Gumball Festival 2010

We headed up to the Gumball Festival held in the Hunter Valley over the weekend. We camped in a rural bushland setting, danced in the rain to some amazing Australian bands (Abbie Cardwell, Tijuana Cartel, Jackson Firebird TO NAME A FEW!) My favourite part of the weekend was drinking greek coffee in the gorgeous makeshift cafe complete with a warm fire (to combat the rain!) compliments of The Tantric Turtle Cafe.

Some evening colour..

A magical place to live and roam....

You can see the entire collection of photos, taken from Jean Bayol's book entitled 'Les Roulottes une invitation au voyage" on flickr. Search for eclectic gipsyland..So inspiring!

Raw Vegan Bliss Balls

I loooooove Raw Vegan Deserts, this one is so easy to put together. Sometimes I add rum essence to create Rum Balls, or grate orange rind into the mix with a squeeze of orange juice to make a chocolaty orange version.This recipe uses Certified Organic Pure Raw Cacao, rather than regular cocoa. Raw Cacao is a Mayan Super Food, it is high in anti-oxidants and magnesium.

1 cup of almonds

1 1/2 cup dates

1 cup dessicated coconut

2 tablespoons raw cacao

pinch of salt

1 tsp rum essence/or grated orange rind and a squeeze of orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a blender process almonds until powder. Add dates and pulse to combine. Mix other ingredients through the processor or stir to combine with a spoon. Form the mixture into balls and then roll in coconut. Refrigerate 0r eat immediately!

Vegan Banana Muffins

These are AMAZING! I have tried to make so many muffins with spelt flour and have failed miserably, but these are a favourite in our house..

BANANA SPELT MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch sea salt
1/2 cup melted coconut oil (put the jar in a bowl of warm water, heating on a stove top can destroy the raw quality of the oil)
1/2 cup agave syrup or maple syrup ( I used maple syrup)
1/3 cup soy/rice milk or you can use apple juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3-4 super ripe bananas - mashed
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans, walnuts or Brazil nuts


Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease muffin tins.

In a small bowl mix flour, dessicated coconut, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon.
In a large bowl whisk together melted coconut oil, maple syrup, milk (or juice) and vinegar. Fold dry ingredients into wet until just mixed. Gently fold in bananas and nuts. Scoop batter into muffins trays until they are about 2/3 full. Top with a pecan or two. Bake for 20-25 mins, or until golden brown. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.