An assortment of dried herbs said to reflect those most commonly used in Southern France. The mixture most likely contains basil, fennel seed, lavender, marjoram, sage, summer savory and thyme. I like this concoction in sautéed and braised chicken dishes; and it can really flavor up a quick pan sauce, as well.
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A dark, brownish gray, cultivated mushroom that resembles a lightly ruffled puff edged in white. The name of this richly flavored mushroom is said to come from the fact that its shape vaguely resembles the body of a hen. Sounds like a female counter part to good ole’ Robin!
Hailing from Switzerland, gianduja is a silky-smooth, hazelnut-flavored chocolate that comes in several styles including mild and bittersweet.
Kudos to Kamara Pastis for being our first “civilian” Soup of the Week. You see, Kami is our massage therapist and after experiencing massage all over the world including Southeast Asia, we can honestly say, she is world-class. So enjoy her Thai Bliss Soup and then give Kami a call at (602) 622-1046.
Thai Bliss Soup
Makes 2-4 servings
- 1 cup sliced thinly shiitake mushrooms
- 3 Tbs chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 C fresh lime juice
- 1 Tsp Celtic sea salt
- Meat of 3 young coconuts
- 1 1/2 cups coconut water
- 1 Tbs fresh minced Ginger
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 4 dates pitted
- 1 Tbs Nama shoyu soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic
Place mushrooms, basil, 1/4 C of lime juice, & the sea salt in a small bowl. Mix well & set aside.
Blend the coconut meat, coconut water, Ginger, olive oil, dates, soy sauce, the remaining 1/4 C of lime juice, & garlic in a blender until smooth. Pour the mixture into bowls. Garnish with the marinated mushroom and basil mixture. Eat!
We must note that the recipie is adapted from The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose (one of Kami’s very favorite raw foods book ever)…
Kami’s Bio
Kamara Pastis is a certified personal trainer, life style educator, group fitness instructor and registered chiropractic assistant in the Phoenix area. Clinical, therapeutic massage has been her mainstay for seven years where she has experienced the lasting therapeutic changes massage can make in cases with debilitating pain and disfunction.
The traditional Thai and Yogi tradition of metta (literally “loving kindness”) is Kami’s healing philosophy. After acquiring many techniques through her education at Phoenix Therapeutic Massage College, eight years of clinical experience and countless continuing education programs, Kami has found that techniques don’t heal, metta heals.
Becoming a Lifestyle Educator was born of Kami’s deep desire to educate and empower people to prevent and arrest chronic disease. The research on the powerful, synergistic effect that nutrition, exercise and stress management has on diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and others is comprehensive, but not many people know how to make the necessary therapeutic lifestyle changes.
In her one-on-one personalized sessions; Kami’s patients learn how to regain their personal power, reverse their health challenges, return to a healthy weight and make informed choices based on awareness.
When not healing her patients, Kami is more than blissfully occupied with her husband and three kids. They live in Goodyear, Arizona where it’s sunny and warm most of the time, so they can enjoy being outdoors together. In those rare moments to herself, Kami likes to tend her tiny organic garden, practice yoga, create artwork and try out new raw, vegan recipes.
Contact Kami on the web at www.kamaralmt.com or call (602) 622-1046.
And don’t forget to say “into the Soup” to get 25% off your initial massage.
Heidi is the founder and owner of into the Soup and as the name implies, she’s tends to get in the thick of things, and, um… she loves (the) soup! Heidi started her cooking career at Burger King, but let’s not go there. She really began as a galley slave on charter boats in the Caribbean. During the next four years, she prepared gourmet and not so gourmet meals while traveling throughout the French West Indies, sailing to the Mediterranean, making a few pounds in England, and hitching rides through Africa.
Once back in the US, Heidi slung hash at a three star restaurant in northern Michigan and a dive diner in Washington state. Most recently she’s taught cooking classes to kids, taken courses herself in the good ole USA, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia; and got herself knee-deep with the American Culinary Federation.
Proud Member of the ACF Chef’s Association of Arizona
ServSafe Food Safety Certified
Wow! What a rockin’ weekend!
Saturday and Sunday was the Robert Bland Culinary Salon where High School and College Students, as well as professionals competed in both hot and cold food categories. C-CAP students from across the State competed, as well as college kids from ACI, SCI and The Art Institute of Phoenix. Congratulations to all of our competitors – you did a great job! A few hours later a special party was held at the International Culinary Schools Art Institute of Phoenix for three students competitors on Iron Chef America premiere.
Tyler Burke and Julie Fiedler, both college students at the International Culinary Schools Art Institute of Phoenix, rolled the dice at the Culinary Salon and competed in the Professional category. Well hot dog for them, because Julie scored a Gold and Tyler, Silver.
For those of you who don’t know, cold food is a culinary technique whereby a cooked meal is cooled and then ‘dipped’ and or painted with aspic. It almost looks lacquered. Attention to detail is of the utmost importance. I’m not certain of all aspics (little word spin there) but each platter is supposed to represent 8 servings of a meal. So, if you’re serving 1 guest 8 peas, you’ll need exactly 64 peas on your platter. (please feel free to correct me on this, Chefs) This art requires lots of time, skill and dedication. Our competitors should be very proud.
Following Sunday’s competition and awards ceremony, we all made our way to the Art Institute to watch a very special television show. Tyler, Julie and another classmate, Catelyn Remick, were the first ever student team to compete on Iron Chef America! It premiered last night on The Food Network. I am so proud of them was honored to be a small part of this special night.
The “Kids” were pitted against Iron Chef Michael Symon and his two apprentices. Don’t think Iron Chef went easy on them; either. The secret ingredient wasn’t some sort of scary looking fish, or an unpronounceable cheese from Greece, or even pressed mystery meat! It was Balsamic Vinegar. Talk about a “what the heck ingredient.” I will tell you that these guys rocked it. And while they did not win, they pulled it off with style, grace and good cooking. The entertainment part wasn’t too shabby either.
I feel very fortunate to be able to call these young chefs my friends and their instructors, Chef Eric Watson and Chef Joe LaVilla are two of my favorite people and could not be commended highly enough for their devoted dedication to all of their ‘kids’.
Keep your eyes peeled for these rising stars!!
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