nobody told me that!

For the crust you will need

2 cups almonds-plus a few more for dusting the bottom

2 cups dates

1 teaspoon salt

Put a few almonds in the food processor and line your pie plate with almond dust

Next process the almonds dates and salt until they make a sticky mass. Dump them into a bowl and make it into a ball with your hands, try to form it into your pan shape as best you can-it will be crumbly-press itinto the bottom of you r pie plate.

For the Filling you will need

6-8 apples chopped-or thinly sliced

1 cup raisins and or cranberries

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Combine in a bowl

For the Syrup for the filling you will need (this can be doubled-I did, because I lost most of it when I tried to make it in the food processor instead of the blender!)

1/2 cup of dates

1 large orange

1/4 cup of water

Blend this all up until smooth and pour over your filling.

Be sure to pit all your dates!!!

This was so delicious!! I even ate it for breakfast the next day and it was even better because the apples had softened a bit.

Try it you’ll like it!!!

OK now it’s your turn to share. Just add your name or blog name to Mr. Linky and be sure to also leave me a comment-in case Mr Linky doesn’t work-and we will come to your party too!!

Next weeks theme is ORANGE

I did it-I made the switch. What a crazy nostalgic feeling came over me when I looked at my photos. Most of the photos I took and developed in both high school and college were black and white. I forgot how much I love the look, the contrast the whole feel of black and white. Here are a few of my favorites from yesterday.

The last two I messed with the color-post production, my camera was still set on monochrome. I posted these on the Flare Friday group I belong to also. (I couldn’t wait until Friday!!)

I love this challenge, I am so glad I joined. It is just the artistic boost I needed.

Now for the announcement! If you are a regular reader, you know that I regularly post recipes on Thursdays. I call them Thursdays Quarter Recipes because I used to go out for quarter beers on Thursday nights. It was the highlight of the week and the beginning of the weekend. Now that I am a responsible adult and I don’t partake in those Thursday night rituals any longer, I decided to kick off the weekend with some tasty food instead. But I am tired of drinking alone! I want to host a Quarter Recipe Party every Thursday and everyone is invited!! WooHoo!

I will post a weekly food theme. You can share a recipe, a tip, a link-what ever you see as fitting in with the weeks theme. It doesn’t matter if your a vegetarian, fruitatarian, raw foodist or a meat lover. You can add your name to the Mr Linky that will be installed on my blog on Thursdays and link to PepperPaints Thursday Quarter Recipe page from your blog. Don’t worry it will be easy! So start thinking about what you will post and share on Thursday for this-election- weeks Thursday Quarter Recipe theme

ALL AMERICAN

I hope lots of you will join in!

I signed the girls and me up to do this. It is a Nature Journaling on-line class at Camp Creek Press. We have been looking at some books on making books and getting some ideas. I am thinking about a mini-nature journal as well as a few others. Maybe next week-bookmaking!
This has been a really busy week with extra outside activities added into our regular busy schedule. Yesterday we went rollerskating/blading. It is a monthly homeschool event that Molly has really come to enjoy. Luckily I found our old plastic, playschool, over the shoe skates in the garage for Ginger. She was in heaven, shuffling around that rink with the big kids.
Today was the monthly trip to an indoor sports facility to jump in bouncies and blow up slides, kick ball, soccer…..It is tons of fun for the kids and another chance for Moms to chat. Today I met a couple of new families.
We are really lucky in our neck of the woods to have so many homeschooling families. We have several homeschool groups; religious, secular, inclusive, unschoolers. All are very active. I can’t really imagine it any other way. Between the homeschool families from our La Leche League group to the Several families from Jake’s preschool class that went on to homeschool, we never felt isolated. It is so nice for our out side the box lifestyle choices to seem completely run of the mill with these people. And making new friends is always so exciting!
Tomorrow we are going to a local yarn shop for a drop spindle and spinning class. Sure to be a big hit!! I promise photos.

One last tid bit of info–This morning I found a link to this raw food site. It looks great and it is full of more links to check out. I was about 95 % raw from last March until just after Thanksgiving. I felt so great! Once the cold weather hit I dropped back to about 20% raw. It sure gets cold and damp here. But my husband bought me a food dehydrator for xmas so hopefully that will help this winter. Well now that Spring has sprung it is time to shed my winter coat. I am back to my raw eating habits and daily walking and I must say it feels good.