A Chocolate Lover's Dream!

Be still my heart!!!!

Linda couldn't wait!! Licking the 'S' blade from my food-processor!! Seriously?!!

(Do not try this at home!!!!)

This is my good friend, Linda Walker, the fabulous wildlife & western artist. You remember her from my post about our crazy trip to Descanso Gardens, right? Well, she's decided to eat a little healthier than she has been, so I offered to give her a beginners course in raw foods.

"Raw Food 99". She's not ready for 101 yet.

I started her off on a healthy Green Smoothie. It was a hit. (Whew!)

After knowing her for about 28 years,

I had no idea that she's a notorious chocolate licker... er... lover.

Don't ask.

Mmmmm.

Yummmm.

"What?"

I knew she'd come in handy some day.

Here she is, washing dishes in her new, bling-embellished, "Not Your Daughter's Jeans".

Love the name.

I made a bunch of stuff for our munching pleasure. Desserts, since most people will be more willing to try raw food 'meals', if they like the desserts. (Whatever it takes!)

I made a Chocolate Strawberry Cheese Cake. To match my socks.

My daughters designed the apron for me. "Dessert Diva". Thanks, Girls!!

I chilled the Cheesecake in the freezer while I made some other goodies.

As you can see, Mr. Man isn't into the raw food thing. But he will drink Green Smoothies.

And hasn't turned down a dessert yet.

I made Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge, and little cupcakes from some of the Cheesecake ingredients.

Trying out the cupcake. Such an adoring look. Then she scarfed it down.

Never to be outdone in the dessert chow-down... I had two.

The Cheesecake had set and was ready to eat.

Let's slice that bad boy up!

How about a Chocolate Milkshake and some Chocolate Mousse?

With pistachios and coconut. Mmm, mmm, mmm!!

Linda was the taste-tester for the Chocolate Milkshake.

Now that I think about it... she was the taste-tester for everything! Heyyy!!

Taking a break from stuffing our faces, I had her look through some of my favorite raw food recipe books. (I love books!!!!)

Of course, after looking through this one, we were ready for another little nibble.

These turned out really tasty. Since raw desserts are so nutrient-dense, you're only able to eat a small serving, before you're full. Which is pretty cool. And a good thing.

Linda was getting ready to head out, so we wanted to get some pictures of us together.

Isn't she cute?!

Wait a minute... she really IS cute!!

She's cuter than me! Let's see if I can do something to remedy that.

Tell her something funny...

"Blah, blah, blah, blah blah."

Yeeees... that's it.

How's your hair?

Still cute! Dangit!!

That's enough, Paparazzi!! Girlfriend has to go home now.

But not before she takes some samples with her. I did not have to twist her arm.

I also gave her some raw food DVDs, books, recipes of what we made today...

And a really cool poster about Green Smoothies. (Pure health in a glass!)

I would love, love, LOVE to teach people how to do this!!

To go into their homes and give demonstrations on how to create raw food dishes...

And especially desserts! I mean, who doesn't like desserts?!

I'm taking two, raw food chef classes. One for savory dishes and one for desserts.

I really love showing people a healthy way of eating! And, seriously, it's not all desserts. :)

But I think I'll go have a little bite right now! ~

DISCLAIMER:

No stomachs were hurt in the creation of this post. We didn't eat the entire dessert. We only nibbled on everything. Just to let Linda get a taste of the many flavors. Okay, so I ate a couple of cupcakes. And maybe some Chocolate Mousse. And a Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie.

And three strawberries. And a few pistachios.

BUT! We also had some, Zuchini Pasta!! We had VEGETABLES!!!! :-)

For more posts about raw food, green smoothies, desserts, whatever, just type the words in the, "Search This Blog" box on the top right of this page.

There are SO many things to love!

I love comments and "Followers" too!

Thank you.

Signing off for now,

gabriele

Detour To Descanso Gardens

A good friend of mine is in town, so we made plans to spend the day together.

Her name is Linda Walker, an award-winning wildlife & western artist.

Her work is beyond stunning, as you can see by this photo of one of her oils!!

We decided to meet at Sisley's and have 'a little bite'. (Yeah, right.)

Here she is! It's like she never left at all! You know how some people are like that?

Love that girl!

I apologize for the blurriness of the next few photos, but they get better, I swear.

I'd never been to Sisley's. The first thing I saw was this. Oh yeah, I'm gonna like this place!!

I can't remember what Linda ordered, but it brought a smile to her face.

Yumm. Tasty.

I ordered Spaghetti. As some of you know, I'm a raw foodist, but I've decided that when I'm out with a friend, I'll just eat what's on the menu. And it's a treat sometimes, I won't lie.

This was Linda's dessert.

And this was mine.

A piece of Cheesecake the size of my head!!

Linda was quite pleased with her dessert too.

Since I'm not used to eating processed, cooked foods, my body likes to let me know it's not too happy with me afterwards! A headache began before we even left the restaurant.

After our 'little bite', we decided we'd go to the Norton Simon Museum, in Pasadena, to get our art-fix.

We yacked all the way. We're quite good at it. Finally, the museum...

with plenty of parking spaces! Cool!!

Hmmm... that can't be good.

It wasn't. Apparently Norton Simon is closed on Tuesdays!!

OK, change of plans. Let's go to the Huntington Library! Yeah!!

But let's call first to see if they're open. Nope. Closed. Who closes on Tuesdays?!!

I had the bright idea of going to Descanso Gardens. We called and they were open!

Which was great, because Linda had never been there.

At the entrance. The open entrance.

I don't know the names of most of the flowers I photographed, and was too lazy to write down what the little signs said. I'm hoping you'll just enjoy seeing them.

Time to take off the jacket. The Southern California weather was wonderful!

When I think of Descanso Gardens, this is what I see. Little pathways, with dappled light. Even more so than the beautiful flowers.

The Japanese Tea House.

As I took this photo, I thought I saw something running.

When I zoomed in on the photo, I saw this little coyote! Isn't it cute?!

Of course the rest of the day, when I heard something rustling in the leaves, I got a little nervous.

We walked up the hill to the fabulous Boddy House. Love that place!!

Look at that kitchen!!

Hello.

Linda had to get in the act too.

This is Trish Kertes, the artist that was having a showing at the Boddy House.

Her work is beautiful and reminded me of the California Impressionists.

Here is the tram that will drive people up the hill, if they don't want to walk it.

Linda and I were quite happy to walk - especially after the amount of food we inhaled at Sisley's!

Like a kitty-cat basking in the sun.

A giant Redwood.

Stealing the show.

I love Lilac!! Looking at this bloom, I can almost smell it.

I've never met a gift shop I didn't like. And the one at Descanso Gardens is wonderful!!

I love sitting next to a giant Redwood. It makes me feel so svelte.

California Poppies. I love them so much, I painted them on a silk scarf.

As we left Descanso Gardens, we made a wrong turn, so we drove around looking at some of the homes. Be still my heart!!

We finally found the freeway and off we went.

Nice scenery.

I spoke too soon!!

The freeway cleared and we were almost there.

Linda dropped me off at my van, gave me a big hug -

And off she went!! :(

Goodbye for now, my friend. See you the next time you're in town!!





UPDATE: Today, 9/26/14, the laughter stopped, for my beloved friend, Linda Walker. She fought valiantly, but lost her fight with cancer. She was a beautiful, beautiful person and a wonderful, talented artist. She will be missed by so very many. My deepest condolences to her husband, family and friends. Always and forever in my heart, Linda. 

This is how I will remember you... laughing with me and having fun!! I love you, sweet girl. Until we meet again. ~ 

" A friend never defends a husband who gets his wife an electric skillet for her birthday."

- Erma Bombeck

"A friend will tell you she saw your old boyfriend - and he's a priest."

- Erma Bombeck

"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved-off the dessert cart."

- Erma Bombeck

There are SO many things to love!

I love "Followers" and comments too!

(Thank you.)

Signing off for now,

gabriele