SunPower makes me happy smiley!!!

Usually, when I want to eat something vegan that actually tastes good…. I head West or to Silverlake.  My latest discovery is SunPower  Natural Organic Cafe in … waitttt forrr ittt… Studio City, folks!    And YES, it is delicious, highly nutritious, annnddd crave-worthy!  SunPower offers a combination of both raw and cooked foods.   Chef Rawsheed has created an incredibly varied and sophisticated menu, that speaks to his knowledge and talent for vegan "cooking".

You cannot miss the bright yellow storefront.  Walk into a tiny little dining area and you will be greeted by a friendly waiter who may just pull up a chair to take down your order in a kind and leisurely fashion.   There is always some interesting conversation happening amongst fellow diners and the friendly vibes are so apparent that they're practically bouncing off the walls.  During one of my last visits, I learned about the mono-diet… eating one food for extended periods of time and apparently, the highest form of eating.  Fascinating!  

I recently sat down with owner and longtime vegan Ron Russell Jackson to pick his brain a little….

Q:  What's the inspiration behind the name--Sunpower?

A: The SunPower name came from the energy and life the sun gives to the earth, and our organic, raw food represents that life.

Q: How long have you personally been vegan and what prompted your transition?

A: I've been vegetarian 34 years, vegan about 10. My initial conversion to a vegetarian diet was prompted by working as a fry cook and being disgusted by all the meat. It quickly evolved into, "I don't have the right to take this animal's life."

Q: When i take non vegan friends out to eat, i often hear the phrase "i prefer to eat REAL food".  People fear that if it didn't come from an animal, they will walk away hungry or with their wallets emptied.  I found neither to be the case with Sunpower.  The food is EXTREMELY filling and energy giving. Why do you think your average American has come to think of vegan food this way?

A: I think many meat eaters have experienced bad vegan food (no taste, not creative, not filling, etc.). But at SunPower we put taste first. More than half our customers are meat eaters that come for the taste, and the health aspect. We had one meat eating customer, Joseph, who wrote a review saying, "The food is so good I almost cried. I crave this food everyday now. This is a once in a lifetime experience."

Q:  The dining area is quaint and cozy, and seems to encourage socializing amongst patrons and staff.  Was this intentional or are your customers and employees just super friendly?  

A: We wanted to create a community feel to the restaurant. We've seen many customers start up conversations with each other and become friends. It's great to see.

As SunPower's popularity continues to rise, you may need to wait a short while to be seated. Luckily for us though, they will be doubling the size of their dining room in the next couple of weeks!  My grumbling tummy wants to say thank you in advance! 

Check this sweet little gem of a place out for yourselves and let me have your thoughts!  The prices are reasonable, the food AMAZING, and the ingredients high quality… and you will likely walk away with some food for your soul in the process!  Can't beat that now, can you, hm? 

** Must try's : 

Raw tiramisu (I always like to start with dessert, hey, life is short people!)

Raw supreme pizza with marinara sauce, cashew cheese (don't knock it 'til you've tried it!), SunPower "sausage", peppers and onions

Sunpower Natural 3711 W. Cahuenga Blvd. Studio City, CA 91604 sales@sunpowernatural.com 1-818-308-7420

http://www.sunpowernatural.com/

Ode to Arcona

For awhile now, it has been my intention to create a section which lists some of my favorite cruelty free items, businesses and things-to-do... and just as I was on the heels of dishing about my very favorite holistic body and haircare line, Arcona, I hear that they are about to discontinue their body care line (with rumblings of the haircare line potentially to follow).  I. am. DEVASTATED!  


I believe that not too long ago, Arcona changed ownership... with the original creator selling the brand to an investor who moved the spa from Valley Village to Santa Monica.   While I have seen the product packaging begin to have a more streamlined look, the quality has remained the same.   Arcona products are renowned for having a small list of recognizable  ingredients (like shea butter and essential oils), and are all-natural and cold-processed.  They feel great on, don't contain any frightening chemicals, and smell like heaven.
  
I sincerely hope that the powers-that-be at Arcona will not let such a TRULY AMAZING set of products,  created by a woman named Arcona, and clearly with a lot of love... die an early death.    I can safely say there is not a holistic haircare and bodycare line I have tried (and for anyone who knows me, I have tried practically everything under the sun) that feels and smells so good, and most importantly... IT WORKS, without hurting any adorable defenseless living things (that includes you, reading this-- although I'm not so sure about the defenseless bit!).


I have written a desperate plea to the CEO of Arcona and will keep y'all posted.   I suggested more advertising, because while many people have heard of Arcona... most have no idea that they also have a full range of body and hair products.  TO-DIE-FOR products, at that!  


And what's this about the debut of a new men's care line, while they're discontinuing the body line???  MY body line?!  Mrs. Arcona, I will put up my dukes in defense of your truly INCREDIBLE products.  Never cross a girl who's grooming is potentially threatened!  


For those of you who know & LOVE Arcona, please call or write kevin@arcona.com.  For those of you who don't, check out their website...and show your support to this cruelty free business so that they may stick around another 20 years!!!  


https://www.arcona.com/page/100/CTGY/ABOUT

Warm Kale Salad

Hi all!

So lately, I've been on this kick of replicating my favorite restaurant meals.  Costs less and you know what you're getting.  Whoever says you can't eat healthy on a budget better think again!

Thanks to a tip from a couple of friends, I recently discovered the warm kale (All Hail Kale) salad at The Veggie Grill in WeHo.  I mean, how good can a salad be, right? Which is precisely why it took me awhile to get down to actually trying it.   I've been craving it almost daily ever since, and so I set about trying to make it myself this weekend.

I love going to the Saturday farmer's market, and it's especially fun when I've got a specific purpose/ recipe in mind!  For awhile now, it's become a weekly tradition for me to visit the drive thru ATM early Saturday morning, withdraw a single $20 bill and set out to buy as much seasonal, local, organic fresh produce I can get my grubby little hands on!

This past weekend, I picked up some beautiful fluffy green kale, brought it home and got to work.  This salad uses mostly common ingredients that you are likely to already have in your pantry.  My version has a slight twist... instead of lemon miso ginger dressing... I created a delicious chili-lime-ginger vinaigrette.   I omitted the candied walnuts opting instead to use raw walnuts which are much healthier for you and just as yummy!

So, please check out the recipe and let me know how y'all like it!


1 bunch green kale with coarse ribs removed and cut into salad bite-sized pieces
1 small tomato finely diced
1/2 cup cooked corn
1 cup quinoa
1/8 small head of purple cabbage thinly sliced
1 small carrot shredded
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup raw shelled walnuts (optional)


Dressing:

1/4 cup canola oil

1 medium lime juiced
1/2 tsp chili pepper

Salt and Pepper TT
1/4 cup Maple syrup
1/4 cup Agave syrup
1 Tbsp Powdered ginger
1/4 cup hot/ boiling water



Add 2:1/ water:quinoa in a small saucepan and cook covered over medium (first) then low heat until water is mostly gone (quinoa should still be moist from the little bit of water remaining).

In a large stockpot, heat 2 Tbsp canola oil and add cooked quinoa, diced tomatoes, garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste and saute for about a minute.  Add kale and about 1/2 a cup of water, close lid and leave for about 10-15 minutes until kale has wilted and decreased by about half in volume.

Mix together and whisk dressing ingredients until well incorporated.  Pour half of dressing into the bottom of a salad bowl, together with cooked corn.  Add kale mixture and lightly toss until kale leaves are evenly coated in dressing and quinoa/ tomatoes/ corn are evenly distributed throughout.

Add cabbage, shredded carrots (and walnuts) on top as a garnish and serve while kale mix is still warm.

Soooo goooddd!!!!     :-9


Why eat kale?  Here are a few excellent reasons...

Kale is full of a highly absorbable form of calcium... superior to milk!  As an added bonus, it's not an acid-forming food (unlike milk), which leaches your body of more calcium than it actually provides.

Chock full of beta-carotene, the anti-oxidants in kale keep your immune system going strong

Ring in the New Year with Vegan Tacos!!!

I've been eating at Real Food Daily for at least a decade now... and 9 out of 10 times, I order their Tac o' the Town tacos.  I recently decided to try to replicate these amazingly delicious tacos myself and like anything I set my mind to... not only have I succeeded, but I believe I've set a new bar!  Let's just say I'm thinking of challenging RFD to a taco throwdown, baby... because these are positively SCRUMPTIOUS!!!


Check out the New Year's spread I made last night (home page)... does that look GOOD or what, people?!


Here are the ingredients and instructions for this easy breezy delicious dish (produces 6 tacos) ...


Tacos:


Half Field Roast Traditional meat loaf cut into 1/8" squares
2-3 Tbsp Simply Organic Spicy Taco mix
1/4-1/3 cup water
Dash of cumin
2.5 jarred Tbsp Tomato Paste
3 Tbsp canola oil
6 corn taco shells

Heat medium sized skillet with canola oil
Add ingredients and stir
** Add water per your liking to thin out tomato sauce


Accoutrements:


Guacamole :

2 small avocados
1 medium sized lemon or lime
1/3 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp very finely chopped sweet onion
1/3 tsp cilantro
1/2 tsp finely chopped tomato

Mash mix... voila!


Sour cream sauce:

6 Tbsp Tofutti sour cream
1 Tbsp dried dill
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/3 tsp salt


Spanish rice:

1.5 cups cracked wheat bulgur (size 4)
2 Tbsp jarred tomato paste
1.5 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like spicy!)
1 small carrot very finely diced
1 small sweet white onion very finely diced
1 small stalk of celery very finely diced
1 tsp salt


Wash and rinse bulgur, place in small saucepan and cover with water (about an inch more than bulgur), add 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp canola oil, cover and cook over medium (then low) heat until water is mostly gone.  Bulgur should still be slightly moist from remaining water.

Sautee veggies with oil, tomato paste, cumin, salt and cayenne in a separate pan until they're translucent/ soft.  

Add bulgur and stir.


Tomato salsa:

One large tomato
1 tsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp chopped sweet white onion
Juice of one small lemon or lime
1/3 tsp salt

Refreshing Lebanese (Fatoush) Slaw:

1/2 small head of green cabbage thinly sliced

1/2 small head of purple cabbage thinly sliced

3 Tbsp dried mint

2 small-medium lemons juiced

1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped

1 medium-large tomato diced at about 1/8"

1/4 cup canola oil

2 Tbsp salt

Toss and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.


Bon Appetit friends!  I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I did!