A sign of a delicious raw culinary experience.

Tyler's Vegan Experience - ps: Ty is 9 years old!

Hi. My name is Tyler. I've never thought of being a vegan because I love meat.

At first when I was asked to be a "vegan for a day" I was moaning and groaning because I couldn't eat my meats and drink my milk. Anything that had a face or a mother wasn't vegan.

Then the day came and I was excited. I got ready and headed to Rolling Oats  in St. Petersburg with my mom to meet Miss Ann. When we got there we shopped around for a little bit. My mom and I picked out nuts, vegetables, and dried fruits. Then I thought vegans only ate fruits and vegetables.

Next we headed to the restaurant part and met Miss Ann. She showed me what was vegan and what was not. I wanted to pick the chicken burrito or the chicken salad but it wasn't vegan because it had a mother and a face.

The thing I chose was called an Avacodo Tomato Melt, with tortilla chips and macaroni salad. The avocado and tomato looked really good. It made my mouth water. When the lady brought our food to us I took a bite and thought "Mmm. This stuff is good." The vegan cheese was good. It was a little different but I thought it was better than regular cheese.

I took a bite of the macaroni salad. Even though it has no real mayo it tasted really good. After a minute I took another bite of the sandwich and thought "Man am I in heaven!" I was surprised it was so good.

I thought lunch was way better than I expected. After lunch we went grocery shopping and we went down all the aisles. My mom let me get some vegan chocolate cake for dessert but I was so full I had to take it home. When I got home I took a bite of it and it tasted a little different than regular chocolate cake but it was pretty good. I couldn't even finish the whole piece it was so filling.

My vegan experience was better than I expected. We bought some vegan cheeses, organic fruits and vegetables, and other vegan foods while we were there. Every now and then I put a pinch of some vegan foods in my meals but I'm not ready to become a full vegan. 

Now I'm dying to try the raw restaurant with Miss Ann. She told me they make pizza dough out of nuts! Next time look for my blog entry about eating at the raw restaurant! Bye for now!... Tyler

Our youngest guest blog writer, Ty.

GUEST BLOGGER: JACK TRUDEAU - CARNIVORE AND CHEF

small print disclosure:  Jack Trudeau is my son, a graduate of LeCordon Bleu's Orlando Culinary Institute, and a confirmed carnivore/omnivore.  He will be starting a new gig at Lyon Hall in VA in July - wishing him lots of luck.  Thanks, Jack!  

Ever since childhood, it was my mother that taught me the value of trying new things and keeping an open mind. Of course these are great life lessons, but I am specifically speaking about food for the time being . Somewhere in my development I picked up a strong dose of skepticism. Reconciling skepticism and open-mindedness has become a complex problem in my life, but I guess I live a life of dualities.

When my mother told me that I was going to a vegan restaurant to write a review, of course my skepticism burst forth in my defense: "Nope! I'm not doing that!" After a brief struggle, and the realization that I had no say in the matter, my skepticism diminished and I left the experience to be determined by the fates.

It was a Tuesday, around lunchtime that I finally dragged myself to the Everlasting Life Cafe in D.C.. I decided to go with my roommate, Ryan, who used to be a vegan but still lives a vegetarian lifestyle because of the siren's song of eggs and cheese. 

We drove into a seedy neighborhood to find a dark orange building with a banner proclaiming the openness and veganness of a restaurant that used to be a co-op in a past life. My skepticism started to kick at this point, because the exterior, well, looked a little run-down. I ignored the urge to turn tail, and went inside.

I'm glad I did.

On entering, we found the place to be clean and organized. There were around 10-12 tables, a bar, and a few couches. It was empty except for two other people, but as we were there, maybe every five minutes, someone came for take-out. 

Our second impression was markedly better than our first, and it only got better from there.  Leonard, the cashier came out from around the counter, introduced himself, and gave us a tour. He took us into the kitchen and showed us a delicious array of prepared foods. Each day they have a special on the hot bar. 

Today's was shepherd's pie with kale greens and macaroni and cheese as side dishes, or eggplant parmesan. They also had a fully stocked cold bar with salads of every kind. They also had a sandwich station, which we regrettably missed.

When we finally ordered, the counter staff was more than helpful in giving us samples and answering any questions. I tried a mock chicken salad, and you know what? it tasted like chicken (cliche, I know, but the flavor was spot on). We decided on three cold items: the macaroni salad, the string bean salad, and the corn and black bean salad. We also had to try the shepherd's pie with macaroni and cheese and kale greens. They put everything into to-go boxes and we went to pay. Ryan then decided to get a cashew nog from the juice bar.

We ended up with a lot of food for around $30 dollars. For DC, the prices are great.

Now for the good stuff. The shepherd's pie was a little pepper heavy, but the TVP had a texture reminiscent of the beefy goodness that I so dearly love. The macaroni and cheese was delicious, but calling it "cheese" was a travesty. They used nutritional yeast to impart a cheesy flavor to mock cheese. Creative ingredient use, but I am not a fan of mock cheese. The kale greens were also delicious. They used a touch of liquid smoke to give them a meaty flavor, and it outsmarted my taste buds.

On the cold bar side, we had one raw and two cooked items. The string bean salad was lightly tossed with oil and plum vinegar. It was super tasty for not being cooked. The black bean and corn salad was more like a salsa to me. It was delicious and a little spicy, but I could have used some tortilla chips. The macaroni salad was my favorite. It reminded me of being back in Florida. Publix, the supermarket, did an awesome macaroni salad, and this tasted just like it. The only difference is that this one had TVP in it, well that and vegan mayonnaise. I never thought I would enjoy vegan mayo, but I was surprised.

Overall, my impressions were great. I have never had better customer service at a restaurant in DC. The quality, creativity, and diversity of the food made this an excellent experience. I will definitely go back if I am ever in the area.

Smoky Avocado and Cumin Dressing from Choosing Raw

http://www.choosingraw.com/smoky-avocado-and-cumin-dressing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChoosingRaw+%28Choosing+Raw%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher


Above is the link to this recipe --Gena's Choosing Raw blog has incredible recipes daily; its a great blog to subscribe to and this recipe was a keeper just as it is.  (okay, with one minor exception -- next time I will cut back the water just a little to make it creamier.)

And as she suggested, I mixed it with coleslaw and to make it a Quickie -- I purchased a bag of slaw with both red and green cabbage and carrot mixed it.  Total time - less than 15 minutes from start to table.  No excuses.

I had some left over slaw (after I prepared my delivery to my clients) so I mixed some quinoa in it for a taste test.  No, I didn't shout "Hallelujah" and dance naked in my kitchen, nor was I even tempted, but I do think there is serious potential with this dressing and quinoa and something else??????? I'm open for suggestions.

Soup in the Raw - Fiery Lava Soup

I get my inspiration for my creations by playing with ingredients - reading recipes and then just playing.  But sometimes I will follow a recipe precisely (rare, but true) and with this soup I did and it was such a mouth orgasm that I would not change a thing, except to double the amount.

This recipe is from Juliano in his awesome and one of my absolute favorite books, RAW, The UNcook Book.


Fiery Lava Soup - serves 2

For Soup:
1 1/2 cups fresh carrot juice (I could have made it in my juicer but I bought it at the store so this was easy peazy.)
1 T mint leaves
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup avocado (this turned out to be 1/2 avocado)
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 T Nama Shoyu (or 1 1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
1 T basil leaves


Blend ingredients for 30 to 45 seconds, until creamy.  Divide soup into serving bowls and garnish with:

avocado, mint, bell peppers and scallions.


Or, just drink it from the blender and then shout "Hallelujah" and dance around your kitchen naked.  Okay, okay, I have allowed myself to get carried away.  But this simple recipe is a keeper!!

Cooking is a Lot Like Sex!

Maybe that's why I like to cook.  But truly, I do find cooking very similar to sex and since inquiring minds what to know how this could be, I will enlighten those minds.

As I begin to create, I search recipes, play with ingredients, imagine tastes and colors blending.  This is like the fantasy part of sex -- the playful mind aspect of getting ready.

Next, once I have committed to the act, so to speak, I gather my ingredients, peel, chop, measure -- all of my ingredients are ready, lined up in bowls and good to go -- this is a delightful foreplay.

The ACT:  the blending of ingredients - slow (as in a kettle) or fast (as in the Vita Mix).

And finally - the conclusion or the taste test.  Hopefully it is orgasmic, yet honestly, sometimes it is disappointing.

I thought of this metaphor this morning as I was getting set up to prepare a Raw Soup and Salad combo (recipe above: Firey Lava Soup and Smoky Avocado/Cumin Slaw) -- the recipe preparations went so quick - both in less than a half hour.  I was almost let down in that I didn't expect a Quickie.  However, the taste was incredible.

I texted  by client (yes, how fun, this vegan chef actually has two clients!) with: "Fiery Lava Soup - an awesome mouth orgasm - coming your way at 4 today!"   She is a trauma surgeon - always busy, always working with drama and trauma - texted back: "I will NEED that at 4 today!"  Hopefully the anticipation for her today will be as good as the taste tonight.

Perhaps to conclude the metaphor - cleaning the kitchen afterward, when I get into the zen and mindfulness of it, is like the proverbial smoking of the cigarette.  Or not.