Vegetarian Times featured Ann’s recipe for South American Squash and Vegetable Ragout on the October cover! Check it out, along with the rest of her delicious recipes!
May 26th, 2010
Vegans We Love: Moby! UPDATED!
Moby stopped by KCRW to chat about his new book, Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat). We are so glad to see that he’s lending his celebrity to such an important cause, and we’re totally thrilled for RFD to have gotten a shout-out during his interview.
Click here to listen to his interview on Good Food: Moby on KCRWs Good Food
And now, check out his recent article on Grub Street NY Moby in Grub Street NY
We’re always grateful for RFD love, and we can’t wait to pick up a copy of his new book!
May 14th, 2010
Healthy Eating for Kids!
As I’ve spent the week preparing for my talk at this weekend’s You Are What You Eat event, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to get kids to the table and enjoy healthy and delicious meals with the family. As I thought back on strategies that I’ve used with my kids, I remembered this GEM of an idea, given to me by Mary Hartzell, who is an early childhood educator and ran the nursery school both by children attended. Mary suggested to always have one consistent dish on the dinner table that the kids could eat, no matter what. If they are picky or fussy and don’t want to eat what I have prepared, there is always one dish that they can eat.
When I cook, I cook what my husband and I want to eat (and what we WANT our kids to eat) but, lets be honest, what parents like eating vs what the kids want to eat is often not the same thing! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told Halle and Walker, that our home kitchen is not a restaurant! So in addition to what recipes I am preparing for that night’s dinner, I always prepare a whole grain dish, usually quinoa or brown rice. That way, the kids know there’s one nutritious item being served that they’ll WANT to enjoy.
I hope that there may be some of you out there who are able to make it to Brea tomorrow. There promises to be a full day of talks and discussions on this very topic, which I know is one that most mothers grapple with regularly! Even if you can’t make it to Brea, please feel free to share any thoughts or questions you have in the comments section, I’d love to start a dialogue where fans of RFD and REAL FOOD can talk about how to make the best choices for you and your families.
Click here for more information on You Are What You EAT. I hope to see you there!
May 4th, 2010
Superfoods to save the day!
I recently had a great opportunity to work with the folks at MSN’s Practical Guide to Healthier Living, a health and wellness site dedicated to showcase easy, everyday tips for ways to improve your quality of life and improve your overall health and wellness.
I was asked to share my thoughts on superfoods, and why it’s so important to incorporate these nutritional powerhouses into your daily diet. I was thrilled, because this is a topic very near and dear to my heart. Often, people think that “Superfoods” are just the exotic items like Goji or Acai berries, and neglect to think of the everyday items that really pack a nutritious punch. Foods like spinach, soy, avocado, and blueberries are all items that are nutrient rich and loaded with antioxidants and phytonutrients. By simply incorporating these foods into your daily meals, you will get an extra surge of vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients that will produce results for your body that you can see and feel, inside and out.
Check out my full video interview, as well as my article on superfoods on the MSN website, and let me know your thoughts! Are there items that surprised you on the list? Are there foods we left off? Let us know!
April 8th, 2010
Eat Well, Chew Well
At Real Food Daily, we make sure to let everyone know that we are LA’s top spot for organic vegan cuisine. What you might not know is that RFD’s original menu was founded on the principles of macrobiotics, and we still keep a core devotion to the macrobiotic diet with our Real Food Meal and our daily basics such as whole grains, beans, greens, and vegetables both land and sea as well as nori maki and miso soup.
Macrobiotics is a concept that gets an occasional burst of media attention as one celebrity or another endorses the diet, but in truth, Macrobiotics is more than a diet—it is a lifestyle based on the principles of balance and harmony, dedicated to the pursuit of living life to the fullest.
While there are many facets to the Macrobiotic diet, one good place to start the discussion is to talk about chewing. Before you get caught up in what to buy, or how to cook it, let’s talk about The Chew.
Macrobiotics teaches that how we eat is just as important as what we eat. This may sound crazy—especially when you read on and discover that some gurus recommend chewing 100 TIMES before swallowing – and that’s per bite, not per meal! Chewing, it’s core, is a practice in mindfulness.
According to practitioners, benefits associated with chewing well include: improved digestion, more energy and endurance, eliminating more toxins, promoting deeper relaxation, and cultivating patience and self-control. Once you begin the practice of mindful eating, you may even begin to experience feelings of enlightenment or event bliss! (Some attribute this experience to the fact that the brain receives about 20 percent more oxygen when chewing well.)
Ultimately, what you eat, and how you eat it can have a profound impact on your daily happiness. At your next meal, start by chewing each bite as many times as you can—when you start it will probably be only 8 or 10 “chews” before you feel compelled to swallow. But keep at it! This practice will help you to be more mindful as you eat, and will encourage you to be thoughtful and conscientious about how you feed your body.
Eating well gives you three chances every day to make good decisions for your body and your soul, so embrace the opportunity to eat and chew well!
April 7th, 2010
Driven to a Greener Future
We were so fortunate this year to be a part of the 2010 TED Conference in Long Beach, as participants in the Lexus Eco Village, and now I have big news: I am a finalist for the Lexus Prize!
At the Eco Village, TEDsters were invited to share their ideas for small but powerful ways that we can all reduce our carbon footprint. My idea is very simple: Eat Green! A vegan diet is an easy and delicious way to reduce your carbon footprint, and I’ve made it my mission for the last 17 years to share that message with the work we do at RFD.
Watch my video here, or see it online at Articulate-SF.com
February 9th, 2010
Prius lovers going veg
One of my final jobs as an actress was playing in a Miller Beer commercial. I was paired with a ‘real’ live rodeo star, Steve? and we filmed in this honky tonk joint (which was really My Father’s Moustache on Montana Ave in Santa Monica.) I was the waitress (I nailed the audition because I knew exactly how to play this role from all my years in restaurants.) The scene is at the bar; I was serving rodeo rider, Steve his Rib-eye dinner. My big line was, “Here’s your steak, Steve” delivered with a Southern sassy flair. By then I was a hard-core foodie in the arena of veganism and macrobiotics. This was the perfect finale to my acting career.
A lot has happened since I served Steve his steak. My interest in healing foods and conscious eating has widened to include the connection to how our food choices effect the environment. In the past decade there has been so much information to digest. The facts about global climate change directly related to agriculture through the loss of wilderness to farmland, methane released from animals, energy-intensive fertilizers, polluting pesticides, and food processing and transportation were not lost on me.
And as a restaurateur, I’ve been noticing that my restaurants fill up with people who aren’t vegan or vegetarian full-time. These are people who are thinking about their health and their impact on the environment. With new knowledge, their interest in adding plant-based meals to their weekly repertoire seems to be growing. They have a hunch that driving a Prius but eating a steak dinner is missing the point on environmental responsibility.
These past few years has seen the launch of many awareness campaign like the one Sir Paul Mc Cartney and his daughter Stella have spearheaded. Meat Free Monday, aims to persuade people to go veggie once a week to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s livestock to the United Nations and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health echoing the connection between the consumption of meat and the deterioration of our environment. Vegetarianism is has moved into the mainstream.
When I opened RFD 17 years ago, I was way ahead of my time. The choices I made came out of a deep connection to the Earth and my own body as well as intuitively knowing that eating ‘real foods’ was sensible, do able and the right thing to do. I would have never dreamed I would own a restaurant much less one serving exclusively an organic vegan cuisine. And yet, here, I am at the helm of two successful, ground breaking, eating establishments that show people that eating lower on the food chain can be exciting, satisfying and can change not only you but the world.
I’ve always been a gal with a mission. I’m pumped up about these environmental issues. So, I thought what better way to express myself then to pull these thoughts together in a book. Of course, that would be a book with recipes.
January 27th, 2010
Reprinted with permission from “The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh,
Really Good, Really Vegetarian” by Ann Gentry. Copyright 2005
Is it 21 days already?
Man, time flies when you’re neglecting to write blog posts daily… (Seriously, though, where did last week go?)
So here I am, at the end of the 21 days of the challenge, and I feel as though I have hardly scraped the surface! There are so many more things I want to explore– detoxing… macrobiotics…. juicing…. vegan, gluten-free pastries…
So the bottom line is that although the 21 days are up, and the “challenge” that I set for myself has come to an end, there is so much more to say here in the blog, that I fully intended to keep going, and hope that my discoveries about veganism and clean-eating can serve as a primer of sorts for others who are curious about what Real Food really means.
However, since last night was the end of day 21, I wanted to make a special vegan dish to celebrate with my husband. So many choice, one big night… so, I asked Ms. Ann Gentry herself, what she makes for guests when she is cooking for mixed-company, and she said that she always gets rave reviews when she makes a dish from her cookbook, the Amaranth Saute in Kabocha Squash.
So, armed with this expert advice I cracked open “The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh, Really Vegetarian, Really Good” and saw that the very simple recipe really only called for kabocha squash, amaranth, green onions, and tamari. Simple! Quick! Ideal! I thought that would make a lovely centerpiece, and since I knew I had both beets and lacinato kale in my fridge, I thought I would pair it with roasted beets and garlicky greens (a recipe for which can also be found in the RFD cookbook.) It was a very vegetal celebration of 21 days of animal free eating, and although is was a perfect ending to the challenge, I also felt like it was a great inspiration to keep me going for the next 21 days (and 21 days after that… and then… well, we’ll see how long I can go without a bagel with cream cheese…)
Reprinted with permission from “The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh,
Really Good, Really Vegetarian” by Ann Gentry. Copyright 2005
Ten Speed Press, Berkeley CA.
Amaranth Sauté in Kabocha Squash
The porridge-like amaranth mixture is seasoned with tamari and green onions, then spooned into a steamed whole kabocha squash, making it a festive fall side dish.
Serves 8
1 (2-pound) kabocha squash
1 cup amaranth seeds
3 cups water
6 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally
2 tablespoons tamari
Using a sharp knife, carve out a circular opening in the top of the squash. Reserve the top. Hollow out the squash. Return the top to the squash. Pour enough water into a large pot to come 1 inch up the sides. Place the squash in the pot. Cover with the pot lid and bring the water to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium-low and steam the squash for 30 minutes, or until it is tender but still holds its shape.
Meanwhile, heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the amaranth and stir constantly for 5 minutes, or until the amaranth is toasted and fragrant. Transfer the toasted amaranth to a bowl. Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat. Add the amaranth. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often, or until the amaranth is tender and the mixture thickens like porridge. Stir in the green onions and tamari.
Remove the top from the squash. Spoon the amaranth mixture into the cooked kabocha squash. Return the top to the squash. Cut the squash into wedges and serve.
The stars of the show-- kabocha squash and golden beets
Amaranth Sauté in Kabocha Squash
Reprinted with permission from “The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh,
Really Good, Really Vegetarian” by Ann Gentry. Copyright 2005
Ten Speed Press, Berkeley CA.
The porridge-like amaranth mixture is seasoned with tamari and green onions, then spooned into a steamed whole kabocha squash, making it a festive side dish.
Serves 8
1 (2-pound) kabocha squash
1 cup amaranth seeds
3 cups water
6 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally
2 tablespoons tamari
Using a sharp knife, carve out a circular opening in the top of the squash.Reserve the top. Hollow out the squash. Return the top to the squash. Pour enough water into a large pot to come 1 inch up the sides. Place the squash in the pot.
The squash ready to be steamed (NB-- the top should be added back to the top prior to steaming to prevent condensation from re-entering the squash during cooking)
Cover with the pot lid and bring the water to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium-low and steam the squash for 30 minutes, or until it is tender but still holds its shape. [Note from Beth: This is where it all went awry for me... Check your squash periodically, because if you over-steam it, this will happen:]
When culinary disaster strikes...
Meanwhile, heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the amaranth and stir constantly for 5 minutes, or until the amaranth is toasted and fragrant.
Amaranth: This Mexican super-grain has a long history, and is believed by many to possess magical properties. As it cooks it develops a porridge-like consistency that is both hearty and filling.
Transfer the toasted amaranth to a bowl. Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat. Add the amaranth. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often, or until the amaranth is tender and the mixture thickens like porridge. Stir in the green onions and tamari.
Remove the top from the squash. Spoon the amaranth mixture into the cooked kabocha squash. Return the top to the squash. Cut the squash into wedges and serve.
The broken-up squash that was fished from the pot
The final dish, a celebration of winter veggies!
January 15th, 2010
The tears you shed…
Will be the tears of joy over vegan baking.
Well, something like that. Because I always enjoy a challenge, (and because I am something of a masochist) I thought, “Hey, if you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly– go ahead and make that crazy-complicated recipe from BabyCakes!” And so it was, that I found myself at Whole Foods scouring the aisles for things that have never once been in my pantry, and that I had to make repeated trip to the customer service desk to find them even in the giant pantry that is Whole Foods Market. (Momentary shout-out to the Whole Foods at 3rd & Fairfax– love your gluten free baking section, dah-lings!)
So, with gluten-free all-purpose flour, garbanzo and fava bean flour, Xanthan Gum, and soy milk powder in tow, I headed home, ready to be a grizzly bear of gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free sweetness.
And then I realized my JV mistake– I kinda failed to READ the recipe before I started to make the cake (it was to be the finest blueberry crumble cake in all the land…) and little did I know that the one recipe for crumble cake ping’ed back to require a recipe for cupcakes AND a recipe for frosting. Now, it’s no one’s fault but my own for not reading the recipe (and I do take full responsibility) BUT, is it me, or is that not standard cookbook operating procedure? At any rate, all you folks out there who will be using this particular cookbook in the future, don’t be a rookie– read the recipe in FULL before going to the store.
So, upon returning from my second trip to Whole Foods, it’s now close to 10 pm when I start baking. And while I love to bake, the first time with all of these new ingredients at such a late hour put me in a rather intense state of focus, and I was 3/4 of the way through before I realized, “DOH! Blog!!”
All of this is an extremely protracted way of saying that I REALLY wanted to have pictures, recipes, comments, and reviews posted alongside my first foray into Grizzly Bear Baking, but I think I overshot.
The good news, however, is that I still have lots of gluten-free flours and agave nectars, and one heck of a sweet tooth. And now that I have the lay of the land, get ready. Baking extravaganza this weekend. I will do my best to procure an image or two of the proceedings…
January 7th, 2010
A Vegan Peg in a Meat Eating World
So it’s a couple days into my adventures in veganism, and I have found such great support from my co-workers, friends and family, all of whom I expected to be super skeptical about my embrace of the challenge (ok, not my co-workers, I knew they’d all be stoked). Across the board, most everyone I’ve encountered has acknowledged that it’s a big undertaking, and that they can’t wait to hear how it goes. (I wouldn’t be surprised, however, to discover that they have a pool going behind the scenes on how long before I cave to the power of parmesan on my pasta…)
And, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must confess that the first couple of days, I took the easy route, and relied on eating at RFD for lunch and dinner. I love the food, and when you’re eating things like the RFD Club or the Not-chos, let’s be honest– there’s nothing to miss. I was feel cool, confident, and secure in my ability to sustain my commitment to a plant-based diet.
Until dinner last night.
I have a standing weekly date with a friend, where we find a new restaurant, get some wine and snacks at the bar, and play catch up for the week. This week, we decided to check out The Tasting Kitchen, on Abbot Kinney. A gorgeous space, a great cocktail and wine list, and then I saw it: they have a brief and wonderful cheese list. This was it. My moment of truth.
We ordered, and I managed to pass on the cheese, “Just bread and olive oil for me, thanks.” To which he replied, “Actually, I think the bread might have eggs in it…” WHAT? I have to be careful about bread, too?? Thankfully, the baker assured me: Just flour, yeast, salt, and water. Phew.
While there aren’t many options for strictly vegan items on the regular menu at The Tasting Kitchen, I have to commend them on their willingness to accommodate specific dietary needs. The restaurant features a daily fixe prix menu for $40, and if you order that, the chef will make you a fully vegan plate. (Caveat emptor: they will not modify menu items that are on the regular daily menu.)
This dinner fully impressed upon me the “challenge” element of the “21-day Challenge”, and I would love some feedback from any vegans out there reading this blog on how you handle the challenge of eating vegan in a carnivorous world. Do you stick to restaurants that cater to the vegan set? Do you ask if you can order off-menu? As a girl who loves almost nothing more than dinner out on the town, I’d love some advice from those of you out there who know the ropes and have recommendations for a newb like me. Post a comment or find us on Twitter @realfooddaily. I’d love to start a dialogue!