Last Friday I w…

Last Friday I went up to town to visit Urban Eats, a new Vegetarian, Vegan and Raw Food Deli, 10 mins away from Holborn tube (between Russel Sq and Holborn) at 39 Lambs Conduit St. It had been recommended by Alex Bourke from Vegetarian (London) Guides so I knew I should pay a visit…. in fact he and I met up enroute; I was on my way and he’d only just left. I had worked at the Mary Ward Adult Ed Centre around the corner for a couple of years (English, Languages & Humanities Depts) and  it used to enjoy visiting the little shops along the street area. So I wondered if it had changed; almost entirely. New boutiques, a feminine, women’s bookshop, a smart upholsterers and nestled among these and several other cafes, is Urban Eats Deli and Cafe, run by Anneke and her fitness instructor partner. When I arrived, there are 2 staff at the service area are, dressed in warm orange T-shirts (this Summer’s colour…) to match the part orange decor and Anneka herself buried in the kitchen, working away on Friday’s lunch menu. She came up to see me for a chat and for the following few hours, we spoke about everything vegan, raw and her explorative journey into managing a cafe in Central London.  ”We are ordinary people” she declared and her menu choices reflect this, so expect nothing extra-fancy (as in Saf) or eclectic (WFC) but good, tasty, satisfying, nourishing and homemade style foods. She and I are both proponents of the ‘if I can do it (healing, dietary changes), you, average person on the st, can do too’. Her background has always been in catering. Up until a year ago, she worked at a main Hospital, where she lead the catering division and devised a new, healthier menu for the entire quota of staff and patients, which is still in place today. She has followed a raw lifestyle for 3 years but is proud that the deli cafe offers a vegetarian (cheese & egg), vegan (cooked) and raw foods menu. She made me a very refreshing green juice (forgot the name) but with spinach, apple, carrot etc, served in a sleek glass. For lunch I ordered a portion each of the shephards pie, lasagne with side salads. She brought me a bottle of water from the chiller cabinet; a thoughtful proprietor (knowing too that the gourmet main dishes may require extra hydration…) The other dishes in the chiller (raw) included Walnut Stuffed Peppers and Packoras plus dip and salad. There is a huge choice of everything: dehydrated foods:breads, biscuits and bites plus the menu (from tomorrow) which include Curried Cabbage Pillows, Spinach Manicotti and Samosas. Looking at the chiller food, the pie was covered in a creaming raw ‘mash’ and the lasagne topped with hand wilted fresh baby spinach leaves;  it was hard to decide between the 2 mains, so I opted for both. The Shepards Pie contains tamari marinated mushrooms, so the flavour was very hearty and savoury and the creamy mash very sufficient. It’s a good comfort food. My favourite though was the lasagne, which comprised of layers of courgette, aubergine with nut ‘cheese’ and an oregano infused tomato sauce YUM! I could eat this everyday, I thought. It had a very good texture, stacked and layered with ample oregano, which I tried for the first time in ages and reminded me why I missed a good raw lasagne. The spinach topping adds lovely colour, texture and interest. Very traditional (of all cultures) homemade style food, but raw and vegan…  more coming soon …

Urban Eats FB Page

Urban Eats FB Page

Radio London Interview

I am looking forward to giving an interview about Raw Foods & London Social events tonight at 10.20pm, on BBC Radio London 94.9 FM

Lewisham Business Awards Nomination: cast your vote!

Please vote for me in The upcoming Lewisham Business Awards Nominations.

I am nominating myself as a local Lewisham entrepreneur with Kitchen Buddy (classes, catering and consultancy), Raw Chocolatier and as a Children’s Yoga Teacher (+ Nutritional Therapist practitioner- to-be).

Register your vote here: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/business/business-awards/Pages/Business-awards.aspx

The categories are: Fair-Trade Business (our ingredients are FT wherever possible), Local Supplier (I supply Hills & Parkes Deli, Gallery Cooper Locke, Spirited Palace cafe + local events and deliveries), Customer Care (Kitchen Buddy takes good care of you!) and Environment Award (all eco, recyclable and made from biodegradable materials: paper, wrap,  packaging, cleaning stuffs & toiletries, clothing … + composting & organic ingredients = sustainable as much as possible)

Voting is open now for one week only until Monday 16th January. The competition is fierce and may include hundreds of: shoe shops, nail parlours, clothing designers, retailers, market stall holders and the German Sausage man (who won on another occasion)

Place your support in my nomination by voting here: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/business/business-awards/Pages/Business-awards.aspx  (by Monday 16th)

Thank you everyone for your support: customers, friends, family, associates; men, women and children

Theresa x

 

 

 

Health and wellbeing events from 2011 and new Kitchen Buddy kitchen team

Happy New Year to Kitchen Buddy and Raw Chocolatier customers. I look forward to creating more new handmade creations to improve our health & well being. 

I supported various causes, charities and organisations and met many new faces at fairs, festivals and demos in 2011, including NE London Women’s Institute, New Approaches to Cancer, International Women’s Day at Spitalfields, London Vegan Fair, Festival of Life, Blackheath Wellbeing Fair, Oxford Green Fair, Wonder Women’s Festive Day and all the mixed and female 5 Rhythms dance groups, URUBU and DOGA Ecstatic dances and musicians.

The bakery and raw chocolatier has a new apprentice, Marg who joined me in the kitchen in December. Her amazing presence is much appreciated and valued. I first met her at Hills & Parkes Deli, cube retailers, at Honour Oak Park and again at the Dulwich Vegetarian and Vegan Society meeting in November, where I spoke about raw living foods and intolerances. The turning of a new page in our evolution …

London Eco Footwear and tops at Covent Garden & Braintree discounts

Ever enjoying discovering non-leather footwear, I recently bought a pair of VivoBarefoot pink trainers from the yoga show and was delighted to learn that they have a sale in January at their Covent Garden Store on Neal St. I bought my sister the same pair for Christmas They have lots of other styles also available at % discount. 

I also bought a pair of sky blue lace ups for summer from the Italian shoe shop opposite, which also has a sale on a myriad of multicolour canvas shoes and baseball style boots.

The socks on sale at Tabio (also Italian & on the same side as Vivo) are colourful (though non-organic).

Sainsburys (large branch) stocks a range of FairTrade and organic colourful cotton clothes from £6.00.  These are so soft  I am less than delighted with their pink and red socks which began to fray after the first wash. 

Brain Tree Hemp emporium have an enormous 50% off sale off their current brochure for mailing list members. They have a range of organic cotton and hemp clothes for men, women and children. www.braintreehemp.co.uk  The half price sale is on until 22nd January

 

 

Yoga with XoAn

The Chinese family’s 3yr old son, XoAn is very much enjoying the daily activities; we swept leaves off the lawn this afternoon before lunch (our previous house-mate P had an invite since the summer) and collected them up in the wheelbarrow, which included a ride down to the compost heap. We placed (or threw) the collected autumnal remains in with the worms.

His yoga today began with a start of a sun salutation followed by a wide leg forward bend, then lying down on his front (for the first time), he pushed up into cobra, down again, rolled over with feet up into a candle, then back onto his front and into downward dog. He ended with a cat and sat on the carpet with outstretched legs. It’s impressive.

Today I spent t…

Today I spent the afternoon with the Wonder Women Network in Charlton House, near Blackheath with a chocolate and cracker stall and taking private class bookings, gathering cafe and shop info and meeting wonderful women! We decorated our tables in Christmas lights and it was a start to the festive feel.  I had personal style consultation with Catherine who has advised me to look for soft fabrics and tailored lines – which all sounds ideal. It was a lovely venue and atmosphere; the organiser Natalie excels at this. I walked out at the end of the day with a view of the full moon (lunar eclipse in southern hemisphere) peeping up out from a small cloud formation, it was an image of still beauty; immaculate and nature at its best. 

Tonight, acrobatics inspired by my Chinese family housemates, I am practicing back bend wheels for heart below head to release the spine and back (as opposed to forward bends which felt good during the week in preparation). The natural spine arch is a great all round toning posture for all areas. Also the fish with legs bent back.

I took a long soak in a salt bath with lavender flowers; it is very calming.

I am going to go to the David Lloyd Fair tomorrow in Kidbrooke with more… 

 

Waking on time: UK seasonal cycles

Notice how it’s amazing to rise in cycle. Last week I mostly woke at 8 am. Then last night we put the clocks back by one hour and this morning I awoke at 7am. I wish I’d acknowledged the goodness of 8 am last week because it’s only know that it all adds up again. In the summer, it works in reverse. Now it’s lighter earlier and easier to be up earlier.
Watched the long tail tit baby birds swooping and diving around in the ‘new’ day.

Rui-E, my housemate from Beijing says that in China there is no need for clock alterations. They keep the same time all year; a different time zone. It’s quite a novelty for her.

Hooray! Dad has brought Sea Buckthorn oil and fresh wild goji berries back from his trip in China, from our previous house guests Prof Hong Wei and Cong. Lovely, lovely gifts.

Oh finally, the sheer bliss of an afternoon spent entirely in the garden. Autumnal clearance is very good for the soul! The sun came out at exactly the moment I started to cut … Gardening today has included mostly pruning. Wood and metal elements in tune: beginning in the front, pruning a hypericum (yellow sparkly flowers).  I needed a chair for the taller shrubs and my heart agreed, forget reaching with the elongated cutters; height requirement. I fetched a garden chair and lopped away at the neighbouring plants.  A group of local children from down the street came up, I waved and smiled cheerily to them and heard the eldest telling the others “see, that’s a nice lady, she has a beautiful garden”. We are different races and having made them feel welcome in the street, as probably the only non-black neighbour to have spoken to them, it warmed my heart. They peddled and ran off up the road. I made a mental note to introduce the fuscias to them because I doubt that they had many flowers at home, judging by the plain front garden. On their return, I introduced them to our 3 fuscias, they smelled them and their little faces lit up. The youngest boy delighted to have his own in his pocket. I gave them eat a couple of flowers to put into water at home and one in of of the girls plaits.  We discussed the seed pods in fruit, the pollen on the bees’ legs, pollination,  honey production, wildlife – spiders; they were scared of most creatures with more than 2 legs (they told me how they’d been stung, and seen friends stung, so I thought it’s no wonder..) Bees, they said, made Honey for us and I explained that it is baby bees’ food…  ”she likes to garden by herself” the eldest told the others, so instead, I found a piece of Myrtle for the little boy and I asked them if they wanted to ‘help’, which they did, so we started on the front shrubs – we cut away, and they put the pieces into the dustbin. I held the cutters with them and explained the practice of pruning and shaping to them. Why would I want to garden on my own!?   They were great and enjoyed collecting up leaves and dropping them into the tall bin, even picking up the dead flowers and clearing up the street section. They chatted about their experiences, mostly in McDonalds, wearing too much lipstick and the little boy told me about how he scalded his mouth on hot coffee …  which made me feel annoyed … bloody coffee at his age… so I told him it wasn’t so good to drink and best not to have it again and he replied that when it was cold, it was OK …   He’s barely 6 yrs old.   The kids are great (though lacking in self-confidence); made my day! CJ, Chanel, Aisha and Jayda. They rode off again to play and I headed for the budlia in the back.

It felt like being in a jungle, under the budlia canopy, as I cut away at the old branches with their now brown, once striking purple blooms. Cut right back but with new shoots appearing all over, as it’ll grow another 4 ft within another 8 months. Then followed the roses, dead heading other than one which is developing lovely orange rose hips. The long climbers against the fence, trimming into an old charity shop bag (in the absence of the garden clippings bag). I cut them all back, pulled weeds out, cleared the beds a little and went to collect tomatoes. I am so proud of my tomatoes; hanging like jewels among the roses and lavender in the mid–October sunshine All red and shiny; I am delighted and eating a few daily.  I collected a dozen or so in a wooden bowl. I gathered the seed heads from another plant which had stems covered in red flowers, pretty in their cases, ready to shower onto the earth if caught by the breeze. I took the plants down a few days ago but they still contained their seeds, so a good opportunity to collect, save and share. I need seed sharing partners! I flicked the seeds from their cases into a pot and have placed them in a bag in the shed.

I am sitting here with a cold and echinacea growing outside but am not intending to dig them up for their roots… need to find out more on this; harvesting for medicinal purposes.