When deciding what to cook, it’s of paramount importance that the Gorgeously Green Girl takes “Sustainability” into consideration. What the heck is sustainability? It basically means that the foods you pick can hold up in the long term and that the rearing/growing of them will sustain the earth. To put it simply, beef is not sustainable as it takes an inordinate amount of resources (water and energy) to produce. If we all carried on eating beef as we do with the population rising from the current 6.5 billion to 9.1 billion in 2050 - we’re going to be cutting down a lot of rainforests to accommodate the cattle. That being said, we don’t have to give up beef altogether. The Gorgeously Green lifestyle is not about extremes or denial, it’s about caring. Consider cutting down on how much beef you eat and most importantly, save up for grass-fed beef, as it’s healthier for you and the planet.

Fish is another one that the sushi-loving G.G. girl needs to consider. Chilean Sea Bass isn’t the best choice as there’s not much left! Tuna and swordfish should be seriously limited on account of the mercury content and it’s wise to understand that the shrimp spilling out of those spicy rolls have to travel thousands of miles, often from farms in Thailand or India.
Organic produce is a no-brainer if you want to take charge of your health and your environment.

I am a passionate cook and love, love eating. I’m also a cookery book addict, so much so, my husband despairs at the growing two- foot tower of hardbacks gracing my nightstand. I love to experiment and I encourage you to do the same. Even if you think you can’t cook, if you like eating, I promise you can! Cooking can be the most creative, soulful activity of my day, a total stress-buster.

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GORGEOUSLY GREEN'S TOP CHEF'S

Chef Duncan Firth
Barona & Barona Culinary Institute

Chef Duncan has lived in England, Scotland, Alberta, Quebec, Czechoslovakia, Virginia, Vermont, and now California. He caught his family’s travel bug early and has since traveled through Europe, and to Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Caribbean. His mother’s obsession with Julia Child necessitated an assistant in the kitchen and Duncan was roped in. Since beginning his professional career, he has worked for Thomas Keller at the original Bouchon and Normand Laprise at is AAA Five-Star restaurant Toque, in Montreal. Prior to coming to Barona, Chef Duncan ran the kitchens of a catering company in Malibu, whose clients included Kelsey Grammar, Mel Gibson, Pamela Anderson, Adam Sandler and Suzanne Sommers. Duncan now divides his time between the fine dining operations at Barona and the ACF accredited Barona Culinary Institute.

SMOKED TOMATO SOUP

6 large tomatoes, cut in half
1 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
¼ cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup hickory or mesquite chips, soaked in water

1. Pre-heat charcoal barbecue or gas grill to a medium flame (300 degrees)
2. Cut tomatoes in half, season with salt and place on small baking sheet or tinfoil square.
3. Scatter the wood chips over the coals or on the bottom of the gas grill.
4. Cover the grill and smoke for fifteen minutes.
5. The smoke should have subsided by now, allowing you to check the doneness of the tomatoes. They should be soft, but not falling apart.
6. On the stove, cook the sliced onions and whole garlic in the olive oil
7. Add tomatoes. Cook until all ingredients are soft, adding water as necessary.
8. Puree with a blender or food processor. The blender will make a smoother puree, and the food processor will make it a little chunkier. It’s up to you.
9. Serve with croutons and a crumble of aged cheddar.

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Executive Chef Christian Graves
Jsix Restaurant and J6Bar

Jsix and J6Bar feature the cuisine of Executive Chef Christian Graves. Graves' dinner, lunch, breakfast & brunch menus celebrate coastal cuisine in a refreshing combination of clean, bright colors.

Starting with the freshest of seafood, flown in daily from all over the world, Chef Graves takes an artisanal "Slow Food" approach. From 'the boat to his pan,' Chef Graves' chooses sustainable seafood from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list as well as the best local organic produce from area farms -, produce from Crow’s Pass Farm in Temecula, organic pork from Vander Rose Farms, grass-fed beef from California and natural lamb from Colorado. As a result, diners are assured they are not only eating fresh, but smart and responsibly.

Prior to joining Jsix, Graves spent five years as the chef de cuisine at San Francisco's esteemed Farallon restaurant, working with Chef/Owner Mark Franz in preparing stunning, innovative cuisine. Before that, Graves worked at other top San Francisco restaurants, including MoMo's, Aqua, Roti and One Market.

CITRUS CURED HALIBUT
Yields 6 ppl

10oz of the freshest Halibut

Zest from 2 oranges
Zest from 2 lemons
Zest from 2 limes
Zest from 1 grapefruit

1/2 c salt
¼ c sugar

Mix all ingredients together. Cover salmon with sugar/salt mixture and wrap in plastic wrap. Weight down with something heavy. Let sit for 2 hours. Rinse and slice.

FAVA PESTO
Yields 1 c

3/4c cooked and cleaned fava beans
¼ c extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic
Zest from 4 lemons
1 Tbls chopped mint
1 Tbls chopped basil
1 Tbls fine grated parmesan
Water if needed

In a Mortar and pestle crush garlic with salt. Add fava beans and smash to a fine paste. Add the lemon zest and olive oil and emulsify together. Add water if needed. When you have the texture that is desired add the parm and herbs.

Tips- you can use a blender also but the olive oil takes on undesired flavor when blended.

PAPRIKA BRAISED OCTOPUS
Yields 2#

2# of young pulpo/ octopus with the heads and beaks cut off
¼ c smoked paprika
¼ salt
½ btl of white wine
1c carrots medium dice
1c celery medium dice
2c yellow onion medium dice
1 bunch thyme
2 bay leaves
¼ c garlic peeled
4 cups water
½ c extra virgin olive oil

Get a large shallow pot warm on the stove. Add olive oil, garlic, thyme, bay, and paprika. Stir for about 2 minutes to toast all. Add carrots, celery, and onions and continue to stir for 2 more minutes. Add salt. Deglaze with the white wine. Burn off the alcohol for 2 more minutes the add water and octopus. Do not let boil. Keep it at around 170 degrees for about 1 hour or until fully cooked and soft. If you over cook it it or boil the octopus it will have the textur of a garden hose. Put in a chilled place until cool. Pull out octopus and serve at room temp. Enjoy

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Rachel Carr

Rachel Carr is one of the United States's Premiere Raw Food Chef's. Since taking over as executive chef of Cru, a trendy raw food café, it was voted Best Raw Food Restaurant  in Los Angeles.  Renowned for her creative use of the freshest organic produce,  Chef Carr crafts exquisite vegetarian offerings from a huge variety of seasonal fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and whole grains, artfully weaving Italian, Japanese, Tunisian, Thai and Indian flavors into a fresh interpretation of life enhancing gourmet food.

With a Masters degree in the arts, she blends the holistic nature of life with the living essence of raw and super food preparations. She inspires both clients and students with her dynamic classes and artful dinners, demonstrating the incredible power of raw food to transform both the physical body and spiritual consciousness as well as delighting the palate. She is known locally and nationally for her inner light and exquisitely prepared gourmet plant based cuisine.

www.CruSilverLake.com

RACHEL'S TREVISO BRUSCHETTA


2 leaves of curly kale
1 tablespoon cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons pinenuts
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 leaves treviso or raddichio
red onion-thinly sliced and marinated in agave nectar or honey
3 fresh basil leaves, cut into a fine chiffonade
chop kale finely and dress with olive oil, garlic, salt and pine nuts.  mix well. spoon mixture into treviso leaves and top with the thinly sliced marinated onions and basil.

Pretty easy!  This is always a big hit at parties and a great way to eat dark greens like kale.
The pine nuts add a richness and the sweet onions balance the bitter treviso.

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Great Resources:

Burgerville.com
This is a local, sustainable and healthy burger chain, which is great for kids. Visit their website to see if you are lucky enough to find a restaurant near you.

Chipotle.com
This Mexican fast-food joint is a cut above the rest in terms of environmental policies and tasty, healthy food. If you’re in the mood for a little something a little feisty, don’t hesitate.

Sustainabletable.org
I love this website for all sorts of information, tips and recipes. Plan to spend a few minutes browsing.

Eatwild.com
If you want to educate yourself about the benefits of grass-fed meat, go visit this excellent website.

Openspacemeats.com
Here’s where to purchase your grass-fed beef

Diamondorganics.com
I love this company so much. They will deliver fresh, organic food anywhere in the states ñ so you’ll never have to go without.

Wegmans.com
For eco-friendly shrimp, look no further.