The head Earth Girls, Kirsten Gum, left, and Emyrald Sinclaire crack a few jokes as they prepare some goodies for the next day’s customers. In February, the two opened their restaurant Earth Girls Goodies, which offers all vegan and gluten-free options, as well as a wide array of locally sourced and raw dishes./Photo by Jennaye Derge

Something to chew on

Earth Girls tickle the palate with tasty gluten-free, vegan goodies

by Sarah Rankin 

What is an earth girl (or boy)? There are those who turn the earth with tools and hands, coaxing to life basil and tomatoes, onions and green beans, strawberries and rhubarb, over the patient months. There are those who run over the earth, feeling its vibrations coursing through muscle and sinew, rejoicing through every stride. There are those who climb on foot or bike, through winding trails, where every turn is a return to the present, or up ancient rock walls, letting the earth show the way.

Despite the ways such earthy people choose to spend their time, there are two things most of them hold in common: a love of the planet and an appreciation for delicious, nourishing food.

Housed in a 1915 Victorian at 1849 North Main Ave., one of Durango’s newest eateries – Earth Girls Goodies – strives to deliver just that. The original kitchen is the same space where present-day vegan chefs Kirsten Gum and Emyrald Sinclaire work their magic.

The wood-fired cast iron stove has been replaced by modern equipment and technique, but the underlying philosophy remains the same. Just as a cook in this kitchen 100 years ago prepared food by combining fresh ingredients from the surrounding area, the same can be said for Gum and Sinclaire, who source from local farms including Adobe House Farms, 550 Farms and Tierra Vida. “Our intention is to go back to the basics, back to when people knew what they were eating,” says Gum.

“We want to help people create healthy eating habits, plain and simple, by feeding them nutritious, delicious meals,” says Gum. “Until people begin connecting with what they put in their mouths, healing is not going to happen.”

Gum’s own healing began after she lost her soul mate in 2007. Three days later, she landed her dream job, a role as a treasure hunter through The Travel Channel. One day, while filming the show outside of San Diego, she pulled a piece of tourmaline from the earth and said she felt the stone’s vibrations grounding her. “I didn’t know it at the time, but Mother Earth was healing me.” 

Gum understood that she must find a way to give back. She became a raw foods chef and opened her own business, Experience Raw, a personal chef and catering business, based in Santa Monica. In 2010, Gum met Sinclaire at a retreat in Arizona where Gum was catering and Sinclaire was instructing yoga. They became immediate friends and four years later, when Sinclaire was grieving the passing of her step dad, Gum proposed the idea of Earth Girls. Sinclaire jumped on it. In June of 2014, Sinclaire moved to Durango from Illinois and Gum, from Santa Monica.

They officially opened the restaurant on North Main in February this year. “People come in to say  hi,” explains Gum. “They come for the delicious food, but also for the energy.” 

Which brings up the next question: how is the food? Although Earth Girls makes baked goods, their menu also includes soups, salads, wraps, bowls, snacks and delectable desserts. All dishes are vegan and 40 percent of the menu is raw. While they have gained a following for spring rolls dipped in tahini and their protein smoothie (a meal in itself with bananas, strawberries, spinach and protein powders), what about their meatier (am I allowed to describe a vegan dish this way?) options?

Take the Buddha Bowl, a green curry dish where roasted eggplant is used to lend a toothy texture. “One thing that we try to educate people about, because it’s a new way of eating for many, is a sense of their palate,” says Gum. She explains that many people simply eat to get full and are not participating in the full experience of smells, textures, spices and balances of high notes such as lemon and low notes, such as the curry in their Buddha Bowl. “A palate is something that is learned and established. It is a part of conscious cuisine and mindful eating.”

I struggle to move beyond “yum” and have to agree with a customer who visited that day: “If it’s good enough for Buddha, it’s good enough for me.”

There is also a little science behind the alchemy, as well. Sinclaire, a graduate of the University of Natural Health, is a certified natural health practitioner and holistic nutrition practitioner and understands, through her studies and her own struggles with gluten intolerance, that certain foods are more digestible than others. For example, the potato salad is made with sweet potatoes rather than carb-laden white potatoes, which quickly convert to sugar in your system, she says.

Of course, a trip to Earth Girls Goodies wouldn’t be the same without sampling a goodie. Sinclaire and Gum recommend a taste of their most popular treat, the chocolate ganache, a French dessert typically made by cooking heavy cream with bittersweet chocolate. Although in this case it’s vegan and raw (as are all of the desserts here, excluding the muffins). The chocolate is smooth and creamy, the texture of cheesecake (just so you know, they make a different cheesecake every week, replacing the cheese with cashews and “a couple of other tricks.”) The crust is a mixture of almonds, dates and a blend of spices, including a pinch of cayenne because “chocolate really likes cayenne.”

Aside from their Main Avenue location, Earth Girls Goodies can also be found at Durango Natural Foods, Mobius Coffee, in Sliverton, and Flat Belly, in Cortez. They also offer catering, nutritional coaching, cleanse support (four days of food to transition in and out of a cleanse, as well as seven to 10 days of protein shakes), and Goodie Boxes, which include two entrees, two soups, two sides, two salads, two snacks, two desserts, and two muffins. 

The overall mission is to offer food that is simple, fresh, organic, vegan, gluten-free and prepared with the culinary mindfulness of the six aspects of taste: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and umami (think savory).

Oh, and there’s one last ingredient: “Our heart is in it,” says Gum. “This is the gift we can offer the world, making healthy food and educating people about food choices.” In fact, customers are encouraged to cast their questions over the counter, where Gum and Sinclaire never break culnary stride, throwing back answers about food and health choices, while serving up each meal.

According to the Earth Girls, the result is nourishment on all levels: body, mind and soul.

And when you consider everything that goes into their food, perhaps you’ll leave with the same sentiment as my 4-year-old son: “I think she loves me.”