Livin' la vida loca-vore!

Ewww...Did I really just use that as my title?  Ouch.  But I am in fact, among other things, always trying to be a locavore.  If I can buy food or other items that were grown or produced locally, I am happy to reduce some of the carbon footprint that it takes to transport the items.

So, I was extremely happy to find some local honey from McKinney.  I have purchased honey from Plano and Dallas before, but never McKinney.  And I found it at one of my favorite places to lunch in downtown McKinney, Spoons!  They sell it in various varieties (clover, wildflower) and they sell bee pollen too.  According to the label, you can also buy it directly from the beekeepers, Guy and Liz Money.  The honey is delicious and I like to use it in the yogi tea that I bought when I was in Austin 2 months ago, which is produced locally there. Best yogi tea!  Ever!  (I plan to figure out what's in it and make it myself.  Once I do, I'll post the recipe here.)

In addition to stimulating the economy of downtown McKinney, I also recently stimulated the economy of the west side of McKinney by getting a massage at Essence of Eve Day Spa.  They are currently having a summer special called, "Pay What You Can."  Just as the name implies, services are on a donation basis this summer and you are only obligated to pay what you can afford to pay.  While I was there, I noticed a beautiful coffee table book called, Spa Water.  I adore spa water.  I find it so...refreshing.  So I picked up the book and leafed through.  I discovered that the author, Pam Wenzel, is a resident of McKinney.  Once I got home, I immediately looked up her website, http://www.myspawater.com/ and purchased a copy of her book.  As an added bonus, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the books goes to cancer research.  The book won't be released for a few more weeks, but I can't wait to get my hands on it and try some of the recipes.  If I recall correctly, they range from a very simple orange water to some more unusual Ayurvedic waters for the different dosha types.

Making Space and Making Raisin Bran Bread

When I looked at the date of the last blog entry, I realized why I haven't had a blog entry in three months.  At that point in time, there was a lot of change going on in my life.  In particular, there was a person that I should have let go, but felt I could not.  Intellectually, I know why it's good to let go of things/issues/people.  If we don't let go of material things, they can clutter up our homes and our minds and block our chi or prana.  Further, if we hold onto people or situations that are not healthy or to our benefit, then there is no space for new and improved situations to come into our lives.  While I knew all this on an intellectual level, I held onto an unhealthy situation for too long.

In honor of letting go and making space for new opportunities, I decided to try and clean out my overgrown pantry and refrigerator.  I decided to make the delicious (no, really) raisin bran bread from the Tassajara Recipe Book.  It is excellent for using up old raisins that are a little too dry to eat by themselves.  I also had some buttermilk that was a wee bit past the date.  (Usually I freeze my leftover buttermilk, but forgot to this time.)  I also used up some brown sugar that was getting a bit dry, and finished the bran.  And while the change is not drastic, there is definitely more space on the shelves in my pantry.  It's a very nice feeling to know that the possibilities are endless for what I can choose to place in that space.

Buttermilk Raisin Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup raisins (I used Sultana raisins - the yellow raisins)
1/2 cup boiling water
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup brain

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 inch loaf pan with canola oil spray.

Cover the raisins with the boiling water and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the white flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Stir in the whole wheat pastry flour and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla and egg.  Drain the water from the raisins into the buttermilk mixture, stir to blend.

Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir them together with about 15 quick strokes.  The batter will still be a bit lumpy.  Fold the bran and the raisins in with a few more strokes.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until the bread is brown and springs back when pressed with a finger.  Let stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing. 

This is delicious with cream cheese and jam!  Excellent snack or breakfast!