Vegan Almond Strawberry Jellie

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

I have to admit that I made this dessert BEFORE realizing that it was red and white, the perfect Canada Day summer treat. Americans can add blueberries for July 4. I came up with the idea ages ago and then waited in anticipation for strawberry season to hit so I could try it out. I had originally intended to cook the strawberries first but we got lazy after a day of work and just wanted to eat the thing already, so fresh strawberries were substituted.

We added a very thin sprinkle of maple sugar to the strawberries and the almond milk came pre-sweetened but no other sweeteners were added. Most of you will find the taste as-is too bland and will want to sweeten it up a bit.

A note about Kanten Flakes (Agar): Kanten flakes are a sea vegetable that can be cooked into juices and other liquids to form a gel, just like gelatin but without the animal bones. Plus, agar is full of vitamins and other good stuff.

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups almond milk
  • 2 Tbsp Kanten flakes (or according to package directions)
  • Pint of strawberries
  • Dash of maple sugar
  • Optional: agave syrup, maple syrup or some other sweetener can be added to the almond milk and/or the strawberries to taste

Method

    1. Mix 1 tbsp kanten flakes into 2 cups of almond milk. Bring to a boil and stir until the kanten flakes are dissolved.

    2. Pour the warm mix into cups or dessert dishes and refrigerate until cool and firm.

    3. Dice fresh strawberries and spoon on top of firmed almond milk. Sweeten with a dash of maple sugar and serve.

    Makes approx. 4-5 small dessert cups.

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Hosta Flower and Guest

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

I was all set to post a picture of blue delphiniums until I remembered tomorrow is Canada Day and I should choose a picture that is red and white. Except I couldn’t find anything red and white or red for that matter leaving me with just white, a colour that in and of itself isn’t very Canadian but I suppose is better than blue.

I’m not much of a flag waver — blind patriotism makes me nervous — however I do feel fortunate that my maternal relations, like approximately 64 000 other West Indians were able to enter this country due to immigration reforms made in the late sixties.

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Roof Garden, Slightly Less Chaos

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

Click the image to see full-size.

This is a panoramic of the roof garden taken just this week. There are a lot more plants out there then I was able to get into a composite. Unfortunately with the gazebo top on I could not shoot the photos from above, perched high up on a ladder like I did for the before image. As far as Project The Best and Most Ass Kicking the Roof Garden Has Ever Been, EVER 2008 is concerned I think things are well underway. One of my challenges for this year was to Eliminate All Messes. I’m not quite there yet but I have managed to reign it in by strategically placed furniture that acts as holding pens for the junk. I only just managed to get most of the transplant chaos alleviated so more attention to aesthetics will be coming up shortly.

I recently did an interview with REV Magazine that is now up on their site. I love what they wrote in the introduction about how I complain about the weather. Because I do, don’t I? Quite a lot actually. But I want you to know that I withheld this week and didn’t tell you about THE HAIL. In an act of progress that shows that I am rolling with the punches and conceding to less need for control I did not bring up the tiny balls of ice that plummeted to the ground threatening my basil in the last days of the month of June! And then the next day was hot and sweaty — a proper summer.

Okay, to confess I did complain about it in the forums.

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Poppy Seedpods on a Windy Afternoon

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

I took this photo yesterday afternoon on a short visit to my favourite local public garden to get some practice with a new lens. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to reveal the location of this favourite spot for fear of disrupting the serenity that currently exists there.

After about an hour of photos I walked for another hour to a garden centre to inquire about the fifty thousand dollar viola (COME ON!!!) and then to the farmer’s market where I socially engaged with swell people and indulged in both a vanilla/maple sheep’s milk ice cream AND a large glass of cool, frothy chocolate beverage.

Good thing I did all that walking!

I don’t know what I did to deserve such a perfect summer afternoon on a weekday, let alone two in a row, but I’m learning to sit back and enjoy these super happy sunshine rainbow experiences without buckets of accompanying guilt.

I think they call that progress. I call that talk therapy in action.

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Translucent Gooseberry

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

The way they were less than a month ago.

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