Zhouzhuang - Water Town

Pictures taken during a day trip to Zhouzhuang two days ago. Zhouzhuang is one of water villages in China, about 3 - 4 hour drive (with traffic) from Shanghai. Our guide said this town is believed to be China's first water town - with 900 years of history.  Half of the buildings in the village were built during the Ming, Yuan and Qing dynasties.

Banana & Strawberry Chia Pudding

I normally start my mornings with about 2 cups of green smoothie. While smoothies fill me up, they don't hold me over until lunch time. So this chia seed pudding comes to the rescue. And it has become my favorite morning snack at work. I like the jelly texture of soaked chia seeds and I can make tons of variations by using different kinds of fruits (fresh or frozen), nuts or seeds. The possibilities are endless. It is very easy to prepare, super healthy, and delicious! This pudding is also great for dessert - like this one which I prepared as soon as I got home from the farmers market with 3 baskets of organic strawberries this afternoon. I didn't want to wait until tomorrow morning to enjoy this juicy and sweet strawberries. Excellent pudding toppings! 


3 tablespoons raw, organic chia seeds
1 1/2 cups almond milk or any milk of choice 
pinch of pink himalayan salt
pinch of cinnamon
1 organic banana
5 fresh organic strawberries 
a handful organic raisin


Soak chia seeds in almond milk for at least 2 hours or overnight, stir often for the first 15 minutes to prevent clumping. Transfer to a serving bowl, and top with banana, strawberries and raisin. 

Quinoa & Shiitake Salad

It's Friday evening, I am hungry, I don't want a take-out, and I don't feel like eating out alone (hubby is on a business trip). So what's for dinner? There is not much left in my fridge on Friday - I go to Farmers Market every Saturday and/or Sunday, and only buy veggies and fruits for a one-week consumption. So dinner will have to be whatever left there. Glad I have quinoa, a staple in my kitchen that had become my go-to food since I became vegan. 


Quinoa & Shiitake Salad 
- 1/4 cup organic quinoa, cooked per directions
- 1 cup organic shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tbsp raw, organic coconut oil
- a splash of coconut aminos
- 1 garlic, crushed
- 5 leaves organic kale, chopped
- lots of organic greens
- organic cherry tomatoes


Directions
Saute shiitake mushrooms in coconut oil
Add crushed garlic and kale when the mushroom starts to wilt
Pour in the coconut animos then stir 
Turn off the head then add cooked quinoa and tomatoes. Toss together
Arrange greens on a plate than add the mushrooms and quinoa mix. 
Enjoy with a lot of smiles

True Food Kitchen

We finally tried True Food Kitchen at Santa Monica Place 4 months after it opened.  While TFK is not a vegan restaurant, it offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten free dishes - even though only 3 vegan items listed on the menu. I asked about several non-vegan items on the menu to see if they could be made vegan. The server said yes. Good to know for future reference. 

For appetizer, I had Shiitake & Tofu Lotus Cups with ginger, cashew and garlic sauce (pictured above) and melon and goat cheese salad for my hubby. My shiitake and tofu lotus cups were delicious! I could have 2 orders of those for my main.

Hubby had a ravioli dish which he liked. I didn't remember what's in the ravioli though. For my main, I had their organic tomato and roasted vegetable pizza, which was pretty good. 

We rarely order dessert when eating out unless we know for sure the restaurant we visit really has great dessert. But when I looked up their dessert menu and found several vegan dessert; I was tempted. We ended up with two orders to share; dairy free pomegranate sorbet and dairy free chocolate pudding with pistachio and walnut. The sorbet was so refreshing and delicious. It was gone in an instant. The chocolate pudding is also yummy and very rich. 

Overall I am happy. The food is tasty, the service is friendly and the place is beautiful and spacious! Since hubby and I spend our weekends in Santa Monica often, this would be the perfect place for both of us. 

True Food Kitchen

395 Santa Monica Place, Suite 172

Santa Monica, CA 90401

310-593-8300

Real Food Daily - Santa Monica

I am actually not a huge fan of Real Food Daily. While the food is quite good, it is ridiculously overpriced and the service was just okay. But my non vegan hubby can find many items off the menu that he can enjoy. So we go there quite often to both their Santa Monica and West Hollywood locations. Hubby and I went back for late dinner tonight.  

Fergalicious Salad

Hubby went with Fergalicious salad, the special of the week. It had Black eyed peas, garnet yams, red peppers, scallions, watercress, baby spinach, mixed cabbage, toasted coconut, spicy toasted almonds, chili lime vinaigrette. He was very pleased with his salad. I tried a few bites of his salad and it was good.

I ordered tortilla soup which I really liked, followed by the TV Dinner meal which was tempe vegetable loaf, mashed potatoes, golden gravy and steamed vegetables. While the meal didn't look appetizing at all, one of the reasons I waited this long to try it, it was actually not bad. The gravy was especially tasty.

TV Dinner

Real Food Daily
514 Santa Monica Blvd.        And      414 N La Cienega Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401                   West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 451-7544                                    (310) 289-9910

Sauce on Hampton Venice

After our weekly Farmers Market run, we're headed to Venice to grab some lunch from the Green Truck. Alas, the truck was nowhere to be seen so we asked our friends at Tortoise for recommendations on restaurants that have vegan options in the area. They and one of the customers, who overheard our questions and was a local, recommended Axe and Sauce on Hampton. Based on their descriptions of the food and the vibe of the restaurant, we decided to try Sauce on Hampton.

The place was packed when we got there but fortunately a table on the sidewalk opened up less than 5 minutes later.  There were not a lot of options for vegan so I decided pretty quickly what to order (which was unusual). They had only one item that didn't need to be veganized; Pan-Seared Flaxseed Tempeh Crunch that had sauteed mushrooms, avocado, diced Persian cucumber, Roma tomato, and lemon juice and came with roasted yellow sweet potatoes . My non-vegan hubby ordered a Turkey Burger with light red cabbage slaw. My tempe wrap was delicious and so was the turkey burger - according to my hubby of course as I didn't try it.  The bill came with homemade  chocolate chip cookies which looked really good - unfortunately it was not vegan. 


Sauce on Hampton
259B Hampton Dr.
Venice, CA 90291
Ph. 310-399-5400

Cafe Gratitude - Los Angeles

We finally made our way to Cafe Gratitude today and were happy with the experience; good food, nice ambience and delicious dessert! 

And importantly, my non-vegan hubby liked the food. Yeah! 

I AM ELATED - that's what I had. Raw version of enchilada, made of live spinach tortilla with sprouted seed filling, spicy mole and cashew sour cream, served with creamy chipotle  coleslaw and greens. 

I AM GRACEFUL - Hubby loved his quinoa bowl with kale, tomato, black beans, sprouts and pesto sauce. 

For dessert, the waiter arrived at the table and said, you are adoring. Yes, that what I ordered :-)  "I AM ADORING", aka tiramisu. I was still full from my main when it arrived, but couldn't resist myself from eating it. I ended up having most of it to go.

Hubby and I enjoyed "I AM BLISS" - chocolate hazelnut cream torte. Both desserts were insanely good and they both were raw. No picture of "I AM BLISS" - it was gone in a flush. 

- I AM HOOKED - :-) and will return soon.

When we were eating, we spotted Julie Stiles come in for to-go order.

Cafe Gratitude

639 Larchmont Boulevard, 

Los Angeles, CA 90004

(323) 580-6383

  

Better Life Cuisine - Santa Monica

Selesai belanja mingguan di Farmer's Market, urusan belanja diteruskan ke Old Town Santa Monica.  Tujuan utama adalah ke toko perabot/tempat pijat/dan restoran vegan Thailand. Bukan mau pijat atau beli perabot atau makan siang, tapi cuma mau beli mangga! Soalnya cuma mangga disini yang cocok dengan lidah saya yang sudah terbiasa menikmati kelezatan berbagai jenis mangga Indonesia. Walaupun harganya $2 sebiji pun diusahain dah.

Biasanya setiap mampir ketoko ini kami selalu beli air kelapa muda. Tapi hari ini air kelapa mudanya ditunda dulu karena sudah kelaparan dan pingin nyobain makan siang di Better Life Cuisine. Restoran ini seperti halnya restoran vegan atau raw vegan yang lain, sangat simpel tanpa dekorasi yang neko-neko. Daftar menunya cuma satu berupa papan tulis besar yang tergantung di belakang dekat dapur. 

Suami tidak terlalu lapar karena sudah makan kurma yang diisi goat cheese, sirloin sliders dan grilled shrimp cocktail tapas style dari Shangrila hotel yang pagi tadi buka stand di Farmers Market. Selain itu tentu saja fresh oyster yang tidak pernah ketinggalan dia coba setiap ke FM. Jadinya dia cuma pesan strawberry smoothie.

Sukar sekali menentukan pilihan makanan. Setelah hampir 15 menit bingung memilih, ahirnya saya pilih lasagna yang dibuat dari irisan zucchini mentah,  dengan saus marinara, bawang bombay, jamur, keju riccota, parmesan, mozzarella, tomat dan daun basil. Semua keju dibuat dari kacang mete. Sebelum menjadi vegan, saya tidak suka lasagna. Tapi lasagna yang saya coab hari ini, OMG lezatnya gak kira-kira. Rasa keju-kejuan ini tidak ada bedanya dengan rasa keju yang asli. Bedanya cuma tidak perlu khawatir untuk menghabiskan semua keju ini. Thai soup yang disajikan duluan rasanya pun tidak kalah lezatnya. Sup yang berbasis santan kelapa ini terasa ringan dan smooth di tenggorakan.


We'll be back very soon!


Better Life Cuisine, Raw Organic Vegan
717 Broadway Ave,
Ph.: 301 458-7620
Santa Monica

Acai Bowls from Backyard Bowl

On our way up to San Luis Obispo yesterday, we made a quick stop at Backyard Bowl in Santa Barbara for delicious acai bowls. Both my hubby and I had the Berry Bowl which was a mixture of the pulp of acai berry blended together with banana, strawberries and apple juice, then toped with granola, strawberries, blueberries, banana and goji berries. Hubby had his with fresh organic non-fat Straus Creamery yogurt.  

Not only did the dish look pretty, but it tasted really good. 

Kripik Bawang

Cuti sakit saya teruskan hari ini karena belum merasa sehat sepenuhnya dan juga ingin beristirahat lebih banyak. Hihihi. Setelah makan siang dan menikmati beberapa potong brownies yang dibuat kemaren, timbul keinginan untuk makan keripik atau camilan yang asin-asin. Sayangnya persedian camilan mentah saya sedang habis. Jadi harus buat sendiri dengan bahan seadanya. Untung ada kacang almond yang sudah direndam dan dikeringkan,  sisa dari membuat susu kemaren pagi, dan sedikit walnut yang memang ingin segera dihabiskan karena sudah agak lama tersimpan di pantry. Karena tomat segar tidak ada, sebagai gantinya saya gunakan tomat yang sudah dikeringkan (sun dried) dan direndam dalam air dingin. 

Kripik Bawang (Kripik atau keripik sih yang benar ?) Resep diadaptasi dari sini

1/2 cup raw, organic almond yang sudah direndam dan dikeringkan

1/2 cup raw, organic walnuts, rendam 30 menit, tiriskan

1/2 cup raw, organic biji matahari, rendam 30 menit, tiriskan

2 potong organic sun dried tomato, rendam 30 menit, dan air rendamannya

1/2 organic sweet onion, potong-potong

1 1/2 sendok makan flaxseed

sejumput pink himalayan sea salt

Masukkan semua bahan kedalam food processor. Setelah semua tercampur, tuang adonan ke kertas parchment dan tipiskan kemudian keringkan. Karena tidak punya dehydrator, adonan saya keringkan di dalam oven dengan suhu tidak lebih dari 100 derajat sampai saya dapatkan tekstur seperti keripik.  

Better than Brownies Amanda :-)

Sejak kemaren sore saya bersin-bersin tanpa henti. Awalnya saya pikir hanya alergi biasa tapi saat bangun tidur pagi ini hidung terasa agak mampet dan tenggorokanpun terasa sakit. Jadilah hari ini ambil cuti sakit biar bisa istirahat. Kalau sakit saya usahakan untuk tidak minum obat dan membiarkan tubuh berperang melawan penyakit dengan sendirinya. 

Setelah melakukan yoga ringan, badan mulai terasa baikan. Istirahat sebentar terus makan siang - semangkok besar organic greens tanpa dressing yang bisa bikin kambing ngiri. Begitu selesai makan siang, badan sudah terasa segar kembali dan punya enerji lagi. Jadilah bikin brownies mentah yang memang sudah lama pingin dicoba. Ternyata rasanya tidak mengecewakan. Menurut saya brownies ini jauh lebih enak dari brownies Amanda dari Bandung yang terkenal itu. 

Brownies terenak di dunia - diadaptasi dari Raw Food Punk

Karena tidak dimasak bahan yang saya gunakan semua raw dan organic. 

- 1/2 cup pecans

- 1 cup almond pulp (ampas kacang almond sisa dari membuat susu almond - duh panjang amat terjemahannya ya)

- 5 dates

- 3 tbsp raw honey

- 1 tbsp filtered water

- 1/3 cup cacao powder

- 1 tbsp almond butter

- 1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

- handful whole pecan, cincang kasar

Masukan semua bahan kedalam food proces­sor kecuali pecan yang sudah dicincang sampai tercampur rata dan liat. Tuang adonan ke dalam mangkok, tambahkan cincangan kacang pecan terus pindahkan adaona ke dalam loyang. Tekan sampai padat, diamkan sebentar sampai agak mengeras (biar mudah dipotong). Enjoy!

Easy Breakfast - Green Smoothie

Akhir pekan kemaren, saya dan suami pergi ke Farmer's Market sudah agak siang. Tentu saja sampai disana sudah tidak banyak pilihan lagi sayur-sayuran dan buah-buahan yang tersisa.  Alhasil green smoothie minggu ini resepnya sangat simple. Semua bahan diblender sampai halus dan mudah diseruput.  Sayuran dan buah yang digunakan semua organik.

- 1 1/2 cup air yang sudah disaring

- 2 genggam bayam 

- 2 batang celery 

- 2 fuji apel 

- lemon juice dari 1/2 emon

- 2 sendok makan raw and organic hemp seed

- 1 genggam parsley (termasuk batangnya)

- 1 peach

Chocolate Cashew Milk

I love chocolate! Well, who doesn't?!

Sejak mencoba mengkonsumsi makanan mentah dan ketagihan, saya rajin membuat susu kacang rasa coklat, tentunya dengan menggunakan cacao yang belum diolah. Rasanya jauh lebih enak dari susu coklat yang selama ini saya konsumsi dan jauh lebih sehat lagi. :-) Konon cacao mentah merupakan 1 dari 10 superfoods karena mengandung antioxidant yang tinggi, phenyl ethylamine (PEA), anandamide yang merangsang perasaan bahagia dan sumber manganese, zinc, cooper, iron, magnesium dan omega 6 fatty acids. Melihat sederet faedahnya, saya usahakan untuk menggunakan cacao mentah di dalam resep sebanyak mungkin. 

Biasanya saya menggunakan kacang almon untuk membuat susu. Karena kehabisan stok dan yang ada di pantry saat ini cuma kacang cashew, ya saya coba pakai kacang cashew. Seperti yang saya duga sebelumnya, hasilnya tidak mengecewakan. Malah saya tidak merasakan perbedaan rasa sama sekali. Yang terasa adalah susu coklat yang lezat. 

Semua bahan yang digunakan mentah, organic, tanpa gula dan tanpa perlu merasa bersalah jika minum bergelas-gelas :-)

Chocolate Cashew Milk 

1 organic cup cashew

3 cups filtered water

3 organic medjol kurma yang sudah dibuang bijinya

2 atau 3 sendok makan organic raw cacao powder 

Masukkan semua bahan ke dalam blender sampai tercampur rata. Membuat susu dari  kacang cashew lebih mudah dibandingkan membuat susu kacang almond karena tidak ada ampasnya. Takaran di resep ini menghasilkan 3 gelas (untuk ukuran gelas dalam gambar) dan bisa disimpan di lemari pendingin sampai 3 hari (kalau bisa menahan godaan untuk tidak menghabiskannya dalam sekali teguk). Haha 

Hip Vegan Cafe - Ojai

After our nice morning hike with great views of the Ojai Valley this morning, we stopped by Hip Vegan Cafe for lunch. The food was super yummy, the owner was very friendly and nice. My non-vegan husband raved about how delightful his tempe burger was. The burger was served on sprouted whole grain bun and had tomatoes, a lot of sprouts, miso mayo, onion and lettuce. It came with light and tasty salad and chips. 

I was blown away by my Hip Hip Hooray Wrap. It was a raw dish of spicy jalapeno almond pate with guacamole, sprouts, lettuce mix wrapped in collard green. It didn't look so appetizing but it was one of the best meals I've ever tried. Easily.

After lunch we visited a very cool olive tree farm and olive oil facility and walk around downtown Ojai afterwards. 

Olive tree farm

Hip Vegan Cafe

928 East Ojai Avenue

Ph. : (805) 646-1750

Ojai

Ojai Olive Oil

1811 Ladera Road

Ph.: 805 646-5964

Ojai

Nut Milk, My New Love!

Move over soy milk! I have a new love; nut milk.  

A few weeks ago, I started following a high raw diet which is consuming more than 80% uncooked food. I eat predominantly vegetables, fruits, raw seeds and nuts. Since then I have been drinking homemade nut milk almost every day. I love the taste and the creamy texture of it, especially when I add raw cacao powder to the mix to make very delicious chocolate nut milk.  


I have tried making nut milk using almonds, brazil nuts, cashew and macadamia nuts so far which all yields a very delicious and nutritious drink. While almond milk is easily accessible and probably is more economical to purchase, I prefer to make my own almond nut milk because I don't want additional ingredients that usually come along with almonds; sugar, preservatives, stabilizers or other processed ingredients.  Good news is making delicious nut milk is very simple and doesn't require a lot of ingredients or efforts. There are a lot of recipes for nut milk on the internet but the following recipe is the one that I use the most. 

Nut Milk Recipe
Ingredients: 

• 1 cup organic, raw nuts of choice, soaked at least for 8 hours
•  3 cups of filtered water or 4 cups if using macadamia or brazil nuts
•  3-4 organic medjool date (I like my milk sweet)
•  a pinch of himalayan pink salt
•  a pinch of organic, raw vanilla been powder

Method:  

• Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed or Vitamix for 1 minute or so. 
• For a smooth texture, use a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to strain the mixture. Most of the time, I don't bother straining it as I like my drink creamy and thick. 
• Enjoy this delicious milk as is or add 1 tbsp raw, organic cacao powder to make creamy delicious chocolate milk or frozen strawberries/blueberries to make tasty strawberry or blueberry milk.
• Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.

12 Hours in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been my lay-over point for my trip home for the past 10 years. It is the home base for Cathay Pacific, the airline that I frequently use when I fly home or to any cities in Asia. I've been to Hong Kong, beyond the airport, several times - my first visit was in the early 90s with my youngest sister where we visited most of must-see places and attractions both in HK Island and Kowloon.

Chin Lin Nunnery

On my way back from Bangalore on Wednesday, I had a 12-hour layover in Hong Kong and had a great time visiting a garden, a tea shop and a tea house. After having a quick breakfast at Crystal Jade at the airport - my flight arrived very early in the morning-, I headed to Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Ninnery (took Airport Express to Central then MTR to Diamond Hill Station) to enjoy the peaceful part of Hong Kong. It was sooooo nice to take a walk in the garden that is like an oasis in the middle of a bustling city. 

I spent my morning through afternoon in the garden and had a delicious lunch at Long Men Lou, a vegetarian restaurant operated by Chi Lin Nunnery. After lunch, I was tempted to have some Wuyi Yancha (Wuyi Rock Tea) at Song Cha Xie teahouse across from the restaurant but decided not to because I was planning to check out Lau Yu Fat Tea Shop anyway. 

After spending a few hours sampling delicious teas at the tea shop, I went to Museum of Tea Ware, had some dim sum and tea at Lock Cha Tea Shop before heading back to the airport.