Manly Mesquite Maca Cacao Ball Recipe. Gluten Free & Vegan. Barbecue Portabellas. Vegan Block Cheese, Sliceable.

Manly Mesquite Maca Cacao Balls.  

I brought these to a baseball game, the only game I have been to in 15 years.  We went once before, but in the "old park".  Wow.  So a baseball game is like a "State Fair" equipped with really shtty food & uber high prices.  And lots of chics impressing their men wearing red & stiletto heels with super short shorts.  I brought food to keep me busy.  Some Kale Chips.  And some Balls in my Tiffin.  Everyone likes Tiffin Balls, right??  The Tiffin got some "looks" and the guy selling beer asked me about my balls.  Hubby told me that people probably thought they had weed in them.  I tried to explain they had Lucuma & Maca (in the event that they tasted strange) and no other "herbs".  I eat hemp & wear it, but I don't smoke it.  I buy raw organic mate, I try not to put drugs into my body!  Anyhow.......the beer man ate my balls.  And I guess the Maca & Lucuma tasted fine as well.  Hubby is usually freaked out by Maca, but guess this amount and the Cacao Combination worked.  

Picture taken crossing Eads bridge from East St. Louis.  Pj & I were coming back from feedings, with a rescue.  And "the arch" is kind of the moment where you realize that the rescue is crossing the bridge to a changed life............  www.gatewaypets.com

We actually had fun at the game.  Of course hubby would have fun, beer and men throwing balls is entertainment enough for him.  I was so bewildered by the bright lights, the fakey grass, the lights, the people, the food.  It felt like a "Midwest Vegas".  To me a really bizarre subculture.  But it was totally fun, because we sat with "dog people".  "Dog People" are my "Gateway Drug" to normality.   The kind of people you think of when you think "Midwest".  A lack of pretension, lack of arrogance, may have nice things or live in a nice house but knows that those things don't matter at all, and have probably dealt with that because they have dogs (which means an automatic baptism by fire of learning to unattach to things), and "happy" just to live.  Not always the peeps that we are accustomed to.  Usually we are surrounded by a bit  more neurosis, a bit more ego (or at least manifested in a different way), and a bit more emphasis on "title".  Even though hubby and I are totally "liberal" on social issues, we are also totally midwestern at heart.  So even if we transplanted ourselves in San Fran.....we probably wouldn't fit 100% either.  My ideal place would be Chicago, as it is Midwest, Old, and my family grew up around there.  Enough to do, but still may be able to purchase some type of realty in the city (with a 20 year mortgage, ick).  But that ship sailed, thankfully, or hubby & I wouldn't have met!  And now we are in St. Louis.  Where there isn't a lot going on, but it is really cheap to live, and hey, we have super great realty prices and a crazy crime problem.  But also time to make balls.  And time to utilize the magical properties of the maca after we have ingested...............In San Fran we would eat the maca balls, then spend 2 hours looking for a parking spot in front of our house and by then we would be cursing and the maca would have worn off and you would already be turned off anyhow, by watching your mate curse the parking situation.  I just have to play of the benefits of the midwest when possible.  :)

Rhythm Kale Chips.  Love.  Bombay Curry Flavor.  Hubby bought these for me the other night.  He buys me food when I feel down.  Sound like some strange food fetish?  Nah.  Just one of the ways he "shows" me his love.  Organic Apples & Kale Chips.

Portabellas with Organicville Tangy BBQ Sauce.

We baked these in the oven.  You can  grill.  You can bake whatever temp you want for whatever duration of time suits you.  Some people like cooking at lower temps to "preserve" the integrity of the food.  I used to put my shrooms in the Excalibur Dehydrator so I don't care how "raw" they are.  They are basically "done" to me when they have a little heat.  

I don't know the last time I had barbecue sauce.  Not something I ever really grooved on, probably because it is usually paired with crp.  But I wondered why I wasn't eating this stuff every single day after tasting this!!  Okay, so this stuff had some agave, which I am not crazy about.  However, it was super yummy.  A few days later I threw some tomato paste (from a glass jar), raisins, thai chili, & dill in the blender to make my own "barbecue"ish  sauce.  Mesquite would have been good too.

 Manly Maca Lucuma Cacao Balls.
If all the ingredients FREAK you out.  Then just do the almonds, cacao, dates and vanilla.  Then decide just how kinky you want it.  Remember, these balls may gived your loved one's balls SuperPowers, so if you are feeling particularly fatigued, take it easy, or hide them from your lover!

• 
  
• 1/2 cup almonds (raw)
• 1/2 cups cacao (raw beans) or nibs
• 1/2 cup dates (don't forget to pit)
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• 1Tablespoon Mesquite (If you've got it) If not, they are great without it. The Mesquite, Lucuma & Maca are just kind of "SuperPower" add ins..........
• 1Tablespoon Lucuma Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Maca Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• Pinch Cayenne 

Put the almonds in Food Processor and run until broken up.  I prefer course.  Then add the cacao & dates.  I don't overblend or it may get mushy & too sticky.  Then add the rest of ingredients.  I don't run long at all.  The mixture will not create a "dough" but if you roll the mixture with your hands, you can make balls.  They should stick together enough.  If it is too dry & not sticking at all, then add a smidgen of water or a few more dates.  If you don't want the outside to be sticky, then roll in coconut shreds or chopped nuts.  I usually put in freezer to set.  The Maca is a "SuperRoot" from Peru and all the "rage" now.  You know, it is supposed to give your hormones a boost and make you want to do nasty things.  I cannot attest to that, as I have been eating it for years, so either I am accustomed to nasty things or immune.  Probably a judgement call.  Anyhow, it tastes a bit like "malt".  Cinnamon is said to help blood glucose levels.  Oh, and if you want to superfood it just a wee bit more, add some mesquite.  These are all things that I just happen to buy if they are at cost or on sale, but not on my "normal" shopping list.  That said, I usually try to stock up on all of them if given the chance.  

Vegan Block Cheese.  Agar Magic. Zero Palm Oil.  Animal Safe.

Some Cheeze Recipes...lots of pretty healthy Vegan GF eats.

Scads of Vegan Cheezes.  Lots of Blocks, Sliceable, Dips, Spreads, & Sauces.  Something for everyone!  A Classic.

A "Block Cheeze" from The Gluten Free Vegan Cookbook.  Well, based upon that anyhow.  I used "Agar" to thicken it so it would slice.  It actually sliced perfectly but block cheezes don't have the same texture as the processed vegan cheeses at the store.  Amazing in their own right, they have more of an extra firm tofu texture.  But the use of agar lessens the need for so many nuts to thicken.  Less fat than the traditional raw vegan nut cheese.  "Almost" raw.  Probably could be nearly 100% raw.  But the trick is the Agar.  You are supposed to heat the agar with the water to create the "gel".  Then you stir this into your ground nut mixture.  I didn't try letting it cool 100% because I was afraid I would come out with lumpy cheese, that the agar would gel so much that it wouldn't blend that well.  But you don't "cook" the cheese.  Just the Agar.  Add it to the raw mixture of nuts, spices, whatever else.  Then put in some type of container & put in fridge until it works it's magic.  The "Slices" make great finger food or sandwich material.  So just because it doesn't taste just like "real" cheeze, it still is very yummy and useful.  However, it has lower fat content than the traditional raw nut cheeses and I noticed.  I like to eat fat.  :(  Hubby dug this stuff.  He just told me it isn't "cheeze".  It isn't even Fake Daiya Blocks.  (Which I encourage him not to eat because those suckeroos use palm oil in their new blocks....bummer...because they do have great fake cheese and I bet they could still make it just as good without palm oil which hurts orangutans).  Bottom line, it is healthier to make your own block cheese no matter what.  No oil.  You control the salt.  No "flavors".  Just real ingredients in a real food processor.  So much less scary.

This was a "Mellow Cheddar" from the Gluten Free Vegan book.  But I added Olives & Sundried Tomatoes.

A wonderful video about a veteran who was told that he would never walk unassisted again.  Most yoga teachers would not take him.  Probably because of "liability".  But one did.  Just a reminder that even if we get in sht, we can still head in the right direction.  With faith & perseverance (very important), we may be able to overcome things that we never imagined.  But it does take action.  And faith.  And sometimes that kind of "blind faith".  And time.  And people who believe in you.  I wish with all the health insurance talk floating around these days, that it would include therapies that are proven (this shouldn't be a terribly high threshold, as the drugs we use frequently don't have very good results or are passed before we even know their side effects after a decade) to help.  To either improve people's lives physically, emotionally, physiologically.

and don't forget to:

Enter to Win Green Smoothie Diet E-book!

Hillary Greenleaf's "New Green Smoothie Diet" ebook. 

Fun Rasta Style? Vegan..........