118 Degrees Restaurant, Costa Mesa

It's been ages since I've updated this blog, and speaking of ages, midlife keeps rolling steadily along. Today we celebrated my 43rd birthday two days early with a visit to my current favorite restaurant, 118 Degrees.

Here's Jezebel, Christina and I in the backseat on the way to the restaurant:


The tone for 118 Degrees is set right from the moment you enter the parking lot, where each space is adorned with phrases like "Remain Calm" and "Simplify."
The first time I went there, I didn't look closely and thought they were reserved parking spots. Clearly, I need to learn to "pay attention" and "be present."

Here's a photo of the family outside the restaurant (that really didn't need a caption, but there you go).


Although it is a raw restaurant, they do serve coffee. One intriguing concoction combined coffee with cacao, cayenne and lime. Christina and Di opted for plain coffee with hemp milk. As you can see, the hemp milk captivated Di first with its swirling patterns and then with its taste. She ended up swigging it straight from the pitcher.


Jezebel ordered this cacao drizzled buckwheat cereal in nut milk. As she put it, "If you see chocolate, eat it." Well said.


I ordered the same appetizer and entree I'd had on my previous visit, the "Fried" Avocado Mini Tostada (Crispy Buckwheat Shell, Spicy Peppita Sauce, Chopped Spinach, Cilantro, Corn and Fried Avocado) and the Living Lasagna (Layers of Marinated Italian Vegetables, Creamy Ricotta and Sweet Basil Marinara. Topped with Crispy Tomato). Unfortunately I kept forgetting to take a photo before I dug into them.


Di had fondue for dessert and I ordered the Pecan Chai Truffles. To apply Jezebel's profound depth and wisdom: "If you see truffles, eat them."


On our way out, we snapped this photo of Di and Christina. Di indulged so thoroughly that Christina was heard to comment during the meal, "I don't think it's your birthday Sandra, it's Di's."

Review: I Am Grateful and Sweet Gratitude (the Cookbooks of Cafe Gratitude)

Reprinted from Spiritualitea.com:

No two books fit the philosophy and focus of Spiritualitea quite so well as this pair from Café Gratitude.  Inherent within them is the idea that food is nourishment for both body and spirit.  Take, for example, the titles of each of the dishes, both at the café and in the book I Am Grateful:

“The Café Gratitude menu gives you the opportunity to start practicing saying something new and affirming about yourself by simply placing your order.  All the items on our menu have self-affirming names like ‘I Am Adoring,’ ‘I am Loved,’ or ‘I Am Fulfilled,’ which is how we encourage customers to order what they want.  Then when the servers bring them their food and drinks, they place them down saying, ‘You Are Adoring,’ ‘Your Are Loved,’ or ‘You Are Fulfilled’!”

The recipes in I Am Grateful are fairly straightforward, though a good many of them require you to have a dehydrator. The recipes in Sweet Gratitude on the other hand can seem involved at first – they may entail learning to use unfamiliar ingredients such as Irish Moss (a sea vegetable) or learning to create your own liquid vanilla – but once you’ve learned the techniques, the recipes aren’t as complex as they first seemed and the results are oh so worth it.  In one taste test, non-raw friends sampled the Sweet Gratitude pecan pie side by side with one from Marie Callendar’s and deemed the former superior.  With regular desserts, you can expect only sin and guilt from your indulgence, but with these recipes you get living enzymes, protein, and healthy fats.    I can personally attest to the fact that even with desserts like these as a semi-regular part of my diet, my previously pre-diabetic glucose levels have remained stable and I continued to lose weight.  What more could you ask?

While of the two books I loved Sweet Gratitude more – I've been blown away by every recipe I’ve tried in it – I’d recommend getting I Am Grateful if you are deciding between the two rather than planning to purchase both. I Am Grateful not only includes a broad range of raw entrees, salads, sauces and drinks, but also includes some of my favorite desserts from Sweet Gratitude, such as the Pecan Pie and Banana Cream Pie.  I Am Grateful also includes the inspiring story of restaurant founder Terces Engelhart and a bit on the philosophy behind her creation.

I am so inspired by the food of the underlying philosophy of the restaurant, I hope to make a pilgrimage of sorts next time I’m in the Bay Area of California where it is located.  It’s no doubt a favorite destination of raw vegan pop star Jason Mraz – he mentions it in his song “Make It Mine” (from the album We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things) and used a reference to the restaurant as the title for his recent tour.   Like Jason Mraz, I am grateful for many things, and among them are these two books.

 

Sample Recipes:

• I Am Present: Farmer-Style Cheese
• I Am Cheerful: Sun Burgers
  

reflections on raw and white teeth

Raw foodism isn't always just about raw foods, oddly enough. Folks willing to adopt one alternative paradigm are often willing to consider other alternative paradigms. One topic I'd noticed coming up in blogs and discussion forums was the idea that conventional mass-produced toothpaste wasn't all that good for you. People were critiquing flouride as both inefficient at doing what it was supposed to do (fight cavities) and downright harmful. They also mentioned that the glycerin in toothpaste (which even the natural brands contain) created a barrier that prevented re-enamelization. I'd never heard of the idea that teeth might be able to re-enamel themselves before.

Alternatives people mentioned included some I didn't try (like oil pulling) and some I did (brushing with tooth soap, brushing with coconut oil followed by charcoal). I did find that my teeth felt really clean using these options, but there was a significant downside no one had mentioned: I have no idea if my teeth would have ever begun the process of re-enamelization, but I did notice that without the glycerin barrier there was nothing to keep my green juices and green smoothies from staining my teeth. The resulting stains were worse than coffee had ever been and I was beginning to look like Austin Powers.

I'm guessing that a lot of the folks who are using tooth soap are relatively young. My teeth didn't stain as quickly when I was younger. All I know is that I couldn't take it anymore. I started resorting to over the counter whiteners, including Lysterine Quick Dissolve Whitening Strips and the Rembrandt 2 hour Whitening Kit. Nothing was dissolving those Austin Powers stains. Finally I tried Crest Vivid White and Vivid White Night toothpaste. Something about the grittiness of the toothpaste along with the bleaching agents managed to get the last of those stains off. Now I'm using a combination of all three: Lysterine Dissolving Strips on the road, periodic bleaching with the Rembrandt kit and daily brushing with both the Vivid Whites.

My fellow raw foodies, so passionate about all things natural, are probably horrified by the level of chemicals I'm putting in my mouth, but for now it's working for me. And you won't cringe when I smile.

The Arrival of the Vita-Mix 5200

Sheer Terror

I just spent almost $500 on a blender:

• Vitamix 5200 Blender: $449
  
• Los Angeles Tax: $4.74
  
• California Tax: $33.18
  
• For a grand total of: 492.85

Oh lordy. Now, mind you:

• I'm a lifelong Vitamix fan
  
• My last Vitamix (a 3600+) lasted for 20 years (and was used when I got it -- these are seriously well-built machines)
  
• I use the Vitamix at least once a day, so I really do need a serious blender
  
• I got free shipping
  
• If I change my mind, the new machine has a 30 day return policy, including free return shipping
  
• The standard warranty is 7 years
  
• My deal included an additional year on the warranty, making it 8 years

Nonetheless, I'm feeling some panic about the whole situation -- $500 is a lot to spend on a small appliance. We used what we call our "fun money" -- the extra income that comes in through ad revenues, mostly on my husband's sites. And, to alleviate my guilt, I told him to count it as my mother's day and anniversary present. Still, it's a lot of money.

Needless to say, I'll be posting here to let you know if I love the new machine as much as I did the old one.

Eek.

Tragedy Has Struck

I've had my Vitamix for about 20 years. It was used when I got it. I was a struggling college student, but somehow I managed to scrape together $150 to buy one used from the Recycler.

At the time, I was vegetarian, but not raw. I'd make fruit smoothies in the Vitamix, pouring them into thick, recycled glass tumblers we got on a trip to Mexico, and drink them while I stood on the second floor balcony of our apartment in Long Beach, looking out at the palm trees that dotted the cold, morning skyline.

I have fond memories of grinding wheat berries into flour using the Vitamix, kneading it right in the canister, then baking a thick, brown bread that I spread with real butter.

I thought that Vitamix, with its gorgeous stainless steel construction, would live forever.

Two days ago, the agitator assembly broke in two. My husband took a photo of the part and sent it to his machinist brother in Alabama. This was his response:

Hey y'all,
I could make a new shaft but the internal splines require a special cutter that would cost thousands. No joke. You make the investment to make 10,000 parts for the production line. I would be glad to try and weld back together and rebalance it. Nothing to lose, all that will happen is it will vibrate too much to use if I don't get it just right. The vibration could be useful at other times away from food prep.

I doubt my Vitamix could take more vibration than it already has. We could buy a replacement part from the manufacturer, but with tax and shipping it would come to $101.55. We've haunted ebay but used replacement parts are going for at least $50 with shipping -- if you're lucky.

So I've been left with the painful decision: do I pay $50-$100 to fix it and stay with my first love? Or do I sell my first love for parts and fork out $449 for a more powerful but not as pretty Vitamix 5200?

Beauty or Brains? Age or Youthful Spunk? (Until the cost of replacing or fixing my Vitamix entered my financial horizon, the Spirooli was next on my list of raw accessories to acquire. Now that's been pushed down the list -- unless I'm lucky enough to win Gena's contest at ChoosingRaw.com.)

Part of me wonders if I didn't break the 3600's heart. A few months ago, despite her faithful service for 20 years, when Yardsnacker and Hihorosie had a contest for a new 5200, I entered this video:

So wooed was I by the promise of the 5200's reputed 2hp motor, I found myself disparaging the 3600's ability to make nut milk on camera. Maybe that agitator assembly coming apart was really just the Vitamix's heart breaking in two.

Like any break-up, there are two sides to the story and maybe no one is completely blameless. Maybe we will work it out or maybe it is just time for us to go our separate ways. Either way, you will always be my first appliance love.

Review: 12 Steps to Raw Foods by Victoria Boutenko

While an entirely raw foods diet may not be for everyone, there is little disagreement even amongst omnivores that increasing the proportion of fresh fruits and vegetables in our diet is something that can benefit any of us (for example, see Michael Pollan's Ominvore's Dilemma or In Defense of Food).  But is cooked food an addiction?  This is author Victoria Boutenko's contention, and while you may or may not agree with this premise, her use of a "12 Step" inspired model does provide a some useful approaches for those who are trying to eliminate or decrease their consumption of cooked foods and increase their consumption of whole, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.  Pair this with the some basic, approachable raw foods recipes and it is a book that could benefit everyone, even those who would not remotely consider themselves "raw fooders."  

Some of the steps that will benefit even those who hope to just eat healthier without necessarily giving up all cooked food include:

• Nourishing Your Body to Eliminate Cravings
• Acquiring Skills and Equipment
• Avoiding Temptation
• Gratitude and Forgiveness
• Embracing Other Healthy Habits
• Searching for One's Spiritual Mission
• Giving Support to Others
  

 12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Foods (North Atlantic Books)  is a significant revision and expansion of the earlier edition.  So much so, that even if you already have the first edition (from Raw Family Publishing), you will still want to purchase a copy of the new edition.  For those familiar with Boutenko's works, this book contains material that will be familiar -- Part 1 contains some of the same information found in Raw Family and Green for Life in condensed form -- but there is also new information such as chapter four's review of scientific studies that support Boutenko's contention that cooked food is damaging to the human body.   For those new to Boutenko, this is a great introduction to her ideas, methods and life experiences, the latter of which includes the inspiring account of how she healed her families illnesses through healthful eating and exercise.