Plum Good - Roasted Plum Compote Recipe. Sweet, Tart and Very Versatile Direct From My Neighbor's Tree

Roasted Plum Compote over Cake with Ice Cream

Nina gifted us with several bags of tart plums from her tree. I turned the fruit into a simple roasted compote that was delicious on its own or as a topping for cake, ice cream or both.

The quantities in the recipe below are based on how many plums I had left after noshing. Adapt for other amounts as needed. Recipe works well with the other stone fruits. Yield will vary depending on type of fruit and water content. The recipe will work with less than ripe fruit, but you may need to use more sugar. Very ripe fruit will work as well, but be sure to taste to adjust sugar. My plums were small. Larger plums or other stone fruit may require additional baking time.

Roasted Plum Compote 

Serves about 4 as a compote, 6-8 as topping

1 lb. 12 oz. ripe plums
2 Tbs. lemon-flavored olive oil
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste - use less with very sweet fruit, more with very tart)

Heat oven to 400 degree oven. Line rimmed baking tray(s) with parchment paper.

Slice fruit in half, remove pits and cut out any bruised sections. Mix fruit with oil and sugar. Pour out in single layer on tray(s). Bake. When top is browned (about 20 minutes), flip over fruit and stir in juices. Bake another 10-20 minutes until fruit is browned and juices are bubbly and reduced down. Let cool slightly and scrape fruit and juices into bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature as a compote or serve atop cake and or ice cream as a topping.

First Post From My Cell Phone

Very much enjoyed my plant-based cooking class at Oakland Whole Foods as part of Oak Veg Week. Thanks Chef Alex Bury.

Replicate Oakland's Street Tacos with Turkey "Carnitas" and Quick Carrot and Jalapeno Pickle

Oakland’s many cultural traditions help make it a vibrant place. Part of the flavor this mix gives the city is literally a taste of how others live, with lots of ethnic and street food to choose from. Since I rarely cook pork, I’ve adapted a traditional Oakland street taco filling for turkey and give directions on how to serve it just like the taco trucks that line International Boulevard.

Turkey “Carnitas”

Carnitas is traditionally braised or roasted pork that is cut into cubes, fried in lard until crispy and then shredded. Recipes vary by region throughout Mexico. Here I replace the pork with turkey and the lard with schmaltz. If you’d rather not cook in chicken fat, use the oil but try adding just a tablespoon or two of the rendered chicken fat to boost the flavor. Chicken fat, also called schmaltz, can be rendered at home or is available frozen in some markets. (Here's a link to Empire's schmaltz, the one I most use.  Interestingly enough they've chosen to call it "liquid rendered chicken fat."

1 tsp. salt, plus additional as needed
½ tsp. ground black pepper, plus additional as needed
½ tsp. dried, ground oregano
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. plus 1 Tbs. additional fresh lemon or lime juice
1 ½ lbs. of boneless, skinless turkey thighs
4 oz. rendered chicken fat (about a half jar of schmaltz) or ½ cup canola oil

Mix salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, oil and juice into a paste and rub on turkey meat. Let marinate for 20 minutes to an hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place turkey thighs in a roasting pan, tent pan with foil and bake until the internal temperature is 170 degrees or the meat is opaque through out and juices run clear. Be careful not to overcook. Cut cooked turkey into 1” cubes. Heat chicken fat until liquid and hot. (Or heat canola oil in a 12” fry pan until hot.) Add turkey cubes. Fry, turning cubes over often, until well browned and very crispy. Remove turkey from pan with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain cubes on a paper-towel lined plate. (There will be a lot of fat or oil left in the pan.) Using two forks, shred the turkey meat. Taste. Toss with additional lemon juice and salt and pepper as needed. Use to make Oakland Taco Truck Tacos (see below) or burritos, or serve with rice and beans.

Quick Pickled Jalapeños and Carrots

This quick pickle is a typical accompaniment for street tacos. The tacos are also often served with thick slices of cucumber, whole or sliced radishes and a grilled or fresh green onion or two. Remove the jalapeño seeds for a bit less heat.

1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1-2 fresh jalapeño peppers, sliced
White vinegar

Cook the carrots in water to cover until just beginning to soften. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Put carrot and jalapeño slices in glass bowl or jar. Mix well. Cover with vinegar (or use half vinegar, half water for a milder pickle). Chill for at least an hour or two before serving. Store leftover pickles in the vinegar mixture in the refrigerator.

Oakland Taco Truck Tacos
Makes about 12-16 small tacos

About 32 small corn tortillas (6”-8” in diameter)
1 recipe turkey “carnitas”
Salsa and other toppings as desired, such as hot sauce, guacamole and or avocado slices
Wedges of lime or lemon
1 recipe quick pickled carrots and jalapeños
Fresh radishes or radish slices, cucumber slices, grilled or fresh green onions

Heat the tortillas in a steamer or in the microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel for 20-30 seconds until warmed. For each taco, stack one tortilla directly on top of another and place on plate. Top with a few tablespoons of the turkey. Add salsa or other toppings as desired. Serve with wedge of lime to spritz over taco and a few pickled carrots and jalapeños on the side with radishes, cucumbers or other accompaniments as desired.

----------
a version of this article first appeared in the Temple Beth Abraham Omer.

Oakland Taco Trucks -- A Feast in the Streets

Clockwise from upper left -- El Ojo de Agua, Tacos Los Michocanos,
Tacos El Novillo and Tamales Mi Lupita

If we are talking street food, and we frequently are, and if we are talking tacos, which are also a frequent topic of conversation around here, it's very likely we are already on our way to the Fruitvale section of Oakland where licensing laws and Latino culture merge to create one of the Bay area’s best feeding grounds. 

The number of the highly decorated taco trucks in the area changes, but Oakland has issued permits for 120 loncherias (catering trucks and push carts), half of which are in the Fruitvale area, one of only two neighborhoods in Oakland they are allowed. This concentration makes it easy to go from truck to truck and sample a taco with carnitas here, a tostada with cerviche there as you wend your way through the neighborhood. They are generally open from morning to well after the dinner hour, but be flexible, hours, location, and menu offerings do change. Be prepared for an adventure and bring your appetite.

My Oakland taco truck crawls have all been by car, but it could also be done by bicycle  or even AC Transit.  Amy Sherman, a veteran food blogger, travel writer and taco crawler has put together a tour with all stops convenient walking distance to the Fruitvale BART station.  Thanks to Amy and bloggers Genie Grotto and Shelly Butcher for accompaning me on my appointed taco rounds.

To devise your own crawl, here’s a sampling of some of my favorite taco trucks plus an overview of some typical taco truck menu items. Menus are usually colorful signs mounted on the side of the truck, often in English and Spanish.

While many taco trucks offer the similar fare, the style of cooking, seasoning, regional differences and whims of the chef can make for interesting and tasty variations. These trucks specialize in tacos (usually two stacked small soft corn tortillas topped with a few tablespoons of filling with chopped onions, fresh cilantro and salsa) with a slice of lime. Squeeze the lime on top, fold the taco and eat in a few quick bites over your car hood, the taco truck’s thin ledge of a counter or perhaps a weathered picnic table and try not to drip on your clothes. The accompanying chunks of cucumber, radish or pickled carrots and jalapeno peppers help cut through the rich meat taste. Tacos generally cost $1.25-$2.

Besides the tacos, most trucks offer burritos and some also have quesadillas and tortas (sandwiches). Fillings can include carnitas (shredded, crispy pork), lengua (beef tongue, my favorite), suadero (beef rib meat), cabeza (beef head or cheeks), al pastor (roast pork), chorizo (spicy pork sausage), tripa (chitlins), birria (goat), carne asada (steak), stewed or shredded chicken and more. Trucks specializing in seafood also offer cerviche (raw, marinated fish salad) tostadas and griddled fish tacos (tacos de pescado or tacos de dorado).

Wash it all down with a refresco (soft drink). Or try an agua fresca or atole fresh fruit drink in flavors ranging for horchata (an almondy-cinnamon flavor) to jamaica (hibiscus) to pina (pineapple).

Below are just a few of my favorite Oakland taco trucks. One fan of the area’s loncherias created this Google map to help enthusiasts plan their own taco truck crawls. It includes the taco trucks listed below and many more.

Tacos El Novillo, 1001 Fruitvale Ave. (near E. 12th St.)

This truck offers tacos made with chicarrones (deep fried strips of pork skin.) The chicarrones are delicious, but I liked them better mixed with the al pastor tacos. Get one of each and make your own combination plate.

El Ojo de Agua, 3132 E. 12th Street (at Fruitvale Ave.)

The tacos are great, the tortas are excellent, but they are also known for their drinks, especially their licuados (Mexican milk shakes).

Tacos los Michocanos, 3524 International Blvd. (near 35th St.)

The difference here is the hearty and earthy style of Michoacan style cooking. My last taco there had some of the best lengua I’ve ever eaten. Plus I love the killer salsa. On weekends Los Michocanos offers a homemade tortilla option.

Tacos Sinola (two trucks), 2138 International Blvd. (at 22nd Ave.)

This is more of a two-truck “surf and turf” complex. The truck closest to International Blvd. offers an array of tasty meat-based tacos. The truck further back specializes in seafood, particularly in fish and shrimp tacos. In between are parking, covered seating and a colorful shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

One of my favorite trucks is technically not a taco truck I guess since it specializes in El Salvadorean food. But Tamales Mi Lupita offers sensational cheese and other pupusas (kind of stuffed corn tortillas) served with tangy cabbage slaw, chicken pastilles (little fried pies of deliciousness) and banana empanadas (somewhat like pieces of bananas fried fritter style), among other delights.  It can be found at 34th Ave. and Foothilld Blvd, next the Pupuseria Lupita Restaurant on Foothill Blvd.

For more on taco trucks in Oakland and elsewhere in the Bay area, check out the California Taco Truck blog  or the Chowhound forum discussions on the topic.
Note: A version of this post first appeared on the Poor Taste SF website. Have a taco truck favorite not listed?  Leave a comment and let me know.  I'll try to check it out and include in a future taco truck roundup.

Fresh Filo Adventure in the East Bay

My friend Anna Mindess has a wonderful new blog all about ethnic food adventures east of San Francisco Bay.  East Bay Ethnic Eats is a tasty read no matter where you live.  Anna is a wonderful writer but doesn't "do" recipes, so I offered to supply one for her post on handmade filo dough (Oakland's Oasis Market).
You can read about how this wonderful dough is made here and see my baklava recipe there. 

Budget Food Shopping at Whole Foods on $4 a Day --- Or How to Have Wholesome Food without Spending the Whole Paycheck --Hunger Challenge 2010



Whole Foods' Perri Kramer at bulk bins

 Shop Whole Foods Market for a full day’s worth of organic food for a family of four for just $4 a person?

It seemed like an extreme test, but as part of my participation in the San Francisco Food Bank’s Hunger Challenge 2010, I took it on, and thanks to help from Perri Kramer, marketing team leader of the Oakland, CA, store, I was able to do just that. (You can see more about the background on my shopping trip here and the day’s menu and recipes here. To read all of my Hunger Challenge 2010 posts, click here.)

Perri leads regular “shopping on a budget” tours for customers and she offered to walk the store with me to show me how to cruise the aisles for affordable and often locally sourced goods. She helped highlight some items that would work in my meal plan, which was restricted by the Hunger Challenge rules of $4 a day per person (the amount a typical food stamp recipient would have to spend) and by the further constraint that I wanted all the food to be certified organic.

Since some have nicknamed Whole Foods “Whole Paycheck,” I was worried when we started that my options would be very limited. But that just wasn’t true. I had a number of choices, although my dinner pasta sauce recipe really just had just a hint of chicken. Sure some produce might have been less expensive in an organic farmer’s market, and some other items might have been lower priced elsewhere, but the chain offers some good values, especially for those who want to eat organic, and if you shop carefully, some exceptional ones. In some communities one of the chain’s 270 stores might be the only resource for organic products, although in others there are regional, national or local alternatives. Just looking at food pricing and availability of organic products, I found Whole Foods to be an excellent one-stop resource for those who want to eat wholesome foods on a budget.

While Perri's tips are for budget-conscious shopping at Whole Foods, they could easily be adapted to shopping at most large supermarkets.

•  Allow yourself enough time. Budget shopping anywhere takes more time as you compare deals and options
• Pick up the chain’s “Whole Deal” semi-monthly flyer  at the store entrance for coupons, special deals and recipes. On my tour she pointed out that the butcher shop had some sausages on special that had an extra dollar off coupon in the flyer.
• Watch for in-store produce specials, usually towards the front of the produce department. “We always have five to seven on special, and often they are local and seasonal from smaller farmers” where Whole Foods wants to increase demand for the farmers and sell through the perishable item as soon as possible.
•  Choose seasonal produce for the best pricing. In season fruits and vegetables will almost always be the best values.
•  Look for the store branding on packaged produce and other items (such as the 365 Everyday Value brand). If organic is a concern, look for that on the label. When 365 store-branded products are not organic, Perri says they are still as natural as possible and have a higher level of quality control than other sources. 365 produce is also sometimes locally sourced.
• When shopping for fish or meat, consider shopping on Friday, when Whole Foods often has one-day specials in these departments. Also look for the 365 brand  on packaged meat and the store’s “value-packs” which offer per pound discounts on larger packages of meat and chicken.
•  Grocery specials are often displayed near the front the store, so Perri advises checking there first and advises looking for store brands to help pare down costs.
• Buy from the bulk section, but only buy what you need. “You can buy just a tiny bit of a specialty item and only have to pay for what you need,” she said. It is also a great place to stock up on staples such as frequently used grains and beans. Prices are cheaper since you are not paying for packaging.
•  Look for ways to add low-cost flavor to your dish to keep costs down. Buy a bit of a spice or seasoning mix from the bulk section, consider using bullion or broth as a base for soups and stews or for cooking rice or other grains. Perri pointed out a package of organic vegetarian or chicken bullion that cost about 14 cents a serving.
• Watch out for processed frozen, canned or other packaged foods if you are on a tight budget. Perri says that some items on the grocery aisle might be tasty or convenient but that they add to your grocery bill. In general choose foods with as minimal processing as possible to get the most out of your food dollar.

She also suggested checking out the low-cost recipes on the Whole Foods website and contacting your local Whole Foods Market to get your own budget shopping tour.

Note: I was putting together an all-organic menu. Prices at Whole Foods Market for non-organic alternatives were lower. Choosing some of these goods would have lowered my food bill, allowed me to have more fresh produce or chicken or changed what I selected for my day’s menu.

Filipino Cooking Class at Oakland Asian Cultural Center

I've taken two Filipino cooking classes from the Asian Seasonal Cooking Class series at Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

This slide show and recipes are from the first, which was last November. Watch for a more complete write up and photos from the more recent class this past May. In the meantime, if you live in Oakland, the OACC is fighting for its programming which is threatened by severe cuts by one of its major funders, the Oakland (CA) City Council. Please email your city council member and let him or her know you support the work of the OACC in preserving and transmitting local Asian cultures. For more on the OACC, click here. For info on how to contact your city council representative, contact Jennifer Chu, Development Coordinator, at jchu@oacc.cc.

If you want to learn more about why I, a Jew of Russian-German heritage, regard this Asian American organization as important, please read this post.

Back to the cooking class. We made a classic comfort food dish from the Philippines -- arroz caldo or lugo or lugaw -- a rice soup a little like Chinese jook or congee but with sweet (glutinous) rice. The soup had a rich, full flavor from the chicken stock, with lots of other flavorings and seasonings. Here is a link to the pdf with all the info on that workshop and the recipe. The workshop was led by Herna Cruz-Louie, the Executive Director and Co-Founder for American Center of Philippine Arts. The recipe below is hers and used with her permission and with her directions and notes.

LUGAW (LUGAO) / ARROZ CALDO
Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

- Small whole chicken (orThighs and Wings)
- Fried Tofu
- Celery
- Garlic
- Onions
- Ginger
- Kosher Salt
- Whole Black Peppercorns
- Canola Oil
- Sweet (Glutinous) Rice
- Fish Sauce
- Scallions

CHICKEN BROTH:

- Small Whole Chicken or Thighs and Wings ( about 3 /2 lb..)
- 2 Celery Stalks
- 1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorn

Combine all of the ingredients with 10 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is tender (about 30 minutes).
**Prep all your ingredients for the Lugaw while you wait!**

Transfer chicken pieces with tongs to a plate to cool. Strain the broth through a mesh strainer into another large saucepan and bring back to a slight simmer over low to medium heat. Continue to simmer, adjusting the heat if necessary while we cook the Lugaw.

When the chicken has cooled, remove the skin and use your fingers to remove meat from the bones and shred the chicken.

**LUGAW:

- 3 tablespoons of canola oil
- 2 heads of garlic (cloves peeled and crushed)
- 1 fresh ginger, 2-inch piece (peeled and julienned)
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 1 cup of sweet (glutinous) rice
- 8-10 cups of homemade chicken broth (to preference)
- fish sauce (to taste)
- 1 cup of fried tofu
- fresh ground pepper (to taste)
- 5 scallions, sliced for garnish

Warm 3 tablespoons of canola oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add crushed garlic cloves (1 head of garlic) and cook in the oil until golden brown and crisp. Transfer the garlic out of the saucepan and onto a paper towel lined plate or bowl to drain.

Using the oil left in the pan, add the peeled and julienned ginger, diced onions and the remainder of the crushed garlic cloves to the pan and saute until the onion is translucent. Add 1 cup of sweet rice and saute until the rice is evenly coated with oil. Add 1 cup of warm chicken broth and stir until most of the broth is absorbed. Continue adding a cup of chicken broth at a time, stirring frequently, until the rice begins to break down. This will take 30-45 minutes. Add less broth for a thicker consistency.

Stir in the shredded chicken, fried tofu, 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce (to taste) and black pepper (to taste). Ladle the Lugaw into individual serving bowls and top off each bowl with sliced scallions and Fried Garlic.

Cornmeal Waffles at Brown Sugar Kitchen, Oakland CA

Food Network's Tanya Holland has a lovely small restaurant in Oakland called Brown Sugar Kitchen. The food is fresh and lovingly prepared from local organic ingredients and sources Southern foodways for breakfast and lunch.

I had the cornmeal waffles which were crisp and lacy and wonderful served with brown sugar butter and apple cider syrup. Next time, I'm up for the shrimp and grits.

Oakland Asian Cultural Center Needs Your Support

The Oakland Asian Cultural Center is a true treasure. Go on a Saturday and take an Asian home cooking class or learn how to carve elaborate vegetable garnishes, look at the walls with its testament to the rich pan-Asian heritage we have in Oakland, hear the kids practice their Chinese zither music, listen to the boom of the Korean drums or witness the grace, beauty and strength of Philippine folk dance or Shaolin Kung Fu. Or maybe attend a lecture, reading or performance. It is a multi-function, multi-interest kind of place. It also supports the businesses and residents of Oakland's Chinatown.

It is a living conduit of tradition, skills, knowledge and history between generations and between cultures Asian and not.

I first discovered the OACC for its food heritage and traditions cooking class. As we cooked the foods of Tibet, Vietnam, Mongolia, Korea, China, Thailand, India, the Philippines and more we were learning from someone from that culture about not just tastes and techniques but the place these foods hold in the culture. (Thanks to the Alliance for California Traditional Arts for co-sponsoring these classes).

Now, the OACC is in danger of losing half of its $80,000 grant from the city of Oakland in programming money.

We are in danger of losing a resource that really can not be replaced. Go the website, take a look at the class and programming list. Join a class, see a performance, send in a contribution and please send an email to an Oakland city council member and ask him or her to continue OACC's support. (OACC reassures me that even if you are not an Oakland resident, your support can make a difference in retaining the funding.)

Please attend the April 1 City Council meeting where the cut will be discussed. For other ways to help (including info on how to send an email to the city council with your support) the OACC and its programming and services, please click here or contact Jennifer Chu, Development Coordinator, at jchu@oacc.cc

On a personal note, I'm not Asian-American, I'm a German-Russian Jew. But I've been able to gift my sons the gift of knowing at least the traditions of their Jewish heritage through Jewish programming. I look at this as akin to that.

I also believe that its by sharing cultures, acknowledging differences, understanding similarities and enjoying the process of sharing that we grew as people and a nation. To me, that's one of the most important things OACC offers. I hope you'll join me in making sure all that OACC does is not snuffed out.

Update 4/5/10: OACC thanks all for support. They expect to know more within a few weeks.
------------------------
About the photo: Some ingredients from the Filipino cooking class. You can see write ups, photos and slideshows of some of the classes here.

Laotian Food in Oakland

I've been remiss about writing about my experiences with the Laotian food resources and restaurants here in Oakland, but Andrew Simmons of Bay Area Bites hasn't. He's written a wonderful article about the food and the people who create it here.

He mentions the classes at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center taught by Sokham Senthavilay. (That a photo of her to the left teaching a cooking class at the OACC.) I've taken two classes with her and was very impressed with the flavors, textures and tastes of Laotian food. You can read what I've written about the OACC classes and Sokham here. (True confession, I have several other posts with photos planned from the classes and haven't written them yet.)

See what the OACC has posted about the workshops here (including links to recipes).

The OACC may be planning more Asian culinary workshops in the near future. I'll be sure to post about them when more info becomes available.

A special thank you goes out to the Alliance for California Traditional Arts which has funded the OACC workshops.

The Day After Halloween -- The Day of the Dead

Hope you had a happy Halloween.

November 1st is traditionally the Day of the Dead in Mexican and other cultures.

Here in Oakland it is celebrated with a street fair full of color, music and spectacle on International Blvd. It's also celebrated with lots of food. The area is filled with delicious Mexican and other Hispanic foods anyway, but there's also lots of street vendors out especially for the fair.

For information on this year's Day of the Dead celebration Sunday, November 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on International Blvd. between Fruitvale and 35th Ave. , click here. (One tip, take BART to the Fruitvale station and you are there).

One of my favorite parts of the Day of the Dead fair in Oakland are the altars set up to honor deceased family members or mentors. They are always emotionally involving, touching and quite beautiful. I also like all the handicrafts and artwork. The skeletons above are oversized versions of traditional Day of the Dead figurines.

Of Okras and Paw Paws - The South Rises in Oakland (Plus a Tamarind Okra Recipe)

There has been a bit of a southern renaissance in Oakland, or at least my awareness of the southerneness that has shaped the city's tastes and politics has been kicked up a notch.

There are at least two gourmet "soul" food restaurants now in Oakland with others on the way. Oakland has always been home to more neighborhood places and several renown barbecue stands. (My family has always been partial to Everett and Jones, but Flint's is good, too.) Today, walking to the farmer's market from my car I noticed the Latin American tapas place had closed and was being replaced by another upscale Southern food restaurant. Across from the market I saw the French crepe place had morphed into a soul fusion cafe.

The farmer's market at the Grand Lake/Lakeshore Splashpad Park had several stands brimming over with green pint baskets of fresh and succulent okra, a staple of southern cooking, as well as in Indian and other Southeast Asian cuisines. But I also saw a basket full of paw paws, a fruit much like the cherimoya or custard apple that ranges through the south to parts of the Midwest. I have read of paw paws in food histories as well as seen fiction and non-fiction references but it was my first time face to fruit. These specimens (sorry I didn't take a photo) were the size and shape of small russet potatoes with a greenish yellow skin turning brown in spots. It was almost funny with stands full of such exotica as homemade goat cheese, Afghan delicacies, and variety after variety of Asian greens, that it was the humble paw paw that captured my imagination.

It also got me thinking about Oakland and it's ties to the American South. I don't want to get too scholarly here (nor do too much research), but it was the Depression and WWII war-effort employment that brought African-Americans and others from the South to Oakland. The powers that be were aghast at the what this influx of mostly Democrat voters would do to their Republican (and white) bastions of power in the city. One result was a change in the city government in Oakland, with a strong council and city manager and a weak mayor.

There is so much more to say about this topic, but I don't have the inclination to do the research right now. In the meantime, please enjoy my okra with tamarind sauce. The okra came from a Central Valley farm stand my husband stopped by earlier this week. The recipe is more Thai or Indian than Southern, but it was the okra that started me thinking about the debt this city owes its transplanted Southern roots. In a way it fits in with this post, because it owes much to all the different ethnic influences that thrive here in Oakland.

Tamarind Okra
Serves 2

2 Tbs. canola oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 small bird's eye or similar chiles, chopped (seeded if desired)
2-3 cups okra, in 1/2" thick slices
2 tsp. tamarind paste or concentrate
1/2 cup or more water
1 tsp. sugar (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. fish sauce (Thai or Vietnamese style)

Heat oil in a fry or saute pan over medium heat. Saute onion until light brown, add garlic and peppers, saute until garlic is beginning to turn golden. Add okra and saute until okra is beginning to soften. In a separate bowl combine tamarind, water, sugar and fish sauce, stir well to combine, then add to the pan with the okra. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the okra is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. (Add more water if necessary.)

Numi Tea Visit

I recently visited Numi Tea with some friends -- here are a few photos of our experience. The tea garden is an oasis in a busy industrial area literally feet away from Highway 880 in Oakland. It was a great experience.

Here's a link to Numi Tea's main site.

Here's a link to the Tea Garden (cafe).

We tried several different teas and some tea cookies. It was a very pleasant day.

Eat Real

Live in the Bay area or visiting this weekend -- plan to stop by Oakland's Jack London Square (get there by bus, BART or ferry) for the Eat Real Festival. Sample the best of street food, local farmers and even tour the new Blue Bottle coffee roasting plant. More information here.

Can It -- Food Drive at Julie & Julia Movie Opening in Oakland

Alameda County Community Food Bank Food Drive at Piedmont Cinemas for Julie & Julia Opening

The corporate powers behind the new movie Julie & Julia are trying to tie into the blogging phenomenon that shaped the success of Julie Powell's blog and subsequent book about the personal and culinary growth she experienced by cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. (There is a natural synergy, it shows they are social media savvy and it helps create a lot of buzz for them. Oh, and it's probably a heck of a lot cheaper than traditional advertising.

They really needn't bother, the blogging and food world (even those with issues about Powell and/or the blog and/or the book) have done it on their own -- everything from Julie/Julia commemorative dinners and dinner parties to philosophical discussions about the place of Julia Child and/or Julie Powell in today's food world. (FYI -- the link is to Julie's current blog, the one the book is based on seems near on to impossible to find now -- if you know the link, please leave a comment below.) The movie is also based on the excellent memoir of Child's years in France, My Life in France.

My contribution to all this hoopla was very personal. The joy of cooking both Julia and Julie experienced left me wondering about those for whom eating is more of an elemental existence and for whom hunger is an unfortunate fact of life. I couldn't believe that with all the corporate, blogging and other tie-ins, I had not seen anything like this. I did what I had to do. I emailed. I emailed the food bank, I emailed local theaters and then I followed up. In the end, the movie theater and the food bank worked it out and there will be a barrel for collecting non-perishable food at the Piedmont Cinemas for the Julie & Julia August 7th opening and for the week beyond.

It would have been nice to try to get more of a fundraiser and a wider campaign, but I'm happy that at least the people going in and out of that one theater in Oakland CA will see the barrel, maybe make a donation, and become more aware of the growing hunger in our communities even while they celebrate the unique accomplishments of Julie & Julia.

I encourage you to donate food or cash equivalent to the cost of your movie ticket to your local food bank. (You can find your local agency here.) Thanks.

About the photo: donations from the barrels at Alameda County Community Food Bank, circa 2/2006

I haven't written much about the wondrous Julia Child, but do here.

I Scream for (Free) Ice Cream

Here's a shameless plug straight from the company's email:

Free Ciao Bella Gelato now through Friday at various Bay area locations, including two in Oakland. Locations are here. Not in the San Francisco Bay area? Various other sampling spots in the Northeast are also listed.

Ciao Bella is looking to hand out a million single serve samples of their newest flavors of gelato and sorbet -- blood orange sorbet, mango sorbet, lemon sorbet, Tahitian vanilla gelato, or chocolate hazelnut gelato. Help them reach their goal.

Enjoy!

Korean on a Plate and From the Store -- Spicy Chicken, Potato and Spinach Stew

To say I enjoy exploring ethnic markets is a serious understatement. I love to spelunk the racks of unfamiliar spices, marvel at the vaguely other-worldly produce, climb over piles of not-quite-sure-how-you-use-it cookware and generally try to stuff myself with the food and experiences of another country's cuisine. An ethnic cookbook is always a good guide, especially if there are phonetic or foreign language spellings I can show a helpful clerk. An even better guide is a native eater and cook to help translate the experience for me, recommend products and brands and share recipes.

A few months ago I was driving down Telegraph Avenue in Oakland CA headed somewhere else (I think I was headed toward Whole Foods) when I spotted Koreana Plaza. I made a quick u-turn, parked and entered ethnic market nirvana. The first impression was the scent of sesame oil, garlic and soy. It was heavenly. Then I noticed the aisles of hot and cold prepared foods, a bakery counter, fish market, produce store, frozen delicacies and lots and lots of dried and canned Korean, Japanese and Chinese speciality products were there. There was even a whole aisle of red pepper paste, red pepper flakes, ground red pepper, red pepper threads and other incendiary versions of that spicy capsicum. (I may have been hallucinating because the next time I went it really wasn't a whole aisle.) Plus an entire, separate building of Korean house and kitchen wares.

I was shopping for a Super Bowl party and quickly abandoned my vague plans of fresh veggies and dips for a Korean feast. I bought everything from the ready-to-eat counter. To be honest I wasn't really sure what I was buying but I just dug right in for the adventure. The hit of the appetizers I set out was with the crab pancakes or fritters you see in the photo above.

While I've always enjoyed Korean food, I've never really tried to cook it and didn't even own a dedicated cookbook on the cuisine (quite a feat when you have as many cookbooks as I do). I began some research and have begun exploring more of the store and cuisine. A Korean friend while not exactly dismissive of the store tells me if I think Koreana Plaza is amazing I should see the Korean grocery stores in Los Angeles. My response to her -- when can we go?

A Korean Feast

For the joint birthdays of one of our best friends who is like an aunt to our sons and our youngest son we had a Korean feast. It was a weekday and I didn't have much time so I picked up the appetizers and all the banchan (sometimes spelled panchan), or little side dishes or salads, pre-made at Koreana Plaza. These included a seaweed salad, seasoned black beans, a mung bean sprouts dish, pickled radish, napa cabbage kimchi, Japanese cucumber kimchi, pickled garlic, garlic stem kimchi and more. For appetizers I picked up a kind of Korean sushi made with fish cakes and the little crab crepes that were a hit at the Super Bowl party. I also made some fresh soy beans to munch on and had some Japanese rice crackers.

To serve with all those side dishes, I grilled the pre-marinated beef short ribs ($5.99 a pound) I had gotten from Koreana Plaza. They were juicy, tasty and irresistible. I also made a vegetable and fresh rice noodle dish, white rice, cucumber salad (which I kept on the bland side for those who don't relish setting their palette on fire with all the red pepper taste I had going in the meal) and a Korean-inspired Spicy Chicken, Potato and Spinach Stew.

While I had green tea with roasted barley (a Korean standby), the adults stuck to red wine or sake, the kids grape or mango juice.

Here's the recipe for the stew. Watch for more Korean-inspired food as I continue exploring Koreana Plaza and other Korean resources in the San Francisco Bay area.

Spicy Chicken, Potato and Spinach Stew

Serves Six

This recipe was inspired by the recipe for Stewed Chicken With Potatoes in Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother's Korean Kitchen by Jenny Kwak. My copy of the book was borrowed from the Oakland (CA) Public Library. Exploring the ethnic cookbooks from the library has always been one of my favorite ways to get up to plan my "trip" to a new cuisine.

This stew is spicy, true, but not the burn your lips and leave you sputtering kind of spicy. The broth kind of excites the taste buds and gives a gentle burn in the back of throat. Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your taste. The combination of pepper, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds and soy sauce is unbeatable. This makes a very soupy stew. Serve it in a bowl, with rice if you would like.

2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed or minced
3-4 pounds chicken thighs on the bone
6 large new red potatoes, sliced into 1/2-inch slices
4 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup of soy sauce (low sodium okay)
2 tablespoons of sake (Japanese rice wine), Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon of Asian sesame oil
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of water (or more)
2 bunches (about 1 1/2 pounds) of spinach, cleaned, stemmed and roughly chopped
Salt if needed
4 whole green onions (scallions), cleaned, roots cut off and sliced into 1" lengths (including greens)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Put the cooking oil in a large, deep skillet or in a large soup pot. Heat to medium high and add onions and saute until golden. Add garlic and saute until lightly brown. Add chicken, skin side down. Brown top and bottom. (Work in batches if needed). Add potatoes, red pepper flakes, sugar, soy sauce, wine and sesame oil. Mix well. Saute for a minute or two to blend flavors. Add water, stir well to combine. Cover and cook about 20-30 minutes over a medium heat.

Periodically check and add more water if needed. When the chicken is almost cooked through and the potatoes are tender, stir in the spinach. Cover and cook until the chicken and spinach are done, then taste and correct the seasoning with the salt if needed. Add in the sliced green onions. Stir well and cook until the onions are wilted, (about 2-3 minutes). Remove stew from the heat and transfer to a serving bowl if desired. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

-----------------------

By the way, I started preparing this whole meal at 4:30 and was ready for company at 6:30, mostly thanks to the prepared foods I picked up at Koreana Plaza. In addition to the Oakland location, the store has another location outside Sacramento, CA. Check the website for more info.

Sign Up Now for Oakand Asian Cooking Classes

Last year I had the extraordinary chance to participate in a remarkable series of cooking classes at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC) in downtown Oakland.

Program director April Kim has put together this year's line up of classes focusing on fresh, seasonal traditional dishes of Oakland's Asian communities. The classes promise to be just as rewarding (and tasty.)

To register, please call April Kim (510) 637- 0462. To see my photos, write ups and slide shows from last year's classes, click here.

Here's the info from the OACC:

"This series of eight Asian culinary workshops will focus on traditional food culture driven by seasonal and local ingredients. The aim of these workshops is to keep traditional culinary practice and food culture alive and thriving, focusing on the oral passing of knowledge and personal story telling; fostering the kind of dialogue that only happens in the kitchen. Each workshop will be followed by lunch provided by OACC and featuring the freshly made seasonal dish."

The OACC is asking for a $5-$30 donation per class to cover the cost of the food and materials, but will offer scholarships if needed. Registration is limited to 15 participants per workshop, and is on a first come first served basis.

The Workshops:

May 2, 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Fresh Bamboo Soup and Watercress Salad, Laos, by Sokham Senthavilay (She is shown in the photo above teaching last year's class on larb, green papaya salad and sticky rice.)

May 16, 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Banh Xeo and Spring Herbs, Vietnam, by Thy Tran of the Asian Culinary Forum and Wanderingspoon.com

June 6, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Demystifying Chinese Greens, China, by Linh Phu, former Chef at Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco. Please note that this workshop will begin in the grocery stores of Oakland Chinatown to see and talk about the greens and then move to the OACC kitchen. Limited to 10 participants.

July 18, 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Riot of Summer Vegetables and Korean Sides, Korea, by Cecilia Hae Jin Lee, author of Eating Korean

July 25, 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Green Curry from Scratch, Thailand, Chat Mingkwan, author of The Best of Regional Thai Cuisine and Buddha’s Table-Thai Vegetarian

More workshops will be scheduled in the fall and winter.

FYI: The OACC also sponsors a regular series of fruit and vegetable carving classes. For more information on those and other OACC classes, please click here.

UPDATE: Some of the classes have been so popular, extra sessions have been added. Contact April for more info or to get on the mailing list for the next series.

Local Cake, Well, Takes the Cake!

The owner of my local bakery, Cheryl Lew of Montclair Baking, took home a $10,000 prize for winning the Food Network Challenge for Spooky and Scary Cakes. I stopped by her bakery today hoping for a peek at her prize winning Haunted Harbor Cake. But not a crumb of the prize winner was in evidence.

I've long admired her cakes which not only look good but taste great. So the visit wouldn't be a total loss, I did have a berry scone, the kind that is all crunchy with sugar on top.

I do wonder if all this emphasis on elaborately decorated cakes is bad for us. Not just the sugar issue, but to me it kind of feels a bit like our society's current emphasis on thinness and beauty. These kinds of role models set up impossible standards for those of us who are not genetically blessed while diminishing the value of what's inside. Or in terms of cake, how it looks versus how it tastes. There are those of us who can bake a delicious cake but achieving a smooth crumb coat, never mind sugar roses, is beyond our ability or time constraints.

In terms of the Food Network cake challenge, what was inside was plain, dense, sponge cake. These cakes are made for viewing, not eating. (A beauty pageant for pastry? As long as my cupcakes don't have to measure up, I can live with it, I guess.)

In the case of the very talented Cheryl Lew, I can speak from happy experience that her cakes are beautiful inside and out.

http://www.montclairbaking.com

To see the schedule for the spooky cake challenge, go to
http://www.foodnetwork.com
and click on TV and then look for the episode and schedule.