Going Cheese Mad! A Workshop. An event - A Cheese & Wine Tour June 2013 [with gorgeous photos!]

Last month I was so excited to visit Peta's offices in Oakland, California, to attend a cheese making class with chef and cookbook author Miyoko Schinner.  The room was packed with eager home cooks. Miyoko was so fun, giving us great tips and being very generous with the samples the Peta staff handed out to the hungry crowd.  She demonstrated how to make her signature nut cheeses.  We got to see how to make mozzarella, the taste so close to the dairy version! Sure to fool anyone.  A cashew cream cheese, with a few flavour combo's; 'salmon', garlic etc.     At the end of her demonstration, she had even more aged cheeses for us to try.  The murmurs around the room told me I wasn't the only one who loved them.  
Miyoko mingled with the audience afterwards, happy to sign books and answer questions.  I'd already reviewed her book (click here) of aged, air dried, almost instant and sauces and fondues so I knew her work well.  After seeing how fit she is and how effervescent I wanted to know how she kept in amazing shape.  She said, 'I have cheese as an occasional treat, I eat greens everyday and surround myself with loving family and friends'.  Well it is certainly working for her!

I am excited to let you know of an event I was invited to, coming up in June, 22nd. 2013, where you can go on a tour with Miyoko.  It saddens me I'm not in the country to be able to go.  But perhaps you can?  If you would like to have the opportunity to go on a vegan Cheese & Wine Tour, in the beautiful Sonoma County, California, with Miyoko. And join a bunch of folk eager to spend the day with one of America's artisan cheese makers..you can.  The details below.

p.s  If you go, please come back and let us know in the comments box below this post, how it went!  Make us all green with envy!

Click here for Facebook Event Page

Cooking With Tea - A Class With Philip Gelb of In The Mood For Food - [with short video]

Those of you that follow A Vegan Obsession regulary will know that I recently had the opportunity to attend Vegan Iron Chef San Francisco 2013.  So much fun.  Well the fun kind of mushroomed.  I was so excited to then be invited by the chef who gained 2nd place, Philip Gelb, to his 'Cooking With Tea' workshop.  It was to be an afternoon of discovery, and hands on experience of the dishes he prepared for the judges at Iron Chef.

Soba noodles
Tea Soup
Radiccio Salad with Tea Dressing and Tea roasted nuts
Smoked Tofu Wrapped in Yuba
Waffles with Strawberry & Orange Compote


I took the BART (San Francisco's metro system) over the bay to Oakland and Chef Philip's live/work kitchen studio.  Six keen cooks gathered to learn the tricks and tips to Philip's Tea Menu.  
A talented musician too, Philip has spent a lot of time in Japan playing music.  Whilst there, he spent a great deal of time picking the brains of Japanese chefs, and friends, to discover their culinary techniques.  The menu was heavily influenced by his knowledge of Japanese cooking.  We learnt about using a strange Japanese mountain potato (nagaimo) that, when grated, kind of exlopded into a gelatinous gloop (great also for using as a binder in gluten free cooking). We also got to sample a 'milky' green tea, the same used in the competition from ….  We smoked tofu.  We used tofu skin (yuba) to make 'tofu in a blanket' and nestled in a single mange tout pod to add colour.  The tofu had been marinated and then we watched  as Philip showed us how to smoke the tofu.
All of us got the chance to prepare parts of each dish.  We made soba noodles from scratch! It was so much fun producing beautiful flat noodles from a ball of dough!  Unfortunately, they were not gluten free so I didn't get to taste them.  The others murmured their approval so I guess they were good. I had the broth from the soup the noodles were to swim in (the one with the mountain potato grated into) and it was delicious.
Philip told us all about the infusion of tea into his dishes, and regaled us of the fun he had competing in Vegan Iron Chef.  The tea we used was by Chadoen
Once all the dishes were complete we got to sit and eat/slurp together.  It was a fun day.  Rounded off with vegan buckwheat waffles (had wheat in too…argh! not gluten free).  My body isn't real compatible with gluten so I just had lashings of the strawberry and orange compote.  Sweetened with coconut sugar and nothing else to set my body twitching I could have happily sat with a ladle and cradled the pan of compote and devoured it all. Sadly, I had to share!  

Check out Philip's website.  He regulary runs events in between his catering and private parties.

I created a little montage of  the day…check it out.   

 

Philip kindly shared his waffle recipe, especially for you!  To make the recipe gluten free..sub the plain flour for a gluten free flour.  I'd try a garbanzo and quinoa mix . If you are soy-free then you can use coconut milk or almond milk.

Tea waffles
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 packets powdered sencha or 1 tbsp matcha
1 tbsp palm sugar

1.5 cups soymilk
1 tbsp grapeseed oil

mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. mix wet in another. Add wet to dry, mixing gently, being careful NOT to overmix. Let batter rest before adding 3/4 cups mix to waffle iron.

Strawberry tangerine compote
place the following in a saucepan.
2 tangerine quartered
2 pints strawbrries, halved
1 vanilla bean, split
1/2 cup maple

cook over medium low heat till berries break down, stirring frequently.

Have you any great recipes with tea you'd like to share?   Let us know about them in the comments box below.

Be well

India Leigh xx

p.s  The video has  cool tunes by Luc & The Lovingtons.  A band out of Oakland, where Philip has his live/work kitchen studio

A Vegan Cooking Class in Oaxaca, Mexico. The famous MOLE sauce recipe is now in my grasp!

Oaxaca, Oaxaca.  Home to the famous 7 moles. A rich sauce, famed to be thick with chocolate but this is not always, if ever, the case.  Some say there are more than 7.  Some say it's a myth.  I found negro, roja, alhemendra, verde, coloradito at my most favourite covered market in town - 20 de Noviembre.   According to Rick Bayless, the ingredients of mole can be grouped into five distinct classes: chiles, sour (tomatillos), sweet (dried fruits and sugar), spices, and thickeners (nuts and tortillas).  We made ours without sugar, sweetened only by raisins and plantains.  Seriously, it needs nothing else.  Especially the flavours need to veer from rumination by chemically, over sweet refined sugar.  The best moles I tasted where all without sugar.
My love affair with mole has been sporadic, revisited periodically on my travels, but it's history is long.  I think my first taste was at Gracias Madre in San Francisco four years ago.  Their vegan mole was poured generously over the corn tortillas I'd seen made by hand in their kitchens.  The mole was fiery, and complex.  I was due to dash back down the Coast Road to Los Angeles that day.  I had greedily ordered three dishes.  I wanted to try so many things!  I'd taken a 'to go' box on my long drive back down Big Sur.  The new flavours were rich and memorable.  I vowed to learn how to make it one day.  Research informed me it's place of conception was Mexico.  I was patient, and waited until the time came to visit.  Booking a cooking course was number one on my agenda as I travelled to the home (or disputed between Oaxaca and Puebla) of the legendary mole.

My consistent need to fish out the most authentic experience doesn't
always turn up trumps.  But sometimes what it lacks in judgement makes up for in a story.   A few emails went back and forth between 4 or 5 of the most well known classes in Oaxaca.  Agustin seemed the most 'real' and I was promised an all vegan menu.  Which he certainly delivered.

The class was to take place in his home.  It was a VERY rustic, three room apartment located above his restaurant.  Reached via an iron spiral staircase.  Two rather well fed and jolly Americans had signed up for the course also.  I witnessed at first hand the Mexican's endearing quality for honesty.  Agustin actually mused out loud as to whether they'd make it up the spiral staircase.  He used his arms to measure the width of the steel stairs and said 'you'll make it up but not sure about the down'!  I became typically English at this point and politely pretended I hadn't heard.

The menu for the day was BLACK MOLE, RED MOLE, ALMOND MOLE, AZTEC SOUP, CHILI RELLANOS & ENCHILADAS.    Agustin had a black-board with the ingredients listed, however we were not given any recipe sheets to take home.  So some frantic note taking ensued.  It was all a bit confusing as he rushed through the many stages of the preparation. And there were many stages.  This course is jammed full of recipes.  If you are strapped for time or are avoiding fried foods you may want to try the quick RAW recipe for mole I devised back in 2012.  Click here


During the day we discovered the difference between the Black Mole and Red Mole. The black traditionally uses roasted chilies.  When making the red - Red Mole - you boil the chilies until soft.  I think the dry heat of  the black mole is what gives it the depth and warming heat.  The Negro is the one I'm going to share with you now.  


Oaxaca Mole Negro.

Ingredients List
1/2 onion sliced
2 T garlic cloves
8 almonds
10 peanuts
10 pecans
2 T canela (cinnamon)
1 t cloves
1/4 cup raisins
1 T pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 T seasame seeds
2 T ginger (dried)
1 t saffron (v.cheap in Mexico)
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried thyme
1 t anis seed
1 t cumin powder
4 avocado leaves (*substitute..see below)
black pepper
1/2 large plantain
bread (sub to be gluten free and use a corn tortilla)
oil
salt

Gently roast (don't burn) on the stove, all but the plantain and tortilla - Now, depending on your level of zeal, you can either grind in a blender or have a workout and use a pestle and mortar.


For the 2nd part of the recipe….

Fry 1 ripe plantain and put in blender with roasted mix and 2 cups water.  Now for the fun (if not a little dangerous part) TOTALLY burn the tortilla to a crisp on the stove.  PLEASE use all fire precautions.  Don't have a window or door open because the flaming tortilla could fly in the breeze!  Add to the blender

Part 3... - Roast the chilies .Take a mix of the amount shown left.  Oaxaca produces chilies you can't get anywhere else so use the following half guajillos and half a mixture of other chiles, such as pasilla and mulatos. Open the chilies and pour the seeds into a bowl.  Roast these separately as they will burn easily. Roast the chilies until slightly charred.  For this open the windows or your eyes may water in protest at the hot fumes!    Add to the blender.

Part 4..the sauce to go with the mole (also can be used alone as an enchilada sauce, or as a base for soups).  

tomatillas 1/2 cup    tomatoes 1 cup - blend
1/2 onion 6 cloves garlic salt.  Blend & boil.    Add this to the mole mix for a final blending.   Now the sauce can be used to pour over enchiladas, as a sauce for chile rellano, in a soup, over tempeh or tofu….the list goes on.  Be enterprising with it.   If you reduce it down to a paste it can be kept in the fridge for months, or frozen it will last indefinitely.  

The cooking class with Agustin may not be for the more refined among you.  You may find the cussing, inked (rather un-originally by many) on the walls, a bit offensive.  The lack of decent toilet facilities, and the lack lustre kitchen hygiene a little to much to bear.  If however you like to have an afternoon of unstructured, light-hearted  cooking instruction, and copious amounts of free alcohol then it may just be your bag.  Agustin is a nice guy and eager to please.  In hindsight though, I wished I'd booked with one of the more 'serious' cooking schools.  We are talking about food here, right?!  Not to be down graded.  BUT my vegan heart was well catered for and I learnt much.  So, if I can take these receipes, perfect them and make them my own, then I'm more than happy.  All of the dishes were overwhelmingly delicious, even with the mole being tainted with a slightly charred flavour as my cooking companion got a little over zealous with the preliminary roasting.

The dishes are not a five minute fling.  They take time.  But I love tinkering in the kitchen and building up flavours slowly.  It usually means they unfold slowly too.  Capturing your tastebuds.

I'll post the Aztec Soup & Soy enchiladas another day.  For now, go try the Mole.  I guarantee you will be using it in everything.  I've made sweet mole and amaranth porridge for breakfast. And used it in countless soups, and my latest is smearing the thick, dark paste over brown rice tortillas.  Folding the tortilla in half and half again before greedily tearing at it with my teeth.  It transports me to food Utopia every single time.

If you choose to go and purchase some pre-made mole then make sure it doesn't contain animal products.  Some add animal stock.  Beware.

Post me your mole recipes/stories.  As you see, I'm mole mad and I'm keen to learn more!

*there is no real substitute for the slight liquorice flavour of the Mexican avocado leaf.  Some say try fennel fronds, others say a mix of basil and anise.  Those of you in Mexico and some parts of the US are lucky and will find availability of the leaves.  You may be able to find online.  If you cannot source the leaves then I'd say try a tbs of basil leaves or 1 tbs of fresh fennel fronds. Or just omit altogether.


For Agustin Canseco's Classes in Oaxaca (ranked high on TripAdvisor!) 
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#144-A Esq. Priv. de Almendros Col. Reforma, Oaxaca, Mexico

Ranked #34 of 87 attractions in Oaxaca

New! Vegan Cookery Classes

 I'm crawling out, squint eyed, post travel slump.  San Francisco is being kept alive in me via vicarious means.  Skype allows me to sit and feast upon the chromatic American light eminating from a friends window. Emails keep me abreast of the daily goings on back in SF.  The city so good they named it once, because they didn't need to bang on bout it and were quietly smug at its marvelousness. 

When I first arrived back in England and was reunited with my kitchen and its accoutrement's. No longer having to deal with vacation rentals too thoughtless to supply a Vitamix or stick blender!  My shackles of the gadget void melted and I was suddenly given food preparation freedom.  My culinary skills could fly...soar to new heights of excellence. I'd rustle up a gourmet meal with two ingredients whilst keeping my kitchen clean and orderly as I gathered utensils.  Chopped.  Spliced. Diced.  I would dazzle my taste buds.  They'd stand cheek by jowl in reverential ovations!!!!  Thud.  Realty winded me, somewhat. 

Confronted with limitless potential I was forced to cave in and admit to myself the scary truth.  After two months of eating out, and heating water pans of to dehydrate green flakes of dried split pea soup purchased from a natural food store bulk bin,  I had lost my 'kitchen head'.  When my eyes went skyward to pluck a gastronomic dish from an idea bloom....  Nada.  Nutin'.  Zilch.  All I could see was beet salad, kale salad, stir-fry, a plate of caramelising, sticky, sweet, roasted squash.  Soup is usually a feeding ground for innovation.  How about soup.? Dahl, was the extent of my repertoire.  Don't get me wrong these dishes are simply delicious,  but The New York Times Food Section weren't going to be breaking down my door to get to me anytime soon.

What to do?  I wanted to feel masterly.  But I wanted simple. Craved simple. I ate simple.

'Had I lost my culinary mojo?!, I cried. It was then that I eyed a LED light at the end of the tunnel.  I saw I wasn't in a tunnel at all! I'd just stepped into 'stupid city' for a moment.  The light bulb throbbed! Two months of travel and moving more times than fingers could count.....50 girl-hours in the library, researching recipe ideas from a far off shore......?!* amount of time sampling new and wondrous flavours to tease and indulge my hedonist palate.  I was burnt out!  Overloaded. I wanted simple.  Needed simple.  My butt needed me to run, not roulade!

The weight lifted from me by a choir of kindly (and strong) rock chick angels.  I was back.  The excitement of trying something new. The high expectations of plates of delight, sure to become the stuff of legends, written about and marvelled over for millenia to come (if the world doesn't end this year that is) got me all excited.  I was as revved up as a 2-peak horsepower, 1200 watt, racing car red, super star kitchen blender.  Then, after devouring a warm-from-the-oven, almond cigar and supped from a cup of sultry, mellow chicory coffee, I took a breath and remembered I wasn't Heston or Ferran Adrià quite yet, and that I just a curious cook. I have been a vegan cook for oodles of years, and I may be an untidy cook, but a cook non-the-less.  Now it was time.  Time to add to my blogged efforts and teach, support, encourage those who want (or need) to know how to 'do' plant-based, gluten free, healthy and flavoursome food, in the flesh.....'for reals' as the young, London scallywags like to call it.

How? I may admit to being a teeny bit (!) worrisome over the thought of it, but I'm getting animated.  No. Not, a la Lara Croft, but in the form of real life cooking classes/workshops, and a video series on my blog.

First the classes.  I am planning courses in East Sussex and London (to begin with. I plan to run classes outside of the UK too, very soon). 

- The Ashdown Cookery School are hosting my first course (details below). 
- My new Meet UP group The Raw And The Cooked Vegan Community is just burgeoning   into the world and I'm planning a host of events and classes. Please sign up and come along.
- Also, I am offering private bespoke, 1-2-1, Vegan and Raw cooking classes.  If this is of interest please contact me for a chat , tell me what you need and I'll do my best to cater to your requirements. Email: info@aveganobsession.com

A video series is in the pipeline..well, in my head actually, but it's coming.  How fun (nerve wracking).

click here for further details and a take a peek at what you could be making on the day

 

I'm quite excited (and will be more so when I've got over my jitters) and am so looking forward to meeting you, getting to cook with you and giving you fresh ideas, or encouraging you to bring more plant-based dishes to your table!  x

TCHO and the chocolate factory

I recommend, when you visit any city, to get out and walk around, with no fixed goal. Or hire a bicycle, and go where the fancy takes you.  You will probably find most unexpected things of interest, great cafes, fascinating neighbourhoods with distinctive personality. You may get chatting to friendly strangers, who will point you in the direction of  a landmark or restaurant only the locals know about.  You may even cycle along the Embarcadero, whilst watching for the Golden Gate Bridge to step out from the fog in San Fransisco, and happen upon a whacking great chocolate factory.  Upon entering the factory store, you may have a chat  with a member of staff who informs you (whilst you are taking full advantage of the free samples) you can enjoy a free tour of the premises, if you feel so inclined.  But you can't book it there.  Oh no, you have to go all the way back home and book it on the Internet. I'm not sure the idea of going on-line and booking one of the two, daily free tours would have got Mr Roald Dahl inspired. The notion is profoundly dull and uninspiring, in comparison to the fervent chocolate bar buying that Willy Wonka incited. But hey, let me tell you, I found it just as exciting AND stressful gaining access to the shrouded world of TCHO's chocolate making machines.

Stressful because when I booked, the first time, and began my bike ride from the Mission District. Grabbed my bike from the basement to peddle like a tornado was nipping at my heals.  Down Valencia Street, took a right onto Market and down to the Embarcadero. Lands end.  My ETA was off by three minutes. THREE. ONLY 3 minutes, and my place was nabbed with breathtaking swiftness, by another ardent fan of the cacao.   I couldn't believe it.  Just three minutes and I'm out.  I was deflated, dejected...and very sweaty. But my mind, Exocet on getting behind the big willowy curtains blocking my view from the chocolate making, I went home, got on the Internet and booked again. I returned a week later. Hardly learning from my mistake and arriving at four seconds past the tour start time. I ran in, again sweaty from cycling like the clappers down Market Street, and rugby tackled Iris, the tour guide, shouting my name to announce my arrival, as I flew through the air to grab at her heels. I was in!

TCHO (the phonetic spelling of the 1st syllable of chocolate) is, in their words, 'New American Chocolate'.  They are a local chocolate factory, housed somewhere in between the Ferry Building and Fort Mason.They claim to go beyond fair trade when sourcing their beans and buy and collaborate direct with their growers.  They improve the growers production from planting to the racks the beans dry on.  An interesting fact I learned is that most growers from the cacao producing countries TCHO source from (Peru Ghana Ecuador Madagascar....ALL on my bucket list BTW) haven't even tasted chocolate as we know it! They just grow the beans to feed the market.  Timothy Childs, ex NASA Space Shuttle contractor and co-founder of TCHO, built laboratories on sight so the growers get to taste the chocolate that their beans will produce and understand more of the process of fermenting, roasting, conching and tempering.  TCHO seem to be as obsessive about chocolate as I am about anything vegan. Karl Bittong, the other founder, has been so consumed by cacao that he moved to Ghana live next to a plantation.  Between them they've literally bodged together the laboratories and the San Franciscan factory with a hotch potch of retro machines and futuristic technology. 

 

A DVD injected a quick information download. Once that was done, finally, we were guided through the 40ft gossamer curtain to behold the world of the crazy chocolate makers. Strips of clear plastic separated the machines from the packing area where conveyor belts transported of cooling confection. I kept pushing one of the strips to let in the noise of the motors, so tickled I was by the effectiveness of their sound proofing qualities. Huge silver vats held tonnes of roasted cacao nibs. They were being ground to a liquid. Another belly of steel was tempering the chocolate. Heating it to encourage the molecules get in an orderly line, to help create the satisfying 'snap' you get when breaking a piece  from a bar. It's then freed from the heating process, along tubes and down into the final moulds, in rods of warm, fluid chocolate. Crazy technology means Tim can crawl out of bed, grab his iPhone and adjust tempering times or roasting temperatures, without even changing out of his pyjamas, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and driving to the factory. The influence of the CEO and the President of TCHO, Louis Rossetto & Jane Metcalf who founded digital culture, Wired magazine?

Natty head-gear

brightly coloured cacao pods

the white gloop that covers the beans.  This is what ferments the bean.

roasted cacao beans

the happy growers

Aztecs believed that wisdom and power came from eating the fruit of the cocoa tree, and also that it had nourishing, fortifying, and even aphrodisiac qualities. The Aztec emperor, Montezuma, drank thick chocolate, unsweetened - sugar was not yet found, apparently he drunk a whopping 50 goblets every day! 

Standing there, albeit looking silly in a flimsy white paper hat.  The rich evocative smells dense in the air. I got it. Theand smooth? Pre-tour, one might think it a bit 'poncy' to imagine flavours and 'top notes'. It's chocolate, right? But the earth, the plants, the air, the roasting times, how the beans are dried...they all influence the flavour and impart the memory of where the bean originated. Honestly, I could taste citrus. I detected berries. I acquiesced, yes, indeed I could discern a suggestion of floral notes, when all the disc of chocolate contained was 80% cacao and a little sugar.

Just over an hour later I emerged back out from the hanger and into the strong sun.  I untwined the bike lock from the park up and went off on my merry way. Chocolate powered.  Shaking ever so slightly from too much sugar and theobromine. Next stop to hunt down a huge concrete organ built into a tiny promontory in the Marina, that shoots musical notes into the air at high tide, in the name of art.

Let's Get Fermenting

As the last days of my latest jaunt to San Francisco were folding down, I was eager to gather as much cooking, or this this case, uncooking, knowledge that I possibly could.  I loathe being without any of the food stuffs I love so much in the US.  When I arrive, eager off the plane to my beloved California, I rush to the store to purchase my edible loot.  Kombucha is up there with my 'top 5 most craved for prouducts' that make me want to flash-dance  up the street with glee.  This visit  I was determind to take control, and learn to make it myself.  A quick Google search threw me a list of classes and..bingo..I found one across the Bay in Oakland.  Raw Bay Area  The anticipation of gaining a whole new knowledge skillset got me fizzing...just like my dear old fermented beverage.

Heather Haxo-Phillips runs Raw East Bay. Heather,a raw food chef, not only runs these courses privately, but also teaches for Whole Foods Market and the highly praised Cafe Gratitude.   Her years of experience were evident in her course delivery.  Executed with professionalism, she commanded rapt attention and stuffed so much information into the class. I felt relieved that we had an info packet to take home with us, so I could fill in the gaps my camera and notebook may not have captured. 

A table full of kombucha mothers, or scobys' as they are known (the mold starter for the fermentation process), kefir grains, nut mylk bags and a range of glossy books on the subject,  were available to buy so our experiments in the world of fermentation could begin as soon as we got home.  A vital service, as some humans these days have the attention span of a fickle butterfly!

Focus on Fermentation was a demonstration class.  I learned all about probiotics, and how to make coconut yogurt, seed cheeses and even a short demo on the art of rolling your own 'sushi'.

A row of flavoured kimchi.

Heather set one of the delegates to work, massaging cabbage for sauerkraut

.

coconut yogurt - thick and unctuous, topped with a generous, fragrant strawberry.  A granola cracker at the bottom offered a lovely crunch.

At the end of the demonstration we were handed a silver platter of about 7 different types of fermented foods.   Consuming them delivered all the vim I needed to cycle like fury back to the Bart, and the imminent arrival of my train to deliver me back to San Francisco.

I am very, very keen to begin experimenting. When I've come up with a few adapted recipes of my own, you will be the first to know! Mason jars have been sourced.  Starters have been ordered.  Coconut yogurt and kombucha is on its way! 

Have you made any fermented foods? Do you have any tips for me? I'd love for you to share your experiences.

Raw Love Life

Hmm, lots of v. weird..but wonderful, definitely wonderful things have been occurring lately.  You know when you just have one of those times in your life when everything seems, well...auspicious (cough....I often get pulled into an inquisitive worm hole and just went off for a quick info surf..did you know the world auspicious has it origins way, way back in 1590 from the meaning a good omen 'one that takes signs from the flight of birds..well, well).  The path to the Raw Chocolate Alchemy workshop was the stuff of future , personal, legend.  Shall I tell you how?  Well, I'm going to give you a snippet anyway.  A couple of weeks ago I went to a lecture by Stephen Pinker that opened my mind to the fact that the world is getting a nicer place to live (less wars, more love, improved health and prosperity, etc.  compared to the course of the last 2000 years), after I emerged dreamily onto the Strand, London and without thought stepped into an art exhibition that loomed into my sight.  The exhibition blew. me. away. I am forever hounding the Heavens to give me some sort of sign as to my next course of action or whether I was doing 'life' right.  The visionary artwork displayed on soft white walls gave me a definate nod and a  cheeky wink to 'keep calm and carry on'.  I was moved to email the artist.  Long and short we clicked.  Soul sisters.  What followed was a sure conspiracy from the Heavens to get us to meet..coincidence after delicious coincidence led us to meet up at a raw food workshop in East Sussex.

I was a little nervous at meeting the artist, Belle, and her husband, but we connected straight away. Easy. Who couldn't warm to such a kind and fun couple.  My new friends are a rare and beautiful treasure.  The workshop was run by a well travelled, down to earth guy who was as gentle as a breeze.  Bonus.  Three other people came too who were, intriguing, fun and so friendly. Bonus.  We had such a great time watching demos for how to make raw, chocolate granola, divine cheesecake, glossy, heart shaped confection, lots of tasting and then enjoying a beautiful lunch with a coconut hummus that nearly had me reenacting the famous Meg Ryan scene in When Harry Met Sally! Bonus.  Bonus. Bonus.  Don't you just love it when you are ripping along in life and God is blowing at the sails!

I wanted to tell you about the course and pass on the details so you could also have the chance to attend one of Chef Sarmado Sibley's courses, and feel as cosseted as I, learn how to make raw chocolate, laced with essential oils, raw fudge that is unbelievably good, a smoothie of silky goodness, and whatever else the chocolate alchemist has up his sleeve. The new website is due to be unveiled soon, along with details of his future courses. 

Although, my body personally couldn't be 100% raw or even close, I am always amazed by the textures, flavours and innovation of raw food chefs and can usually draw inspiration from them and I like to be on the look out for new tastes and ideas.  The fact that raw food is ridiculously good for you is a double thumbs up.  Raw Love Life has lots planned for the future so I will be stalking his website for updates!

 

chef sarmado sibley

a bowl of chocolate granola...heaven!

our lunch.  Flax crackers with coconut hummus and mixed sprouts

cacao mountain

The next Raw Love LIfe course is running on 26th November 2011 in West Sussex.  Here is Chef Sarmado's webiste and detail of his  Chocolate Alchemy course.  The new website is all set to be epic and stuffed with lots of information that this world traveller has gathered about raw food & chocolate, fabulous workshops and stuff that is still under wraps.