RIP...MJ

Michael Jackson's passing has created a tremendously unexpected emotional reaction in me. I've loved him since he was a wee lad. And then in my teens....songs like Billy Jean, Thriller and Beat it.....

And this was how I rolled......Rest In Heavenly Peace, MJ.

Review in Pictures/Video....Raw Union

DAY 1

The Raw Union Festival was a beautiful experience on every level. Saturday was dedicated to speakers, vendors and blissful pre-marital preparations. (I got henna tattoos!)

Connecting and reuniting with friends (old and new) in the lush, serene atmosphere at Angel's Organic Farm was surreal.

DAY 2

Sunday was a lovely laid back day of bonding, sharing, and anticipation of the sacred reason for which we had all come together.

In the evening, Summer Solstice became one with a fairy tale wedding come to life!

I'm at Raw Union Fest in Oregon!

I arrived in Medford, Oregon this afternoon for The Raw Union Fest. I'll be doing a review of all of the wedding food for the July issue of RawFu Magazine, so this is a really fun trip for me. Traveling made me think of a great blog post that I wanted to share with you from my friend Julie, at Julie's Raw Ambition. If your summer includes any travel plans and your looking for information on traveling healthy and staying on track with your raw food diet, be sure to go check her post out HERE.

This Sunday is not only Father's Day and Summer Solstice, but it is also the main reason I am in Oregon.....to celebrate the marriage of Angela Stokes and Matt Monarch. Raw Food Guru and Essene minister, David Wolfe, will be officiating the ceremony. I'll be sure to gather many photos and video footage from the weekend's festivities.

My travel was pretty wacky today. I made a video for my guinea pigs over in Raw Food Rehab, and I thought you might get a kick out of the craziness of the day. You can watch it HERE. I'm ready to get horizontal and I have no doubt that I'll be out like a light in no time. Be sure to stay tuned to the blog for the behind the scenes/inside scoop at Raw Union Fest!

Get Your Salsa On!

More on Tulsa's Local Foods Week Festivities! If you're a local, you won't want to miss Friday evening's SalsaFest! Jason Ashley Wright of The Tulsa World interviewed me for an article that appeared in this morning's paper that included two of my favorite salsa recipes. You can read the full feature article here.

photo courtsey of The Healthy Cooking Coach

CHERRY SALSA
Although this keeps for several days in your frig.....it won't last that long : - )

1 1/2 cups fresh cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and diced
1/3 cup sweet onion, minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Blend all ingredients, then cover and refrigerate. Allow the flavors to acquaint themselves for about 1 hour before serving.

PENNI'S PATIO SALSA
Most of these ingredients can easily be grown in pots on your patio!

24 golden, cherry or pear patio tomatoes
2 small heirloom tomatoes
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 limes, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 spring onions, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

Blend all ingredients, then cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving.

SalsaFest will be held in the heart of Tulsa's fashionable & historic downtown:

Festivities include salsa music, salsa dancing lessons, salsa tasting and a salsa-making contest figure into this outdoor festival from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Chapman Centennial Green, Sixth and Main streets.

The festival, which focuses on bringing families downtown and increasing awareness of local foods, also features children’s activities, local art booths and a chili pepper-eating contest to see who can handle the heat.

Salsa contestants are asked to use at least one local ingredient in their salsa. Tulsa World restaurant reviewer Scott Cherry will judge the salsa.

Those attending have the option to buy a tasting kit, which includes one bag of chips, a tasting plate and a ballot. After tasting the salsas, tasters will submit a ballot. When all ballots are submitted, then counted, the Tasters Choice salsa trophy and The Celebrities Choice Award will be given.

All proceeds from the event benefit Sustainable Tulsa, a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to responsible economic growth, environmental stewardship and quality of life for all.

SALSAFEST
What: Festival featuring salsa-making contest, salsa dance lessons and other activities.

When: 4-9 p.m. Friday

Where: Chapman Centennial Green, Sixth and Main streets

Admission is free, and bags of chips for tasting salsa are $5. Beer and non-alchoholic beverages will be sold, and water is free.

Good Day Tulsa - Recipes

This morning Rita Scott of Sustainable Green Country and I were on our local ABC affiliate KTUL TV's Good Day Tulsa promoting Local Foods Week. I'm still hoping to find a clip of our segment but until I do, here is the recipe of what I made:

Local Zucchini Pesto Pasta
One of the great things about this recipe is that it is not only fresh and fabulous for summer dining, but it is also gluten and dairy free.

2 - 3 zucchini or yellow squash
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/3 cup native pecans
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
handful cherry tomatoes, chopped
drizzling of White Truffle Oil (Optional)

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until well combined. Put the pest into a cover bowl and refrigerate while you make the pasta.

Process your squash through a spiral slicer or use a julienne peeler to create "noodles." Once you have your noodles ready, toss them in the pesto and garnish with chopped tomatoes and a drizzle of white truffle oil.

Since there is a marvelous abundance of fresh squash showing up at our local markets right now, here is another recipe that my husband, Gordon, wanted to share with you!

Sweet & Sour Zucchini

4 small zucchini, thinly sliced in rounds

1/2 cup local honey

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped (color of your choice)

1/4 cup celery, diced

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine squash, honey, vinegar, oil, bell pepper, celery, onion, salt & pepper in large glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate over night. Drain and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Do You Buy Local?

Local Foods Week June 14 - 21st

Emily Oakley of Three Springs Farms

Real Food Tulsa, Sustainable Green Country and a host of other groups are encouraging their fellow Oklahomans to join them in celebrating "Local Foods Week” during the week of June 14-21, 2009, pronouncing that local food is a valuable economic asset for the state of Oklahoma. Gov. Brad Henry has made the event official by means of a proclamation, as well as Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor.

Created by Sustainable Green Country’s Buy Fresh Buy Local initiative, Local Foods Week festivities will highlight local family farms and farmers’ markets hosting a variety of events, including community garden tours, a raw & local foods potluck w/ lecture, a farm table dinner, cooking demonstrations, a scavenger hunt for children, a salsa making contest, canning classes, on-the-farm cheese making class with tour, and more. In addition, there will be a special screening of the film, FRESH. FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.

Farmers’ Markets abound in Green Country-- Tulsa boasts the Pearl District, Cherry Street, Brookside, North Tulsa and Downtown, plus markets in Owasso, Bartlesville, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Muskogee and others listed in the 2009 Farmers' Market Guide to Green Country (available at www.BuyFreshBuyLocalOK.com).

Buying local strengthens the local food and farm economy, improves health and revitalizes rural and urban communities. Tulsa metro-area residents spent $2.2 billion on food in 2004. If just five percent of those dollars were redirected to buying local food, this would mean an additional $110 million dollars stays in the Oklahoma economy.

In 2007, Sustainable Green Country, the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the Tulsa County Cooperative extension, local nonprofit agencies, tribes, farmers, farmers' market managers and several volunteers came together to form a Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter. Their goals include promoting the vast array of foods grown in Oklahoma and helping ensure the economic viability of our Oklahoma farmers.

To make it easier for citizens in northeast Oklahoma to find local foods, Buy Fresh Buy Local - Green Country has produced two “local food guides", two farmers’ market guide brochures and other various marketing materials, as well as assisted with development of six new farmers' markets in Green Country.

The farms, farmers’ markets and other venues featuring special events during Local Foods Week include: (SEE ATTACHED SCHEDULE AND EVENT DESCRIPTIONS)

All Oklahomans are encouraged to celebrate Local Foods Week in some simple way -- by shopping a farmers’ market and making a special point to include some locally grown foods in the family’s meals that week. Please come join Real Food Tulsa in our Kick Off Celebration - Sunday, June 14th. Please go here for all the details and to reserve your seat!

Key Lime Heaven

Photo Courtesy of Aimee Bittinger

Last Thursday evening I went to the most lovely event. A new friend, Susan Newman, invited me to her home for Women's Health Night. There were about 25 ladies in attendance and the evening started with a luscious raw food buffet. Everything was so fresh and delicious, but here was one particular dish that stood out to me as the cream of the crop.

Local raw food enthusiast, Pam Girouard, made the most delicious Key Lime Pie I've ever had, cooked or raw. I was only able to have the tiniest sliver because it was obviously a huge crowd pleaser. So I went out the next day and bought all the ingredients to make my new favorite summer dessert!

PAM'S PERFECT KEY LIME PIE

For The Crust:
1 cup organic, soft dates, pitted
1/2 cup pecans
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 cup raisins (I used Inca berries)
2 cups dried shredded coconut, unsweetened & unsulphured

In a food processor, using the "S"blade, grind pecans to a fine meal; add pitted dates and raisins. Process until a dough like consistency is reached. Add 1 cup of the coconut and pulse until combined. Use the rest of the coconut to help spread and coat the dough into a pie pan or spring form pan. Cover and place into the refrigerator while you make the filling.

For the Filling:
3 avocados
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tsp. lime zest
pinch sea salt
1 tsp coconut oil
additional agave or honey, if desired, to taste

Put all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until you achieve a creamy consistency. Turn into the pressed and chilled pie crust, covering and putting into the freezer. Thaw for 30 before serving. It's at it's best when still partially frozen. Garnish with sliced limes.

RAW FOOD REHAB

green juice - brooklyn art project
As many of you know, I am currently in the process of writing my first REAL raw food book. I felt that having some actual hard facts and personal testimonials of the benefits of the diet would be helpful research to present in the book. When I first threw out the idea on Raw Fu and You Tube that I could use a few willing guinea pigs, I had no idea so many wonderful people would respond. I was truly overwhelmed by the response and I was forced to close registration at 150 participants, because I knew I would be unable to manage anything over that.

I currently have just over 100 active participants in my raw food experiment, which I am now calling, RAW FOOD REHAB. In the first week we collectively lost 209 pounds, and that was with only 85 people weighing in yesterday. I am very pleased with the early results and I can't wait to see how the next ten weeks will unfold.

I have been so sad that I have had to turn anyone away from this research and I so appreciate all of the eager readers and friends who have written to me. Even though I can't take anymore volunteers in the program, I did want you to know that I am making daily videos with instruction, encouragement and education. If you are interested, please log onto my YouTube Channel and you can follow along and hear bits and pieces of what we are doing and how things are progressing.

Right now the book is scheduled for an early winter release if everything goes as planned. I want to thank you so much your love, prayers and support!

PAUL NISON - COMING TO TULSA

Oklahoma's First Annual Local Food Week will be celebrated from June 14th - June 21st, 2009. Supporting and endorsing this new, exciting annual event is our Governor, Brad Henry and Tulsa Mayor, Kathy Taylor, along with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and many other statewide office holders and organizations.

Real Food Tulsa is helping to kick this week off into high gear with a very special event on the first day, Sunday, June14th. Internationally acclaimed raw food author, educator and certified raw food chef, Paul Nison, will be in Tulsa for an exciting lecture and locally themed raw pot luck.

Paul will be sharing information with us from his latest book.....everything from the raw food diet to when and what you should eat, best times to wake and sleep, balancing weight and gaining energy and the significance of eating foods that are fresh, ripe, organic and locally grown. Paul has quite a following in Tulsa, so please register soon due to the limited number of seating. The charge for this lecture will be $10 per person, to help support bringing our speaker to Tulsa. Paul will also have his books available at the event for purchase.

For the Pot Luck:
Please bring a raw food dish that can feed 8-12 people and include the recipe. The goal is to include at least one locally grown ingredient in your recipe. The pot luck will begin promptly at 5:30 pm and Paul's lecture will be from 6 - 8 pm.

The doors of this venue are locked due to security at 6 pm, so please be ON TIME!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!! HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT SUNDAY!