Go to our Facebook, Like us, then leave a comment on our Wall about why you like us.... and you could win a trip to Chicago for two including airfare, spending cash, tickets to Lollapalooza and the VIP pre-opening parties at Native Foods Cafe in Wicker Park! 25 runners-up could win a-meal-a-week for an entire year at Native Foods, an iPod Touch, a pair of Tom's Shoes, a year subscription to VegNews magazine and more... Woo-hoo! But don't delay... The contest ENDS THIS SATURDAY July 30th, 2011 at 5pm (PST). Get in on the action HERE... and be creative... jazz it up with video, pictures, whatever!
As many of you might have heard, Greenpeace activists broke into an Australian research facility last week to destroy a crop of genetically modified wheat. The modifications included a lower glycemic index and increased fiber. Well, that doesn’t sound so bad, at first. A lowered glycemic index is good news for people with diabetes as it allows the release of sugars into the bloodstream in a slower and more regulated manner. And everyone knows fiber is good for ya’. Nevertheless, Greenpeace claimed safety issues as their motivation for scaling the fence of the research facility in the early hours of the morning and razing the crop with weed trimmers.
Jeesh! What are those suits for? And we're supposed to eat that?
So what is all the fuss about? Is genetically modified (GM) food really that bad? Acording to saynotogmos.org, this genetic engineering forces genetic information across the protective species barrier in an unnatural way. Most often this involves incorporating genetic material from viruses and bacteria into crops in an imprecise way. Animal feeding tests have shown worrying side effects, and few studies have been done to document the effects on humans. Hmm. Doesn’t sound so good.
Whatcha puttin' in that tomato? NO GMOs at Native Food Cafe!
A campaigner against the wheat effort said that the Australian government stated it would be the first country in the world by 2015 to commercialize GM wheat, in spite of the fact that polling shows that Australians don’t want to eat it. Japanese flour mills are a big market for Australian wheat, and they had made it clear they would not want to buy GM products (good for them!), which would put Australia’s huge bulk export market at risk. I say, if it aint broke, why fix it? Or in this case, if it aint broke, why genetically modify it?
Our wheat is sweet, organic and free of GMOs at Native Foods Cafe.
The agency running the trials is CSIRO, the national governmental body for scientific research. Their crop was intended for dough-baking trials to be fed to rats and pigs, with the intention of future trials involving humans. My contention is this: Should food really need extensive testing? And should it ever be perceived as hazardous such that it is not seen fit for initial human consumption? And this is beside the point that creatures with no say in their participation in these potentially dangerous trials are being forced to eat this Frankenstein faire. Yowsers! This issue is loaded with too much controversy for my tastes. Moreover, the fact that CSIRO had taken a number of precautions against possible contamination of the GMO organisms from the wheat crap is a bit frightening. They had enclosed the crop with a two-metre double reinforced fence, covered it with bird netting, and spread mouse traps throughout the site. And a two to four metre buffer zone and the ten metres beyond the fence were regularly treated with herbicide. Obviously, they perceive this “food” as potentially hazardous to health. Why would anyone ever eat this stuff?
This is NOT a welcoming sign on a field of wheat! Biohazard in my body? Not at Native Foods Cafe!
1. Can't make it over to Native Foods Cafe to get your Watermelon Fresca fix? Keep one of these Watermelon Punches, from Epically Epic Lip Balm, handy and your lips will be eternally grateful. Fresh watermelon tastiness and super moisturizing pistachio, jojoba and almond oils keep lips moisturized and oh so kissable (if you wanna be kissed that is). And there is a nice bit of tint for your pout to boot!
2. Crystalyn Kae has been designing some amazing vegan handbags for quite some time now... but she has just unveiled a new line of awesome lil' cosmetic bags (I love little bags! My big bag is filled with little bags! It is like a whole village of little bags in there!) Get one for yourself... or they make a great gift filled with some delicious watermelon lip balm and ab fab MAC eyeliner... hint hint, wink wink.
4. Pacifica is superb. They make vegan candles, body butters, body wash.... and the scents are out of this world! And now they have just introduced the Island Glow Beautiful Body Kit... (so you know... you can have a temporary glow... just when you feel like it) containing the following:
Coconut Crushed Pearl Luminizing Body Butter
Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Butter
Kona Coffee and Sugar Detox Whole Body Scrub
Coconut Pearls Luminizing Lip Quench
Or you can buy each individually.
5. The Volcolm Line of Creedlers, which is basically their way of saying sandals I guess. Sometimes you wanna wear sandals but not flip-flops, and not platforms... know what I mean? These are stylish and very summer chic.... just make sure to read what they are made of, most are vegan-friendly, but not all! My favorite is the Piece of My Mind:
What is Tempeh? A whole soy food of Indonesian origin that has culture. This food is as popular on corners of Indonesian as fried chicken joints are on American corners and I’m seeing it becomes as popular in this country…move aside fried chicken jive!
Street food in Indonesia... Is that bbq'ed tempeh I smell? Tempeh is about to take over as the next American street food!
I’ve been making my own fresh tempeh from scratch for 25 years and once you have fresh you can’t go back! The whole dried organic soybeans are soaked, hulled, cracked, boiled and then the water drained off. These cooked soybeans are then mixed with a cooked grain. I love millet. A culture/starter is then added (as you would add to sourdough bread or yogurt, miso, etc.) then the mixture is spread out about half inch thick and kept in an 85 degree clean room. The result after about 24 hours is remarkable! What were loose grains and beans is now held together solid from the mushroom like culture. Slice a piece, sauté it, season it, and watch your inner wow factor arise.
Tempeh is a superfood as it is a cultured food and gets your intestinal flora strong and that my friends in case you didn’t know is what builds a strong immune system. Now you know! Artificial sweeteners for example do the exact opposite. Now you know that too. Try it in the Scorpion Burger, Gandhi or Macro Bowl and I love to add it blackened to the Ensalada Azteca. Check out this video I made on tempeh as well:
What is Tofu? Starting with dried soybeans, they are then soaked and finely ground and boiled. The ground soybeans are now discarded and what’s left is the water which has become thick with the proteins, sugars and fats from the soybean, this is soymilk! The soymilk then gets a calcium salt added to it which makes it coagulate and form curds.* These soy curds then get compressed and then you have the final product, “tofu.”
From here it can be marinated, grilled or baked with spices. Try it in the Rockin’ Moroccan with marinated tofu or those Saigon Rolls where it is seasoned in a lemongrass marinade.
Saigon Rolls coming to the menu this summer at Native Foods Cafe
What is Seitan? Still made similarly to the way it began over 2,000 years ago in China and the Near East,. It is wheat flour that is kneaded with water and no yeast. The kneading process makes the protein in the wheat flour bind strongly, then the dough ball is submerged is water and kneaded again under the water to remove much of the starch (starch is dissolved in the water). What’s left is a stretchy-pully-chewy balll of dough that will now get simmered in a full flavored broth where it will solidify and expand and look like a roast. It is the protein of wheat.
Fresh made peppered seitan from Native Foods Cafe!
There are many versions that can be made to create different textures and spices can be added to create fun flavor profiles. BBQ Love and Oklahoma Burgers as well as Portobello Sausage and Super Italian Meatball sub give you the chance to try the varied flavors and it’s great texture. Click here for a easy seitan recipe in our blog archives.
Super Italian Meatball Sub with house made Sausage Seitan.
* In the dairy cheese making process a similar procedure happens with the cow’s milk and it is called separating the “curds from the whey.”
I missed a trip to India two years ago due to saving some sacred cows here in the U.S….rats! I was really happy to help save the cows don’t get me wrong, but I also wanted to see the rats at the Karni Mata temple at Deshnoke. It is here that people honor and feed the rats, and believe it or not, the rats spread no disease and never populate the city where the temple is situated, just the temple. Such a thing has never been heard of in human history.
In a perfect world, cows will be hanging out side of Native Foods Cafe, on a lush greenscape that is!
I somehow have a connection with these rats, maybe because I am a rat in Chinese astrology. I somehow always cheer for the underdog and the underrat and the underpigeon. Pigeons also get a bad rap for being dirty, as do rats, but they are forced to live where the humans are (who the real cause of the unclean areas, such as big cities with concrete and no natural drainage and inefficient sewer systems).
You may ask how I can go from thinking of rats and sewer systems to create a menu item that is predicted to be the best selling salad of summer. Well thereby hangs a very long tail.
Rats at the Karni Mata temple... I think that is almond milk they are drinking!
As I was thinking of India and all its history, the Ganges and Himalayas, the oldest texts and texts on medicine, yoga, astronomy, I then do what I always do and start thinking about food. In this case Indian food, my favorite part of Indian history and culture ! On my driving routes from the desert to OC and LA I have a little Indian street food place I like to stop at and get a nice cooling snacky salad item called Papri Chaat. Over the course of many quick stopovers and intimate oral dissections I would have mental conversations on how to rebuild this chaat with some more greens and veggies to give it “full meal” status.
The beginning of the food evolution to the Indian Summer Samosa Salad at Native Foods Cafe... Papri Chaat.
So one day after doing yoga and standing on my head gazing downwardly at the stars, the Indian Summer Samosa Salad idea rushed in along with the O2 to the brain.
A whispered voice in my head got louder as it said in almost a mantra-like crescendo fashion “Crunchy samosa croutons, boiled potato, soft garbanzo beans, fresh cucumber and mango with a creamy coconut jalapeno chutney style dressing on a bed of crisp romaine. “ I thought maybe I’d call it the Samadi salad but didn’t get that far.
The moral of the story is do more yoga and eat Indian Summer Samosa Salads at Native Foods Cafe (in Chicago or Southern California) while planning your trip to the temple of Karni Mata.
The Indian Summer Samosa Salad at Native Foods Cafe... Namaste.
William Ripple, a professor of forestry at Oregon State University and co-author of the report in the journal of science said “These predators and processes ultimately protect humans. This isn’t just about them, it’s about us.” The example given regarding lions and leopards in Africa was most striking. The loss of these animals to poachers has led to a surge in olive baboon populations which in turn are transferring intestinal parasites to local humans.
Native Foods Cafe
Other examples include:
• Fewer cougars in western Utah led to an explosion in deer population. The deer thus consumed more vegetation which, which lowered the path of local streams and lowered overall biodiversity.
• In the 20th century, industrial whaling led to a change in the diet of killer whales. This led the whales to eat more seal lions, seals, and otters, thus dramatically reducing population counts.
• Some of the other far reaching and surprising consequences caused by decline in predators include changes in: wildfire frequency, infectious diseases, invasive species, water quality, and nutrient cycles. Yikes! Sounds like we really need those predators!
• Wolves are my favorite animal (dogs are second, and llamas a close third!) So I was curious exactly how their loss would impact local ecosystems. It turns out their presence provides a number of ecological benefits in Yellowstone National Park including: recovery of streambank habitats, maintaining healthy wildlife herds, and providing habitat for other species by allowing aspen groves to heal from the over-grazing done by elk. So save the wolves!
Native Foods Cafe
Overall, our planet is in the midst of the sixth mass extinction. However, unlike past extinctions, the current one is driven entirely by human activity and is focused on large, or apex, predators. Changes in land use, climate, pollution, hunting, fishing, and poaching have all contributed to the problem. Lead author in the article James Estes, professor of ecology and evolution at the University of California Santa Cruz says “By looking at ecosystems primarily from the bottom up, scientists and resource managers have only been focusing on half of a very complex equation…These findings demonstrate that top consumers in the food web are enormous influencers of the structure, function, and biodiversity of most natural ecosystems.”
Once its over, its over... for real. Just ask Sue at the The Field Museum in Chicago.
Thankfully, the research done by Estes and his colleagues has big implications for conservation efforts. Because of the sheer size of most apex predators, restoring them in order to restore their associated ecosystems would necessitate conservation on a much larger scale than was previously conceived. In Estes’ words “You can’t restore large apex consumers on an acre of land. These animals roam over large areas, so it’s going to require large-scale approaches.”
So what can we do as concerned individuals and citizens of this beautiful but ailing planet? Check out some of these organizations to see how you can help!
MAC Cosmetics has confirmed that another of my favorite of their eyeliners is vegan! This makes me VERY happy. We already reported that the MAC Engraved Eye Pencil is vegan as well.... So to add another to the cruelty-free list is radical! Now MAC, if you would just create a readily available list of all your animal-free products, or just eschew animal products all together.... you would seriously rule the school... as in the school of vegan make-up wearing peeps glamorizing the world over. The MAC Ebony Eye Pencil is my favorite for lining the outside of my eyes.
Dear Ms. Allen,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your interest in M.A.C. Please accept our apology for the delay in responding to your email. We sincerely appreciate your patience and are pleased to address your correspondence now.
In response to your inquiry, the Eye Pencil Ebony does not contain animal derived ingredients.
We trust the above addresses your concern. We hope that we have the opportunity to serve you in the near future. Sincerely, Allison Cronk Response Representative Global Consumer Communications
Ever heard of the Malibu lagoon? I hadn’t either… that is until Culver City regulars Roy van de Hoek and Marcia Hanscom brought this incredible waterworld to our attention. Roy and Marcia work with the Wetlands Defense Fund, which fights to protect various wetlands along the coast of Southern California. Currently, the Wetlands Defense Fund is actively trying to Save the Malibu Lagoon from being destroyed (they are actually calling it a restoration project, but it involves completely wiping out the lagoon). The Malibu Lagoon is a 13-acre wetland teeming with wildlife that is now in a critical state due to unnatural sediments that are clogging the lagoon and causing extremely low oxygen levels. This, coupled with several invasive plant species and a period of heavy dumping in the lagoon during the 1950s and 60s, is a major cause of the unhealthy state of the Malibu Lagoon. So the proposed restoration involves draining and essentially wiping out the lagoon, and then restoring it to its original state…. which will be quite difficult after you have wiped out all the species and wildlife that call the lagoon home.
Creatures from the Malibu Lagoon!
This is where the Save the Malibu Lagoon peeps come in. They are spearheading a movement to completely halt the restoration and implement steps to naturally eradicate the invasive plants and pretty much revitalize without destroying the lagoon. Because the lagoon is the meeting point of the Malibu Creek and the Pacific, there is a pretty gnarly break there that has become world famous in the surfing community…. which has led to an outspoken opposition the Malibu Lagoon Restoration by surfers worldwide.
Surf's up at this break point year round pretty much. Chef Tanya has definitely hit these waves a few dozen times!
This whole situation kinda reminds me of the whole western medicine dilemma this day in age. I mean… you go to the doctor and say something hurts… I don’t know, let’s just say your gall bladder. Um, yeah… because its filled with gall stones…. Mostly due to your poor diet and maybe some hereditary factors as well. But instead of saying “Let’s clean up your diet and change some basic lifestyle habits and see where that gets us,” the doctor is 99% most likely to recommend…. no, insist upon, removing the gall bladder and just being done with it. Well, I’d rather keep my gall bladder and the Malibu lagoon around as they are, for the rest of my life…. And longer (not so much for my gall bladder, after I kick the bucket that is). But back the the Wetalnds Defense Fund… they are essentially trying to take the gall stones out of the Malibu Lagoon… and not take out the entire gall baladder… which will mess the whole ecosystem up as it would your anatomy… don’t let a doctor tell you different… you will miss your gall bladder just as we will mourn the loss of the Malibu Lagoon and all the creatures and plants that live there. So today, Wednesday, July 13th, we are donating a portion of profits to the Wetlands Defense Fund for our monthly Native Communty Days. And of course, of course, you get FREE dessert with the purchase of an entrée, side and drink (today only!). Some come have a Super Italian Meatball Sub with some crispy sweet potato fries, a Lavender Lemonade and piece of Native Cheesecake (the last one is on us) and celebrate the Malibu Lagoon and its natural restoration.
Chef Tanya's meatballs are out of this world. For real. Get ready for Native Foods Cafe Chicago! Vegan food in the Midwest is the best.
The Island Fox that is. And if you wanna get all scientific, they are known as Urocyon littoralis but they should really be known as utterly and undeniably super adorable… at least that is how they are processed in my mind.
No words. We are on cute overload up in here at Native Foods Cafe.
The Island Fox lives on six of the eight islands that make up the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands are a cluster of islands located around the Santa Barbara area in the Pacific Ocean. Five of the islands are part of the Channel Islands National Park, one of the richest marine biospheres in the world.
Chef Tanya has dreams of creating a hovering Native Foods Cafe that allows you to visit the wonders of the world whilst eating delicious vegan food.
145 of the 2,000 plus species that call these islands home, can be found here…. and only here. That is serious business people. Once they are gone, it’s forever. The Island Fox faces such a demise due to invasive human activities on the islands and that dang Golden Eagle! The Golden Eagle is a perfect example of how one misstep on our part can create a chain of events that can completely wipe out a species. The misstep I speak of is DDT. Yep, good ol’ DDT deemed only “moderately toxic” by the NTP and “moderately hazardous” by the WHO, yet proven to cause cancer, birth defects, diabetes, severe hormonal disorders and many more. Sounds like a sliding scale to me! Anywho, there was a rapid decline in the Bald Eagle population in the 1950s thanks to the DDT exposure.
Whoa nelly! Wrong place, wrong time?
The Golden Eagle began to populate the Channel Islands searching for new prey as it faced no opposition from competing predators. Normally, the Bald Eagle, who hunts fish, would have defended its territory forcing the Golden Eagle to take up nests elsewhere. The Golden Eagle took a quick liking to feral pigs and the Island foxes, quickly wiping out large numbers of them as the fox was ill-equipped to handle this new, intense predation. Along with new parasites and diseases brought on to the islands by mammals introduced by humans, the Island Foxes suffered a major decrease in population.
The Island Fox is now a federally protected endangered species listed as critically endangered. Serious efforts are underway to remove the Golden Eagle from the Channel Islands, vaccinate the foxes, and prevent any new species from entering the Islands that could bring along new parasites. The Friends of the Island Fox are a non-profit group focused on reviving the Island Fox’s population and ensuring their ecosystem is not disrupted by outside, controllable factors. All day today, we are donating a portion of profits to Friends of the Island Fox because they are rad, and it is our monthly celebration Native Community Days. I mean, come on… they are helping to save these uber-adorable little guys from extinction. And don’t forget, while you are chowing down to save the foxes, you can also get FREE DESSERT with the purchas of an entrée, side and drink! The foxes would tell you to order the Strawberry Shortcake Parfait…. I am quite sure of it.
Strawberry Shortcake Parfait at Native Foods Cafe! Coming soon to Chicago....
Well it starts with sugar, then you add butter, but wait if you are vegan or think butter is too expensive you hope for a substitute so you look for oil that has some saturated fats and you hear about palm oil. It may not be hydrogenated but it is saturated so you know you still shouldn’t eat too much, but man it tastes good. Gluttony wins you over and you need that cookie and completely justify your decision by knowing that palm oil is a better choice. Well let me burst your bubble Barney Rubble.
Palm oil comes from the nut of a palm tree that grows in the tropical regions of the world like Indonesia, Malaysia, Colombia, and Brazil. It’s a renewable resource you think since the fruit is harvested and the oil is extracted from the nut. Well what is bad is that when they decide to grow them in plantations they often tear down tropical rainforest and all kinds of rainforest life are destroyed when those great canopies are destroyed including the endangered orangutans. They are often just shot on site and the babies are taken for sale to wealthy Asian families as to have one as a pet is a symbol of your wealth. Oh that status thing is a hard habit to break worldwide! The moms and adult males can get shipped off for the bush meat market (go vegan already) for more $$$ .
The great peat bogs of the world are in these pristine rainforests and are drained and plowed over to create palm plantations as well. The bogs store huge reserves of carbon, which is released into the atmosphere. Oh my gosh more carbon in the atmosphere?
I wonder if there are any bogs in Chicago? Goin' on a bog hunt!
Besides butter, palm oil is being used for biofuel too, so does the good out weigh the bad? No way, the damage is greater than the potential good of the biofuel.
There is the RSPO though. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil where companies that buy the palm oil are trying to oversee this devastation and control it but has not worked to slow the problem down at all. Major company Unilever is committed to sustainable in that its large and small suppliers must convert to sustainable by 2015. Why can’t they just say 30 days, 2015 may be too late!
Plantation workers succumb to numerous human rights violations, low paw and poor working conditions. Much land theft is due to wanting to be in the palm oil business. Good news is that carbon credits projects are only sustainable and dollars made with the sustainable harvested oil is being used to finance local hospitals and women run cooperatives use the profits to reinvest in food security programs.
Indonesia is the hot spot for unsustainable palm plantations and many funds are leery of investing there. So stay away from Indonesian palm oil until they get their carbon together and are nice to people and animals.
Check out this sustainable palm oil sourced from Colombia, Daabon. It is the one we use here at Native Foods Cafe.
Native Foods Cafe The Native Foods website...yes, where you sign up for the FREE cooking demos with Chef Tanya!
PAWS The Performing Animal Welfare Society rocks and Native Foods celebrates this fabulous group the first Wednesday of each month and by donating 100% of the profits from the Native Tote Bags.
