tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2008:/ravens//2 2008-07-23T00:59:16Z Cuisine for the Conscious Diner Movable Type 3.34 tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2008:/ravens//2.26 2008-07-23T00:49:32Z 2008-07-23T00:59:16Z

Just a quick post to connect readers to San Francisco's ABC affiliate KGO's View From the Bay which featured Chef Barry Horton's Cherry Cobbler this afternoon. Just click on the link http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/food_wine&id=6279886#bodyText Below is is the recipe: ½ cup walnuts...

View From the Bay which featured Chef Barry Horton's Cherry Cobbler this afternoon. Just click on the link http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/food_wine&id=6279886#bodyText Below is is the recipe: ½ cup walnuts ½ cup coconut flakes 4 - 6 dates, pitted Pinch of salt Procedure 1. In a food processor, blend walnuts until finely chopped, then add coconut 2. While processing, add dates one at a time until mixture becomes crumbly. 3. Mix in salt. Set aside. Filling: Ingredients 3 cups fresh cherries, pitted 6 - 8 dates, pitted 1 TBSP lemon juice 1 TBSP cinnamon Pinch of salt Procedure 1. In a blender process 1 cup cherries with enough dates to create a thick sauce. We recommend a VitaMix - which you can buy on line at http://www.vitamix.com/ or at the Stanford Inn by the Sea 2. Transfer to bowl. 3. Fold in remaining ingredients. Assembly Using a fancy glass of your choice, place 1/4 - 1/3 cup filling in bottom, and top with thin layer of crumble. Refrigerate and serve cold. ]]> tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2008:/ravens//2.25 2008-07-14T19:06:26Z 2008-07-14T19:26:42Z

I've been thinking about the vegetarian/vegan question...Namely, how are the two related and if so, how closely. I have concluded that essetially there is no difference between vegetarianism (i.e. eating dairy products, and in some cases eggs) and omnivorism (eating...

anything from an animal, and there is everyone else. A response to this might be that at least vegetarians, like vegans, do not eat dead animals (i.e. only animal products that can be extracted without killing the animal). And this is true. But here we are entering the ethical domain of veganism, and the treatment of dairy cows, and egg producing chickens etc. has been shown conclusively to be as horrific if not more horrific than the treatment of animals raised for slaughter. For instance, Dairy cows are hooked up to tubes and confined to spaces too small to turn around in. That is just the beginning and I will not go further with these descriptions. Suffice it to say that it is simply torture of defenseless creatures who want to live in open space and without pain and suffering just as we human animals do. As for the nutritional aspect, the consumption of animal protein doesn't change whether you are eating flesh or the by-product of an animal. The protein still causes the same damage to the body--acidic in nature, and very difficult for our bodies to process, thereby producing increased oxidation and wear. The only way to avoid this damage to our bodies is to remove animal protein from our diet entirely. To go all the way. However, as I further thought about this subject, I also came to the conclusion that vegetarianism, as a life decision, at least heads in the right direction. And, while I feel that it is not nearly enough of a choice to affect real change in the world and on our personal health, it represents an awareness of what we are consuming on a daily basis. Many times it leads to Veganism, and is, at that point, a more gentle transition than from omnivore to vegan by going cold turkey. Hmmm, I couldn't resist that phrase. Live well and I'll write again soon. By the way, I'm not a hippy. Sid Hillman]]> tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2008:/ravens//2.24 2008-07-04T18:19:13Z 2008-07-04T20:57:32Z

Hello everyone....my name is Sid Hillman. Jeff Stanford has handed me this blog, and I am honored to continue it. I will use this entry to simply introduce myself, and then I'll go from there. I am currently the general...

Hello everyone....my name is Sid Hillman. Jeff Stanford has handed me this blog, and I am honored to continue it. I will use this entry to simply introduce myself, and then I'll go from there. I am currently the general manager of Ravens Restaurant in the Stanford Inn. I also co-own Clo Mor Press, a letterpress printing company, with my wife Lisa. We have a daughter, Luna, who is 4 years old this month. We moved to Fort Bragg in 2006 from Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, I was a working actor and musician, and Lisa was a graphic designer. We met while students at UCLA. I graduated in 1991 with a B.A. in philosophy (she in 1992--B.A. in English). My family is vegan. My wife and I have been vegan since 2002, and my daughter since conception. She is one of the healthiest children I have ever seen, and while I get looks of disbelief and horror when people find out she is vegan (how does she get her protein?), her disposition, health, and beauty is proof enough of the profound choice we have made for our family. When we arrived to Fort Bragg after 'escaping' Los Angeles (that's still how I see it), we were focused on developing the printing business. As vegans, one of our first acts in any new place is to find restaurants that at least have something to offer vegans. Enter Ravens at the Stanford Inn. We went there for our 12 year anniversary in April 2006 and were blown away. At the time I said, "man I need to work here." What I was thinking I have no idea :) . Needing some supplemental income, I had a short stint as a bartender at another local hotel, but began working part-time at Ravens as well. Shortly after beginning there a couple of nights a week, I was offered the manager position and I took it. I worked for a while, took some time off when the printing business got busy, and returned last February to work part-time again, and again, as manager. Simply put, it is important to me that Ravens and the Stanford Inn succeed. I believe that institutions such as these are as important to society as a whole as any other. Jeff and Joan run a business, and try to make money at that business. But here is the key difference between them and most other businesses: They do not place money above or outside or at the expense of the environment, health, or fair and respectful treatment of their employees. It is this whole picture that I think is an honorable and heroic model for the world at large: To approach capitalism in a supremely rational way. That to create a business that contributes positively to world is good for everyone, and and in turn can show a profit because people (like me) want to support it and feel great about working there. And trust me, veganism is crucial to this picture. In future blogs, I will explore veganism in the largest possible context, for I believe that it is the single greatest personal decision any of us can make to positively affect the environment, our health, and, as I will argue, our relationships with other human beings. Thanks for reading, and I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on these writings. Argue with me, agree with me...either way, bring it on. sid hillman tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2008:/ravens//2.22 2008-06-29T04:40:32Z 2008-06-29T04:56:09Z

This afternoon I was talking to our younger bussers when one asked, "Why should I be vegan?" I didn't know where to begin. What about health? How about your partner's acne? What about the suffering of animals - the male...

This afternoon I was talking to our younger bussers when one asked, "Why should I be vegan?" I didn't know where to begin. What about health? How about your partner's acne? What about the suffering of animals - the male chicks who have just struggled to get out of their shell, born into a world of lights and crowding, only to be poked - "sexed" - found to be male and then put with hundreds or thousands of other male chicks into a room where the air is removed and suffocated? What about the 48% of our energy that is used to produce meat, dairy and eggs and all the suffering associated with it? What about the ethical issue of causing this suffering? And what about this busser's concern for a sustainable lifestyle? Vegan - particularly whole food vegan diets are sustainable - meat, eggs, dairy, fish (some people believe that fish are not meat) are not sustainable. This afternoon, I realized that I should be using this blog as advocacy for ethical, whole food based lifestyles and have had no time to write. I am giving this blog to Sid Hillman, a vegan who moved to the Mendocino Coast with his wife and young daughter for the quality of life in this small community. I will let him introduce himself in future blogs. He is passionate, articulate and the manager of the Ravens'. Enjoy his work - Best wishes for a healthful and ethical life, Jeff Stanford tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2008:/ravens//2.19 2008-05-22T07:15:53Z 2008-05-22T07:18:14Z

This morning we learned that Oprah began a 21 day vegan "cleanse" based on Kathy Freston's Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness. Oprah is not only eschewing animal products but gluten, alcohol and caffeine as...

Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness. Oprah is not only eschewing animal products but gluten, alcohol and caffeine as well. You can follow her progress on her blog http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/blog/blog_1.jhtml . There are many of us at the Ravens' and the Stanford Inn who are vegan and who eat primarily whole foods, that is we avoid processed foods, including tofu, seitan (pure gluten), white flour, rice, etc. But what we do has no impact beyond our own health and outlook: Oprah has tremendous impact and we are wishing her a successful, pleasurable, energizing experience over the next three weeks and that this experience leads her into a vegan lifestyle. This is truly good news!]]> tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2008:/ravens//2.17 2008-03-22T02:35:25Z 2008-03-22T02:42:48Z

"Sustainable" and "green" are our new buzz-words. There are conferences, seminars, magazines, websites - lots and lots about green and sustainable. Probably much of it is hype and marketing. Anyone who talks and/or writes about sustainability and eats animal products...

"Sustainable" and "green" are our new buzz-words. There are conferences, seminars, magazines, websites - lots and lots about green and sustainable. Probably much of it is hype and marketing. Anyone who talks and/or writes about sustainability and eats animal products - dairy, meat, etc. is just talking. There is no action. There is no true commitment to sustainability. To be sustainable is more than driving a Prius or switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs. Neither is enough - they are something, like trying to fill the Grand Canyon with a couple of pebbles. Recent articles in our news magazines paint a bleak picture of our future. Scientists suggest that we may never get control of CO2 emissions. There’s one place to start – with our diet. Over 10,000,000,000 (ten billion) animals are slaughtered for food in the United States alone. The “production” of these animals is not only devastating to the animals but to land and water resources. According to the a United Nations report issued at the end of 2006, animal production accounts for more emissions than all the vehicles used in global transport. 9% of all CO2 is emitted in the production and slaughter of animals as is 37% of all human sourced methane; and methane has 23 times the global warming potential of CO2. Further, animal production accounts for 65% of nitrous oxide emissions which has a disastrous multiple of 296 times CO2’s global warming potential. Switching to a non-animal-based diet will reduced total greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 20% and switching to a whole food, plant based diet will provide greater savings by reducing the energy inputs for the production of processed foods found in our grocery stores and many of our restaurants. Its a start - and eliminating animal production for our food will free-up 33% of our arable land for human food production. tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2008:/ravens//2.16 2008-01-26T06:37:42Z 2008-01-26T06:39:40Z

We haven’t been particularly “religious” about entries to this blog. This is not because we feel it is unimportant: it is because we have been working to develop recipes for the restaurant which assure an outstanding experience for our diners,...

We haven’t been particularly “religious” about entries to this blog. This is not because we feel it is unimportant: it is because we have been working to develop recipes for the restaurant which assure an outstanding experience for our diners, many of whom walk into the dining room believing that the will be disappointed because we do not serve animal products. Along this line, we would like to share the our Crab-less Cake recipe. It is a wonderful interpretation of the classic and makes a great appetizer or brunch dish. Ravens Crab-less Cakes By Barry Horton Ingredients 1 cup yellow onion, bruniose 1 cup celery, bruniose ½ cup sour cream (see recipe) 2 teaspoons Worcestershire (vegan) 2 teaspoons Dijon 1 tablespoon season mix (see recipe) 2 cups zucchini, peeled & grated 1 cup bread crumbs Procedure 1. Place all ingredients in bowl and mix thoroughly, let set for 5 minutes. 2. In a sauté pan, heat oil. Form 2oz pattie with hands and brown 2 minutes on each side. Serve immediately Crabless Cake Seasoning Ingredients 2 tablespoons celery seed 2 tablespoons black pepper 2 tablespoons red pepper 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon ginger 2 tablespoons mustard Procedure Mix thoroughly. Vegan Sour Cream Ingredients 2 packages extra firm silken tofu 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder 1 ½ tablespoons nutritional yeast ¼ cup apple cider vinegar ¼ cup lemon juice ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup 2 teaspoons garlic Procedure Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2007:/ravens//2.13 2007-08-19T05:43:03Z 2007-08-19T06:35:48Z

We want to recognize Barry Horton who came to us from the Cordon Bleu Culinary program at Portland's Western Culinary Arts. He is our head chef and has held the position for a year and a half bringing integrity, creativity...

Food Lover's Companion for ideas - finding a food term with its description and creating a whole food, vegan version. Our wait staff is often challenged to learn new words and their meanings. Not long ago, Barry found in the Companion the term Dukkah referring to a mix of ground hazelnuts, sesame seeds, cumin and coriander, which he tossed with zucchini, chickpeas, onions, capers and Kalamata olives and stuffed into an eggplant and baked. Barry graduated at the top of his class from Western and has grown ever since. For those into historical information, Barry grew up in the middle of Kansas and migrated east after high school, enrolling in Johnson County Community College, where he began taking culinary classes and decided that he loved to cook. He has since learned that a chemical-free, locally grown, plant-based diet is optimal for a long, sound, healthy life, and with this has been creating delicious, attractive, and nutritious cuisine. He has adapted his classical French culinary training to create amazing, delectable dishes for any and every palate. He was once told by a culinary instructor “Never trust a skinny Chef.” but this has proven to be false. Barry who is athletic and slim, feels that the instructor should have advocated, “always trust a healthy chef.” Barry believes that a vegetarian diet is the key to mental, emotional, and physical healing. His passion for his food and health is thus transferred to family and friends. “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution of a vegetarian diet.” – Albert Einstein]]> tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2007:/ravens//2.10 2007-05-31T05:33:49Z 2007-05-31T06:36:15Z

This morning the Today Show featured organic wines and spotlighted Ceago’s Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the wines on our list. Ceago cabernet is made with grapes from Mendocino County’s Redwood Valley which are grown using certified biodynamic methods that go...

Today Show featured organic wines and spotlighted Ceago’s Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the wines on our list. Ceago cabernet is made with grapes from Mendocino County’s Redwood Valley which are grown using certified biodynamic methods that go beyond standard organic methods. Ceago Vinegarden is Jim Fetzer’s creation. Our wine list features three Ceago wines as well as another 93 wines from wineries from around the world made with grapes produced by organic, biodynamic, or sustainable methods. We hold in high esteem vintners such as Jim Fetzer who emphasize the terroir – the “place” – the land and weather that characterize the grapes grown there. Growers who use pesticides and chemical fertilizers mitigate their vineyards’ terroir by homogenizing the difference between places. The chemicals kill the soil’s micro-fauna and –flora forcing the vine to be dependent on chemical fertilizers. Biodynamic and sustainable methods essentially seek to enhance the life of the soil or minimally not to interfere with the soil’s indigenous life. At the Ravens’ at the Stanford Inn by the Sea we are concerned with terrior and sustainable agriculture. We grow using sustainable methods and are certified organic by the USDA. We support sustainable practice by purchasing organic and, if coffee or tea, products that are proven to be fairly traded. Wine Spectator has bestowed an Award of Excellence to our list which contains 96 organic or sustainably produced wines. To balance the list, our wine buyer, Amy Mullally, has carefully selected and additional 35 wines including seven different cabernets by our friend, Mark Carter who created Carter Cellars. Our main, focus, however are the excellent Mendocino County organic and sustainable wines including Jim Fetzer's and other members of his family: John who owns Saracina Vineyards, Patti Fetzer who produces Pattiana wines, and Dan who created Jeriko Vineyards. In addition, two other other notable wineries are the oldest organic winery in the United States, Lolonis of Redwood Valley and Yorkville Cellars in the Yorkville Highlands.]]> tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2007:/ravens//2.8 2007-05-23T23:54:42Z 2007-05-24T00:07:12Z

At the Ravens’ we are guided by the fact that we live within a predatory planet. It is violent and the very way we eat fosters violence. Some of here are vegan for that very reason. However, vegan is not...

At the Ravens’ we are guided by the fact that we live within a predatory planet. It is violent and the very way we eat fosters violence. Some of here are vegan for that very reason. However, vegan is not a another name for “righteousness.” We know that as we have compassion for the grains, fruits and vegetables we do eat, we must have compassion for those who eat animal products as well as for the animals themselves. Below is a quotation from our Ravens’ Cookbook. It speaks to this issue: “Food is energy - it is energy trapped, bonded to life. We digest destroying the integrity of the food and freeing the proteins, carbohydrates, fats and micronutrients needed to build and sustain our bodies. We are molecular beings, transferring bits and pieces of other molecules to function molecularly - that is, to organize, replicate, regenerate and repair ourselves. “Using energy extracted from our food, we interact, exchanging information between each other and this information exchange is most often about finding, holding, building sources of energy of one sort of another, be it money, some idea of power, or food itself. “Food is life and we eat life - or a product of life like dairy. Life eats life in a seemingly meaningless cycle. Even in those instances where we think we might avoid eating life by drinking milk we learn that dairy and eggs are seemingly innocent foods that do not demonstrate obvious sentience and are obtained from animals who are bred for the purpose. Those unable to lay an egg or produce milk – the males – are killed, usually after a six week life in a cage for a chicken, de-beaked and pumped full of antibiotics or after a few months in a calf pen or three years in a feedlot. “We eat life: it is transformed into our lives. Our planet appears predatory and dangerous when looked at from purely a materialistic viewpoint. This is not a happy realization. Many of us separate ourselves from the violence of procuring food: we go to the supermarket. But if we eschew violence how can we ask another to procure our food, kill for us? We cannot. We see ourselves as a nexus of change – from a violent and not particularly conscious relationship to the food we eat to a more conscious relationship. We “know” that eating is always killing, and we believe that remembering this honors the plants, fruits and grains we eat and in so honoring these foods, we eat what we need to eat and waste far less. Here, we do not serve animals but do serve dairy and eggs with the hope that many guests will try vegan dishes. This is what we hope to be the first step for many of our diners toward conscious dining and a vegan lifestyle.”(Copyright 2006 – Used by permission.) tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2007:/ravens//2.6 2007-05-19T23:52:42Z 2007-08-19T05:38:06Z

A note: We are working on an equally tasty vegan version of our scones. The recipe we are providing here is for our non-vegan, rich scones. Honestly, we believe that the most beneficial diet for the planet's health is a...

A note: We are working on an equally tasty vegan version of our scones. The recipe we are providing here is for our non-vegan, rich scones. Honestly, we believe that the most beneficial diet for the planet's health is a whole foods vegan diet and our scones are neither vegan nor whole grains. Vegan diets save the emissions from the equivalent of 12,000 miles driven per year by a vehicle getting approximate 22 miles to the gallon. Nevertheless, we offer this recipe and ask those readers who use it to also try a whole foods vegan lifestyle one or more days a week. Just one day a week is equivalent to saving the emissions from 1,700 miles each year. This is our most often requested recipe and is based on traditional English scone recipes. We use all organic ingredients and have found that ingredients make a huge difference. Experiment: When we first worked on the recipe we found that the scones flowed across the baking sheet. Too much butter - and we reduced the butter by a quarter. The difference we believe was the amount and quaslity of butterfat in the organic butter we used. In those days, we could not get Strauss Organic Butter on the Mendocino Coast and when a supplier added Strauss we switched and again had to use about 3/4ths the amount of butter we had been using. Ingredients make a huge difference. Bear that in mind when preparing this recipe. Ingredients and Procedure 1. Mix the following dry ingredients 4 ¼ cups all purpose organic flour ¾ cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 2. Cut in with two knives or a pastry blender ¾ pound organic butter, cut into small squares (When you’re finished with this process, your mixture should look like small peas.) 3. Mix the following wet ingredients in a separate bowl or container ½ cup buttermilk (may need a bit more) ½ cup cream (may need a bit more) 1 egg, beaten Splash vanilla 4. With swift, quick strokes, fold the wet mixture into the dry mix. Do not over mix. Assembly Preheat oven to 350 degrees 1. Place mixture on a lightly floured surface and press together without over working the dough. 2. Flatten with a rolling pin into a rectangle. Fold dough into thirds, like you would fold a letter. Add one cup of fruit of your choice. Roll and fold two more times. 3. Splash buttermilk or cream on top, brush evenly, then sprinkle with sugar. 4. Cut into triangles and bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Makes 16 scones]]> tag:www.stanfordinn.com,2007:/ravens//2.3 2007-04-25T05:20:13Z 2007-05-19T23:51:52Z

The Ravens’ is a nexus in the crossover from the standard North American diet to a sustainable, whole foods vegan diet. At breakfast we serve dishes prepared with eggs and dairy with the hope that guests will try a vegan...

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