Today, Saturday November 3rd, I am excited to visit two of my favorite places--the beautiful coastal city of Santa Barbara, California and the fabulous Savoy Cafe & Deli where I will be signing my cookbook from 12:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
If you're in the area tomorrow, I'd love to meet you and talk about good, healthy food. Even if you won't be near Santa Barbara tomorrow, remember that name--Savoy Cafe & Deli, and stop in on your next visit. You will be glad you did. There's so much to enjoy from Savoy's home-made, organic, all-natural menu, including gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free and/or vegan desserts, to the charm and warmth of Owners Kathy and Paul and their staff. This really is a delightful spot in beautiful downtown Santa Barbara just off State Street (west of) at 24 West Figueroa Street. My thanks go to Kathy and Paul for their hospitality.
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| Photos by John Dickson, "The Restaurant Guy" |
If you're not familiar with my book, I hope you'll come check it out too. Here's the cover.
One of the reasons I picked the cake cover photo is that it emphasizes what I set out to address in my book--that eating healthy definitely does not mean having to do without. My book is loaded with recipes that would be far off limits for many if prepared with the traditional ingredients. Instead, I use healthy ingredients and make every recipe gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free. But, more than that I made sure to make each recipe tasty and to include healthy ingredients. For example, each layer of that cake contains a can of black beans. It's also true of my Brownies, aptly named Black Bean Brownies. Try this cake on your guests without telling them this little tidbit and watch the response.
I did exactly that at my daughter's wedding in Carpinteria earlier this year. The wedding was beautiful and the food was excellent, but there were two cakes sitting out. A big one from a local Santa Barbara bakery and mine. So, the cakes got cut by the lovely bride and handsome groom, and then I had the added joy of hearing person after person tell me enthusiastically and (maybe even a little incredulously) that my cake tasted better! There was even one table that started a taste test contest where they blindfolded the contestant before seeing if he or she could pick which cake was the "healthy one." The best moment was when the caterer came over and told me that he thought mine tasted better. He couldn't believe the unconventional, healthy ingredients in it.
But, my book is not a pastry book. It covers the whole range of food we want to eat. It equips one to serve healthy and delicious appetizers, snacks, meals and desserts that the whole family can enjoy together. Oh, and they just happen to have no gluten, dairy or refined sugars. I really love the fact that I can prepare one healthy meal and one healthy dessert that everyone (food restricted or not) enjoys as a family.
Thank you for your interest in Savoy Cafe & Deli, and, of course, my book. I hope to see you on November 3rd.
~Tracy
About Delightfully Free: Delightfully Free is a gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free cookbook of 141 recipes. It includes delicious resources for autism, Celiac disease, diabetes, lactose intolerance, obesity and just plain healthy living. It contains 114 color photographs, 114 vegetarian or vegetarian compatible recipes, and 103 vegan or vegan compatible recipes.
