Pumpkin & Pomegranate

First things first! Averie is giving away some chia seeds!!! Go enter her giveaway !

The weekend weather here in Seattle was absolutely glorious. I took my mother out for breakfast at Flying Apron where we shared a Berry flying Apron, a PB Joy, and an Asian kale salad. I think we got the salad so we could pretend we were eating a healthy breakfast ;-) My mother cut the goodies before I had a chance to photograph them. Clearly she hasn’t been schooled!

I am going to have to try my hand at the PB Joys, but with a few changes. I actually didn’t need the chocolate. Or rather, i didn’t need the SUGAR in the chocolate. I think when i make mine I’ll use 100% Cacao and not nearly as much sweetener on the inside either. The Berry Flying Apron was delicious though, a definite winner!

the Asian kale salad was good, but not nearly as good as the kale salad I made for dinner on Friday night (recipe to follow later this week).

We then made our way over to Theo Chocolate which is a local chocolate factory in the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle. They have some divine chocolate bar flavors, gorgeous single source chocolate bars, beautiful little truffles, and a few of their items are even vegan friendly! I am not vegan, but I don’t do dairy so I just skip any of the items that contain milk products. For Mother’s day they had a special assortment of flower flavored truffles (sadly not vegan so i couldn’t test any) that my mother had to sample.

Flowers & Chocolate

My mother and I wandered around tasting the various tempting treats.

Mama & Chocolate, the perfect combo

91% cacao bar, my favorite!

I even picked up one of these bars for a certain mother to be :-)

Jane Goodall Collection

The above is from the Jane Goodall collection:

The partnership between Theo and Jane Goodall is inspired by “Cocoa Practices,” a ground breaking Theo Chocolate initiative that brings together small scale cocoa farmers, larger producers and non-governmental organizations from the world’s cocoa producing regions. Cocoa Practices is designed to give farmers the tools they need to grow high-quality cocoa beans while conserving indigenous wildlife and other natural resources in the tropical rain forest eco-systems that provide both their livelihoods and their homes.
Proceeds from the sale of these chocolate bars will benefit cocoa farmers, promote conservation in the tropical rain forest and directly contribute to the Jane Goodall Institute’s efforts to save chimpanzees, develop community centered conservation efforts and direct youth education programs around the world.

There was even a harpist

I picked up a Ghost Chile bar (I had to), 2 vegan confections, and the amazing 91% cacao bar for HEAB and the HEABlet. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like you can get the Ghost Chile bar through their internet store. Sad!

After we filled up on chocolate samples we went to the Ballard Farmer’s Market to see if there was anything we needed, and to just see the sights.

I LOVE watching these guys make veggies. looks SO GOOD. You can get a quesadilla, or just veggies in a bowl. Looks like something I would cover with refritos. And don’t forget the hot sauce ;-)

We listened to some musicians, my Mama was quite fond of them as you can see…

And of course we took a photo together

I bought 3 little succulent plants, my mother got some raw honey, we chatted with artists and artisans, and had a wonderful time. We then headed over to Healeo for Mother’s day health goodies.

That is a “heavenly hemp” smoothie with NO agave, and this time not even a single date! I just added in some maca and some blueberries. Delicious! My mom got the vegan hemp soft serve with cacao, maca, and mesquite powder. We then took our delights on a little neighborhood stroll and encountered some interesting characters.

First there was this cat I was talking with in a window…

He was ever so cute. I meowed, he would poke his head out…

And then we stumbled across 2 Guinea pigs and a dog who thought he was a Guinea pig.

Completely adorable

And a gorgeous Dogwood tree.

It looks like thousands of little butterflies have landed on its branches.

We then went back to the house to nap. It amazes me how sleepy I get when I eat sugar. I didn’t actually fall asleep, but I needed to rest before dinner.

Dinner was at Gojo (again). I have developed a serious love of Ethiopian food. We happened upon this family restaurant which isn’t too far from my house and I have fallen completely head over heels in love with it and the owners. We had a delicious meal, and luckily enough for us we were there while the coffee ceremony was going on. So after our feast we were given a small cup filled with freshly roasted (as in within the hour) Ethiopian coffee that was similar to espresso. We learned all about the origins of coffee, why it is called “coffee”, that I can roast my own coffee in a pan on my stove, and what amazing coffee really tastes like. No joke people, I didn’t even need to add sweetener or creamer of any kind! After I finish up my bag of coffee I have at my house i am going to try my hand at roasting my own. I LOVE Ethiopian coffee too, it has this very bold and non-fruity flavor. Knocked me over! The women were so very kind to us! And I tell you, these ladies were gorgeous! The woman who roasted and brewed the coffee was wearing a beautiful costume, and was kind enough to let me photograph her.

Stunningly beautiful.And the pot that the coffee is brewed in is made of clay, I am quite fond of it!

And of course I have to show you what dinner for 3 looked like.

I wish you could smell the spices, the coffee roasting, and the hint of incense in the air. A truly sensual experience. We left there VERY full, happy, and my mother with a beautiful yellow rose that the owner was kind enough to give her for Mother’s day. Since we are from Texas that rose was even more special!

Matt and I split our 2 vegan truffles later Sunday Evening:

Sunflower Banana Butter

Walnut Flaxseed Crunch

They were good, but not amazing. I have to say I prefer the Pumpkin confection.Matt then went home to call his mother :-)

I’ll leave you all with this photo. I came across these roses while walking with my mother after getting our treats. I dedicate this photo to two incredibly amazing women who were like mothers to me. I love you very much Rafi and Linda!Happy Mother’s day!