we DO cook.

i am deeply invested in creating a kitchen culture in america ... supporting the mama, the creator of the home & family, the woman who some how finds a way to keep it going with kids, jobs, husbands, families etc... AND has food in the kitchen at any given time.... the concept is not to have dinner ready at 5 or get up at the crack of dawn to make crepes a la whatever with a shiso leaf & some fig compote.... the deeper need here is to be fed.

we are hungry.

actually, we are starving.

and....we all have different needs. lets start cooking food that we have all day long .... on the table...a beautiful cloth over it... food that lasts a day or 2. stop freezing in plastic. is anything in the freezer calling your name? are you just dying to get in there and defrost that incredible something? we want to eat food. we yearn to be creative and have time.. have time.. have time... some how other cultures have time.. make the time.. create the time... have the support... they have something we do not have... they have a CULTURE. it's embedded in how they live. i am creating this with renaissance mamas. once you see, realize, cook, do it.. you will never go back. it's sharing wisdom, learning easy ways to create it, make it happen within your lifestyle....

so.. with all this said.. i have been meaning to post this article that i somehow got through without turning into the element of fire....did you see it in the new york times sunday magazine on august 2? it's my responsibilty to post it here because i am the antithesis of this article and I BELIEVE WE CAN COOK alive, local FOOD and i will continue my mission one wooden spoon at a time until i am in your kitchen supporting you and creating this reality....see you in the kitchenxxx

new year.

wow. i missed you.... there have been some holidays since we shared a fig cake...l'shanah tovah! which means.. happy new year..... these days from the evening of friday, september 18th to monday, september 28th are some sacred days of the year (jewish, buddhist, beautiful, all the single ladies.. whoever you are i say get on board) this is the time of the year when you reflect on last year, comb the natty dreads and do a deep edit on what you did not like in the year then creating what you want into this year...we do a bit of fasting, praying & rocking out on sealing this into the torah which could also be your journal..... i do this checking in ritual (not the fasting part) on the other new year & on my birthday... reflecting is powerful and relevent as it keeps us connected to our story... ourselves, our family, our bodies and what we want to continue to create in our lives.

we also just passed through our autumn equinox... which means lots and lots of apples, pomegranates, butternut squash, and did i say apples? the apples dipped in honey bring in the sweet of this new year, new time, new fall....to taste the sweet & make it palpable, genuine & awake in each cell. that is what food does... it makes everything alive... as that is how we remain alive....sometimes the obvious can sound like poetry....sometimes.....see you in the new yearxxx

fig cake.

black mission figs....heat oven to 350...cut 10 figs in 1/2...work it.

organic unsalted butter...4 tablespoons melted...

add 1/2 cup brown sugar & 2 tbs. honey or agave....stir sauce in sauce pan...

butter 9" cake pan, line with natural parchment paper, butter all over

(paper and sides of pan), pour sauce in pan

20 cut figs...

ocean arranging figs on sauce..

what you will need:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup cane sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large brown eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

8 tablespoons of butter

in a medium bowl...whisk together all the dry: flour, powder, salt

in kitchen-aid or another bowl with electric mixer...beat butter, sugar,

vanilla until light in color & texture (almost whipped like) for baout 2-3 minutes...

add eggs - one at a time on low...then add dry ingredients in 3 parts..

adding milk 2 times in there too.. so after eggs are well mixed...

add some dry and some milk... mix... do it again and again...

spoon batter over figs evenly...bake for about 45 - 55 minutes..cool in pan for about 50 minutes....

hello september...yep. it's the beginning of so many things...(with the heat so thick & these southern california days filled with smoke day after day it feels like a never ending story over here with a bit of molasses on top)...with that said...fall is on it's way making a slow, back stage enterance with butternut squash & cool evenings here and there. and yes...there will be cashmere...wooly slippers (even here in los angeles...it does get cold...no, really, it does..) and there will be those warming foods that only serve to nourish every single cell in our hungry bodies...so much to look forward to and with that said...so much still growing (to share) before our favorite summer fruits take their last bow. here is another sweet on that path...an upside-down fig cake. i found this in a beautiful book that celebrates local farms & cooking: outstanding in the field. i feel a kindred connection to what jim is doing out in the field...bringing it from the farm to the table as i bring it from the farm to the kitchen....ocean helped me with this one as he arranged the cut figs onto the brown sugar, butter, agave sauce. we did a few substitutions ... we did agave intead of honey just because. oh and i used some earth balance with butter b/c i ran out! it turned out so good. it's like a pinapple cake... better with figs? let me know....see you in the kitchenxxx

zucchini & mint soup.

this is such a perfect august soup... just cool enough for the last of the hot summer days & a sweet not so distant welcome into fall...zucchini are so abundant right now and mint..even the handful that this requires adds such a fancy tea time feeling...i made this soup 3 times this week..with a renaissance mama, as a thank you gift & for my family...it's simple on the prep and if you are home for about 45 minutes it can cook down into the broth, then you wait for it to cool and puree. i have sipped it warm and cold. both ways are so good. here is the recipe. look forward to hearing what you think....see you in the kitchenxxx

your a peach. (not for long)

we have a few more weeks before all the stone fruit take a deep rest until next summer... so to kick off the good-bye celebration i wanted to share this honey caramel peach pie... oh yeah, you feel it...one word: divine (and if there was another word allowed it would be oh so sweet)...from 'X'ing the peaches tooshies to putting them in boiling water for a minute to ice cubes then to waxing their thin fuzzy skins off...(people pay a lot of money for this same kind of thing to happen to them with fancier words for the procedures) they call this blanching in the recipe....it could have also passed as korean spa for peaches.....anyway, analogies aside...then you slice all 3 lb. of them (about 7) & they hang out together in a bowl of corn starch, lemon juice, cinnamon, flour & salt....you can find the entire recipe here. it comes out of gourmet magazine which is an awesome resource for inspiring & exciting recipes coming out of their test kitchen on a weekly basis. i will be posting a few farewell posts to those gorgeous fruits & veggies that are leaving us in the next few weeks...big love & see you in the kitchenxxx

fishy.

simple, beautiful, not too fishy...i guess you could call it just right. or maybe it's just what the renaissance mama ordered.. well whatever you want to call it.. it's easy & gorge. so get ready to rock this one out on your saute pan. it's sea trout! and it's been on special for the last few weeks at the hollywood market.. and i have been celebrating each time. i start with putting the eye on medium and adding butter (which is going to make it amazing whatever i do) and an herb or two. this first one was probably pretty mellow maybe some parsley & dill... then i wait till the pan heats a bit.. add some citrus juice.. tangerine worked beautifully here.. then i added cut up figs & cherry tomatoes.... put the top on it and let it sit a bit... give them all some time to get to know each other... as they are doing their stare down thing... i pan roast some super thin green beans with a little walnut oil...wait till the pan gets pretty hot (about 4-5 minutes) and add some water, turn it doen to med-low & put the top on slightly so they can steam a bit (about 15-20 minutes with being aware of them every few minutes.. checking in, moving them about etc..) back to the sea trout... turn it over if you want or let it bake in the pan.. either way once it's ready to move on.. i placed it on a bed on paella rice.. added the green beans with a little more walnut oil & voila...the connection between the figs & the tomatoes was almost electric :)

as for the next one...it's the same 'frame' as the first one (meaning all the same steps)... this time with zebra heirloom tomatoes & purple basil.. tomatoes with butter and basil.. stewed for a while with the fish.. oy it was another way to heaven. so light yet substantial. try it and tell me what happens...ps: there were pomegranates at the market today.. i almost fainted.. fall is here and i am going to write about it next..see you in the kitchenxxx

basil ice cream.

any herb with milk, butter, sugar, eggs & whole cream is bound for the up and up. i mean.. how can you go wrong? and....there is something amazing about basil that is just plain ol' fancy pants.. (still on the fancy trip..) and yet grounding in an italian boot with your heels in the soil and you just don't care kind of way. this calls for clear skies and sparkling sun kind of weather...which is what i had the day i experimented with one of my clients ice cream makers... this recipe is originally from gourmet which came to me from a blog called 17 & baking... yep, you got it.. the young ones know how to bake it and make it....put aside....

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup of sugar (in 2 (1/4) batches)

1/4 cup chopped basil

pinch of salt

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup of whole cream

combine basil, milk, 1/4 sugar in medium saucepan...boil for a second

and put on simmer for about 30 minutes...with top half on, half off...

like phantom of the opera.

mix egg yolks with sugar for about a minute

after 30 minute sauce pan cools...blend it. then stir a mellow stream of the

blended mixture into the eggs mixture...mix it a bit then put it back in the sauce pan.

stir it. stir it constantly & consistently until you begin to see this...a film

over your wooden spoon...and yes, stir with a wooden spoon please.

then strain it into a stainless steel bowl in a ice cube bath.

light of a heart found itself here.. i did nothing to induce this perfect image of

how i was feeling :)

once it's cooled... place in ice cream maker (which is completely frozen inside), add whole cream

and churn, churn away! check in with it after about 15 minutes.. then 20.. then 25..

creating the thickness you want... then place in the freezer in glass container until

ready to serve with GOLDEN RASBERRIES... this combo = lethal love.

here it is... another vacation on a spoon. enjoy and let me know how it goes!! see you soonxxx

sweet.

introducing... the first renaissance mama product! there is nothing like a little sprinkle of fancy around the kitchen to not only get inspired but to stay inspired in your kitchen!! it's all about what you have to create beautiful meals....and i love fancy... especially in glass jars on the counter. you can use this lavender sugar for pancakes, tea, coffee, cakes, confections... anything you want to put sugar in and add a little something special. these sweet cuties were inspired (word of that day) by the talk i did at belly sprout last week...christy funk (owner, mama, amazing hostess of fullerton) invited me to her sweet eco baby & mama boutique to share what i am up to with renaissance mamas. it was beautiful to start the conversation there... we sat in a circle & shared about how we 'do it', what our kitchen culture is, how we eat & what it's all about.... cooking for our families and/or wanting that....fighting the food marketers, the convenience stores, the sugar in everything (not this fancy sugar of course), the freezing in plastic etc... searching for a spine in (our lack of a) culture to support living well, eating well & consciously consuming...to create memories from scratch & feed our babes local & alive foods.....and of course i had to bring something fancy... so i did... let's keep talking, cooking & learning from each other...see you soonxxx

black & beautiful.

welcome to the black rasberry... have you ever seen this before? it was a first for me... yes, blackeberries, blueberries, and all the other dark berries out there... but black rasberries?!?! for one thing... you do not want to be the one picking these incredibly delicate honeycomb like art pieces as they grow on stems covered in little sharp thorns...i mean...a ton of thorns.... tiny, prickly, protectors of paws and the like... anyway my sweet farmer jose (the only berry farmer) at south pasadena's market on thursday afternoon had these a month ago & they were to die for... i mean it... that's why i bowed down to his pickers (if that is the right term) and tasted one... i closed my eyes and went to a place only a black rasberry can take you... it was amber love, lavender fields, stained glass sacred, something fierce...there was no baking needed with this little bad boy... just steeping in this rare moment....i needed nothing else but to watch my son's teeth turn blacker and blacker with each one that popped into his sweet black & beautiful mouth. see you soonxxx

great yams.

simply roasted sweet potatoes...i love that you can make a geometric art piece on some parchment paper with olive oil and dill look like a 70's art piece... or at least i think it looks like some trendy architecture piece from eames & wrights time (maybe i have been in the kitchen too long?).. these babies are so easy to make and they can be a sweet addition to any meal (quinoa & lentils OR skirt steak & bhutanese rice)...massage them with love, olive oil (or any oil you like) & sea salt (fleur de sal or kosher salt)....i am into using dill these days....it does not over power the taste & it adds a different flavor to it....i am also on a bit of a mini-mission to make dill a bit more trendy than it's usual stint with salmon & capers...bake on 350 or 400 for about 30 - 40 minutes... start checking them around 25 minutes as everyone's oven is different...and enjoyxxx

heaven.

i LOVE this photo and wanted to share it with you... it gives me that inside smile as it's definitely a piece of my heaven...i have a few clients going away on their summer vacations this week and during our last time in the kitchen we were creating their lists of what to take with them (they are renting homes for a week or two)... we started with glass pitchers, big wooden bowl, big all-clad sauce pan, basic pantry list, wooden spoons, bread knife.... and a few more things depending on where they are renting etc...and with all that said...bring your desire to cook with flexibility, humor, & fun.... gather your family around to help bring all the pieces together because love in the food (no matter how it's cooked) is what makes it so good! relax, eat & enjoy...xxx

summer salad.

ok... so much has happened since the last time we shared...for starters.. we are now in august which is a huge shocker in terms of how fast the time is flying..... i mean are you feeling this and yet....there is still time to create something sweet, green & delicious for the liver chi... here is a very mellow arugula & dandelion salad with pistachios & strawberries...the dressing is simple with 3 ingredients...macadamia nut oil or flax seed oil (or both), rice vinegar & a citrus of your choice... i used a juicy tangerine for this one. the sweet of the strawberry inspires the peppery taste of the arugula & the slight bitter love coming from the dandelion. when it's bathed in a simple sweet dressing.. it feels doable, light & perfect for a hot summer day. more to come....and soon tooxxx

sweet chamomile.

this is a simple, fancy, not too sweet but oh so sweet tea cake that once you taste it you can't help but fantasize about earl grey or mango ceylon or oolong or.... and the list of teas this cake could go to the party with is long... and so so good. i found this tear out in my magic box or recipes from a sunday ny times mag, december 17, 2006.... it's a great one to have in your reperoire. a precious & lovely tea cake.

the ingredients are in the pic above & the rest is... oven on 320, toast those almonds in a pan for a bit & then place them in the cake pan. in a food processor grind the tea, blanched whole almonds* (i bruised the skin under my nail ... i guess that's the nail bed? peeling these almonds that i soaked over night.. let's just say it was a labor of love), sugar & a large pinch of salt. if this mixture seems dry... add 1 egg white to form a bit of a paste..other wise add the white at the end of processing. transfer paste to your mixer with a paddle attachment. add 1 yolk & 1 egg .. beat on medium-low for 1 minute. add another egg and beat for another minute. ass the last egg and the lemon zest and beat on medium for about 5 minutes. using just a few stroked fold in cornstarch & baking powder with a runner spatula until mostly combined. pour in melted butter a bit at a time, folding in gently. do not overmix! pur batter into cake pan, bake for about 40 minutes... let cool for about 3 minutes & turn in over on a plate you love...let it fully cool & dust with confectioners' sugar.

enjoyxxx& let me know what you think!

*you can soak almonds over night or for 4-6 hours as it will help get the peel off if you are going this hand peeling route.