jerk chicken salad

i met a lot of great cooks when i worked at brown sugar kitchen: shunafresh lydon, dre penny, amyfresh shaw, and queen tanya. lotsa ladies in that kitchen.

me and joshfresh were living in west oakland at the time and i really needed to catch a break and find a job. i had flirted, stopped by, dropped my resume but no phonecall. i came in a lot and ate at the counter. finally one day chef tanya asked me if i was still looking for work and i started within a couple of days. the day i came in to interview i met shuna who at the time i only knew from the internet. just walked right up and shook her hand and i haven't been the same since. it was my first time working in a restaurant that had just opened.

amyfresh shaw is a well seasoned chef who at one time was jimmymealtickets boss at 4th street grill. she is known to some as the leftover queen. even though we were very busy there was often food left over at the end of the day. fried chicken and cornbread mostly. her genius solution was something like this: romaine, celery, radish, cherry tomatoes, chopped cold fried chicken, garlicky cornbread croutons and a creamy viniagrette with tarragon. like an italian bread salad all souled out.

that salad was somewhere in my memory bank last weekend when i was keeping an eye on natefresh who was having a fizzy drink stand in our front yard.

the chicken was from yardie jerk a west oakland spot on san pablo at 32nd. chefgene actually built the smoker behind brown sugar kitchen when he was the tenant. yardie doesn't keep consistent hours so if the open sign is lit, pull over. his jerk chicken is divine.

my salad was something like this: red romaine, romanita tomatoes, celery, avocado, radish, daikon sprouts, carrot, pulled jerk chicken, lemon juice dressing and cornbread from sweet adeline on the side.

we ate on our front porch.

circus cookies

last week was winter break and we had nathan. i was doing one of my early morning baking shifts and got word from joshfresh that he was having one of his donut emergencies, and could i take nathan? i had plans to deliver cookbooks in sanfrancisco.

i biked home, got the bug and picked nate up at the donut factory in west oakland.

we dropped some books off at atomic garden in oakland and hit the bridge.

our first sanfrancisco stop was the curiosity shoppe in the mission, where famous blogger heidi swanson bought her copy of souplove. we stayed a while and got back in the car to go to the outer sunset to visit our friend serena one of the owners of general store, that also carries my book.

i just recently discovered this magical block and while i'd definitely noticed trouble coffee i had never bought anything there. natefresh was antsy so i let him go next door. he bought us two circus cookies and one glass of milk. they upsold him on the milk but it was the right idea and probably organic. the cookies had looked good when we walked by.

circus cookies are basic chocolate chip with, i shit you not, crackerjacks baked into them. they were also slightly underset in the middle which i normally don't like, but did. they tasted like childhood.

nate and i walked to the beach eating our cookies, and went on to have more fun than i can remember having. so much much epic fun. i went along with the idea of taking off our shoes and going into the water, even though it was so cold, and i'm sure his mom would have *so* not appreciated us doing that.

soggy and wet we decided to stay and eat in the city. we went to outerlands and this is what we had: hot lemon ginger apple ciders, artichoke with aioli, bacon, leek and cheese tart with green salad, shepards pie, braised cabbage with dark toasted almonds and coffee pot de creme with mixed citrus supremes. all delivered to us with true sacred service.

nathan drew pictures of the ocean while we waited for our food. they are on display in the kitchen gallery at outerlands.

hearts and crafts

valentine love faire at local 123

2049 san pablo in berkeley

february 14

3 to 7

hand made local craft featuring:

amanda gordon: conceptual artisan

chef beckyfresh with her cookbook souplove

ms. jules of thread together handmade

lisa aurora: fine feathered finds

lizzy b. sweatshop-free handmade panties

lori lockheart: vintage love beads

steffy sue on the uke

queen tatiana of florentinacraft: love infused apothacary

and josh the donut man with new flavors

thank you katy and frieda.

best valentines day ever.

outerlands

my first trip to outerlands was right around new years. dm had been out of town for a few days and i'de been having a good time finishing projects and reflecting. a few of my foodie friends had mentioned outerlands; it was on my list. i had a free sunday and use of a car so i went.

outerlands captures both my personal and culinary aesthetic. it's simple and small with most of the kitchen visible. behind the stove is a row of made-there loaves of bread, and the walls are covered in driftwood mosaics. everything looked handmade.

dining here was a magical experience. i was seated outside. i had my own water pitcher, and although all the small wares were from ikea the effect was heath pottery. it was a brunch day and there were maybe six choices. i had the savory pancake with bacon, a side of salad greens, and a hot lemon ginger apple cider. it looked and tasted like they'de steeped organic apple juice on the stove with coins of ginger and then juiced half a lemon and added it right before they serve it to you. so good.

the food runners were cute. kind of a matched set, they had gucci mohawks and wore their rags for wiping down tables in the back like little tails. they made up for their lack of professional serving skills by being caring and genuine.

posted in outerlands i found my new motto: to the past thanks. to the future yes. outerlands: outer sunset in san francisco on judah at 45th. they share their block with some other interesting businesses; trouble coffee co. and general store where you can buy my cookbook souplove.

food network

a lot has changed since my donut man and i moved from west to north oakland six months ago. no more taco tuesdays with bikerjason and asherfresh and no more pirate internet. we pay our own cable bill now, and for the first time in eleven years i have tv that i watch fairly regularly. cable tv. i mostly watch foodnetwork and the shows that involve a competition. we're all pretty into it.

my favorite show is called chopped. it starts with four chefs who cook from a mystery basket of ingredients and compete on an appetizer, followed by an entree and then dessert with one chef getting chopped in each round. the final two chefs aren't judged by who makes the best dessert, but on their overall meal.

i can often pick out the winner right away, and true to my nature often root for the underdog. the person who wins is the one who is the most calm, the one who doesn't abandon correct technique in an unfamiliar kitchen. having range and knowing how flavors go together helps, as does remembering what you already know: appetizers are smaller, dessert should be sweet.

mealticket

the mealticket is my favorite restaurant. the owners, jimmy and carolyn, own the building and live upstairs. i have worked for them, mostly on call for the last seven years. before mealticket jimmy, the cook was an olympic swimmer and later worked at several of the hottest east bay restaurants in the 80's. Carolyn, his partner in life and business was some kind of punk-rock lawyer who bought all of her suits at the thrift store.

the original mealticket was on blake street and had maybe eleven seats. now mealticket is on san pablo at gilman in berkeley, and seats eighty in good weather. the entrance is on the side of the building down the driveway that leads to the patio.

i go to mealticket for the food, but it is like a second home to me and one of the most special places i go. i see certain people at mealticket, and i feel like i'm visiting family when i eat there with nate the great and my donut man. i like going there by myself on wednesdays after exercise class to read the new york times food section while i eat.

it's all about the specials. they're known for their grilled fish, egg dishes and their pancakes, but i always tell people, "you really can't go wrong." they grind their own hamburger and make their own sausage and corned beef hash. the salmon burger is really good too. not really diner fare, jimmy's food is one cook making what he likes.

twice a year mealticket is closed for three weeks when they travel; sometimes to europe or new york, but usually to asia. they buy a lot of folk art and i've heard stories about jimmy catching squid with his bare hands and them riding mopeds without helmets. i miss them when they're gone; my larger than life heroes who are my friends. mealticket is a little bit more than a restaurant, but it's hard to explain why.

perfect blueberry muffins

i made this recipe up for my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend caseyfresh. she also went out with pizzaguy sean right after i did and thanks to her things like that don't bother me anymore.

in her honor the recipe is vegan, adapted from a recipe i found on a blog called padma's kitchen.

perfect blueberry muffins

2 c. flour

2/3 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3 oz frozen stick style earth balance, grated

1 1/4 c. coconut milk

3 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. ground flax seeds

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. blueberries (if using frozen berries do not thaw)

1. combine dry ingredients and earth balance

2. make a well in the center and add coconut milk, flax seed slurry, vanilla and blueberries

3. mix until just combined

4. bake at 350

5. to make blueberry-banana muffins substitute 1/4 c. very ripe mashed banana for 1/4 c. of the coconut milk