A piece of Cake

Sometimes things are just plain unexplainable, period. We call it synchronicity and coincidence, but speaking now, for myself, amazes me whenever these “chance” alignments occur. I’ve heard it referred to ‘physics with an attitude’. (And, infinite LOVE is at the center of physics.) Examples in real life though, help us to believe that the Universe conspires to bring like-minded things together in a vibrational sequence. It’s about living in the moment, being open to possibilities and certainly going with the flow.

Some things just seem to be beyond our control. Or perhaps, everything is?  Are we riding in the passenger seat, while larger invisible life forces known as our higher self and soul drive things around us based on our very personal intent? We are after all co-creators, right? Or sometimes, we deliver the messages of what others’ need to hear—or are in need of? Do we serve as divine message carrier?  More and more, I am beginning to feel this is Truth with a capital T.

I was out on the Olympic Peninsula for just about the entire month of July. I had volunteered to make dinner for friends, and the decision as to the menu was entirely up to me. After a number of considerations—I decided homemade pizza—sans homemade crust; store bought refrigerated crust would have to do this round. Scrolling mentally through my mental list of ingredients, I quickly realized, my pizza stones were at home in Florida. I was spending more and more time on the Peninsula, so, why not invest in the proper equipment and leave it here? Easy thought and idea, huh?  As you know, many things do not go as planned, and this was no exception!

With instant delivery, overnight service and that giant known as Amazon, I assumed this purchase would be a piece of cake.  My Friend Brad didn’t have a mailbox at his Sequim home, but I thought for sure, Amazon would have lockers nearby. After all, Ft. Lauderdale certainly did, and I snubbed them every time I walked into the local Whole Foods.

To make a long story short, Amazon and Walmart did not have what I wanted—or should I say—couldn’t get it to me with the speed I had become accustom to. It was Wednesday and dinner was Friday. Plan B: There had to be one.  

Now Sequim is the gateway to the Olympic rain forest, the Pacific Ocean and the playground for hikers and RV’s. But, it’s often a challenge to manifest things in an instant or so I thought!  Therefore, an idea occurred. I’ll call this Plan B. I would drive the 40 minutes to the touristy town of Port Townsend. I had visited there a few years ago, and It seemed to me there was a small kitchen store. They certainly would have the large pizza stone I was in search of. And, so the adventure unfolded. 

On the way into town, I stopped at the Goodwill. You know, one man’s unwanted clutter is another man’s treasure. No pizza stone, but a bargain for a William-Sonoma muffin tin. 🙂 Onward ho . . . I had spoken to Brad’s neighbor on Whidbey Island to see if she was available to meet in PT for lunch. “Oh, Cathy,” she said, I am elbows deep in cookie dough, going to be at my daughter’s house tomorrow.” “Next time, raincheck,” and I hung up the phone.  During our brief phone conversation, Joan had suggested the Mercantile Quimper, just beyond the ferry loading dock. The store was cute, and had a lot of stuff—in fact small 12” pizza stones, but that wasn’t what I had in mind. I continued my quest . . . the cooking store, the Green Eyeshade, back to What’s Cookin’, Don’s pharmacy (which still had a working soda fountain), Henries Hardware, and back up the hill out of town. I had passed Habit for Humanity’s store on the way in and decided to give it a go. Who knew what I might find in peoples’ discarded household articles and unwanted items? I parked, and spoke to an employee loading chairs into an elderly woman’s Toyota as I walked to the entrance. “Pizza stone, yea, we get them from time to time, but they’re not a high demand item.” I nodded my head in agreement, I guessed he was right. And, this was where things got interesting . . . 

I followed his instructions and soon found myself in their “kitchen” department. Quickly, another female employee greeted me, and asked me what I was looking for. I explained my quest—and she shook her head. “The woman who runs this department is off today, but I haven’t seen one lately.” Shortly, a conversation ensued as I was obviously talking to another cook like myself and we were discussing the finer points of homemade pizza and alternatives to my pizza stone dilemma. Minutes later, a slender 40ish looking man in a blue t-shirt and jeans appeared from around the corner. “Excuse me”, he said politely, “I am sorry, but I overheard your conversation, and I have a pizza stone if you’d like it.” Wow, that would be fantastic I thought and the woman and I glanced quickly at each other. “No charge—I will give it to you.” He continued, “my wife doesn’t like it, and she told me to get rid of it. You can have it.” I shook my head and smiled, “sure, that would be great. Thank you.” 

He, Matt—now I knew his name, had another stop in town before heading back to his house. We traded numbers, and he said he would text me when he arrived back at his house. In the meantime, I decided a quick bite to eat would kill the hour or so wait, and based on the suggestions from the women at the counter, I headed down the road to find The Cup for a bowl of chowder.  “Wow. That was divine intervention” said another older employee who stood behind the counter as I headed out the door. Yes, it was! 

It was a cute little restaurant in what looked like an old remolded house—painted latte-brown with a few scattered red umbrella’s and some outdoor furniture—for those celebrated warm days in the Northwest. I was seated and ordered my chowder, grabbed a piece of the local paper to read and I waited for my food. As I paid my tab, I wanted to leave the waitress a larger tip and dug into my wallet to pull out a Susan B. Anthony coin that had been riding in my wallet for months. I looked up, most of the lunch crowd had disappeared, and I caught her eye. “I’m leaving this dollar and I wanted to let you know, it wasn’t a quarter—with the other singles on the change tray,” I said smiling. “I collect those for my grandson, thank you”, she said. We chatted for a minute about her grandkids, and then I got up and headed the towards to the door. 

Now, I happen to be wearing my purple WASHINGTON husky wind breaker that my father had sent me several years ago—and a man working behind the counter looked at me, and asked me, “Did you play ball for Washington?” “Yes, actually I did—about a 100 years ago”—and smiled back, and stoping to talk for a moment. I can’t remember the exact sequence of our chat, but I had to be me—and shortly into our “light” conversation, I stopped and said, “You know, you were born magnificent.” He was wearing a baseball cap and pulled it over his eyes and bent his head downward, placing his hands on the high counter in front of me that separated us. I continued, “Maybe that’s the real reason I came in today?” “You know we all carry divinity inside—but sometimes we just need to be reminded.” We are all part of the One.” With that, I detected, for whatever reason—and whatever his story caused a welling-up deep emotional reaction.  I reached over to the counter, where he had laid his hands, and put mine on top of his, giving his fingers a squeeze. He gave my little finger a squeeze back.  He had had all he could take and I silently walked out the door. 

Whatever your Truth, sometimes we all need to be reminded of our divine magnificence. I left the restaurant, and followed my GPS to Matt’s house, where I happily accepted his gift, and my new pizza stone. I left Port Townsend with a smile. There were so many things to be grateful for—and the Universe had conspired in a most unique and exciting way to make everything happen perfectly. I just followed the cosmic crumbs! It had been a day of soft sweetness—and the Universe had delivered me a delicious piece of cosmic cake.

 

The Power of Apple

The wondrous apple     Anxious to grab a morning walk before the temperatures rose to quickly, I snatched a crisp red organic apple out of my refrigerator drawer–a Gala to be precise.   Apples are one of my favorite fruits–conveniently packaged in a  portable size and sturdy enough to be carried almost anywhere.  They have the advantage so far–of making it through airport security; my yogurt was not so lucky!  As I munched through the house multitasking, my mind wandered just briefly about the iconic  platitude “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” 

This is one fruit that we apparently love.  Emerson called it “the American fruit.”  Those who keep track of such things estimate that we consume about 120 apples per year–per person.  And, did you know that the apple originated not far from the mythical Eden, in Almaty, Kazakhstan in Central Asia where wild apples still cover the foothills?   Most of ours don’t come that far, and although they grow in almost all states,  if you have ever driven through Yakima, Ellensburg or the Wenatchee Valley you would not need to be convinced  that most apples in the United States come out of Washington state where 12 billion apples are thinned and picked by hand.  That’s a lot of apples!

No one is better suited than Rebecca Wood, author of The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia to detail the medicinal benefits of apples.  According to her expertise, apples are a cooling food–and both a yin & chi tonic that treat the heart, lungs, large intestines, stomach and spleen.  They invigorate and promote vital energy and help dispel toxins.  Apples contain something called Malic and tartaric acids which inhibit fermentation in the stomach making apples easier to assimilate than most other fruits.

They are moistening and so reduce thirst, reduce fever, and ease dry hot lungs.  In addition, apples, especially green, help to cleanse the liver and gallbladder and help to soften gallstones.  Rebecca recommends giving grated raw apples to children to reduce their fever. To ease a dry cough her recommendation is to steam apples with honey until they’re soft and eat–to eliminate phlegm from the lungs, prepare apples with agar.

Apples are a rich source of pectin and so can lower cholesterol, promote beneficial intestinal flora, and support normal colon function.  They’re high in quercetin and other flavonoid antioxidants that help protect against heart disease, cancer and asthma.  They are also an excellent low-calorie source of fiber and vitamin C–and other nutrients.

When we look back not too far in our own history, I ask: Did our love affair with this American fruit begin here with the  myth and legend of John Chapman–a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed.  An interesting character,  he traveled the vast unsettled territories of our new country with his bag of seeds planting trees: a unspoken message– perhaps one that we should heed more closely today?  Is there a synergy between man and the apple or apple and man?   You know kind of like the squirrel and the acorn? Once thing is sure our love affair with the apple is far from over and it seems with out a doubt  is good for our system of creating health within.   For me it can certainly be taken out of “bible lore” and brought into the our  daily ritual–for snacks, salads, dried, cooked, –juiced or cider.  Whether we call them Braeburn or golden, Granny Smith or McIntosh the message is clear–an apple a day really should keep the doctor away.

“Inspired Wellness from Within”

Cathy Silver, HC

http://www.CathySilverHealth.com

 

 

 

 

Easy to Make Gluten-Free Coconut Cashew Cookies

Gluten is often hard to digest. Many of us are allergic to wheat and don’t know it.  Many more of us are eliminating gluten from our diet because we feel the negative effects, or something being “slightly off” after we eat wheat in Pizza or a sandwich; hours later or even the next day.  Wheat acts like a kind of  glue in our body and can cause allergies, bloating, chronic indigestion, constipation or gas, brain fog, candida and mineral deficiencies.  Wheat products are heavily subsidized and promoted by the government, and the food industry incorporates gluten into almost all breakfast cereals, cookies, cake and crackers. If you think you have a sensitivity or allergy, remove all wheat and gluten products from your diet for 4-6 weeks and see how you feel.  Try instead gluten-free grains, such as amaranth, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, sorghum and teff.  To help introduce you to a new way of being, supporting a gluten-free lifestyle, and a healthier you,  I include this tasty coconut cashew cookie out of the cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.  These cookies are also vegan, meaning they contain no eggs or dairy. 

Coconut Cashew Cookies

Easy and Delicious!

Easy and Delicious!

Makes 1 Dozen Cookies

1/3 cup softened virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
2 tablespoons whole cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 to 1 cup shredded organic coconut
1/2 cup raw cashews, ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
Organic chocolate chips, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place coconut oil, maple syrup, sugar, sea salt, and vanilla into a medium bowl and blend on high with electric beaters for about 2 minutes.

3. Place cashews into a coffee grinder and grind until finely ground.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, coconut, ground cashews, baking powder, and xanthan gum.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with an electric mixer until well combined.  Add water, one tablespoon at a time, if the mixture seems to dry. Fold in chocolate chips if desired.

5. Grease a cookie sheet with coconut oil.  Form dough into balls then gently flatten between the palms of your hands.  Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Cookies will be somewhat crumbly when hot and will harden as they cool.

Enjoy!

Cathy Silver, HC

Holistic Health Coach &

“Wellness Warrior”

http://www.cathysilverhealth.com

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