G ZEN

Happy Weekend! As many of you know, my initial purpose in creating this blog was to keep me on track with my goal of preparing one healthy dish each day, that I hadn't previously prepared, for 30 days following my recent cleanse. Tomorrow, Sunday, is day 30 and I actually can't believe it came so fast! What's more, I can't believe I kept up the momentum, nay the budget, this long! Fret not, the impending completion of this blog's initial purpose does not mean I am going to relegate it to some dark corner of cyber space and go have a cheeseburger. New commitment for the foreseeable future is three new recipes each week, for a number of reasons. Budget concerns aside, I would like to start incorporating some of the previous experiments into the regular mix as we head into spring, and a new season of ingredients begins sprouting.

I've often commented on the correlation between affluence and the ability to eat well.
One of my clients and I were discussing this the other day, and she deftly pointed out that quality, with food as with all things, will always have a cost, and that eating well seems more costly due to the proliferation of petroleum-based, high-fructose corn syrup laden, chemically engineered,factory farmed, hormone injected processed foods that can be produced in mass quantity fora significantly lower cost. Financial cost, that is. Look around folks, I don't walk down the street and. Pass by one healthy, active, energetic being after the next. Also, doesn't it seem like we all end up with cancer, stroke, or heart disease? If you think about it, we're just used to paying a lower price for junk that looks like food.

Anyway, I enjoyed not one but two outstanding meals at G Zen vegan restaurant in Branford, CT last week. If you're local, you should definitely hit this place up. Be prepared to spend some money, but know that in my estimation the quality of the meal definitely justifies the cost. The Chef and Owner, Marc Shadle, is the genius behind "It's Only Natural" in Middletown, CT, and his wife and business partner, Ami Beach, is a raw gourmet extraordinaire, and I believe she also runs a very successful colon hydrotherapy practice in West Hartford.

At any rate, I'm tickled pink to finally have some decent vegan cuisine in the area, and I've been dining there fairly regularly since they opened last fall. Outstanding items on the menu include a tempeh Reuben that is simply out of this world, featuring a spicy brown mustard and tangy sauerkraut, vegan "crab cakes" with a fresh home made tarter sauce, and when you can get it, a super-tart key lime avocado pudding, which I loved so much I've made it a point to learn how to make it at home.

You will also find that sustainability is a big part of the G Zen consciousness, Along with a wonderful selection of organic wines and sakes, And a selection of beautiful hand painted mandalas by the artist Paul Heussenstamm, who's artworks are owned by the likes of Deepak Chopra, and the incomparable diva herself, Annie Lennox.

For more information check out G-Zen on the web.

*It is now Thursday, March 8th, and I know I am behind on my recipe blogs. I am pleased to say that I accomplished my goal of a new healthy recipe each day for thirty days, and will catch you up in the very near future on the last few in that sequence. I have unfortunately been in rather excruciating pain due to a scratched cornea, which in turn was due to a defective contact lens, (Air optics, just in case you're wondering) and have not therefore been spending significant amounts of time with my eyes open let alone staring at a computer screen.

Please bear with me through the healing process, and I promise this blog will stay very much alive and well.

Just a side note to the Air Optics people, I fully welcome you're swift reimbursement of my ER and ophthalmologist bills which resulted from your scratchy lens in my eye. Thanx.



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Location:Madison, CT