Ramirez - La Vida Verde Plant-Based Mexican Cooking with Authentic Flavor

Plant-Based Mexican Cooking with Authentic Flavor

Chef and Founder of Todo Verde

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PARA MI ABUELITA EN EL CIELO

Beatriz Del Real Alvarez

Jocelyns new book, La Vida Verde, embraces everything I love about vibrant Mexican cuisine, while still embracing the utmost responsibility of a chef in todays culture. A chef must balance the aspects of pleasure with the global realities of health care, environmental sustainability and human and animal rights. As leaders in the food industry, there is no more meaningful contribution that a chef can make than providing resources to households and individuals who desire great food that is prepared in a way that is dually beneficial to their own health and the well-being of the planet.

Her book resonates with me more than any other I have seen in recent years. We both come from a background where we cherish our memories of childhood and the importance of shared meals with family, as well as the influence of those experiences on our work todayand yet, we both have acquired the awareness that, if we can offer something to our guests and readers that will bring more good to the world through better food choices, we are being authentic. Jocelyns gift to us is that she extracts all of the beauty inherent in Mexican cuisine, and redefines it in the best possible way: that which is plant-based and environmentally conscientious.

Anyone who opens her book will quickly realize that her recipes are inspired not only by experience, but also by a passion to do things differently; to rethink how we interpret good food, yet still provide pleasure with every meal. I have read her introduction several times and always finish with a deep appreciation for her dedication to guiding us toward a communal approach to food and its purposeful sharing. That is the way food is meant to bea pleasure intrinsic to our human nature, yet without compromising health and the planet that sustains us. Many chefs write cookbooks for themselves or for their peers, while her book is truly meant to guide home cooks toward the experience of her own love for a specific style of food, which clearly resonates with most of usyet in a refreshed viewpoint.

Jocelyns recipes have all of the necessary elements for successbeautiful presentation, vibrant color and most importantly, an immediate impact on readers who will have a desire to prepare, taste and enjoy the comfortable, imaginative flavors of Mexico. My personal favorite is her recipe for , which is both unique in its creativity and ultimate simplicity.

Im extremely proud of my colleague for writing this book. I urge you all to recreate her artistry at homeand I emphasize this, in part, due to the improbability of securing a reservation at the fully occupied restaurants she is sure to open as her star rises.

MATTHEW KENNEY

chef and author of Plantlab and Plant Food

In Mexican culture, you often hear the phrase mi casa es tu casa, which means my home is your home. Growing up, I heard this phrase every time my abuelita opened up her home to family and friends to gather around her kitchen table and eat traditional dishes for lunch. Theres something special about being around a table full of guests who keep reaching for the perfect balance of hot and cold stacked perfectly onto a freshly made tortilla as they pass around queso fresco with a bowl of fiery chile de rbol salsa to complement their meal. Mexico has a fascinating history that mixes indigenous, African and European cultures and ingredients, and its people have created some of the most unique and delicious culinary treasures, thanks to that mix of culturas. That taco de queso that guests assembled around my abuelitas kitchen table was an ode to that diverse and delicious history. I saw my abuelita work all those flavors into perfectly balanced dishes that were undeniably magic.

I owe this book and everything I know to her.

I left my career in higher education to start a plant-based food business called Todo Verde using my abuelitas recipes and food knowledge. My mom thought I was insane to leave a good-paying, stable job to start a new business making our family recipes. To her, it seemed as though I was taking a step back from the American dream she worked so hard for by crossing the border and starting from nothing. I saw power in our ancestral traditions and didnt want to lose all of that hard work, which was built over generations. I am using all that Ive learned growing up in Los Angeles and all that Ive learned from my family to create my own dream that is Mexican, Ecuadorian and American.

In 2015, I started Todo Verde by going to local farmers markets and making superfood smoothies and agua fresca. I attended a plant-based culinary school to learn more techniques on fermenting creams and cheeses. Todo Verde later evolved into a full catering business with a menu of savory dishes and the superfood smoothies and aguas weve made from the start of this delicious journey. We often partner with schools, churches and nonprofit organizations to host food demonstrations for community members who are curious about plant-based dishes like and so many more that are still culturally relevant. Weve gotten such a great response that more people are asking us to do food demonstrations and share recipes with the community.

The goal for this book is to make more plant-based Mexican recipes accessible to home cooks. As generations evolve, were seeing less home cooking and easier options like takeout and meal kit services. We are making less time for domestic work and more time for career-driven goals. These subtle shifts are helping us advance our dreams, but along the way, we may lose sight of the rich history our elders taught us, which includes the preservation of our food traditions. We share many memorable moments huddled in the kitchen that are beyond the actual food on the table, but that food speaks volumes on who we are. Our food speaks to our history, our cultura. Its important to keep these traditions alive.

Many of our ancestral dishes centered around a plant-forward diet. That changed post colonization, ever evolving our food culture. I invite you to explore the intersection of Mexican cuisine that remembers the connection to the food, land and community and the dishes that have become a part of the culture. Through it all, there is one thing that remains truenothing says welcome home like a fresh, homemade meal made with lots of love.