Happy National Nut Day!!!

A few blog posts ago I professed my love for cashews, cashew cream and Tal Ronnen, so today is a very special day for me :-)

Tal Ronnen's wonderful book "The Conscious Cook" has both captivated and inspired me these past few months.  I have learned so much about cashews, almonds and vegan cooking, so today I thought it would be a good time to share one of my Tal Ronnen-inspired recipes.

Creamy Cashew Dip - perfect for vegans, the lactose-intolerant, those wishing to avoid cholesterol and all of us who love good healthy food. It is also raw, GF and extremely yummy! 



Ingredients

• 2 cups of cashews (try and use whole nuts, broken ones work okay)
• 1 tsp probiotic powder (Tal suggests New Chapter All-Flora)
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (I'm always generous with this and the onion powder)
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic salt or sea salt (your preference - I'm a Celtic salt lover, but I really think the hint of garlic is a nice addition to the dip flavor)
• Freshly grated nutmeg (you might not think you can taste it, but you'll miss it if it's not there)
• 0.5 tsp pepper (black or white, your preference)

Method

• Soak cashews in filtered water in the fridge overnight
• Next day, rinse and drain nuts and add to a food processor with 1 cup of fresh water
• Mix nuts for several minutes into a smooth creamy consistency
• Mix the probiotic powder with a tbsp of water and add to creamed nuts
• Leave the mixture at room temperature overnight (I leave it in the Cuisinart on the kitchen counter)
• Next day add nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic salt, nutmeg, pepper and mix well in the processor. 
• Leave for 30mins to let the flavors fully meld together before serving
• Serve dip with chips, fresh veggies, spread on bagels or use as a garnish on a bowl of veggie chili or lentil soup 

The dip can be stored in a refrigerator for about 5 days or frozen.  When I make this I split it into 3 portions and freeze 2 of them.

WARNING:  This dip can become addictive, please use caution.

Bored

• I wake up to Butch meowing to be let outside and loud snoring....it's about 7:30am.
• I get up and let Butch and Ella out - my lower back feels a little better today.
• Not happy about back, I never have back problems (I must workout on weights machine more).
• I make 2 coffees and take them back to bed, grunting and snoring continues.
• I drink coffee in bed and check e-mail on my laptop; re-list a couple of items on Etsy, check on arrival of @cincoarmstrong on Twitter, read news on BBC, 9news and Huffington post.
• My stomach makes rumbling noises, 9:15 weekend alarm goes off on the other side of the bed, lump staggers to the bathroom, comes back and starts reading a book.
• I say "oatmeal?"
• Lump says "yes"
• I make oatmeal with almond milk, lump does not emerge from upstairs, I go back upstairs trying not to aggravate back and ask what lump wants in oatmeal.
• Blank stare.
• "Do you want more almond milk, agave, raisins and chopped almonds?"
• "Agave, raisins and almond milk"
• I dutifully walk back down and get oatmeal and deliver to lump in dark room upstairs.
• "Hot, hot!" says lump as he takes the bowl from me.
• Of course it's hot, it's oatmeal...what about a thank you for the maid - I think to myself.
• Lump starts shoveling in oatmeal, caveman style...room smells, I pick up laptop and take it downstairs to look at while I eat my oatmeal.
• I turn on TV and watch the end of Meet The Press, I'm reminded that local politics is depressing at this time of the year.
• Lump bounds downstairs shouting "kittieees" and starts to brush Ella and then Butch, I remain sitting on the kitchen table looking at laptop and paying attention to depressing politics debate - no eye contact or acknowledgment of existence from lump.
• Lump walks to his office, farts, makes a rustling noise and then runs back upstairs and then back down to office - sits staring at monitor in underwear.  No romance, no intimacy -  is this it for the next 30 years?
• It's 10 o'clock, I start to plan my last day of the weekend; laundry, clear some of the dying plants from the front of the house (fill only 2 garden refuse bags so I don't over aggravate my back), get Etsy sale set up to mail out tomorrow, remember I need to talk with brother on Skype at 2pm....
• I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with a bad back so I plan to keep moving  without overdoing it.
• Lump stands in front of open fridge door looking for more food and exclaims "Tofutti cream cheese!"
• "Yes, I saw it yesterday when I was grocery shopping and picked some up for you" I say.
• "But we don't have any bagels" the milk-avoiding lump says.
• "I know" I say, "that's why I looked in 3 different stores for Udi's bagels" (Udi's are gluten free - I get them so I can eat them too, though not with Tofutti - I don't eat soy).
• I look back as he walks away and say "We need to go to Whole Foods on Hampden, they usually have Udi's"...no response.
• I take my laptop upstairs and plug in the power and go to the bathroom.  I come back to find my desk chair by the door and the lump looking at my computer.
• "Hey, what you doing?" I say,  lump is annoyed at my small office and likes to throw things out of the way when he enters. I'm always a little peeved with his lack of respect for my space...I'd like it to be larger too, but I deal with it.
• "I was checking your computer because mine takes 10 mins to find the wireless, I didn't realize your laptop was only 10 MBPS." He says, shocked that I have such a dog.
• I say "It connects instantly to WiFi."
• Lump leaves my office, I jerk my back moving my chair back to it's position in front of the desk.
• I weigh myself, computer says I have the weight and body fat of a 29 year old...I wish I looked 29....and had a 29 year old back.
• I shower and wash my hair....with 2 cats staring at me through the shower door.
• I dry, dress and separate my clothes into piles; darks, lights and jeans - remind myself I need to wash bath towels and sheets this weekend.
• It's 60 F outside so I collect my gloves, pruner and a couple of black bags and weed the front of the house. I imagine what it would be like to be in Santa Fe now living in a casita not far from the Guadalupe district....I'd be at their wonderful Farmers Market now.
• At 12:30pm I have filled 3 bags and cleared space  to plant some Spring bulbs, I decide this is a good time to stop for a rest.
• The showered and dressed lump gets up from surfing and comes out to see what I'm doing and notices the storm door handle is loose, he fiddles with it....I think he fixes it.
• I water the geraniums and then go inside and make sure I have the bulbs ready for later.
• Suddenly I feel weak, my blood sugar is low, I grab a granola bar and run upstairs to see if clothes have been added to my piles.  I collect the jeans and start the first laundry run.
• My back is not happy, but no worse than it was...I'm sort of happy with that.  My wet hair is now crinkly dry from the sun...I used to care about my hair.
• I pull sheets off the bed and from pillows.  I pull the mattress pad off - I want to clean that too....it seems to help with my sneezing and runny nose in bed.
• I empty the dishwasher for the 3rd time in 24 hours.
• Jeans go in the drier and mattress pad goes in the washing machine
• After a simple quesadilla and can of Limonata I go back outside to plant bulbs.  The dressed man offers to prune a bush :-)
• At 2pm I'm beat, bulbs are in the ground and one of 10 bushes is trimmed, I go back inside to see if my brother is available for a Skype call - he has sent an e-mail saying he's had a busy day and can't talk.  I'm a little disappointed, I enjoy my conversations will him.
• The dressed man is back in his office surfing again.
• I start filling the dishwasher and picking up old mail and paper for recycle and shredding.
• At 2:30pm the dressed man wants to go and get bagels so he drives us to Sears and buys a new watch...we then walked over to the Whole Foods and find GF bagels, some curry sauces and salmon spread for me.
• We get home at 3:30pm and split a bagel. 
• The dressed man goes back to his normal position in front of the computer.
• I move the mattress pad into the drier, and light colors into the washer.
• I start the dishwasher and checked to see if we still have solar power, the dressed man comes out of his office for more food - I mentioned that we're not generating power with the angle of the fall sun at this time.  We then go out to look at the meter to see how many kilowatt hours we have used since April - 195, not bad!
• I mentioned that I need to water some stuff by hand because he had turned the sprinkler system off last week when we thought we would get frost.  He looks at the crispy grass and goes to get a screwdriver to turn the system back on for another week.
• I take some frozen chicken out of the freezer in anticipation of making a curry later and pondered whether to get an aspirin for my back or finish the bottle of 2 buck chuck cab sauv I almost drank the night before.
• I make up some vegan truffles (almonds, medjool dates and chocolate) in the Vitamix and divide into mini paper cups.  I put them in the freezer.
• The mattress pad comes out of the drier, light colors go into the drier, darks go into the washing machine.
• I go to the bathroom and change the toilet roll (I have 2 X chromasomes, it's my duty).
• I sit alone at the kitchen table and check Facebook, my friend Lisa has just opened a shop on Etsy....I 'heart' her shop and tweet about one of her plates.  I then send her a convo and welcome her to Etsy...I notice her shipping is noted wrong and send her another convo.  I comment on her Facebook post and I share her TCA cycle plate.
• I pour the rest of the bottle of wine into a glass...it's 4:45pm, ho hum - why does time go so slow on a Sunday?  Why don't I have anyone to play with?
• The dressed man emerges from his office cave and walks into the kitchen and grabs a bottle of rum and complains that I drank the cold can of Dr Pepper in the fridge (he put 2 in there, I thought one was mine).  He pours himself a drink with a room temperature Dr Pepper and then gets the floor steamer.
• I move to the front door to sit and notice the yard sprinkler system is running, the timer must be off.
• The dressed man proceeds to steam the kitchen floor in the galley area without sweeping the floor first or moving anything.  The whole operation takes less than 5 minutes...I'm not sure whether this constitutes bragging rights for "I steamed the kitchen floor this weekend" :-)  ...it would take me at least 45 minutes, though there are a few other tasks in my floor cleaning process.  I don't complain, I have no wind left in my sails to clean the floor, and I don't want to bring up the "can we get a cleaner question/discussion"
• I finish my glass of wine, it's 5:15pm, the dressed man is back in his cave in front of a monitor.
• I had thought it would be nice to walk to the new park and take some photos (nice digital SLR, tripod, remote and all that stuff), but the light is failing and past that magical few minutes when any photo you take is a keeper. 
• The dishwasher beeps that it is done, I open the door and wait for the steam to clear and empty it.
• Lights come out of the drier, darks go into the drier, sheets go into the washer.  The man folds jeans and light clothes :-)
• The man cuts up pineapple to freeze for smoothies, then goes back into cave.
• I defrost chicken and start making a curry, I put brown rice on the stove and pull out lentils and chickpeas from the freezer.
• It's 6pm, I open a bottle of Purple Moon Shiraz and pour myself a glass. I taste one of the raw vegan truffles....not bad for when I need something sweet.
• 60 minutes is on TV.
• I realize the end of the weekend is near and the long 5 day run of boredom is near.
• I set the table for dinner and sit down for 10 minutes.
• The man offers to make the chickpea side dish, yeah!
• I add water to the rice, take the lid off the curry to reduce it and add French lentils.
• We eat dinner.
• Darks come out of the drier, sheets are still in the washer.
• Watch TV for 90 mins...my back feels good until I stand up.
• Sheets go in the drier...I'll do the bath towels tomorrow.
• At 9pm I fill the dishwasher and tidy up the kitchen, wipe the kitchen table and take clothes upstairs.
• I pull the man out of his cave to help me make the bed.
• The man goes back to the cave, I crawl upstairs and put clean towels in the bath room.
• By 10pm I sit in bed finishing off this journal, shortly the man will come upstairs and fall asleep within 10 minutes.  I will lay away until 11:30am and sleep until 5:30am....I'll go get a coffee before the 6am alarm goes off....and so will start another week...
• I need to get a life!

It's Expensive Being Environmentally Friendly

How environmentally-friendly and crunchy-green do you have to be to make a difference and how much more should you spend...even if there is a tax rebate available to help?

It was a sad Saturday morning when we discovered the water heater had given up the game...not even a cold shower was available, the water pressure system in our house compensates for the pressure difference between hot and cold - if hot was off...so all showers did not work...it sucked big time!

In a 9 year old house we thought the tank would not die so young.  This was a house built by a local green company...our insulation is made from mashed newspapers for god's sake, the walls are 2 by 6 (not 2 by 4)...we were living in a perfect home.  Well, not so much...the laundry washer died after 6 years and the dishwasher gave up the desire before the house was even 5 years old. So, really, 9 years for a water heater (that was guaranteed for 7 years) is not so bad, in the grand scheme of things. Two middle-aged adults trashed the place in less than 10 years...I'm sure it would have been so much worse if there had been kids in the house.  Apparently not, we were the first on the block of "average families" to report a dead water heater.

Past history recalled the cost would be +$500-ish, but with inflation we were prepared for $1000 and possibly as much as $1500.  Roll on the floor and laugh with your legs in the air...wait for this....the first place we called said they needed to come to the house and check the system, but to replace a water heater it could be between $2500 to $4500. Reality check...this is to replace a $400 metal tank in our basement.

"Er, we're sort of green, so we're also looking at a tankless, on-demand water heater" - we've always wanted one but wanted to wait until the old fashioned tank died before we replaced it.

Crouch on the floor and wait to hear the damage...
Estimate number 1 - about $4,500
Number 2 - $4000 to $5000
Number 3  $4500
...next...$8000, because of the location and venting...gulp!
...one guy said he didn't want to install a residential tankless, but it would be $8000, and for a house our size he wouldn't want to install anything less than 2 - $8000 x 2 = holy crap!

I forget...but it was 9 days before we got a quote for $3,500 from a master plumber who sounded like he knew what he was doing, had done this sort of thing before and honestly didn't want to rip us off. We went with the guy and hoped he understood our plumbing, and venting a 2 story house and how to connect to our gas system.

One noisy day later the kitchen sink was oozing hot steamy water...they checked the master bathroom for hot 120 F water and it came flowing out - yahoo...hot water at last!  Do I get another crunchy green point?

Woah there!  It's a little bit of give and take...
I'm not sure if you have thought about this, but on-demand isn't as fast as having a hot tank there ready and waiting. It's not what you expect. To get hot water in the shower I have to wait...I can comb my hair and tie it back, strip down, weigh myself and move the towel closer to the shower door before it is warm enough to get inside without yelping.  The laundry and dishwasher now don't get instant hot water when they use the house plumbing...so they run on lukewarm or have to heat the water more (which is perceived to be less efficient).

It's now been a week and for me the jury is out...it's okay, but how will it be in Winter?
How will it affect the use of other appliances that now have to heat lukewarm water?
How will it affect our water bill, will having to run water through the pipes for a few minutes?
I'll report back...I'm not enthusiastic or as elated as I was after the solar panels were installed, mainly because I'm not so convinced this is as energy saving and environmentally friendly as it's touted to be.

Saved

I never met my grandmother

She died 6 months before I was born, she may have known of my existence, but I'm not sure. She was Spanish - Paquita (Frances, or Fanny as she was known in Scotland).  She was Paquita to her children (including my Father, 5 of 6 children).  I knew of her as my grandmother when I was a child.  The parent of my Scottish father and the wife of my distraught grandfather who would die 6 months after my birth. A very vague existence to me - both died at 60 +/- 2 years.  I saw some pencil sketches of her from newspaper black and while images where she modeled for Ponds skin care cream. Years later I once saw a black and while portrait that my brother and I did not recognize. We were ridiculed and chastised by my uncle's Indian wife because we did not know who was in the portrait.  We were willing grandchildren, but our parents did not have photos and died young - how were we to know?

So years later, the thought process comes to play - what is closer to my heart? Who is my team? I'm talking World Cup! The US or England (it would have been Scotland, but they didn't qualify) were wiped out of the World Cup! The next, could be either Canada, Mexico (because they are neighboring countries), or Ireland (the Celtic link), Germany (the marriage link), or Spain - the blood link!  It became quite easy during the finals - Reino de España;  Grandma Paquita was there making me imagine what it would have been like to meet her!  The woman I had never met, but had sons that looked like the faces of the cheering fans - it was a melancholy decision, but it felt right.  Whatever it takes...for the first time in my life, the team I was cheering for actually won the World Cup! It was fun, it was great, it's nice to win. It was nice to see the familiar happy faces and join in with the celebrations.

Don't get me wrong, it was a good feeling, but a Scotland win would have been better - I hope I experience that before I die - it's a "I hope so" in the bucket list! 

TSH Test

I got tested for hyperthyroidism recently.  Apparently thyroid issues are quite common in women; the thyroid helps control the use of energy and food through hormones so its important to monitor and find out if there's a problem.   So when my doctor heard that I had lost 4 lbs since last year and was always hot she ordered a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test.

Initially I thought okay, it's better to know these things, but then I started thinking what would happen if there was something wrong.  I lost 4 lbs, any treatment for hyperthyroidism would slow down my metabolism even more and make weight loss even more difficult!  Holy crap, over the last 10 years as I've got older I've slowly  put on weight but I've also tried to eat less; it has been a constant struggle to keep a constant weight or lose just a few pounds. I thought my doctor would be happy about the 4 pound difference; I'm getting closer to the weight I was when I left college. But nooooo, there has to be something wrong, it can't just be I'm eating and exercising correctly.

I was tested at 24 Hr Fitness 5 years ago and had a base calorific burn of 1700 - that means, eat more (without exercise) get fat; and remember, that was 5 years ago so I could be less than 1500 by now.  So for me to lose weight (without exercise) I need to eat roughly less than 1500 calories a day.  Do you know how difficult that is to do? As it is I count calories, pay attention to portion sizes and try and eat the manufactures recommended amount.  When I first started paying attention it was quite a shock; I used to fill my small cereal bowl with granola, a banana and non fat milk - when I checked the package, a serving size is 1/4 cup...that's basically a handful...I grab a handful out of the bag as an afternoon snack, it's such a minuscule amount I wouldn't even think of counting the calories. Now that little pile of oats and nuts is breakfast.  Another way to put it is if you give yourself three meals a day with two snacks, it's about 400 calories a meal with two 200 calorie snacks....and I make one of the snacks a glass of wine :-)   I'm not complaining, I'm used to eating appetizers in restaurants and not buying cookies, my point is, I feel I'm at my minimum calorific limit, I can't eat less, I don't want to have to eat less.  Of course I could exercise more but that that's such a wide variable for me, and it does increase my appetite a lot.

If the test came back high, I decided I was going to refuse any medication.

On to the next symptom, always hot, never cold - what's wrong with that?  I love siting in bed with warm toes. I love not having to layer on piles of clothes.  I don't miss being so cold  I just want to sleep. Any medication would take away my heat buzz.  The doctor looked at me sympathetically when I said I was always warm.  Well, yes, I'm getting close to "that" age, but I'm not flashing, I'm not dripping in perspiration, I'm not uncomfortable, in fact I quite like it.  I don't want to be the woman who is always cold, needs a jacket, needs the thermostat  turned up, or won't go outside because of the cold.  My doctor was quite shocked when I said I liked being warm!

As I said, if the test came back high, I decided I was going to refuse any medication.

Not surprisingly the test came back normal so life continues as normal;

• 400 calorie granola with milk and coffee (breakfast)
• 200 calorie mid morning snack
• 400 calories for lunch
• 500 calorie dinner
• 200 calorie red wine and piece of dark chocolate (best snack of the day)

How I save $100s and dye my hair for $15!

I have dyed my hair for years. I got my first grey hair when I was 12. It wasn't a short little thing, it was a long hair that had been their for over a year, I just didn't notice it.  I managed to get away with pulling hairs out until my mid 20s, after that I experimented with henna, streaking and leaving it to see if that looked cool on a 26 year old. To be honest I don't think anyone really noticed the odd white hair except me!  But in my 30s my grandmothers Cruella De Vil white streak appeared as my red/brunette hair lost it's color.

That was it, I was destined to dye my hair for the rest of my life, or until all my hair turns white.  I think that would be sort of cool, but for now I am a strange calico mix and dye my hair every 4-6 weeks.

If you're going to dye your hair on your own you really need to find a dye that doesn't have ammonia.  In a beauty salon someone is catering to your every need and it is probably a large building that has a lot of air circulation.  In your home beauty salon, you're on your own and probably in a small bathroom that will very quickly fill up with noxious fumes. I use a no ammonia, no resorcinol, no paraben natural dye.  Don't assume that natural dyes won't work as well.  The one I use is permanent and covers 100% grey hair very well.

First and foremost, follow the instructions provided in the box of dye - my notes below are only  to accompany their instructions and make the experience a little bit easier and more pleasant.

The key to dying your own hair is preparation.  Preparation so you can work fast and not have the dye on your hair too long.  Preparation for when you need to keep your eyes closed.  And preparation so you don't accidentally dye something important.  You will need the following;

• Gloves - generally the ones provided with hair dyes are not very good, I would suggest you invest in a box of latex gloves - you can use one pair when applying dye and another when rinsing the dye off in the shower.
• Exfoliating sponge to scrub off any stray dye from your skin
• Old comb for parting your hair - I don't care how careful you are it will get covered in dye 
• Shower cap - if you travel the nice hotels always provide them, if you don't have one, an old plastic grocery bag will do the trick!
• Newspapers to cover your sink area and cabinets - use tape to keep it in place
• Old towels to put on the floor - you'd be amazed where the dye can fly
• Old bath robe to wear while you're waiting for the dye to develop - old because the shower cap may not stop dye from dripping on your shoulders

 I try and wear dark clothes so if any dye drips it doesn't matter.  Also bear in mind that after the dye has developed you're going to get in the shower - so wear clothes that are easy to remove, that don't need to go over your head.   That may seem very obvious, but believe me, it wasn't the first time I dyed my hair ;-)

Before I start I always put the conditioner from the hair dye pack and buff puff in the shower - there's nothing worse than trying to find that stuff after you have rinsed your hair and still need to keep your eyes tightly closed.

Okay, so you've done your prep, open the dye box and put the conditioner near the shower, check and see if the plastic bottle (that you mix and dispense the dye in) has a removable top or if you will need scissors to cut a hole after you have mixed the two solutions.  Okay, your ready, put your gloves on and mix the dye according to the instructions provided.

I part my hair down the middle and apply a long line of dye from my forehead to the back of my head.  I dab the dye so it covers the hair above and below the parting.  I then part my hair half an inch to the right of the last parting and do the same until I have covered one side of my head.  I then go back to the top and do the same for the left side. I try and keep my left hand on my head and feel where I make the parting, with my right hand I apply the dye and use my left hand and thumb to guide where I need to put the nozzle of dye bottle.

Once I have applied dye to all the root areas, I rub my head to squash the dye around and make sure I haven't missed any grey areas.  To make sure I add enough colorant, I squirt some of the remaining dye into my hand and draw it through my hair from scalp to hair tip and rub my hair again.  I do this on the right, left and back of my head and make sure I don't miss areas behind my ears and the back of my neck.

Finally I squeeze a line of dye round my hairline paying attention to the areas near my ears and temple, as they tend to have more grey. I smudge the dye in and check for any uncovered grey areas.  Next I wrap up my hair and shove it into a shower cap.  If you have thick hair use a hair band to keep your hair in place.  Remove your gloves, set your timer according to the instructions, put on your bathrobe and take it easy.

If you have had your hair dyed professionally before you will have an idea of how your hair takes to dye.  My hair is fine and soaks up dye very fast (being fine it also takes a perm fast), so I reduce the development time.  If you know how long your colorist leave your dye in, follow those guidelines, if you have no idea, follow the instructions; you can adjust the duration the next time you do your roots.

When your timer goes off, go directly back to the bathroom, do not pass go, do not collect $200.  Turn on the water in the shower to the correct temperature before you get in - you are going to have your eyes closed for the next 15 minutes so you won't be able to see the dial to adjust it. Immediately remove all clothing and get in the shower.  Remove your shower cap and bend over with your head down so the water washes from the back of your neck down to the top of your head and through your hair - do not open your eyes. Massage your hair with your hands for 5 minutes - do not open your eyes. Squeeze the water from your hair and keeping your eyes closed stand up straight and let the water hit your forehead and run down your head and back.  Stand there for another 5 minutes massaging your head and squeezing out the water. Before you open your eyes let the water run over your face and forehead hair line for a few minutes.  Next add the conditioner and leave it in for as long as directed - this can be as long as 10-15 minutes.  To pass the time, I get a soapy buff puff and scrub around my hairline, behind my ears and neck to remove any dye that dripped or was on my scalp during the development time and may have discolored my skin - if you do it now it will come off quite easily.  I also use this time to remove hair and use scrubby exfoliating brushes and creams....not only will you look great you'll feel great and your skin will also be very happy!

Finally, rinse out the conditioner, rinse out the bath and dry your hair using a dark towel, there shouldn't be too much dye left, but it's better to be safe than have brown streaked towels. 

Style hair and check for masking of Cruella DeVil streak :-)

The "Solar Installation" Story

 I work from home, so it is very handy when we need to have a workman or someone round to the house during the day. I don't need to take any time off work, I'm around if they need something, and for the most part I go back to my home office and work as usual.  So, when we scheduled the installation of PV panels on our roof I didn't really think about it.  They said it would take 2 and a half days, so it didn't seem like a problem, all I had to do was let the installers know we had cats so they closed the doors when they came in and out.

On Day 1 three vans arrived at the house and I think about 5 guys...I'm not really sure.  They needed access to the attic to attach the panels, but also access to the basement where the inverter and hook up to our electricity box thingy.  Two ladders came off the vans and were propped against the house and most of the men went on the roof. Then the hammering and drilling started.  My office is upstairs just off the master bedroom, so I was pretty close to all the hammering, and I can tell you it was very loud.  The sound filled the attic and it seemed as if all 5 men where hammering and drilling holes right above my head - I was convinced I was going to see a hole in my office ceiling.  I checked the roof at lunch time and all I could see were little brackets all over the south facing side.  That was a lot of hammering for some tiny brackets.

After lunch the noise continued and the cats spent most of the day under the bed.  Butch took it pretty hard and never left the bedroom all day.  Ella didn't like the noise but it didn't seem to freak her out as much as it did Butch.  She ventured out of the bedroom to see if any of the nice men would rub her tummy, when they ignored her and kept working she came back and took advantage of the bed that was unusually Butch-free.

Day one ended with all brackets attached to the 3 areas of our south facing roof.  It was great to see the progress and the fact that the main attachments were installed. May be the next day wouldn't be quite as noisy, I had a few conference calls lined up and I really didn't want the noise to be heard; I pride myself if being able to do anything work related from my home office rather than a company office. 

On Day 2 three vans arrived at the house and I think about 5 guys...I'm not really sure.  The men went on the roof and started making the same noise they'd made the day before. The cats freaked out again and I got lucky as my conference calls were at times when they weren't trying to break into the house via the roof.  The men also started using the garage as a staging area for constructing the rails to hold the PV panels.  They also put all 18 panels in the garage too.   It was very exciting to finally see the "actual" panels. Unfortunately no panels were on the roof by the end of day two, on the bright side all the rails to hold the panels had been attached to the brackets on the roof....hang on a minute...didn't they say the whole installation would take two and a half days? May be they can get all the panels installed the next day.

On Day 3 three vans arrived at the house and I think about 5 guys...I'm not really sure.  Unlike the previous two days the weather had changed from a brisk April day in Colorado to a snowy day in Colorado.  We had 3 inches of snow in the back yard, on the grass and, ahem, on the roof!  As before, two ladders came off the vans and were propped against the house and most of the men went on the roof. It was at that point the other homeowner started to worry about liability and what happens if one of the men slides off the roof.  The men went for breakfast and we called the company and eventually got through to their attorney who was able to direct us to the appropriate paragraph in our contract. Nevertheless, the men should be using harnesses and be attached to the roof on a day when it's probably quite slippy up there, so we mentioned that.  The guys came back with ropes and harnesses, the two ladders were propped against the house and most of the men went on the roof. By now it was mid morning and it was very evident that the panels wouldn't be on the roof by noon.  On the bight side, it turned into a beautiful sunny Colorado day and most of the snow melted off the roof by lunch time.

The noise was the same as the two previous days with a little more drilling so the wires from the 3 areas of the roof could be connected and run down to the basement to the inverter. There were men in the attic, on the roof and in the basement.  Both cats were freaked out and were once again prisoners in the bedroom.  The drilling seemed to scare Butch more than the hammering, or may be it was just the change in the noise.

He jumped on my desk and tried to hide behind my laptop and monitor, looking scared and totally freaked out I put a basket on it's side so he could hide and sit close to me. We both looked at the ceiling when the noise seemed to get closer, but eventually it stopped and the men left for the day.

Day three was not as productive because of the snow, so not all the panels were installed on the roof. I believe a lot of the wiring and inside work was done, so we had hope that there was not too much more to be done.

On Day 4 three vans arrived at the house and I think about 5 guys...I'm not really sure. The panels were all secured onto the roof by lunchtime.  The rest of the day was spent finalizing the wiring and making sure all the equipment was installed in the basement and working.

The cats were beginning to look like they thought all this noise and people running around the house was going to be the new normal.  I have to say, by day 4 I was over it too.  The men were all very nice and polite, but I was ready to get my house back to normal sound levels. Day 4 was a long day and went beyond the normal 4:30 pm finish, luckily a friend called and I spent 2 hours chatting and drinking wine.  The weather was nice and I sat outside for most of the call, something I hadn't been able to do because of the noise and I felt a little self-conscious out there with 5 men looking down. By 7 pm the last man was packing up, shaking our hands and preparing us for the next part of the process.

We were provided with a plug thingy that apparently monitors our solar power generated and hooks up to the Internet so we can see power usage from the grid against what we generate.  We were also told that before we could turn our panels on we needed to get the City to certify the work, and then have our energy provider connect our solar system to theirs so we can sell back any unused solar power.

I seriously think in the hot Summer months and cold Winter months we will use all our power generated and more, so we won't be selling anything back to the energy company.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Healthy Nut Recipies

I've mentioned before how Cashew Cream has changed my life and thought I should document some of my recent recipes here - http://www.talronnen.com/recipes/cashew-cream/

+ I've used in Pumpkin pie when it asks for cream - straight volume replacement

+ Used in curries when it asks for yogurt at the end

+ Used in tomato bisque, but could probably be added to most soups at the end to make them creamy

+ I will try it in mashed potatoes next week and let you know

+ Tal Ronnen also has a a cashew cheese recipe that I am addicted to (my husband hates it) - I add a cup of water when I'm grinding the cashews to make it more like a dip - I also add garlic salt instead of sea salt.

http://www.therecipecard.com/best-cookbooks/the-conscious-cooks-herbed-cashew-cheese-baguette-with-tomato-and-watercress-recipe-review/#more-30

Elana's site has gluten and dairy free recipes (it's a good site for me since I avoid gluten and I actually feel a lot better if I avoid dairy too) :-)  She has a fantastic Almond Flour book, but her cashew recipes are pretty good too!

Home made cashew milk is pretty darn good on cereal!

http://www.elanaspantry.com/cashew-milk/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/hot-cocoa/

+ I think she makes some of her stuff a little too sweet so I omit the stevia in the cocoa recipe and sweeten to taste with agave

+ Homemade almond milk is good to drink (much better than store bought); we drank so much almond nog over the holidays!!!

http://www.elanaspantry.com/got-milk/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/vegan-eggnog/ 

+ I made this one time using apple pie spice, yum!  You can also replace the yacon syrup with agave (yacon is silly expensive, but worth it if you can afford it)

This is an Almond Muffin recipe that I've modified below - I eat an almond muffin each morning around 10am and it stops me snacking on salty and sugary stuff - it's almost a diet aid!

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/lowcarbmuffins.htm

My substitutions -

+ Replace 1 stick of melted butter with 1/3 cup olive oil (can use as little as 1/4 cup for lower fat version, but make up the volume with water or apple sauce)

+ I have used agave to sweeten, but I prefer 1 tablespoon of SteviaPlus (or the equivalent of 1/3 cup sugar - there are some different Stevia mixes going around and if you add too much it can make the muffins bitter - stevia has no calories so this option brings the calories down)

+ You can just use egg whites if cholesterol is an issue (4-5 whites)

+ You can mix nut flours, I have used half almond and half hazelnut - that goes really well with the Nutella topping suggested below :-) You need to grind the nuts since I've never seen ground hazelnut flour - freeze the nuts overnight and grind in processor for 5 mins - freezing allows the nuts to grind better and prevents clumping due to nut oils (which are frozen), it's also really loud!!!!  You can do the same and make you're own almond flour since it's not the cheapest flour on the shelf - I sometimes use regular, unbalanced almonds since blanching is such a pain -the upside is it increases the fiber in the muffins :-)

I also learned that if you do want to use blanched almonds, boil the almonds in water for 1 min, drain and let cool and they should squeeze out of their casing pretty easily

++ use cake cups - they'll stick in the muffin pan no matter what you do!

Additions -

+ 1 tbsp dried lemon peel and 1 tbsp poppy seeds or chia seeds (they are so good for you)

+ Fresh blueberries sink to the bottom so I use freeze dried ones from Whole foods and add 1/3 cup water to the batter

+ Swirl some agave on the top before baking

+ Add a dark chocolate drop (or 1/2 tsp Nutella) to the top of each before baking

+ Add powdered green tea - since Japanese women don't get breast cancer they suggest drinking 3 cups of green tea a day - the best is supposed to be Matcha, so I add a tablespoon to the almond flour before adding the wet ingredients - it gives them a green hue :-)

Solar - It was only a matter of time

As long as I can remember I have wanted solar.  Even as a teenager when I'd never seen a real live solar panel, I knew it was a darn good thing.  There was really bad smog in London in 1952 (The Big Smoke) and there is still acid rain in Europe due to pollution from Northern European power plants that causes acidic rain to fall on Scandinavia and kills a lot of their pine trees among other things. I think most Europeans are more accepting of climate change because we have seen the affects of pollution for many years. As a kid we were always bombarded with Keep Britain Tidy signs; they are an independent organization that started adding a Tidy Man logo on all trash bins and packaging in the early 70s. This environmental group very gently brainwashed me to have an appreciation for my environment and to be totally disgusted by anything that harmed my surroundings.

Now I understand that that CO2 is harming my environment - whether you believe it is caused by man or natural - I can reduce my carbon footprint and help the cause in a small way. As a homeowner I have some control and can have solar panels put on my roof. There are tax rebates to help off-set some of the cost, it's now affordable (for some) to have photovoltaic panels installed on a south facing roof.  There are also buy-back schemes where unused energy can be sold to the local power company. Don't get me wrong, it will be a long time until we get our money back - some estimates say it could take 10 years...and as far as selling unused energy back, we calculate our 18 panels will cover 50% of our use.

Whatever, it will help reduce our carbon footprint.
Installation is scheduled for next week!!!!!

Cashew Cream has changed my life...

...and Tal Ronnen is my idol!

I was tested for Celiac disease last year, it came back negative, but I still try and avoid wheat and gluten.  If I eat gluten I can physically feel it moving through my colon - I know TMI.  It takes 3 days to clear my system and I'm not a happy camper during that time.  Okay so I'm not a Celiac, but gluten does a number on me and I feel better when I don't eat it - fine!
- No gluten

It was about the time I got my pointless negative result that I read The Omnivore's Dilemma, Food Inc. was released and various people started talking about the food we eat.  In my purse I already had my list of organic foods you must eat and the frequency I can eat certain fish....so I was a willing sponge for food details.
- No high fructose corn syrup and organic corn at all times
- No factory reared animals, organic, free range only (if at all)
- Grass fed occasionally and since I couldn't find any milk from happy cows (no, really happy cows, not the fake CA ones), I gave up cow's milk and started using almond milk.

Oh it get's worse, I am almost within 10 years of the same age my mother died of breast cancer (that was caused by Estrogen Replacement Therapy), so I'm already on the no soy and remove all endocrine disruptors  and known toxins from coming into contact with me.
- No soy, tofu or miso (that also has wheat)
- Only use creams, soaps and shampoos that are paraben free
- Did you know most antibacterial soaps and toothpastes have triclosan?

So as you can imagine I needed to find some new recipes and ideas for what I could eat.  I found two books that have helped a lot - Tal Ronnen's book The Conscious Cook and Elana Amsterdam's book The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

These two books have introduced me to some fantastic ingredients and they have widened my food choices.  Who would have thought that an "almost" vegan, gluten free, soy free diet would increase the diversity of food I eat.  

...more later on what recipes I have found and what I have modified!