Chef Juliano Brotman was raised in his father’s meat-heavy Italian restaurants in Denver, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, and Chicago . After working in other traditional restaurants and the catering business, he felt disenchented with the entire cooked food process and discovered the health benefits of being a vegetarian.

At 19, he became vegan, giving up all animal products and four years later he became 100% raw.
In 2000 he relocated Planet Raw to Santa Monica.
In 2011 he turned it completely Kosher (K♥R).

Great news to all living beings.

Planet RAW
609 Broadway Street,
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Tel: (310) 587-1552

There are many reasons why a strictly vegan establishment requires kosher certification. Here are a few of them:

It is possible for a minute quantity of animal products to be included in a vegan-certified food. According to the Vegan Society, an outfit which licenses vegan foods, “vegan products must, as far as is possible and practical, be entirely free from animal involvement.” Furthermore they state, “Animal products are sometimes used in instances that are not immediately obvious.”1
All utensils used to prepare kosher food, as well as countertops, ovens, etc., must be kosher. Meaning, if they were previously used for non-kosher foods, they must be koshered before being used for kosher food preparation.
Wine and grape juice are not kosher unless they are certified kosher (see Wine and Grape Products). Even if the restaurant doesn’t have a wine list, many dishes include wine or grape juice in their ingredients.
Certain foods must be cooked or baked by a Jew in order to be kosher (see Baked and Cooked Foods).

To repeat, however, it is certainly much easier for a vegan eatery to receive and maintain kosher certification. If your neighborhood has a kosher consumer base, perhaps ask the restaurant management to consider this not-so-difficult option which could increase its clientele.

Rabbi Eliezer Posner Chabad

Kosher Symbol – (K♥R)

According to Kabbalah (Orthodox Jewish Laws). חב”ד
Company Mission:
To unite, promote, educate, and lead the Vegan Raw Food Revolution by providing guidance, supervision and certification to manufactures, restaurant owners, and Vegan raw food entrepreneurs, in order to give anyone regardless of their religion, ethnic group, skin color, language or geographical location, the tools, education and benefit of eating Kosher Vegan Raw foods.

Kosher Services Provided:

• Individual Vegan Raw Product Certification.
• Bulk Vegan Raw Products Certification.
• Vegan Raw Restaurant/Facility Certification.
• Vegan Raw Events Certification (Catering).
• Kosher Vegan Raw Courses.

Thank You for Visiting Kosher Vegan Raw Website

Let’s hope we’ll see plenty of new healthy vegan Raw foods products and establishments get certified soon.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word “vegan” was coined in 1944 by Donald Watson, founder of the Vegan Society, who combined the first three and last two letters of vegetarian to form “vegan,” which he saw as “the beginning and end of vegetarian.
“Vegan” is pronounced /ˈviːɡən/. Some people pronounce “vegan” as /ˈvɛdʒən/, but Watson and the North American Vegetarian Society consider the latter pronunciation to be incorrect.
Not Vegan
An animal product is any material derived from animals. Notable animal products include meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, honey, fur, leather, wool, and silk. Common animal products also include gelatin, lanolin, rennet, whey, casein, beeswax, isinglass, carmine, and shellac.

Animal products such as ground bone and powdered fish organs may be used in the production of a product although they may not appear as an ingredient in the final product. Many of these ingredients are obscure, may also have non-animal sources, and may not even be identified. Although the organization Vegan Outreach has the opinion that “it can be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to shun every minor or hidden animal-derived ingredient”, the Vegan Society will not certify a product as vegan unless its production does not involve, or have involved, the use of any animal product, by-product or derivative.
Data regarding the number of vegans is available in some countries.
A 2002 Time/CNN poll found that 4% of American adults identify as vegetarians, and 5% of vegetarians identify as vegans, which implies that 0.2% of American adults are vegans. In 2008, Harris Interactive conducted a survey for Vegetarian Times, which indicated that approximately 0.5% of Americans identify as vegan. Harris Interactive also conducted surveys for the Vegetarian Resource Group in both 2006 and 2009. The survey listed specific foods and asked respondents to indicate which items they never eat, rather than asking respondents to self-identify as vegetarian or vegan. In 2006, 1.4% of respondents reported never eating meat, poultry, fish, seafood, dairy products, or eggs and were thus essentially vegan in their eating habits.[9] In 2009, 1.3% of respondents reported never eating these products, including 0.8% of respondents who also avoided honey. The 2006 survey found that about 1.4% of men and 1.3% of women have vegan diets. According to an Aramark survey, one of every four college students in the U.S. is seeking vegan options on campus.

When I was diagnosed with allergies to wheat and dairy back in 2003, I thought my whole world was going to crumble. I was so confused about these allergies so I headed to the grocery store to see what my options were. It only made things worse. Gluten and dairy were in everything, it seemed and the products that were ok for me to eat were not appetizing or appealing in any way.  I pouted my way down the aisles of the grocery store and ended up buying an Asian pear and a box of tissue to wipe away my tears.

A couple years later I was living in NY and I’d had enough. Why wasn’t there a place for me and those out there like me who couldn’t have conventional ingredients? It was time for someone to open a bakery where celiacs, vegans, and diabetics could go and indulge in bakery goods that taste just like the cakes and cookies that grace the cover of Food and Wine or in the window of the best local bakery. I decided to make this dream a reality and took to the kitchen. After a year of experimenting, BabyCakes NYC opened on Broome Street in the heart of New York’s Lower East Side.

After the bakery opened, I began to receive many emails pleading for me to go the extra mile to make the bakery certified Kosher. I immediately loved the idea of providing the Jewish community with a safe alternative to wheat based Kosher baked goods and my search for a Rabbi to certify us was on. I have to say it wasn’t easy to track down a reputable Rabbi our first time around but once we did, getting Kosher was easy since we don’t use animal products or dairy.  Once the Rabbi checked all of our labels and took a very close look at our facility, he certified us Kosher, Parve and Vegan and we celebrated with joy.

In January of 2010, we opened the doors of our LA outpost of BabyCakes NYC. The community didn’t hesitate to put us in touch with Rabbi Yakov Vann who came down and examined the bakery and approved us for Kosher Certification. Although the word is spreading steadily we are anxious to get the great news out to all our long time customers and future customers. Being in LA has brought us the sunshine we needed and we are having the best time connecting with the community. We love LA!

By: Erin McKenna
la@babycakesnyc.com
April 29, 2010
www.mykosherla.com

There’s nothing like good, healthy, homemade hummus, and there’s no reason for you not to try making it. Making good Hummus isn’t just about having a good recipe, though. True, there are quantities to keep and procedures to follow, but in order to make a really good hummus you must you should go into a cerain state of mind (and preferably practice it for years).

You shouldn’t, and can’t, compete with people who have been making hummus all their lives. On the other hand, you can still make a very tasty hummus the first time you try. It will taste 10 times better than any packaged hummus you can buy, and be 10 times healthier as well. With time, you will get the touch and become a hummus expert.
A hummus made right, will not make you feel heavy or bloated after you eat it. It will not make you – excuse my French – fart like crazy, either. It should go down smoothly, leaving you light and happy, and in a cheerful mood.
To solve the gas problem, BTW, you should soak the chickpeas in clean water for 10-15 hours, switch them at list once, and take off the foam that appears over the boiling water during the cooking. That’s all (and if you’re extra sensitive, put one bay leave into the cooking pot).
Also, washing the chickpeas well between every two steps of the making, will help you leave out the aftertastes.
There are lots of different hummus recipes. I came across dozens of hummus recipes, and practically tried them all. The recipe before you, is the best in my opinion. Accurate and well tested – although you should feel free to experiment. Good luck!
Ingredients
[4 extra-large bowls of Hummus]
1 cups dried chickpeas (the smallest you can find)
1/2 cup tahini
juice from 1 squeezed lemons
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon + 1/8-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
salt
olive oil
parsley

How do I make that into Hummus? (Directions)
[Brut: 10-20 hours. Net: 30 minutes]
1. Poor the chickpeas over a large plate. Go over them and look for damaged grains small stones, or any other thing you would rather leave out of the plate.
2. Wash the chickpeas several times, until the water is transparent. Soak them in clean water over night with 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Then, wash it, and soak again in tap water for a few more hours. The grains should absorb most of the water and almost double their volume.
3. Wash the chickpeas well and put them in a large pot. Cover with water, add the rest baking soda and NO salt. Cook until the grains are very easily smashed when pressed between two fingers. It should take around 1-1.5 hours, during which it is advised to switch the water once again, and remove the peels and foam which float over the cooking water. When done, sieve the grains and keep the cooking water.
4. Put the chickpeas into a food processor and grind well. Leave it to chill a little while before you continue.
5. Add the tahini and the rest of the ingredients and go on with the food processor until you get the desired texture. If the Humus is too thick, add some of the cooking water. It should be thinner than the actual desired texture.
Serve with some good olive oil and chopped parsley.

Uzi Moses
uzi.moses@gmail.com
April 22, 2010
www.mykosherla.com

This is a recipe that I have adapted over the years. The origin is Sephardic and although our family is Ashkenazi, I think this is much more flavorful and interesting than the apple walnut and wine version. Our tradition is to form the Haroset into the shape of a pyramid and place it in the center of our Seder table. I place two small olive wood camels on the plate next to the pyramid.

Ingredients

3 cups dates, diced
1/2 cups almond, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups apples, peeled and diced
3/4 cup sweet concord wine
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup shelled pistachio nuts
1/2 cup yellow raisins, slightly pulverized in Cuisinart
1 orange, peeled and diced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients and blend well. Shape into pyramid.

By: Irene Saiger
isaiger@gmail.com
March 16, 2010
www.mykosherla.com

Hand Made Matzah

Pesach (Passover) is rapidly approaching and Jews from all over are scrambling to prepare for the seven day matzah fest. From cleaning homes, to buying new clothes, and most importantly preparing kosher for Pesach food, Pesach really requires a lot of time in advance in order to get the best possible experience. The last challenge of   preparing tasty food, that’s healthy and that abides by all the kosher and Pesach laws is one of the hardest parts of any holiday preparation.

Since it can be so daunting, thinking about and preparing food for this wonderful holiday, I wanted to share with you a little bit of background surrounding the concept of eating matzahs and provide some useful links to help everyone out there that’s feeling like its crunch time and could use a bit more info and tips on Pesach preparation.

The idea of not eating ‘Chametz‘ (leavened products) during Pesach stems from the fact that when the Jews left Egypt they didn’t have time to bake bread and therefore prepared Matzahs, which is made from the same ingredients as bread, but requires a lot less time to prepare. Some halachic authorities maintain that it is a mitzvah to eat Matzah at every meal and at any time that a person desires throughout Pesach, as opposed to just the first night. Matzah is also known as the bread of faith. The holy books line up tremendous spiritual benefits which one gets from eating Matzah during the holiday of Pesach. MyKosherLA will keep you posted regarding Kosher Restaurants that will be open during the holiday, and what type of kosher supervision they are receiving over the holiday.

Some good links to consider while preparing for Pesach:

To learn more about Matzah and Passover:
www.passover.org

To order Matzah online:
www.lubavitchmatzah.com

Passover Recipes:
www.koshercooking.com
www.kosherinthekitch.com

Subscribe and get updates from MyKosherLA.com:
feeds.feedburner.com/MyKosherLA

By: Uzi Moses
uzi.moses@gmail.com
March 11, 2010
www.mykosherla.com