one of my great joys in life is food. as a self-professing foodie, i particularly indulge in sweets...rich, complicated flavors swirling together in one delicious concoction of dessert bliss.

i often wonder if i should have taken a different path, one that i liked when i was very young: the path to being a chef and restaurant owner. but, had i NOT taken the path i have, i doubt that i would have the appreciation i do for food. being the homemaker, responsible for shopping and preparing healthy, creative meals for my family, i take great pride in experimenting, mixing, tasting and plating everything i make. it truly is an outlet.

as a part of my love for food, i try to bring chloe in the kitchen with me every time i cook, allowing her to mix, taste and experiment on her own. she doesn't always love the main dish preparation, but she LOVES baking. who doesn't? licking gooey batter off of a spatula? YUM! normally we cook on fridays, but we are heading to the SD county fair this week, so we baked this morning. i didn't have the ingredients for oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies, but i did have stuff to make a delicious vegan, almost raw frosting: avocado, coconut oil, agave nectar and cocoa powder. so, the cookies are full fat, full of animal bi-products, and fully delicious. i have come to enjoy the rich flavors of the plant-based frosting much more than those using butter as a base, so here ya go!



the other thing about food: i love to take pictures of it. two of my loves, food and photography, whirled into one! so, for visual interest, we picked some fresh lavender from our yard as a garnish.

thanks to chloe, my sous chef, for her discriminating palate.

i feel like i have so much to say, and yet, what i want to say is all about being empty. not the bad kind empty, like you're hungry and lonely. but the kind of emptiness where you are stripped of everything that makes you comfortable, stripped away of your expectations and left with a massively beautiful void.

when you are finally stripped of all your facades, expectations and sapped of all emotion, all that can be left is utter peace. there's nothing left to mull over and consider. it's very spacey, or at least it is for me.

this happened to me for the first time today, ever. i was aware of the energy around me with a newfound keenness that i truly enjoyed. i wish that the emptiness could have been found without its precursor, but it was found nonetheless.

today, i will just be grateful for that.

have you ever felt happily empty?