A blueberry pancake kind of morning

Blue- the color of the sky, the primary color between green and violet in the invisible spectrum. Sometimes, it is also a feeling of sadness and melancholy. The things in this world have many meanings. Take blueberries. In your breakfast pancakes, they can mean it’s been a fantastic summer full of your favorite treat. They can also be a tribute to a loved one, and the subtle heartache that still dwells quietly within. Life is funny that way, all of the happy and sad mixed up together in one big batch. Sometimes, it is too much for us to speak aloud. Sometimes we can’t separate all of the feelings we have into perfect sentences. When that happens, all we can do is mix them together and eat the words we cannot say.

This past weekend, we visited Previn’s family up in Fort Collins. It has been a strange journey, coming back to a place that has so much history for us. The hardest experiences of my own life happened there and it is also the birth place of some of the greatest. It was bittersweet remembering that at this same time last year, we were all in Houston watching Hollis fight for his life. It seemed that we had witnessed a miracle, and to this day, I still believe we touched something divine. None of us knew how little time we had left together; that when he woke up from the coma, and we all smiled and joked and played together, it would be the last time.

It seems appropriate then that we gathered together this year and remembered our last moments of joy with one beloved, and celebrated meeting new moments of joy with a new beloved, Ananda. Moments like this with my family…singing and playing over some good, home-cooked food…these are the gems that keep my feet on the ground (these and some pretty fabulous shoes 😉 ) For that I am thankful.

And now for the How – To:

Recipe

Dry ingredients:
Here are the ingredients from scratch. If you are not wanting to do that, go ahead and use a gluten free baking mix. I like Pamela’s baking mix but this mix works well.

3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:

Butter or coconut oil for pan
1 egg
3/4 cup soda water
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or butter
( optional) 1 tablespoon vanilla

1 pint of blueberries

Directions :

Heat pan. In the mean time, mix your dry ingredients in a bowl. Next add your wet ingredients and quickly mix. The soda water helps keep the pancakes fluffy. And adding the blueberries after they are poured allows for the highest blueberry to surface area ratio.

Beautiful New Mexico and one Hikalicious trail mix

After an amazing week with a group from the Sierra club at the retreat center, I have been turned on to hiking. Seeing some amazing parts of New Mexico and meeting the beautiful people that explore these natural areas has inspired me to venture out into the natural world.

It was a little tricky getting back into the swing of things with a baby on my back, but I am so happy that I did. She was a peach, and often times would just fall asleep as I worked in the kitchen preparing meals.

Although I have always loved nature, I had no idea of the beautiful areas so easily accessible right around the my families retreat center. Natural hot springs and great trails, hiking, camping, star gazing. For next year, we even talked about setting up the tepees.

For now though, I promised to share a few recipes from the retreat. So Dawn, here is the recipe for the trail mix. I have to admit, even though I made it, I wasn’t expecting it to be so good. I hope that you enjoy.

Hikalicious Trail Mix

2 cups g-f rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups chopped walnuts
1/2 cup each- dried blueberries, cherries, cranberries,
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt( I used a flavored ginger salt)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. On a lined baking sheet, toast oats, walnuts and coconut together for 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a large heat safe bowl.

Reduce heated oven to 275 degrees F

Place butter, vanilla and sugar in a small sauce pan and bring to a light boil over medium heat. Once a boil is reached and the mix gains a soft caramel texture, pour over the toasted mix. Add the dried berries and stir well. Pour mix back onto baking sheet, sprinkle with the flavored salt, and leave as crumble clusters for a granola mix or press together and bake for an additional 20 minutes for a granola bars. If making granola bars, cool before cutting.
Enjoy!