105degrees specializes in what’s called “living food”–greens, fruits, vegetables, and nuts that have very minimal processing. There’s no traditional cooking, sauteing, or baking because above 105 degrees Fahrenheit or so the live enzymes in the food start to break down, making the food less nutritious. All the food they prepare here is fresh and put together in very creative ways. We ate from the winter menu and were amazed at the beautiful (and delicious!!) works of art they brought to our table.

Ryan started with the Mezze: Zucchini Hummus, Eggplant Chips, Marinated Olives, Hemp Tabouleh, and Falafal. Ryan raved about the hummus, which was made using macadamia nuts instead of chick peas. The eggplant chips were especially tasty–crispy and a little spicy from the marinade. Mmm.

I started with the Kale Caesar (salad), Pine Nut Parmesan, Rosemary Croutons. Curly kale is pretty stiff and more fit for garnish (or smoothies) than a salad. The remedy? Massage the kale! It was very soft and crunchy, and the creamy pine nut cheese and crunchy croutons were a perfect fit.

Ryan’s main course was Coconut Curry with Smoked Cashew Custard, Broccoli, Red Chile, and Bean Sprouts. He thought the coconut “tofu” was great!

I had Cannelloni with Pignoli Ricotta, Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara, and Pistachio Pesto for my main course. Wow. The “noodles” are paper-thin slices of zucchini. The cheese tasted better than ricotta and the marinara was perfectly sweet.

Dessert was THE best part, and so delicious that we forgot to take pictures! Ryan had a hazelnut feast called the Gianduja Tasting: Hazelnut Fudge, Hot Chocolate Hazelnut Float, Hazelnut Butter Cup, and Hazelnut Semifreddo. I had the Pomegranate Red Velvet Cake with Lemon Frosting, a layered cake garnished with sweet pomegranate sauce and juicy seeds. It was easy to forget that we were eating living food and not the traditional dessert filled with refined sugars, butter, and white flour.

Since we had a nearly 3-hour drive back home we ordered a mocha and a malted classic smoothie to go. The plastic cup my smoothie came in said it is made from 100% corn and that it is compostable. I’ll add it to my compost pile and let you know how it goes!

Before we left we took a look around their gift shop, which was filled with artisan products, pure beeswax candles, body products, and living foods. They had a good selection of dried teas, homemade kombucha tea, and ice cream. One item I couldn’t pass up were the glass drinking straws (made from the same type of glass as Pyrex).

Ryan and I had such a great time together trying out all the different foods! The food was some of the best food I have ever eaten. I’m glad that I already have a few of the recipes and will have to get the chef’s other recipe book so that we can make these dishes at home until we can go eat there again.

Before we headed back to Topeka we stopped by the cheese shop a few doors down from O’Dowds to buy some Irish Kerrygold butter. Then we dropped by an awesome store in Lawrence called Brits to pick up a few UK imports. We got a box of chocolate marshmallow teacakes and a bottle of Irn-Bru soda from Scotland, both of which Tristan & Leslie introduced to us this summer during our visit. Yum!

Old Cowtown Museum has an Old Fashioned Christmas each year where they show what Christmas would have looked like in Wichita in the 1870’s.

Our friends Ben & Kelly invited us to go and we had a fantastic (but COLD!) time. We enjoyed homemade hot chocolate, Christmas caroling, some Irish step dancers in the Saloon, and even a retelling of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” in the old one-room schoolhouse. We rounded out the evening in the old farmhouse where they were roasting a Christmas turkey in the kitchen lit by oil lamps.

We had so much fun with Ben & Kelly; it was a really great way to get in the Christmas spirit. So much fun, in fact, that we completely failed to get any pictures of our own, so here’s one we found on Flickr.

(So where are we going next, guys?)

This picture proves that my mom doesn’t look a day over 32. I don’t know who those two little kids are, though…

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Remember, God loves you!

I’m sorry, Mom!

(For a revised version of our Christmas card, please click here.)