| Upcoming Classes | The full Calender is now posted at www.rawbayarea.com
Tricks, Tips and Tour
Tonight
October 13 in Oakland
Why Raw?Tomorrow night October 14 in San Francisco
Raw Italy This Saturday October 16 in Berkeley Raw in the WinterOctober 17 in Fremont November 4 in Berkeley
Mexican FiestaThis Monday October 18 in Oakland Raw Food for Beginners October 23 in Oakland Effortless Holiday EntertainingOctober 24th in Sacramento October 25th in Healdsburg Raw In the WinterNovember 4th in Berkeley Raw Food IntensiveNov 12 - 14 Redmond Washington |
See Heather all across the West Coast
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 In the next month I will be teaching in
Fremont
Healdsburg
Sacramento
Seattle area
and of course
all across East Bay and San Francisco
To attend a class near you see the details at
www.rawbayarea.com
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Other raw food events around the Bay Area
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Raw food in FresnoWhole Foods, Fresno November 13th Click here for detailsRaw food in PacificaSpecial dinner Menu: Asian Delights October 16th 5 & 7:30 pm seatings Click here for detailsCool Exhibit in BerkeleyFood of the Americas UC Berkeley Botanical Garden exhibit open Oct 12 - 22 Not a raw food event per se, but a family opportunity to learn about all sorts of foods that originated in the Americans including the well-known corn and tomatoes, and the less familiar achira and oca
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Favorite Links This Month
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How to Change Your Eating Patterns
|  from Jinjee Talifaro info@thegardendiet.com
TheGardenDiet.com
Big Picture, Broad Strokes concepts.....
It is as easy as.....(choose one of the below!)
- discipline
- persistence
- patience
- forgiveness
- love
- love of self
- love of others
- love of family
- love of God
- love of Life
- a prayer
- a decision
- a commitment
- a choice
- a desire
- a journey
- a path of self-discovery |
Keeping Up With Heather
|  If you are not already following me on facebook and twitter, you should!As I eat my way through the Middle East, I've been posting updates and pictures. You can find out whats happened with the olive harvest - and what spices I found in the souk.  Raw Bay Area - organization Raw BayArea - person  Raw Bay Area |
Coming Up Soon
|  Caramba! There are some amazing classes coming up in the next week or soTonightTour & Tips in Oakland Free class - brand new! Tomorrow nightFree class - Basics of Raw Nutrition in San Francisco SaturdayRaw Italy in Berkeley Learn to make your own pasta, lasagna and cheeses of all kinds Sunday
Raw in the Winter Free class - with the South Bay Meet up in Fremont
MondayMexican Fiesta in Oakland Can you say enchiladas - and tropical fruit tart? Ole! Next SaturdayRaw food for beginners Get yourself started right! REGISTER NOW! |
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In this issue:- Middle East Peace talks begin with a really good salad. Learn more about Palestine and how to achieve peace around the dinner table.
- Raw Food happenings in the Bay Area and beyond
- My favorite links this month including Bill Clinton - going vegan!
- Healthy Holiday Survival prices are still cheap. Buy yours today and save.
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Middle East Peace Talks Begin Over A Delicious Salad
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My husband Bashir and I just finished a 3-week trip to Palestine, the Occupied West Bank. We went for several reasons, including securing a shipment of raw, fair trade olive oil.
Our Holy Land Olive Oil  |
For the last seven years, Bashir has been running Holy Land Olive Oil, selling fair trade Palestinian products including olive oil, pottery and soap. Our frequent trips to the Holy Land include visits to the partners and factories where our products are manufactured.
I am sure that the first questions on your mind relate to the situation between Israelis and Palestinians. This topic is much larger than anything I could or should cover in this newsletter, but here is what I can offer:
The situation in Palestine changes day to day. At the moment, life and the economy within towns seems to be bustling. However, this is a "make hay while the sun shines" type situation. Life for Palestinians is extremely difficult - they live in a true state of apartheid. The separation barrier and severe road conditions make even short trips between cities nearly or totally impossible. This stymies every aspect of human interaction from personal relationships to education to commerce. Palestinians are cut off from their water sources, and access to health care is very difficult to obtain. A constant presence of checkpoints and harassment from settlers and security personnel creates an extreme level of stress that cannot not be erased by any relaxation techniques such as a good night's sleep or a yoga practice.
These disturbing facts are what I and Palestinians face daily. And yet, as usual, we had a magnificent trip. We weren't able to get much done each day, but we did have a great time.
We have managed to purchase our olive oil. It is the first week of the olive oil harvest, and we are thrilled at the prospect of offering this special oil during the holidays. This oil comes from a co-op outside of Ramallah. The Union of Agricultural Work Committees is facilitating the fair trade production and exportation of our shipment, and we are glad to partner with them.Olives going to the press
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We also enjoyed wandering through the streets of the West Bank, especially the marketplaces, and hanging out with Bashir's family. I hope that you checked out the pictures I posed on Facebook.
I have been thinking a lot about all types of peace in the Middle East, not just the peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but peace within families and peace within ourselves.
Peace is very hard to come by, no matter who you are.
Peace at the dinner table, for example, is not easy when you want to eat one way, and your family wants to eat another way. Our families and culture play a critical role in dictating how we eat. Some of us come from a culture where meat is considered an important part of every celebration. Some of us come from a culture where large family meals are an important weekly occurrence. Some of us come from families where salad and fresh vegetables rarely appear on the table. So, how can you stay peaceful inside when you want to eat in a healthy way with your family?
If you come from a family or a culture that puts a heavy emphasis on animal products and cooked foods, and yet you are trying to make raw food a central part of your life, I APPLAUD YOU. It might appear that you are swimming upstream, but remember that plenty of fish successfully swim upstream every day. You can do it!
This is what I do: When I'm with Bashir's family, they know I am a committed vegetarian. They don't understand exactly what that means, as they still try to slip me lamb (Have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding?!). However, they have committed to serving a salad at every meal. Heather takes as much as she wants, and everyone else takes a thimbleful in solidarity. That means when I am with them, I don't stay raw, but I do have raw food to eat. We both compromise, meeting in the middle where everyone can find happiness. I feel peaceful knowing that I am well integrated in the family while retaining my own values. They feel peaceful knowing that I am not threatening their traditions. Eating together, we all get to enjoy each other's presence. It seems to work out really well.
See - peace in the Middle East can begin over a great salad!
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Healthy Holiday Survival Strategies
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Mark your calender for an incredible event:
In his daylong
crash course, you will create a game plan for a fun, delicious and sustainable
holiday season. The Bay Area's top raw
chefs will teach you easy ra w vegan foods to nourish you through the winter's
festivities. Plus, you'll get loads of holiday decorating tips, shop for green
gifts and enjoy an elegant raw dinner with like-minded enthusiasts.
This event is a fresh approach to holiday celebration, and is unlike
any other event you have been to.
The Healthy Holiday Survival Crash Course will include:
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A
chat with raw food celebs about surviving the holidays and feeling rawsome in
the winter. Featured guests include raw food luminary Cherie Soria, Café
Gratitude Head Pastry Chef Gregory Manitsas, Monday Night Live founder Shea Lynn
Baird, author Diana Stobo, Chef Melissa Mango and others.
- Raw food classes with
featured chefs:
Drinks and mains with Chef Heather Haxo Phillips. Desserts with best-selling Author and Chef
Jennifer Cornbleet. Crackers and
appetizers with the Krazy Kracker Lady Abeba Wright
- Tips for Holiday plating
and decorations
- An elegant holiday meal featuring
City Slicker Farms
- An opportunity to start
your holiday shopping off right.
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
$95 - early bird price
Offer good through November 10 only
$120 regular
price
On sale now at www.rawbayarea.comComing from out of town? We can help you coordinate
ridesharing. Just email Lisa_quan@yahoo.com where you are coming from and put "Health Holiday Celebration - Ride Share" in the
subject line
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Arabic Cooking 101
|  This my sixth trip to the Middle East, and each trip has had a different theme.
This particular trip I have been re-inspired to keep working on my Flavors of the Mediterranean cookbook. No other traditional cuisine in the world starts with at least 15 different types of salad at one table. I want to bring these amazing foods to the Western world!
Many of us are familiar with the typical tabouli and falafel, but we don't know much about the whole spectrum of authentic Middle Eastern food, nor do we have the skills to authentically replicate our favorite dishes at home.
Let's start with the most ubiquitous dish: the Arabic Salad. The Arabic Salad is a constant
part of Palestinian Cuisine, and you will find variations of it all across the Levant and the greater Middle East.
The Arabic Salad is usually
served as part of the mezze or appetizers. It's also often sighted as a side dish to the main
meal.
Arabic salad is unique in that
there is no lettuce. The main
ingredients of the salad are constant - tomato, cucumber, lemon, salt
and olive oil. However, every time you
make it, the exact amounts of each ingredient may differ. Also, you may want to rotate in a variety of fun ingredients. In addition to those in the
recipe below, other ingredients sometimes found in a typical Arabic Salad are small
amounts of cumin, coriander (leaf and/or seed), cayenne, vinegar and bell
pepper. Renegades might want to add sprouts or diced avocado, or serve this
dish on a bed of greens.
An everyday dish, the Arabic
Salad is meant to be informally tossed together according to your whim and what
is in your refrigerator at the moment. The key to this salad is its fresh ingredients. This salad will cool you down on a hot day, and it's
perfect when served with hot or hearty dishes.
The ingredients
3
cucumbers, diced 4 large tomatoes, diced 1/3
cup parsley, minced 1/4
cup mint, minced juice
from 2 lemons, with seeds removed 2 medium cloves garlic, minced very well 1
tablespoon sumac (a typical Arabic herb) 1/3
cup olive oil 1/3
cup green onion or white onion, minced 1 teaspoon salt, to taste ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
To make:
Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add additional salt or pepper to taste. Let it sit for 5 - 15 minutes if possible. Serve at room temperature. |
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