Benefits

Vegan Bake Sale Sends $3285.43 to Doctors Without Border

to help the Citizens of Haiti

Sunday, tables were set up outside Locali, (pronounced 'locally') a Los Angeles health food store, and filled with baked goods. I bought a raw - vegan - organic - gluten and dairy free carrot cake from Manna Food and Beverage that was very good; A big chocolate dipped raw crispy cookie from Decadently Raw, beautiful and crunchy; some balls of dates and nuts and cocoa that reminded me of those bourbon balls Alice used to bring to all the company parties, but without her bourbon; and a some coconut bars that are a secret recipe that will go into a cookbook by the gals at Just the Food in the fall. It was fun to be in a crowd of food conscience young adults enthusiastic about helping relieve some of the discomfort in Haiti.

Ashley, one of the recipe testers (how do you sign up for that job?) for the new cookbook took me inside Locali and helped me find the Daiya John has been talking about. The Daiya I found is made with Cassava - that deadly root I showed you not long ago, the root that isn't really that nutritious. Like John, I'm not too keen on trying to make something into something it's not. But the minute I got home I put some sliced onion and Daiya between two corn tortillas and fried them. It melts like cheese, it smells like cheese and almost tastes like cheese. The list of ingredients suggests that I need to find my protein somewhere else.

Black Beans with Daiya and Pico de Gallo

1# dry black beans

water to cover + 2"

Bring water to a boil, turn the heat to simmer and cook about an hour. Check for doneness. They probably have another hour to go.

add:

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup shredded carrot

1 cup chopped kale - cut the stem out, you want it to wilt into the background

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

cook until beans are tender

taste and adjust flavors

Plate (bowl) up the beans and sprinkle with Daiya - I put mine into the microwave for 30 sec to melt the Daiya

Garnish with parsley and pico de gallo

Pico de Gallo today was some grape tomatoes, avocado, onion, lemon juice and salt.

I could eat this everyday. It's delicious and so pretty. It's a western meal for sure.