I am doing a special workshop to benefit Star Prep Academy

I have put together a special workshop for an upcoming auction to benefit Star Prep Academy. The Star Prep Academy is an extraordinary private middle & high school for students who seek an individualized approach to learning, based on their desired areas of specialization. It is located within the internationally award-winning STAR ECO Station, an environmental science museum and exotic wildlife rescue center. I am thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to participate in fundraising for this excellent school.

By the way, I have posted workshop excerpts on my Youtube page, which you will find here: www.youtube.com/junepagan

Secrets of Healthy Gourmet Cooking
Workshop by June Pagan, Private Chef

Small Class Size (6 students, face-to-face approach)
4 hours course
Price: $100.00
Hours: 2-6PM
Date: A Sunday afternoon, to be arranged
Location: Marina Del Rey, CA
Instructor: June Pagan, Los Angeles private chef since 1985

www.junepagan.com
310.823.0929 office
310.832.0509 cell
e-mail: junepagan@verizon.net

The purpose of this workshop is to teach the student how to deliver simple, healthy and flavorful meals to their family and friends. I will describe my work as a private chef, while demonstrating specialized dishes that I have prepared for my clients over the years. I have developed hundreds of specialty dishes that satisfy the most discerning palate, while promoting good health and weight control. You will enjoy tasting some of the dishes that I have prepared for Al Pacino, Elizabeth Taylor, Eddie Murphy, Prince, Aaron Spelling, and Pia Zadora. Some of the dishes that we will be preparing are:

Echoes of the Great Depression - Going Back to Basics

Even though little is written or portrayed on the Food Network, we are in the middle of a food crisis similar to that of the Great Depression. Whether directly affected by hunger or not, economic hardship is ever-present in most Americans’ minds. We are either experiencing it, fearing it, and concerned about loved ones who are dealing with it.

During times of hardship, those of us in the kitchen have to be very creative in order to provide wholesome sustenance. During the Great Depression, food costs (including sugar) were much lower than they are today. Americans began to consume a great deal more sugar, as it was a relatively inexpensive commodity and it satisfied their hunger cravings. I suspect that this trend has persisted and is a significant factor in our current problems with excessive food consumption and our current obesity epidemic. It during the Great Depression that foods began to become over-processed, and increasingly less nutritious. Back in those days, food was relatively inexpensive. A cost-conscious cook could therefore stretch the budget while still being able to serve a fairly well-balanced meal. Today, however, prices have risen to the point where “a chicken in every pot” is not even possible - at least not a healthy chicken.

Today, one egg costs roughly the same amount as a dozen eggs cost during the Great Depression. It is therefore not surprising that the relatively inexpensive ingredients (sugar, salt, and refined flour are ubiquitous elements in most processed foods.

Today, there is a silent revolution at the table. We are bombarded with advertising for “cheap food” that is full of GMO ingredients, preservatives, flavor enhancers, high sugar content, and refined carbohydrates. What I find disturbing is the wholesome looking packaging for these products – which is deceptive.

Not unlike the Great Depression, our present economy is forcing us to rethink what we are serving at the table. We are sometimes forced to make unhealthy choices because of our limited budgets. At the same time, we also are sometimes forced to engage in protein stretching, substitutions and making do with less. As was the case during the Great Depression, we find ourselves returning to the “take only what you need” paradigm, as we did during the Great Depression. Of course does have its plus side, since by being careful about our food intake, we can help ourselves gain control of medical conditions that are associated with excessive food intake – such as diabetes and heart disease.

This does not mean total sacrifice. What it DOES mean is that we need to “think outside the box” in developing menus for our families. Back in the 40’s creative cooks made sugarless cakes, eggless cakes and meatless meals. They planted “victory gardens” for their fresh fruit and vegetables. At that point in our history, convenience foods had not yet taken hold. Now, however, we find ourselves struggling to avoid the unhealthy (and often cheap) convenience foods, as we strive to return to the days of healthier “cooking from scratch.”

With the current trend toward emphasizing proteins and reducing carbs (especially refined carbs), we have the added challenge of considering the relatively higher cost this engenders. Ideally, we should be consuming things like grassfed beef, high-quality fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Furthermore, we are best served when we consume organically grown ingredients. Unfortunately, few of us can afford to take this type of approach. As a client once said to me, “We can’t all live in Brentwood.” In our current food crisis, only the very well-to-do – and some farmers – are able to do this. For the rest of us, the best we can hope for is to make well-informed choices based upon what our budgets allow. So, can we eat healthfully and enjoy satisfying meals while staying within our budgets? YES – WE CAN – with a little help. In my upcoming blogs, I will show you how to effectively purchase ingredients that are nutritious and flavorful but won’t break the bank. Look for detailed budget-recipes and tips for finding the right sources for purchasing the ingredients.

The “Zen Kitchen”

For six years, I collected an executive chef’s salary cooking for a high profile couple. My job was to create tasty but healthful cuisine for them, keeping their weight and cholesterol at a healthy level.

I prepared my style of cooking called “Clean Cuisine,” a discipline that I developed over a 25 year period of study and training. My employer referred to my kitchen as the “Zen Kitchen.” I was a little perplexed by this moniker at first. I knew that I wasn’t cooking Shojin Cuisine (the highest form of vegetarian cooking). I had to see my workspace through their eyes and stomachs to truly understand what she meant by that.

I knew that I was providing sustenance on many levels:

Physically: I was able to get their cholesterol levels down within two months by choosing the right foods to offer and using certain cooking techniques in the kitchen. I carefully selected the products with which to work with and paid careful attention to treat those products with a certain reverence by not destroying their nutritional integrity. This, combined with a strong culinary background, elevated my style of health cuisine to a different level - one for which the employer was willing to pay top dollar. This couple knew about food. They were among the original “foodies” and also knew when one ingredient was missing in a 15-ingredient dish.

Mentally: Since “Clean Cuisine” is virtually free of refined sugars, flours and processed foods, one notices a change almost immediately in their digestion, resulting in a pleasant feeling of lightness after dining. You walk away from the table knowing that you have treated your body well in addition to having satisfaction on the palate. If you are dining with family, you have the added satisfaction that you are providing this level of sustenance to your loved ones.

Spiritually: To a certain degree, dining this way, transforms you spiritually. Not unlike Transcendental Meditation, when you sit down to a meal prepared by a chef that is mindful, the message is translated and consumed by the person eating that meal. One tends to slow down and focus, if you will, on the pleasant experience of dining; the aromatic element of the meal comes in first through the olfactory sense and then reaches the taste buds. This is a relaxing experience free from anxiety. Savoring the experience of healthy dining engages us in mental and physical mindfulness which boosts positive thinking and decreases our overall stress.

I have come to realize that in referring to my kitchen as “Zen Kitchen,” my client was mindful of the above.

Not All Beans Are Created Equal

Vanilla Beans

It is no wonder that some of the most aromatic sources of satisfaction in the food world are derived from a simple bean, coffee beans, cacao beans and vanilla beans. Not all beans are equal when it comes to vanilla beans. When baking, often do we consider the origin of the vanilla that we are adding to our batch of batter?

Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla beans are long and slender with a rich flavor and aroma. With thick oily skin, strong vanilla notes & tiny seeds. Bourbon Vanilla beans are described as creamy, hay-like and sweet.

Mexican Vanilla beans, a favorite of mine, are similar to the Bourbon Vanilla bean but with a more mellow smooth quality and a spicy, woody fragrance. This is a favorite of mine because as we all know digestion starts with the olfactory sense. Be careful with Mexican Vanilla and buy from a reputable source. Mexican vanilla extract derived from the Tonka Bean is not a healthy alternative.

True Tahitian beans, another favorite of mine, are called True Beans because there are a lot of beans being passed as Tahitian that are not. True Tahitian beans are like rare Bordeaux wines, they have a fruity, floral aroma and are often described as smelling like licorice, cherries, prunes, or wine. The beans are shorter & plumper and have higher moisture content than Planifolia beans.

For the best vanilla products at the best price, go to www.vanilla.com a socially conscious educational site. The Vanilla Company, located in Santa Cruz, California, is headed by Patricia Rain, who is also known as “The Vanilla Queen.”

To contact the Vanilla Queen directly, send her an email: rain@vanilla.com.