Sunday, February 28, 2010

meet Bryan Au!

It was fun for me to see Bryan Au. he is a very well know Raw Food Chef. Raw in Ten is his gig. fast, easy and delicious. he even gave me one of his signature ceramic knives. can't wait to try it. well, this day was a huge success. promise steadier footage next time. there was a lot going on! cheers and LIVE-LOVE-RAW everybody!
BTW his name is pronounce OH :) BRyan Oh :)

raw food meetup in Santa Monica at Virginia Park. :)!

Raw food meetup was fun fun fun!!! Bill Mayer did an amazing job "hosting" this. this is silly footage, but footage nonetheless. next one has Brian Au in it!
there were 65 people at this gloriously light and happy event. some brought complicated food like potato spinach pancakes and samosas, gorgeous salads, spreads and ice cream. someone brought a bag of carrots. my cheesecake went right away as did the butternut squash rice. Bill's chipotle Kale Chips were amazing! as were the cookies and guacamole. Richard and i prepped til late on Saturday night and it was all worth it. I look forward to many more! hugs everybody! glad to be back!

cheesecake crust ingredients.

i am so happy to be blogging again. gave up for awhile. videos were not playing. patience is a virtue. so i have been busy creating desserts. this one is from the book Sweet Gratitude. i highly recommend it!!! sweet, sweet!

white choco cheesecake ingredients

ME DE MYSTIFYING DESSERT! this recipe is from Sweet Gratitude. and i for one am Very grateful for this book! wow. so many desserts, so little time. i intend to get quicker, i intend to try new recipes all of the time. but this week i made two white chocolate cheesecakes. it is nice to master and move on. i brought individual servings to Jada's teachers and a friend of mine who i introduced to RAw and has been happy and energetic ever since. so here is to demystification. not a word, who cares, and here is to JOY!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

my surprise chocolate velvet sauce. a must do and redo!

my chocolate velvet sauce
6 tablespoons of cacao
one tablespoon of cashew cream cheese agave
vanilla
chocolate almond milk
one T of coconut oil
all because i didn't have avocado. it rocked the banana ice cream and strawberries.

when low eat cacao or maca NO COFFEE!!!!!!

for energy, no coffee please! it dries out your colon, your skin and plain old just makes you look old. it was the one hardest detox for me.
when i went to the optimum health institute for a week i practically walked in with my last cup of coffee in my hand. i had chills, fever and vomiting while giving it up. it was cold turkey, i mean wheatgrass, and it was hard. i recommend going slower, cutting down and replacing it with something way yummy and warm and just as invigorating without the nonsense of jangled nerves, highs and lows and mooooodiness. when i want a cup of coffee i do this:
boil water for tea. preferably a chinese longevity herb called gynostemma.
i get out the vitamix carafe and into it i put
3 capsules of he sho wou.
3 capsules of pearl powder
1 dropperful of 8 immortals
1 T of cacao
1 t of maca
some agave or dates
1 t of coconut oil
a little handful of cashews
vanilla lots of it
pinch of salt
BLEND- DRINK WARM AND ENJOY :) HEARTWARMING I PROMISE
for where to get wonderful chinese herbs to make your own custom tonic
go to dragonherbs.com
BLEND

no videos?

why oh why are my videos currently unavailable??? does anyone know? i will have to figure this out. more later!

no videos?

why oh why are my videos currently unavailable??? does anyone know? i will have to figure this out. more later!

late night cashew cream cheese!

tip: i add at least a half a teaspoon of probiotic powder. my brand is MAXI BIFIDUS. i also FORGOT to say BLEND IN VITAMIX til CREAMY!!!
to help vitamix along with thick mixtures : there is a vortex that blends in outsides of mixture towards the middle. with thick mixtures this can stop. open lid while on low speed and push mixture from sides of carafe to the middle helping create the vortex again. when this happens raise the speed. be careful to keep the spatula AWAY from blade. cheers, here's to Raw CReme Cheese!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

de-mystifying raw bread! part four

de-mystifying raw bread! part three

de-mystifying raw bread! part two

de-mystifying raw bread! part one

making raw bread is fun and easy! recipe from LLIC to follow. :)

a "rough" how to on almond bread.

this is to just show you the process in four parts. i want you to see that it is not mysterious or complicated. i will post Living Light Culinary Arts recipe later. easy to make, moist and delicious to eat!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

how to angel hair it. :)


spiral the zucchini with a Joyce Chen spiral slicer
pesto sauce
basil-olive-oil-garlic-pine nuts-salt- touch of lemon juice
cashew cream is cashews-water-salt (to ferment add probiotics) (comment below for how to)
tomatoes.
yum
last night Jada made a marinara for me. using cherry tomatoes, garlic powder, salt and oregano.
enjoy

Monday, February 15, 2010

RAW musings

clean house, clean mind, clean spirit. happy. i have taken on too many eyeballs it seems. on some days 3 dogs, 5 chickens, 2 fish and a human girl child seem like a lot. truth is the girl child is the reason for all of the other eyeballs. AND somehow going RAW inspires more of a love for animals more than i had before. they say that animals know who does not eat them. that there is a kinship because of this. perhaps they feel safer? Animal love is a small byproduct of Being RAW. if one makes the choice to be RAW, change ensues. beauty, health, travel, fitness, love, patience, energy, spirit.
it is not to say that life isn't full of challenges. those do not go away. what does, however, is the ups and downs of the things we "used" to do to ease those challenges. a big bowl of pasta or drinks, then coffee and a heavy breakfast the next day. Being RAW means staying as clear as possible. food is no longer a filler as much as just a way of life. Food is our nourishment. not something to feel guilty about. we can spend time thinking about our nourishment, ways we will satisfy our bodies. food can be enjoyed and celebrated when eating this way!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

dogs beg for raw food.


nevermind the chocolate on my face or the hasty pre culinary school knife skills . i was hasty because the dog natives were restless. what's a mom to do? OH it was a lovely Valentine's day...my dogs eat veggies. it is cute and good for them. sometimes i cuisinart leftover veggies and scraps and mix in with their dry and raw dog food. Happy about the dogs and the children today. :) LIFE is GOOD!

kids making raw candies! :)

my daughter jada and our friend sophie loved and ate the candies. the fudge part is 3 ingredients. raisins/or dried cherries, dates and cacao. all the chocolate none of the bad stuff.

Valentine's day kids drink almond milk!

We are making fudge and caramel candies from LLCI recipe book. the girls and i. Sophie Doll and Jada. when we did this recipe at school, all everyone could say, is how much fun it would be to do with children. well it is! so much fun. I am happy to say the kids love the taste too. before we started i made almond chocolate milk which normally Jada thinks doesn't taste right. well today see what she says...

Saturday, February 13, 2010

almond milk recipe :)

i have been soaking a lot of things lately. dried mangoes to mix with fresh for a pudding/tart . buckwheat to try my own granola. almonds to make milk to pour over granola (one of my fave breakfasts). making almond milk is great for many reasons. one, you can skip over real milk which causes mucus in the body and unless you are drinking raw milk it is so not good for you. two it tastes delicious, has lots of protein, low fat and when you are done making it you are left with pulp that can be used as flour for breads. if you want a simple recipe book buy Jenny Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy. here is her simple recipe for Almond Milk:
2 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of soaked almonds (soak for 8 hours, rinse and drain)
3 pitted medjool dates, soaked
1/2 t vanilla extract
i use agave sometimes and vanilla bean
either way it is delicious. almond milk without the sweetener is a lovely base for soups!
enjoy , see you later for Venice MARDI GRAS celebration!

Friday, February 12, 2010

why dehydrate at home?


the benefits of dehydrating ones own goodies are enormous. the #1 reason to do it yourself is the moisture factor. it turns out i can make bread and leave it quiet chewy. bagged goodies must be dried ALL the way for safety anti mold sake. dried out goodies dry one out. i like the moisture. i can stop the dehydrator when it seems right to me. today's almond bread recipe from LLCI was amazing. i altered the recipe a tad. i had one less cup of almond flour and substituted one cup with coconut flour.
i also put the whole mixture back in the cuisinart with the s blade for a quick bit to grind it up further. how wonderful it was with cream cheese (cashew) and onions and tomato. seriously moist and chewy and delicious. what a great start to my day of candy making with Edgar, who made the most gorgeous cake out of Sweet Gratitude! lots of love everybody! goodnight :) p.s. if anyone wants the recipe or a video on it i will be happy to oblige!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

hi okay it is 10 at night. i am doing what i said i would NOT do. which is start late. i couldn't help myself. i am following LLCI almond bread. i was 2 cups short of almond pulp so i substituted one coconut flour and left one out. the bread is VERY moist. so i turned the dehydrator up a notch. :)
we shall see. oh no! i am looking at the dry blade container and i have completely forgotten the flax meal! i better go get it and rescue this oh so moist mixture!!! raw food mistakes happen to me at night i guess. happy mistakes. it is all good. this is how people come up with new recipes!
see you soon and wish me luck! :)

multi tasking

i am so excited. RAW: a food and lifestyle choice got over 100 fans in one day! i cleaned the kitchen, severe organizing and was treating myself to making zucchini/almond bread, happily chatting with Richard when i decided to do a little video.
it is quick but happy. i am HAPPY being back and in charge in the kitchen! i loved spending all day communicating the love of RAW. i am going to get back to the bread making now so i don't have to turn a mistake into something else. i am going to concentrate. perhaps i will do a video proper when it is complete. see you soon!! D Vitamin D could be my new name? ;)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

RAW food mistakes happen to GOOD people.


intention: key lime pie result: caramel nougat filling?
how did this happen. well...i started at 9:30 at night. first mistake. second when i was making the macadamia, pecan crust, i could not weigh the date paste. my scale was in the drawer with something resting on it so the battery died. maybe too much date paste, maybe too much date paste too soon. after realizing the crust was choppy nutty and sticky i read the note that said perhaps chop nuts and salt first then add HALF the date paste. i was HASTY and the mixture got to PASTEY.
SO... i have a caramely nougat for friday's valentines candy making. as my friend Edgar says
make lemonade out of your lemons. i will make nougat out of my pie crust! :)
moral of the story is read the recipe before beginning. tips and tricks and all!

yay, Edgar came over today...

oh like minds and passion for the same thing. how wonderful and inspiring. just being in Edgar's presence was calming, and even though i have decided to not teach classes due to my burning desire to commence this magazine, Edgar and i will work together in many other ways. so yay
for refining heart's desires. stepping to the side of the path to smell flowers is great as long as you can still see the road and feel it beneath your feet. i am meant to teach the Raw food lifestyle. to help people understand its glory and vibrancy! RAW: a food and lifestyle choice is born on facebook. i will bring together all friends of food as medicine and rejoice that our family is getting bigger and bigger. one raw dish at a time. today it was green soup with hot lava and almond bread with cranberries. tomorrow the world.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

raw food cult,

on an ichat Caleb questioned, "you still in that food cult?" "yes." i replied, "want to join?" i enticed him with mexican rice and chocolate pudding for dessert. "maybe" he said. it is possible to turn the most meat eating man raw. i believe. i need a month with one though. a sort of raw food challenge. once the month was over they would see. perhaps his girlfriend would not like this idea. this leads me to a topic i find fascinating. what happens when one person goes Raw and the other doesn't. this is a perfect example on how i do not need to re invent this wheel. Phillipa told me of a woman who does therapy for just this thing.
this topic will most definately be covered in RAW: a food and lifestyle choice.
RAW: love stories. i can't wait. for now, i will clean the kitchen. xo D

sweet resolve.

seriously stressful day turned into a most enlightening one. i fought the dragon and with help from a friend, i won! i am now back on course, riding the waves in a pleasing direction. i have learned that while i am passionate about many things it is important to choose the shiniest and the ones where i shine the most. that is why i have decided to dedicate a large percentage of my time to meeting those who have been inventing the Raw Food Wheels and sharing them and their findings with the world! all that has conspired today has led to this. i thank Edgar and Richard and Philipa today. i thank the workers who magnified my discomfort. my inner world and outer world paralleled in a symbiotic way. there was no ignoring of my inner turmoil. my home made sure of that. i am resolved and comfortalble once again. phew. i look forward to taking my show, my inquiries on the road, my joy and my enthusiasm will be my guides. along with the wicked travel genius Richard Kalisher. i will find my way. LIVE-LOVE-RAW sails once again!

Monday, February 8, 2010

my nerves are RAW

came home a week ago from gorgeous Fort BRagg to scaffolding, sandblasting, enormous dirt inside and out and yes, it is starting to affect sensitive me. Cancer moonie that i am, my home environment is of the utmost importance to mental, physical and emotional well being. i would have left but matt came. i would leave now but i need to unpack and organize so that this place can be clean when they are done hopefully in two days. oh this is the ugly from the good, the bad and the ugly. this is it for sure. i lost my patience and calm easily amongst this. ugh. i will reclaim it right this minute. here is a bit of what the mess looks like...

Sunday, February 7, 2010

pate balls and chocolate cake E and D together again!

oh thank goodness Edgar came over two days after i returned home from LLCI! together again, so comforting. so delicious! i did savory, he did sweet and Richard Kalisher came over for lunch! it was the start of something very big. i can just feel it. so here is a little clip of what we were up to that day. lots of love everybody. live-love-RAW!!!!!

Friday, February 5, 2010

maybe it was the moldavite!


a simple rendezvous with Matt Samuelson during a layover turned into a 3 day detour at my home in Venice. which turned into two days of spontaneous cafe
two days of leftovers and possibly two days of cleanup. i will let you know.
on the way to the airport i got pulled over. i was talking on the phone, went through a red light and cheerily told the officer that since i did not get pulled over ever, i did not know where to locate my registration! guess what? he did not give me a ticket. i did not hug him as i was seated in my car. i did, however, ask to squeeze his hand and thank him. i picked up Matt, handed him the Moldavite stone that i brought for him and we went out for a bit. i dropped him off and he called me later saying TSA delayed him so he missed his flight. next flight was friday. so three fun filled days ensued. we had gorgeous people come to be spontaneous with us. i am so happy we all got to connect! Jada and i drove Matt to the airport and now he is ready for his journey to Australia. Moldavite in pocket serendipities await!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

makin kale

ahamakin kale is a video i shot in the kitchen at the living light inn. there was a lot that led up to Emmylicious Kale. she whipped it up and brought it to room number nine. we ate it. ran out to get more and did laundry in the meantime. we have cute little clips of edgar, emily and i on our "kale" expedition. here is the last video to that series. xoxo D

Monday, February 1, 2010

love is what we eat. i just ate Fort Bragg.


i realized that exercise is a vital part of being "raw" as is dry brushing, laughing, taking time to breathe...this school was no retreat. amazingly we were able with little extra time to form friendships and family connections that will last forever. i miss it so much. i feel like my heart is in there in Fort Bragg. and i am in spirit traveling with my friends around the world. i can feel me with them. my raw food lovies. raw food love stories will be a huge topic for me to cover as i feel that love is an inevitable outcome of embracing a raw food lifestyle. love is how we prepare, love is what we eat, love is what we feel. self love is taking the time to dice and mince and add just the right flavor balance and just the right garnish. loving ourselves is a way to love everyone else. yes. i am convinced we can change the world one raw dish at a time. i cannot say that my cashew cheese is just the way it will be many times from now, or that i wish i took the time to read the dolmas recipe to go all the way with it. but in my own way i did make myself feel less sad about missing my friends and heaven away from home by preparing the food that brought us together in the first place. by preparing things i learned there and eating them at home. there is here. with me. p.s. i literally did eat the Earth from Fort Bragg. (vitaminerals that is!)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

culinary boot camp was...

fun today!!! jam packed with more goodies than i can remember. let's see... raisin toast, walnut scones, lemon tarts
and my teammates and i worked well together. any kinks were ironed out. phew, the week has been saved. i am relieved and greatful. just got out of an extracurricular lecture by Jennifer Cornbleet. author of my fave book Raw Food Made EAsy. she did a pineapple upside down cake.
was delish.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

happiness thru tryptophan

required amount of tryptophan
.2 grams per day according to USRDA study on humans in 1942-1955
spirulina is way high in tryptophan.
57% of 3 gram serving is 1.71 grams of tryptophan!!
tryptophan converts to seratonin
and that is exciting cause seratonin makes you happy!
it also regulates intestinal movements and the remainder has various functions the
reg of mood appetite sleep muscle contraction and some cognitive functions including memory and learning. help regulate homostasis in blood clotting.
other things to eat
sunflower seeds, sesame, pumpkin seeds.
eat and be happy.
it is important to have a good ratio of tryptophan to phenylalanine and leucine. fruits with a good ratio are dates papaya and banana foods with a lower ratio inhibit the production of
seratonin and that includes wheat and rye bread. this info came from the website: selfgrowth.com

Monday, January 18, 2010

i was the leader of the day. felt like boot camp.


in this oh so challenging part of being in the culinary studio. we are expected to commune with three other students and follow recipes. i was the leader of the day. meaning i tell others when to chop, when to blend, when to clean, in what order. phew. hard day, ruffled feathers. too many people energies mostly hard because there is a time limit. Also hard because there seems to be a bit of competition as to whose is the prettiest. so, i stepped into leadership and it was not easy, for goodness sake all we did was make sauces and asian wraps. mine came out disorderly. i felt as if it was more my job to keep my group and food moving forward in a friendly way, that i really did not get to do my normal pretty "Dara" thing. AND i am NOT YET good at wrapping cabbage leaves nice and neat and tight like the table to my right. they are from Japan. so
in light of all that, i survived this monday. did have moments of fleeing. here is my fitting horoscope. tuesday should be better.

Monday, Jan 18th, 2010 -- You might struggle with an inevitable shift of power because you are deeply invested in the status quo. Even if you see the advantage of shaking things up, it makes you nervous when there are too many unknowns. Keep in mind that you won't be able to stop the wheels of progress. Give yourself a few more days and then make up your mind to be a positive part of the change. Once you do, you can assume an important leadership role in the transformation.

reach out beyond myself...


Sunday, Jan 17th, 2010 -- While propitious Jupiter was in your 2nd House of Possessions last year, you may have had an opportunity to increase your personal financial holdings. But the real value of what you gained might have had more to do with your self-esteem. Now that Jupiter is entering your 3rd House of Communication, you must reach out beyond yourself and interact more with others. You have much to offer and much to learn, yet it's up to you to take the initiative.

this was my horoscope for yesterday. in the week that i have been here i have realized a great need of mine to find out about my raw food friends journeys. i have been asking them questions and videotaping. i have also realized that while i love chef-ing, being in my kitchen and nurturing others, i also have a love of communicating what it means to be a raw foodist. it has come to my attention that it is time to step out and communicate what i have learned, learn more and share all of it! this horoscope confirms it.

late night pondering of science of raw food...

every night. after class, we make food in the kitchen of our inn. the Living Light Inn. in Fort Bragg, CA. as i type the rain beats so hard on the roof. (i am in the attic room) it almost sounds like hail) wait. it must be hail. or baseballs. wow. ok well, blog away. at night, after we eat i like to find out what is going on in other raw peoples lives. why they are here on a quest for the best education in living plant based food, or who is at home supporting their efforts here. i have found out a lot, and it is all interesting to me. last night i got a clip of Edgar and Emily telling me a couple of things that they gleaned from the weekend of science/nutrition of raw food. it will give you a bit of what is was like. we have lots more to say. it is 7 pm now. perhaps after some alone time. i need it! i will venture down three little carpeted flights and see who is in the kitchen. i really must also tell you what it is like in the culinary studio under pressure with four other people used to doing things their way. holy----. for now a video from last night...

krispy kale

delicious emmylicious krispy kale. with iron and vitamin B12. did you know that as a raw vegan it is essential to take vitamin B12? it can be found in nutritional yeast, which is all over this now krunchy kale. Emmy coated it with a "batter" of nutritional yeast, cashew creme, salt and then put it in the dehydrator on 125 for three hours. really delicious and beats pringles. she wants to call them Kringles. cute huh? well, it beats Pringles or any other cooked potato. in fact, we learned from Dr.'s Dina that steaming potatoes is the only way to go
as the sugar and acids naturally found in them when heated create a carcinogen known as Acrylomide. yuk. raw plant based for me. so here the kale has its living enzymes and phytonutrients in tact. It totally satisfies any munchies. ttly. DD

Sunday, January 17, 2010

SCIENCE AND NUTRITION OF RAW FOOD

this entire weekend was spent listening to the Dr.'s Dina. Karin and Rick. they were phenomenal
and knew how to make words fly over my head! amazing! although words and chemistry lessons were flying around the room. some did manage to settle on my friends and i. For Edgar, the weight of food that will satiate us made an impression. 2 lbs! so it is best to choose high water high fiber like leafy greens first. they will satiate without an overload of calories. choose them before raw cheesecake. For Emily it was the fact that leafy greens do not thin but coagulate blood. I remember distinctly it is best to eat potatoes steamed as the sugar and acid naturally found in them combined with heat creates a carcinogen. STEAM YOUR POTATOES. so much to share. will do. for now this new blog will need followers. :)