Kurt Archives - Ra'Co Life

March 14, 2017January 19, 2019

This is Our Story: The Story of The Brand Fam

Our story. Individual perspectives.

I imagine it is about to be something different. This girl I had just met, Rache asked me what she wanted for dinner and it was somewhere around $150.00, which she said, “No problem.” Then, I eventually realized what she had asked for and I couldn’t believe that was what she wanted to spend. It was a complicated experience, mostly because we just hadn’t worked out how to communicate with each other, but it was fun and we had a great time enjoying the process.

It definitely took a long time to cook this meal – I spent the whole day in the kitchen. It is hard making a gourmet Raw Food dinner for two. I remember at one point I was trying to get the top of the bulk Olive Oil container open and so I was using a knife. At some point, the knife tip broke and I couldn’t find it. I assumed that it landed in a corner of the kitchen somewhere under the counter, etc. Turns out it landed in Rache’s salad which she discovered when we were eating. She handled it eloquently seeing as I could have killed my future wife and I was cycling through all the options of how it could have killed her and I was just horrified at my carelessness.

There is a single painting that hung over the dinner table and I got to talk about my process. It was the first time in a while. Jan gave me a chance to talk about it for the first time in a long time. And it was great to have two people there that were so interested in art and food. It was a great experience. I was also really happy to meet someone that was willing to go out of their way to have a special raw food meal and art viewing.

My mom Jan was coming into town and I was totally excited, so I booked a day at the spa and a chance for us to go to Kurt’s for dinner. He was completely confused over the whole experience. I thought I was buying a box and then somewhere he changed it to dinner along the way. He was so flaky and confusing, but I was really excited to have him meet my mom and show her his work. It is so intensely beautiful from what I had seen on Facebook.

We got there a little late and it was dusk. Really gorgeous farmhouse and barn. Every room we went into I got more and more excited about what he was doing there. My kind of person, for sure. My mom seemed a little annoyed that we were so hungry and wandering around so I rushed the visit and we ate. Totally amazing food. We had the best Raw Lasagna, Crispy Fennel Arugula Salad and a sensational smoothie (with bananas, gross!). We gobbled it up, or rather I did. So tasty. I think I finished my plate in under 5 minutes, but I did run into a little shard from the knife and it was quite a bite! I imagined what could have been, but I looked at it as a way to connect together.

Walking upstairs and looked at Kurt’s work which was beautiful and my mom gave her educators / professional opinion. For some, it can be annoying, but Kurt was really patient and seemed to kind of appreciate the conversation.

Afterward, we all went downstairs and we did the dishes (mom and me) since we are helpers and we wanted to do something. Kurt just let us do it, which was a bit strange, but it was fine. He then brought out dessert which was a cashew thing… maybe with orange flavored? Like a custard. It was absolutely insanely rich and good. We shared one and it was wonderful.

We both knew, at that moment, that this was something special. What it was, neither of us knew…. only time would tell.

November 9, 2015January 20, 2019

The Story of Us: Finally… All 4 of Us at The Brand Fam

What a ride this year has been! We are so lucky to have two very healthy, crazy and wonderful little Brand babies. Welcoming Zai to the family has been one of the most spectacular experiences of our lifetime knowing that we are two and done, and he will be our last. Having a baby in the house is so special; sleep deprivation aside, the smell of a baby and the tenderness that we all feel towards each other comes through in Zai. His adorable squeals of frustration and his animal noises to bring in my milk are by far the single best experiences with him and so very different from Iza’s babyhood.

We asked Luis Pedro Gramajo to come back one morning while my mom was still here so we could capture this very raw moment in our home. Just 10 days in this kid really kept up with the program, while his sister flipped her wig at every corner in one colossal meltdown after another. How Luis was able to capture the total opposite of what was actually going on was pretty amazing!

In someways this is a very narcissistic display… showcasing ourselves and our offspring online and in social media. There is something strange about this moment; for the first time in our lives we really want to celebrate the experience of building our own family and somehow showing it to the world makes it real. What’s that all about?! Either way, it has been fun to see, document and express this moment. I am glad that we have been able to share it with our readers and our close friends and family.

What does it mean to be a nuclear family?

As soon as I had Zai my dad said, “Well kiddo, now you have the perfect nuclear family.” And so we do. By my definition of living the Ra’Co Life, in someways we all balance each other out – Iza and I crazy gals, and Kurt and Zai mellow dudes.

“Nuclear Family” by historical definition is meant to be a married man and woman and their children living under a common dwelling. Overtime this has shifted and in the last 30 or so years it has been used to describe a family with 2 parents and a boy and a girl. Sometimes people make reference to a “house, parents, 2 kids and dog” as the American dream family… which can feed into the same context as the nuclear family.

Gallery of photos

Many more pictures where these came from, but the ones below are a few of our favorites. For the complete download, click here. If you are interested in seeing the book we made for our Abuela and Bubby at Walgreens, look here.

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September 12, 2015September 15, 2015

Ra’Co Tip: Mistakes

Making mistakes is part of the journey of life and in some way is the more educational route. Often you will learn a new life lesson along the way. But so many of us get caught up in the concept of perfection forgetting that perfection doesn’t lead to a rounded experience overall and that allowing mistakes to happen via risk is often the most important hidden reward.

Remember to be conscious as your mistake is made, or to reflect on it after the fact if you are not aware during. Be thoughtful about honoring your time and energy required to figure out how you got there and how you will get out of it. Often your intentional path will be adjusted based on your new found learnings.

An act or thought that unintentionally deviates from what is correct, right, or true.

I left Hospitality Services, Inc work full time for myself building a design studio and to give it a try with a business partner and best friend. We had dreams of building a product line in her namesake and creating a sustainable business. She had no business experience or investment capital and she was weary about getting involved. I pushed her to do something out of her comfort zone and to focus on sweat equity instead of HEARING her say, “No.” The end result was what you would expect; a loss of a 12 year old friendship and a product line in her name that she had no desire to do anything with. We parted ways.

Learning: What I learned from this was to listen better and to really HEAR people. I get it now when someone says, “No” and I back away willingly.

My new path due to my mistake: I realized my friend and I had co-dependent friendship that wouldn’t stand the test of time, and letting it go enabled me to walk away and build a new set of healthy friendships. One of those relationships was Kurt. Another piece of this was realizing that I didn’t want to have a lifestyle product line or to invest in building a brick n’ mortar operation. I wanted to be free from all boundaries to travel and explore. I moved to London right after the end of our business, then onto Ithaca, Beacon, New York City and finally Guatemala.

December 4, 2014November 30, 2014

Throwback: Our First Supper – I Paid Him to Make It

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Kurt ran a company called Kurt’s Cuisine and part of his deal was a raw food box. I thought that meant that he would provide me with all the tools necessary to make the food for myself. Wrong. The idea was to make dinner for you for an evening. At $60, if you think about what you would pay at a restaurant, that is a pretty good deal for 4 people.

My mom came to town and I wanted to do something special with her. We went to the spa for massages and facials and hung out and had wine, and then we went to Kurt’s to his country house in Newfield for dinner. He had rawked (hahah, raw cooked… I just make that up) lasagna using zucchini and pumpkin seeds, salad, an smoothie of some kind, a side dish I can’t remember and a cashew orange torte. It was delicious, but I found a knife tip in my meal. We had a laugh, and enjoyed the moment.

Being that it was only our 3rd meeting, I didn’t know anything about him yet. He shared his collection of art that he had done and talked a bit about his history. He shared some stories and provided some thoughtful insight to where he was with his Zen practice and his life. My first inclination when I met him was ‘he’s cute, but he likes himself too much.’

This conversation changed everything. He was sensitive and sweet, showed my mom his artwork and genuinely provided him with feedback, and he listened. He was thoughtful. So, at the end of the evening my mom paid the tab of $60 and then I gave him a $20 tip (I am a very good tipper).

As we walked away, she said, “I don’t know why you aren’t considering Kurt as a potential mate. He is great.” And that was that.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vcex_spacing size=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vcex_image_carousel style=”default” item_width=”230px” min_slides=”1″ max_slides=”3″ items_scroll=”page” auto_play=”true” infinite_loop=”true” timeout_duration=”5000″ arrows=”true” thumbnail_link=”none” custom_links_target=”_self” img_width=”500″ img_height=”500″ image_ids=”2470,2477,2471,2466,2467,2468,2474,2475,2472,2476,2473″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vcex_spacing size=”30px”][vc_text_separator title=”Make Your Own Raw Lasagna at Home” title_align=”separator_align_center” style=”five” element_type=”div”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vcex_spacing size=”30px”][vc_single_image image=”2482″ border_color=”grey” img_link_target=”_self” alignment=”none”][vcex_spacing size=”30px”][vcex_spacing size=”30px”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”http://youtu.be/FgKgI0CAkUI”][vcex_spacing size=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Ingredients
Lemon-Pignoli “Ricotta”
2 cups raw pignoli nuts, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional; available in health food stores)
1 teaspoon sea salt

Tomato Sauce
2 cups good-quality sun-dried tomatoes (dry-packed), soaked in water for at least 2 hours
1 medium ripe tomato, diced
1/4 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons sea salt
Pinch hot-pepper flakes

Basil-Pistachio Pesto
2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup raw pistachios
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Lasagne
3 medium zucchini, ends trimmed
3 medium Heirloom tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Garnish: whole basil leaves

.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Cooking Instructions
Lemon-Pignoli “Ricotta”: Place the pignoli, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add 6 tablespoons water, and pulse until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

Tomato Sauce: Place all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.

Basil-Pistachio Pesto: Place all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.

Lasagne: Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices, then cut in half crosswise. Cut the tomatoes in half, and each half into thin slices. Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with two layers of zucchini slices. Brush the zucchini lightly with olive oil, spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce over it, and top with small dollops of “ricotta” and pesto, using 1/3 of each. Layer on 1/3 of the tomato slices, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the oregano and thyme. Add another double layer of zucchini and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, pesto, ricotta, tomato slices, and herbs. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Garnish with basil.

Recipe can be found at:

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vcex_spacing size=”30px”][vc_text_separator title=”Having Some Fun During Our Raw Cook Off” title_align=”separator_align_center” style=”five” element_type=”div”][vc_video link=”http://youtu.be/SRk928cj3ps”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

August 25, 2014December 28, 2018

Where in the World is the Brand Fam to Go?

When you have an unlimited number of options, wish for great experiences and don’t have anything to tie you down, it is overwhelming. A good problem to have – but nonetheless, a serious problem. Here we are, in the most beautiful place, living like kings. We have a gorgeous house on the water, our own staff, full-time nanny, etc. It is truly amazing. We have jobs which benefit from travel and experience, so it leaves the entire world open for interpretation.

As a Food Brand Strategist I relish in the newest and best restaurant concepts on the planet. Traveling provides global perspective on community food, food quality, ingredients, and cuisines. It offers a chance to further my skill-set and share my learnings with my clients. It is also a way to build a larger network and client base.

As an Artist, Kurt is inspired by each and every situation he encounters. He appreciates the communities of each place we have lived and he gravitates towards developing concepts which suit the environment he is in. The benefit of traveling for Kurt is that he can expand his resources – materials, artisan helpers, and inspiration. As a full-time dad, he also gains 8 hours of work a day when Iza is with her nanny, which we could never have afforded in NYC.

But there are so many downfalls to traveling; disruption and wasted time are at the top of the list. Lack of stability for Iza with friends and environment is another enormous one (I moved a lot as a kid and I was ridden too early with the concept of loss well into adulthood). Kurt and I are also really ready for a shift in our life to being productive and executing on many of our goals. We know now that we are ready for home. The big issue for us is that we are stranded in fluidity – we simply can’t decide where to be. At some point shouldn’t we just forfeit choice and just pick?

Here is pretty great, why not just do it?!

July 5, 2014July 13, 2014

Losing Connection with My Partner and the Magic 4-Hour Fix

It is no secret that married couples have issues from time to time. It is understood and expected, especially in times of duress. But boy o’ boy does it suck.

For 3 months nearly we have been on the road – this means that Iza sleeps between us because she is too disrupted to feel safe or comfortable on her own. We are absolutely exhausted from travel, complicated logistical arrangements and a kicking 1-year old who whimpers on and off all night long.

We also have had some pretty big transitions in our careers – Kurt leaving Chelsea and my decision to not seek a PhD at this juncture. I feel like I want to just be a mother, Kurt feels like he just wants to work although our current roles which we set in motion last summer are reversed. It is very difficult to shift a moving ship (especially one with lots and lots of heavy cargo).

We have a child, we live in an emerging country and we are taking a big risk that may or may not pay off. We are scared.

Through all of this we have really lost sight equally of our friendship and our intimacy. We have stopped communicating clearly or thoughtfully and we have shifted away from a daily hug, kiss or cuddle to a weekly passing moment and daily arguments.

I would suppose last night was my breaking point. I have felt for these past 3 months that Kurt has almost “left the building” out of our relationship and into himself. I don’t exist right now other than a nuisance. On my end I have lost a sense of respect and stopped showing respect and thoughtfulness to him.

Honestly it has been rough. The conversation went as well as expected (terrible) and Kurt ended up sleeping on the couch by choice.

Today was our first date day in nearly 3 months and a chance for lunch, an adventure and time together. Needless to say neither of us were that excited going into it, but we gave it a go. 1st we headed off to look at our 3rd place of the day (the 1st too Clara and Iza came to) in a town called Jabalito (pronounced Ha-ba-li-to). It is meant to be a great area for hiking. The house was very sweet, but unbelievably small. No go. We ran into our friend Josie who makes the best Kombucha and fresh American bread on the lake (Guatemalan’s interpretation of bread is full on gross, so it is wonderful to have Josie at our farmer’s market). We immediately put in our order for tomorrow’s market. #1 Moment: Making a simple decision together.

After the house tour we went to lunch by Josie’s suggestion. We walked through town and realized that this was actually the least developed area on the lake. It was the section 8 housing if you will. Everywhere there were terrible smells and shacks. Children looked a mess in the streets and dogs were scratching their flee-infested backs. We tentatively walked to the restaurant and went in. The stench from their garden smelled of old animal feces. We looked at the menu and both agreed there was NO WAY we were going to eat there. #2 Moment: Share in a laugh over an uncomfortable situation and work together to get out of it.

At this point we ended up at lunch and had a good conversation. Hard, but good. We talked about the things we needed and what we have struggled with over the last couple of months. We talked through how to stay on track with our plan and to continue to move in the right direction. It proved that we can communicate and that we can open ourselves up again if we are willing to try. #3 Moment: Have a thoughtful conversation which is both calm and rationale.

It was now about 1.5 hours from our departure on our adventure together. We decided to take the time to go to San Juan which is where all the locale artists (painters and weavers) work. We had a great time walking around the streets and looking at the beautiful weavings. The painting were fun to see and technically quite good, but it was no where near our style. So, we went back to #2 Moment every time a painter asked us what we thought.

We took a long walk through town and ended up at the Coffee Cooperativa which is the locale coffee plantation. It is organic and very interesting. We enjoyed a walk through the woods and various coffee plants all along the way and even walked on the highway together. We decided to take a Tuk Tuk back to San Marcos. We had quite the adventure instead of our typical boat ride… one that lead to maybe 50 potential near death experiences. #4 Moment: Be reminded how sad you would be if you lost the other person (morbid but important).

Funny enough the Tuk Tuk driver only took us 3/4 of the way so we had to walk on the road to get to San Marcos. We walked through town and even helped to negotiate a craft for an Australian guy together. This is now at about 3.25 hours so 3:15 and we still needed to catch the boat home by 4pm. It was PACKED at the dock and we ended up on a boat that was over full. There were even people on the roof. A definite first which led to the absolute slowest boat ever. We were late to get Iza and had to run to meet her Nanny. Sadly we got to the door and no one answered at our new Casa. We don’t have our keys yet, so you can imagine our panic. We figured out that she had probably gone back to our house thinking that we had maybe gone there in our delay, so we set off for home. #5 moment: work together to resolve a major issue / concern.

Long story, but a necessary path for a jump start towards recovery. I love this man, I know he loves me and in our 4 magic hours together we had 5 precious moments which hopefully brought us part-way around the circle and back to being “us” again. I’m sure many problems will arise in our life together, but at least we are building a foundation to come back to.

June 19, 2014December 28, 2018

Salud Para Vida

The Salud Para Vida is the Health Store in San Pedro. This is not a hidden gem and there are a ton of great write ups on Salud Para Vida staring with Trip Advisor, but we wanted to do our own. As promised in my post from our 1st journey to San Pedro, it deserved its own post, so here you go. Walking into the space is extremely unassuming. As mentioned in my previous post we had gotten there with little time to spare and is a super small space – nearly 10’ x 8’ wide. There is one metro rack through the center and a rack on the left and a wooden spice rack on the right. There are a few tables and a pastry case out front. Iza was headed towards a meltdown, but there were two “Arf, afs” out front (dogs) so she was occupied for a moment.

The owners name is Kurt (fancy that) and he is from the States. He imports his products through Miami and only can get them important on an irregular basis, so what the store has it has until they get another miraculous shipment. The store attendant Michael was very helpful. But it feels very community / from the neighborhood.

It was as if Kurt (the store owner) knew us better than we knew ourselves. Take every product we buy at Whole Foods each week and even things that we don’t buy there we have to buy at that other specialty shop on 14th and 6th and it was here. Kurt (the store owner) hit the mark with us. BIG TIME.

We got hair products, Seventh Generation baby wipes, sea salt, chia seeds, rice noodles, gluten free quinoa granola, Bob’s Red Mill amaranth flour, almond butter, etc. It was unbelievable the personality packed into this tiny tienda and with a supplement section for the stars to boot.

As I occupied Iza on the front steps while waiting for Kurt to finish up, I whipped out the Xylophone we had bought earlier. Along came a nice family from Israel who had just arrived the night before from Mexico. They had left their life behind in Israel 10-months ago. They both had remote jobs and they were seemingly doing what we were doing. Their beautiful boys came and played with Iza and we made new friends. We shared some of the other places on the lake with them and invited them over for dinner. We see that many people our age are taking the plunge away from normalcy in their countries and seeking a more adventurous life. We were really hoping to make like-minded friends and it appears that here we have. I look at this little Salud Para Vida has brought us luck already.

What made us so emotional about this store was that it represented the possibility to live here and still have a piece of home. We could maintain our typical food base (and then expand with local specialties) and still be able to have some of the amenities we are used to like non-metal deodorant, alcohol-free baby wipes, and gluten free flours. Basically this store represents the solidification of our possibility to remain abroad here (Mom, don’t cry – we will come and visit). The world has gotten small and the opportunities greater for living outside of America and still maintaining some of the silly amenities we are not interested in giving up. It is pretty awesome.

Thank you Kurt (the store owner). Your little mini Whole Foods placed perfectly in paradise is spectacular. We hope to meet you some day. My Kurt, daughter and I are very grateful.

December 25, 2012September 30, 2015

Glowing Happy Mommy with a Fantastic “Green” Juice Recipe

I am just glowing… that’s what they say happens, but in truth I am! It is so bizarre, but I can literally feel my skin being clearer, my eyes more bright and my hair having more bounce. Its kind of like a flushed, but well tinted rosiness that can only be gifted by another.

In the last few weeks it has been getting more and more prominent, but I was just going to chalk it up to lack of alcoholic beverages and eating only healthy food. I still drink at least a ‘green’ drink every day and I try to exercise as often as possible, but the magic that lies beneath my skin is purely from pregnancy… Apparently the increased blood flow in your veins from your blood pressure makes your skin literally “glow”. Either way, I am not going to risk it and drinking at least 1 green drink a day is a requirement in my pregnancy rule book!

In the Holiday Special Green Drink today (makes 2):

1 Whole Lemon

1 Whole Apple

4 Carrots

Large Handful of Spinach

3 Kale Leaves (1/2 bunch)

1/2 Cucumber

3 Celery Stalks

I have a girlfriend who was concerned in drinking green drinks during her pregnancy, thinking it would actually be a probably for the baby after it is out of the womb. Her thought was that the baby would go into a system shock without the nutrients and feel depleted. I look at this like a daily dose of vitamins, so I can’t imagine it would have that effect. I have not found any hard evidence or clinical research on this topic either. As breastfeeding begins it is also my intention to perpetuate the daily ‘green’ drink and ultimately it will be our little ladies first drink outside of water. She wants juice? The Brand ‘green’ drink is where its at.

Kurt’s Cuisine is also a great source of these products. We have 6 total varieties available and these are for detoxes and just daily health.