Oct 7, 2011 | Blog |
Thailand is a proverbial food mecca, especially Bangkok. I have spent a lot of time in this incredible country and one thing never fails…the people are always eating. The street stalls abound, the food is cheap and it is fresh. The Thai version of fast food is a little cart attached to a motorbike or pushed by hand where the proprietor spends countless hours day after day serving the same dish cooked right before your eyes. Tragically the western fast food chains (which I will not dignify by naming) have succeeded in bleeding their way to all corners of the earth and Thailand is no exception. What they have not been able to do in this wondrous country however, is to conquer and obliterate the culture of healthy and independently produced and affordable good eats that are the heartbeat of this poetic land. (more…)
Oct 5, 2011 | Blog |
When I say “farm” this is a very loose terminology. About 13 years ago my parents bought a house just outside my hometown town of Petaluma, California…former chicken capitol of the world as well as home of the World Wrist Wrestling Championships…we are a swanky bunch. This house was built in 1930, a poured concrete Spanish style abode on 22 acres that is called The Spring Hill Farm. Not sure that it ever was an actual farm but today it is home to an orchard, a large and prolific garden, a flock of clucky chickens, two plump cats who not only get a daily portion of dry and wet food but who also get their fair share of gophers and the like and a fluffy and shockingly white bichon frise named Vinny. Occasionally the wild turkeys cruse through the yard begging to be stewed past the point of being the wildly tough fowl that they are, and the deer . My parents are not hunters so thus far the turkey and the deer are safe but man can they raise a chicken that lays a mean egg. (more…)
Oct 2, 2011 | Blog |
I need something. I need something that gives me hope and that helps me to feel, even if it is fleeting, like I am doing something worthy, like I am doing something substantial. Even if it is only substantial within my own tiny existence. I created this blog because I want to be good…because I want to be better, because I want to contribute to making the world a better place and as a framework for my own learning experience. (more…)
Aug 29, 2011 | Blog |
Right in the middle of my stint at Beckett’s Table I was offered a unique opportunity doing live cooking shows for a personal training website called Live Body Coach. These shows were pretty low budget, one take, no editing. I was doing just about 30 minute segments on the topic of my choice with health and weight loss as the main theme. One show I would do something like “Light Party Options” or “Snacks on the GO” and then “Healthy Shopping” and “Buying Organic”. I focused on health from a holistic perspective and not just low calorie diet food. Throughout the shows I talked about healthy light cooking methods, using glass containers, eating grass fed meats, sustainable seafood, how to choose organic products and staying away from preservatives, artificial flavors and that aspartame nonsense. (more…)
Aug 15, 2011 | Blog |
By the time it became clear that I was in Phoenix for at least long enough that it required me to get a job, all of a sudden I found myself with three…
Aside from private chef work and my jewelry biz, I had begun working for my long time friend and former boss Justin Beckett at his new restaurant aptly named Beckett’s Table. He and his wife Michelle and friends Katie and Scott Stevens had opened this little neighborhood joint about six months before. He was down a few hands in the kitchen and needed some part time help. Beckett and crew serve up classy comfort food in an approachable and affordable way while still maintaining an interest in local, organic and hand selected products. (more…)
Aug 11, 2011 | Blog |
Peru was an amazing and trans-formative experience. We had plans and aspirations of building a life there and opening a guest house with an organic vegetarian cafe and a garden right out the back and of course almost everything would be made from scratch. (more…)
