Chef Spotlight: Sayuri Tanaka

Sayuri was my roomie when we both worked at Samudra Shala/Vegan Cafe in Western Australia. She is a vegan cooking and un-cooking dynamo! She works all over the world, catering at different yoga retreats such as Purple Valley in Goa and Radiantly Alive in Bali. Everything she makes is seriously scrumptious. She was famous for her raw desserts at Samudra. (Do the chocolate chunk walnut un-cookies below look familiar? ;)) [caption id="attachment_2404" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Assorted Raw UnCookies"][/caption] Sayuri kindly offered to post some recipes here for Healthy Simple Living readers. I'm sure if you try them, you won't be disappointed! Green Smoothie Boost up ...

Coconut Oil Giveaway!

Quality coconut oil really does make a difference in food prep. I made a favorite quick dish yesterday - pan seared scallops with arugula sauteed in garlic and coconut oil (picture above) and it came out fabulous! So if you've been following my blog, you know that I decided to review four organic coconut oils. Tropical Traditions ranked the highest overall. To be honest with you, I have tasted some premium coconut oils nearly as good as Tropical Traditions, but what gave them the edge is a really good price for the AMAZING quality and labor that goes into the product. ...

Raw Christmas Canapes in July

I just made these little raw canapes last weekend for friends. They were really yummy and cute. Rolling them up and tying them with the chive without tearing it - tricky! I had a few casualties which I had to sacrifice and eat ;) but after the first couple, I had an assembly line going. I think soaking the chives in water helps make it more pliable. [caption id="attachment_1834" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Raw Amuse Bouche"][/caption] The recipe is called "Rolled Courgette Ribbons with Sweet Beet Paté" from Russell James Christmas Recipe E-book. I omitted the beetroot juice and agave because I'm trying to ...

Melty Chocolate Chunk Walnut unCookie

Sundays + rain = time to do some unbaking! I was itching for a sweet treat but too lazy to go out, so I started scavenging the cupboards. Cacao, lucuma, almond butter, walnuts, maca - all the makings of a quick yum pot, but I wanted MORE. Something special. A really raw decadent chocolate chip cookie! So I started rifling through my recipes and came across an all-time sure-fire winner - the infamous chocolate chunk walnut cookie from Sweet Gratitude. They came out AMAZING! Now this ain't one of your lickity-split, easy peasy raw recipes. It takes time and a whole ...

Adventures Across Oz – Part 1

Yep I did it. Crossed the continent of Australia from West to East Coast. On the "wrong" side of the road no less. lol. It was easier than I thought. The Nullarbor Plain was the most challenging part - just looooong stretches of desert with a roadhouse every 200k's or so. Luckily some very bored people have created man-made "landmarks" to keep you entertained - like the sneaker tree, the water bottle tree, the shoe tree and yes, the underwear tree. There are wild camels, dingos, wombats and of course, the ever present Aussie kangaroos, living on the Nullarbor. Was hoping to ...

Bali Eats – Part II

JUICE JA on Dewa Sita Street is a mellow hangout. They have free wi-fi and it isn't as crowded as Kafe. Pure and blended juices are on the menu and it's probably the only place that serves wheatgrass juice in Ubud. The small juices range in price from RP$12.000 - 14.000, but you can get them for half the price at the small family-run warungs all around Ubud. The food is good but not a lot of raw options here, except for a fruit and veggie salad. I tried the vegan tempeh curry and it was really good. Home-made tempeh in ...

Video: How To Make Delicious Raw Chocolate

Welcome to the Samantha Show! Luckily I did manage to get a word in edgewise here and there - lol. Our goal in this episode of our "taste test kitchen" was to pit a tried and true traditional raw chocolate recipe versus a low glycemic version. (A) The traditional version was a combination of cacao butter + cacao butter + agave syrup. (B) The low glycemic version contained cacao butter + cacao & carob powders + yacon syrup. The difference between the two recipes was apparent immediately. When the ingredients were combined, the traditional recipe (A) was creamier and thicker while the low glycemic recipe ...

Water and Chocolate

Visited a beautiful water temple today where the water bubbles up from an underground spring. It's said to be holy where people come to bathe and drink. I wanted to get into the pool, but no other tourists did, so I wasn't sure if it was ok. I did drink from the spring though and it was good, clean and pure! After getting back to the car, our guide said I shouldn't drink it because "my stomach is not the same as a Balinese stomach." LOL. But all is fine and I live to tell about it. ;) [caption id="attachment_1718" align="aligncenter" ...

Eating Organic in Bali

Every Saturday, there's an organic market in Ubud. I was so excited to go - looking forward to it since I got to Bali! Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing. Ten tables and only two with produce. Ah well, at least the consciousness is there and the start of people getting together which is WAY cool. :D [caption id="attachment_1675" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Organic Market in Ubud"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1677" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Baby Organic Plants"][/caption] I got some spinach, tomatoes, bananas and my biggest catch - a huge bag of organic vanilla beans for US$11! In Australia I spent $3 on just one inorganic one. I'll ...

Le Cru in Melbourne

by lilla on September 3, 2009

While in Melbourne, I treated myself to a meal at what I believe is the only all-raw food restaurant in Australia, Le Cru. The space is absolutely lovely – warm rich wood and candlelight. Outdoor courtyard. Great waitstaff!

Le Cru In Melbourune

Le Cru In Melbourne

I wanted to sample a few things, so I tried to keep it light and opted for soup, salad and dessert.

First course was a spinach soup. Nice flavour and different from other raw soups I’ve had. It was OK, though it didn’t blow me away.

Spinach Soup

Subtly Spinach Soup

Next was a dandelion salad with avocado dressing and crumbled raw crackers. Yum, yum! Loved the flavours and the crunchy texture of the crackers with the creamy avo dressing and bitter greens. After I few bites though, I was full from the fattiness of the avo and crackers – just a wee bit too heavy on the fat. More greens would have been nice to balance it out.

Wild Green Salad with Avo Dressing

Wild Green Salad with Avo Dressing

Dessert was an apple raspberry cobbler warmed and served with macadamia cream. This was probably my fave course of the evening. Crunchy and sweet, and quite a generous serving too!

Berry Cobbler with Macadamia Cream

Berry Cobbler with Macadamia Cream

But the BEST item was the mini chocolate cupcake that I bought to have the next day. It was the closest to a “real” cupcake that I’ve ever tasted! The frosting was just perfect and the cake was lighter than most raw cakes which tend to be dense. I think the small size helped keep it from being weighed down and compacted. This was such a yum chocolate morsel.

Best Raw Cupcake

Best Raw Cupcake

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