Natural Foods Cooking Retreat – Day 2

On the second day of our Natural Foods Cooking Retreat Chef Jenny had the perfect segue from Day 1 into our early start on Day 2. She had made sure that we poached some extra pears from the previous night's dessert and turned them into a beautiful breakfast beginning. The sweetness of the poached pears and tartness of the Greek yogurt made for perfect contrasting flavors in my book.

Poached Bosc Pears with Tart Greek Yogurt and topped with Ginger Crumble

We got very busy building breakfast at the beginning of Day 2

I was thrilled to get some new healthy breakfast recipes because so many cookbooks and other resources for natural foods often ignore this important first meal of the day. One group made Spiced Apple, Buckwheat and Oat Porridge. It was very thick, satisfying and the perfect comfort food to warm up a cold winter's morning. We served it with our own handmade nut milk using almonds that were soaked overnight then blended in purified water. Chopped Brazil nuts topped it all.

Spiced Apple, Buckwheat and Oat Porridge simmered and filled the kitchen with great aromas

Scrambled Tofu was the beginning of our spicy Fijoles recipe that had all of trimmings to make your own breakfast tostadas.

Tofu Scramble with onions, red bell peppers and lots of Mexican spices.

Tofu Frijoles Bar

Breakfast of Champions plate with Tofu Frijoles Tostada, Porridge and a Breakfast Bar Bite

We also learned how to make our own High Protein Breakfast Bars with only the healthiest ingredients at a fraction of the cost of commercially produced energy bars. These snacks are sweetened with honey and loaded with flaxseeds, hemp seeds, almonds, and fruit. We call them "Breakfast Bars" but they make a great snack anytime of the day.

High Protein Breakfast Bars disappear very quickly

For the egg lovers we made a great Chard and Leek Frittata. It tasted right out of a pricey restaurant menu but had inexpensive wholesome ingredients. Chopped thyme and oregano kept it really fresh. I could eat this every morning and even make sandwiches out of it hot or cold!

Chard and Leek Frittata

It was time for a break as Day 2 involved two complete meals. As great as breakfast tasted it was just the first half of the day's menu. We returned to some knife skills tips and quickly put them to work making the classic Holy Grail of all soup starters, Mirepoix. We diced carrots, celery and onions as the base for a trio of soup recipes.

Basic Lenti Soup (right), Moroccan Red Lentil Soup (left) and Thai Style Lentil Soup (rear)

Mike works the greens in the food processor

Jenny did a really interesting experiment with flavoring. We all started with the Basic Lentil Soup and she passed around a plate of seasoning options. We added each individually and noted their impact on the soup. Surprisingly, salt was neither the one that was preferred nor even the most interesting. For me it was fresh lemon juice that hit it out of the park.  I now plan have lemon wedges for squeezing right next to the salt and pepper shakers accompanying more of my meals.

Clockwise: Lemon Juice, Parsley, Sea Salt, Miso and Balsamic Vinegar flavoring add-ons.

Hands down for me the Moroccan Red Lentil Soup was the winner. When red lentils are well cooked they melt and get an incredibly creamy texture. It is rich in both taste and protein. Just before serving we tossed in some chopped chard which added color, freshness, texture and another layer of flavor.

Moroccan Red Lentil Soup

The next recipe pleasantly surprised me because I was introduced to Delicata Squash. We were all talking about the popular Butternut variety and how it tastes great but is also very hard. Delicata is not only easy to cut but you can also leave the skin on. I love how its stripes almost resemble grill marks.
 

Maple Roasted Delicata Squash

Here Rebecca and Nancy cut the squash into crescent shapes for even roasting in the maple syrup.

Freshly Toasted Pumpkin Seeds stand by to provide crunch

We tossed Arugula in a vinaigrette that included some maple syrup, folded in the roasted squash and topped it with toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch. This salad was super simple to make but was unique, colorful and a certain guest dazzler.

Maple Roasted Delicata Squash Salad

My closing shot is another Jenny gem for dessert. Never forgetting how many chocolate lovers and those with a serious sweet tooth are out there she capped another great day of food with Chocolate Mousse Parfaits. This dessert was decadence with a difference. The secret ingredient that added great texture and healthy fats was avocado. Yes, you read this correctly. You CAN sneak veggies into a dessert that will delight and impress. We topped it with a fresh Raspberry Coulis and chopped Brazil nuts. YUM! More will follow in my recap of our final Day 3 coming soon.

Chocolate Mousse Parfait

Natural Foods Cooking Retreat – Day One

In the spring of 2009 I took a great Natural Foods Cooking Class in Santa Cruz, California from local natural food guru, Chef Jennifer Brewer. It was such a great experience that I made seven posts about it that you can read right here. So when Jenny contacted me recently to try her new three day condensed version of the program I knew I just had to be there to see the redux.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic Chipotle Aioli Dipping Sauce

WHAT!?! Since when did fries and aioli dipping sauce make it onto a list of healthy foods? Since Chef Jenny Brewer has come along to show us how foods that taste great can also make you feel great. And that bit of word smithing is exactly how Jenny began our three day journey into more healthy cooking that really appeals. She asked all of us to make two lists and bring them to the first class:

 1. What are your three most favorite foods?

 2. What are the three food that make you feel GREAT when you eat them?

The difference between these two simple questions is not only profound but exemplifies a huge contradiction in our diets. So many of the foods that people crave and make them happy to eat actually make them feel awful after consumed because of their high fat content paired with lack of nutrients. Jenny put our answers to these questions into two columns on the white board.

Jenny Brewer's Taste Great vs. Feels Great Foods Chart

I kept flashing on the popular the Miller Lite Beer campaign from a few years back, "Great Taste, Less Filling." Most of the foods in the left hand column called Taste Great are comforting because they are so high on the flavor scale. But with that flavor normally comes runaway fat content so our body isn't nearly as happy as our mouths. Notice all of the whole foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals on the right hand column called Feels Great. What I love about Jenny Brewer's approach is that she never denies that the Taste Great foods are delicious. Jenny is the first to admit she too has a weakness for many of them, especially great breads. So instead of preaching to us or scolding anyone for loving tasty foods she focuses on bridging the gap between the two lists with her three "F"s: Fat, Flavor and Fun. When you know how to combine a little fat, a lot of flavor and make it fun then a nutrient rich diet of natural foods is not always a compromise.

After a short lecture we broke into groups to make our Day One Menu. Clockwise from the bottom of the plate here was the fare:

1. Nori Rolls filled with Sunflower Seed Paté, carrots/cumcumber/avocado/sunflower sprouts
2. Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic Chipotle Aioli dipping sauce
3. Twice Cooked Tempeh Chunks with Cilatro-Hemp Seed Pesto
4. Kale with Avocado Salad and simply Olive Oil and Lemon Juice
5. Kale and Tahini Salad with Brown Rice

Natural Foods Cooking Retreat – Day One Sampler Plate

The other thing I really like about Jenny Brewer's classes is the heavy emphasis of hands-on. Jenny had two assistants and seven attending this retreat so the ratio of staff to students was almost one to two. Everyone got lots of hands-on time.

Chef Jennifer Brewer in the middle flanked by her assistants, Erin (left) and Elizabeth (right)

The staff had all of the recipes nicely prepped for us upon our arrival. Prepping ingredients and tools makes cooking half the battle. One really cool advantage of taking a class at New Leaf Market on the west side of Santa Cruz is the kitchen right is inside their incredible store. Any ingredient you could possibly ever need is just a few steps out the door of the kitchen.

All recipes are good to go and ready for execution.

"Fries" right out of the oven with just a pinch of potato starch to give that crunchy "Fry Feel"

Steve and Nancy from Sacramento work all the veggies for the Cilatro-Hemp Seed Pesto sauce

Dueling Kale Salads – Tahini/Miso on the left and simply Olive Oil/Lemon Juice on the right

Victoria peels a Bosc pear for our nutrient dense dessert.

Even though we were all completely satisfied by our first five courses of vitamin and mineral rich recipes there's always room for dessert, right? Jenny came up with a real winner that included two classic cooking techniques, poaching and reducing. First we poached Bosc Pears in their own juices, cinnamon and vanilla bean and then reduced the cooking liquid to a thick rich sauce. We also made a Cashew Date Cream by just blending soaked cashews in water and giving them a good pulverizing in the blender with filtered water, dates and vanilla. It was 100% dairy free and tasted unbelievably rich. Topping both these tasty sweets was a Ginger "Crumble" combining walnuts, flaxseeds, coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and dates. It was the perfect texture punch to create a really decadent dessert that was actually nutrient dense.

Poached Bosc Pear with Cashew Date Cream and Ginger Crumble

After learning, cooking and eating all of this great food there was not an unsatisfied customer in the house. But as Jenny says NSNS..."Never Starved Never Stuffed" is the way of the healthiest diet. And all of this tasty food left everyone with the same great feeling. We were completely satisfied but also eager to return for Day Two and so the story will continue in my next post.

Beach Boys Landmark & Brick Brothers Forever

Brian Wilson Secret Handshake Club Co-Founders

You don't have to be a fanatic of The Beach Boys to appreciate their music and get an occasional smile on your face when one of their iconic songs comes on the radio. I was at the perfect teen age in the sixties and living in California to have been completely captivated by their sound which depicted the golden state as a mecca of sun, surf and young love. As their music matured and I grew up I never stopped listening to the band even though they lost some of their audience when they graduated past just the surf and car songs that had vaulted them to the top of the charts. In 1983 I heard about a Beach Boys Convention taking place in Oakland, California. This era was a particularly low ebb for their popularity so I knew I had to be there with other like minded fans of the band. One of the shows creators was a guy named Les Chan who turned out to become one of my best friends in life. Fast forwarding to 2004 Dick Clark and the Roll Hall of Fame were among the ardent supporters for a monument dedicated on the site of the home where the Beach Boys grew up in Hawthorne, California. The Beach Boys Historic Landmark was granted its official status as California State Historic Landmark No. 1041 and dedicated on May 20, 2005.

The monument itself sits at the edge of the Century Freeway whose construction cut through the middle of this Hawthorne neighborhood in the mid 1980's. Among the supporters of the project are many fans who had the opportunity to sponsor a brick in the facade. I was thrilled when my good friend, Les Chan, asked if I would like to co-sponsor a brick with him. Les is the quintessential Beach Boys fan.

Beach Boys Historic Landmark in Hawthorne, California

Brick Brothers celebrate their love for California music and the band that made it famous.

I call Les Chan the quintessential Beach Boys fan but it has nothing to do with an official fan club or other organization. Les Chan simply connected so many people together coast-to-coast and even in other countries. I say "simply" but I'm not talking about connection in terms of just swapping business cards or e-mail addresses. Les Chan genuinely loved people and the feeling was mutual. He engaged everyone he met everywhere. From a popular radio station air personality to the girl serving Hawaiian shaved ice at the local Maui kiosk Les engaged everyone. Some people might even call Les a stalker because he approached celebrities and common folk alike. The difference was that Les Chan was genuine, sincere and completely ernest. He was a photo fanatic and wanted a picture with absolutely everyone. He could warm up a room full of strangers like no one else I've ever known. Les loved the Beach Boys music so much that he just HAD to befriend the band and it became obvious that the feelings were mutual. Becoming part of the Beach Boys inner circle brought significant privileges. Some people spend their whole lives dreaming of a backstage pass. I joked that when you look up the term "ALL ACCESS" in the dictionary you'll see a picture of Les Chan. However, all of these privileges posed a constant dilemma for Les. He could only take a limited number of people along with him and he had an unlimited number of true friends.

Concert Security Pass Chart for the Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Tour

Even though the Beach Boys were my introduction to Les Chan our friendship grew into so many other dimensions. We both shared a passion for Hawaii and in particular the island of Maui. We were blessed to have several family vacations in paradise together. It did not take me long to realize that the sometimes nebulous and intangible "Aloha" spirit was manifested in everything that was Les Chan. Les spread love everywhere he went and has left a significant trail of it so extensive that it is practically untraceable. Knowing Les Chan confirmed my belief that everyone and everything is connected.

Another one of Les Chan's passions that reached almost the level of obsession was Disneyland. I am going to divulge a long time secret of his that really exemplifies his sense of humor. On his Facebook profile he shows his birthday as July 17th. Les was actually born on December 8, 1954 but his passion for everything Disneyland led him to list is birthday as July 17th which was the day the park opened in 1955. I thought it was hysterical when he received so many birthday wishes on Facebook in July. Les had a sense of humor that endured forever. Here is one of my all-time favorite photos of our families celebrating at the Magic Kingdom. Beginning in 1956 he has been to the park for what must be some kind a record of 70+ times with most visits for one week or longer. When we went to Disneyland with him he would be the first in line at opening. Then after mastering the lines and fast pass system all day long most of us were pretty well spent but Les would grab some dinner and return until midnight or closing. This park was built for kids or anyone like Les with the true heart and spirit of a kid.

Happy Times at the Happiest Place on Earth

Sadly, my dear friend, Les Chan, just passed away suddenly one week after his 58th birthday from a heart attack. His inner health was not nearly as robust as his incredible outer spirit. I am so blessed to have shared thirty of his fifty-eight years on earth. I am saddened like so many others who loved him but we all learned great life lessons from just knowing him. My next photo is a close up of our brick. Les insisted that the text was laid out just as seen here. I am both honored to share this brick and a bit embarrassed that my name is first. If anyone deserves top billing as a Beach Boys fan, it is Les Chan. But putting others first was just the way he rolled. I am forever grateful to have had Les Chan in my life. I am extremely proud to say that he was my dear friend and Brick Brother.

Brick Brothers at the 50th Anniversary Lake Tahoe Show  July 2012

Fresh Spring Roll Wrapping Party - It's How We Roll!

I love Fresh Spring Rolls but can never seem to get the wrapping technique down as well as they do in a restaurant. Enter my friend and professional makeup artist, Giao Nguyen, who really knows how to roll. Giao brought a major batch of fresh spring rolls to a July 4th party a couple of years ago at the brand new home of Andy Mark and Lisa Whalen. After stuffing myself gracefully I told Giao that I just gots-to-know how she rolls so perfectly. So two years later we finally got together for a spring roll wrapping lesson and celebration of these tasty tubes.

Giao is a perfectionist and makes everything from scatch so my kitchen quickly came alive with sous chefs prepping like crazy. This first shot is almost the whole gang slicing and dicing away.

Left: Romona Synder, Giao and her husband Thai Mai.   Right: Elley Ho and Andy Mark

Speaking of scratch Giao prefers using fresh water chestnuts for stuffing her Ground Turkey lettuce wraps. I had never seen them before. They are about the size of walnuts and we peeled them with a paring knife. Here Giao demos how to remove their tough outer layer to prepare them for dicing.

There is no shortage of garlic in Giao's Ground Turkey stuffing for the lettuce wraps and she moved gracefully through many cloves here turning them into a perfect mince. Elley was amused, Ramona was amazed and Thai was focused on dissecting heads of lettuce.

Giao's other choice for protein stuffing was pork.  She simmered it in a broth and then Thai carefully sliced it to a perfect thickness for wrapping.

Covering all the bases were jumbo shrimp cooked to perfection and then sliced lengthwise making them thin enough to roll up with the other ingredients. Giao scoops out the shrimp and Andy continues to work the turkey saute.

Giao helped solve the mystery of the popular peanut dipping sauce. Her recipe use simply peanut butter and hoisin sauce. We were all eager to learn her secret to this favorite stuff in which to dunk our rolls.

Giao uses plain smooth peanut butter out of the jar to create a very tasty peanut dipping sauce.

My contribution to the feast was Pineapple Mango Green Tea and a spicy Thai Cabbage Salad.

Pineapple Mango Green Tea on tap

Thai Cabbage Salad with Serrano Chile Lime Dressing and Peanuts

When we were good to go we covered the dining table with all of the ingredients because these wraps are all custom made by the guests. It's a like a like a taco or ice cream sundae bar where you stuff them as you please and roll your own. The list of stuffing choices included pork, shrimp, rice noodles, mint, lettuce, bean sprouts and avocado. This format promotes customizing rolls and keeps everybody happy.

Although we had free reign on our choice of stuffings Giao made it very clear that there are rules to rolling. It all begins with a rice paper sheet that is perfectly moist. She came armed with a simple device for just this purpose. You just lower in a sheet vertically and make one complete rotation in the warm water. It wets the sheet but not overly so and in moments you are ready to roll. This gadget is a single tasking kitchen device but one that makes wrapping spring rolls a breeze.

Giao surprised everyone when she told us that this clever gadget was invented by a teenager. It even comes complete with a slot to stage the sheets ready for dipping.

Here is Giao's no miss step-by-step method of rolling the perfect spring roll. Note that she starts with the ingredients at the edge of the wrap closest to you and not in the middle. You then roll away from yourself. The pink side down on the shrimp makes for a nicer presentation as their color will be visible through the opaque roll.

Step 1. On a perfectly moistened sheet lay the shrimp pink side down and/or slices of pork.

Top the proteins with lettuce leaves. Omit lettuce ribs as they can tear the wrappers.

Add a few fresh bean sprouts for a nice crunchy texture.

Mint leaves layer another whole layer of fresh flavor.

Soft Rice Noodles give the rolls body and make them very satisfying.

The three keys to a successful roll are as follows:

1. Use both hands and roll slowly 

2. Continue to tighten the roll as you fold 

3. Half-way through tuck in both ends and then roll to completion

Giao displays her perfectly wrapped roll

Remember that these rolls are best served immediately. If they sit too long the wrappers, they will dry out and become tough. A wet paper towel and plastic wrap cover can help keep them soft longer. Professional wedding photographer and friend, Elley Ho, certainly did not come empty handed but rather surprised us with our first of two desserts for the evening handmade by her friend, Michelle Ng.

Peach • Black Sesame • Sakura • Mango • Pistachio • Dark Chocolate Macarons from Michelle Ng

As we sat around and enjoyed this Asian delicacy I kept marveling at all that rice has to offer to the culinary world. It is inexpensive, low in calories, flexible in use and highly non-allergenic. Even the uncooked dry noodles are fun to munch on like chips. We tried sprinkling them with some flavored salts from I was given recently from Salt Farm in San Diego. This handful had a splash of their #35 Bruschetta salt for an Asian/Italian mash up. Move over popcorn!

Speaking of mash ups we traditionally conclude our parties at the fire pit. No matter how full we are there is ALWAYS room for S'mores. Enter the improv Chef Carl. After extolling all of the virtues of rice paper I decided to mash these beauties with S'mores. Why not? I am a firm believer in both finger food and wrapping anything. The marriage of these two foods made perfect sense to me. So I started with a nicely done S'more and then gave it rice paper jacket.

What's not to love about this East meets West treat?

Andy did the honors and put my Spring S'mores to the flame.

This Asian version is even less messy as it captures all of the melty goodness from escaping.

My parting shot is a tribute to fusions and mash ups of all kinds. After all, this kind of hand held food is all about freedom of choice.  Just like burritos, wraps, pita pockets or any other devices for stuffing. They are limited only by your creativity and imagination.

A huge thanks goes out to Giao and her husband Thai for being so generous with the groceries and sharing their expertise at our first ever Fresh Spring Roll University. I truly love the way you roll!