Lets be real. Nobody in their right mind is cranking up the oven this time of year. It’s just not happening unless you’re making pie and have a kiddy pool on the kitchen floor. So the raw raspberry lemonade bars goodness is where it’s at and this light as air pillowy cloud of tangy lemon and raspberry on a decadent nutty crust without any added sugar is DA bomb. Top it with some coconut whipped cream and you will be in the land of blissful nummies (it’s a real place, I swear).
Have you ever thought what it would be like to be psychic? Maybe you are psychic. Please comment if so, I want to know how many psychics are reading my blog. I disgress, my writing challenge postulated the idea and I wrote a little piece on a day in the life of moi, as a psychic.
She stepped up into the precociously parked bus only to be bombarded with the inner screams of impatience of it’s inhabitants. A common chord amongst many in the busy city, nothing is ever fast enough. Places to go, people to see, and a massive shortage of time. She was always quick to scan for the ones that held an inner stillness, that didn’t let their feathers ruffle at the mere drop of a pin or tick tock of the clock. Today was like no other, as she looked through the eyes of those around her she felt dismal. There was no one on this bus wrapped in calm cascades of inner peace. What she felt was an unspoken turmoil amongst the masses, self-absorbed and lost in thoughts composed mostly of what ifs. She decided that day to stop taking the bus.
Descending the steps to a busy street her heart ached to scream that we aren’t all so separate at all. Clinging to the illusion of drastic differences between us we create a world where there are few bridges. The homeless man, whose shadow even had thoughts, his mind never turned off, he was constantly churning through his choices and how they shaped his reality. But that corporate banker who frequents the same cafeteria every day goes through the exact same process.
It’s not very often that she shows what she knows. Blending in is the best technique if you want to remain out of the egoick glare of the limelight. Today was different though. Today she was desperate to find someone who wasn’t a frantic mess. Scanning more than usual, she picked the best chances. The woman carrying her yoga bag, she must be focused more on the well being of others than her own problems. I wonder what I’ll have for lunch- damn my ass hurts from all those lunges. Nope. She continued her hunt. What even was she looking for? Just something different, someone whose world is wrapped in love, maybe even gratitude.
A plump older fellow was waddling towards her, his glasses crooked and a smidgen of mustard tucked into the crease of his lip. His clothes were ruffled and his face twisted into a sort of worried grimace. It was easy to pick up that he had just been through something heavy. He’d been helping a stranger, a neighbour that he had seen but never spoken with before that day. The old lady was losing it to the demons of dementia. She watched movies and couldn’t figure out that they weren’t her life, they weren’t reality.
He’d seen her falling from afar, down that big old hill that the kids loathed climbing on their way to school and the reason many seniors avoided this neighbourhood. It was a tumble of epic proportions, like a scene out of a movie when a person just rolls and rolls and rolls. He ran like a maniac to reach her, to grab her before she hit the pond at the bottom. The superman he’d always wanted to be kicked in, and he made it just in time. She told him she’d taken the roll on purpose, reliving her youth she said. The absurdity was still lingering in his mind. He offered to buy her a hot dog and she accepted. Now she was all he could think about, but even more so, how marvellous it felt, to do something heroic, to break out of his comfort zone.
She locked eyes with him and they exchanged tender smiles. Though she knew his inner dialogue she didn’t say a thing. But her heart softened, she let herself be at ease in knowing that she doesn’t know the whole story. She taps in for a moment, a glimmer, a glimpse into the lives of others and that is all. Her judgement faded into the distance, she decided she might take the bus tomorrow after all.
Ingredients
- Base
- 1 C date paste
- 1 C walnuts
- 1 C shredded coconut
- 1/3 C coconut oil, melted
- zest of 2 lemons
- pinch of salt
- Filling
- 1 C fresh raspberries
- 2 C young coconut meat OR raw cashews (soaked for 2-6hrs)
- 1/3 C coconut oil, melted
- Juice of 2 lemons, about 1/3 C
- 4 Tbs maple syrup or honey
- 1 C shredded coconut
- Optional- top with coconut whipped cream
- 1 can full fat coconut milk without additives
Instructions
- In a high powered blender or food processor add walnuts, date paste, lemon zest, salt and coconut oil and pulse until combined. I like to mix in the shredded coconut afterwards.
- Press mixture evenly into a rectangular 15x9 pyrex baking dish and set aside.
- Add all the filling ingredients to your blender or food processor and pulse until super smooth and creamy.
- Spread mixture over the base and pop in the fridge to set for a few hours.
- To make the coconut whipped cream pop the can in the fridge upside down for a few hours or overnight. Open the can and pour out the super liquid semi clear portion. Scoop out the coconut cream and whip by hand or in a stand mixer until fluffy. Spread over top of the filling and sprinkle with additional shredded coconut.
