Thursday, February 3, 2022

Dear Health … Love, Matcha


https://www.katburki.com/blogs/nourish-by-kat-burki-health/dear-health-love-matcha


There’s nothing quite like morning matcha making, in my humble opinion. Steeped in the tranquility of mixing up a cuppa in the solitude, silence, and dark of the dawning day, there’s both ritual and ceremony. Scooping the emerald-hued, stone ground tea powder by elegantly-shaped chashaku into a beautifully-crafted wide-bottomed matcha bowl or chawan; mesmerized by the brilliant green brew swirling in the bowl, whisking with the bamboo chasen, then, sliding it onto the tenmoku holder that dries the prongs just so. 

There’s also the wellness factor, infusing my body with the vibrant chlorophyll of shade-grown green goodness that packs a super healthy punch of goodness. This beautiful brew full of antioxidants, the body’s defense agents, can help fight infections and diseases, counteract free radicals and, some say, aging. Matcha also absorbs easily and therefore doesn’t cause jitters. One serving of matcha matches 10 cups of regularly brewed green tea, its ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) scale rating is thousands of units higher than goji berries, blueberries, broccoli or spinach! How’s that for healthy?! Matcha’s bumped-up chlorophyll content is also a blood-oxygenator, promoting good circulation and anti-inflammatory qualities. It’s my daily morning meditation, with the matcha moving through my system like prana or energy, healing organs and boosting my heart.
My favorite matcha is from Tea Dealers, the Avenue B-based tea house near my NYC East Village apartment, who sell online, too. I adore Shousui Matcha, a ceremonial Japanese matcha that Tea Dealers use for koicha, or thick tea, and whose poetic translation means “Pine Green,”. Its delicate flavor is at once bittersweet and conjures up cocoa with a floral finish. 

Lately, I’ve been favoring their Black Matcha, which isn’t technically matcha, but a black Korean tea, ground in the matcha manner. It is full-bodied, rich and when paired with a healthy alternative nut milk, is like hot chocolate for grown-ups! 

Matchaful, its special seasonal lattes spiked with supplemental additives like ashwagandha, reishi or turmeric, is my fave spot to mold a matcha newbie into a matcha fanatic! Matchaful’s tea tins ship online. I’m impressed by the smooth, velvety texture of their ceremonial-grade Hikari (meaning “light” or “glow from the sun”). They offer classic lattes that embrace the umami, or savory flavor, so popular these days, with their Kiwami matcha, delicious served straight (no milk for latte needed!), boasting a slightly sweet, floral, creamy flavor.

Woman-owned, sustainable Mizuba Matcha crafts a range of teas. Their Daily Matcha Green Tea is an affordable everyday matcha madness must-have. I love this blend for its creamy mouthfeel, the taste slightly like lightly toasted vanilla (a double win for me), with full milky notes that come through, whether served neat or straight. 

When far from go-to specialty tea shops, culinary grade SerendipiTEA matcha is readily found in most groceries, and perfect in those matcha muffins, smoothies, and honey-sweetened lattes. It doesn’t taste as fine or clear, especially straight up, as some of my preferred brands, but is great shaken with cashew milk, ice and a little maple syrup.

Cheers!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Modern Primitive Cafe Copy




http://modernprimitivecafe.com/about-us/About Us

Modern Primitive Cafe
Modern Primitive Cafe (curated by Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics) is the answer to clean, green and glam — hand-made organic, gourmet and gluten-free, artisanal healthy eats crafted with a tweak on traditional global flavors.
With its inviting post-modern space — clean white subway tiles, rustic recycled raw metal and salvaged wood — Modern Primitive Cafe embodies the crossroads of food, fashion and art.
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Created and founded by owners Steve Marino and Arjan Khiani, the cafe’s cozy post-modern corner in Industry City’s Food Hall, a massive historic warehouse complex along Sunset Park’s waterfront, is tipping the gourmet scales. The cafe’s delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner menus creatively crafted by the duo underscore a philosophy borrowed from the early Modern Primitive movement, post-modernly linking a healthy body and mind via organic food, the perfect modern-day synthesis of man and nature.
Revel in innovative specialty foods and vegetarian fare, fashioned using sustainable technologies with the highest quality organic-grade ingredients rich in antioxidants and omegas, as well as herbs, spices, extracts and essential oils that will dazzle discerning taste buds. Refined organic GMO-free gourmet products made with no additives or preservatives, environmentally friendly and ethically crafted gluten-free preparations, and eco-conscious sustainable and stylishly sophisticated packaging are inspired by nature, organically derived, perfected by the human touch.
Beyond the cafe’s daily prepared delicacies, enjoy Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics — uniquely flavored marmalades, chutneys and candied fruits made in the USA by the creative duo and available exclusively at the cafe, prestigious Dean & Deluca shops, various gourmet retailers and showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival.
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Who We Are: Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics
Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics, the lovechild of Steve Marino and Arjan Khiani, inspired the Modern Primitive Cafe, a healthy-food laboratory for delicious organic, sustainable and local handcrafted foods appealing to a sense of taste as well as a conscience for sustainability.
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Both Steve, with his Italian heritage, and Andy, who was raised in India, arrived at the organic table naturally, complementing each other’s culinary creativity within their mutually-entwined worlds of cosmetics and clothing, underscored by a family-driven commitment to good food. Steve, an internationally-renowned fashion/celebrity makeup artist collaborating with top photographers for editorials and features on stars like Scarlett Johansson, Lauren Bush and Tilda Swinton, as well as major advertising campaigns, credits his enthusiasm for cooking to his parents’ passion for creating pastries and wedding cakes. Andy’s career as a top fashion and textile designer (his Body Worship label enjoyed a long-term livelihood as an East Village boutique, as well as top clients like Madonna and Mick Jagger) was enhanced by his cooking hobby, skills honed by the culinary expertise of his mother, who created all the family meals at home in India, exposing him to the exotic spices and flavorings indigenous to his world and crucial to the Modern Primitive Cafe.
Partners in life, the duo launched Steve & Andy’s Hand Made Organics in 2012, a love for food and the desire for organic excellence establishing them as innovative New York City-based food entrepreneurs. Candied Orange Peels and Orange Marmalade with Star Anise were the initial fruits of their collaboration. Now Strawberry/Rose preserves, Spiced Mango Chutneys, Candied Lemon Peels, Tomato Marmalades and gluten-free crackers and cookies are available, with new product releases scheduled by the end of year.

Liebeskind Web Copy — Love Child: The Beginning


CONFESSIONS OF A LOVE CHILD


I have much to confess. This is only the beginning. A re-launch, if you will, shaking things up, changing the way we blog here. New guts, new glories, new stories. I’m tripping you down to the ground and French kissing you when you land. I’m the call of the wild, the edge of sanity, the raison d’être. I’m Liebeskind’s Love Child. And this is New Post #1.
What is a Love Child?
• Risk Taker by Day
• Lover by Night
• Woman by Destiny
• Traveler by Choice
• Rebel by Fate
• Poet by Principal
• Liebeskind Obsessed by Design
I’m the girl you can’t bring home to mama. But you do and she loves me, too. I’m a risk taker, a straight shooter. Love me, fear me. You’ll never leave me. There’s no in between and there’s one like me. My passion for life makes me different. My passion for fashion. For art. For travel. For reading. For everything. I might well be reading Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman while waiting to skydive out of a plane. But after my chute opens, I hit the ground running, gunning it towards the closest fashion boutique. Because shopping’s just one more kind of super high I love. I’m a rebel. The cool, edgy new kid on the streets of Soho. Hells, yeah.
And the kind of fashion I truly love? Dresses, heels, tank tops, baseball caps, leggings and nose rings. Of course, I take my Liebeskind bag everywhere I go. Marfa, Texas. Burning Man. Coachella. One day I’ll take one with me to Africa, I promise. On my bedside table? Emmanuelle by Emmanuelle Arsan, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and all the magazines from Elle and Vogue to Paper and People. Hobbies? Yoga and shopping (did I say shopping?!) are ways of life. As are taking bubble baths and travel. I dream of a house on a lake (preferably while I’m soaking in bubbles). Love cats. Drink seltzer. Prefer champagne, flirty lashes, multiple orgasms, chocolate (comfort food!), leafy greens, red lipstick, fake fur, but not necessarily in that order.
I am a Love Child. These are just some of my confessions. What are yours?

Love Child: Valentine's Day

ICE FISHING POLES…AND OTHER UNUSUAL V-DAY GIFTS

It’s that time of year when I start dropping all kinds of crazy hints to my Love Joy about romantic Valentine’s Day gift ideas. I’m really over boxes of chocolates (I mean, I’ll takeone if I have to, wink, wink), and champagne leaves me flat after the first glass. Saying that I really appreciate a well thought out and consciously planned gift, something unusual and very, very different usually gets his gears going. He’s good that way.
Pretty vintage girl ice fishing
Why, just recently he came through with a most interesting thank you gift – an ice fishing pole. Now, what’s a fashionista living in the middle of New York City doing with an ice fishing pole? Probably nothing. Although, with the weather we’ve been having, I can almost see myself dolled up in my Liebeskind leather Chelsea boots with my leopard-print Traveler bag doubling as a tackle box, traipsing out to the iced-over Hudson River to score the Big One. Almost being the operative word.
I knew where he was coming from with this present, though. We’d just returned from the frigid northern Midwest – think something like Fargo – where they do things like that. And I will confess, it’s a not-so-subtle reminder of our loving trip together. I remember how we held mittens hiking through the woodsy surroundings, spotted a winter owl and tracked foxes in the snow before snuggling back to warmth in front of our B&B’s fireplace.
The fishing pole now sits in my office, an unusual token of his love for me, a realization that while we always may not be able to do the crazy things we want to on a daily basis, that dream is out there. And I know I will accept and love him for whatever kind of appreciation he wants to show me this Valentine’s Day. But I do hope it’s not a coordinating ice-fishing gift like crampons.
What’s the most unusual gift YOU have ever been gifted?

Love Child: Meet the President

MEET NATHALIE SEARS –  
PRESIDENT LOVE CHILD TO YOU

My family of Love Children is the best! Take Nathalie Sears, U.S. President of Liebeskind Berlin. Coolest. Person. Ever. This Love Child isn’t your typical global fashion company president. She’s a mother of three who’s brought at least one of her progeny to Burning Man.
Nathalie Sears, President Liebeskind Berlin
Nathalie Sears, U.S. President of Liebeskind Berlin
Yes. Nathalie is like a burst of fire that sparks everything in her path. A straight-shooting, passionate business guru with a career kicked off at Calypso St. Bart and Montblanc North America, Nathalie bonded with Liebeskind over their belief in value. “I love the entrepreneurial environment here, the fact that we do things differently.” Liebeskind’s brand motto, if not actually about her, speaks to her: “We are risk-takers by day, lovers by night, travelers by choice, rebellious by fate, and handbag obsessed by design.”
She gives major props to her support lineup handpicked from previous work relations. “I’m all about my team. I have been very fortunate to have great mentors in my life and truly believe in the principle of paying it forward. I’m faithful that way,” she says. “Even if I have moments of stress , I am grateful for their support and the fact that they are willing to hang in there with me!”
Nathalie Sears
As at home in a boardroom as she is at beating boredom, this executrix rarely says no to any experience. She’s hiked icy mountain glaciers, trekked the verdant peaks of Machu Picchu, scuba dived the Norwegian Sea, and of course, traipsed around the Black Rock Desert of Nevada with her teenage son in tow.
Cool facts about this global rebel? She is a big-hearted humanitarian who travels to places like Cambodia and Burma, raising money for things like reading lamps for orphanages. She eats French candies daily, de-stresses with yoga, and lives for travel, although she was a white-knuckle flyer before an emergency landing in a cornfield cured that. Of course, she thrives on occasional retail therapy, loves her Liebeskind Berlin bag, and counts as her favorite possession is a little namesake necklace given to her as a child that means “born in heaven” in Arabic: her Catholic Lebanese grandfather kidnapped her Syrian Muslim grandmother to be able to marry her and Nathalie says, “Every time I touch it, it reminds me of the many forms love can take.” She credits Emile Zola’s Au Bonheur des Dame (read during recovery from a terrible car accident at age 9) for her both her reading and retail passions. I bet you’d never guess she once dated a president, though he was not in office then and isn’t now.
But don’t ask. Some things are better left cool and mysterious, much like our President.
Who’s your coolest boss ever and why?