(at least for now anyway...)
I have just returned from an absolutely beautiful yoga retreat in the Glasshouse Mountains.
Once again I feel so blessed to have been in the presence of like minded and inspiring women and in such a gorgeous natural setting!
In the MYSHA session I ran, we meditated on our roles in life
Self at work, Self at home, Self at leisure or Self in Spirit
We created action self portraits and later wrote our own Ode to Self.
It was a creative unfolding journey inward.... and a process coloured with flow and some obstacles too.... and in all of our experiencing we cultivated mindful awareness and gentleness with our Selves.
We honoured our Selves in sacred ceremony, sharing our inner work and play, we sang our hearts wide open and we basked in the collective glow of auras building their brilliance.
And best of all, we grew the living flame of the sacred feminine for all women, everywhere!
Here are some photos for you...
Want the recipe? Here it is. But first please let me warn you, depite the gluten free bit, there is nothing healthy about this one!... except how good it makes you feel eating it!
Gluten Free Chocolate Cheesecake
Base is a chocolate slice recipe:
1 cup all purpose plain gluten free flour (I used Orgram's brand from the health food section)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
3 tspns gluten free baking powder
1-2 tblspns cocoa
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup castor (Less is fine)
6 good tblspns butter (melted)
1 egg
Throw the whole lot into a bowl and mix well. Press into a springform tin, lining the base and sides. Bake at 165-170 degrees (fanforced) until it starts to crisp at the edges. Set aside to cool.
(This makes a great choc slice on it's own if pressed into a regular biscuit tray. Keep it thin if you like it crunchy or thick for a softer texture. You might also have a bit of mix left over for a couple of little cookies - delicious with the whipped cream we'll be preparing too!)
Cheesecake filling:
2 x 250g blocks of Phily cheese
1/2 cup castor sugar (again less is fine)
about 200g of melted chocolate (more is fine)
11/2 cups thickened cream
Beat cream cheese. Add sugar and melted chocolate. Whip the cream and stir in til mixed through well. Pour over cooled base. Refrigerate.
Insert celebration candles, sing, shout hooray, clap and enjoy! Serve with extra whipped cream.
[Variation: If you're not worried about the gluten free bit, you can make your crust the traditional and easier way by crushing a packet of choc biscuits and adding enough melted butter to hold the mix together when pressed into your springform tin. Refrigerate.]
Hope your family loves this one as much as ours does!
xx
My little one sat beside me as I finished off a dress project I started for her a few weeks ago now. It was one of those projects that sat, draped over my machine between spurts of progress. I started out with this cute print that I got for a bargain - $3 per metre I think it was.... And I only bought a metre of each colour. I tried hunting for a pattern but that's another story...and another day with my little companion.
So now finally, a patternless project is complete.... but I must share the whisperings of my fellow little sewer as she worked....
For the past nine weeks now we have been leaving behind our busy lives, just for one blissful night in the week..... to join together in circle, celebrating our very nature, our sacred feminine, our lives, ....and each other.
We have shared with eachother some of our deep feelings and sensings as we described our experience with the artful materials. We have dipped our toes into this multimodal world of creative possibilities and been invited to go deeper through our Inner Wisdom...
