Communal Dinner at Full Bloom

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Its a sad statistic but….. In the U.S. 46 percent of all adult eating occasions are now solitary eating occasions and Americans consume 31 percent more packaged food than fresh food.  We are privileged here at Full Bloom to be eating most every dinner together. Currently there are 11 adult residents and we each partner up with another resident to cook a communal dinner.

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Here’s Rosie putting together a Ratatouille from our abundant gardens and you’ll see there a big bag of yellow wax beans as well. Vegetables are in no shortage this time of ear at Full Bloom.

There’s something really amazing in being able to experience the diverse cooking styles of each resident.  Everyone has an commitment to eating local, non package foods but beyond that it’s anybody’s guess what will show up at dinner.  Recent highlights include: terriaki venison, Cheddar zucchini bread, local grass-fed beef chili, and garlic roasted beets and fennel.

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Full Bloomers serving themselves up on burrito night.

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Summer outdoor eating together

We’re doing our best here to re-instate a culture of valuing eating together and eating what comes from the landbase together.  It helps that its mostly a thoroughly enjoyable experience!

“There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves.”
― Thomas Wolfe

Inspired by the Leviathan Studio on Lasquitti Island B.C.

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Just coming by from two inspirational weeks at the Leviathan Studio in B.C.  Mark Young is the founder and coordinator of this center dedicated to exploring the form of contact dance.   He has a certain devotional energy around the form as he attributes it to helping him recover from brain trauma.  He built the studio mostly by himself and some teenagers from the island he restled up to keep them out of trouble and give them something to focus there energy into (moving and stacking rock for the walls seen in the picture).    The Studio was built completely into the landscape with large rock and trees incorporated into the interior.  It creates an experience of still being in wild nature.  As a dancer I felt inspired to include the feeling and texture of the place into my dance.

DSCN0703 DSCN0693 DSCN0713Mark keeps the workshops at the studio very affordable through a relatively simple meals, and no frills lodging (camping).  Which was fine by me.  I came to dance!   Through the simplicity of the the place one is able to just enjoy the natural setting of the island with the coastal breezes and beautiful conifer trees.

After the trip I am emboldened to create a center her at Full Bloom that can offer individuals the opportunity to dance, enjoy the natural world, and connect with other kindred souls!
“There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good”.  ~Edwin Denby

 

Raw zucchini flax “bread” – what to do when you’re awash with zucchini…

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If you’ve ever grown a couple of zucchini plants you know that there comes a point in the season where a your swimming in them, and where a couple of them get away from you and they end up the size of a small child.  Well I’ve discovered my answer to this common culinary quandary:  Raw zucchini flax “bread”.  It may not be your cup of tea but I find it an an awesome alternative to tortillas, bread, and other high carb, gluten rich fare.  And plus I can be a hero to all my community mates that are walking around saying “What are we going to do with all these zucchinis!?”

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Here I am in the Full Bloom commercial kitchen with all my ingredients ready to toss em’ together and make some olive zucchini bread!

I never use a recipe, but to get you started I would suggest the following proportions:

6 cups ground Flax

12 cups grated zucchini

2 cups olives

fresh rosemary, basil, and oregano salt to taste

1/2 cup olive oil

mix it all together and taste it.  Do you like it?  Does it have enough salt? rosemary? add more.  Or maybe you want to toss in some jalepenos or some grated carrots?  Spread out onto your dehydrator sheets and dehydrate to desired pliability (tortilla like or cracker like)

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Here’s all the ingredients in a bowl prior to mixing

Have Fun and let me know if you have any questions or feedback!

Ryan