Native Foods Blog

5 Reasons to Vegan this Week!

By Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

 

1.  You are in Chicago and feeling maniacal  Go to Veganmania! Nov. 5 , 10am- 5pm, Pulaski Park Fieldhouse.  A  celebration where the non-vegans have the most fun! Vegan food, great music, vegan products, vegan doctors, vegan lawyers (can you imagine?!... and you can even meet Tofu Man (we think he’s a lawyer in disguise).

Join Native Foods Cafe at VeganMania this year!

2.  Easier now to get a great vegan meal at a banquet function   While I was fortunate to receive the Universal Courageous Heart Award for helping animals from the uber compassionate man and fab musician Barry Manilow, the highlight was the vegan gourmet dinner the Westin in Rancho Mirage served! Still dreaming about that fresh warm cobbler with cream dessert!

Native Foods Cafe uses this photo courtesy of TIME from the Farm Sanctuary Gala.

3.  November is American Diabetes Month  Besides that it kills more people each year than breast caancer and AIDS combined and soon 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes! 79 million now at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. A simple change to eating a delicious vegan diet can be the solution!  

Try the Portobello and Sausage Burger at Native Foods Cafe!

4.  TV dinners! If that’s what was keeping you from going vegan you can thank Joy and Bart from Candle Cafe and Candle 79 in NYC.  Whole Foods is now carrying  a line of their frozen vegan entrees.  Yum yum. 

5. You are a French rebel  So France afraid of losing their gourmand culture to veg heads is now not allowing schools to serve veg or vegan meals. Come on now let them eat tofu…il ne vraiment pas de justice! 

 
Hungry veg pupils just want delicious vegan food in the form of Scorpion Burgers from Native Foods Cafe.

 

 

 

 

In the Spotlight: Kent, Constance, & Luna Marie

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

Kent Katich and Constance Marie have been coming to Native Foods for a realllllly long time… maybe since the beginning!  Now they bring Luna Marie with them, which we love because she is one of the coolest kids ever.  When asked how Luna Marie has changed his life, Kent replied, “I have to talk to people now because she asks everyone, and their dogs, their names.”  A true animal lover!  No wonder we like her so much.  And Kent is hands down one of my favoritest customers ever... mainly because he wears a F*** Meat shirt, which his fabulous wife Constance gifted him.

 

Where are you from?

Kent: Centerville, Iowa    Constance: Los Angeles

 

What is your sign?

Kent: Taurus

Constance: Virgo… and I mean Virgo, if you know what I mean

 

What inspired you to become vegan?

Kent: My basketball idol Pete Maravich. He was vegan so I gave up meat & fast food.  I was 19.

Constance: When I shot the movie Selena I had to hold a chicken for about 4 hours and gave it up

 

What exactly do you do for a living?

Kent: I own a yoga studio in Westwood and am a yoga coach for college & professional athletes… and just about anyone committed to practicing yoga.

Constance: Proud to saying I'm a working actress. Check out 'Switched at Birth on ABC Family on Monday night or George Lopez in reruns.

 

And how exactly did you get such an awesome job?

Kent: I took my two favorite things, yoga & basketball, and became the yoga coach for the LA Clippers

Constance: I was discovered while being a dancer on tour with David Bowie

 

What animal would you like to come back as?

Kent: Black Panther

Constance: Butterfly

 

What is your favorite current menu item at Native Foods Café?  

Kent: lately… Sesame Kale Macro Bowl

Constance: Baja Surf tacos or Twister wrap....hmmm

 

What is your favorite Native Foods dessert?  

Unanimously… the Chocolate Cupcake

 

Do you have any pets?

2 cats named Cinco and Little Guy and 2 goldendoodle dogs named Stella and Betty. Cinco is available if anyone is looking. Just kidding...sorta.

 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Kent: A kid again

Constance: A movie star

 

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Kent: Galts Gulch in Ayn Rand’s book Atlas Shrugged or the house I live now in Santa Monica 

Constance: Tuscany, Italy. Pace is slower, food is yummy

 

What was your first concert ever?

Kent: The Spinners 1979

Constance: Doobie Brothers

 

What is your family’s favorite meal to prepare at home?

Veggie tacos. Or Taco Tuesday...only because our child loves saying "its Taco Tuesday”

 

What do you do in your free time?

Kent: Pick up on dog crap, scoop litter and walk my dogs. Is that considered free?

Constance: Hope for more free time

 

5 Reasons to Vegan this Week!

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

 

1. Cleos!  The new chocolate peanut butter cups from Go Max Go Foods... They already make some outstanding vegan candy bars that are sure to please any sweet, gooey, chocolately, candy craving... and now peanut butter cups!  Thanks guys, we really appreciate it.

2.  VegNews Vacations!  With destinations like Thailand, India, Mexico and beyond... there is somewhere for everyone.  Explore a new country and its delectable vegan cuisine with Joe and Colleen from VegNews.  I am totally saving for that trip to India so I can finally see the Rat Temple that Chef Tanya always talks about.  And check out the VegNews magazine as well for the latest and greatest in the world of vegan.

3.  Earth Balance Coconut Spread.  This has officially replaced all butter and oil in my kitchen.  I LOVE it.  It is pretty much like coconut oil with salt and a lil' easier to spread.

 

4. This amazing tote from Food Fight.  Enough said.  Leave the lambs alone.  Oh, and Food Fight is an amazing all-vegan grocery store in Portland.  Can't wait for Native Foods Cafe in Portland! 

5.  Cool Kids... that are Vegan!  We've met so many this week and they all rule.  They rule hardcore.

 

 

 

In the Spotlight: Cathy Liss from Agua Caliente Elementary School

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

Cathy Liss is a long time Native Foodie and friend of Chef Tanya.  She also runs the Organic Garden Project at Agua Caliente Elementary School in Coachella Valley.  She is awesome.  Here is the full interview from the In the Spotlight section of the Native Foods Newsletter.

This Liss Lettuce Farm at Agua Caliente!

 

 

Where are you from?  Born in Los Angeles at the original Cedars of Lebanon Hospital 

What is your sign?  Aquarius, the water bearer.  I loved SCUBA and oceanography in my youth.

If you were to come back as an animal what would you LIKE it to be? A bottle-nosed dolphin--- I really want to know the secrets of the deep ocean.

If you were to come back as an animal what do you THINK it would be?  Possibly an owl...I enjoy the visual perspective and really take in my physical surroundings.  

Teaching composting with Headstart .

Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names? I have a senior rescue blind Schnauzer with three legs and diabetes—Fergus is the most loving, people-oriented animal.  I also have an 11 year old rescue cat named Pete who is extremely mischievous, determined, and stubborn..!!  I just found homes for my rosy boa and my tarantula.  They’ve gone on to other lives.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why? Any smallcommunity with an ocean near by.  I truly LOVE the desert and its flora and fauna, but I do miss the easy access of the ocean.

What is your favorite current menu item at Native Foods Café? Hard to choose...!!  I love the wraps, bowls, quinoa, Native Cheese, Boogie Bars;  I’ve taken classes with Tanya and brought my two adult sons and my mother.  We’re longtime fans from way back at M.T. Plate.

What is your favorite dessert? Key Lime Parfait (from the cookbook) and Boogie Bars (also in the cookbook!)

Fresh citrus from the garden!

 

What is your favorite part of working with the kids and the organic garden project at Agua Caliente? It is just soo amazing to watch kids explore the beds and discover how to dig for potatoes or carrots or green and purple beans.  We rinse them and eat them on the spot.  The preschool Headstart students picked fresh lettuces and radishes every day for over a month and made salad for their snacks.  I watched how they move seedlings that were interspersed to locate radish shoots; then they gently moved soil to see how large the radishes were before they harvested.  They were so talented at finding the big, ready ones....

What inspired you to become a teacher? I just always loved to learn, loved the challenge of discovery and watching how children absorbed knowledge and the thrill of mastery of some new skill.

What is your favorite thing about living in the desert? I am forever in awe of the desert flora---it’s complexity, stamina, and its  brilliant, yet  fleeting bloom.  I also adore spiders, snakes, and birds so desert is the perfect environment for me.

What is your favorite vegetable? Eggplant, kale, okra.

  Carrots rule the school!!!

 

Dad, You're Rad... and Vegan too!

by Christopher Arnett 

Native Foods Cafe

Fathers Day is here, and so we should take some time to show dear ol’ dad just how much we love and appreciate him. We admire our fathers, and we especially admire them if they’re vegan! The following is a list of some special dads who are committed to a cruelty-free and healthful way of eating:

Nathan Kozuskanich: Better known as Vegan Dad, Mr. Kozuskanich is a popular blogger in the vegan world who posts on the real dishes his family eats. As with our own families, he is often constrained by time and so his recipes range from incredibly inventive to quick and easy family favorites. Some of his most popular creations are his faux meats, which include such delicious carnivore favorites such as buffalo “wings” and “turkey” roast. The recipes listed on his blog are easy to make and convenient enough for any workday at-home meal. His culinary creations also draw inspiration from other cultures, and he has recently delved into baking. His blog follows the responses of his children to his meals and shows the meals he’s cooked up, daily. Those are some lucky kids!

 

Toby Maguire: Mild-mannered actor and father of two by day, and super-vegan by— well, all other times! Toby has been a dad since 2007 and a vegan since 2009 (though he was vegetarian since 1992). This cruelty-free father has gone so far as to remove the leather interior of his car, remove all leather items from his house, and even insists that guests remove leather items like shoes and belts upon entering! Tobey truly stands up for his beliefs, just like his on-screen Spider-Man persona. So have a happy Fathers Day and keep it up, Mr. Maguire!

Anthony Kiedis: The stylin’ and morally-conscious frontman of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has been a dad since 2007. A vegetarian since the 80’s, Anthony became a full- fledged vegan in 2008, and that same year won the Sexiest Vegetarian Man award from PETA! Learning about the worldwide depletion of ocean fish populations and receiving a recommendation from his doctor for a healthy vegan diet for his son helped to seal the deal for Anthony. May he always make music and always be vegan!

Jarid Manos: Father, athlete, speaker, founder of the Great Plains Restoration Council, and author of Ghetto Plainsman. In his book, he chronicles his journey as a broken man who finds meaning in life by seeing his connection to all forms of life. He has also helped to found the new Ecological Health movement, which helps young people heal themselves by healing the damaged prairies and plains of America’s heartland. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Black Vegetarian Society of Texas. Whew! Is there anything this vegan dad can’t do?

And don't forget to swing by your nearest Native Foods Cafe for Chef Tanya's latest creation, The Big Daddy Dagwood.  And don't forget to bring your dad!  Available on Father's Day only.

Thinly sliced original seitan, caramelized onions, melted cheddar, avocado, tomatoes, pickles, mustard & creamy horseradish on grilled marble rye. Comes with a mound of fresh garlic fries!

The Three S's: Slow Food, School Gardens, Scorpion Burgers

By Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

What better to do on a day in May than have a "fun"raiser for school gardens? That's exactly what Slow Food Desert Cities chapter did with numerous restaurants in the Coachella Valley yesterday and Native Foods Cafe participated by showing off and introducing to many the slowest food of all, tempeh! My tagline for the day was "Tempeh is so slow, it stops."

The Slow Food movement is all about sustainable and local foods and the worlds greatest sustainable protein food is tempeh, then if you add the word "delectable," while eating a Native Foods Cafe Scorpion Burger,one can begin to understand that saving the planet is easy. 

Chef Tanya and the Scorpion bites with homemade tempeh!

All the restaurants had tables set up around the kid's garden display from Cathy Liss' class from Aqua Caliente elementary school. There was a restaurant with a chalk board in the shape of a pig serving pork, this scared me so I took the table farthest away and right next to the musicians! While my voice is hoarse from explaining the beauty of tempeh next to the speaker, the perks were getting to dance while talking about tempeh and was able to explain the cause of the dancing was due to the "happy" spirit that comes about when eating this Indonesian in origin soul food.

Henry Fenwick, food writer for The Desert Sun and avid slow foodie even began to dance after his Scorpion craving was fulfilled!!

  Garden girl on her second helping of Native Foods Cafe Scorpion burger sample!

Henry Fenwick, fab food writer, right before he started dancing due to bite of Native Foods Cafe Scopion Burger!

 

The Vegan Soup with Chef Tanya at Native Foods Cafe

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

 

The February Cooking Demos at Native Foods Cafe were funtastic thanks to all the Natives who came out in Culver City, Tustin, and Palm Springs!  I decided to share some body warming recipes as it has been a little chilly in Southern California the past few weeks...  and one pot meals sounded super satisfying and they are great for sharing.  Vegan soups and stews are wonderful ways to explore the seasonal vegetables at the farmer's market or use up what's left in the fridge.  Below is the Tomato Garlic Bread Soup that was one of the two soups featured in Native Foods Cafe Cooking Demos.  Also, I've shared a sweet treat... Chocolate Banana Baked Pudding... that's right vegan baked pudding!

Natives come in all sizes!  Hangin' with Chef Tanya Petrovna at Native Foods Cafe in Tustin.

Mmmmmmm... Vegan Tomato Garlic Bread Soup at Native Foods Cafe... Chef Tanya just made my day!

Clara in Veganland: The Interview

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe Tribe Member

Have you checked out our latest newsletter?  If not, you should!  It is chocked full of facts, fun stuff, and recipes from Chef Tanya's secret stash.  In our February Newsletter, we featured 13-year-old blogger, vegan cupcake baker, and lovely lady Clara Polito.  Her and her mom Colleen swung by Westwood for a leisurely lunch with me and some delicious pizzas and I really got to pick Clara's super-smart brain. Unfortunately, we could only fit so much on the printed newsletter so I wanted to share the entire interview with you guys.

Where are you from?  Moorpark, CA

What is your sign?  Pisces

What inspired you to become vegan?  I’ve been vegetarian my whole life.  A couple of years ago, I read about how eating eggs and dairy really wasn’t vegetarian at all.  The baby cows are taken away from their mothers and it is terrible… that just really struck me and I decided to become vegan.

What inspired you to start your blog?  Originally, my blog was mostly about fashion and music.  But when I became vegan in 2009, I started focusing more on vegan issues.  Ideas for my blog come from my monthly playlist of music, politics, and the news in general.

How old were you when you started baking?  I have always baked my entire life.  When I was younger, I mostly used boxed mixes… But when I became vegan , I started baking from scratch and found it to be just as easy!

What is you favorite cupcake flavor?  Neopolitan, Tiramisu, and Ding-Dongs!

If you were to come back as an animal what would you LIKE it to be? A Grizzly Bear

If you were to come back as an animal what do you THINK it would be?  Probably a Pig!  I love pigs… and I am kind of messy, I like to eat a lot, and I can be moody.

Do you have any pets?  Yes! Dogs: Rosa, Juan Pablo, Luna, and Liberty

What do you want to be when you “grow-up”?  Journalist, Filmmaker, Record Label Owner, Head of the Native Foods Café Baking Department

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?  Brooklyn, NY

What is your favorite menu item at Native Foods Café?  Chicken Run Ranch Burger

What is your favorite dessert?  Definitely the Pumpkin Pie during the holidays.

What are your favorite bands?  No Age, Best Coast, La Sera & Radiohead

What was your first concert ever?  Gwen Stefani

 

Check out Clara’s website: www.claracakes.com and order some of these crazy delcious cupcakes!

Hello Daddy, Hello Mom.... I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb flavored cupcake!

and her blog: www.clarainveganland.blogspot.com

Stay tuned Chef Tanya Petrovna and Clara Polito interviewing each other... It's gonna be a hoot!

And just cuz Clara likes No Age so much and Dean from No Age has been a long time friend of Native Foods... here is one of their videos.  Enjoy!

  

 

Vegetables: Better than any Growth Hormone on the Market

 

This is a video shot for Intermountain Healthcare's LiVe campaign.  Great video... short, sweet, and sooooo true.  Check out the vegetables this kid is being served: gorgeous!  And I'm pretty sure that is a glass of fresh pressed almond milk.  Chef Tanya Petrovna, and the rest of the tribe at Native Foods Cafe, approve this message.

 

 

Top Six Things To Have In Your Kitchen Cupboards!

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

 

I had a great night last night in Anaheim Hills at the Fairmont School speaking at their Chalktalk series. Families, great staff, some Natives and some future Natives were in the crowd.

Chef Tanya with two future Native Foods Cafe regulars!

 

We discussed healthy eating tips and we realized it's not what your kitchen can do for you, it's what you can do in your kitchen. These six things I thought everyone with kids (and without) should have in their arsenal and always close at hand to keep eating well a simple task.

 

1. Oatmeal-Quick for a snack, a great breakfast with some berries and walnuts for you and the kids.

Chef Tanya throws rolled oats in the Boogie Bars at Native Foods Cafe.

2. Legumes-These are lentils, garbanzos, black and red beans. Keeps your engine on. You can use to make ethnically diverse dishes. Think Mexican black beans, East Indian Lentils, Middle Eastern garbanzos, etc.

Oooohhh garbanzos... in the new Italian Wedding Salad on the Native Foods Cafe Winter Menu.

3. Dark Leafy Greens-Steam them, saute them, chop them in salads, add them to your cooked beans for a hearty soup.

It is easy to have a love affair with kale... just ask Gandhi or the Greek Gyro, on the menu at Native Foods Cafe.

4. Fresh Berries- an easy to eat fruit, kids can snack on them and they go good in the oatmeal.

Fresh blueberries top the decadent Native Cheesecake...

5. Avocados-The California wonderfood. Slice them, spread them, guac them.

Oh avocade... you are so creamy and dreamy.  I'd add you to just about anything...

6. Olive oil-Ready to make a fresh easy salad dressing or saute some onions and garlic for a flavor base for your grains, legumes, veggies and soups.

  Olive oil makes a great hair conditioner too!

 

Chalk one up for healthy kids and parents!

Chef Tanya Petrovna of Native Foods Cafe doing her thang!