What a pleasant surprise!

As you may have read here, I was at the 'Vegetarian Expo' on Sunday.

When I was there I bumped into one of my old friends who I hadn't talked to in about a year, Hayley.

Me and Hayley met in French class, and I have to say, she is pretty awesome!

So when I saw her I said Hi, and she said Hi, and we were both like :D

Then I wrote on her wall (this would be the Facebook wall. If you don't have a Facebook, you may not be down with the lingo), and said, "Hey, it was cool seeing you! We should meet up!"

This may seem incredibly boring to you, but keep reading, it gets better!

And she said, "Yes we should! Are you a vegetarian? I'm a vegan."

I was so amazed, I knew she also was quite sick last year and had to take time off school, but seriously! She's a Vegan?! I was amazed, so I wrote back straight away and told her I was Raw and that I was so happy that I knew someone around my age who was also 'enlightened'.

Today me, my mum, and my mum's non-raw-vegan friend went to lunch at a restaurant that serves raw food (as well as vegetarian and vegan), called the Lotus Heart.

I like this friend of my mum's, because she is really supportive of our raw veganism. It's about 50/50, some people like it, others do not, and argue about it. But this friend is cool, and she also paid for lunch...


This is what my mum and her friend had, I didn't have it because the rice paper it was wrapped in was cooked. It appeared to be similar to a Christmas present.



And my favorite, a Cookies and Cream drink! Because two photos are better than one :D


This is what I had, the Raw Nori Roll. I have had a few rolls in my time (that sounds slightly disturbing), and I have to say, this was a gooood roll. Very good indeed.

To go with it I had a Raw Couscous Salad. I think it was made up of cauliflower, brocolli, cilantro, and raisins.


And for dessert, (who doesn't have dessert with lunch?) I had a Chia Swirl, and a Mayan... Thing. I've forgotten what it was called! I think it may have been 'brick' or 'block' or something, but that just doesn't seem right. Memory fail!


Then, because I was so well behaved in public for a change (that was a joke), my mum's friend bought me a raw Chocolate Bar! I ate it before I could photograph it, but photographed the wrapper anyway, which was funky.

I have some very very very exciting news, this is possibly the best news I've heard in forever.
My beautiful friend Meredith from the raw seed is releasing a new eBook, Raw Italian Feast ! I am so excited! I have promised her I will write a review, and you will not be disappointed!

Meredith has already put out two eBooks, they are both amazing, they feature her beautiful food, and stunning photography. You can purchase them both here. But wait, there's more! The profits from these eBooks go towards Meredith and her husband Dustin's project, known as Bleu Bee, an old school bus which they are lovingly converting into a home which they plan to use to travel in all over and spread raw food as far as they can, which is totally worth supporting!

You can also make a donation by heading over to her page, and clicking on a link there.

I also got my university essay and test results back, 89% for the essay and 96% for the aural test. :)

Peace and Raw Food,
Felic x

Vegetarian/Vegan/Raw Expo 2010

So much fun! :D

The day started off with me meeting my BFFL Josh in town.

We had to walk a mile or two to get to the venue, but eventually... we made it! The day was like rly warm.

It was so crowded.

We walked through Hagley Park to get there. It was pretty cool, you gotta admit. There were blossoms on the trees, flowers scattered, sort of like a fairytale. It probably wouldn't be a fairytale if you had allergies though, then it would be a minefield.

But back to the soothing pictures.

The lol moment du jour was when me and Josh went up to a table to grab a free sample, and the lady was like, "Hey Gurlz!", and Josh was like, "Ahem. Excuse me?" and she was like, "Uh... and Guyz..." I laughed for the next ten minutes.

Food! Food was so tasty. Of course, I only ate the raw vegan stuff. I bought a bottle of Kombucha, too, 'cos I was so thirsty. But ew, it did not taste good. The stuff we brewed at home was so much better. (No offence to the guy who made it if you're reading this, though why would you be. Are you a stalker or something?!)

We had one each of these. On the left are Chia Swirls, and on the right are Chocolate Velvet Slices. They are even better than they sound!

I had a Lucuma Luxury drink. This is the drink stand.

I had a Quiche Lorraine. That sounds like a person's name, or is that just me?

Josh had a truffle, as usual. Because Josh always has a truffle. What am I getting Josh for his birthday in two weeks? A truffle.

Can you spot my mother, I mean, uh, Waldo? Chances are, you cannot.

Haha. Thar she is.

I had a slice of gateau as well, and me + mum halved a raw tortilla wrap.

The day was so great, perfect weather, great food, except for my mum constantly making inappropriate jokes in front of Josh. Just kidding, I do love you mum. :)

Peace and Raw Food,
Felic x

Mmmm Food

This is what was made this week.

Cheese and Lettuce Sandwhich

Bread!! I can't believe it. Well, it didn't exactly work to perfection, because we didn't have the right attachment on our juicer, but mmm, with cheese and lettuce, it tasted great, and it was sort of crispy too, like toast!

Hummus.

Made by my dear mother. It tasted good, too! But it had a strong after taste, which wasn't the coolest. Maybe it's just me. Because I don't really like garbanzo beans!

Cheeze

I couldn't believe it, either! Cheese! I didn't add any flavorings except for a lot of nutritional yeast, next time I will add other ingredients. It tasted so nice, and looked pretty cool, too.

Strawberry... Drink (un-inspired name, I know)

Since it is nearly Summer, this has been my favorite drink to sip in the sunny garden. Unfortunately, I have been banned from drinking it everyday, downgraded to drinking it once a week.

Apparently I was using too many strawberries... Hah.

The Raw Vegan Cheesecake Chronicles: Take Two

The Case of the Berry Swirl

I've been wanting to make another Cheesecake for awhile now... and the other day I tried a gorgeous one at the raw vegan cafe, I decided I would try to replicate it, but of course, do it my way.

It has a vanilla crust, boysenberry layer, strawberry layer, and chocolate drizzel... <3

I got the recipe from Meredith at the raw seed. I have started to think that the Cheesecake has real potential and endless possibilities... Hmm... I may have to open a Cheesecake business now.

My menu for this week (with pictures, hopefully):
- Tacos (I really want to make tacos again...)
- Ice Cream Bars
- Cheese (for my mum, who used to love cheese, but now thinks it smells of 'cow'.)
- Bread
- Hummus (my mother is hummus-obsessed at the moment, for no particular reason).

In one week there is a Vegetarian Expo where I live! I can't wait. There are going to be two people talking about Raw Veganism. I think it's great that they're getting the idea out there, and it would be so cool if people could start incorporating and trying raw cuisine in their diets.

The only problem is, (and this sounds really stupid), I don't have anyone to go with! I have a friend, who lives really far away, I know he would want to come, but he wouldn't be able to come into town. And I have another friend who is vegetarian, but is not interested at all in vegetarianism, and I could imagine her wanting to leave the second we arrive. This dilemma needs to be resolved!

Also last week I did a 2 day water fast. It was because of the earthquake, I was feeling really dragged down and I strongly felt I needed a thorough detoxification. I kept a journal and also took my measurements and weight during that time, but I will probably dedicate another post to it.

That's all for now.

Peace and Raw Food,
Felic x

P.S. If you have a Raw Food Rehab page, add me here!

Raw Recipe: Decadent Chocolate Mousse

This is just so damn tasty.

Ingredients:
10 Dates
1/2 Avocado
1 tbsp Organic Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Raw Organic Honey
1/4c Raw Organic Cacao Powder
1/2c Filtered Water


Method:
Blend all the ingredients until they are smooth and creamy, then serve.

If you want to use it as a cake topping I suggest putting it in the fridge for a few hours to set.

Where is Felic Pear?

Don't worry, here I am!

What have I been doing?

Trust me, it would not interest you at all. Study, Study, DVDs, and Study. Yes, you heard right, I've been studying! French, Latin, Economics, Music, University... Fun times.

I have been having lots of Green Smoothiez since we got the power back... Yumz! I was dying without them. I've been trying to save my skin with them, and slowly but surely it's coming back from the atrocious state it was in.

We have tap water back, too. Mmmm, it tastes so good. The moral of this horrible tragedy is "Absence makes the heart grow fonder". True words. I was surviving on a glass of water per day, it was horrible. Luckily I managed to stay Raw the whole time! At first I was eating way too much fat, which was not helping me at all. Then I switched to fruitarian, and when we got safe water from the aquifer back, fruitarian + green smoothies.

My mum has been making us the most amaaazing salads recently! I'm not big on salad, though if it is a nice salad, I will love it! The one's I tend to make for myself are usually a few leaves, and a carrot sliced up. So really, it is not an A+ with the salad.

Mmmm... This was so divine :D

In it was tons of varieties of lettuce, spinach, sauerkraut (which I will learn how to make!), pesto, cottage cheese (raw of course), avocado, carrot, and sprouted then dehydrated buckwheat. So, so, so, so good! My mum has skills!

We have also been drinking lots of Kefir. I love Kefir. And we've got the hang of making it, too. I think I will do a post on How to make Kefir, for those that do not know, as it is a highly beneficial drink.

When school eventually resumes to normal, I am planning on bringing in a slice of Meredith's (of the raw seed) Cheesecake in for my BFF Josh to try. Josh has been the spectator of my sickness, wheat intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarianism, and finally Raw Foodism over the past year. He has accompanied me to the raw vegan cafe many a time, and has sampled some Raw Foods, and concluded that, "Well, they're not all that bad, maybe they're even good." (Josh is a fussy eater...)

Here is my last effort, read here.

I'm actually bringing the Cheesecake in to mark the 100th word of the language that me and Josh have created this past year. I really love languages and learn as many as I can, Josh however, does not share this love. Josh does love to talk whenever he wants, interrupting whatever I'm doing, and he also likes to talk around people without them knowing what he is saying. (I think it's like that for everyone). So we created a language. And I've been promising to bring in a slice of cheesecake to mark the event. Stay tuned!

So that's what I've been doing. It's not really the most enthralling of activities, just life.

Peace and Raw Food,
Felic Pear x

Staying Raw in a State of Emergency

So recently there was an earthquake, and since then the Government has declared our city to be in a state of emergency (whatever that means). As well as that, we have a curfew (not allowed out from 7pm - 7am). I know! At least it applies to everyone, not only the teenagers. We have to boil any drinking water, since the sewerage pipes have exploded, for at least three minutes. We had no power or water for a day, and some people still don't. We are regularly experiencing aftershocks; there have been over 50. All schools are closed for two days (though mine will probably be closed for longer because it is in the central business district). The university is closed til the 13th, so I have an extension on my essay (hells yeah). The prime minister (kind of like the president in America), flew down and went on a tour of the destroyed city, and declared it to be 'rly bad'.

Yesterday people were buying up large in the few stores that were open, buying stuff such as canned food, milk, bottled water, bread, etc.

But I managed to stay Raw through the whole thing.

It's not like we knew that the earthquake was coming or anything, but somehow, just somehow, we had dehydrated lots of different varieties of crackers a few days before, and had lots of different fruits.

We didn't have the use of a blender, and not many bananas, so as a result, I haven't had a green smoothie in 2 days. That has been the most challenging. I didn't realize how important they were in my everyday diet til they were gone! My skin isn't faring so well... but tomorrow we are biking down to the organic grocers and stocking up on bananas and greens, and the second I get home I'm making myself a mega green smoothie!

Other than the lack of green smoothies, I have been living well (probably eating the best in Christchurch, from what I hear, people have had to eat all their ice cream before it defrosts, drink tons of milk, and eat only junk food, because they have no access to cooking equipment). I've been eating lots of raw crackers, and lots of fruits. And spending most of my time cowering under my bed.

I don't know what is in store for the next week. We are expecting gale winds, and possibly another smaller earthquake. My mum is keeping me home until the aftershocks stop.

My friends (and a lot of people out there) aren't exactly the most religious, but I truely do consider it a blessing that not one single person was killed, out of 360,000. Sure, there were some close calls, and a lot of buildings were damaged, but human life is far more precious, and the fact that we're all here today is a miracle.

Earthquake

I had a post planned to write today, but at the moment I haven't really had the time.

This morning at 4.35am, there was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch and lasted for 40 seconds.

We're safe, and our house isn't damaged, but wow, it was scary.

I was woken up by the house shaking, and then I realized it was serious. I ran into the hallway yelling for my mum to wake up, and stood in the doorway. This has never happened before. I didn't know how long it was going to last, if it was going to get worse, I heard my books falling off my bookshelf and the ground shaking. It was terrifying.

The power went out, and has only recently just come on. We didn't have a radio, and called my grandma to receive updates. The town center is really badly damaged. My best friends called and I was thankful that they were all right. We're still experiencing after shocks.

I will post later. What an annoying distraction to my perfectly planned weekend, just joking, I'm glad that no one is dead.

Because my school is in the middle of town and I am on the 4th floor, chances are I will have the day off school on Monday.