Technology Worries and "Rethinking Bananas" Bean Smoothie

A couple nights ago, after a couple hours away from the computer, I went to look at my email and got this:

 "Your account has been disabled." With a suggestion that this usually happens if you violate the terms of service, i.e. "It's your fault, now stand in the corner and think about what you've done." My blog is a gmail item, so I was locked out of that too. I work regularly on more than one computer, so I rely on google docs a lot to transfer files back and forth. Many of my work contacts are only saved within gmail, as are many of my social contacts.

Panicking, I filled out the "contact us" form, please please please, and spent an anxious night. Next morning, everything was working again, with an apology from the gmail team but no explanation.

I've moved away from living in the jungle, eschewing all technology, back toward the 21st century, appreciating and celebrating the magic of connection, the ability to present and share my work, the possibility of being employed by people on the other side of the world. But that sudden removal of my account, my fast-track into the world of connection, really scared me. Reconnected me with the paranoia in the Hawaiian jungle, where many people think that the net and everything else is soon going to disappear and it'll be back to the Stone Age.

I'm going to take the time to record some of my more important contact addresses somewhere other than gmail, back up my files somewhere non-cloud, and think about moving my blog. Any other advice, friends?

The next morning, our heater quit working.

 This small, ugly, oil-fueled heater is probably older than me--it's not the first time the heater has just stopped working. There have been times when it was below zero outside, and we were in down coats and blankets indoors. It didn't even quite freeze the last few nights because we're having a south wind storm, so we weren't too terribly cold--but on the heels of my email panic, it surely reminded me of all that we rely upon to survive and to reach out--and reminded me not to take it for granted.

It makes me anxious, living in this cold place. I don't see myself lighting fires in this cabin!

Moving away from anxieties toward something for which I have been finding creative solutions, I want to talk about rethinking bananas. Don't get me wrong--I love bananas. In my fruitarian years, my typical lunch was four bananas. Many bananas every day. Raw foodists and vegans in particular love bananas because of their texture, which binds things together; their sweetness, their robustness which isn't heavy.

I've posted many recipes involving bananas here, although given how much I love smoothies, my smoothies throughout the history of the blog haven't been quite so banana-heavy because of all the months that I was avoiding all sugar. Lately, bananas have been on the menu and, for some time this summer, I even went back to the old 'four bananas=lunch' a few times. However, I've been noticing that I often don't feel too good after I eat them. It seems like I don't feel so bad if I eat them for breakfast, although it might increase my post-breakfast nausea, but is much worse if I eat them for lunch or later.

So--I had many other banana alternatives for a smoothie. There's irish moss, if I wanted to keep it raw, which provides the texture but not much flavor. There's pumpkin, especially this time of year! There's applesauce. Both of those add some flavor and texture, make the smoothie thicker and yummier. But I wasn't wedded to having this smoothie be entirely raw, and I was looking for something that offered more protein.

I had some adzuki beans left over from the bean-beet stew with shiitakes, and I felt like continuing the purple theme--and it was great! Adzuki beans are some of the sweetest beans, so this was probably a good place to start. Trust me--it was _really_ good! Satiating with protein, sweet and refreshing with berries and melon, good coconuttiness and omega-3s from flax.


Purple Protein Smoothie (vegan, high raw)
1 cup coconut milk (I used half coconut milk, half coconut kefir whey)
1/3 cup cooked adzuki beans, cold
scoop of protein powder (optional)
1 cup frozen watermelon (bye bye, summer)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1-2 dried figs
1 teaspoon lecithin
1 teaspoon flax meal
stevia, if desired

Blend all together and enjoy!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on technology, how much we rely on it and how stable it is. And I have two blogger-tribute food posts coming up soon.