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Hobby Gift Guide

 I'm in my 70s and have a number of hobbies that I pursue at different times. These are the activities that spice my life up, and according to "the science," it is healthy for the brain to be involved socially and physically with others and the world outside our front door.  -I read books and write reviews on Good Reads and if I buy a book, I generally leave a review on the site where I purchase it-- Amazon or Thrift Books, usually. -I love knitting but don't do it as much as I have in the past, partly because my old hands are not quite up to the repetitive strain.  But a baby garment or something I can pick up and set down over a longer period of time-- that works fine to feed my knitty craves. As you put together your list of those for whom you buy gifts this holiday, I recommend that you consider their hobbies-- the ones they actively pursue, the ones they seem to have 'dropped', and perhaps "potential" hobbies that they have mentioned to you,

Raw, Gluten-Free Nanaimo Bars

It is Christmas season, of course, so please forgive my divergence from strictly "healthy" fare... one could argue that I have used high anti- oxidants (raw cacao powder), enzyme-dense sweetening (raw honey), and organic extra virgin coconut oil (among all the other organic ingredients) and therefore, this is a healthy little morsel-- but we both know that that is stretching it a bit!  But it is DELICIOUS and I am guessing that it is healthier than the non-vegan version, and definitely there is no gluten in this recipe.  Scroll down for the history of the Nanaimo bar.  Enjoy, and Merry Christmas! I used a recipe for raw Nanaimo bars found at the (former) RawBC site, but I like raw honey better than agave, and I didn't have almonds, so used walnuts.  I soaked both the Macadamia nuts and the Walnuts.  The base layer is my least favourite, maybe because I am not particularly fond of Macadamia nuts?  If I were to do it over, I would use all almonds for the base, and I am conv

Maple-Brown Sugar Glazed Tofu - Vegan, GlutenFree

Maple-Brown Sugar Glazed Tofu is a gift to you if you enjoyed ham as a part of your celebrations back in the day and were feverishly looking for a recipe online that gives you back some of that experience.  You will be missing the salt-piercing tongue paralysis of a cured ham, but you will also be missing the very dangerous cholesterol.  Tofu is the way to go if you want to enjoy a piece of "sham" with your Christmas or Thanksgiving.  And for those of you with religious proscriptions, it's CLEAN-- it's not even meat.  So win-win. Want to know MORE about the health benefits of Tofu? Watch Dr. Michael Greger's videos HERE .  So here we go with the INGREDIENTS (3 ADULT SERVINGS) 1# Block of Organic, non-GMO, EXTRA FIRM Tofu (bought mine at Costco) 1/2 C. Pure  Maple Syrup OR Blackstrap Molasses (Molasses gives a darker glaze) 1/2 C. Brown Sugar 1 T. Dijon Mustard 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon 1/2 tsp. Ginger Powder Salt and Pepper to taste (May want to