Get a Chance to Receive Russell James' Recipe Series Binder for Free!

I just got the fabulous news that Russell James, aka The Raw Chef, is donating a copy of his Recipe Series Binder for our Sunny Raw Vee Fun'Raiser Giveaway. (Woo hoo!)

It includes more than 100 delicious raw food recipes printed out with full-color photos and bound in a high-quality binder, as well as 2 hours of instructional video showing you how to make several of Russell's favorite recipes.

This Recipe Series Binder normally retails for $147, but you could receive it for free as part of our Giveaway.

To learn more about this product click on the image below!

In that light, I've decided to extend the Giveaway by another 2 weeks until September 15th at midnight PST in order to give everyone a chance to participate. Find out how you could receive for free one of some 21 items and almost $700 worth of gifts here!

Sunny Raw Sweet Kitchen
And while on the topic of Russell James, I thought I'd share a few of his yummilicious sweet creations that I've been whipping up these last few weeks.

Sadly, I've been feeling mostly uninspired to prep food this summer, munching pretty much exclusively on juices, smoothies, watermelon, freshly picked veggies from the garden, raw soups, big salads and corn on the cob. BUT last month I decided to treat myself to an extra special luxury... I took the plunge and purchased Russell's new Raw Dessert Homestudy Course as he had a sale on that was just too good to be missed. (I wrote a post telling you more about his latest product here.)

I participated in his free Dessert Webinar first and realized that since I learned several new tips and tricks just from watching those few short videos the complete Dessert Course would be a wise investment. I was so right!

It's been really nice to finally get a chance to see him work 'live' after having tried so many of his recipes. He's just as I imagined him to be; genuine, precise, super creative and even funny to boot! Plus I get to ask any questions I may have about his recipes on The Raw Chef Academy website and he answers them personally.

Anyhoo, I'm about to begin Week 5 now and learn all of the secrets of Raw Chocolate Making (including an easy way to temper chocolate). Mmmmm... I can hardly wait!

So far I've made...

Marbled Raspberry Vanilla Tart

This recipe was actually part of the free Webinar and demonstrated how to create beautiful swirling designs. It was absolutely to live for and oh-so pretty too!!!

Toffee Coffee Panna Cotta

This was the very first recipe I tried from the Raw Dessert Homestudy Course and it was delightful! The Panna Cotta uses Irish moss paste - one of my favorite ingredients for lighter melt-in-your-mouth desserts - and was topped with Chocolate Sauce and a few freshly picked huckleberries. Yum!

I recently cheated and jumped ahead a few weeks in order to make a recipe from one of the weekly topics that interested me the most: Nut Free Desserts.

Red Velvet Cake

In his raw version of the famous Red Velvet Cake Russell ingeniously uses a combination of oat flour, coconut flour and ground flax seeds in the cake layer instead of the more common nuts. I didn't have any young coconut for the Icing/Cream layer so I subbed with cashews instead. It still turned out super well, and of course was very visually stunning. I thought that the result was rather heavy due to the flours, but that just meant that we enjoyed smaller pieces. I'm looking forward to playing with that concept some more in creating other types of desserts.

Got you drooling all over your keyboard? (Ooops, sorry!) 

You can find out more about Russell's Dessert Homestudy Course here.

Last Chance for my Book Sale
And lastly just a reminder that there's only a few days left for my Sunny Raw Vee Book Sale. For the entire month of August I'm offering  ALL of my recipe books - including the hard copy of Delightfully Raw!!! - at a 20% discount.

To take advantage of this offer, all you need to do is hop over to my Recipe Book Page Page and use the coupon code "RAWVEE" while checking out.

Introducing Don's First Book: Ready or Not Freegold

I am pleased to present Don's first book, Ready or Not - Freegold: The Real New World Order.

While one of my main passions and creative outlets these last several years has been raw food prep, Don likes to keep a close eye on what all is going on in the world's finances. In fact his interest in macro economics goes way back to when he used to be an army officer in the 70s. (Yep, you read right! Talk about 'past life'! lol)

Shortly after we met in the early 2000s he began talking about an imminent financial crisis worse than anything we have ever known before, including The Great Depression. He just didn't know exactly when it would begin to unfold. Well, now it's clear that time has come.

In Ready or Not - Freegold Don talks about how the global economy is destined to collapse into a hyper-inflationary depression and why the new currency system will have gold as its foundation. He wants to put it out there to help people prepare. After it happens the transition will be terribly difficult for those who aren't ready. Don says that would be unfortunate because it isn't hard to understand what to do if you have the proper information about what is coming (and sooner rather than later, he is sure).

One of the difficulties about this affair is that we naturally doubt that anything so serious could be actually happening. Dealing with that doubt was one of the aims Don had for his book. Most people aren't even a little ready for the turmoil that is already baked into the cake. Are you?

Don's book will guide you to easily prepare, and he is sure that those few who do will be big winners when all is said and done, after something new and better emerges from the ashes. It has always been thus. Ready Or Not - Freegold includes some funnies (and even a few raw recipes too!)

Ready Or Not - Freegold is available for immediate download for a sliding scale of $8.99 to $12.99. 

To order your copy, 
click on the 'Add to Cart' button below!

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Here's a peek into Ready Or Not - Freegold...

Dear readers,
There is a critical difference between what may be the ideal, perfect monetary system and what are the real monetary changes we are currently heading directly into.

My purpose for writing this book was to share my own discovery and understanding of what is actually coming at us all, 'ready or not', like a freight train in a tunnel. Many perhaps see the light but few really know what it means and what to do about it. If we can determine where we are heading financially and economically, and why we are heading there, then perhaps we can discover, in advance, how the global economy will unfold in the coming weeks, months and years.

And with this understanding, hopefully we can take appropriate action and thereby gain a certain peace of mind with regard to our own personal finances as we head into what are sure to be very stormy waters. I know from my own experience that peace of mind is a priceless asset and therefore one worth whatever it takes, in time and energy, to acquire.

WHO DO YOU TRUST?
I feel it is extremely important for everyone in this time of severe financial upheaval, to re-examine the question of trust. This is another one of those difficult situations because we all have a long history where things financial worked a particular way, and we are very entrenched in our long-standing views and positions. It is extremely difficult to change these established ways of thinking because we have a great deal of energy invested and have many parts of our lives set up based on them.

However, there are times, rare though they may be, that the situation demands that we take the time and energy to take a hard re-examination. To accomplish this challenge we must be prepared to be ruthlessly objective, let the cards fall where they may, and be prepared to do whatever it takes to adjust to the new reality if the conclusions demand it.

The present financial crisis is far from over. In fact, it is getting worse. It can be described as a debt crisis, but its true nature is a monetary crisis. At its roots, it is a belated gold crisis. It is a punishment for discarding the honest unit measuring value…

The landmark year was 1971, when the United States defaulted on its international gold obligations under the Bretton Woods Agreement (to be the worlds reserve currency). There have been many defaults in history, but the one forty years ago was unique in that it exiled gold internationally and without recourse to the Courts from the global monetary system; thereby gold has been prevented from discharging its natural function as the ultimate extinguisher of debt ever since.

There is a direct cause and effect relationship between that decision in 1971 and the present global financial crisis. We are about to pay the price for our collective delusion as participants in this insane monetary experiment. Our monetary system today did not grow naturally, nor was it the result of careful study and planning by competent financial scientists. It has no inherent stable foundation because it is a ponzi scheme. In fact, it was imposed through bribe and blackmail on the worlds people.

The powers have, from the beginning of this crisis, lied and misled we, the people. They first declared that there was nothing to worry about. Then that yes, there is a problem but it is minor and contained. Then, oops, sorry but it is seriously systemically dangerous and will need massive bailouts of major banks and institutions, which will fix everything and get the economy growing again. The result – more than two years later and we have whole countries in trouble!

So if we can’t trust Them, what/who can we trust and what can the average citizen do to deal with this world of finance gone mad?

That is the question which this book, Ready Or Not - Freegold  attempts to answer.

A few short important questions for you. Are you personally confident you really know...

- if the global economy and financial system has been fixed and recovered after its near death experience in 08?

- if we are stabilized and on a path of sustainable growth?

- what financial derivatives are, the central role they played in the systemic near meltdown that occurred  in the recent past, and whether they are still a serious issue?

- the difference between fiat currency and real Money and why it is vitally important?

- that fiat currency is only created by debt and that therefore all the so called money 'printing' (QE's) has created much More DEBT to attempt to solve a DEBT crisis and why this is a serious issue?

- whether the world can look forward to price stability or will there be major deflation and/or inflation?

- whether your savings/pensions are safe?

- whether you are financially positioned properly to thrive and prosper however it all works out, for you and your loved ones?


If you couldn't answer YES to these critically important questions, then we can say with confidence you will greatly benefit from reading this book, 'Ready Or Not - Freegold'. 

To order your copy of 'Ready Or Not - Freegold', 
click on the 'Add to Cart' button below!

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The Awesome Sunny Raw Vee Giveaway and Book Sale

IMPORTANT: Please note that the Sunny Raw Vee Draw has been replaced with a Giveaway. Read on for more details!
***

Rough Canyon, Texas

If you've been hanging around my virtual Sunny Raw Kitchen a while then you probably already know that Don and I and our two furries, Kylo and DaPuss, have spent the last couple of years on the road. We've been loving our nomadic lifestyle which The Mystery has for us these days, and feel blessed by the breathtaking beauty it has allowed us to witness and the wonderful people we met. Yet, we've also found that our months on the road do take their toll. We attribute this in part to the increased level of stress brought by constantly being on the move and all that it entails. Another huge factor has been the fact that we have been rather 'roughing it', living in a van/tent.

Given this new 'gypsy' phase, it would make our lives a LOT easier if we had a vehicle more suitable for living 'on the road'. So we've been thinking of acquiring a new 'home on wheels': a used RV - or Raw Vee as we've come to refer to it! ;-) It would certainly take our nomadic experience to a whole new level!

Raw Prizes Galore!
We only have about two months to save up before we are likely needing to head back south. In that light, we thought of holding a "fun'raiser" and see if some of you guys might be willing to support the project with us. As a first step we therefore recently put it out to friends and members of the health and raw community, asking for product donations that we could offer as draw prizes.

We received several enthusiastic responses and set the draw in motion last week. What we didn't realize, however, is that for some reason Paypal doesn't condone this sort of thing. ;-( Therefore we just HAD TO find something else to do with all those cool raw products, didn't we?

So instead we've decided to offer these goodies as part of a Sunny Raw Vee Giveaway!

When you purchase any of Don's and my books from now until September 15th at midnight PST you will be automatically given a FREE ENTRY into our Giveaway!!!

Thanks to all of our generous contributors - you guys rawck! - you could receive one of the following: 

~ 5 copies of Travel in the Raw ebook by Heather Haxo Philips, courtesy of Heather of Raw Bay Area (each a $12.95 value)

~ 5 copies of Don's new Ready or Not - Freegold ebook (each a $9.99 value)

~ 3 copies of the Uncooking with Raw Rose ebook by Rose Vasile (each a $16.95 value), courtesy of Rose of RawRose.com

~ 3 copies of my soon to be released Deliciously Raw: Quick 'n Easy Recipes from The Sunny Raw Kitchen ebook (each a $9.99 value)  

~ One copy of the Pure Pleasures ebook by Natalia, courtesy of Natalia of NataliaKW.com (a $18.95 value)

~ One copy of the Just Desserts ebook by Heather Pace, courtesy of Heather of SweetlyRaw.com (a $14.97 value)

~ One box of Hallelujah Acres yummy raw Survival Bars*, courtesy of Gayle and Rick Asche (a $40 value)

~ One of The Raw Chef's Recipe Series Binder courtesy of Russell James (a $147 value)

And last but certainly not least...

*droll roll please*

~ A brand new Black Omni V 3 HP blender**, courtesy of Thomas Fox of 3blenders.com (a $265.00 value).

We discovered the Omni during our travels this past winter and were very impressed with its performance, which is right up there with other comparable 3 HP blenders. In fact, so much so that I have written a blender recipe book (Deliciously Raw) that is now included in each box! (Woo hoo!)

If you'd like to learn more about the Omni blender, we've written a review of it here.

* For North American residents only
** For US residents only

That's 21 items to choose from and nearly $700 worth of gifts!!! Woo hoo! 

And all without you having to do anything more!

Starting September 16th, we'll be picking names via a random number generator, then emailing them with the updated list of gifts to choose from. We'll keep doing that until everything is accounted for. (In other words, you'll get an opportunity to pick your gift rather than be assigned a specific one.)

The giveaway recipients will be announced here and on Raw Freedom Community's Forum Announcement section.

But wait, that's not all...

Sunny Raw Vee Book Sale

For the entire month of August I'm offering  ALL of my recipe books - including the hard copy of Delightfully Raw!!! - at a 20% discount.

To take advantage of this offer, all you need to do is hop over to this page and use the coupon code "RAWVEE" while checking out.

There are also other ways that you can support us in our Raw Vee venture...

~ By making a donation via the 'Donate' button in the right sidebar. (This will also give you a FREE ENTRY into our Sunny Raw Vee Giveaway!)

~ By purchasing products via the banners and links in the right sidebar.

~ By telling a friend about our Sunny Raw Vee Book Sale and Giveaway!

Thanks in advance for purchasing our products and helping us out in our Raw Vee project!

Oh, and for those of you not yet in the loop, here's a quick overview of our life on the road.

Tomoka State Park, Florida

The Call of the Road
In the summer of 2007, after having moved 3 times in twelve months and with yet another one on the horizon, we decided to listen to what Life was telling us and take the Big Jump. We liquidated most of our belongings except for our raw kitchen paraphernalia, packed our furry friends, and headed east. We had no clear idea at the time what was awaiting us next, we were just gonna go with what we call 'The Flow'.

A few months later, when confronted with the possibility of renting and setting up house again, we instead continued to travel to the southern US for the cold winter months. What followed was the most incredible journey down the east coast to Florida, across to California and back up to Washington state. It was made largely possible by the generosity of my Sunny Raw Kitchen readers and members of Raw Freedom Community forum who invited us to visit in their homes along the way. We spent the rest of the time tent camping in the American wilderness; an amazing, but of course at times, challenging experience, especially when hauling around everything you own in the whole world, and furry critters to boot.

McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills, Arizona

After spending the warmer months with friends in British Columbia, we once again headed south in the fall. While we did our first trip in a minivan and a tent, last year we traveled in a small semi-camperized van, which made things a great deal easier. It was still far from being ideal, however, as with all of our kitchen equipment, raw supplies and our few belongings it meant emptying most of the van's contents in order to be able to sleep in it. Thankfully we didn't cover as much ground this time, sticking mostly to the west coast, except for a detour inland via Utah and Arizona.

I did my best to blog from the road and keep my readers up to date on our adventures. You can read all about them here:

The Sunny Raw Kitchen Tour

The Delightfully Raw Tour

I'll leave you with a few pics taken during our two years of travels... 

 Palmetto State Park, Texas

Kyky at the wheel; we were in good paws! ;-)

Scraping the ice off the tent on a cold morning in Fort Davis, Texas.

Our camping paradise at Wheeler Gorge in Ojai, California.

Chilling out at Rocky Point Resort on the shore of Klamath Lake, Oregon.

Blogging on the road

 

 Our outdoor kitchen at Big Lagoon State Park near Pensacola, Florida.

 

Making chocolate truffles on New Year's Eve at Shepard State Park in Gautier, Mississippi. I got so many comments about this enterprise! lol Someone told me she even printed the photo out and put it on her wall as a reminder that, with a little determination, you can uncook anywhere.

Uncooking up a storm in Palmetto State Park, Texas.

 

Making Coconut Joys in the Santa Ynez Valley, north of Santa Barbara, California.

The Smoothie Man in action.

 Raw feasting in our canvas home.

An Entire House to Myself!

Hello everyone! *waving*

I hope you guys have been enjoying something resembling summer! It feels like it only really got here in British Columbia a few days ago. Eeek! The whole month of June was rainy and miserable and most of July wasn't a great deal better. ;-(

Playing House
I was given an opportunity to look after my friends, Camille and George's, lovely home for 3 weeks; a rustic haven by the river with a veggie garden and several fruit trees.

It was my first time being 'on my own' in what must be at least 3 or 4 years (the boyz were staying with other friends.) It felt strange and also nice to be able to attune myself to my own internal rhythm. As it turns out I ended up not doing much at all, still enveloped in the after-trip daze. I spent the days chilling out; doing the Tibetan Rites, meditating, luxuriating in the (very!) occasional sun, walking and reading.

Actually I wasn't completely alone as I had brought Miss Puss with me. She liked to hang outside on the deck, hidden among the plant pots.

I hopped on one of their bikes a few times over the weeks in order to go play in the community garden, located just a couple of miles away. It was such a sweet ride along the Slocan river, which has been the highest in years, what with the insane amount of rain we've been getting in recent months.

I got to become buddies with the resident cows in a nearby field.

One of my favorite views on the way back.

A still snow covered mountain top in the distance.

 

Not Home Alone
While most days it was just the two of us gals, we did get the occasional wildlife visitor. The most notorious was a small brown bear who took a keen interest in a great big old cherry tree. Oh the feast that he had, I tell ya!

He's a real cutie, isn't he?

I even captured Mr. Bear on video!

Donnie and Kylo paid me a short visit at some point. While Don was doing the dishes after dinner he yelled at me to look out the window, as a young moose was leisurely strolling across the yard. I barely had time to grab my camera and get a couple of shots.

In Camille's Sunny Kitchen
Without my precious kitchen assistant and someone to share food with, I found myself simplifying my diet quite a bit. I mean, it's a lot of trouble to whip up fancy dishes when it's just for one. It certainly made me appreciate what it must be like when your partner isn't on the raw wagon with you! Since Camille doesn't have a juicer, instead of my usual morning carrot apple beet drink I started my day off by gathering fresh fruit for breakfast; strawberries (THE most succulent I have ever tasted!) and later blueberries and raspberries. To my delight, the cherries also ripened around mid-July, so I got to pick and eat them to my heart's content. Unfortunately with all the rain, they started to split quickly which is such a shame.

Look at those dark red jewels!

Unlike Don, who could eat chia pudding every single day, I find it so filling that I don't really feel like drinking my usual smoothie. Having said that, I did whip up one on a couple of occasions.

Chia Pudding with Berries

Yields one serving

1 tbs chia seeds
About 1 cup almond milk
Sweetener of choice (I prefer honey or maple syrup), to taste
1 tbs raisins
1 tsp liquid vanilla or vanilla extract
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg

With a fork, spoon or whisk, mix chia seeds with a small amount of almond milk in a bowl - about 1/4 cup. I find that putting the entire amount of liquid at once tends to create lumps. Allow to sit for 5 mins or so.

Incorporate the rest of the milk, being careful to completely dissolve the little chia clumps. Fold in raisins.

Allow to sit for at least another 15 minutes or overnight in the fridge.

Just before serving, mix in your sweetener of choice, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg, then top with fresh berries and slivered almonds.

For lunch I enjoyed a smoothie made with fresh greens picked from the garden. Dinner was usually just soup and a no-brainer main course such as zucchini pasta, kelp noodles or quinoa with marinated veggies, or good ol' crackers with a spread or avocado and tomato.


Oh-oh! Guess I'm a Big Girl Now!
I changed decade and turned 40 towards the beginning of my stay. I didn't really celebrate per se, being on my own and all, but I did spend this special day munching on yummy simple raw foods and happily bathing in the sun, which had thankfully joined me. The best birthday gift ever in my book! ;-)

A few days later I went to spend the afternoon with Don and our friends, John & Livina, in order to mark the occasion in earnest. We enjoyed Chive Rangoons from Natalia's beautiful Pure Pleasures ebook with a salad, and a quinoa and marinated veggie dish Livina had prepared. The Rangoons were very very yummy! Livina just raved about them! The wrappers' main ingredients were dried coconut, zucchini and flax seeds, and were first dehydrated, then filled with a Chive Cream made of cashews (I used macs instead). They were served with a Ginger Dipping Sauce.

I was envisioning making a Strawberry Shortcake for dessert in light of the wonderful strawberries I picked daily from Camille's garden, but Livina had something quite different in mind. She'd recently returned from the city with a durian and was drooling at the idea of my Durian Chocolate Mousse Cake. Since I had already made a large batch of Whipped Cream, I opted for something somewhere in between... A Durian Cream Cake topped with strawberries.

The Whipped Cream was different than the one I usually make and I loved loved it! It was based on a recipe by Elaine Love that uses Irish moss paste. The Durian Layer was also with moss, so the finished result was very light and creamy. I was quite pleased with the cake, although I must admit that I've started to grow out of my durian phase.

Durian Cream Cake

Coconut Crust
2 cups dry coconut
1/2 cup dates
1 tsp liquid vanilla or vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Process the ingredients in a food processor until crumbly. The mixture should stick when pressed together between your fingers. If it's too dry, add a little water or agave if it isn’t quite sweet enough (1 teaspoon or so at a time.)

Press into the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan.

Durian Mousse
1 1/2 cups durian flesh
1/4 cup Irish moss paste*
1/4 cup agave nectar (or more, depending on how sweet your durian is)
3/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
---
1/4 cup + 2 tbs melted coconut oil
1 tbs lecithin powder

Blend first set of ingredients until smooth in high-speed blender.

Add coconut oil and lecithin and blend again, just to incorporate.

Pour mixture onto the crust.

To make Irish Moss Paste:
Blend 1.5 oz (or ½ cup packed) soaked Irish moss with 1 cup water in a high-speed blender until completely dissolved.

Whipped Topping
Adapted from a recipe by Elaine Love

1/4 cup soaked Irish moss (measure after soaking in cold water for 3+ hours)
1 cup water

1. Blend moss and water until smooth

1 cup + 2 tbs water
1/2 cup raw agave nectar or raw honey
3/4 cup coconut oil
3 Tbs. soy lecithin powder (non GMO)
1/2 cup young coconut meat
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs liquid vanilla or vanilla extract

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

2. Let set up in the refrigerator overnight if possible.

3. Spread a nice thick layer on top of the Durian Layer. You'll need only about half of the Whipped Cream, but I'm sure you'll find a way to use the rest, it's soooo yummy! It's totally decadent served with fresh fruit.

Elaina's Note: This whipped topping will last for 1 week refrigerated.  May be frozen after the first day of setting up in refrigerator but for best results, do not try to freeze while it is setting up.


Don had made a batch of Berry Ice Cream which complemented the cake beautifully.

And on this sweet note, I shall leave you and make the most of Mister Sun, who has been gratifying us with his presence for the last 5 days in a row; a record thus far!

Sending some sunshine your way!