since soups were first introduced and implemented into my repertoire of recipes a couple of years ago, they have become a regular go-to dish for dinner. i favor a hodgepodge of vegetables and beans with hearty texture and delectable seasoning. cooking beans is simple once you get the hang of it: soak in water overnight and cook for 1 hour the following day. they can be mixed with a variety of spices and herbs to concoct a savory soup full of color and flavors that fill your house with appetite-inducing aromas.

Autumn Bean Soup

Beans

1 cup beans (black, pinto, kidney)

5 cups water

1. Soak beans overnight.

2. Rinse beans and add to large pot with water.

3. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

4. Set aside, saving liquid from beans.

Soup

2 tbsp. coconut or olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped finely

1 tbsp. allspice

1 tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 red bell pepper, cubed into small pieces

2 carrots, chopped

1 sweet potato, cut into bite-sized wedges

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion. Cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add garlic, ginger, and spices. Stir. Cook 5-7 more minutes.

3. Add red bell pepper, carrot, and sweet potatoes.

4. Add 2 cups of reserved bean liquid. Bring to a boil.

5. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are soft.

6. Add beans and cook for 15 more minutes.

7. Let cool. Enjoy.

fall is my favorite time of year: cozy sweaters, impromptu dinner parties that require no less than a dozen candles, warm blankets & hot tea, an excuse to be in my pajamas by 6 pm every night. but most of all, i love this season because of the introspective quality it bestows. i swiftly dive into hibernation the moment november arrives. the kitchen becomes my playground, providing me ample opportunity to try out new recipes that warm the body, nourish the soul and fill the house with ambrosial aromas that last for hours. this past weekend, i made a perfectly flavored baked apple crisp with just the right amount of sweetness.

Apple Crisp

6 apples (peeled, cored and sliced)

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup almond meal

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

½ cup oats

1 cup almond meal

¼ cup quinoa flour (or spelt flour)

¼ cup coconut sugar (or maple sugar)

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ cup melted coconut oil

¼ cup coconut flakes

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Place the sliced apples in a 9×13 inch pan. Add maple syrup and stir.

3. Mix almond meal, cinnamon and nutmeg in bowl.

4. Sprinkle over apples. Stir well.

5. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir well.

6. Crumble evenly over apple mixture.

7. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 55 minutes.

a beautiful tear-jerker.

i kinda love dress up parties. becoming someone else, or at least the idea of someone else, long enough to see the world through another’s eyes. i entered a moulin-rouge-esque world on saturday night with attire way too fussy for real life. but for those few hours, the fantasy was a bona fide reality.

a long-time fan of leonard cohen, i was beyond moved to find that his son is releasing an album of brilliant honesty and tenderness in october. if what other guy is representative of the entire cd, i’m going to fall madly in love with this man and his music.

xoxo

“They moved in dance steps too intricate for the noninitiated eye to imitate or understand.

Clearly they were of one soul. Handsome, rangy, wildly various,

they were bound in total loyalty, not by oath, but by the simple,

unquestioning belongingness of part of one organism.”

- Louise Erdrich

witnessing this woman’s strength and determination to overcome demons in her past changed my life eight years ago when i attended a 10-day intensive with her. she is a person who walks the path she speaks about and it is obvious in the mindful movements on the video.

i had decided on a yoga-related video post but could not resist showing this adorable interaction between a couple trying to figure out how to use a webcam. i’m not sure which part is my favorite, but it’s safe to say that grandpa flirting with grandma is absolutely precious.

i know that if we give this a little time,

it’ll only bring us closer to the love we want to find.

it’s never felt so real, it’s never felt so right.

just when i thought i could not love this woman more, i find out she is far more exquisite than i realized, indisputably amplifying my admiration for her. with her one-of-a-kind essence, zoe james effortlessly and humbly shines light on everyone she meets. i ran into her a couple of days ago while she was out walking with her husband steve. their love for each other soundlessly speaks a thousand words, inspiring and tender. if i haven’t convinced you of her splendor, the answers below will.

Favorite book: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (each time I read it is different)

Favorite movies: Out of Africa, All the Mornings of the World, The Piano, Across the Universe, Chocolat, Fugitive Pieces, Like water for Chocolate, The Color Purple, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Favorite artists: Georgia O’Keefe – a women I wholly admire &  Henri Rousseau- are not all artists a bit crazy?

Favorite song: When the Levy Breaks-Led Zeppelin & Marais: Sonnerie De Ste. Genevieve Du Mont-De-Paris ( Viola)

Favorite quote: “I’m your Huckleberry”

Favorite place: Santa Fe NM, Windansea Beach

Favorite meal: When food is prepared with love, care and with the intention to nourish and delight.  My favorite meal to cook is Indian food ( lamb yoghurt curry, chicken coconut curry, cucumber riata, cilantro chutney, basmati rice w/ peas and cumin, green beans w/ chiles,and of course pappadams.)The kitchen smells amazing!! This is an all day affair with chile burning fingers but worth the wait.

Favorite sweet treat: Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss, anything Michele Coulon

Dream vacation: Am living in it… but since you ask…a year in the French countryside.

Favorite hobby: Art, creation of aesthetic beauty in cooking, painting & my environment. Food, health and ingredients are my obsession.

Favorite daydream: This is a dream.

Current Inspiration: Miss Amy Jo Hearron!

Favorite memory: The day I married Steve James.

Where do you live? La Jolla, CA

Can you describe your job? I teach Pilates in a sunny little studio just up the street from Windansea Beach. The studio is a my sanctuary and each day I am grateful to be there…bike to work, bare feet, ocean breeze…

If money was no issue and you could spend an entire year exactly the way you want, what would you do with it? I would teach myself and others how to relax and NOT make money an issue. Would probably open the Hippiest, Healthiest, Organic eatery in the coolest location. The food & ambiance would be so good that people would drive for miles and not mind.

Five things you want to do in this lifetime? Write a cookbook/food blog (zoës earth). Evolve as a human being. Find Peace in my own thoughts. Get to know my husband better. Be the artist. Find wisdom & less fear as I age.

if i had to choose a single candy to eat partake of, avoiding all others, from this day forward, these toffee-like clusters would come out on top. the walnut and chocolate chip-filled delicacies are made with brown rice syrup, a low-glycemic sweetener that keeps these confections from becoming overly sweet with its soft, caramel-like flavor. the recipe i used was adapted from one i found in this book.

Sweet Caramel Clusters

1 cup brown rice syrup

1 cup crunch all-natural, almond butter (unsweetened)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chip cookies

1. heat the brown rice syrup and almond butter in a medium-size saucepan.

2. stirring constantly, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.

3. continue stirring to avoid burning.

4. remove from heat.

5. stir in vanilla & walnuts.

6. let cool 10 minutes in saucepan and add chocolate chips.

7. spread mixture onto parchment paper and set in refrigerator for 1 hour.

8. store in refrigerator in sealed container for up to 1 week.

saturday showed up in its finest form, doling out a three-hour hike along torrey pines path and black’s beach sands, followed by a wide-ranging feast with friends, which included everything from lime-laced salmon steaks to mouthwatering corn on the cob. in a perfect world, not dictated by life’s trivial concerns, each day would be spent like this one.