Blisters and Bruises

The transformation has certainly begun at Each Peach Café… Lori and I have the blisters and bruises to prove it! And we’re loving every moment of it.

The serious work started on Saturday, Feb 12th. Christopher (my partner, Happy Valentine’s Day!), his brother specializes in HVAC and other very useful odds and ends. We walked through the place, making a to-do list and a Home Depot shopping list. Lori and I spent the evening prepping for painting the drop ceiling on Sunday.

Sunday morning we took the multitudes of ceiling fans and lights down. We had been told it “looks like a lighting supply store” because there were so many of them, which was SO true. Then we replaced any broken ceiling tiles. All in prep for painting…

Painting with a sprayer. Yeah. I rented a sprayer from Home Depot that morning, and then let Mike go to town. Of course, it didn’t take long for us to blow through the 2 gallons of paint we bought on Saturday, so Lori desperately found me a paint store that was open on Sunday so I could dash out and get more in an exact match. It was crazy! We managed the get the whole front room ceiling painted and most of the walls primed in less than 4 hours. Wow. Painting with a sprayer is amazing, but doesn’t come without a price. Even wearing a mask, all of our nose hairs were painted too.

This spring cleanse can’t come soon enough for me!

Sunday night, Lori and I started the demolition portion of the renovation by ripping any cheap, ugly, poorly finished trim off everywhere we could. Fun stuff! And a great reward after such a long day of painting and running around.

I was not thrilled with the color of the ceiling after it was completed, and couldn’t imagine going through all that work again to re-do it. Thankfully, it looked much better Monday morning in the daylight and with rested eyes. And everyone else seems to love it! That was a nice Valentine’s Day surprise, but even better was the floor ripper-upper thingy that the property’s work crew brought in for us to use! Awesome! Lori and I ripped up almost all of the flooring and most of the glue too in about 4 hours, leaving behind a nice concrete floor. Just wait to see what we have in store for that!

We could both certainly benefit from a chiropractic adjustment after removing that floor. Worth it? We shall see…

Tomorrow, Tuesday, the trash pile should be completely removed and the floors completely ready for the next step. We may even have time to do the taping in preparation for painting the walls.

Very exciting!

Everyone has started asking about the Each Peach menu, which Lori and I began to hammer out over the weekend. We will serve a standard set of smoothies, with a seasonal smoothie added in every now and again.

Partial Smoothies List
Each Peach Signature > peaches, yogurt, vanilla, honey
House Blend > orange, banana, strawberry, blueberry, yogurt, honey
Monkey Mocha > banana, almond butter, cacao, coffee, yogurt, coconut milk
Blue Breeze > blueberry, lemon, yogurt, vanilla, honey

Add-in options include protein, flaxseed and spinach. All smoothies are also available dairy-free by substituting the yogurt with almond milk or coconut milk.

Other menu items include coffee and teas, wheatgrass, steel cut oats, a salad-of-the-day, a soup-of-the-day, healthy snacks like kale chips (I have all my friends hooked on these!), Richardson’s ice cream and assorted gluten- and dairy- free desserts.

We’re targeting March 19th for our opening, but there’s lots to do before then! Wish us luck, and if you come across any handy gnomes send them our way. Until then, check out our neighbors! They are all awesome… Like Shannon at Bikram Yoga Danvers, Steve at Centre Street PIzza, and Vanessa at Bella Salon & Day Spa.

Augusta

Raw Food Classes for Everyone

Have you ever wanted to take a class, but couldn’t justify it due to either the expense or commitment of time? I certainly have… Photography, piano… The list goes on.

However, I’ve had the pleasure, nay the joy, of teaching raw food preparation classes for the past two years, because I DID make the financial commitment and time commitment to train with Alissa Cohen and the Head Chef at Grezzo restaurant, Leah Dubois. The restaurant no longer exists, but Leah’s recipes are featured in the new Raw Food for Everyone cookbook authored by Alissa. I am grateful for that experience, because adding raw food to my life has changed my life. And I believe learning how to add raw food into your diet in a way that is fun and delicious can benefit everyone.

It’s no secret the ingredients we use for our classes are expensive, and some of our classes literally take days of food preparation before the class even begins. For this reason, the cost of taking a raw food class can be cost prohibitive… especially in the current economic climate. An intensive class can also be a rather large time commitment – for example, the Level I and II classes we were teaching, back-to-back, consumed an entire weekend. I don’t know a mom with kids in sports who can commit to an entire weekend doing something for herself… Do you?

For these reasons, Denise and I have taken the time to come up with new classes to suit anyone’s wallet and lifestyle. We feel adding more raw food to any diet is important enough to make learning how easily accessible. From free 1-hour seminars, to half-day advanced preparation classes, we offer something for everyone. But you have to want it for yourself!

Green Smoothie Spring Detox Seminar
Date TBD, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
55 Amoskeag Street, Manchester, NH
Join us for a quick one hour seminar about the many benefits of green smoothies; and how to make delicious, HEALTHY green smoothies that even your kids will love! FREE.

Italian Family Dinner - Raw Style!
Date TBD,
176 S River Road, Bedford, NH
This abbreviated course will teach you how to prepare a delicious Italian-style raw food meal your entire family will love! You will leave with introductory knowledge of how to prepare fun, delicious raw food, and your very own spiral slicer to get you started. $50.

Just Desserts!
February 4, 2011, 7 - 10pm
452 Brent Street, Manchester, NH
This evening course will teach you decadent, gourmet, easy-to-make raw food desserts that will wow even the most discerning dessert connoisseur! Excellent class for mothers and daughters to take together. $100.

Raw Food Basics
March 13, 2011, 9am - 12pm
452 Brent Street, Manchester, NH
This half-day course will teach you the fundamentals of the raw food diet through the preparation of easy, delicious raw food meals. $100.

Sprouting and Dehydrating
March 13, 2011, 1pm - 5pm
452 Brent Street, Manchester, NH
This half-day course is designed to demonstrate sprouting and dehydrating techniques that take you beyond basic raw food prep. Learn how to create dishes you never thought you could make raw... Like pizza! From this course you will be proficient in preparing elegant gourmet meals. $250. Prerequisite: Raw Food Basics. $325 to take both classes together. 

Visit the Each Peach Calendar for updates to the classes, seminars and events. Or sign up now to start your journey towards a healthier, more beautiful and radiant you! Register at least 3 days prior to the event by sending an email to abarstow@eachpeachcafe.com with the following information:

Full Name
Email Address
Mailing Address
Phone Number
Class/Seminar Title
Class/Seminar Date

We hope to see you soon!

Augusta

Join Us for Ladies’ Night!

The holidays are upon us… Black Friday is only days away… I have decided to do what I can this year to not only shop for locally grown produce when possible, but also to support local small businesses over the holidays. And the perfect opportunity to do just this is to join us at Nicole’s Salon and Day Spa Friday, December 3rd from 7-10pm for their Night of Shopping and Fun!

For one night only, Nicole’s is offering 15% off gift certificates and products, and will feature other local businesses including Aine’s Boutique of Reading, Designz by Jackie, Simple Pleasures Fashion Jewelry, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple, Avon, Roots, and us (Each Peach Café)! I’ll serve a raw dessert, and Lori will mix up our special house smoothie for everyone to sample. Definitely stop by if you can!

Last Sunday, Lori and I attended ZuZu’s Healing Arts annual Holiday New Age Expo in Peabody, MA, where different health experts and vendors of all kinds participated. We especially enjoyed meeting Carolyn Kelley, owner of In Joy Organics, and learning more about the thyroid. Lori was super brave and did the iodine test along with the rest of the group (she’s severely allergic), and both of us discovered to no surprise that we both need more iodine in our diet. I purchased the In Joy Sea Shakes, both original and zesty flavors, which combine sea salt and seaweeds. I highly recommend both! We will definitely carry this product at Each Peach Café once we open for business.

Last night I got a call from one of our raw and living food students who met me and Denise through our raw living foods seminars at Amoskeag Chiropractic, and has already taken both Level I and the Desserts class. She was looking for a little help with recipes she’s preparing for Thanksgiving, which I thought was fabulous! Talk about putting your new food prep skills to the test… The ultimate test. I asked her to share with me how everything is received at the BIG MEAL. Stay tuned…

So, whether in MA or NH, join us at Nicole’s Salon & Day Spa in Stoneham, MA, Friday, December 3rd for Ladies’ Night, or at Amoskeag Chiropractic in Manchester, NH, Wednesday, December 15th for the Raw Living Snack Seminar. Both are FREE!

Augusta

Welcome to the Each Peach Cafe blog!

This is the weekend, when Humbaba World will officially be reborn into Each Peach. Purely educational in the form of Humbaba World, Each Peach Cafe will provide a physical space for the health-conscious to come and play... Eat, drink, and be healthy! Denise and I will continue to teach raw food classes both in people's homes and now at Each Peach Cafe as well, and Lori and I will add in health and wellness classes at Each Peach Cafe throughout 2011. This is a very exciting time for us! Stay tuned, as I will be documenting the transformation of the Each Peach Cafe until our grand opening in 2011. Psst... You're all invited!

Last night, Denise and I gave out raw food samples of the walnut pate, chocolate ganache cake, and maple pecan cheesecake at the Just Naturals Girls' Night Out event. This event was held at their new location in Bedford, NH, on South River Road. The night also featured a complimentary makeover (loved mine!), chair massage (awesome!), astrology reading, reiki, and wine tasting! The new Just Naturals store is absolutely stunning (pictured), and truly inspires a clean, happy, healthy feeling.

Missed Girls' Night Out??? Do not despair. December 15th from 6:30-7:30 we have another free raw food demonstration at Amoskeag Chiropractic in Manchester, this time featuring delicious raw snacks like cauliflower popcorn and cheesy kale chips. Call their office to RSVP, 603-624-8000. We have another event planned at Amoskeag Chiropractic January 26th, dedicated entirely to the coconut!

In case you missed the recipe for the Maple Pecan Cheesecake, here it is again. TRULY delicious. For anyone new to raw food preparation, Denise and I will be teaching how to prepare this recipe and several others at our Just Desserts class scheduled for February 4th.

MAPLE PECAN CHEESECAKE
The Crust...
- 1 C walnuts
- 1 C pecans
- 2 T coconut sugar crystals
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 T maple syrup
- 1 t vanilla
Process nuts, sugar crystals, and salt in food processor to a fine meal. Add remaining ingredients, but do not over process; should be crumbly. Press into spring form pan (or ring molds).


The Filling...
- 3 C cashew flour
- 2 C cashew milk (unstrained)
- 1 C maple syrup
- 4 T lemon juice
- 2 T vanilla
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 C coconut oil, melted
Blend all ingredients except coconut oil until smooth. Add coconut oil and continue to blend until well combined. Pour filling on top of crust and chill for an hour in the freezer before serving.

Augusta