ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 22, 1997 TAG: 9701220011
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
"People are hungry for what we're offering," Micayla Carl said.
And she wasn't just talking about the gourmet organic foods that she and partner Richard Mauro prepare.
Their business, Micayla's Culinary Artistry, offers a smorgasbord of edibles and recipes, plus information, enlightenment, anecdotes and interaction aimed at healthful organic eating and living.
The Big Island-based business opened its doors in July.
"We do catering, carry-out, we prepare meals in people's homes for an hourly fee, plus the cost of the food items. We can do it or teach them how to do it hands on," Carl said.
The couple also provide food for public functions, as they will Saturday at the Creative Wellness Center's health fair in Bedford. The fair, at the Builder's Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will present a mix of conventional and alternative healing modes.
"We teach several wellness classes that focus on what is good or bad for you," Carl said.
Last week, she and Mauro taught their crash course, "Wellness 101," at the Lifestream Center in Roanoke. During the 21/2-hour session, they built a 12-step model of wellness based upon assorted readings, handouts, participant interaction and their own knowledge and experiences.
Carl, 31, said she was in Wisconsin, in college battling her own seemingly unsolvable health difficulties - including assorted allergies - when she happened upon Complete Health Services, an alternative health clinic that was able to help her.
"It led me to my life's purpose, which included quitting college. But that's OK," she said of her eventual role as the clinic's food specialist for three years. During that time, she learned most of what she knows about nutrition and healthful living, she said.
Mauro, 38, who also produces ``Sunday Brunch'' and ``New Sounds'' for radio stations WPVR and WVTF, respectively, said his interest in healthful eating was piqued in the early '80s when most of his friends in his Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood became vegetarians. He says that he tried strict vegetarianism himself for two years before conceding that it simply did not suit him. Which also is OK, according to the wellness model he and Carl created. The model stresses finding the diet and lifestyle that work for you.
"Attitude is the first ingredient," Carl said. "It's part of our being, our spirit. It's our eating, our way of life and how we prepare our food."
She and Mauro said that food takes on the energy under which it is prepared. They do not cook when they're angry or upset and always try to infuse their food preparation with a generous dose of "Vitamin Love."
Other factors in their wellness formula include natural versus processed foods, about which they offered V.E. Iron's words of wisdom: "Eat only those things that will rot or spoil, but eat them before they do."
They offered a bath recipe of 1/2 teaspoon Clorox to 1 gallon of water to remove sprays, bacteria, fungus and metallics from foods. They recommended soaking thick-skinned fruits, berries and leafy vegetables in the bath for 5 to10 minutes; root vegetables and heavy skinned fruits, 15 to 20 minutes; frozen meats (excluding ground meats) from 2 to 6 pounds, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove foods from bath and place in clean, fresh water for 15 to 20 minutes. Then proceed with normal preparation.
Always seek the highest quality meats, they said. Their discussion of water covered various filtering methods and parasites' amazing persistence.
Carl and Mauro also suggested avoiding hydrogenated and partly hydrogenated oils, margarine, shortening and lard. Instead, cook with olive or canola oils. They also suggested breaking open a bead of Vitamin E and adding it to oils to help preserve them and retard their turning rancid.
Other tips:
*Vitamins are OK to use, but in moderation.
*You have to find the right type of exercise for you, if you're going to make yourself do it.
*Instead of sugar, consider using fruits, maple syrup or Stevia (an herb) as your sweetener.
*Don't underestimate the importance of touch, light and air.
During a break in Wellness 101, participants got to look at and sample products and foods commonly used in an organic lifestyle. The accompanying recipe creates a moist, dense, delicious muffin, made even better with the addition of a light layer of organic apricot spread.
Carl and Mauro will offer a course called "Veggin' Out," a four-week version of Wellness 101, Feb. 7 to Feb. 28. The classes, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lifestream Center on Brandon Avenue, will cost $95 and include lacto-ovo vegetarian meals (with instructions for adding animal protein, if desired) recipe packets, drinks, stories, friendship, plus more in-depth exploration of the topics mentioned above. Registration and a $25 deposit are required by Feb. 1. Call 344-3031. Carl and Mauro can be contacted at (804) 299-7124.
APRICOT-ORANGE OAT BRAN MUFFINS
1 cup nonfat buttermilk or nonfat yogurt
1 cup diced dried organic apricots or peaches (unsulphured)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
2 large organic egg whites
4 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated organic orange zest
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup organic oat bran
1/2 cup organic unbleached flour
1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
11/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350,F. Lightly oil muffin cups or line them with cups.
In medium-sized bowl, stir together buttermilk, apricots or peaches, turbinado sugar, egg whites, oil, vanilla, orange zest and almond extract. Let stand for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in apricot mixture just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix. Immediately turn out mixture into prepared muffin tins.
Bake for 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes in the pan. Makes 12 muffins.
- MICAYLA'S CULINARY ARTISTRY
The Creative Wellness Center Health Fair is Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Bedford. Admission is $5. For more information, call 586-2387.
LENGTH: Long : 121 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA/Staff. 1. Carl and Mauro promote the use ofby CNBnatural foods over processed products. 2. Micayla Carl and Richard
Mauro teach that individuals need to find their own diet and
lifestyle. color.