SRK Tour Adventures: Arizona Part II

Hey guys! *waving*

I got lots of great recipes and pics to share! Are y'all ready?

Here we go...

After spending a few days at Usery Mountain's campground we made our way to Linda and Roger's home. Once again, the hands of The Mystery was written all over this connection; it felt more like we were long time friends than mere strangers meeting for the first time. They are such genuine, warm and generous folks! We feel so blessed that our paths got to mingle for a little while.

Meet Roger and Linda!

We all felt right at home, furries included! Although Linda and Roger don't have animal companions of their own, they took Kyky and Puss in as members of the family. It was neat to see our dear furry friends so at ease and relaxed. It was especially good for Puss; she just LOVED it there.

Keeping an eye on the action outside.

Not to mention that she was glad to have more comfy laps to lie on! lol

Linda and I shared a natural and effortless complicity and were so aligned in many ways. Made me feel like a teenage girl again! he he While I pass on lots of tips in a very concentrated manner during a class, when you have the opportunity to brush shoulders with someone in the kitchie for an extended time these pop up organically as we go. Whether it was how to work with Irish moss, make almond milk, or press crusts in cute little tart pans, Linda absorbed it all like a sponge! After we left she said that she just couldn't wait to continue her journey with raw. Yippee!

The girls

Roger and Linda left South Dakota about 8 years ago in order to build a lovely and quiet property in an awesome new community just north of Phoenix. I don't think I've ever seen architecture so carefully designed so as to remain harmonious with the environment; all the houses were in shades of green or brown so as not to clash with the soft colors of the surrounding desert.

We ended up sharing Linda and Roger's lives for almost 3 weeks! Wow, it's hard to believe as it just flew right by! It had been a while since we had stayed that long in any one place. It was so nice to be able to catch our breath after all the traveling and to get a chance to rest before the last leg of our US journey. It promises to be a super busy one. We sure made the most of it, going to bed super early and even doing a little sun worshiping, as the sun was shining most of the time we were there. Yippee!

Walkabout

Linda and Roger are big into hiking, and so one gorgeous sunny day we all went to a nearby mountain. These next shots were taken along the Go John Trail at Cave Creek Recreational Area.

The first words that came to my mind when I saw this view was "a sea of cacti"! Linda was standing next to me at the time, also admiring the sight. She turned to me and candidly said: "It's like an ocean, isn't it?" Whoa, talk about being on the same wave length! ;-)

Don and I also went for walks daily on the nearby trails which allowed us to discover more of the local flora.

Yet another type of cactus!

Mini Cholla: Remember my telling you about these in my last post? You can see its treacherous spines fallen on the ground.

The mesquite tree, also known as the Tree of Life. Yep, that's where the lovely mesquite powder comes from!

Palo Verde

We were also blessed with a rare sight; a (relatively) lush desert thanks to the rain that fell just before our arrival in Arizona.

One afternoon Roger took us to a park just a few minutes drive from their house where there were lovely (man made) waterfalls. See the duckies getting a drink?

We saw the biggest rosemary bushes we'd ever EVER seen!

Dessert Fun!
A couple of days after we arrived at our hosts' home we all headed to Michelle's in southern Phoenix in order for me to give a dessert class. Yay! I have to admit that this theme has quickly become a personal favorite. It's just so much fun and soooo delish! (The best part is of course all the left-overs! hehe) Don's sister Sandy and her hubby Bruce were able to join us which made it extra special. ;-)

On the menu was Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce, Strawberry Shortcake and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from my Best of Raw Freedom Community ebook. I had ordered Norpro mini cheesecake pans from Amazon and had them sent to Linda's. Thankfullly they arrived the day before the class (phfew!) and worked perfectly! See, one of the issues when demoing raw desserts is whether they'll have time to set before the end of the class. Since the pans were so small they firmed up in record time! In fact, I even had to wait a little for them to thaw. lol

Putting the last touch to the dessert sampling platters.

Mmmmmmm

I also made Sweet Gratitude's Chocolate Mousse which has an Irish moss base. I served it with a dollop of Whipped Cream and, for a little more decadence, a drizzle of Heathy's wonderful Chocolate Sauce.

In Linda's Sunny Kitchen
Boy, did we ever have a blast in Linda's kitchie! It had been a long time since I was able to play with food like that. Yay!

She and Roger started cleaning up their diets about 3 years ago and have been experimenting with raw for the last 12 months. You should have seen the huge pile of recipes that Linda has printed off the net! Embarking on this new journey can be especially challenging when your life partner isn't tagging along, but even though Roger used to be a meat 'n potato kinda guy it didn't take him long to get on board. "I hope you're writing all of this down, honey!" he told Linda. He loved everything we whipped up during our stay, well except for the durian that we cracked open. He didn't care much for the 'porcupine' as he nicknamed it. Roger has lost 20-25 lbs since including more raw foods in his diet. In fact he said he lost the extra weight he'd put on during the Holidays in the first week we were there (and that's with having raw dessert every single night! ;-))

Alright, let's start with the beverage department...

Did you know that Arizona grows heaps of citrus? We were amazed to see trees heavy with fruit driving down the streets of Phoenix. Wow! How I wished I could have hopped out of the car and gone picking, as so many people seem to not even harvest their loot. Eeek! One of Roger's co-workers has citrus trees on her property and gave us cases of oranges and the biggest lemons and grapefuits we've ever seen!

We began many of our days with a lovely freshly squeezed orange juice (divine!) or a sliced grapefruit. A little taste of sunshine!


Since young coconuts are easy to get here we had our share of coconut based drinks. I swear I must have whipped up Heathy's Butterscotch Shake at least three or four times as it's sooooo good! Besides, Roger enjoyed it so much he kept requesting it! lol We also made Heathy's Chocolate Decadence and another one of her delicious concoctions...


Bubble Gum Swirly Smoothie
Posted by Heathy on her blog

First, I blended:
young coconut water
young coconut pulp
frozen mango
frozen banana

I then added frozen strawberries to half of that mix, and swirled it into the first part.


Oh and while on the theme of blended sweet yummies, we also enjoyed this hearty pudding creation by the lovely Velvet of Sirova Really Raw Foods. So good and filling too!

Creamy Strawberry Chocolate Chia Pudding

Posted by Velvet on Raw Freedom Community

My friend Lucy calls chia seeds "amazing little bladders of water". Chia seeds swell up in liquids and become gelatinous, like tapioca pearls. They are a wonderful source of calcium and omega 3 fatty acids, and will keep you full for a long time while drawing bad cholesterol out of your body!

- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3 T agave nectar
- 1 inch vanilla bean
- 1/2 cup diced strawberries
- 1 t lucuma powder
- 1 T raw cacao
- 4 T chia seeds

- Blend the cashews, water, agave, vanilla, strawberries, lucuma and cacao to make a creamy nut milk.

- In a small bowl, or in 2 cups with 2 T of chia seeds in each, stir the chia seeds with the strawberry milk until the chia seeds are well coated.

- Drink immediately, or set aside until the chia seeds have gelled and you have a tapioca-pudding like bowl of deliciousness.


OK, now onto one of our favorite topics... Soups!

Although Linda and Roger love soup they had never really delved into making them raw. Since we like to enjoy them daily they had a chance to sample quite a few. We made some of our usual staples...

Jennifer Cornbleet's Cream of Tomato Soup

... and her Cream of Zucchini

Cheezy Corn Chowder

Lovage Soup

I can't remember whether I've already shared this one with you guys. It's a really awesome soup that Mosaica posted on Raw Freedom Community. I usually make it with Mosaica's modifications. So flavor-full! A must try!


Indian Carrot Curry Soup
Posted by Mosaica on Raw Freedom Community

2 carrots (chopped)
1/4 c red onion
1 clove of garlic
3 c tomatoes (diced)
2 avocados (pitted and peeled)
1/2 c fresh cilantro (not dried)
1/4 c tahini
2 T curry powder
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t garam masala (spice)
1/2 inch of ginger root (peeled)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 t sea salt
3 T sesame oil
2 T apple cider vinegar
3 T agave nectar (or raw sugar)
2 T nutritional yeast (not to be mistaken for brewer's or bread yeast!)
1/2 t fresh green chili (chopped)
4 c hot water (not boiled)
1/3 c raisins (put these in after the soup is blended)

Mix half of the ingredients and half the water at a time in a blender and pour the contents into a large bowl or pot to combine them (this is only done because most blenders are not big enough for the whole recipe). Serve at room temperature or heat on low only until it gets warm because you don't want to lose all the amazing enzymes in this soup! Garnish with tiny cubes of chopped up red onion, shredded carrot, fresh cilantro, raisins and freshly ground black pepper. Serves 4 or 5.

Mosaica's Notes:
The modifications I have made, beside reducing the amounts by half:
-used only about a Tbs of red onions
-only 1 tsp of curry powder
-used only 1/2 avocado
-way less lemon juice and acv
-didn't have any fresh green chili or cilantro...


We also ventured into new territory and tried recipes which were all phenomenal. Definite additions to our repertoire! Yay!

Thai Coconut Soup
Adapted from a recipe posted here

Serves 4

2 cups zucchini
2 cups coconut water
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup tomatoes
2 cups young coconut meat
1/2 avocado
1 clove garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
2 tablespoons mellow miso
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon tamari
1/2 lime juiced
2 pinches cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup cilantro or parsley, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup green onion, thinly sliced (or use 2 tbs dried chives)

Blend all ingredients except for the last three.

Add the cilantro or parsley and blend briefly just to incorporate.

Pour into a bowl and garnish with onion and tomatoes.

I finally was able to whip up some of Heathy's soup creations. That girl has been on a soup roll! (Lucky for us!)

Cucumber Cilantro Soup
Posted on Heathy's blog

Serves 2

2 cups chopped cucumber
1 stalk celery
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup cilantro
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp honey
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
Himalayan salt, to taste

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Adjust seasonings.

Herbed Tomato Soup
Posted on Heathy's blog

Serves 2

1 medium tomato
1 large stalk celery
1/2 red pepper
1/4 avocado
1 handful fresh basil
1 handful fresh parsley
1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 clove garlic
Sea salt, to taste

Blend all ingredients until smooth, adding hot water for consistency. Adjusting seasonings

Carmella's Note:
~ I doubled the recipe and made a few mods. I used:
1/4 cup sundried toms, soaked
1 roma tomato
1/2 red pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1 small avocado
handful basil
Handful parsley
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp miso (or sea salt)
1 tsp (or to taste) of Penzeys Northwoods Fire Seasonings

Her Italian Spinach Soup was a big hit, especially with fresh herbs from Linda's garden!

Italian Spinach Soup

Posted by Heathy on her blog

Serves 2

2 cups packed spinach

1 stalk celery

1 roma tomato

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 avocado

1 small clove garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbs olive oil

1/4 tsp dry oregano

Sea salt, to taste

Blend all ingredients until completely smooth, using hot water to thin.

Carmella's Notes:
~ Don threw in an extra 1/2 tomato (hence the different color!)

~ Don used fresh oregano (about 2 sprigs) and miso


I have a little story to share around this next recipe. Linda is subscribed to Purely Delicious and so I avidly browsed through the latest couple of issues one afternoon. There was a really great article by my dear friend Anna (who originally started the magazine) about her experience with cancer. At the end of it was a note by the editor saying that shortly after submitting it Anna was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The very next day someone posted on our forum that Anna had just lost her battle and passed away. I was in shock at the news and its timeliness... She was such a talented and loving being and so devoted to spreading the good word about health.

I had the privilege of testing some of Anna's recipe creations when she first started Purely Delicious, including this lovely carrot soup. It is so satisfying and incredibly tasty. In fact Roger kept asking that we make it again. ;-)


Carrot Soup
By Anna Tipps of TheRawTable.com

8 large carrots
½ cup cashews, soaked in water for about 4 hours (you may omit or try macadamia nuts instead)
½" slice of red onion or 2 green onions
2 ½ cups coconut milk (can use water instead)
2 ½ cups water
½ small avocado
1 small tomato
¼ cup fresh young coconut meat (can use dried coconut instead)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
dash of lemon pepper

Toss all ingredients except juice into a VitaMix or high-powered blender and process until smooth. Add juice by hand. Serve immediately.


Sexy Salads
Don and I normally are content with just a good ol' mixed green salad tossed in our favorite dressings, but we got to try a few different variations while at Linda's and Roger's.

Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad
Posted on Epicurious.com

1 pound carrots, coarsely grated (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
2 to 4 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin or 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Pinch of salt
About 1/2 teaspoon harissa (Northwest African chili paste), 1 tablespoon minced green chilies, or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days to allow the flavors to meld and permeate the carrots. Served chilled or at room temperature.

Moroccan Carrot-Orange Salad (Shlata Chizo) Variation:Omit the cumin and add 1 1/2 teaspoons orange blossom water or 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, 1/4 cup chopped fresh spearmint, and, if desired, 1 tablespoon honey.

Russell James' Wilted Kale Salad with a Creamy Chipotle Dressing

I saw the most beautiful bunch of watercress at Whole Foods one day and thought it was the perfect time to try a recipe that was given to us by Dan, our host in Houston. He was right; the maple syrup does wonders in toning down the sharpness of the watercress. The ideal complement to any Asian meal!


Watercress Salad

Serves 4

3 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs maple syrup
1/4 cup olive or grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 rinsed bunches watercress, tough stems discarded
2 thinly sliced green onions

In a large bowl, mix acv and maple syrup. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add watercress and onions and toss to coat.

Linda and Don also whipped up the Baby Spinach Salad with Bosc Pear and Pecans which I used to make quite a bit early on. Wow! Such a distinct blend of flavors! Linda had the idea to throw in a few dried cranberries.

Good stuff!

The IronMan Kale Salad posted in Purely Delicious was a little different than most kale salad variations I've tried. It called for carrots, cucumber, spinach, tomatoes, and avocado and was tossed in an unusual dressing made with mango, spirulina and mustard. A nice change, although I'd hold back a tad from the mustard seeds which gave it a strong bite.

OK, OK... This is not a salad but I didn't know where else to fit it in! lol Don is a big fan of stuffing so Linda decided to make this variation posted in Purely Delicious. It called for soaked barley; something I'd never encountered before in a recipe. "Not bad." declared the expert. ;-)

Now onto entrees...

On the day of our arrival Linda had prepared this beautiful Spinach and Mushroom Tart.


Spinach Mushroom Tarts
Posted by Susan on Rawmazing

Advanced Preparation: You will need to soak the almonds, cashews and marinate the mushrooms the night before. The crust will need to be dehydrated for 1-2 hours.

Mushrooms

• 2 C Mushrooms (I use a mix of different varieties)
• 1/3 C Olive Oil
• 1/3 C Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 T Raw Honey or agave (optional)

Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey or agave. Place mushrooms in a bowl, pour marinade over mushrooms. Cover and let sit over night in the refrigerator. You can stir occasionally to make sure you get good distribution.

Crust

• 1 C Soaked almonds
• 1 C Hazelnuts
• 1/2 C Brown Flax Seeds
• pinch Celtic Sea Salt
• Pepper (to taste)

Drain almonds. Place in food processor with hazelnuts, flax seed, salt and pepper. Process until a coarse meal texture is achieved. Place enough in ring to make a layer about 1/3″ thick. You want to pack it in. If you are using a pie plate, make a crust about 1/3″ thick. Place in dehydrator for 1-2 hours. Cool.

Filling

• 2 C Soaked Cashews
• 1/2 Lemon (juice from)
• 1 Clove Garlic (roughly chopped)
• 3 T Shallots (roughly chopped)
• pinch Celtic Sea Salt
• 1 C Marinated Mushrooms (Drained) (save the second cup for topping)
• 1/2 C Spinach (wilted by rubbing between hands. Save a little for topping)

You will be making the filling in two steps. Begin by placing the cashews, lemon juice, garlic, shallots, and salt in the food processor. Process until smooth. Remove from food processor, mix in 1 cup of the mushrooms. Half the mixture and place in two separate bowls. To the second bowl, add the spinach that you have wilted by rubbing the leaves with your fingers. You are now ready to assemble the tart.

Get your crust. Your first layer will be the mushroom filling w/o spinach. Make this layer about 1″ thick. Pat it in. Second layer will be the mixture with the spinach. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Un-mold if you are using the rings. Top with additional mushrooms and spinach.

Carmella's Note: If I was to make this recipe again, I would add more garlic and some herbs as the flavor was a little bland.


I learned that Linda shares my enthusiasm for Russell James' creations so we prepped a few of his recipes. One night we had a wonderful Indian feast... "Wow!" is all I can say!

Mushroom Curry with Parsnip Rice & Spiced Mango Chutney
By Russell James
Published in his 'News From the Kitchen' eZine


For the marinated vegetables
3c portabello mushrooms
1 1/2c aubergine (eggplant), peeled & diced small
1c peas
1/2c broccoli, cut from the stem into 1cm mini-florets
6 medium tomatoes, diced small
1T lemon juice
2T tamari
2T olive oil
2T curry powder
2t salt

• In a large bowl mix the mushrooms, aubergine, peas, broccoli and tomatoes in lemon juice, olive oil, curry powder, and salt.

• Spread onto a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 2 - 3 hours at 105 degrees F.

For the curry sauce
1 red pepper
1 clove garlic
1t lemon
1/2T tamarind pulp*
1cm cube of fresh ginger
1/2c fresh coriander
1T curry powder (try to get curry powder without salt in it)
1/2c fresh coconut from a brown coconut
1/4c water
Salt to taste, depending on whether your curry powder had salt in it. Start with 1/4t.

* Tamarind paste can be made by soaking tamarind in water until it goes soft (the seedless type you can buy in a packet in fine for this) and straining through a sieve. If you don’t have any tamarind available, simply leave out.

• Blend all ingredients in a high power blender until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more water depending on what type of coconut you used.

• Mix the softened dehydrated vegetables with the sauce and return to the dehydrator in a large covered bowl to warm before serving.


Carmella's Notes:
~ We used zucchini instead of eggplant and young coconut in the sauce instead of the mature ones.

~ We omitted the tamarind and it was still awesome!

For the parsnip rice
2c peeled fresh parsnips
3T mac nuts
3T pine nuts
1T olive oil
2t agave nectar
1t lemon juice
2 pinches salt
1T white miso

• Pulse in the food processor until rice-like. Set aside.


For the spiced mango chutney
1 medium mango
2 pinches salt
2t lemon Juice
1t apple cider vinegar
1t minced ginger
1/2t cumin

• Finely dice one mango and set aside.

• Blend all remaining ingredients in a high power blender.

• Combine the blended mixture with the diced mango.


We also had a Thai feast which consisted of the Thai Coconut Soup, Angel Hair Zucchini Pasta with 'Peanut Sauce' and Russell's Broccoli and Spinach Salad from his Thai recipe ebook.

My plate!

Linda and Roger had never tried raw pizza before so we just HAD to do something about that! ;-) I came up with this new combination which was really super yummy. Don said it was his fave pizza so far!

Triple Cheeze Pizza

For this recipe you'll need:

• Herb Pizza Crusts
• Marinara/Pizza Sauce
• UnMotza Mac Cheese
• Rich Cheddar Sauce
• Your favorite Pesto
• Spinach, sliced roma tomatoes, sliced red onion, red bell pepper and mushrooms marinated in equal part olive oil and tamari and a little crushed garlic
• Brazil Nut Parmesan

Herb Pizza Crusts

Yields about 33 square crusts

4 cups soaked buckwheat
2 2/3 cups sunflower seeds, soaked
4 cups zucchini, peeled and roughly chopped
3/4 - 1 cup ground flax
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup + 1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs + 2 tsp Italian herbs
1 tbs + 1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tbs sea salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Spread batter about 1/4 " thick on 3 3/4 dehydrator trays covered with teflex sheets. Score into 9 squares per tray.

Dehydrate at 125 for 2-3 hours, then flip onto mesh and turn the temperature down to 110.

Dehydrate until dry.

Carmella's Note: Alternatively, you could also form the batter into small or large round crusts.


Marinara/Pizza Sauce
Adapted from a recipe by Chef John Schott posted in Purely Delicious Magazine

1 Roma tomatoes
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Italian seasoning
1/2 tbs oregano
2 tbs fresh basil
1 tbs honey or agave
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked
1/2 tbs anise seed

Blend all ingredients except sundried toms.

Add sundried tomatoes and blend again.


Rich Cheddar Sauce
Adapted from "Rejuvenate Your Life" by Serene Allison

1/2 large red bell pepper
¼ c water
1 c raw cashews, sunflower seeds, and/or almonds (I use a mixture of these and soak them overnite)
1 T tahini
2 T nutritional yeast
1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons onion powder (or a small slice of onion or 1 tbs or so of green onions)
1 clove garlic
2 T lemon juice

Blend until creamy. Add more water if it is too thick.


UnMotza Mac Cheese
Adapted from a recipe by Chef John Schott posted in Purely Delicious Magazine

Makes 3 cups

3/4 cup macadamias and cashews
3/4 cup Irish moss gel*
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbs water or nut milk

Blend all ingredients in high speed blender until smooth.

* To make Irish moss gel simply blend 1/4 cup soaked Irish moss with 1 cup water until smooth.


Brazil Nut Parmesan
From Cafe Gratitude's I am Grateful

1 cup Brazil nuts
1 tsp crushed garlic
1/3 tsp sea salt

Process until fluffy in food processor

Assembly:
On a pizza crust, spread some Pizza Sauce, followed by UnMotza Mac Cheese, Rich Cheddar Sauce and your favorite Pesto (optional)

Add a few spinach leaves, some sliced roma tomatoes, sliced red onion and marinated red bell pepper and mushrooms.

Finish off with a sprinkle of Brazil Nut Parmesan.

Place in the dehydrator for 1 hour at 110.

Enjoy!


A different pizza variation we enjoyed: Marinara/Pizza Sauce, UnMotza Mac Cheese, Rich Cheddar Sauce and spinach, red and yellow peppers and mushrooms marinated in a little olive oil, tamari and garlic.


Other dishes that we feasted on include:

Kelp Noodles in Arugula Pesto

Cherie Soria's Mushroom Stroganoff

Butternut Linguini and Hazelnut Pesto also posted in Purely Delicious (What can I say? There were so many recipes that we wanted to try! lol)

Although the linguini was a real pretty color I have to admit that squash is one of those veggies I prefer eating cooked. To me, it remains too starchy in the raw. *shrugs*

Matthew Kenney's Rosemary Garlic Mashed

Jalapeno Burgers

All together now...

Phfew! "That's a lot of food" as Roger would say. Hard to believe we ate all of that, isn't it? Are we blessed or what?

How about we take a little breather here guys?

Will be back with the rest of our uncooking adventures and fabulous pics of our day trip to Sedona!

Oh and if you're on the west coast, remember to check our updated itinerary! It's all coming together sooooo quickly! Yay!