Viewing this picture you would never believe that only yesterday there was a massively romantic down pour . The weather was dramatic and clouds extended so artfully throughout the sky. We loved napping by the fireplace like cats, and standing in the stone portico wrapped in blankets listening to the sound of abundance ( some call it “rain”). Prepared, we stocked the refrigerator with fresh produce and make raw juices, herbal teas from the garden, . But low and behold, Thursday came and with it the sun returned from its slumber to grace us with it’s the kind of charming light that could only follow the rain. As delicious as the storm that passed through, the effect of this sunny day’s transformation is so lovely. Walking barefoot through the yard I took some pictures of the herb garden and the surrounding area to catalog this beautiful weather to share with you all. The strength of the sun penetrated throughout the earth below and absorbed the morning dew that warmed my bare soles – how amazing! Most of the herbs were intact, which is a blessing since we use them frequently in our dishes and we know at any time a frost could end most of our fresh herbs until spring. Along with the herbs we have kale, chard and even still, cherry tomatoes that we incorporate in our daily meals.

When you come to our cleanse retreat you will be able to break your fast with a lovely salad or raw open-faced sandwich compliments of our garden. For those of you who love tea, we have lavender, mint, lemon balm, lemongrass, and thyme, just to name a few. Our guests are welcome to harvest and use them for teas and juices. We love sharing our gifts – what could be better than sharing someting great with others? Not so much fun all for us alone. Please read some of our testimonials. testimonials to see what others think about this amazing opportunity of completing a juice fast. Speaking about testimonials, we happened upon a great review of our Hohm Juice Fasting Retreat in a NYC blog called New York Pudding. Please click on the link to enjoy this review, below is a small quote from the article:

“My scale was too high, my energy was too low and summer simply did not provide enough sunny days to lift the fog around my brain… I didn’t need a V8, I needed a retreat. But where does one get away from it all, to cleanse the body and mind, to fortify the soul… Feeling destined to drown in the frenetic swamp that was my New York City lifestyle I tried another keyword “Juicing” and low and behold it appeared, The American Yogini Juice Cleanse in Jamesport, Long Island… This house is loved and the people inside it are enveloped. A roaring fire and fresh juice were among the daily offerings, as well as an occasional yoga or Chi Gong instruction by Mary… After 5 days of meditation, juice fasting and fresh air I went home to fast for another two days, and I was 10 pounds lighter in body and 100 pounds lighter in mind. American Yogini beats pre-packaged nibbles delivered to your door and daily sessions with your trainer any day.”
-Cassidy Catanzaro, New York Pudding

You can read the rest at the website linked above. It’s a beautifully written review and we are very grateful that this retreat is making a difference in peoples lives. If you haven’t done a fast or are considering one, we are here with open arms and our retreat is affordable with your budget and flexible with your schedule.

Just last night, after a long day working on the book launch, we sat to a fresh dinner prepared by the one and only Charles Wildbank. Using the herbs and tomatoes from the garden, he prepared a beautiful salad and panini combo. Just one whiff of that aroma can cause your taste buds to explode and your mouth to water. It is no lie that eating a healthy and natural diet is easy and delicious. There is no reason why a vegetarian diet has to be limiting, boring and tasteless. If you are interested in eating healthier and adding vegetables to your diet, but worried that the food will be complicated to prepare and bland, please rest assured. You can definitely incorporate healthy and natural foods into your diet and that’s why we at American Yogini want to share with you our recipe from last night. The ingredient list is simple and so is the preparation time. Please let us know what you think about our recipes and feel free to use our blog as a forum to share your recipes as well.

Salad Recipe:
Organic mixed greens and fresh spinach
Tomatoes
Avocados
Portobello mushrooms (lightly grilled)
Olives
Sprouts (we used green onion)
Toss lightly w your favorite vinaigrette

Panini sandwich:
Two slices of Italian bread (ciabatta or rosetta are nice)
Extra virgin olive oil (spread lightly on inside of slices)
Portobello mushrooms
Grape tomatoes (we used fresh from out garden)
Herbs such as rosemary, parsley and oregano (from garden as well)
Dash of sea salt
Slice mushrooms and tomatoes, add to bread with herbs, grill sandwich in panini maker and voila!
There you have yourself an extremely healthy and delectable dinner. Wasn’t that easy?

Feel free to review the more of our recipes listed in this blog as well recipes from our American Yogini website.

Namaste,
Your friends at American Yogini/Hohm