Day two of the cleanse.

Last night was pretty difficult. I had some food left over at home - dahl, basmati rice and seitan - so I brought it over to the studio last night. The smell of that food being reheated was so hard - and watching everyone eat it! - but I stayed strong and drank my herbal tea. The smoothie I made last night for my evening “meal” was really good, too; this is a fairly easy cleanse as far as cleanses go, so I shouldn’t complain. I just love to eat… I love it so much.

(That’s what veganism has done for me; it’s made me truly appreciate food.)

Today, day two, I am slightly headachey… but energetic. I woke up early this morning (despite a late last night) and cleaned, did laundry, made my morning smoothie/tea, and drank them followed by a big glass of water.

B wrote me out a schedule for the cleanse, so if you’re interested, this is what I am consuming daily for 7 - 14 days. All drinks are a full cup, that is, 250mL.

JUICE CLEANSE

Breakfast: Greens smoothie, herbal tea, water
Between: Herbal tea, water
Lunch: Greens smoothie, juice, herbal tea
Between: Juice, herbal tea, water
Supper: Greens smoothie, herbal tea, water
After: Herbal tea, water, juice

The smoothies I’ve been making have consisted of these basic ingredients, thus far:

CLEANSE SMOOTHIE

1 banana, frozen, broken into two pieces for ease of blending
2/3 cup pineapple juice
1 piece fruit, either frozen or fresh (one peach, 1/2 mango, one - two apricots, etc.)
2 heaping teaspoons Greens powder

Blend. Drink.

P.S. The shirt I’m wearing today says

I got it: a Canon USM 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 lens. I haven’t had a working zoom lens in quite some time, as the Canon SLR kit lens only lasts so long before its autofocus fails; I’ve gone through three. I can’t wait to start using my new lens. I haven’t been excited about taking pictures for months - since I was in Australia - so hopefully this will revitalize my photographic spirit.

I’m on a cleanse. For the next week, I’ll be ingesting four or more litres of filtered water per day, four to five cups of herbal teas, natural unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, and “meals” of Greens drinks. That’s it. Hopefully by the end of this, my body will be so cleansed and healthy feeling that I’ll be able to immediately return to drinking beer every night and eating seitan. … Just kidding… I’ll be following a mainly macrobiotic diet full of seasonal local produce and whole grains for the rest of the summer after this. But I will probably go back to drinking coffee and clear liquors. I don’t like to deprive myself too much.

Today’s the first day of my cleanse. I’m doing okay so far; yesterday I fasted (somewhat - I ate a little), mainly filling up on water and teas, so I was a little bit prepared for today. Over the next few days I’ll probably feel pretty crappy and weak but it should even out by the third or fourth day, from all I’ve read. Then I should be able to power through until next week.

Oh man! My parents came to visit and got me a food dehydrator. I’m so excited. Now I’ll be able to purchase nearly-done produce (bananas, mangos, anything that’s nearly spoiled), slice it and dry it, and I’ll have cheap amazing snacks forever. I love dried fruit and I spend a lot of money on banana chips, dried mango and dried apple… trail mix… the whole deal. There are also a lot of raw food treats that can be made with a dehydrator, like flax crackers. I am going to experiment a bunch and probably report my findings here.

Even though I’m not eating, here’s a recipe that Amanda and I have been using a lot lately at home.

Fried “Chicken” Seitan for Picnics

Equal parts

vital wheat gluten and water (one cup each, or thereabouts)

Mix water with vital wheat gluten. Stir together until a dough is formed. Knead dough for three to five minutes, flatten, and cut into strips, nuggets or steaks. I recommend using scissors.

Broth

2 cups vegetable broth (or veg chicken stock)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 - 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1.5 tsp onion powder
1 - 2 tsp of some of the following: fenugreek, rosemary, sage, marjoram
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper (shake shake shake)

Mix broth ingredients in a pot with a lid. Bring to a boil and drop pieces of seitan in. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for one hour, stirring every ten minutes.
When your hour is up, you can either bake the seitan, covered, for thirty minutes at 300f, for a chewier texture, or skip that step and move on to frying.

Breading

1/2 cup flour (buckwheat, whole wheat, spelt, cornmeal, whatever)
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Breadcrumbs, if you have them

Stir together in a bowl.

Bowl

with unsweetened soy/rice milk, to dip

Dip cooked seitan into soy/rice milk and then roll in the breading. Fry hot in a nonstick pan with a small amount of oil. Serve hot or cold, alone or in sandwiches.

Hey, I posted some recent paintings.

I came across this reposted text while doing my morning email check and internet surf today: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say About Homosexuality by a Rev. Mel White. The point of this text, written to be a pamphlet, is that most people who say that “the Bible condemns homosexuality” haven’t actually read the verses in question… anyway, it’s pretty informative, and I’d suggest that anyone who’s unsure about their stance on these issues (or who’s simply interested) click along and read it.

So it’s definitely summer now and I’m definitely not going to be online so much. My bag was stolen about a week and a half ago, so I’ve lost my dayplanner and cell phone (I got the important stuff back, like my ID and keys) - which means I’ve got lots of time to do summery things like ride my bike and go to the beach - but I’m not so easy to contact. I’m going to be spending a lot of time over the next two months in the studio I’m now sharing with Amanda and Britt in East Van. Hopefully I’ll produce a huge wealth of work over this period.

Things I want (need?): A new back rim (Velocity Deep V Pink 32h 700c, I think), a set of Major Taylor drop track handlebars, a 24-70mm lens for my Canon 350D, a new sketchbook/recipe book/journal so I can record all of my amazing summer recipes.

I quit my job. This summer I’m going to be pretty broke but also very, very happy.
Here’s a rad smoothie I made the other day to bring to a dog’s birthday party in the park.

Early Summer BC Fruit Smoothie

1 - 2 bananas, peeled and frozen
1/2 - 1 cup local BC fruit, like nectarines, peaches and apricots, cut into chunks and frozen
1/2 cup coconut milk (add water if your coconut milk is more like coconut cream)
    You can use rice/soy/almond milk if you’re worried about fat content.
2 tbsp maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
1 tsp powdered ginger

Blend until creamy. Change the consistency with more milk, more fruit, or seeds/nuts if you like.
This smoothie is refreshing and sweet (but not oversweet). The ginger gives it a nice kick.