These book friends have made me laugh, deeply consider, and hopefully become more of the person I hope to be in the World. There are others that didn't quite make the cut and then there are a few that are still on my bedside table...

Playful Humor and deeply inspiring while being thought-provoking and meaningful:
Untamed, Glennon Doyle
Breath, James Nestor
The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness, Sarah Ramey

Mind Juice:
Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker
Conscious Breathing, Gay Hendricks
What the Robin Knows, Jon Young
Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life
The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh
The Art of Learning, Josh Waitzkin
Atomic Habits, James Clear
The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks
Lucid Dreaming, Stephen LaBerge

Playful and kind-hearted:
The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune
The Girl Who Chased the Moon, Sarah Addison Allen

In earnest, this is a two step process that involves making pumpkin seed mylk first, and using the marc (the remaining pumpkin seed material) in a way that acknowledges all of its nutritional value and deliciousness.

(I should add that all of this was spurred on by Alyssa Pittera of The Salty Rose here in Maine!)

Part 1: make your Pumpkin Seed Mylk:
* 1 cup pumpkin seeds
* 2 cups water
soak seeds over night (or for at least ten hours)
strain liquid, add another 2 cups of water
add one or two dates and a dash of salt if desired
place into your blender (Vitamix works wonders here) and grind everything up!
pour the mixture into a strainer straddled over a bowl to catch your Mylk!
(makes about 1.5 cups)

Part 2: make your Pumpkin Seed cookies!
* pumpkin seed grounds leftover from straining mylk
* bit of honey (1/4 cup, perhaps?)
* vanilla (teaspoon, let's say?)
* salt (pinch?)
* one egg*
* chocolate chips of choice (about a cup or so)

MIX WITH KINDNESS AND APPRECIATION!
Scoop out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
(Makes about 12 large cookies)
Bake at 350, 25ish minutes

* You could substitute your egg with:
^ chia seeds (1 Tablespoon ground with 4 Tbsp water) or
^ Marshmallow root powder (1 Tablespoon powder to 4 Tablespoons water) or
^ flax seeds (1 Tablespoon ground with 4 Tbsp water)

Most of the magic that happens in our kitchen is derived from curiosity and unexpected combinations - and I always need to sweep up after myself!

I rediscovered an herbal powder mix on the shelf that I wanted to use up, I wanted something gluten free, and I was curious if chia seeds would be a suitable binder (they are!)

About a 1/2 cup almond butter
About a 1/5 cup honey
1 chia egg (1 Tablespoon ground chia seeds, 4 Tbsp water)*
1 1/4 (ish) cup cooked quinoa 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
About a 1/2 cup mix of:any herbal powder**

MIX WITH GUSTO AND LOVE!
Bake at 350, 10-12 minutes
~~~

* You could substitute chia seeds with Marshmallow root powder (1 Tablespoon powder to 4 Tablespoons water), which I've tried and it works great. Flax seeds would also be an option, I just haven't tried them in this recipe yet.

** This is the powder mix I had previously made. 1 gram of Cayenne still gave this quite a kick!
100g Ashwagandha
60g Cocoa
40g Cinnamon
1 g Cayenne