It looks so cool with the lights on, but just as pretty during the day. Yesterday was my second trip to the Veggie Grill in El Segundo. What made it doubly nice is that after we had spent two hours laughing at Laurel and Hardy movies at Old Town Music Hall, my friends Wayne and Larry treated me! 
(Photo from Rolling Stone and The Simpsons, Fox TV)
My favorite radio talk show host is Richard Greene. He is an intelligent, kind and gentle soul who also happens to be vegetarian. One of his main reasons for going veg was environmental. I'm not convinced that very many people become vegetarian or better yet, vegan, for that reason...because they don't know the horrific impact of meat-eating on the environment.
And while we're on the subject of wonderful , healthful orange root veggies, I must tell you about the insanely good carrot dish Dori made on the spur of the moment last night. (I'll tell you about tonight's pizza tomorrow.) While I was standing at the counter throwing my salad together yesterday afternoon, Dori came into the kitchen, which is basically where she would sleep and get up in the morning if she could, and pulled some carrots from the refrigerator. For a couple of seconds she wondered how she could fix them, and I monotonously listed: slice, steam, mash, saute. She replied, "Ah ha! I'll sesame them!" And she did.
I glanced over my shoulder a bit later, and she had chopped and placed them in a deep skillet of sorts and had them barely covered with sizzling water. I finished making my salad and was enjoying it in the living room in front of the television when wonderful smells began to float all around me. It was a sweet, nutty, almost autumnal scent, and in no time at all, the sesame carrots were ready. I put some on the plate beside my salad and talk about gorgeous! These wonderful orange rounds with a light brown sauce and little tiny white sesame seeds made the green on my plate look even greener.
How did she do it? I asked. It was simple: carrots, sesame oil, sesame seeds and a tad of sugar. She would have used brown but we didn't have any. The carrots were wonderful anyway: sweet but not too sweet, crunchy but not raw and certainly not soft. The flavor of the sesame was just magnificent and it complemented the natural sweetness of the carrots. It was such a simple dish and it took Dori no time to perfect.
I would ask her the amounts, but you could probably whip these up using your eyeballing technique to measure just like she did. I strongly recommend trying to make these delicious tidbits. They were good enough to be dessert!
Have a peaceful and gentle day. Take time to think about what you're eating and enjoy the taste!
Bev
To me it was always just this gorgeous yellow orange powder that added color and flavor to curry dip and Indian food. Then a few years ago, I learned that it has amazing healing properties...as do many herbs and spices. I was reminded of theturmeric magic late this afternoon while pulling ingredients from the refrigerator to make a salad. I grabbed it out of the freezer (yes I keep it there to keep it dry and frozen for "time release" effects...don't know if that works but I try.) and sprinkled it all over my spinach leaves.
Checking out various sites that concur with the findings I mentioned, I chose this information from Wikipedia to share with you:
"In Ayurvedic practices, turmeric is thought to have many medicinal properties and many in South Asia use it as a readily available antiseptic for cuts, burns and bruises. It is also used as an antibacterial agent.
It is taken in some
It is currently being investigated for possible benefits in Alzheimer's disease,[4] cancer, arthritis [5] and liver disorders.
Hidradenitis Suppurativa or Acne Inversa, an incurable and debilitating disease, is also treated with turmeric powder. It is unknown why it works, bVivaut people who have suffered from HS for 30–40 years have reported almost an immediate improvement after consuming one teaspoon in 1/4 cup of warm water three times a day. Within one week of using turmeric, these same people have reported almost a complete reduction of boils and purple scarring."
Like all foods, turmeric is probably best in its most natural form, and even though it's not the greatest tasting root, it's probably more than worth it. A friend of mine buys it in Little India here in Southern California, and he has shared it with me. It looks like ginger except for its deep yellow-orange color; its texture is like a carrot and the fun thing is...it turns your tongue bright orange...for about thirty minutes. :)
Most people will find it easier to sprinkle on food in powdered form, and if you want to get some from a really good source, try Frontier brand organic.
Meanwhile, the rest of my salad: fresh spinach, fresh cilantro, pine nuts, cashews, almonds, cherry tomatoes of many colors, green olives, turmeric powder and my special homemade dressing (olive oil, vinegar, Bragg's Aminos). With a sun dried tomato bagel on the side, it was perfect.
This was so easy to throw together, especially since the spinach was already washed and cut!
Get some turmeric powder; for all it does for you, it's well worth the trip to the store.
Have a great night and peace be with you...
Bev
There are platters available for parties and they also sell some of their sides and add-ons. Platters range in price from $22.95 to $62. 95.
There are two Real Food Daily locations, one in West Hollywood and one in Santa Monica. You can see their wonderful website at http://www.realfooddaily.com. Check it out!
Peace and Happy Four-Day Week,
Bev
One of my favorite things to do is listen to Richard Green on Air America Radio on Monday nights. Richard is a big animal lover, a sweet and kind, progressive soul. A few weeks ago one of his guests was Heather Mills McCartney, who of course has had a lot of bad publicity for marrying and divorcing Paul McCartney, whom I really love and respect. Too often when celebrities divorce or split, we humans get a sports team mentality and take a side, just like at a baseball game. How many times have you heard, "I'm on Jen's side" or "I'm on Angelina's side"? It just gets silly. It reminds me also, of how we as humans have to label and categorize each other, for example into "cat people" and "dog people". DUH! I like cats and dogs BOTH, and I don't think anyone should feel squeezed into liking one animal or one person over another. There's enough love to go around for all people and creatures. There's my Sunday sermon. Now, back to Heather Mills McCartney.
and let's see...what else?" --Kate Bradley
Watch me try to vegan up and thin down that one, folks! HA! I've thought about it ever since I first started the book! Hard to believe the girls would keep those lovely figures with that kind of home cookin'! :)
Silken Tofu. It's an absolute staple for vegan dishes, cooked and raw. Every grocery store should carry it and it shouldn't be hard to find. Unfortunately, sometimes it is. It was for me today. 
