I had a super Spectacular time in Seattle with my family a couple weeks ago! It was absolutely gorgeous, warm and sunny the whole time. There were soooo many sweet juicy blackberries!! Yum!!!!!
Lots of dark purple tiny tart Evergreen huckleberries too. They’re so small, it’s hard to eat very many. I’m sure they’re an incredible superfood. They’re so dark purple!
I came up prepared, my suitcases were stuffed with essential salad making supplies (like coleslaw!) and 12 huge organic reed avocados. Everyday, we had big Green Smoothies and Salads.
My parents have been together for 51 years, and married for 46 years. Wow! That’s a long time. They’re very happy, really healthy, in great shape, and super fun!! We have a wonderful time together whatever we’re doing.
I went on tons of big hikes, in the woods and to the beach, and went on lots of these big walks with my parents. We went on some totally gorgeous enchanting hikes through different forests!
And fed squirrels, crows, and chickadees. If you stand very still and put your hand out, the chickadees by my parents house will land in the palm of your hand, look at you, take a nut and fly away! My mom feeds them peanuts, since that’s what everybody else is getting.
It’s hard for a tiny chickadee beak to peck a peanut, so they fly up to a branch, and carefully hold the peanut with one foot while they peck at it. Soooo cute!!!
I whipped up giant green smoothies for us all every day, using fresh stinging nettles I picked on my hikes. Stinging Nettles are SO good for you. For detoxing, to purify the blood, to grow your hair, as an anti-inflammatory, and lots more.
My dad suggested using tongs to pick them, which worked really well. Growing up playing in the woods, I got enough itchy, painful nettle stings to last the rest of my life 🙂 I don’t need anymore!
The nettle smoothies tasted great! Blending up the nettles takes the sting out. Thank heavens! I added some baby spinach and arugula too, a banana, and either coconut water or half apple juice and half water. The nettles did make the smoothies really foamy though! And I blended up the stems too. Yikes! Because I didn’t want to risk stings by fussing with the leaves.
I also made fresh nettle and horsetail tea, which is full of silica and minerals and is really good for your hair & nails. It’s really mild and subtle tasting!
My mom is a chocolate connoisseur and a genius at turning all her less than favorite dark chocolate bars into stunning, decadent chocolatey creations. She calls these “Melt Downs” and adds all kinds of treats for crispy, crunchy texture…chia seeds, cut up nuts and more.
So she melted down a bitter and boring vegan dark chocolate bar, and added coconut nectar, sea salt and orange peel to it. Wow!!!!! It went from boring to incredible!
We drove up to Anacortes one day, on Fidalgo Island, and it was SO beautiful. The NW San Juan islands are stunning! Sooooo magical!!! It’s amazing how much natural beauty surrounds you in the Pacific NW. It’s a very special place!
