May 19, 2009

A couple little bits for you. First, I had to share this wonderful recipe tablehopper reader Leslie wrote in: it's for a ~HEALTHY BREAKFAST OF QUINOA~. (I know, and you thought it was just for dinner.) One thing that was challenging on the cleanse was what to eat for breakfast besides curried tofu and smoothies and oatmeal. This was such a treat, and I was amazed at how long this held me over into my day. And I am now in love with Artisana coconut butter.


Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

Make a pot of quinoa and it will last for about three mornings.

Reheat one portion of quinoa with lots of cinnamon and about 1/3 cup almond milk.

Simmer on low for about 5 minutes.

Right before you take it off the heat, add a couple of tablespoons of Artisana coconut butter (yummy stuff—it makes the quinoa creamy). The folks at Artisana are over in Berkeley and they have a whole fabulous range of great jarred items.


In a brekkie bowl, add:

1/2 organic mango, cubed

blueberries

1/2 apple, cut in pieces

passion fruit or whatever fruit you like

handful of chopped almonds

Toss and serve.



I took a field trip to check out ~ALIVE!~ on Lombard, an all-organic raw food restaurant (you may know them from their stand at the farmers' market). I liked the intimate atmosphere, with its rustic wood tables, Japanese-influenced graphic art on the wall, and dim lighting. Very soothing, and very small. Also one of the quietest places I've been in for ages. It was a pleasure to be in a restaurant where I could have almost everything on the menu (well, except the organic wine). In my booze-free existence, I opted for the coconut. I swear, I went wild for my fresh coconut juice, such a tasty treat. The carrot-orange-ginger combo was another vibrant winner.


The appetizers were good, like the flaxseed flatbread with cashew cream, tomatoes, and avocado ($12)—although I've had better olives, and I hate out-of-season tomatoes. The maki roll with a sunflower seed miso pate, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms was excellent—it almost had the texture of imitation crab inside. Sadly the entrées followed the path of why I dislike many vegetarian places: why have a pile-up of ingredients, all in one dish? They get muddled, and in this case, sodden. Sodden salads of julienned vegetables, basically. It would be so much better to just let the ingredients stand on their own, or at least simply. In the end, our three dishes ended up feeling very similar to each other. Oh well. The carrot cake dessert topped with cashew cream was a good finish—there were seven desserts to choose from in all. Supposedly there's a patio in the back, but the night we were there it was a wind tunnel, so no alfresco for us. 1972 Lombard St. at Webster, 415-923-1052.