Native Foods Blog

My Favorite Place In L.A. In December

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

It's pretty much my favorite place any month of the year, but December is a great month to refresh and recharge your essence. So much of the spiritual essence of the month competes with shopping which competes with giving and then the topic of religion can arise in discussion, and then that discussion can turn political and you just want to say "Whoa, just pass the punch or ponche please!" Before I let it get that far, I head to the hill… The Lake Shrine.

One of the first Yogis to come West from India to teach yoga and meditation was Paramahansa Yogananda. He took this land that was a movie studio lot on a lake and converted it to a sanctuary of peace in 1950, and called it The Lake Shrine.

It is open to the public and welcomes all, no matter what religion or age. It is very interfaith-based and you see this when you enter and view the Court of All Religions.  As you encounter your first view of the gorgeous lake, you will immediately be surrounded by the aroma of the lush rose garden. The lake is centered on this property and it will help get you centered as well!  Take a walk around its perimeter, stop to pause on one of the many benches and take a moment to breathe. The gardens are magnificent and never cease to amaze me.

You can find a piece of the original spineless cactus that Luther Burbank "developed" and gifted to Yogananda.  You can also greet a monument sarcophagus that holds some of Gandhi's ashes, the only place in the world outside of India. There are waterfalls, swans, ducks, turtles, and carp. I just went and stood under a tree that had 5 white pigeons sitting quiet in the silence. The butterflies always fly by in pairs it seems.  I guarantee you will feel the vibe, everyone does.

Burbank's Spineless Cactus

The Lake Shrine sits 300 yards above the corner on the rising hill where  Sunset and the PCH meet… and overlooks the dolphins in the Pacific. If that isn't a great start already, there is a cool museum and gift shop with items from India. There is also a bookstore where they sell an annual desk top calendar that has the most magical photos and sayings to go along with them… so if you need a gift or a lift for yourself, there's an idea!

Visiting Hours:

Sunday 12:00pm-4:30pm

Tuesday-Saturday  9:00am-4:30pm

www.lakeshrine.org 

 

Thankful Chickens!

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

October 11, 2010 was a day in Kansas to be remembered. It was a day one young student named Whitney Hillman stood out from the pack as she stood up for her chicken. She couldn't kill her chicken.  

Freshly back to school after a fun summer vacation, Mr. Hamilton gave his class a project.  Each student to pick out, raise and then slaughter a chicken. This was aproject that changed Whitney's life forever. 

Whitney named her chicken Chicklett.  She groomed Chicklett, cleaned up after her, and could identify Chicklett out of the rest, even without the magic marker the students were told to use to mark the chickens.  On October 11, 2010 Chicklett Chicken Hillman could not be found to be slaughtered and Whitney failed her project...or did she? Whitney turned in an essay instead of her chicken and has been making the news all over Kansas. 

I loved that Whitney saved her chicken and that she is actively pursuing the school to have a policy where slaughtering of chickens is mentioned in the class description before one signs up (this was not mentioned in Mr. Hamilton's curriculum), and that permission slips be submitted for slaughter activity.Permission slips are widely used for field trips and for watching R rated movies in history classes, not because of their sexual nature, but for their blood and violence.

Chicklett is now living safely hiding out at a farm which will not be named, but rest assured Chicklett is running the ranch!  Here are some other chickens running the ranch as well...

You can read Whitney's essay and learn more about Chicklett Chicken Hillman on FaceBook www.facebook.com/chicklett.chickenhillman

Happy Thanksgiving Whitney and Chicklett! May your compassion be contagious to Kansas and the world and God Bless You Please Mr. Hamilton-Chicklett would love you more than you would know- oh ho ho..

Here is the letter Whitney wrote to the School Administration.  This girl seriously rocks.

Whitney Hillman 
10/11/2010 
Chicklett

At the beginning of the semester we were told we were going to be buying baby chicks, raising them for 5-7 weeks, and then slaughtering them. When we were told this is was too late to transfer classes. Assuming we didn’t have enough funding for the project I wasn’t too concerned. Then all of a sudden we have boxes filled with baby chickens, and we were told to pick our own chicken. Obviously, I think this is wrong in many ways, and my intent in this letter is to explain why I did what I did. I believe this is wrong because we were never asked to fill out a permission slip, we were told to raise our own chickens, and I believe there should have been a choice.

Permission slips are widely used within school systems, mainly for field trips and movies. History classes are big on this because we watch rated R movies. These movies are not rated R because of their sexual content, nudity, or language, but rather, because of their blood, gore, and violence. What is involved in chicken slaughtering? Blood, gore, and violence. So I think that’s a pretty good reason for a permission slip. Also, some parents might object to this all together! Maybe they don’t want their children to have to experience this, or perhaps they are a vegetarian family, and don’t believe in the slaughtering of animals for food. Whatever the reason, like it or not, parents do have a say!

When the word raise is brought to mind, what do you think of? When I hear the word “raise,” I think of taking care of something or someone because they cannot do it on their own. This involves animals; they cannot raise themselves, especially not in a cage. So, we chose our chickens, gave our chickens names, and found ways to remember which chicken belonged to each person. While everyone else was covering their chickens in permanent marker, I was looking at my chicken’s color. My chicken had an orange head instead of yellow, which is what all the other chickens had in my group. So I could distinctly tell the difference, but Mr. Hamilton made me color mine anyway. I didn’t want to color my chicken with a permanent marker because it felt wrong; if coloring the chicken made me feel bad, how do you imagine killing it would make me feel? So, instead of coloring my chicken, I put a purple dot on his foot; it still felt wrong, but it was a lot better than covering his feathers in purple marker. So, I had chosen my chicken, given him a name (Chicklett), and now it was time to raise my chicken. Helping the group feed and water the chickens every day, and sweeping the messes off the floor, weighing my chicken every week to make sure he is properly gaining weight.

I took pictures of my chicken as he grew, and still without marker, I can tell him from the rest. My chicken has become a loved one; no matter how stupid that sounds, he has. I am an animal lover, I have a dog and he’s like my son, I go to the zoo and it makes me cry because the animals look so depressed and lonely. So, yes I have, in fact, become attached to Chicklett, and could not participate in his death. If you cannot understand my perspective, let me put it in perspective for you. If you have a pet at home that you love dearly, or if you have ever had a pet that you loved then look at it like this, someone throws your pet in a cage with 4 or 5 others, and says in 5 weeks you are to cut off its head, pull off its fur, clean out all the guts, bag and freeze the meat, and take it home for your family to enjoy, what would you do? Would you not do everything in your power to keep a loved one safe? Are pets not loved ones? So, please do not judge what I did on the grounds of stupidity and bad behavior, but on the grounds of love and empathy for another living being. I have raised my chicken. I will not kill him, but skipping the killing wasn’t enough, I had to save him.

Dissection is a major part of science, but there is almost always a choice of doing an online version, or watching. We are told that we must do some part of the slaughtering. My job is not cutting the chicken’s head off or boiling it in hot water to make the feathers easier to pull out nor do I have to gut the chicken. My job is to pluck each feather from my chicken, and other chickens’ dead bodies. Close your eyes and imagine having someone cut off your head, and then stripping you naked, not a fun image right? Yes, it is just a chicken to you, but to me it’s a living being and has just as much right to live as we do. There is a choice in dissection, why not in the slaughtering of an animal you raised?

So I will gladly accept any punishment you give me, but I will not apologize for what I have done, I will not regret it, and I would definitely do it again if I had to. I will not say that Mr. Hamilton shouldn’t do this for future classes, but ask that it say that on the registration sheet. I also ask that he would make permission slips. If they write on the registration sheet “chicken slaughtering involved” then there is no need to create an online option or worry about future students doing what I have done, because your option then is to sign up for a different class.

I will not be telling where my chicken is, but that he is safe. I will gladly pay any cost that is asked of me, because I did take the chicken, but please, all I ask, is that you understand why. 

Whitney Hillman, October 11, 2010

Look at those Giant Melons... Oh my!

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

The short and SWEET on pumpkins:

Pumpkins are funny.  The word pumpkin comes from the Greek word pepon which means “large melon.”  The word evolved through several languages to become pumpkin in English.  Pumpkins are loaded with vitamin C and fiber, and the pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, contain omega-3 fatty acids!

And pumpkins are actually fruit!  That must be why they make such good pie and cake…

 

Pumpkin Spice Cake   (16 servings)

 cake:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

 glaze:

1/8 cup maple syrup

1/8 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons almond milk

Double this recipe for extra glaze!  Sooooo good….

 directions:

 1. preheat oven to 375 F

2. mix together dry ingredients for the cake in a bowl and set aside

3. mix together oil, 1/2 cup maple syrup, and 1 cup sugar until well mixed

4. add pumpkin and dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating each, but beginning and ending with the dry ingredients

5. add vanilla extract while mixing

6. pour batter into greased 9x11

7. bake for 25 minutes

8. for glaze, mix together all three ingredients until well mixed. if you have some powdered sugar lumps, pass the glaze through a small strainer

9. when 25 minutes are up for the cake, drizzle the glaze over the top while it is still in the oven.  bake for five more minutes (if you are using extra glaze, you may need to bake longer!)

10. remove from oven and let cool

11. sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and enjoy!!!

People like to carve them into scary shapes, eat them, bake them, roast them, and well... SMASH THEM!

The largest “melon,”  ahem, pumpkin ever recorded was a whopping 1,725 pounds.  My father would purchase a giant pumpkin every year to display in his store. Below is a picture of me and three of my friends inside of one of the giant pumpkins (I am the one in the middle).

 

Pumpkins are everywhere!   Here is Chef Tanya in Serbia with the pumpkin & horseradish lady:

 

I Want My Pommy!

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

November is National Pomegranate Month... So lets celebrate!

 

Growing up in Palm Springs, Ca the sight of pomegranate trees was quite common and fall was fun because of them. Smashing them on the street made them ready to eat, and the really bad kids would then throw them at you in hopes of breaking them open on your clothing so your mom would have a conniption for getting stains that she couldn't get out. The memories of fondly finding the perfect clump of seeds as you'd crack open the pithy skin and maneuver the membrane holding jewels, also known as arils, was oh such a subtle thrill that the first thing I had to do when I grew up was buy a pomegranate tree. This is one of my first picks of the season:

From Chef Tanya's backyard

 

A common food in the Middle East and India it is now known in the U.S. to be important for combatting disease with his high antioxidant content, but with a much nicer taste than medicine.

 Pomegranate seeds are available now already removed from the fruit, but not half as much fun as doing it yourself and definitely not as fun to eat. Here are a couple recipes using pomegranate and remember you can always just sprinkle them on salads or warm dishes that could use a hint of tang. They will be gracing the salad served at our Thanksgiving feasts (Culver City, Costa Mesa, Tustin) with maple glazed pecans.

 

Guacamole Con Granada

 

2 ea.       avocados, chopped

1 tbsp.    lime juice (fresh is best)

1/4 tsp   sea salt

2 ea.       green onions, finely chopped

1/4 ea.   jalapenos, minced

1 ea.      pomegranate, seeds removed

 

First to remove the seeds, use a paring knife to score through the skin part only of the pomegranate in quarters.

Get a bowl filed with water and submerge the pomegranate and using your strength from eating Scorpion burgers, break open the pommy. Remove the seeds from the membrane with your fingers. The white membrane will float in the water, so when you are done skim off the membrane parts (which are bitter) and strain the jewels or arils as they are formally called. I like to call them pearls.

 Mash the avocado with all the ingredients except the pomegranate. Then gently fold in the pomegranate seeds.

 

Another food made from pomegranates is pomegranate molasses, which is made from cooking down the juice and has the consistency of maple syrup. It is common in Middle Eastern and East Indian cuisine. If you are doing a roasted veggie dish when they are almost done, drizzle some pomegranate molasses lightly and toss and finish cooking. 

 This dip, with Lebanese and Syrian origins, is great with warm pita, or toastettes, and mild flavored veggies (so you can fully taste the dip). 

 

Muhammara

3 ea. red bell peppers

3/4 cup toasted walnuts

3/4  cup bread crumbs

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp.  pomegranate molasses

2 ea. garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. olive oil

 

Roast the bell peppers on broil in the oven or on a cast iron skillet or gas grill (bbq) until skin blisters on all sides. Cool, then peel and remove seeds.

In a food processor puree the walnuts and bread crumbs together, then add the bell peppers and other except olive oil until well pureed and then slowly add the olive oil.

If you let it sit a bit the flavors really develop...if you can wait that long!

 

 

Vegan in a Hardshell: Rockette the Lovely Tortoise

by Nathan and Barbara Kilgore

Native Foods Cafe Guest Bloggers

Here is the now 100+ lb African Sulcatta desert tortoise named Rockette.

She's a beauty!

We got her as a rescue some 8 years ago when she was around only 50 lbs. The Animal control people said that they had found her wandering the streets and picked her up.

I had been keeping licensed California desert tortoises for around 15 years and was a member of the California turtle and tortoise club for several years at this point. When I showed them the business card of the turtle rescue person in our club, they approved my taking her on as their best option to helping her survive.

I have since watched her more than double in size and she is a true Vegan, with a passion for all fruit, veggies and Exotic Reptile pellets from Mazuri.  She also gets small alfalfa pellets mixed in due to the cost of the Mazuri.

A typical feeding this time of year is a full head of romaine, 1 banana, unpeeled, 3 raw carrots, a cooked yam and her pellets.

Hey you vegan eating machine!  Smell the flowers, don't eat em'

Since these animals produce around 100 eggs, reproducing is out of the question outside of their natural home. People seem to smell a profit and breed them to sell. The tiny babies sell anywhere from $50-130 in the pet stores and they do not educate the public on the risk, care and expectation of what might be an impossible 150-200 lb full size in the city.

We have about a 500 Sq Ft. enclosure with an electric "pig blanket" ( for keeping pigs in the cold climates), a roof over her head in an old greenhouse, and  around 100 feet of turtle run for her to get up to speed on.

Rockette on the run!

I know there are many who read this blog that also love animals and care that proper treatment and feeding is given. Since they live well into a century for their lifespan, I will, no doubt not be her only caregiver. Anyone who feels they qualify to care for an animal of this kind should look to find more information here: http://www.tortoise.org

They are truly one of gods more amazing creatures.

Culver City Native Foods Opens....our friends celebrate!

 
Native Foods Cafe opens in Culver City and we all had a party!  

 
Fans of Chef Tanya

 
Good to see you Tracy Columbus and buds!

 

Thanks, guys!

 
Matt has a great smile and handshake!

 
She's a little beauty....

 

Native Foods Cafe Culver City Opens with a BANG!

We officially open in Culver City today at 5 p.m... and this neighborhood rocks!  This past weekend we had a blast at the pre-opening parties!  So many familiar faces showed up to celebrate with Chef Tanya and the tribe, as well as some new friends. Check out the video our longtime friends the Nelson Family (http://www.vegsource.com/) made commemorating the event:

 

Come visit us in historic, downtown Culver City!

 

A Horse Tail... or a Hoarse Tale?

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

I was 12 years old and slightly scared of horses, at least of attempting to ride one.  But I made a deal with my mother and her best friend…if I accompanied her daughter Kimberley to horseback-riding camp, then she would have to go with me to cheerleading camp.  To tell you the truth, I was slightly afraid of Kimberley as well.  She was gorgeous, with her nose constantly buried in some super-adult book (as in highly intelligent), and a mouth like a steel trap.  The only time she raised her head from the book was to make say something rude or condescending, especially to her mother… oh, but that is a whole other story.  We had some wild times together though.  And while I was scared to take on those horses, I also relished in the thought of watching Kimberley attempt to coordinate herself enough to complete a choreographed routine.  She actually, however, made it through the 5 days of cheerleading camp without a scratch or a fight.  She did throw a lot of dirty looks to a lot of cheerful girls… tee hee hee.  I, on the other hand, had to endure TWO WEEKS of horseback riding camp.  The joke was really on me.  I failed to read the fine lines.  What did I get myself into?

Well they still scare me, but they are quite attractive.

My mother was a competitive horseback rider back in her heyday and really glamorized the whole “sport” to me.  The pictures of her when she was younger, with her fancy little riding suit on and trendy equestrian boots, really helped to paint that tres chic picture in my mind.  Oh, how far this lovely image really was from the manure-scented haze I was about to get lost in for the next two weeks.  We arrived and settled into our bunks.  Then we were promptly called outside for the assignment of the horses.  We were each assigned one horse for the entire duration of the camp.  We had to feed and care for the horse, as well as clean out their stables (I had NO idea this was part of the deal!).  Having the last name Allen, I have grown quite accustomed to being first on the list and having my “pick of the litter” in most situations.  But this was not the case here… I should have guessed.  Somehow, my name had fallen to the bottom of the list and when they got to me, they realized they had run out of horses.  “Oh, don’t worry hon… we’ll just pull one of the roamers off the pasture… Dana, go grab one of the wild girls from the green,” Ms. Pamela said to the young girl beside her (yep, it was that kind of place, where all of the women counselors went by Ms. and then their first name… so weird!).  Ummmm…. I am being put in charge of a wild horse!!!  I quickly explained that I had never really ridden a horse before and was probably better off trading with one of the other girls who had much more experience, such as Kimberley, who was a competitive rider!  But, oh no….  I had nothing to worry about.  Kiowa would tame right out once I rode her a few times.  Well, Kiowa never really “tamed out.”  We had a rocky relationship.  She did not really like me riding her, and I felt she did not appreciate that I spent hours cleaning out a whole infestation of maggots from her stable so she could be as comfortable as possible in her newfound captivity (apparently, the camper before me used the stable for more fun activities instead of cleaning up after her horse, and got away with it!).  I guess our relationship sort of mimicked a lot of modern day marriages?

This is what Kiowa looked like... only wilder and crazier!!!

She was an amazing creature.  Beautiful, strong and strong-willed.  When I was being instructed how to “properly” ride her, they kept telling me to kick her side when I wanted her to do something.   I was REALLY uncomfortable doing such a thing!  And Kiowa agreed!  Every time I jabbed my foot into her side, she would do the complete opposite of what I wanted her to do, and this usually meant she ended up running at full speed in circles with me on her back.

Long story short, I lost all the competitions I was required to ride in, passed out from heat exhaustion twice, and met some not-so-nice girls who constantly made fun of me and my “vampire” teeth (I had a unique set of canines when I was younger.  But on the upside, I saw them a couple of years later at a state cheerleading competition and we annihilated their team).  This was many years before I became vegan and a supporter of animal rights action… but I still became completely resolved that this was not a good thing at all.  Horses are not meant to be mounted or tamed.  Kiowa could attest to that.  I wish I had the picture they made me pose in atop of Kiowa without a saddle.  You can see the pure fear and discomfort written all over my face, as I am sure Kiowa could feel in my body language.  I got home tired and grateful that I lived on a tiny island where I would never have to see a horse up close and personal again.  The next time I encountered a horse was in high school on a trip to New York City.  And these poor horses were pulling carriages through a completely unnatural landscape.  The most horrifying aspect to all of this in my mind was that they were forced to use the bathroom in a small pouch that hung right below their backsides.  How humiliating!  The whole scene is just despicable. 

Poop bags will never be in fashion New York City!

To this day, Kimberley will argue with me that horses “want” to work… that they love laboring away for the sake of us humans.  This is such a strange concept.  And she is an animal lover.  Her and her sister are always adopting and taking in abused animals, so this statement just does not add up.  There is no way that any horse wants to walk through New York City amidst the chaotic, alarming noise, pulling thousands of pounds, and having to defecate in a small pouch, without a break.  COME ON!  California Labor Laws would never let this fly with any human.  We need to stand up for these animals.

 

Please check out the follow links to learn more about this horrible “attraction” and what you can do to help the horses.

http://banhdc.org/index.shtml

http://www.blindersthemovie.com/

Chef Tanya spearheading movement in hometown of Native Foods to stop the cruelty of horse carriage rides as a major accident just happened there. Join the her and the Native Horse Team to ask (and respond) to our request to put a ban on the council's agenda. Horses and traffic just don't mix... 

Click here to see the City Council's contact info and get in touch!

http://www.ci.palm-springs.ca.us/index.aspx?page=33

Below is one of the letters Chef Tanya sent to the council:  Feel free to sample!

Horse carriage rides are the least intelligent amusements to have in city traffic. Unless there is a dedicated lane without traffic or in streets where traffic is closed it is inhumane not only to the horse but to the people riding. Every driver in every car in front of, behind and next to that horse drawn carriage must have seat belts on and are driving a ton of metal armor. The people sitting in the horse carriage have nothing, and the slightest bump from a car can send them flying. When I visited Moscow 2 summers ago the newspapers were lit up with the fact that the Mayor of Sochi (where the winter Olympics are being held) five year old daughter was killed when a car hit the back of a carriage and she flew out.

There  have been many tragic incidents and now Palm Springs has been added to the list and that saddens me. Do you know how amazing it is that no people were hurt? The horse slammed on the hood of the car and the hood was extremely damaged. The damage to the horse?

The cities Santa Fe , New Mexico: Pasadena, California; Palm Beach, Key West, and Treasure Island, Florida; Paris, France; and London, England—have already banned them. 

In addition a life of pounding pavement is not good at all for the horses legs at all as my rescue horse has a condition caused by this. Every time I drive by that carriage I slow down and stop and tell the owner she needs to ask the city for a closed lane and that horses and traffic do not mix, she always says something bitter back to me.

I appreciate that everyone was so concerned about the horse as the Desert Sun article proved, but the issue of banning horse carriage rides must get on the City Council's Agenda. I'd like to make a formal request. Let's not wait until another human or animal is hurt or killed.

My hometown of Palm Springs needs to be a safe and animal friendly city! Please know that a lot of your constituents think this way.

Thank you.

Eat Peace,

Chef Tanya
Executive Chef/Founder
Native Foods Cafe

Tasty Tasty L.A. Healthy

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower Salad   (Serves Four)

1 each cauliflower

2 Tbsp  olive oil

2 cups white beans

1 cup chopped Italian parsley

1/2 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup pitted olives (Moroccan a plus!)

1/2 cup dried fruit of choice (currants, raisins, dates, cranberries....)

1 recipe Moroccan dressing (recipe to follow)

1 cup roasted almonds

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Cut cauliflower into 1-1/2" pieces

3. Toss with olive oil and bake for 30-40 min

4. Remove and toss in bowl with rest of ingredients.

5. Garnish with roasted almonds.

 Moroccan Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp orange juice

1 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp, ginger, finely chopped

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp turmeric

1. Whisk all together in bowl, puree in blender, or shake in jar well.

The healthy wealthies were all in church this past Sunday with only vegetarians on the pulpit. I was one of them. My sermon was on Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower Salad and how eating this dish makes a saint out of a sinner...I never had a chance to eat any. I was busy listening to Dr. Hans Diehl who had Pope-like status for the day preaching statistics on health and diet and mathematical equations of energy use comparisons of plant based v.s. meat based food choices.

 


Dr. Diehl who is based in Loma Linda started the national Coronory Health Improvement Program (CHIP) http://www.chiphealth.com/ and he works with people to lower their cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar.

 

Since 75% of Western diseases are lifestyle related (wow), he works with people on lifestyle changing. Joining the CHIP program starts you off with a health screening, meeting with a personal doctor, beginning the program and then a follow up health screening.

The Healthy Taste of L.A. http://healthytasteofla.com/ the event is called, was coordinated by talented and comedic Chef Abby Jaye and Julianna Hever RD, an actual vegan registered dietician. There was a team of chefs presenting along with Chef Abby and Julianna. Almost hitting the enrollment capacity at 200, it was quite a draw with peeps showing up from all parts of the country either new to the healthy eating scene or CHIP graduates.

It was quite a time and chefs from other parts of the country have been hearing about it and signing up for next year's event! Thank you Chef Abby for putting this together for all of us. With gratitude!  And now something sweet...

Fresh Apple Cake

Serves 9

 3 Tbsp. Coconut oil

¾ cup brown sugar

1 ½ Tbsp. Egg replacer

2 Tbsp. water

3 Tbsp. orange juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup unbleached pastry flour

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

3 cups grated apple

¼ cup roasted walnuts.

 

• Preheat oven to 350
• In a mixing bowl, cream coconut oil and sugar.
• Mix egg replacer with water in a small cup, add mixture to blender with orange juice and vanilla extract and puree until foamy.
• Add egg replacer mixture to sugar and coconut oil and combine well.
• In another mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, slat, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Add to wet ingredients,.
• With a spoon stir in grated apple and walnuts.
• Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan and spread the batter inside.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes.
• Serve slightly warm with something creamy!

 

 

What's that Floating in Your Wine?

by the Native Vegan Wino

Native Foods Cafe

Wine has been placating the masses for thousands of years.  People drink wine to celebrate, to forget, to eat, to romance, to pray, to sleep, to let loose…  Evidence of very early wine production exists at archaeological digs in Macedonia and dates back more than 6,500 years ago.  There is an ancient Persian fable that tells the story of a princess who fell into bad favor with her father, the king.  She tried to off herself by eating some spoiled grapes that had been sitting in a sealed jar. 

The offering of the spoiled grapes.

Well, instead of poisoning her system, the grapes made her intoxicated and plain giddy.  She woke up the next morning feeling stress free and relaxed.  She returned for more “spoiled grapes” and her behavior changed so much that she regained her father’s favor.  He was so pleased by the results of his daughter’s new discovery, and her improved disposition, that he demanded spoiled grapes for everybody.

Those crazy spoiled grapes!

Wine became quite popular throughout Europe thanks to the spread of Greek civilization, which passed on through the Roman rule.  It was during the Roman era, that viniculture really began to blossom, as the Romans started to study grape varieties, ripening characteristics, soil preferences as well as implementing fertilization and irrigation practices.

Over the next few thousand years, wine went global, and today is grown on every continent except for Antarctica!  I think that qualifies wine as an absolute necessity.  The next natural disaster that hits, I am donating wine.  Screw water, I mean, I LOVE you water.  But in times of need and desperation, and bleak optimism for the future, water doesn’t hold a candle to wine.  Heck, I know PLENTY of people that would choose wine over water any day. 

Water into wine, please.

But anyways, wine is cool.  The French love it and they are always referenced as chic, cool peeps, right?  They also seem to be thinner and healthier, even though they smoke more than the average American.  However, they also drink a lot of red wine and have more sex than the average American.  Red wine in moderation does boast some lovely health benefits such as reduce cholesterol, blood clotting, and aid in the formation of nerve cells.  Check out this article from the Yale-New Haven Hospital:

http://www.ynhh.org/about-us/red_wine.aspx

Here is wine’s biggest downfall, in my opinion: a whole lotta wine is produced using some form of animal product.  Why? And yuck!  Well, as wine became more sophisticated and formulated, it also became filtered.

And animal products were used in the beginning... so now have been grandfathered in as some sort of a “tradition.”  Whatever.  According to http://vegans.frommars.org,

“Typically these ingredients are used as processing aids in the “fining” or filtration part of the winemaking process to help remove solid impurities such as grape skins, stems, pips, to remove the yeast used in the fermentation process or to adjust the tannin levels in certain wines. This is done to end up with a clearer, brighter, better tasting and more presentable wine.” 

I know your next question!  What exactly are these animal-derived ingredients they are using?  Here you go!

1)    Isinglass: a form of gelatin derived from sturgeon fish bladders (well on the upside, at least pee is sterile, right?)

2)    Gelatin: derived from boiled cow’s and/or pig’s hooves and sinews

3)    Egg whites or albumen

4)    Casein: a milk protein derivative

5)    In the past blood from bulls, or sangre del toro, was also used as a refining agent in the winemaking process.  However, it was made illegal after the outbreaks of Mad Cow disease and is rarely used today.

Fish bladders are a common find at the Asian markets.

Yes!  There are other options for refining and filtering wine.  Bentonite and kaolin are two minerals that can do the same job.  And all wines can be filtered manually without any additives at all.  But people get stuck on tradition I tell you… And if Grandpa Benicio used fish bladders, well gosh darn it; I have to use fish bladders to clarify my wine!  Here are some pretty awesome guides to help you navigate through the sinewy world of bladders, blood and albumen, to get to that glass of vegan wine at the end of your long day…. Cheers!

http://vegans.frommars.org/wine/

http://barnivore.com/wine

http://www.vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?pageId=1659&catId=7

http://store.theorganicwinecompany.com/categories.aspx?Keyword=vegan

Here is another interesting article form the Telegraph as well:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/3334318/Dont-scrape-the-bottom-of-the-barrel.html