The Magical Preservative

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Ice Cube FlickrPreservative. It’s the 12-letter 4-letter word of the food world. You’ve got your more innocuous ones, like lemon juice, but most sound like a chemical used to clean industrial machinery (as in “Jennings! Can you grab that can of butylated hydroxytoluene? The gear’s all gunked up again!”) Not very appetizing.

In a report on food additives from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, many of the substances on the list are preservatives. And of these, CSPI suggests one avoid or cut down on most. Continue reading →

Tropical Bliss

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The notion of eating locally and seasonally isn’t for everyone. Take Stephen Colbert , urging us (albeit with tongue fused solidly to inner cheek), to “thirst locally, drink globally.”

Warning: The wonderland of the recipe I’m about to give you lies just a degree or two from that kind of global eating territory. If it weren’t for fossil fuels and petroleum products, I must admit, I would not have been able to experience the majesty of this frozen delight. So for one moment, I’ve got to appreciate the planes, trains, and plastic bag-happy Bestways of the world.*

Without further chatter, let me give you this recipe. I urge you to try it, and dare you to resist seconds. Even poured over the head of a male model, I doubt it could get any better. Continue reading →

Mango, White, and Blue

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Sitting in a wooden cabin with rain falling outside, we didn’t feel much like making sparks on the Fourth. On top of that, the closest our little group got to discussing patriotism this past weekend was when we noted our lack of it on our trips abroad. One of us found it hard to argue when Dominicans questioned our invasion of whatever countries came in handy after September 11th, and another reminisced about Brazilians offering to come monitor our frequently botched elections.

Continue reading →

Pick Your Own Way

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Skimming recent issues of Elle, you can find plenty of interviews with iconic women doing their own iconoclastic thing. And reading along, you can see one defining experience usually pushed them out to uncharted waters. Mary Kate Olsen was surrounded by kooky show biz people from the age of nine months. After a series of admittedly corny kids’ movies, she now pulls off what some people call “bag-lady chic,” is artsy and smart, and chose to talk to her interviewer at a trapeze lesson.

For Liz Phair, it was Oberlin College, where she saw the social system turned on its ear. She was amazed, she told Elle, to find “lesbians were on the top and the mainstream athletes were on the bottom.” It “knocked my socks off.” From there, the unsocked Phair went on to record tough and clever albums, never catering to Joe or Jane Jock. Continue reading →

#10 is A-OK

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You don’t always have to be #1. In fact, I’m happy to barely hang on to the top 10 in the City Paper’s neighborhood rankings. Two weeks ago, the CP ran the much-touted and talked-about Hoods & Services feature. And this week’s print issue sums up the City Desk blog chatter (think letters to the editor for 20-somethings who think stamps are the things the bouncer puts on your hand when enter the Black Cat).

While some are up on arms about the rankings, and especially known-for-yuppies-and-drunkenness Georgetown’s #3 slot, I’m not concerned. The CP folks lumped in my nabe, Columbia Heights, and nearby Mt. Pleasant, with just-known-for-drunkenness Adams Morgan. They paint AM’s 18th Street as  “the District’s best bet for binge-drinking and one-night stands.”

The essay gives some nice Mt. P and CH history and cultural bits, but mostly the rankings follow the mucky doings of AM (which actually has decent brunches–including local and organic offerings at The Reef and vegan options at Asylum–and other daytime fun).

So really–no hard feelings, City Paper. In fact, I owe you a 24-pack of thanks for keeping my slice of foodie heaven safe from the other white young professionals. Continue reading →

Frozen treats, hold the cow juice

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Image:Granita brioche.JPGFruits and veggies ripen every day, and I’ve spent too many of those days not writing in YaD!

With my roommate’s acquisition of a Vita-Mix, a new level of frozen treat heaven has opened up. Yesterday, we tried a strawberry frozen yogurt. Today, I see in A Mighty Appetite yet more ideas. None of these need cream, and you could introduce vegan alternatives in all of them.

With conventional dairy full of sketchy hormones and more nutrition experts saying “What the heck are we doing drinking something designed for baby cows??” it’s a good time to seek other options. And really, the fresh ingredients will thank you for letting them shine.

For chocolatey and creamy flavors, I’ve found good vanilla extract or paste works wonders. It makes the whole thing taste richer.

For refreshing nummies, freeze all the fruits you can get your hands on and then combine and puree them however and whenever you see fit.

Frozen bananas are the best-kept non-dairy secret ever. Their flavor and texture is identical to a banana ice cream. Their banana flavor is very strong, though, so skip that tip if you’re not into them.

And for a nice granita, all you need is some fruit juice and sweetener on hand. But it doesn’t hurt to have pinot noir and whole cloves, too.

Try ’em!

Strawberry Yogurt Freeze (You can use any food processor or powerful blender for this. Try with cultured soy yogurt and let me know how it comes out!)

Chocolate Sorbet and Mixed Berry Soy “Cream”

Granita of Pinot Noir with Berries

Splenda Nation

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To avoid dependence on fossil fuels, we drill more. Or we grow bio fuels and buy away our guilt with carbon offsets. To get ourselves off sugar, we create miraculous substances like NutraSweet and Splenda. The same goes for fat, the frantic reworking of which gave us such joys as transfats and CoolWhip.

But where is all this innovation getting us? If you ask me, I’ll tell you exactly where: adrift in polluted waters, with the engine out of fuel and all of us too sick and fat to swim to shore.

My solution? So glad you asked that, too!

I say take a step back (as many are doing) rather than rushing forward. All of the new-fangled solutions aren’t getting us off oil or making the world a more peaceful place. Many folks have actually started to listen to rather dismiss the flower-hugging messages: drive more fuel-efficient cars, walk, bike, and take public transport, and live close to work to begin with! Continue reading →

Raw recipes

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I’m back! Hope you liked the guest post from Alynn. I met her last week at a raw foods dinner she put on. I’d experienced raw offerings at places like Java Green, Everlasting Life Cafe, and A Quest for Fresh, but this was more than marinated mushrooms and chopped kale. We had sushi rolls, avocado dip, fruit salad, “plum” pudding, eggplant “manicotti,” brazil nut crust pizza with a zingy sundried tomato sauce, and several creamy coconut confections for dessert.

I’m sure Alynn wouldn’t want to reveal all her secrets (and, to be honest, it would take me quite a while just to type the things I learned during the course of that afternoon), but I thought I’d pass on a few teaspoons of raw info and recipes from the pro.

First, a few things I learned about raw eating:

  • Raw cuisine is made with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds that are eaten fresh or dehydrated at temperatures of no more than about 110 F. According to Alynn’s café’s website, it is “uncooked, live, unprocessed, being in or nearly the natural state, energetic, with natural enzymes, vitamins and amino acids.”
  • Raw sushi rolls can be made with chopped cauliflower instead of rice! Make like regular sushi rolls using strips of veggies and a schmear of mashed avocado dip (avocado, apple cider vinegar, salt), and roll up with nori.
  • For a tasty “plum” pudding, puree fresh figs, a tad grated fresh ginger, and lemon juice.
  • Make a refreshing summer drink with water and any herb (mint, rosemary, lavender, lemon balm, etc.) by combining and letting it sit outside for a day and a night. The sun will make it into tea, and the night will cool it off (plus the moon will imbue it with lunar energy, Alynn explained–a nice bonus!) Drink the next day.

(Recipes next…) Continue reading →

Guest Post: Bio of a raw foods chef

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Squatting down, hands clasped together, radiant blue eyes wide open and looking up, beaming a smile. Hair flowing down my back, feeling the breeze, sensing the vibrations of Mother Earth, and embracing life is me, myself, and I! I go by the name of Alynn Davis and I live by my personal motto ~ “Life is GRAND, so LIVE it!”

Life is grand. Life is beautiful. You are given a life to live in this lifetime. What more can you ask for? Who cares if you have blue, hazel, or brown eyes? Who cares if you’re tall or short? Who cares if you’re big or small? What really matters is how you’re living your life. Love life and embrace it! Take it to heart and grow! Blossom! Show your beauty! Be the person that you are! My eyes, my mind, my emotions, my SOUL had been shifting to a new level since I became 100% raw in October of 2003. The darkness has drifted away, the cloudiness, the negative forces of energy faded into space. Living Raw is not just about eating raw foods. It is about living your life in an optimal way. It is about choices, it is about becoming something you never thought you would become. Continue reading →