Raw Coconut Fig Slice / Presne kokosove rezine s figami

“Comparison is the death of joy.”

― Mark Twain

Comparison. This week I met a friend whom I haven’t seen since Summer and it's been nice chatting over a cup of my tea and her coffee. She told me how bad she felt when she was hanging with friends who are mommies (she became a mother last year), because she saw that her child doesn’t know how to do certain things that children of her friends already know. And I quoted her words of Mark Twain (I'm super proud of myself that I’ve read two of his books, and no, Tom Sawyer is not one of them): ‘Comparison is the death of joy.”

Primerjava. Ta teden sem se dobila s prijateljico, s katero se nisva videli že od poletja in lepo je bilo klepetati ob skodelici mojega čaja in njene kave. Povedala mi je, kako slabo se je počutila, ko se je družila s parimi mamicami (tudi ona je lani postala mami), ker je videla, da njen otrok še ne zna določenih stvari, ki jih otroci njenih prijateljic že znajo. In sem ji citirala besede Marka Twaina (super ponosna sem nase, da sem celo prebrala dve njegovi knjigi in ne, med njima ni Toma Sawyerja): ‘Primerjava je ubijalec sreče.’

I quoted her words of Mark Twain.

And we are all doing it, I do it all the time. Everyday. It’s killing me. Of course we always compare ourselves to the best, most successful, rich, beautiful ... it’s not strange, that this leaves us feeling worthlessness. How can you feel good when you compare yourself with someone who has what you don’t have? Then you feel worse in your skin, in your life, your romantic relationship, your home.

In to vsi počnemo, sama to kar naprej počnem. Vsak dan. Ubija me. Seveda se vedno primerjamo z boljšimi od sebe, lepšimi, uspešnejšimi, bogatejšimi,… Ne gre drugače kot, da te to pusti z občutki ničvrednosti. Kako se boš počutil dobro, če se primerjaš z nekom, ki ima tisto, kar ti nimaš? Potem se v svoji koži, svojemu življenju, svoji ljubezenski zvezi, svojemu domu.. počutiš slabše.

It’s killing me.

Before I made myself a cup of tea, washed my dishes, lit a scented stick, sat down in front of a laptop and started typing this post, I was listening to SuperSoul Sunday. This is a show, hosted by Oprah Winfrey. She interviewed Carole Bayer Sager, who is a very successful author of 400 songs (example: That's what friends are for), she received an Oscar, Golden Globe Award, ... Everyone would have thought that her life is perfect, how lucky she is, UGH how I envy her! In reality, she couldn’t really enjoy all this success, because she struggled with social anxiety, fear, stage fright.

Preden sem si skuhala čaj, pomila posodo, prižgala dišečo palčko, se usedla pred prenosnik in začela tipkati to objavo, sem poslušala SuperSoul Sunday. To je oddaja, ki jo vodi Oprah Winfrey. Gostila je Carole Bayer Sager, ki je zelo uspešna avtorica 400ih pesmi (npr. pesmi That’s what friends are for), prejela je Oskarja, Golden Globe,… Vsak bi si mislil, da je njeno življenje popolno, kako srečna je lahko, uhh kako ji zavidam! V realnosti tudi v teh uspehih ni morala zares uživati, ker se je kar naprej borila s socialno tesnobo, strahom, tremo.

Everyone would have thought that her life is perfect.

When she was nominated for an Oscar for the first time, she silently wished that she wouldn’t won, because she couldn’t imagine her walking to the stage and giving her speech in front of so many people. And I know that feeling. It hit me in the heart, when she said: 'Do not compare your interior with someone else’s exterior.'

Ko je bila prvič nominirana za Oskarja, si je potihem želela, da ne bi zmagala, ker si ni predstavljala kako bo lahko odšla do odra in pred tolikimi ljudmi povedala zahvalni govor. In ta občutek poznam. V srce me je zadelo, ko je rekla: ‘Ne primerjaj svoje notranjosti z zunanjostjo nekoga drugega.’

'Do not compare your interior with someone else’s exterior.'

In the Summer I gathered these figs in my friend’s Summer place. Mmmm figs, always beautiful, sometimes secretly rotten in the inside. They are appearing for the first time on my blog. I hope they appear again. With love, Neja

Poleti sem na prijeteljevemu vikendu nabrala te fige. Uuu figice, vedno so lepe, včasih na skrivaj gnile od znotraj. Tokrat so prvič na mojemu blogu. Upam, da se še kdaj pojavijo. Z ljubeznijo, Neja

Recipe from: Secret squirrel food

The Recipe

Ingredients (for 35cm x 10cm loaf tin) Walnut Fig Base ½ cup walnuts ¼ cup almonds 2 tbsp desiccated coconut 2 tbsp flaxseeds ½ cup dried figs ½ cup medjool dates (pitted) ½ tbsp water ½ tsp cinnamon Vanilla Coconut Cashew Cream ½ cup cashews (soaked in water overnight) ½ cup coconut milk ½ cup desiccated coconut 2 tbsp maple syrup ½ tsp vanilla bean seeds Fresh fig slices to decorate The Process 1. For the base, add all ingredients into a food processor and process until the mixture sticks together when pressed between the fingers. 2. Line tray with cling film. 3. Pour mixture into tin and carefully press firmly using the back of a spatula until base is completely flat and even. 4. Put into the freezer to set, whilst you make the vanilla coconut cashew cream. 5. For the coconut cream, add cashews to a food processor and process for a few minutes. 6. With the food processor still running, slowly add the coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla bean seeds. 7. Keep processing until the mixture becomes very smooth and creamy. 8. Add desiccated coconut and pulse to combine. 9. Pull the walnut fig base out of the freezer and fill with the coconut cashew cream layer. 10. Put back into the freezer for 2 hours to set. Slice can be kept in the freezer until serving (let defrost for approximately 15 mins for cream to soften). 11. Decorate with fresh figs, slice carefully with a sharp knife.

Sestavine (za 35cm x 10cm velik pekač) Spodnja plast 65 g orehov 35 g mandljev 2 žlici kokosove moke 2 žlici lanenih semen 100 g posušenih fig 90 g izkoščičenih datljev ½ žlice vode ½ žličke cimeta Zgornja plast 75 g indijskih oreščkov (čez noč namočeni v vodi) 110 ml kokosovega mleka (tistega iz konzerve, z maščobo) 50 g kokosove moke 2 žlici javorjevega sirupa ½ žličke vanilijevih semen Sveže fige za okras Postopek 1. Za spodnjo plast stresite vse sestavine v multipraktik in procesirajte, dokler zmes ne postane lepljiva. 2. V pekač vstavite peki papir ali plastično folijo. 3. Dobljeno zmes stresite v pekač, zravnajte, dobro pritisnite, da bo plast črvsta in ravna. 4. Pekač postavite v zamrzovalnik, medtem pripravite kokosovo kremo. 5. Za kokosovo kremo stresite namočene indijske oreščke v multipraktik in jih par minut procesirajte. 6. Medtem, ko imate multipraktik prižgan, počasi dodajajte kokosovo mleko, javorjev sirup in vanilijeva semena. 7. Procesirajte toliko časa, dokler krema ne postane kremna in gladka. 8. Dodajte kokosovo moko. 9. Iz zamrzovalnika vzemite pekač in spodnjo plast prelijte s kokosovo kremo. 10. Pekač postavite nazaj v zamrzovalnik, za dve uri. Narezane rezine lahko prav tako hranite v zamrzovalniku. 15 minut pred serviranjem jih vzemite ven (da se krema zmehča). 11. Okrasite s svežimi figami in z ostrim nožem narežite na rezine.