Two Famous Ladies by kristin

Judita Wignall posted this photo on Cherie’s Facebook page. It’s from her visit here for the Living Light Chef Showcase, Hot Chefs, Cool Kitchen this past August. It was a very fun event, and all the chefs who participated said they had a great time learning new tricks of the trade from each other.

Judita is a musician, actress, and the inspiration for a character on Guitar Hero, a popular video game. Now, I’m no gamer, but I love to see multi-talented people in action, and all of our chefs from the showcase certainly fill that bill. We want everyone to know that even if you missed the online showcase, you can still watch the entire event on DVD, and replay to your heart’s content. Comes with a complete recipe book of all 80+ recipes, and guaranteed to please friends, family, neighbors, and other assorted people you’d like to “turn on” to raw foods. We also have the complete 2010 showcase on DVD, including Chefs Chad Sarno, Nomi Shannon and 10 other super chefs! And if you want to see our real life chefs in Action, don’t miss Alicia Ojeda and Martine Lussier in Austin, TX, and Martine and Cherie Soria in Las Vegas coming up this October! Whether you decide to watch the DVD or take FUNdamentals on the road, we’re pretty sure you’ll want to learn more about Living Light, and that’s the truth!

Last Days of Summer by mary elizabeth

My kids started school yesterday.  Summer seemed especially short this year, if you ask me.  I’m not sure I got my money’s worth.  I sure like them being out of school.  Not only does it mean we can stay up late and go out of town when we want, it means I don’t have to yank them out of bed in the morning.  I’m proud to report we’ve been on time the last two days, though.  If we can make it a week it will be a personal best.  Anyhow – not too much longer and fall will begin officially.  I know that’ll make fellow blogger Kristin happy.  I like fall, too, with its pears and pretty colors.  And that feeling of new beginnings left over from all those first days of school of my own.

We just finished up our Chef Showcase here at Living Light – the live part anyway.  I was here for the last day and was able to go upstairs and watch Vinnette’s demo of her raw version of strawberry shortcake.  It was so good – oh my stars!  Super delicious!  And – she added a tarragon and black pepper syrup that was fabulous and soon to be featured in my kitchen.  If you want to catch this year’s show you can still order the on-line version which comes with a live teleconference with each chef.  Cool, huh?  I totally recommend you look into it if only for the recipe book so you can make that shortcake!

Fresh Fruit – Doesn’t Get Better Than That! by hilloah

 Esterlina Winery had their annual picnic in Philo of the Anderson Valley.  They had the usual picnic fair, but their side dishes of salads and fresh fruit were the most interesting and delicious.

The trip to Esterlina was a good break for Archie.  He works so hard on our Great Room.  Right now he is putting up redwood siding on the house and building a new hearth for the fireplace.  He is making it to where you can sit on it and warm up if you are cold.  In the winter we will group chairs around it as everyone will want to chat in comfort.

This week at Living Light we are having the 2011 Showcase where twelve of the top raw food chefs will demonstrate their best raw vegan recipes.  If you can not make it to Fort Bragg, you can still watch the event by purchasing a Gold or Silver package and viewing it on your computer.  You can also upgrade the packages by adding the DVD selection to your cart and get last year’s showcase as well.  Now that’s a deal!

It’s About Time by mary elizabeth

Here in the good old Admin. Office at Living Light, we’ve been experiencing some technical difficulties with our clock.  First, our fancy atomic clock went nuts, complete with some very “through the looking glass” spinning, and wouldn’t keep the time even with new batteries and trips outdoors to better connect with it’s atomic brethren.  So, we got a regular old battery operated wall clock to take its place and all was well for a while, but now – not working.  But we’ve discovered that it works just fine when we take it down off the wall, yet when re-hung, it stops.  It seems to me that the only logical explanation is that spot on the wall of the office is some sort of time vortex – an anomaly, if you will – where time stops.  If only we could figure out how to use this to our advantage!

You may want to use time to your advantage and register for the on-line version of our 2011 Chef Showcase as quickly as possible.  Right now it’s being offered for almost $50 off the regular price!  Quite a deal, and so worth it!  We have such amazing chefs participating this year – you don’t want to miss out on all the new, cutting edge recipes they’ve developed.  And there’s lots of bonuses that come along with it – so don’t let time slip away – sign up today!

Chef Showcase Live August 26-28 in Fort Bragg by kristin

Okay, we know it’s getting late, and it might be hard (though not impossible) for some people who live far away to make it to our Living Light Chef Showcase live event here in Fort Bragg. But guess what? We’ve decided that we’ll be doing this event on a virtual basis in the future, so this may be your last chance to see 12 celebrity raw food chefs assembled together in our professional culinary studio here on the gorgeous Mendocino coast of northern California! And don’t you want to see the chefs prepare the food, mix and mingle with them at a swank dessert reception, and perhaps tip a glass of fine Mendocino county wine as you enjoy a delicious vegan (or all raw) gourmet dinner at the fashionable Ravens Restaurant at Stanford Inn by the Sea? C’mon–if you live anywhere nearby: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, even Idaho or Montana–how about a scenic cruise to our neck of the redwoods? It’s not the French Riviera, but you know what? It’s just as pretty, and the weather’s fine. We’ve hardly had ANY fog this summer-it’s been warm, breezy, and absolutely LOVELY!! So, I say, make that once-in-a-lifetime road trip to join us for the fun! Just say oui!

Things to Do by hilloah

This weekend was pure bliss. Saturday I did the laundry, organized and cleaned up a bit and in the evening we went out to dinner at Chapter and Moon with friends.  And then to Cotton Auditorium for a production of Broadway tunes put on by the Gloriana Singers. We have some real talent here in Fort Bragg!

Sunday I just sat outside and watched the wind ruffle the small yellow flowers on the ground, the white butterfly setting on one flower, then another, the bees hovering around the peach tree. I had no desire to read, crochet, watch a movie, or bake. I did do a little weeding and found some of our Naked Lady bulbs. Now that they will get some sun, perhaps they will bloom.

Here at Living Light, we are all looking forward to the Chef Showcase in a couple of weeks. Imagine sitting in the audience and watching renowned chefs preparing some of your favorite foods and then you get to taste it as well. Yummy! On the first evening you can join the chefs and eat at Ravens Restaurant at the Stanford Inn in Mendocino. The day before the Showcase begins you can Take A Walk On The Wild Side: Discover Raw Green Super Foods From the Ocean! Thursday, August 25, 2011 from 6:45am to 11:00am; class will meet promptly at 6:30am in The Company Store.

Last Chance by mary elizabeth

Well – summer is almost over and you know what that means: back to school shopping!  Just kidding…the Living Light Chef Showcase – Hot Chefs, Cool Kitchen is coming right up!  And we have some hot chefs for you to enjoy this year. Eleven women and one man – Chef BeLive, who wrote an eBook entitled Orgasm of the Taste Buds by the way, which sounds pretty hot to me.  And of course, my all-time hero Vinnette Thompson will be creating sweet treats.  Bring it!  I’m super excited to see what all twelve of these chefs bring us from their cool kitchens.

And guess what?  This is the last year we’re going to offer the opportunity to see the Chef Showcase live.  That’s right – starting in 2012 this fabulous event only be available online.  So if you’d like to taste the recipes being prepared and ask questions of the chefs live and in person, you’d better get your tickets to this event now. The dates are August 26 – 28 and the demos go all day, each day. And, of course, if you come here you also get to experience the Living Light Center. You can eat at our café and shop in our marketplace and meet our fun and fabulous staff. I think it’s really worth the trip. So – register today and I’ll see you in a couple weeks!

The Sounds of Silence by mary elizabeth

My daughter’s been away at camp this week and my son’s been with his dad. Needless to say, it’s been very quiet at my house. I don’t really like it. Sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed with all the needs and personalities that go along with a full house, but it’s definitely more interesting than the alternative. And less lonely. Often, I hear myself complaining about never having any time to myself, but evidently I don’t really like it that much. I know I’m supposed to be a whole, complete woman all own my own, but I do really feel like my kids are a part of me, and when they aren’t around I feel kind of empty. And, on a more practical note, I like having someone to comment to during our favorite shows or someone with whom to share a late night snack. I guess I’m just ready for them to come home.

Speaking of coming home, our Chef Showcase is coming right up and lots of our old friends will be here. Living Light graduates who are presenting include Solla Eiriksdottir, Alicia Ojeda, Tina Jo Stephens, Judita Wignall and Christina Archila. We’ll also get to have our own Colleen Cackowski back with us for a few days. Don’t forget Living Light Instructors Vinnette Thompson, Martine Lussier and Amy Bacheller. And new to this year’s line-up: Chef BeLive. Of course, Cherie won’t just be demonstrating some fabulous new recipes, but will also be hosting the event with her usual poise and style. It’s definitely an event to look forward to, and tickets are still available. So – if you’d like to see all these chefs do their thing live and in person, give me a call and I’ll sign you up. It’ll be exciting here at Living Light during the three days of the Chef Showcase – not quiet or lonely at all!

Mindful in the Kitchen by kristin

I’ve long been a fan of Zen priest, author, and cook Edward Espe Brown. I still have a recipe book of his from the Tassajara Zen Center I got back in the 80s. The thing I liked about it best then as now, is that while he included some recipes in the book, he added  ideas about how to be fully present with the food (especially vegetables) and create dishes mindfully and spontaneously. He even told a funny story about when he accidentally burned a huge batch of kale and was congratulated by his diners on the delicious barbeque taste. “How did you do that?” they wanted to know. Ah, the kitchen life. As my friend Martine Lussier says, “Peace Begins in the Kitchen.”  I picked up an old copy of the Buddhist Review Tricycle from the fall of 2009 at the thrift store and found a whole article about mindfulness in the kitchen, with a quote from Brown’s  Zen master Tenkei: “See with your eyes, smell with your nose, taste with your tongue.” Which reminds me of  another fun quote from The Fantastiks: “Plant a radish, get a radish, not a Brussels sprout, that’s why I like vegetables, you know what they’re about!” Which brings me to the Living Light Chef Showcase: Hot Chefs, Cool Kitchen here at Living Light August 26-28. In three days, you’ll see 12 chefs, 24 raw food recipe demos and if you keep your senses focused, you’ll learn more than you can imagine about being fully present with the food.

Summer Treats by mary elizabeth

We have chosen the next Hot Raw Chef! It’s none other than Living Light graduate Cristina Achila. Her winning recipe is for Pear Napoleon with Pistachio Crumble and Fig Confit and looks fabulous. No wonder she won! And if you missed the voting, like I always do, you can still watch the videos and register to receive the eBook of recipes. I totally suggest you do it, too. I have a copy of the eBook and there is so much fun stuff in there, including tons of summer treats. So just go to HotRawChef.com and check out the latest in raw culinary yumminess.

What summer treats do you enjoy the most? I am a watermelon fan and am so looking forward to trying both the watermelon gazpacho recipes featured in my new eBook. If you like watching demos, you should treat yourself to this year’s Chef Showcase at the Living Light Center. The line-up of chefs is impressive. You may want to use the warmer, dryer weather to ramp up your exercise regimen a couple notches. Or –  spend it sitting still and soaking up the sunshine. Whatever you think will make your summer sweeter, be sure and indulge yourself. During the cold, dark days of winter, make sure you have some summer memories with which to warm yourself. How will you treat yourself this summer?