Happy Valentine's Day

Join Us ! Chowderfest is March 9th !

Friday Special

Friday Special

Profile: Red Bread

Who is the Founder of Red Bread?

My name is Rose Lawrence.  I am the founder and fermenter behind Red Bread. Previously I worked for international human rights law firms, education based NGOs, the U.S. Department of State, an architecture firm, and traveled the world performing as an actor. I have always been captivated by food and its significance in community and culture. I am committed to understanding the science, art, and magic of real food treated with care. I am a passionate baker, Master Food Preserver, Juris Doctor and am actively involved with food justice issues.
 
What is Red Bread?

Along with my husband we run Red Bread a Slow Food eGrocer.  Red Bread was launched in January of 2012 to bring whole, locally sourced, natural and artisanal food to the westside of Los Angeles. Wild Yeasted Sourdough breads and pastries were our first offering and remain at the heart of the eGrocer. We believe that bread should be nutritional and delicious. All it requires is good ingredients, care and time. We extend that belief to all our foods, constantly striving to bring the fields to your door.  Currently, you can pick up Red Bread at the SMFM on Wednesdays from 8am-1pm or have it delivered to your door on Sunday.  We will be opening a market/cafe at 13322 Washington Blvd 90066 in late spring, serving Breakfast, Lunch and Tea.

How does sustainability tie in with Red Bread?

In founding Red Bread, sustainability and our environmental impact at all levels was important to us. We begin with ingredients sourced from farmers utilizing organic practices and a high level of care for the food they produce. In our kitchen, we strive for zero waste; using every available part of an ingredient, preserving and fermenting our own pantry and vermicomposting whatever remains into our garden. The food crafted in our kitchen arrives at your door in compostable and recyclable packaging on one of our electric cargo bikes. Delivering by electric bike ensures Red Bread has a low carbon food print. Purveyors we feature in the eGrocer share many of the same values.  Additionally, 5% of all sales are donated to the LA Food Bank.

We believe all of these commitments, to our customers, to our food, to our packaging are necessary.  It is of the utmost importance that we understand and begin to think in systems.  Knowing our place in relation to the greater whole, our community, and acting always to add value ensures true sustainability.

What are the challenges ? 

It can be difficult when you are first starting out to locate all the purveyors you may need to stick to your values however, they are out there.  More of a challenge has been the perception that sustainability is a passing trend or marketing gimmick.  Always hoping to educate, we find ourselves talking with the public to enlighten as to why sustainable is not only admirable but the only real option we have in light of the growing burden on the farmer and the population boom.  This is specific to the food industry, but it is a new mindset we must adopt for the future in all endeavors.
 
Who inspires you? Do you have a sustainable super hero?

Johnny Appleseed for his generosity towards others and his conservationist efforts, for the land and animals.  The American Legend feels about apples much the same as we feel about bread, their worth goes far beyond sustenance.  Sandor Katz is my contemporary hero and an endless inspiration for preservation and sustainability in the kitchen.

Spiny Lobster Demo Pics & Recipe

from our Food Editor, Katheryne Phillips

Glutonous amounts of lobster meat, duck fat, matsutake mushrooms, locally grown greens, white wine and a charismatic chef that’s about to show me what to do with all of it.  That’s what went down this week at our Surfas Culver City demo. A Sustainable Kitchen teamed up with Kim Thompson from Seafood for the Future, Edible Westside, and Chef Ray Garcia of FIG, Hotel Fairmont, for a demo that highlighted the beautiful, and sustainable California native spiny lobster.

Chef Ray Garcia and his team did a great job of showing the huge audience how to break down and cook the somewhat intimidating, hence its name, spiny lobster.  The Chef executed an amazing salad combining elegant, fresh, and local ingredients to create a beautiful plate layered with bright colors and rich flavors. While constructing his masterpiece, Chef Ray Garcia explained everything he was doing step by step, all while taking questions from the audience. He was awesome!

Not only did the audience get a great cooking tutorial, a lavish meal with wine, but they also got a quick lesson on the California spiny lobster and sustainable fishing from Kim Thompson.

Did I mention that all of this was FREE!

If you’d like to try to remake this meal yourself most of the ingredients are available at Surfas Culver City, Santa Monica Farmers Market, and Santa Monica Seafood.

Chef Ray Garcia’s recipe is as follows

Grilled Lobster:

2 California spiny lobster

1 in of ginger

1 clove garlic minced

The juice of ½ lemon

4 tablespoons olive oil

To Prepare:

Bring a large pot to a boil. Drop lobsters into pot, cook for 3 full minutes. Using large tongs, remove lobsters from the pot. When cool enough to handle remove tails with a firm twist and then cut the underside of the tails down the center, lengthwise.

Lobster Salad

2 California spiny lobster tails seasoned, cooked and grilled

5 Matsutake mushrooms

1 tablespoon duck fat

1 teaspoon aged soy sauce

2 pink lady apples

3 celery stalks with leaves

2 oz extra virgin olive oil

1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

8 oz chestnuts

Slice mushrooms around 1/8 thick, rub lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper

To Prepare:

·       Slice mushrooms around 1/8 thick on a mandolin. Rub lightly with oil, season with salt and pepper and grill.

·       Remove from the grill and place in a shallow baking dish. Melt duck fat and add to dish with aged soy

·       Cover with foil and bake in a 300 degree oven until soft. Around 25 minutes

·       Once cooked, uncover and allow to cool to room temperature

·       Put chestnuts in a pressure cooker with just enough water to cover. Cook until soft. Once cool enough to handle puree with a little bit of cooking liquid. As the blender is running, drizzle in some olive oil, and then blend until smooth

·       Season with salt and pepper

·       Slice the apples to thin disks using mandolin. Cut assorted sizes of celery and pick the celery leaves from the stalks

·       Toss apples, celery, and leaves with EVOO, lemon, salt and pepper.

To assemble the salad, lay some chestnut puree on the plate or a bowl. Arrange apple and celery on a dish. Add Matsutake mushrooms and drizzle a bit of the cooking liquid around.     

Special thanks to Seafood for the Future, Edible Westside, and Surfas.

Fabulous Friday + Tip for the Event Tomorrow

Greetings Sustainable Kitchen Friends !

Tomorrow is the Spiny Lobster Cooking Demo, please arrive early as we know there will be quite a crowd coming thanks to the shout-out from Tasting Table yesterday. Consider taking Metro, the Culver City stop is very close to Surfas.

Yes, we know the pic is not a Spiny Lobster... the devil is in the details.

• LOCAL EVENTS
• NATIONAL EVENTS

LOS ANGELES

    Select a City    NEW YORK    LOS ANGELES    CHICAGO    SAN FRANCISCO    D.C.    Miami 

 Saturday, 2/2, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Free

Whole-Lobster Love

Join chef Ray Garcia of Fig for a lesson on cooking California spiny lobsters at Culver City’s Surfas. The crustaceans’ sweet and succulent flavors, along with their rosy hue, make them ideal for Valentine's Day. Surfas, 8777 Washington Blvd., Culver City; 310-559-4770 or surfaslosangeles.com

Map data ©2013 Google - Terms of Use

Map

Satellite

Terrain

1 mi

1 km

Sign Up for the Class