Smell has the ability to transport us like none of our other senses. Smell is so powerful it has been said that, in a relationship, you can work through just about anything, except for an offensive smell.  This summer there were many smells that crossed my nose, and here is where they took me…

The smell of vanilla scented sap oozing from a warm Douglas Fir… transported me to the summer I backpacked in the Sierras with Julie, Arlene and Dennie when we all got lost and independently bush-whacked our way to the road where we hitchhiked back to our cabin and found safety and each other once again.

The smell of a warm granite slab… transported me to my rock climbing adventure in Yosemite with my first boyfriend, and my realization that I prefer to share life with someone rather than live it alone.

The smell of the salty ocean air… transported me to my morning walks on ‘my beach’ in Laguna collecting sea glass and stepping into transformation.

The smell of patchouli… transported me to a mis-matched relationship with a girl who shared my name and the realization that… I don’t really like patchouli.

The smell of my mom’s tuna casserole… transported me to my walk home from high school through the elementary school yard, my mouth watering as I detected that first waft of what’s for dinner.

The smell of a warm old Chevy, with musty seats and cigarette butts… transported me to riding in the car with Gramps, listening to Vince Scully call the play-by-pay for the Dodgers on a Sunday afternoon.

The smell of white musk… transported me to my first true love and to that feeling of disbelief and excitement you get when you realize someone actually loves you as much as you love them.

The smell of a wood burning fire… transported me to my rustic cabin in Vermont, warmed by the aging wood stove and the unwavering love and acceptance of my ‘adopted family’ there.

The smell of a wet dog… transported me to my beloved golden retriever Summer, and how her favorite thing to do after a swim at White’s pond, was to roll on the ground and cover herself in dirt until she was unrecognizable.

Our senses are what connect us to the world around us… but they also connect us to the world inside us – to memories stored, captured in a scent, ready to transport us in a simple, unsuspecting in-breath.

If we will allow it, that same simple in-breath connects us also to the scent of something greater.  When perhaps our transporting takes us away for too long, or when our thoughts become trapped in what was or what could have been, it is then that our breath becomes our salvation, as in a simple deep inhale, we are able to detect the scent of magnificence, wonder, and beauty in this present moment… the scent of life itself, inviting us to let go of the past and step into a sweeter, fuller, more fragrant experience of life than we have ever known.

Cashew Cream Sauce

1 cup cashews (you can soak them if you’d like, but it’s not necessary)

3/4 cup water

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Green Onion

1-2 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy.  Enjoy over cucumber, zucchini, or summer squash noodles.  Top with chopped parsley and capers.

Read about the health benefits of blueberries here.  Read about the nutritional benefits of arugula here.

Arugula Blueberry Salad

2 handfuls of organic baby or wild arugula

1 cup blueberries

1 cup sun dried tomatos

1 cup raw asparagus tips

Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice (about one lemon)

1/4 cup raw agave

salt and pepper to taste

Toss salad ingredients together with dressing and enjoy.

2 cups watermelon
1 tablespoon agave
1 lemon , juiced
6 mint leaves, sliced
ice

Blend all ingredient except the ice.  Adjust flavors as needed.  Then add ice and blend to desired consistency and drink up :)

2 cups packed basil leaves

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/2 cup olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender and enjoy over cucumber or zucchini noodles.

2 cups almond meal

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup raisins, soaked in warm water for a few minutes

1/4 cup orange juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine almond meal, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and mix well.  Add orange juice, raisins and vanilla to blender and blend enough to break the raisins apart, but not pulverize them completely.  Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix together with a spatula until the mixture begins to form into a ball.  Using a teaspoon or very small ice cream scoop, take small amounts of dough and roll in your hands to make little balls.  Set on plate.  These can be served at room temperature or chilled to make firmer.

For an added treat, you can make this Vanilla Cream Sauce to serve with them.  With this sauce, they truly rival Cinnabun :)

1 cup raw cashews, best if soaked 1 hour or more

1  cup coconut meat

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup agave

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/4  teaspoons Celtic sea salt

1/2 cup coconut butter/oil, warmed to liquefy

In a high-speed blender, blend all ingredients except the coconut oil, until completely smooth.  With the blender on low, gradually add the coconut oil and continue to blend until completely incorporated and smooth.  This can be served at room temperature and drizzled over the balls, or chilled and used more like a frosting.  So Good!

To date, my parents have only known the world of dial-up – which teaches one a lot about patience, but that’s about it.  For the most part, they have used their computer as a typewriter to write their life stories with the added benefit of the ability to send emails.  Much to my horror, I’ve recently discovered that my Mom has a bad habit of typing something on the computer, printing it out, and then deleting the word doc – Moooommmm!  Hopefully I will break her of that habit while I am staying with them.   Up until now, they have not been able to download attachments, watch my raw food how-to videos, skype with my nephew in Italy, view family photos on facebook, or use the phone while on the computer.  But by tonight, I had them set up on gmail, Facebook, and Skype… And I even set my Dad up with a Lawrence Welk station on Pandora!  My Dad’s eyes were like saucers when we practiced Skyping from adjoining rooms.  By the end of the evening, my 82 year old Dad was sending his handle to the relatives and encouraging them to get on Skype too.

Up until this point, my folks said they didn’t need high speed, that dial-up was ‘good enough’.  But sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know.  Then when we get a taste of something better, something bigger, something more expansive than we have known before, we can’t believe that we lived outside of that knowing and that experience for so long.  We have the opportunity each day to choose dial-up or high speed.  To choose the life we have known, or to open up to an ever freer, fuller more expanded and alive experience and expression of our self.  We have the opportunity to choose to live a life that is ‘good enough’ or to step fully into all the magnificence this life has to offer.  When I teach my Outrageous Joy 30-Day Raw Food Adventure, I invite my students to step fully into the experience, to give themselves the gift of what extreme well-being can feel like.  When we allow ourselves to stop overthinking it, and just do it, we are often blown away by how much more aliveness we feel.  What is calling you today?  Where in your life are you being invited to move from dial-up to high-speed?  Where in your life are you being pulled to something more?  Where are you being called to step into Magnificence?

1 large or 2 small grapefruits (about 2 cups)

1 large or 2 small pears (about 2 cups)

1/2 to 1 English Cucumber

1 healthy hand full of Spinach

Blend and enjoy.