This is how I stay inspired about raw food

One of the main ways I stay inspired about raw food is by traveling. I love to see what is happening in the raw food world beyond the Bay Area.

This week, I made a trip to Los Angeles where I taught two

Students learning to make kale salad

sold-out classes at the new Cafe Gratitude in Hollywood. It was incredible!

The new Cafe Gratitude is vibrating with energy. I felt very appreciated. The students were definitely among the most beautiful and healthy looking I have ever worked with, and they were so enthusiastic about the classes.

I am grateful to Cafe Gratitude for believing in my talents as a chef and teacher - and for nagging me to make the long drive down. It was a really fun adventure. I am looking forward to my next teaching trip to Los Angeles, scheduled for November 4-5th.

As far as I am concerned, LA is the Mecca for Raw Food. There are loads of raw food restaurants and chefs doing private work. Truely, my peers are pushing the envelope of raw cuisine.

We visited Planet Raw, Juliano's much-hyped restaurant. The food was indeed fabulous. No dish topped the innovation of my recipe development class from Living Light last week, but still I was totally inspired. Juliano used cheeses and kelp noodles in ways that were new to me. Every dish was beautiful, the flavors well balanced. Juliano's ingredients are high quality and absolutely more delicious than cooked food. The best part of the experience was bringing two of my family members who had never had raw food. They loved every bite! And, they offered to join me at any raw food restaurants I wanted to go to the rest of the weekend. That made me so excited. I am thrilled when others love this food as much as I do.

My husband Bashir was gracious enough to shuttle me through

Bashir enjoying Super-Green Ice Cream

terrible traffic so I could check out other raw food highlights. We went to

Erewhon, the mecca of grocery stores. I have never in my life seen a raw food selection like this. They have rows upon rows upon rows upon rows of raw grocery items and fresh prepared food. They even have their own line of prepared food, thanks to my friend Colleen Cackowski. It was great for me to see just how many companies are now offering raw products. The industry is growing so fast! I treated myself to several bottles of interesting fermented foods, including lotus roots, daikon radish and more. I will play with them more in my home kitchen.

Cafe Gratitude in LA has a different vibe than the Bay Area locations, and a slightly different menu. I went completely bonkers for the "I am Local" and was happy to see my old favorite "I am Festive" back on the menu. They even have this new "mozzarella" cheese on toast dotted with dill that was so fabulous. Bashir ordered a round for our whole table. Even if you are a seasoned Cafe Gratitude customer in the Bay Area, do check out the new LA cafe. It will excite you.

Throughout this whole trip I gleaned lots of ideas for recipes I want to experiment with at home. The lesson here is: To stay inspired about eating raw food, it can be important to see what is happening with others in the raw food community. Even I get excited by learning from others.

I have two suggestions if you are looking for inspiration.

#1: The Living Light Chef Showcase. I love this event! I taught in it for the last two years. My culinary school hosts 12 fantastic chefs for a weekend of demos, and you can sign up to be a virtual attendee. You will get to watch 24 demos (shot in in a professional kitchen) and get an e-book. You will find 80 simple recipes that become every day favorites plus more complex dishes to take your skills to the next level. Last week I tasted several of the recipes and I was blown away! To find out how you can access the Chef Showcase, click here.

#2: "What Raw Fooders Eat" E-book. You will learn what 48 raw fooders eat, plus get $400+ in bonus material. The e-book includes my recipes, and a bonus from me. The book and bonuses disappear TODAY. Click here to find out details.

Featured Class: Mexican Fiesta

Learn to make this tart!

Mexican food is what many people crave when they want something hearty, cheesy, and comforting. And who doesn't love to munch on chips and salsa in front of a video?

Unfortunately, traditional Mexican cuisine is notorious for being high in calories, greasy, and short on fresh veggies. But once you learn the raw food preparation techniques in this class, you'll be able to make a truly healthy as well as delicious Latin American Fiesta for yourself and your friends.

In Mexican Fiesta you will learn:

* How to use a dehydrator to make thin, crispy chips out of flax seeds and vegetables--perfect with guacamole.
* Which knife skills to use to dice up delicious homemade salsa.
* How to use a dehydrator to make flexible wraps out of vegetables--the perfect tortilla for enchiladas.
* How to use shredded cabbage to replace rice for a lighter version of Mexican rice.
* How to make a beautiful mango fruit tart with a coconut crust--delicious either as a dessert or as a light meal in itself.

Menu: Hot Red Pepper Chips, Salsa, Authentic Guacamole, Enchiladas de Verdura con Chili Colorado, Mexican Seasoned Cabbage, Tropical Fruit Tart

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER:

This Saturday:

August 27, 2011

1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
$45 per person
at
The Uptown Apartments
between 19th & 20th, San Pablo & Telegraph
downtown Oakland

Upcoming Classes

NUT MILKS & CHEESES

This Thursday

August 25 in Oakland

MEXICAN FIESTA

This Saturday

August 27 in Oakland

FOCUS ON FERMENTATION

Sept 10 in San Francisco

BREAKFAST & BRUNCH

Sept 24 in Berkeley

DEHYDRATION BASICS

Oct 22 in Oakland

YES I AM VERY CHEESY

Are you interested in learning to make cheese?

Check out this beautiful article in Edible East Bay

and

Join us for a class this Thursday in Oakland.

Details here

and

check out the free recipe below

Herbed Almond "Chevre"

Makes 2 cups

2 cups almonds
1 cup Rejuvelac or Vegan Kefir (or 1 cup water with 2 capsules of probiotic powder)
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon miso
a pinch of nutmeg
dried or fresh herbs and spices to garnish such as basil, parsley, rosemary or cracked pepper

Blanch the almonds by bringing approximately four cups water almost to a boil and turn off the heat. Add the almonds and allow to sit for 3 - 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the almonds in cool water, then slip off the peels.
Place the almonds and Rejuvelac in a high-speed blender and process until smooth, adding more liquid if necessary to form a smooth, creamy texture.
Pour the mixture into a nut milk bag or cheesecloth-lined strainer (such as a strawberry basket or colander). Allow to strain and ferment for 12-36 hours, until desired tartness is achieved.
Remove the cheese from the strainer and add the salt, lemon juice, miso and nutmeg. Adjust the salt and lemon juice to your liking.
To create a typical chevre-style log, place your cheese as a ball in the middle of a large piece of wax paper. Roll the sides of the wax paper until you have created a tube shape with your cheese. Place your cheese, in its wax paper, in the refrigerator 8 - 24 hours so that it can set and thicken. Just before serving, sprinkle the herbs/spices on all sides of the roll until well covered. Then roll it off the wax paper and onto a plate. Cut and serve as desired.
To mold the cheese into a thick chevre-round, place a nutmilk bag or cheesecloth over your favorite round mold. Firmly push the cheese into the mold. Refrigerate the cheese until ready to use, 8 - 24 hours is best. Plate it by turning over the mold and removing your cheesecloth. Decorate with your herbs and spices.

Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, the "Chevre" will last for up to one week.

Note:

Rejevelac and vegan kefir are common fermented beverages. They can be made at home easily or purchased at Whole Foods or natural food grocery stores. You can find a kefir recipe here.

For a cheese with even fewer steps, use raw cashews or macadamias instead of almonds. They don't need to be peeled though soaking them in water or rejevelac for 20 min - 4 hours will make them soft, easier to blend and more tasty.

Most almonds and cashews are labeled as raw when they have, in fact, been pasteurized or heated. For the most nutritious nut, buy your raw almonds directly from the farmer at farmer's markets (If you are California). You can also find truly raw almonds at Whole Foods or on-line. "Truly raw" cashews are usually labeled as such, and can be found on-line, at Whole Foods and similar stores.

If you live in the Bay Area, join us for a class on Nut Milks and Cheeses this Thursday. In this class we will learn to prepare almond milk, cashew cream, a pinenut Parmesan, an almond ricotta and a pumpkin seed cheddar.

Click here for details.