Valentine Gâteau au Chocolat

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Laurence Lisa’s Gâteau au Chocolat is a delight for tea or dessert and is easy and quick to make. It will melt on your tongue. It is perfect to celebrate LOVE.

9 ounces (250g) good-quality bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped
8 large eggs
7 tablespoons (180g) sugar
6 tablespoons (50g) all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon (125g total) unsalted butter diced
1 pinch fine sea salt

Serves 6 to 8

1- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃) and grease a 10-inch (25 cm) springform pan with a pat of butter.
2- Melt the chocolate and the rest of the butter in a double boiler. Stir until smooth. Remove the double boiler from heat and set aside.
3- In a large glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
4- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar and fold this mixture into the beaten egg whites. Mix together for about 1 minute.
5- Pour in the chocolate mixture gently to obtain a fluffy batter. At last, sift in the flour and stir until combined.
6- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, until it starts pulling away from the edges, checking with a knife that the center is still moist.
7- Turn out on a serving plate and allow to cool.
8- Decorate the cake with powdered sugar using a pochoir process, or serve with fresh raspberry sauce, or garnish with fresh raspberries.

Enjoy with moderation (or not!) this Delicious & Decadent Chocolate Valentine Dessert.

To The Best Year of Your Life!

Laurence Lisa

Enjoy more food for your soul by following this simple principle.
Please visit my site: http://holisticmedicinenow.com/

Delicious & Healthy Green Homemade Juice!

This is how I love to start my day to break (the overnight) fast: either with some seasonal fruit or with a fresh, delightful green homemade juice. Start with one-two stalks of celery, one-three big leaves of green chard, 1/2 cup of daikon, one lime, and 1/2 cup of parsley, and feed them into a juicer. These are the basic ingredients. Remember to always use organic as much as you can. Recently, I have also been adding a little bit of fresh ginger root (to warm up my spleen and ease my digestion) and 1/2 - 1 Granny Smith apple. Occasionally, I may also add a little bit of mango or berries or a tiny slice of banana in order to vary the taste. I feel like this juice is the tastiest liver support. And remember, the greener the better to support your liver cleanse! The key is to enjoy playing with varying the recipe.
Nourish Yourself Well!

Look for our upcoming post on Saturday 12 Feb:
Delicious & Healthy Chocolate Valentine Dessert!

Laurence Lisa

If you find this juice nourishing, then you might want to explore our yoga classes http://holisticmedicinenow.com/yoga-teacher.html

Eat Well! Eat Nurturing Food! Eat Deliciously!

What are you eating these days? We are bombarded by advertising that declares, “Don’t eat junk.” Trends appear like “Eat Protein” or “Eat Raw” or “Don’t Eat at All”! We all go through these trends of “Eat that” or “Don’t eat that.” I believe that a good diet, or eating well, is to eat according to your body’s needs. Your body has a mind of its own and knows exactly what it needs, what it feels like eating at the time, and what kinds of food will nurture it. Eat only when you feel that you need food, not because, for example, it’s 7am, and it’s supposedly time for breakfast. Let your body wake up and lead the dance. So please don’t abuse or overuse foods. Everything is here for us to enjoy.

The real question is: “How do you communicate with your body? How do you tune in?”
Bring your mind into harmony with your body by first taking a few deep breaths and by then silencing your senses. Don’t listen to the outside world’s chatter; rather, listen to your heart. Here you are, connecting within. Deceptively simple! But not easy, I confess.
Imagine standing in the produce section of your favorite healthy grocery store or walking through a farmer’s market. Which foods are you most attracted to? Train your senses: which color(s), which smell(s), which texture(s), which flavor(s), which sound(s) :) do you feel most connected with?
Your senses tell you what your body needs most right now. It seems like a little bit of work. But, I guarantee you that, with a little practice, a few seconds will be enough to find exactly what will be nourishing and nurturing for your body-mind-soul. You are a miracle!

Look for our upcoming post on Mon 7 Feb:
Delicious & Healthy Green Homemade Juice!

Laurence Lisa
If you find this info helpful in preparing your mind to communicate with your body and would like to know more, please visit http://holisticmedicinenow.com/eft.html

Haiti Earthquake Relief: Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, NM

Yes! I’m back from Haiti and life has been quite full! Just this past weekend was the fabulously colorful and creative International Folk Art Festival here in Santa Fe. I had the joy of connecting with three of five Haitian artists who brought artwork representing nearly 40 artists. As a volunteer for the weekend I was at the art booth assisting artist Pierre Edgard Satyr by translating French for the many visitors, the press and the folk art organizers. It was such fun to help with sales and promotion of the artwork and answer questions for the many curious visitors who were enchanted by the many art forms displayed in the booths of beautiful artwork.

Pierre Satyr is one of 5 Haitian artists that were invited to the annual International Folk Art Festival. He said the welcome was so warm from the folk art festival organizers and the people who came to visit their art booths. He told me, “The art of Santa Fe is so uncommon. It is a culture in itself.” He also was overwhelmed by the amazing organization of the folk art festival, saying, “Never have I seen such a well run and completely supportive event.” Pierre wants to recreate the model of this organization in his homeland of Haiti, which would benefit so greatly by promoting the colorful and diverse art forms they create.

I encourage you to visit the website, InternationalFolkArt.org to see examples of the artwork, read about the festival and also read the two page article entitled, “Back From Disaster – Haitian artists endure despite earthquake.”

My heart was so full after this weekend of connection with the artists from Haiti and seeing all of the support and connection and appreciation shown to them by my beautiful city of Santa Fe.

Much love and thanks,
Laurence Lebreton

I continue to accept your loving donations. To see the fundraising thermometer progress, you can visit my Haiti Relief effort page. You can also donate from that page.

Blog Link:
http://holisticmedicinenow.blogspot.com

Haiti Earthquake Relief: My Heart is Full …

June 15, 2010:

Hello my dear friends. Unbelievably our time here has come to completion and we are preparing to leave Haiti. Erick is driving us to the airport @ 6:30am tomorrow. I will land in ABQ @ 8 pm tomorrow evening (Wed.). I could almost fly back on my own energy, my heart is so full. When I’m home in Santa Fe I will look forward to sharing more thoughts and stories about my experiences here.

Right now my soul is singing a quote from Abraham … "Every time you praise something, every time you appreciate something, every time you feel good about something, you are telling the universe: More of this please. More of this!"

Oh, a short note about voodoo. According to Erick, "Vodou - many different spellings - should be folkloric. It is truly a Creole religion." While here in Haiti I did not have a chance to explore it.

We spent most of today in the coolness and quiet of the mountains. The change of space and pace were wonderful as we could totally appreciate mother earth and her great devotion to all living beings. We were so refreshed by her beauty and strength. The shifts she is making and the shifts that we, the people she gives life to, are also making have much in common. May people everywhere support each other and may we all support our dear mother earth.

As I settle for the night, my thoughts move between the contrasts of “home” and “Haiti.” Yet, all is truly the same for people everywhere – the desire for a life that offers love, safety, home, family, friends and a life of happiness and good work. Our differences are only on the surface, yes.

Much love to all, Laurence

Haiti Earthquake Relief: To Make a Good Life

June 14, 2010:

Matthew 25 House is a house of hospitality for the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas and has been in Haiti for more than 30 years. The focus of the house changed on January 12 when it became a medical triage, surgical and medical follow up care center in the soccer field next door. The soccer field next door housed 2000 people in every type of tent, many of whom required constant medical care. Matthew 25 became a center for many small NGO's. Sister Mary's (Director, Matthew 25 House) skepticism changed to the realization of what relief the acupuncturist groups have provided to the make shift camps over the last 5 months.

I had a chance to interview Jean Michelet Bonitor, Director of the Computer Science department at the university. According to him, Haiti has no future. The different governments have sustained such continued corruption that Haitians have nothing and the country is falling apart. Huge foreign financial help does arrive in Haiti, but none is distributed to the general population, the people in most need. He stated that the greatest help Haiti could ever receive is to be taken over by a foreign government! Wow, I only run into happy looking students on campus. These 20 yr old students are pursuing their dreams to be doctors, teachers... Life is life... and to make a good life they need dreams, and a way to make dreams come true.

I am so happy to be a bridge to everyone I come across in Haiti. There is nothing more powerful than connecting one to one. And I am so grateful for the amazing and loving support that showered over me during my preparation in Santa Fe. It has made this all possible. The gratitude for this outpouring of love and service will live in these people’s hearts for their lifetime. It's not over yet ... my work will go on. To be an inspiration for others to open their heart and let joy fill it in is a passion that I will continue to pursue.

Big hugs and huge thanks for caring so much.

Much love to you. xo, Laurence

Haiti Earthquake Relief: Buttering the Sky

June 13, 2010 / Day 5, Late Evening

Slipping on my shoes
Boiling water
Toasting bread
Buttering the sky
That should be enough
Contact with God
To make anyone crazy
- Hafiz

It's been a magical and mysterious day. Hafiz would love it! Not aware of any voodoo practiced on our team-lol, but waves of 4 to 5 church people were chanting and praying out loud in striking Sunday clothes in the hospital wards of the internal medicine for the whole time we were treating today. All in Creole, quite poetic, straight from a old plantation era movie!

The hospital is a constant high energy center of activity and chatter! One might even say this place is chaotic and nuts – lots of locals suffering and not getting real attention. We are giving them some care that seems to soar their spirits. Hard to tell at times. The occasional big grin on their face is contagious.

We finished our shift early and got back to our apartment to rest and pamper ourselves, first with a meal of delicacies such as rice, onions, peas, crackers and French brie with a dessert of Starbucks ice cream. Yum! I do very much miss having greens!! This feast was followed by relaxing and needling each other.

I am doing really great. Early mornings are the best in Erick's lush and verdant courtyard. During the day it’s quite hot and humid.

Have to stop. Much Love and kisses, Laurence