juice: morning routine

I like having a routine as far as my weekday mornings go, if I don't have a good start off it usually sets the tone for the remainder of the day. For me this means having a good cup of green juice and listening to Bob Dylan. Though before I gulp down a big cup of greenie I'll have a warm cup of water with a slice of lemon and a pinch of organic cayenne pepper. This mixture is said to jump start your circulatory system, give your immune system a boost, balance pH, help with weight loss, aid digestion, act as a natural diuretic, clear skin, and hydrate the lymph system, that's a whole lot of good stuff!

You're Kale-ing Me green juice recipe 

6 large kale leaves

2 handfuls of mixed spring greens 

2 celery stalks

1 apple 

Juice, drink, and feel energized for the rest of the morning! 

(The picture above does not correspond with the recipe, it's just a picture I took of some veggies I did juice one morning! You can always add a sliver of ginger to your juice for an extra kick in the morning. Also this recipe was taken from the Juicing for Life Magic Bullet/Juice Bullet recipe book, this recipe happens to be one of my favorites.) 

Now as far as listening to Bob goes, well to put it simply, I feel as though the rhythm of my mornings matches his. Mornings are honest and simple and so is this man's music, I wish more things were like this. This beautiful rendition was created by the magical Caitlin Shearer whose art work seems to make my heart skip a beat, as if somehow I've just caught a glimpse of a ghost, it leaves me gasping for just a bit of air. I feel so lucky to own a few of her original works including one commissioned piece and quite a few other prints. Here are some other words with which I've described her work, ""I am sure there is Magic in everything" - The Secret Garden ...as I am sure there is great Magic in Caitlin." "Caitlin must be pure Magic, inhabiting the world or it's parallel with the most strange ghostly girls, forlorn mermaids, and dreamy boys...thank you for all the wonderful things that you have sent my way." You can visit her shop here. She really is magic. 

 

cosmetics/grooming: gardenia

 

As a child my parent's grew many plants around our home, a peach and fig tree, tomatoes, limes, and even a loofah sponge vine! It was wonderful to have limitless amounts of space around us and be able to grow food and other things we might be able to use.  Being older now I realize just how special my childhood was in that so much of it was lived outside with farm animals, playing in mesquite woods, and having the occasional run in with rattlesnakes. I am lucky to have  grown, and explored in such a way.  Though out of all the things my parents grew my  mother's beautiful gardenia plant was my most favorite. I loved discovering it's waxy blooms and was thrilled at the site of each fresh flower, often picking a few to take to teachers and friends. This scent sparks a note of nostalgia within me and this is what makes it so special to wear.  I recently discovered these gems on etsy, you can find the bar here and the perfume here, I highly recommend the both of them.

dessert: chocolate chip walnut cookies

Hi,

My name is Crissy, I’m a fledgling vegan based out of Texas where I live with my brilliant fiancé, Mickey and our adorable/crazy brood of rescued pets!

Being that this is my first post I figure I should tell you a bit about myself. I grew up on a ghostly, desolate ranch quite literally in the middle of nowhere. There were so many different animals that my father raised and so I spent my childhood days hiding in chicken coops, sharing Ritz crackers with goats, telling my secrets to horses, and even bottle feeding baby cows. As far as I can remember I’ve always loved and felt a deep connection with animals, my heart was always open in their presence and remains so today.  

As I grew older I realized what a truly cruel and scary world a non-human animal’s life could be. I woke up one morning to bottle feed what I thought to be my pet baby cow only to find that she was gone, sold. My heart ached and I asked why over and over to the both of my parents, I was told that this was “ranch life” and that this was the “role” of animals. Deep in my heart I knew this was terribly wrong and eventually as a teenager I made the connection and became a vegetarian.

After a little over ten years of vegetarianism everything changed last November when Mickey took me to see my most favorite singer in concert, Morrissey. When Meat is Murder began to play I went into a panic, this is a song that literally shakes me. I can’t bear to hear the desperate cries of pain, the sounds of metal machines at work, and so when the track begins to play I always quickly change it. Here at the concert I had no skip option and I certainly wasn’t going to walk out. As Morrissey began to sing a video from a factory farm began to play on a large screen behind him. Horrifying images of helpless cows being strung up alive by huge metal cranes, thrashing their bodies in vain, shown right before my eyes and every bit of me ached in sadness. Morrissey heart wrenchingly poured every inch of himself into his words swaying forward with his eyes tightly closed shut and his voice full of strength and conviction. It was hard not to be moved, and it was hard not to cry. It was then that I decided to go vegan.  

I am so very inspired by this lifestyle and by other vegans; Quite a Quiet Life is a little blog about cruelty free compassionate living, I hope you enjoy it here! I generally like to bake up vegan sweets for my guests but since I can’t give you a cold cup of almond milk and a plate of walnut chocolate chip cookies through the computer screen I thought I’d give you the recipe!

This recipe is by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (vegan goddess), from her book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone’s Favorite Treats. You can also find the recipe at her website. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies (with walnuts if you’d like)
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 white sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups chocolate chips
2/4 cups chopped walnuts (Isa’s recipe doesn’t call for these but I love walnuts!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a couple of baking sheets.

Mix the sugars, oil, almond milk, and tapioca flour together with a whisk or a strong fork for about 2 minutes, after you’ve done this it should look like caramel. Please do not skip this step, there’s a chemical reaction when you these ingredients are mixed together and getting lazy and not doing it correctly won’t make for the best cookies! Mix in the vanilla.   

Add 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the baking soda and salt. Mix well and then mix in the rest of the flour. Add your chocolate chips and the walnuts if you'd like.

I use a tablespoon to measure out and scoop my dough, place the cookie dough on the baking sheets and flatten out a bit with your hands. I bake mine for about six to eight minutes but everyone’s oven is different so keep an eye on your cookies and pull them out when the edges or tops start to brown. When you’ve taken them out transfer them to a cooling rack if you have one and let them stand for about 5 minutes before you enjoy them!