Life's Colorful Palate

Friendship Dahlia

Last month, I took my first cooking class at the Moores Cancer Center in La Jolla.  I came to know the classes through a friend at 50 Friends Vineyard, Susan Faerber, who not only teaches the healthy cooking classes, but is also the WHEL (Women's Healthy Eating & Living) Study Project Director at the Cancer Center.  Click on The Healthy Eating Program for more info, as well as a class schedule.

Meeting Susan was yet another happy accident.  Not only did I learn a wealth of information on the benefits of phytochemicals, but I also added a bunch of healthy, delicious recipes to my cooking arsenal, some of which have come in very handy during this whole raw thing.  Stay tuned for a few of those recipes.

July's Class was even more thrilling - a class on healthy grilling tips - and to add to its allure, it was held at the Organic Gardens in National City.  Not only does the property boast a beautifully restored Princess Ann Victorian Home (built in 1896), it is also features a half acre organic garden, as well as a smaller Childrens' Garden used for education by local schools.


The Walton Estate (Now owned by the International Community Foundation)



Chidrens' Garden

 The Gardens are rich in history, being formerly owned and restored by Christy Walton, widow of the late Wal-Mart Heir, John Walton.  In 2006, Walton donated the home to the nonprofit International Community Foundation.  The story of how she came to embrace organic food and create the gardens for the health of an ailing son is both heartwarming and inspiring.  For more of the story, click here.

Every July, nestled on the pool terrace above the gardens, Susan holds what she affectionately refers to as her "Thrill of the Grill" cooking class.  Susan is a dynamic speaker and it is clear she enjoys educating people on how to create health through food education and preparation.  As we stepped down to the pool area, the smell of the rosemary in her Brick Grilled Chicken On a Bed of Fresh Herbs permeated the air.  Happy nose. 

Susan begins each class with a playful quiz, to help dispell common myths and educate her students, before digging into the cooking portion of the class.   She spoke about how to prevent carcinogenic charring and fumes, mostly by avoiding dripping fat over an open flame (cooking over indirect flame is much safer.  She talked about using barriers for the food, like herbs soaked in water, or cedar planks.  She also provided an informational handout, a list of grilling foods, how to prepare them, and their typical cook time. 

As the intro to her recipes handout states, "Barbecuing gets a bad rap sometimes as being the domain of fatty meats and high-calorie sauces, but the truth of the matter is that smoking and grilling don't add fat to a dish, only flavor.  With the right ingredients, the outdoor cooker can be the focus of cooking for a healthy diet."  Sounds, and smells, pretty good to me.

On to the food!  As she does in every class, Susan provided us with something to tantalize the tastebuds and snack on during the class, in this case a delicious Gazpacho (salad in a cup!), perfect for our current raw diet.  Gazpacho can be made many ways, but the flavors in this one practically leapt out of my cup and into my mouth, dancing a jig on my tongue.

Healing Foods Kitchen Gazpacho

1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, preferably heirloom variety, roughly chopped
1/2  pound cucumbers, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 green bell pepper (I used red because I prefer them)
2 scallions (white and green) roughly chopped
1/4 jalapeno, stemmed and chopped with seed, if you like heat
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (1/2 small bunch)
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups chilled tomato juice
4 ice cubes

On a cutting board, lightly sprinkle the garlic with a pinch of salt and smash it into a paste with the side of a chef knife.  Mix the garlic, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, scallion, jalapeno, parsley, and mint in a large bowl.  Season with the salt and pepper, to taste.  Stir in the olive oil and sherry and toss well.

Add half the vegetable mixture to the blender and pulse.  Add half the tomato juice and two ice cubes.  Pour into a large bowl.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour for the flavors to come together.

Divide among chilled soup bowls and serve.  Makes about 8 one cup servings.

This is the Gazpacho I made using Susan's recipe the following day.  I garnished with fresh avocado to make it a full meal.

The recipes that followed were no shrinking violets.  There was Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Butter and Fresh Lime, with habanaro in the butter for a little kick.  Grilled Sweet Potato and Scallion Salad was prepared using large diced chunks of sweet potatoes cooked in a grilling basket.  While the Sweet & Spicy Grilled Cedar Planked Salmon cooked, we took a tour of the grounds, and I was finally able to retrieve my camera from the car.

As we descended into the garden, the sweet smell of damp hay and fertilizer, along with minty herbs, filled my nose.  It became readily apparent that this garden is less about manicured aesthetics and more about quality and substance, as well as agricultural harmony.  I saw plants I had never seen before, like this one:

 
 Which apparently is a Passion Fruit blossom.  The enjoyment of the garden was enhanced by company, our friends Jim and Carmen, whose son had gone to school with the Waltons' as well as the gardner, Martha's, children, back when they were of elementary age.  Carmen enhanced the experience with stories of their days there, and the joy of the children playing in the garden.  Her niece, Maria, visiting from Mississippi, intrigued me with her horticultural knowledge and love for the plants (it was she who educated me on the purple alien above).

In the flower garden, the Goddess of the Sea faces the ocean, bringing a sacred appeal to the grounds.

After the tour, we returned to the pool area and feasted on the evening's offerings, a very indulgent and pleasurable experience after having been two weeks raw.  The only regret was we hadn't brought any wine.  We will be well prepared for next year.  Thanks to Susan, the Healthy Eating Program, and the International Community Foundation, as well as our friends who made it such a great evening.

The Raw Human Experience

"Even a brick wants to be something!"
                                   -Louis Kahn

The Raw Revolution has continued well into July, with a new challenge being set among four friends that we could remain all raw, all vegan, for the entire month of July.  First we allowed ourselves the enjoyment of July 4th weekend, before delving into our new found discipline.  This about sums up the spirit of that weekend:

And... then the fun was over.  Just kidding.  Sort of.  Then the fun began.

Raw has naturally defined cleaning out our closets in many ways, because, at least to a foodie, the learning curve on how to shop and plan meals is pretty steep.  I mean, anyone can eat an apple, but to prepare it in an interesting way that is still beneficial and feeds the creative side in the kitchen, is a whole new ball game.  If you are wondering how it's going, it can be evidenced by my lack of recent posts that it is, to say the least, a bit challenging.  Our household is three weeks in now, and we have adjusted pretty well at this point, with lingering headaches fading into the background and food preparation becoming more habit and less hassle.  I would have liked to document more of the road we have traveled, but as they say, life (or in this case, work) happens.  It is my hope I get a chance for some recap and to share what I consider some valuable information in the near future.

The whole hairbrained idea was conceived by Hillari and I the week before July 4th, as we lunched over our Venice sandwiches at 1134 and dished about health and wellness.  Despite OMPlate focusing on fresh food, we were still finding ourselves faced with the vicious up-down cycle of dinner, wine, and a groggy a.m. wearing a coffee i.v. matched by a weak promise to be more cognizant of our limits the next go around.  As we all know, old habits die hard.

I knew we were onto something when, a couple of days into the raw commitment, this appeared in the twilight sky over our patio:

No rain in sight, just a beautiful spectrum hovering above.

Let me assert:  abject repetition is boring.  Human creativity thirsts for dynamism and this is no different when it comes to repeating patterns that no longer serve us.  Yes, we thirst for celebration.  And it's important.  But my party hankering dries up when I observe myself becoming loathe to engage in normal daily activities simply because I overdid it the night before - in food and beverage -  yet again.  I am particularly sensitive to this when I notice it affecting my parenting.  My five-year-old need not pay for my lack of discipline.

More and more my body reminds me that old habits no longer serve me.  And I am committed to drinking life in, which is why it was time to go dry.  At least for a while.  I am not a brick, but I certainly want to live more intelligently than one.  And as we are the architects of our bodies, minds and souls, there comes a time to begin stacking things in our favor, and the favor of loved ones.  Plus moving to a raw lifestyle means vice is traded for the intense pleasure of eating foods packed with flavor and nutrients, as well as having energy at an even keel. 

Every raw blog I read going into this said that once you adjust to the raw diet, you will not longer crave most cooked foods.  I dare say they are right.  Not that I haven't had my moments of allowing the pendulum to swing back the way it came.  Hey, I'm no brick, I'm human.

Soul Food
Beyond nutrition, it is important to surround ourselves with those who encourage us to keep our lives fresh, people who remind us it is not just ok to continually evolve, but ideal.  Worlds open up when we bring ourselves to form partnerships with people who help us grow in leaps and bounds, and come ever closer to living with the Four C's: Clarity, Coherence, Creativity and Compassion.  And even though I just made those up, I like the sound of them.

I tend to surround myself with optimists because to me, dissent will creep on its own, like a dark mist, into any situation if given an open door, so why encourage it?  Positive thinking is contagious.  It's the flower that bears the juicy fruit in life.  My friend, Hillari, is full of optimism, and celebrates the human condition like no one else I know.  Her sisterhood has been an important part of my own personal growth.  And I know I am not alone in this.  She offers her guidance and friendship to many.  She makes it clear that obstacles are simply perceived, and if we put our minds to it, we are all capable of greatness.  Plus she meets, and often exceeds, my wackiness tenfold.

Example:  If I told Hillari I had a dream that I was abducted by E.T.s and had been impregnated with an alien child, and awoke to discover that it was not a dream at all but had actually occurred, without skipping a beat she would say, "and what do you plan to name the little hybrid?"  Can't help but love someone like that.  So thank you Hillari.

 Hmmmm..?

Having the support of her friendship, and well as that of her husband, Kai (with whom my significant other, Alec, has formed quite the bromance - more on that later - er, not that you were hoping for that), has helped us not only stick with this experiment, but thrive.  Kai and I have been busy coming up with recipes to thrill the tastebuds and keep us out of raw monotony (would that be rawnotony?), with all of us reaping the benefit of exploring something that contributes to overall health and well being.  No, one does not need to be an absolute purist, but allowing ourselves the discomfort of breaking from our normal routine to approach something with open curiosity - not because because we have to, but simply because we can - is truly a gift worth celebrating.  Hillari and Kai together make up soul food, so I suppose it is appropriate that I am writing this post today, on their 13th Anniversary.  Alec and I certainly celebrate your love and friendship today.

So there goes the rare dissertation.  On a more serious note, there are many health and environmental considerations when it comes to making our food choices.  I will have more on that soon, as well as a thought-provoking take on our hunter-gatherer instincts.  Ciao for now!