In Lillie's Sunny Kitchen

Our original idea was to take the southern route to go to the Grand Canyon, but upon closer examination of the map we discovered that the northern one was actually a lot shorter. Plus we hadn't had a chance to go to Zion National Park yet, so everything seemed to point to a change of plans. One of the people that attended the raw potluck at Barbara and Duane's was a lady named Lillie and she lived in Springdale, a neat little community located right at Zion's gate. We made arrangements to spend a couple of nights at her place so that we could explore the park before heading to Arizona.

The drive from St George to Springdale was short but boy was it ever windy! Tumble weeds kept rolling on the road and we very nearly ran right into a mega one. 

We were blessed with yet more beautiful scenery on the way there.

 

Although the visit with Lillie came together at the very last minute, she called up a bunch of friends and invited them over for a raw potluck.

Steven and Roslyn brought delicious dehydrated crackers and a really yummy spread made with sunflower seeds, tahini, celery, garlic and salt.

Barbara contributed a delicious kale salad tossed in my Curry Dressing. We're not usually big fans of kale but we loved her salads! She chops the kale leaves very fine in the food processor which makes it a lot easier to chew. Our new favorite way to enjoy this nutritious leafy green!

Lillie made a colorful salad that she served with my Hemp Avocado Dressing.

As for me I demoed how to make Green Cucumber Soup and Sunflower Garlic Spread/Pate. I thought you might want to see how I go about making it. I love it; it's one of the simplest spreads I know and Is so delicious!

 Voila!

Sunflower Garlic Spread
2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
2 garlic cloves
2 tbs lemon juice (or to taste)
Salt, tamari or Nama Shoyu, to taste
Handful dill (optional)

Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.

And here's Lillie, always with a huge smile on her face!

 

 We realized that we hardly got any photos taken with Barbara and Duane so we remedied that.

 Don... always on the lookout for some lickies! hehe I managed to catch him in the act!

The next morning Lillie prepared us a lovely breakfast of various chopped fruit and sprouted almonds. As we munched she told us a little of her personal story. She used to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes and uterine cancer. She said she looked at herself in the mirror one morning and realized that she was dying. She decided to turn towards food to try a cure. With the support of her friend Roslyn she first got into the PH balance diet which she followed for over a year. Then they ate nothing but raw foods for a year and a half. And finally they settled for a whole food plant based diet. Today she is completely disease free (woo hoo!!!) Diet alone however wasn't enough, as only six months ago she couldn't walk without a walker. That's when she embarked on an intensive exercise program that allowed her to recover her mobility. She still goes to exercise classes several times a week and is now hopping around the house freely. "Wow!" is all I can say!

Springdale is surrounded on three sides by Zion and from Lillie's table you have a lovely view of the mountains. As we were having dinner one night I noticed that they were on fire and ran outside to capture the moment on camera.

Oh, and I couldn't end this post without mentioning her cute little Darling. It took her a while to get comfortable with strangers around her house (especially with that big wolfie of ours!) but she finally started to feel more at ease.

She has such unusual markings and the most beautiful blue eyes.

Ahhhh, there's nothing like rollies on the counter! ;-)