Here is the recipe for our special Valentine's day item we had at the cafes on Wednesday! If you missed it's one night only appearance at Cafe Gratitude, then try making a special meal with this rawesome recipe here!
Ingredients:
Escarole, Endive and Romaine with Strawberries, Heirloom Tomatoes and Murcott Mandarins in a Coconut-Mango dressing.
With the onset of Spring (La Pimavera) I was inspired to take on committing to a 100% raw vegan diet for one full year to cleanse, regenerate and see what amazing possibilities this food program could create in my life. At the same time I am also looking at a way to simplify my diet and am following a low-fat raw vegan diet that is very similar to Dr. Douglas Graham’ “80-10-10” used extensively by vegan athletes with amazing results. The 80-10-10 program is 80% carbohydrates (which translates to fruit in a raw vegan context), 10% protein (leafy green vegetables) and 10% fats (avocados, olives, nuts and seeds). So far I am very inspired by how I feel and the new ideas this new paradigm creates for me as a chef!
Salad: Wash and chop an interesting mix of salad greens. In this recipe I used escarole, curly endive and romaine lettuce but feel free to add in your favorites: spinach, radicchio, frisee, dandelion greens…the more exotic the better!
If you are like me you always loved a creamy latte drink to start off your day, or any time of day for that matter. Now that I don’t drink the caffeine, don’t want the sugar, soy milk and artificial flavors served up at most cafe’s (not to mention most of those drinks were way too sweet for my taste buds) I have fallen in love with my home made, vegan and herbal version. Not only is it caffeine free but it has an herbal backbone (which could be any herbal tea infusion you love) giving it a nutritive and tonic chemistry. It is perfectly sweet, creamy, frothy, warm and really easy to make – highlighting the wonderful quality that hemp seeds have of not needing to be strained! This warming morning elixir changes with my mood and often the season. When it’s really cold I like making an herbal chai base which provides deep internal warmth with the use of fresh ginger, cinnamon, black pepper and other warming spices. Lately I have been really into a carob mocha, which features the coffee flavor extract from Medicine Flower, a completely caffeine free organic, cold pressed flavor extract providing aromatic coffee flavor notes for those who like me LOVE the flavor, but not how the drink leaves me feeling……This extract is AMAZING stuff to say the least, and the drink perfectly divine in my humble opinion!!!
Here’s how I make it:
Seven years ago today I was 19 years old and running away from a flirtatious and awkward 18 year old boy who wouldn't give up on me. For months prior I kept giving hints that I wanted to be friends and nothing else. I felt weird that he wasn't getting it, and I wasn't certain enough to outright tell him.
We met online. I was desperate for a roommate at the time and he thought that I was interesting. I met him at my favorite smoothie/tea shop and he gave me my favorite movie on DVD (which he bought in preparation for our first meeting) before I even sat down. He quickly became one of my best friends and we started working together dressing up as Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam for a tax company (which was far beyond his comfort zone, but allowed him to be close to me). He obviously wasn't having a good time dressing up and waving at cars (something that I felt inspired about at the time). We didn't have much in common. I was a newfound feminist student activist; he was a programmer and gamer. I was weary about dating him because I didn't see us having similar goals or even similar languages. I was the type of person that wore a prom dress made of duct tape. He was the type of person who left high school out of disinterest.
He made advances that pushed at the boundaries of friendship and I nervously rejected them, unsure of how such a relationship would work. While sitting on the couch, he would reach for my hand or lean in for a kiss. I didn't know how to react and so I didn't say anything and carefully avoided him in romantic settings. I thought maybe something was wrong with him because I didn't understand why someone would be so intensely interested in me.