Maple Ki Forest Lodge

Just got back from a lovely excursion to Maple Ki Forest Spirit Waters - a wonderful retreat on Cade Lake near Tamworth - some 2 1/2 hours east of Toronto. We were welcomed by our lovely host Julianna Norrie and her mother Mary and a great feeling of tranquility and ease.

The lake is quiet - only one other resident (aside from the beavers, frogs and birds) and NO motors! It's some 60 feet deep so provides wonderful clean drinking water as well as great fish habitat and great opportunity to swim, canoe, kayak and paddle boat - I did three of those activities.

IHow lovely an opportunity to practise yoga with Julianna at 8 a.m. -  outdoors looking over the lake. She is certainly a testament to living there - positively glowing. This is her eleventh year at this location - she was near Wiarton in a previous incarnation.

Fraser sporting the de rigeur bug hat to keep out nasty deer flies...

One of the meals....

At the table in good company..

Of course we enjoyed some delicious meals - vegan for us and veg for the other two couples - most often featuring a grain like quinoa, millet  or rice and beans or lentils - in our cases spicy black beans and curry lentils and steamed greens and veggies plus a salad. Breakfast one morning was leftover porridge sauteed in coconut oil - a kind of pancake if you will - there is always lots of fresh fruit and topping and breads for toasting. One night we even had some yummy tapioca - that was a special treat as Julianna was trying to avoid sugar and desserts. .

I indulged in a shiatsu massage which was wonderful  and other treatments such as aromatherapy and reflexology are available - highly recommended.

Conversations were great and lively plus there is a lot of opportunity to just relax and read a good book.

So if you would like a healthy, rejuvenating and relaxing get away - I suggest you check it out...

www.mapleki.com

Meet Lester and Billie

Yes, a black coat is always in fashion and we finally succumbed to getting a new feline companion - well actually a brother and sister - kittens of about 3 months from the Toronto Humane Society. It's an unfortunate fact that black cats and kittens are the last to be adopted - so they are having a special "half price" off on adopting until the end of the month - extra incentive for us...

These two called out to be adopted "Billie" was very vocal and climbing the bars of her cage - thus far this afternoon they are tearing around the condo embracing their newfound freedom and entertaining us.."Lester" has a bit longer fur and is a little bigger - he seemed to like to chew on things especially the metal catch on his catch - missing his saxophone mouthpiece?

Lester, just chilling.

Billie standing still for a brief second.

Here's a couple of pics and many thanks to all the great staff and volunteers who helped us at the Toronto Humane Society  - we even got some cat food and a toy to start them off with...kudos...

Belmonte Raw

 Finally got over to visit this little jewel box of a restaurant in Leslieville after hearing many rave reviews - it does live up to its' reputation!

On a beautiful sunny Saturday around noonish we splurged for the "full meal deal" with a juice, salad and dessert. The Balance juice was lovely green and refreshing and the "Happiness" - love that name was citrusy (thanks to grapefruit as one of the ingredients) pastel pink and delicious.


It was on to the main event - today's specials were a Sicilian Bean Salad or Madras Curry Wrap or a Beet Slaw - we chose the Madras Curry Wrap and Beet Slaw and were very pleased with both but it sure was a tough choice! The Madras Curry Wrap - oodles of vegetables including peas wrapped in a collard leave - creamy and spicy and complimented by a salad with cashew and dried fruit and curry dressing. The Beet Slaw -shredded spectacularity...

What could possibly be the finale to this meal - Peanut Butter Cups - incredibly rich and decadent - they certainly blow away Reese's or any other facsimile - I think they contain cashews, cocoa butter and or coconut butter with a peanut butter centre - would love to know how to make them.

Now that I have visited it certainly won't be long for the next indulgence. I should mention they do juice cleanses and have ready to go juices and salads. The space is clean, bright and charming - as is the staff!

1022 Queen Street East www.belmonteraw.com

It seems this is turning into a food blog - it appears at "Pulp Kitchen" is due to open again soon at a new location - Queen and Broadview...can't wait.

By the way, the Jazz FM cabaret series is announced and I see that one of my favourite singers Miss Halie Loren is coming in October...woo hoo...

Also on this afternoon I paid a visit to the Toronto Humane Society to shop for black cats - they have a campaign on - half price adoption fees because for some weird medieval reason - they are the last to be adopted....many many many choices -so tonight, we'll mull it over - kittens, adults...wow.

New Jazz Jam...more delicious than raspberry or strawberry

Just FYI - new jazz jam in the East End hosted by the lovely and talented Pat Murray.

Nail Polish, nosh, new do

Time to write again and catch you up on what I've been up to...now that Jazz Festival is over. I did catch Phil Dwyer and Laila Biali which was great and also Gord Sheard's Brazilian group - fabulous - especially nice seeing Max Senitt on drums! Gord is such a wonderful person, talented musician and composer it's great to see him getting a lot of well deserved attention.

I am feeling much more at peace with my digestion....since I have sacrificed coffee and taken up herbal tea - rooibos, some mate and a lot of Bambu and Teechino..don't miss coffee at all!

Today's baked experiment was gluten free Apricot Almond muffins - yummm...as pictured on the plate - its' companion treats - my "Nutville" Cookies and Coconut Macaroons...a raw treat...I'm making a lot of raw stuff these days, especially with the weather being hot, hot, hot.

That is my most recent haircut..thanks to the genius that is Sandro at Pop Hair - so cute and cool.

I got some wonderful new teas from Teavana in the mail today - this one is Peach Tranquility - a white tea - also Lavender Dreams, My Morning Mate and Youthberry.




I also found out about another great nail polish and related products called "Keeki - Pure and Simple" - through Meghan Telpner's blog - my fave shade today is "Grasshopper Pie"...they have lots of really fun shades - plus it's free of all the usual scary chemicals...and it's vegan, biodegradable and gluten free....


The softer shade is called "Peach Cobbler"...sweet.

http://www.sessabeldispensary.com/


P.S. Not sure why part of this post is in italics..oh well...

A little art, a little nosh, a little beauty, a little reading

www.livinglibations.com - Magic Elixir in a Bottle - Seabuckthorn Best Skin Ever!





Great weekend - I visited the Raw Food Festival at 918 Bathurst and came home as usual with a load of goodness - including some incredible crackers from the Good Food Conspiracy Company, goji berries, mulberries, Giddy Yo Yo chocolate, Chocosol Chocolate, and a new product I'm hooked on - well new to me as I have wanted to try it for ages - Seabuckthorn Best Skin Ever from Living Libations,

I was eavesdropping on a woman extolling its' virtues to her friend - a customer and her skin looked great. She was totally right. It is awesome - Nadine Artemis its' creator is a goddess and a great example of the raw food lifestyle. I will definitely have to give other products a try - including the "Gum Drops" and a body lotion plus some extra skin care. I can tell already the BSE has made a difference to the aging - yikes - skin on my arms with just a drop or two. It apparently can be used all over and is essential oil based. Nadine and Ron were featured on a documentary last night "Semi Sweet" discussing raw chocolate...they are inspirations.

Further wonderment - "The Encampment" - a Luminato art installation at Fort York. Over 200 tents with art hidden inside exploring the legacy of Canada and the War of 1812 from a multicultural perspective. While you're there you can spy the current residents i.e. groundhogs and their babies and last night two baby skunks frolicking near some bushes on the lower berm near twilight....a great time to go. There is also an installation on Wellington at Portland in the park with people attired in the garb of that era and even some dramatization and a pub.

Since I am still somewhat in a New York state of mind I have read two wonderful tomes - in different eras. The first was "American Eve" - the story of early 20th century "It" girl - Evelyn Nesbitt - whose beauty brought about the downfall of celebrated architect Stanford White at the hands of her millionaire husband Harry K. Thaw. It's a fascinating and tragic tale - especially the aftermath - she was a beautiful and sought after girl who made bad choices and lacked parental support from her mother.

The second book is "Just Kids" by rock icon Patti Smith - a marvellous bio of her time in late 60's and into 70's New York City and her relationship with celebrated bad boy artist Robert Mapplethorpe...including living at the legendary Chelsea Hotel and her growth as an artist plus numerous celebrity encounters...I couldn't put either book down.

Why I'm Veg.....

This is a blog after all about jazz and "luscious vegan musings" so what better platform than to preach the gospel of veg...there is a wonderful series of videos on You Tube and they are so inspiring - everyone from Doug McNish - wonderful vegan chef and author of a fabulous new cookbook, Elizabeth May from the Green Party, Glen De Baeremaeker, hockey player Mike Zigomanis and many others.

I am vegan because I feel better, I lost weight...some 20 pounds and I am don't want the pain and suffering of animals on my conscience or the pain and suffering of the planet i.e. environment on my planet...my next step in these summer months is to transition to more and more raw - so easy with the incredible supply of fruits and vegetables including those from our garden.

People ask what do you eat? Well, I eat everything - except animal products and there is infinite variety - I have found that my cooking over the course of my vegetarian lifestyle of some 15 years has become more varied and adventurous - I'm always trying out new recipes - in fact, sometimes it's overwhelming how many recipes and cookbooks there are out there. I bring in vegan baked goods to Jazz FM on Thursdays when I'm doing "Jazzology" and I can attest those goodies disappear very quickly and in fact are anticipated....

It's not about what you eliminate but more what you embrace.

Please visit www.veg.ca - the website of the Toronto Vegetarian Association for more enlightenment in all ways. Oh, and while you're there maybe consider taking the Veggie Challenge and/or a membership....