Essence Cafe on Hardy and University in Tempe, AZ

Essence Bakery and Cafe resides on Hardy and University, just a few blocks from Arizona State University in Tempe.  It is in the same building that one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Sabuddy, used to be in.  While Sabuddy just moved to Scottsdale it is a further drive from my local stomping grounds so I don’t get to go there much these days and while it is entirely irrational some how I held this against Essence and did not go there for ages. I finally bit the bullet and couldn’t resist their charming outdoor seating any longer. I stopped in for tea to go and it was great. Then this past weekend we decided to give it a real chance.. the true test. Brunch.

The decor was really cute, they redid everything with Earth-friendly paint and replaced countertops with recycled glass and old cabinets with bamboo.  Their remodeling has really paid off as the atmosphere is welcoming and the colors are really lovely and warm.  We eyed the pastry case while we waited, filled with fluffy cream puffs and boxes of adorable miniature cakes and sweet treats.  This would be the ideal place to pick up something special to celebrate.  James seemed to enjoy their fresh coffee as much as I enjoyed their tasty iced tea while we waited for our food. The menu is fantastic for anyone (vegetarians to foodies to locavores or even carnivores). They use “cage-free” eggs (though I have issues with that terminology, at least they are trying) and buy local and organic produce as often as they can.

I ordered the Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable sandwich from the lunch menu without the cheesy pesto (though it sounded delicious). They even went so far as to cut the cheese sprinkled on top of the focaccia bread off for me! Now that is service.  The sandwich was amazing, bursting with flavor from sweet roasted red repper, zucchini, eggplant done just right and organic greens.  The side salad was fabulous with nutritious and delicious dark green leafies abound and a light refreshing vinaigrette. I could not have been happier!

James had “The Big Breakfast” without the sausage. It came with 2 fried eggs, a golden mashed potato cake,  sautéed mushrooms and toast from freshly baked multigrain bread with jam.  He fell head over heels for these mashed potato cakes, it looked amazing, fluffy golden mashed potatoes inside with a crisp top.  Everything looked great and he was smitten.  He declared it his favorite breakfast in town! That is a big deal as there are some pretty serious contenders up there so I was impressed.  I tried some of his jam… it was like the jam from the inside of the best jelly donut you’ve ever tasted, jam you could only dream of! You think I’m kidding.. well.. a little bit I am but seriously, it is unbelievable jam. Get it!

I think we were both seriously impressed with Essence Bakery and would be fools to miss going there as often as we can.  With an incredibly friendly and accomodating staff, beautiful pastries, delicious and wide ranging menus, and an eye for eco-friendly, Essence has really gotten it right.

With so much focus on the presidential election it seems that local affairs are getting overshadowed.  Local issues are important and need to be addressed so today is the day to make your views count.  It is time for the primary elections here in AZ.  I didn’t know where my polling place was so I had to look up this info anyway and thought I might as well look up a few more and share them just in case. Follow the link for your county to get to the elections page where you can find locations of polling, the new i.d. requirements, and a list of candidates.

• Apache
• Cochise
• Coconino
  
• Gila
• Graham
• Greenlee
• La Paz
• Maricopa
• Mohave
• Navajo
• Pima
• Pinal
• Santa Cruz
• Yavapai
• Yuma

Maricopa County:

Proof of Citizenship - I.D. Requirements at the Polls
For a list of acceptable forms of identification, go to:
http://recorder.maricopa.gov/pdf/outreach_eng.pdf

Are You Registered to Vote? Check Here:
https://recorder.maricopa.gov/earlyvoteballotnet/voterreglookup.aspx

Do You Know Where Your Polling Place Is? Check Here:
http://recorder.maricopa.gov/pollingplace05/pollingplace.aspx

With the strain on household income continually increasing and energy cost on the rise it is easy to feel helpless.  Obviously that gets us nowhere so what can we actually do? Until a few days ago I had no clue until a segment came on NPR that enlightened me. There is a group of elected officials we all need to know about! The Corporation Commission. It is a panel of 5 individuals who do everything from set the price rates for your electricity, natural gas, phone, private water companies as well as inspect railroad tracks and license security brokers.  There is an upcoming election so if you care about the cost of energy and our sources of energy you should pay attention to who is running for the three open seats on the Corporation Commission.

What’s at stake? The Renewable Energy Act: the current regulations in place that require 15% of our electricity come from renewable resources by 2025.  There are a lot of people vying for your vote on both sides of this issue so here is a bit of information to help you make your decision and get the ball rolling for your own research into the candidates. The primary election is Tuesday, Sept. 2nd.

Fowlkes (Republican): Against Renewable Energy Act: would replace it with incentives for utilities to use renewable energy and focus on competition between providers

Hobbs (Republican): Against Renewable Energy Act: supports allowing utilities to spread their investment over a longer period of time

Swapp (Republican): Against Renewable Energy Act: favors a free-market approach and focus on competition over regulation

Wong (Republican): Uphold Renewable Energy Act: “the long term impact of solar and renewable will be constant while fuels like natural gas and others will continue to spike up”

Allen (Republican): Against Renewable Energy Act: says the technology to make this change does not exist and worries these regulations will have too great a cost on low income people and seniors

McClure (Republican): Undecided on the Renewable Energy Act: would not try to repeal or expand it “never second guess the future”

Robson (Republican): Uphold Renewable Energy Act: (I was asked to change this and clarify that Robson and Stump hold the same views, I must have misunderstood what they said so please listen to their interviews on the NPR stories at the bottom of this post to discern for yourself where they stand, thanks and I apologize for the confusion.) considers it to be a goal and if it can be met it should stay in place. It should be reviewed on an annual basis and what challenges it brings about.

Stump (Republican): Against Renewable Energy Act: (see above) should be a goal not a regulation so market conditions and technology dictate the success of the goal

George (Democrat): Uphold Renewable Energy Act: advocates solar for long term but in the mean time suggests stressing efficiency for individuals - installing smart meters, etc

Kennedy (Democrat): Uphold Renewable Energy Act: focuses on the importance of solar power but wants to make sure seniors and low income people will benefit rather than have added costs

Newman (Democrat): Uphold Renewable Energy Act: wants to “bring clean energy to the table” and implement the renewable energy act to represent consumers and be fair to the utility companies

Kelty (Democrat): Uphold Renewable Energy Act: sees the primary role of the Corp. Comm. as protecting the consumers, “we cannot afford the cost of inaction”

Click on the candidate names above to be taken to their websites.

Click here to listen to the NPR breakdown of the Democratic Candidates

Click here to listen to the NPR breakdown of the Republican Candidates

Click here to view the Arizona Republic Candidate Q & A (not all candidates included)

Click here to read “Candidates’ Expenses Questioned” from the AZ Republic

We’re excited to go to the Green Summit next weekend and check out all the educational sessions and green innovations expo. This is looking to be a huge event and it sounds like we’ll be flooded with sustainability information. We’ll try to soak it up and blog about all we can though! Everyone should attend and see for yourself first hand, general admission is $20 and $15 for students. Hope to see you there.

Here is their official press release:

GREENSUMMIT COMES TO PHOENIX
SEPTEMBER 5-6, 2008

One of the Year’s Top Green Events & Most Affordable Green Conferences
Comes to the Phoenix Convention Center

GreenSummit (www.greensummit.net) is the place to find innovative solutions for a more sustainable world. Leaders in business, government, academia, and the general public will come together to catalyze change for the Southwest and beyond.

PHOENIX, AZ, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 – The 2008 GreenSummit will take place at the Phoenix Convention Center on September 5-6, 2008. Arizona State University and its Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona Public Service (APS), over 100 exhibitors and 100 educational sessions, 10,000+ business and consumer attendees, and international delegates from Europe led by the US Department of Commerce will make GreenSummit one of the premier sustainability events in the country.

The 100+ sessions in the Advancing Sustainability Conference will include a multitude of experts covering topics which will empower attendees to understand how sustainability impacts their careers, their personal lives, and the world around them.

The Green Innovations Expo will feature companies across a broad spectrum of business and consumer industries including – Green Building, Renewable Energy, Business Products and Services, Home and Lifestyle, Transportation, and more!

Attendees will include designers, architects, developers, engineers, government officials, clean tech entrepreneurs, business owners, marketing and brand managers, and the general public, all of which will be attending to become more educated about this timely and vitally important topic.

In addition, “eco-tours” of LEED certified and other green Valley facilities will be given, and on September 3 at a special “Signature Event,” all 18 Valley cities and communities will be coming together for the first time to discuss how sustainability is inherently linked to the future success of the region. This inaugural gathering brings together key decision-makers who will be attending a unique sustainability-focused event hosted by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Arizona Association of Economic Development, and the United States Green Building Council. Government and business leaders from across the region will be learning about how sustainability is inherently linked to the future success and livability of our communities. An invitation by one of the hosts is needed to attend this event.

The 2008 GreenSummit is the most affordable large-scale sustainability conference and expo on the West Coast, with General Admission starting at only $15.00 and the full Conference Package with access to over 100 sessions for only $100.00 when registered before August 15th.

This is the second GreenSummit event organized by Chris Samila, a Global Studies Major at ASU. In organizing the 2007 GreenSummit on ASU’s campus, his goal was simply to bring awareness of sustainability and green products and services to both his campus and the community. What started out as a “grassroots” event ended up playing host to approximately 4,000 attendees and 55 exhibitors.

“Around the globe massive changes are occurring. The need to become more in balance with our natural environment has catalyzed the growth of an exciting array of new innovations and opportunities,” said Samila. “The term ‘green’ has come to represent a common blueprint for citizens, businesses, and governments for how we can move towards a more sustainable future. The GreenSummit is designed to greatly accelerate this movement and provide a unique platform for leading organizations to showcase the best products, services, and ideas that will make our society more efficient, lighter on the environment, and ultimately healthier for both ourselves and future generations to come.”

For more information or to register for the GreenSummit, visit www.greensummit.net.

Our own Tracy Perkins was on a segment of Good Morning Arizona this past Friday! She was doing a soap making demo and promoting her eco-friendly, vegan bath and body products company Strawberry Hedgehog.

Friday morning we packed up all her soap making gear and headed down to 3TV’s studio. Once we arrived we had to wait a few mintues for a commercial break so that they could sneak us in the studio to setup. It was weird setting up all her stuff while the anchors were chatting and reporting the news just a few feet away. I was afraid we’d drop something big and interrupt them while they were on the air. We also couldn’t figure out how to get the stove on and none of the anchor’s or producers knew either! Luckily we finally found someone that knew how it worked and we got the stove on and the soap started. Everyone there was extremely friendly and made our trip down there fun. Dan Davis was great and made Tracy feel very comfortable on the air. Believe it or not they just wing the segment, no scripts or really any planning on how it will go. Sounds stressful to me but they seem to like it.

Tracy did great on her first TV appearance! Follow this link to her get her version of the story on her blog over at blog.strawberryhedgehog.com. Check out the video and below to see her in action, and be sure to visit StrawberryHedgehog.com for all your eco-friendly, cruelty free bath and body needs.

A million thanks to Jessie from Jessiebell Designs for making the awesome hand dyed and screened, 100% organic cotton apron that Tracy wore on air. It turned out amazing!