Garden d'Lights in Bellevue Botanical Gardens

To many people Garden d'Lights has become a tradition. More and more people are visiting this light extravaganza at the Botanical Gardens in Bellevue each year. A lot of volunteers and more than 10,000 hours have been put into decorating this garden with lights for the holidays. And it is well worth a visit.

Have a stroll in the garden and then have some hot cocoa before you head back to your car. Garden d'Lights is open until the end of the year and cost $5.00 per person.

For more pictures, check out the Garden d'Lights' gallery.

Big balls

I had an errand at the upscale shopping mall Bravern in Bellevue last week. It was my first visit there and I discovered the biggest balls I have ever seen. Yes, they are baubles, but in Swedish we call them balls.

Too big to fit any Christmas tree. Actually, the fireplace was pretty big too.

No happy socks today

I was going to blog about the Swedish brand Happy Socks today, but today is not a happy day here in the US. I guess there are horrible things happening every day in the world, but we humans usually become more affected and emotional when bad things happen close to home.

So today I just want to say that I will be thinking of all the families affected by the elementary school shooting in Newtown this morning. It is just so sad.

Have a good weekend and think about all the things and friends that you have and be thankful for that.

Lime and orange marinated salmon

A lot of people have asked for my lime and orange marinated salmon, so time to share the recipe with anyone interested.

Ingredients:
2 lbs (1kg) salmon
4 tbs sea salt
3 tbs sugar
1 lime
1 orange

1. Freeze the salmon for 48 hours.
2. Thaw the salmon.
3. Mix the salt and sugar together and rub into the salmon on the side facing up.
4. Marinate for 24 hrs.
5. About 2hrs before serving, thinly slice the salmon and place the slices on a serving plate.
6. Sprinkle the peel of 1 lime and 1 orange on top of the salmon. I use a zester for finer peel.
7. Squeeze the juice of the orange and lime on top of the salmon and put the salmon in the fridge for about 2 hours. 

Enjoy!

Gluten and dairy free gingerbread cookies

This year I did not want to only make raw gingerbread balls for Christmas. I missed the baked gingerbread cookies, so little I and I decided to make the kitchen messy by baking gingerbread cookies and Lucia buns.

I use my mother's old recipe which is super easy and the dough only needs to cool down a bit before I can start making the cookies.

It is very dangerous once the dough is ready because there is a risk it will be eaten before we even start making the cookies. The mix of spices is, oh, so delicious.

Little I thought that we should decorate it while we were waiting for it to cool down.

It turned out that little I has a skill that I was not aware of; getting the cookies from the table onto the baking trays without altering the shape of the cookie. I always find this step hard and several cookies have to be redone.

Once the cookies are out of the oven, you have to open you nostrils wide to breathe in as much goodness as possible. An aroma of Christmas and Lucia and festive mode.

Papaya carpaccio

The Thanksgiving weekend is a long four-day feast of healthy food, book-reading, walks, and socializing for me. So relaxing.

For lunch today I made papaya carpaccio. So easy. Just some mixed salad as a base. Then thinly sliced papaya on top. Squeeze some lime, add some sea salt and olive oil and then sprinkle some pecan nuts on top.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is for Americans what Christmas is for us Swedes. Pretty important with other words.

More than an estimated 39 million Americans travel to see friends and family during this weekend and a lot of turkeys are eaten. And remember that when you eat that stuffed commercially produced turkey, you eat a turkey where 70% of their weight comes from their breast, thereby making it impossible for them to reproduce naturally. Most turkeys born today have come to this Earth through artificial insemination. Just so you know.

Raw Food Rehab gives a creative-looking alternative to the ordinary turkey.

Apart from turkeys, there are loads of other delicious products to buy in the grocery store right now. How about some pumpkins and squash that can be roasted in the oven or turned into soups and desserts.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Intelligentisa coffee and tea in Venice Beach, CA

A few months ago when I visited LA, I took my family to a really cool cafe in Venice Beach called Intelligentsia coffee and tea. I am not posting the link to their website since, unfortunately, they do not show any of the cool pictures of their cafe there.

It is a very unusual place well worth checking out if you are in the neighborhood. They also serve cakes if you need something with that tea or coffee.

And I am real sucker for how things are served. Isn't this a beautiful setup?!

Happy Friday!

On Sundays, Irene goes to Swedish School to get her fix of Swedish, and I usually go for a walk and a cup of tea with a friend.

A few Sundays ago, a friend and I decided to go to Pike Place Market to have a look. Pike Place Market, which dates back to 1907, started with a few farmers selling their produce to become a full-blown market that sells not only produce and other types of food but also all kinds of things you might need, or not. And they sell beautiful flowers. So a flower from Pike Place Market is what I share with you today.

Happy Friday everyone!

A Swede must know how to ice skate, right?!

It is funny the way we think our children should learn things that we ourselves were taught as children.

Where I grew up in Sweden, everyone learned to ice skate. And this is, of course, something that I want my children to know how to do. The difference is that in Sweden there are so many opportunities to ice skate during winter. Here in Seattle not so many opportunities, next to none actually. Still I want my children to learn this, which could be said to be part of the Swedish culture, or at least used to be when I grew up. What if my children will never ice skate after they have learnt it?

My oldest daughter learnt how to skate when she was around 2.5/3 yrs old and ice skated every winter when we lived in Sweden.

After 7 yrs here in Seattle, she has ice skated less then 5 times in total.

Well, that did not stop me from taking the little one to ice skating lessons. At 7, she was more than ready.

After having walked like a zombie over the ice, she started running like her pants were on fire. And she said to me that she was the worst skaters since she was falling over all the time. I told her to go slow and practice on her technique, but I guess that was silly of me knowing she does not understand the concept of slow. I am sure that she will enjoy knowing how to skate and I know it will come in use, at least once, when we head off to Colorado, where they have real winters, in February.

What's for raw-food breakfast during fall and winter?

Many people say that they could never eat raw food because they want to have warm food during winter. I agree and I guess that is why I am not doing raw food all the time. I don't want to miss that nice hot soup during winter, especially after a day out in the cold. And there are other dishes too that I do not want to miss.

So how about breakfast? I would say that most people probably eat cold breakfasts during winter most of the time and drink something hot like tea or coffee.

My raw-food breakfasts during winter consist of a lot of raw food porridge with fruit which works perfectly since it is a bit more filling than a bowl of fruit. And with this I have some hot green tea.

One of my favorite porridge options, which my oldest daughter also willingly eats, is buckwheat with a banana and a date topped with chia seeds and nuts.

The other day I added some raspberries which made the porridge go a bit red.

Add a bit of nut milk and you will last for a long time.

Japantown

On 30 September I finished my latest gig at Microsoft. It was time to start thinking about my much neglected business. However, first I took the opportunity to get away for the weekend to San Francisco with a friend.

San Francisco is just over 1.5 hrs away on the plane and one of my favorite cities on the east coast.

This time I properly explored Japantown. I actually had no idea that there was a proper Japanese shopping center with Japanese style restaurants, small shops with beautiful ceramics and paper goods, and a couple of places to have hot tea to rest those tired feet after a whole day on foot.

And I like paper and packaging so there was a lot for me to satisfy my needs:)
Here are some pictures taken in a Japanese cookie shop. You cannot deny the Japanese know a thing or two about packaging.

And it is worth repeating that for those of you who have not yet seen Between the folds, it is about time.

Back to school

Tomorrow it is time for school again here in Seattle. My 14 year old starts 9th grade and my little one starts 1st grade. 1st grade! No small children in my family anymore.

And the little one is so excited and ready for school.

I took her school supply shopping a few weeks ago, because, of course, she wanted to choose her own things.

A backpack with peace signs. I like that. And for those of you who do not know, Irene is a Greek name and means "peace."

 
Some crayons and markers.

The little one kept her pencil box from Kindergarten to reuse for 1st grade, and she already had the pencil sharpener, scissors, and ruler. However, we relieved the store from some glue and erasers.

A pencil case for all those pencils is good to have. Instead of buying everything new we decided to use the pencils the little one already had at home. And that supply seems infinite, so I do not think we will be buying pencils any time soon.

Who else is ready to start school?

Photo taken at SAM in Seattle

Nearly over

My raw food challenge is nearing its end. On Tuesday I can celebrate that I was disciplined enough to go without cooked food for one month and no fish and meat. And what a challenge it was at times. Standing in the kitchen cooking Pad Thai, Chicken Tacos, and other mouth watering dishes was not easy, but I made sure I had something to snack on while cooking.

So what have I been eating during this month? For breakfast I usually have a bowl of fruit, berries, seeds, nuts, and nut milk or granola. Some mornings when the weather is a bit colder I make porridge based on buckwheat or oat with fruit. And a glass of watermelon juice, which is my favorite drink during summer.

Since I am working, it has been easier to bring my own lunch to work. Usually salad with crackers.

For dinner I make an effort since I have the tools I need, such as my blender and dehydrator.

How about avocado soup with tomatoes.

Or zucchini noodles with marinara sauce and mushrooms.

And during the weekends when I have more time, I make pizza or wild rice and vegetable curry for instance.

So did I noticed any changes to my body? Not as much as I thought. Maybe you have to be on raw food for a longer period of time to notice significant changes. Also, I almost always eat raw food breakfast normally, no gluten, very little dairy and egg, and processed sugar and salt have been removed from our house. I guess the more unhealthy you are the greater the changes. I think the biggest change is the fact of knowing that I am feeding my body with really good and healthy produce and therefore I feel really happy. And for those of you who want to loose weight it is the best diet. You can eat as much as you want and the pounds just fall off. For me, I decided to eat food that contained more calories, such as nuts, olives, and avocados, so that I would not loose too much weight.

I do not think I will do a month of raw food again for the simple fact that I really love fish, shellfish, rice, noodles, and meat. Also, I do not have any health problems that require attention. However, I will try to change the amount of different foods that I put on my plate. How about 60 % salad and then add some rice/pasta/quinoa and meat/fish/chicken. I wish there were more progressive restaurants that took an interest in the health aspect rather than just pouring cream, butter, sugar, salt and other fatty and unhealthy ingredients into their dishes. I guess the best thing is to support the restaurants that do care about health.

For Seattle, these are some of the vegan and raw food restaurants to go to:

• Thrive
• Chaco Canyon
• Graces 5
• Jodee's desserts (I have not actually been here, but next time I go walking around Green Lake I will try it out.)

Summer sales in my web shop

I have a big summer sales going on in my web shop at the moment.

How about this teapot from Sagaform for only $35.00.

And cups for $25.00 each to go with it.

The cups come with a silicone tea infuser and a metal storage container for tea or cookies.

Check out my store for more products.

The easiest raw food strawberry jam ever

It is a very good idea to reduce white sugar in your diet, or actually remove it altogether if you can. If you watch this video about why you should cut down on sugar you might think twice about that next big cupcake that you want to have with your coffee.

When it comes to jam, there is really no reason to buy ready-made jam from stores that contains more sugar than fruit.

Instead you can make your own jam in less than 1 minute. And the only ingredients you need is fruit and dates.

To make strawberry jam, take one cup of strawberries and three dates and mix them together in a mixer or blender until smooth. It is really that easy.

And voilà, the strawberry jam is ready for your breakfast or pancakes.

You can use all kinds of fruit to make raw food jam. Perhaps you want to mix different fruits together.

Remember that it will only keep for about three days in the fridge, so make a small batch if you only plan to use it for one occasion.

Raw food challenge

I think most people in Seattle would agree when I say that the weather has been pretty shitty here for a while. And still is. I have been waiting for warm weather in order to get inspiration to eat more raw food. I fear that I will have to wait for a long time and then, suddenly, summer is over. Therefore I have decided to start my own raw food challenge during July. This means that I will only eat raw vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, spices. I have decided to include an occasional glass of wine and green tea. Wish me luck.

This morning I had raw oat meal with banana, pear, dates, cinnamon, and chia seeds. It tastes so much better than it looks.

My 14-year old decided to join me, but she is off to Costa Rica on Friday so it will only be for a few days.

Already at lunch my daughter decided that she cannot only eat raw, but maybe do 30% or so. It would have been nice with the company, but I think you have to be committed for this. Otherwise it won't work.

Lunch (no photo I am afraid) consisted of raw food zucchini and carrot noodles with cherry tomatoes and pesto. And for dessert, I made some brownies with pecan nuts, cacao powder, dates, honey, and a pinch of sea salt. Yummy!

Vancouver getaway

I think that there is no problem multi-tasking, but at a certain point the tasks become too many.

Working full-time, running a business, being a mom and wife, and keeping up with friends and other activities do become a bit too much at times. Usually, I don't get involved in too many things because I like the freedom of not being tied up all the time. Well, this spring I did not adhere to this very good way of thinking. Thus, the lack of blogging.

When things get busy, it is really good to just take a break and get away, which is exactly what I did. With Zoe gone to Bermuda on a "marine biology school trip," the rest of us decided to spend the weekend in Vancouver, Canada. The reason why I write Canada is because there is actually a Vancouver in the southe of Washington as well.

We have been to Vancouver a few times before and I must say it beats Seattle in many ways, in particular as regards to its beautiful waterfront. Seattle has a lot of work to do in that department.

The Drop at the waterfront is pretty cool and in the mountains across the water you can see a little bit of snow.

Little I wanted to climb the Drop, but mommy said no.

We ate a lot of fish and raw food on our trip, but for some reason I did not take any pictures of that.

However, I found some beautifully designed chocolate packages that I want to share with you. Unfortunately, I could not eat this chocolate because it contained dairy, and, for some silly reason, corn syrup, but I like the packages.