Dear friends;
The closest I ever thought I’d come to L.A. was Arlo Guthrie’s song, Coming into Los Angeles. It seemed like a parallel universe… Never in a million years did I think I would ever live here. But I did. Because I fell in love with and married a screenwriter, and Hollywood is always beckoning like a siren does a sailor.
We have arrived and plan to spend the next few weeks here on a writing retreat. Though we will be mostly in Ojai, I’m sure we’ll hop back and forth to LA.
Los Angeles is where I discovered that great food can be healthy. It is where I first tried raw food and where I fell in love with farmers’ markets. So while it doesn’t have the same pull for me as it does for DW, LA still offers pockets of fun.
One disclaimer: because the city is so huge, you end up staying pretty much in the area you live in. We lived by the beach and those are the neighbourhoods I know best.
The Wednesday farmers’ market in Santa Monica, for example, is by far one of the best in the modern world. They close Arizona and it truly doesn’t get better than the sites, smells and produce on offer. When I lived here, it was my favourite thing to do – even before I learned how to actually cook, I would get wild rocket, edible flowers, blueberries, pointed purple cauliflower, and experiment – or just eat it all raw.
Speaking of raw, that has been my latest kick. The weather is such that all I want is greens, greens, greens. And chocolate. So raw it is. Not religiously, not exclusively. But I’m enjoying tasting all kinds of fun creations that those more committed to this lifestyle have come up with.
We arrived famished, and so quickly made our way down Main street to Euphoria Loves Rawvolution, a raw café that I have known since it was still in the planning stage. Of course it has gotten bigger and better. Their mock tuna sandwich on onion bread is fantastic – not to mention mercury free. And we loved the coconut jerky with cashew mayo. But it is the probiotic yoghurt (made out of coconut) that blew me away. I loved yoghurt and have missed the creamy texture of it. Until now.
Juliano was one of the raw pioneers, and so I had to try his restaurant out again. What can I say, the food isn’t much to look at, but man, he does know how to make flavours pop. The cheesy kelp noodles were amazing and even my less enthusiastic husband wanted to return for another try of the pizza.
This is just the tip of the iceberg here in LA, but we're taking our first few days here as easy as we can.
Besides, the best part of this food adventure is that there are so many exciting things to try for both DW and myself. We can each have what we fancy. He has the pulled pork, I have the hemp seed tabouli. His breakfast consists of an omelette with goat’s cheese, mushrooms and tomatoes while I have raw granola with that fabulous yoghurt. It’s a real treat.
The options seem endless. We each do what makes us happy, and then follow it all up with a walk by the ocean. What more could a person want?
With love,
Gabriela
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