The Vegetarian Guy

In 1981, I visited a 300 acre organic farm in Southern Michigan which housed the Creative Health Institute.  It was there that I was exposed to the early years of Live Foods as directed by the late matriarch of the movement, Ann Wigmore.  The farm grew the grains which became the sprouts in the food; full of life-enhancing enzymes, it was both energizing and healing.  The Creative Health Institute was, and continues to be, a remarkable healing center where life-giving practices are embraced.

Raw or live foods are rooted in traditions which date back to our human origins.  Before refrigeration, fermentation and enzymatic growth in food was widespread in the cuisines of world, including Roman garum sauce, Chinese soy products, Japanese pickles, Korean kimtchie, Indian dosas, Thai fish sauces and Indonesian tempeh. Sometimes cooked, sometimes raw, these foods contributed significantly to the diets of the cultures they came from. The modern raw food diet originally drew inspiration from the proto-Christian Essenes most commonly known as the sect of John the Baptist, a desert-dwelling Judaic group who used the sun to dry their sprouted manna bread.

Raw living foods help stimulate the immune system and facilitate the flow of chi energy throughout the body.  There are countless people who claim it clears the mind, balances the body and heals many illnesses.

The most common endorsement I hear is that the raw foods increases energy in daily living.  Whether one embraces the diet entirely or includes a percentage of raw food, the benefits are real.

There are probably more raw-foodies per capita in Southern California than any other part of the country.  No doubt the weather and year round availability of local fresh foods plays a significant roll.  The sensual pleasures of the palate are plentiful with thoughtfully prepared raw cuisine.  I have seen many raw food chefs to be very good with presentation and flavor.

The farmer’s markets in San Diego feature a number of live food vendors.

Here are some of them:

GreenFix Smoothie Company

Peace Pies

Koral’s Tropical Fruit Farm

Macadamia-Sunflower Hummus is a versatile recipe suitable to serve with any cuisine.  Serve it as a dip or use it as a spread in a sandwich or on a cracker.  The Basil Leaf Rolls are just one of many dishes I have used the hummus with.

Macadamia-Sunflower Hummus

1 cup raw macadamia nuts

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

2 cups water for soaking

1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup water

Place the nuts, seeds and soaking water in a container for 2 to 8 hours. Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Serve cold or room temperature.

Basil Leaf Rolls

10 large lettuce-leaf basil leaves
5 tablespoons Macadamia-Sunflower Hummus
1 San Marzano Roma tomato sliced into thin 1/4 inch wide strips

Rinse basil leaves and spin-dry in a salad spinner or pat dry with a clean cloth.  Spread 1/2 tablespoon hummus evenly on each leaf.  Place a tomato slice on one end of the leaf and roll it “roulade-style.”  Repeat with each leaf. Slice into 1/2 inch wide rolls.  Serve right away.

Vegetarian Traditions Video

Quotes from Amazon.com reviews:

All “secrets” are shared in this book. I believe this based on the quality of his recipes and the thoroughness of his descriptions. Also, if you get to meet him in person, you’ll get a sense that George is down to earth and one of those sincere, full of integrity, and patient individuals we don’t get to meet often enough. He poured everything he has in this book and it shows.

~CM

He’s holding up a beautiful fresh vegetable for you to admire, inspiring you to make the most of it in the recipe. He’s sharing memories, history, and wonderful photographs, all so engaging that you’ll read through it like a novel!  The layout of one recipe per page with the ingredients listed on the side, makes it user-friendly. The recipes are cleary written and simple to follow. The seasonings perfect. Move over Moosewood!

~JB

This has become one of my favorite cookbooks and I’m not even vegetarian. The recipes are written in such a way that they are very easy to follow, and the author has included a brief description of each recipe that is both interesting and informative.

~JG

It is a crowd pleaser for sure and i have even turned some self defined die hard meat eaters onto it at dinner parties. Highly recommended!!!

~NB

As Detroit natives, my family and I had been Inn Season Cafe fans for years. Needless to say, we were ecstatic when a friend informed us that the cookbook had just come out. This is not just a book for Inn Season fans, it’s a great cookbook for anyone who is vegan or looking to eat healthier — or just looking to expand their culinary horizons, for that matter (many of the recipes feature international cuisines and flavors). I am also gluten-free and many of the recipes are gluten-free or easily adaptable. The brown rice salad (p. 73) was a huge hit with the whole fam (veg and non-veg alike). This is a wonderful all-around cookbook, and one that I’m sure I will cherish for years to come.

~Beth

In honor of Earth Day, I chose a collection of previous blog posts as a tribute to the connection we all have with the planet.  A small reminder that everything we do can be a celebration of the earth.

How to Shop at the Farmers Market

Locavores Do It Fresher

Topsoil Tales …or Nourishing From the Ground Up

A New Victory Garden

Food and music have always been intertwined, both reflecting vibrations of life.  Our quality of life, health and longevity are determined to a great extent by the food we choose as well as the music we listen to.  I am reminded of this every time I enter the Hillcrest Farmers Market.  Markets like this have been around since man first began living in communities–a social setting where people congregate to swap wares, stories and ideas. Indeed, democracy was founded in the marketplaces (agoras) of ancient Greece; they were the center of every village, town or city.

The sounds of the market contribute to the atmosphere that makes it so appealing.  People talking and farmers hawking their wares are a melodic background to procuring the fresh produce of the day. Often, markets will invite musicians to play, adding a festive tone.

In Hillcrest, one musician stands out among the many talented people I have seen perform.  He is Santiago Orozco, a native of Columbia who resides in San Diego and brings his thoughtful music to the markets of San Diego each week.  The positive message of his music intertwines with the market sounds in beautiful harmony, uplifting spirits and enticing people to return.  It is not uncommon to see people spontaneously break into a dance upon hearing his well-crafted Latin inspired rhythms.

Santiago’s views of music, life, food and community are full of compassion and generosity which are felt each time he strums his guitar and sings his songs.  His music complements my cuisine as it is full of flavor and vitality, at the same time re-assuring and comforting.

In his own words, Santiago talks about his life and music:

Santiago Todo Mundo…

“Life is music. The World is music. This story started in Colombian when I was 13 years old.  I started jamming with a old guitar that was in my home, without any expectations or intentions. Since that time life began to take me down the music path. One day I just woke up and realised my whole life was about walking, swimming and flying into the deep of the music ocean. With music, a passion  for travel started to light my heart. Learning about cultures, people, places, colors, flavors, and views, I started to find myself, and build music from the roots of my travels and experiences.

My music talks about life, the social situation,the people, the experiences, the feelings, love, moments, dreams, in fact, talks about the huge life of every person. It talks about the big World that every human carries inside himself. The beautiful song that everyone is in this short life. I am a singer, guitar player and songwriter. Drawing from reggae and Bossa nova, to Rumba, flamenco, Colombian Styles, ballads and a little bit of rock. Singing songs in French, Spanish, English and Portuguese. My music is a mix of styles from all around the world, soft and calm or full of energy.

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I have worked many years in the music world, solo and with many bands. I am always mixing with the different rhythms of the world. I was born in Colombia, studied in Argentina, and have traveled in Brazil and the USA. I take music from every place and mix it to make a beautiful combination of flavors.

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The most important reason I make music is to give a message, a positive message for the crazy and hard moments of this life . I express many ideas and feelings in songs.  I find it wonderful to share music with travelers and people from different countries, to change the moment for them in their journey, but also for the locals too, for sure! Anyway, every person is a traveler and a walker in some way.  It doesn’t matter if  they go to other places or not.  I think it’s beautiful to share with people from other cultures. I am a traveler also, so I decided to make music with this spirit.  I feel that when you travel, your music get richer, full of colors and flavors. Always learning about the places where you are walking. I make music like a little trip, like a voyage.

My project its called “Todo Mundo” which means all the World, and that is just how I feel about the music, like it is all the World together, a mix, one heart beating, one air, one wave.  Playing from the organic street to stages, acoustic or electric, solo or with a band, my music invites the listeners to travel, dance, feel and think. We are Todo Mundo. We are music, our life is the best song play ever, the radio is the World……”

Superfoods for better living!

I prepare food based on culinary traditions from around the world.  The dishes are healthy, full of flavor and enriched with the vitality of the freshest local ingredients.

Springtime is an ideal time to jump start your health by adding the wonders of the early Spring “super foods” to your diet.  At local markets across the country, the farmers are bringing in their bounties–a reflection of the powerful, regenerative energy of the earth. Every Sunday I marvel at the variety of freshly harvested produce at my local farmer’s market in San Diego–the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market.  One of my spring favorites, organic asparagus, disappears early, so I try to arrive before the large crowds and am always thrilled to find I haven’t missed them.

Asparagus, one of the healthiest vegetables,  acts as a diuretic and is full of vitamin K and folates.  It helps to lower blood pressure, reduces arthritic inflamation, promotes cellular rejuvenation and has anti-cancer properties.  The perfect resume for a vegetable.

Otherwise known as “baked-in-parchment,” en papillote is a wonderful method for cooking vegetables quickly while infusing flavor and retaining nutrients.  I thought we would cook my treasured asparagus en papillote for a quick lunch. The entire process took 30 minutes and that included preheating my Wolf oven to 400 degrees convection.  If you do not have a convection oven, preheat it to 425 degrees.

Last Sunday at the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market in San Diego, Phil Noble of Sage Mountain Farm was showing passersby a large shoot of elephant garlic. He was explaining the colossal versatility of the leek look-alike which is only available a few weeks in the Spring when the shoots are young and tender. The mature oversized bulb is usually found in stores labeled as a mild alternative to the traditional garlic bulb. Phil said that every part of the shoot can be used in cooking–from the tentacle-like roots to the top of the dark green shoots.

Back at home, I began lunch preparation, anxious to incorporate my latest find. Since it is mild, elephant garlic can be used in greater quantity without the fear of being the “stinking rose.” I thinly sliced the white portion of the elephant garlic and braised it with some baby beets (also from Sage Mountain Farm), a little extra virgin olive oil, a small amount of water and then I covered and simmered it for about 20 minutes. The tiny beets became tender morsels still attached to the buttery soft beet greens.

I also prepared elephant garlic-herb tofu by sautéing firm tofu with a little extra virgin olive oil. As the tofu turned golden brown, I added dried basil, elephant garlic roots and premium tamari (Nama Shoyu from Goldmine Natural Foods). To serve, I garnished it with slivers of the green top of the garlic shoot. The firm meatiness of the tofu was nicely complemented by the seared herb flavor and the slight pungency of the garlic. The tender roots retained a slight crunch, enhancing the texteral landscape of the dish.

As a third dish, I prepared sautéed red amaranth from La Milpa Organica with minced white elephant garlic, crushed red pepper and coarse sea salt. As the amaranth wilted, I added the Sage Mountain asparagus, covered the pan and turned the heat down to a simmer. Served with freshly baked bread, a Fuerte avocado from our tree and a beautiful salad of Sun Grown Organic sprouts, the meal was at once delightful and energizing.

Vegetarian traditions are as old as humanity and are the key to longevity in cultures where disease is diminished. Central to these traditions are local, fresh and organic foods. By supporting local markets, we bolster our health while sustaining the planet for future generations.

Nicolina Alves talks about her family farm.  Red walnuts (which I am addicted to) are only a portion of their high quality organic produce.