GerryFurth-Sides

Straight from the Pantry: Astonishing SAUCE beauty for the Hair

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SAUCE products inspired by natural food ingredients

(Gerry Furth-Sides) SAUCE HAIRCARE products first and foremost work.  We tried three of them and were “wowed”  as much by the sheen, supplement, clean-feeling and longer lasting results, as by their natural plant-based ingredient influence

Even better, the products, plus recipes and fragrances, are inspired by the best plant foods ingredients or foods you might find in your kitchen.  This all fits into the thinking of avocado facial masks or henna rinses   The official company definition reads: SAUCE [sôs] noun: 1. a thick liquid used to add moistness, flavor and visual appeal 2. something that adds  piquancy or zest.   as: Their ad playfully directs:  “Please don’t eat our products, they’re meant for your hair!”

The current trend of getting back to more traditional and natural forms of care, such as “Plant-based” has become the rage for good reason: it is natural and healthy. It is also usually lower in cost than most chemical beauty products.

Salon supple and sleek define how my hair looked after using the moisturizing shampoo. And it lasted for days.

SAUCE beauty products are inspired by global recipes and the women behind them using ingredient-driven botanicals and extracts, and  retaining their inviting aromas & sensorial textures.   All SAUCE products are made to be color-safe.   It is a company’s policy not to test on animals,

The products in the SAUCE shampoo are: Jarrah honey and Jamaican black castor oil.  The  intense repair oil treatment is made with Olive oil, thyme and basil oils.  Avocado, argan oil, monoi oil is in the deep moisture mask. 

SAUCE uses the most cutting edge or classic ingredients.  Jarrah honey, a rarer product harvested from a species of eucalyptus tree found only in the most remote parts of Western Australia has been proclaimed the new “superfood.” Its properties are natural to create a wonderful shampoo.

Move over, Manuka.  Jarrah honey has two to three times higher levels of antioxidants in comparison.  Its components are  ideal as natural anti-ageings that  boosting collagen and elastin production, and supporting cell renewal. Research by the Australian government also documented its high antibacterial activity levels.

This superfood, new to us and relatively new to the market, has a fascinating background.  Though only found in the most remote parts of Western Australia, is one of the most common species of Eucalyptus tree.  The tree is huge and lives up to 1000 years. It grows up to (130 ft) high with a trunk up to 9.8 ft) in diameter, and has rough, greyish-brown, vertically grooved, fibrous bark which sheds in long flat strips.   The scientific name marginata botanical name Eucalyptus marginata, which refers to the light-colored vein on the border around its leaves.

Eucalyptus marginata that produces the flowers for Jarrah honey

The jarrah tree blooms every 2 or 3 years in spring and early summer.  The white flowers are 1/3 to ¼ inches in diameter and come in clusers of seven to11.  The nectar produced has a low moisture content.  The tree is highly valued for the wood and honey it produces.

The products in the SAUCE shampoo are: Jarrah honey and Jamaican black castor oil.

The SAUCE  intense repair oil treatment is made with Olive oil, thyme and basil oils.  The ingeniousness of this idea that was also prevalent in ancient Greece is matched by how well it is done.  For example, only a very small amount is necessary so even a small bottle goes a long way.

Olive oil, thyme and basil oils make up the SAUCE beauty intense repair oil treatment

Avocado, argan oil, monoi oil is in the deep moisture mask. It makes your hair look luxuriant and feel light.  It was also pleasant surprise that the treatment takes five minutes and not 55.  We have not had good luck with argan oil in the past because it makes hair feel weighted and oily.  Here it is balanced out by the other ingredients to solve this problem.  One of the ingredients is  Monoï oil, is one of the cutting-edge ingredients used in SAUCE.  This infused perfume-oil made from soaking the petals of Tahitian gardenias in coconut oil is commonly used among the French Polynesians as a hair and skin softener.  Already popular in Europe, it is just not gaining popularity in the UA.

Avocado, argan oil, monoi oil is in the deep moisture mask makes your hair look luxuriant and feel light.

SAUCE founder Andy Rah has two passions: haircare products and delicious food. He has created and marketed haircare products for top beauty companies like L’Oréal, TIGI/Unilever, and Macadamia Beauty for thirteen years, while, in his words, “coming to love cooking great meals for friends and family.”   It wasn’t exactly Bill Bowerman of NIKE stumbling onto the pattern of his running shoe bottoms while watching his wife make waffles, but it is the same idea!

This is why SAUCE products contain beneficial and natural ingredients, along with the necessary non-natural ingredients to keep them fresh, and few contain wheat-derived ingredients, silicones, or salt. They are also sulfate-free and paraben-free.

Everything that still has value never gets too old to use.  Plants and their use in medicine and beauty products goes back at least 4,ooo years are definitely an example.. There are references to plants being used in medicine on papyrus writings from the Ancient Chinese and Ancient Egyptians.   Many of the products (such as kohl) are still in existence to this day.

It wasn’t until the 19th Century that scientists began looking more closely at the compounds of plants, analyzing their active compounds to extracting the active ingredients and develop more sophisticated and more expensive products. And now the circle is swinging back again.

Indian Restaurant Adya Heads up Pacific Wine and Food Classic

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Announcing the return of the Third Annual Pacific Wine and Food Classic to the beautiful Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach, CA on Saturday, August 17, and Sunday, August 18, w-5 PM (Saturday is already sold out).  Come and meet our friend, Chef Shachi Mehra of Adya Restaurants, among other superstars, at this Orange County super-friendly event on the beach! (Saturday is already sold out).  Tickets range from $159 per day to $300 VIP admission with week-end resort packages available.

Recently named one of USA Today’s 10 Best Food Festivals in the nation for 2019, this world-class culinary event celebrates summer and the bounty of Southern California.  The event shines a spotlight on one of the most exciting and fastest growing food and beverage scenes in the United States. This year the event welcomes a line-up of over 60 local restaurants, offering more than 100 taste experiences for culinary enthusiasts to enjoy near the soft sand and sweet ocean breeze at the idyllic waterfront setting

Pacific Wine and Food Classic 2018 – Newport Beach, CA

The Third Annual Pacific Wine and Food Classic has won all sorts of awards for its setting and the national caliber of restaurants and wines.  Below are only the most recent accolades.

  • Listed in the 10 Best Food Festivals in North America by USA Today
  • Acclaimed as Top 10 Food & Wine Event in the World by the International Food, Wine & Travel Writer’s Association
  • Orange County’s BEST Event by LA Times 2018
  • OC Weekly’s People’s Choice for Best Food Event 2017 & 2018

If there could be a better venue location than right off the ocean, it is in the protected bay on a beach that usually has a gentle breeze.   A convenient walkway leads guests to elegant sitting areas with white drapes floating and colorful pillows.  It’s a festival that you could imagine attending in Monaco.

Pacific Wine and Food Classic 2018 – Newport Beach, CA

As guests enter the event, bubble enthusiasts are offered a Lillet Spritz welcome cocktail.  A visit to the the Bubble Bar awaits at the end of the sand featuring: G.H. Mumm, Scharffenberger Cellars, Argyle Winery, Gloria Ferrar, Wilson Creek and Martini & Rossi.

Under the big tent, sponsor Dacor has created a “Wine Lounge” in which to browse the latest in luxury wine appliances and sample more than 25 beautiful wines paired with bites from BXCR Wine Bar.  Music and live entertainment are also part of the day.

Pours from the region’s most distinguished wineries, renowned breweries and distilleries include: (drum roll…) summer-inspired margaritas by Hornitos, samples of ice cold beer from JT Schmid’s Brewery at the vibrant District Lounge and Makers Mark cocktails from the Makers Wanted Tour Truck.

One of the highlights of the summer-inspired dishes from more than  50 of Southern California’s favorite chefs is the giant made-on-site paella by Chef Leo Razo of  Villa Roma. Empanadas paired with wine from Casa Madero, the oldest winery in North America are featured.  Fresh Smoked Shrimp Cocktail and Scallop & Lobster Ceviche are served at the Atria Lounge.

Heading up the list of culinary masters is Chef Shachi Mehra of Adya, who is well known in the Orange County area.  Born in India, her early family experiences helped to develop and shape her love of food and appreciation for balance, in flavors and in life.

 

Chef Shachi Mehra’s universally appealing menus tastefully balance a variety of flavors, blending. Western and Indian cultures, mixing tradition with modernity.   She oversees the kitchen in each of her restaurants in novel locations:  The Packing District in Anaheim, and the University Center in Irvine. Chef Shachi has become known for bringing a unique global perspective to her work, and for sharing her passion in hands-on cooking classes.  For more information, visit //(www.ayaoc.com) 

Salt from the Celtics to Sinkholes

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Even the word itself has salted our language from biting or “salty” dog language to the invigorating briny – or salubrious” smell on our skin after an ocean swim, “salubrious”- or “healthy” derived from the Latin for “salt.”   So is “salami” (salted meat), “salary” (from wages paid to Roman soldiers) and even “salad” (the bitter taste of salted greens).

A juicy piece of gossip is “salacious” because ancient Romans in love were ‘salted.’   And salt is often linked to fertility and sexual desire, as well as to abundance (thus the timeless gift of salt and a loaf of bread to new homeowners) and conversely to drive out evil spirits, as often seen in front of Asian restaurant.

Salt, the only rock we eat, is required by all animals in their diets. Both the sodium and chloride in salt, classified as electrolytes, are essential nutrients which help regulate the body’s fluids and keep our muscles moving, including the heart. It actually conducts electricity in the body, transmitting signals to muscles and nerves. Yet, astonishingly, a person even deadly deficient in sodium will not crave salt –unlike a starving man delirious for food.

But these are only a few of the fascinating elements in the history of salt that reveals as much about socio-economic and political history as the nature of our palates.

Clear or white, brittle mineral salt contains the elements of sodium and chlorine. Its chemical formula is NaCl; its mineral name is halite. Salt forms clear, cube-shaped crystals though impurities can cause it to appear white, gray, yellow, or red. All salt deposits began as salty water; brine from seas, oceans, and salt lakes, even the solid deposits in the earth which are collected or mined. Salt can be mined from underground supplies or salt crystals can be collected from dried out salty springs and lakes or by tapping underground supplies. Salt is then extracted from sea water by boiling or leaving it to evaporate.

Archaeologists track humans eating of salt to 10,000 BC, along with animal domestication and farming.   Chinese historians recorded salt harvest by 6000 B.C. and can rightfully boast they were the forerunners of almost every form of salt harvesting. Around 2000 B.C. came the realization of salt’s necessity —to keep food from rotting –at about the same time it was used to wrap mummies in Egypt.

The ancient Chinese, Egyptians, bigger than life warrior-farmer-inventor Celts and Romans British discovered how to extract and transport salt but in short supply, making salt trade vital. While the myth of salt being worth its weight in gold is exaggerated, albeit only slightly, salt was used as currency in Mediterranean and Asian salt trading centers.

If you look at a current map’s squiggly, seeming unplanned lines today, they are actually animal trails to salt licks that grew into paths and then roads. Salt became so valuable it influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and triggered revolts through tax levies –including the American Revolution – and armies starved due to lack of salt, a factor well known by Napoleon in Russia and confederate generals during the Civil War.
Up through the 19th century, salt was primarily used to preserve meat, fish and vegetables, regulate fermentation, and to create delicacies such as salted olives for a more varied diet. Versatile salt was also used to treat leather, dye textiles and in making pottery. Today’s salt industry boasts 14,000 uses of salt including the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, deicing roads, fertilizer, soap, water softeners, glass and textile dyes, natural healing (still the best and the cheapest for soaks and gargles).

Salt consumption probably peaked in Europe in the 19th century when people ate as much as 18g a day, just when salt shortages effectively ended. Not only the discovery of vast salt fields but when refrigeration, tin cans and packets revolutionized eating habits.   In 1925, an eccentric inventor named Clarence Birdseye created the first frozen seafood company and was soon selling a million pounds of product annually.

This meant food need not be salted, a fact well known by the Lapps, Bedoins and Masai, who consumed all the sodium they needed from their animal and fish diet. On this continent, hunters in Greenland ate no salt until they were introduced to it by 17th century European whalers.

Ah, but the taste! Most of us consume twice the recommended daily amount of sodium — 2,300 milligrams, or about a teaspoon of salt — despite the `overwhelming evidence” that excessive sodium intake is tied to hypertension, heart disease and stroke though the word “excessive” remains elusive. Why? Salt provides an appealing taste enhances color, texture and `mouth feel” in foods. And it helps counter bitter tastes.

Nevertheless, salt is again fashionable: French grey salt and fleur de sel (flower of the salt in French) are best sellers and Salt has even become a celebrated showpiece on restaurant tables from salt-encrusted entrees to foods presented on a bed of salt. In Lezhi, the old fashioned method making soy sauce, developed simply as fare for workers on the job, has become a prized artisan delicacy.

The long, winding and intriguing history of how salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning has been beguilingly told by Mark Kurlansky in his book: SALT. Populated by colorful characters, wild tales and fascinating details this supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece will never allow anyone reading it to take salt for granted again.

A more humane and much more fun tribute to salt and the history it represents is the brand new salt and pepper cellar museum in Ohio — with over 30,000 shakers on the walls.