cookie monster.

we actually have a lot in common...we both love a good chocolate chip cookie & we love to eat them dipped in organic cream topped 'cow milkies'....we love to be cozy and warm in our bodies whether it be a cashmere cardigan or a blue fur body....and we love to have fun in the kitchen...happy halloweenxxx

persimmons, pumpkins & orange blossom water.

these starfish like lotus flower lily pads floating on the thick river of the orange blossom cake are persimmons....you may have not known that if you cut them on the bias....they give you this gorgeousness. i mean ...can you believe the beauty beaming from this fall fruit? i couldn't stop photographing it as though i have become the persimmon paparatzi (p.p. for short) ok that might be the name of my next book...the funny part here (brace yourself) is i actually never tasted this cake...i baked it for a family and never tried it! the only critic i heard about was the lack of moisture...so maybe you can up the anty on the oil in the recipe. i am on the search for more fuyu persimmon recipes...please share if you know of any and stay tuned for an incredible hachiya persimmon pudding...once those hit the stands at the market. i found this recipe here. if you live in los angeles and find yourself at the hollywood (sunday) or santa monica (wednesday) farmers markets..these fuyu persimmons are from peacock family farms...where you can also pick up eggs, nuts, raisins, the end of the grapes season, cucumbers, eggplant and basil...tell scott & faye i sent you...they will treat you with the renaissance mama love. see you in the kitchenxxx

bring it on: fall.

fall is here.... even in los angeles. it was 93 degrees in my car today & supposedly it was the last hot day....well whatever the weather is saying....in the kitchen: it's definitely fall. i am feeling so lucky, honored & almost a little giddy to see all of these incredible squashes & pumpkins that are making their way to the surface... the colors, varieties, textures are magnificent! we are so lucky...and they are not just for your table decoration! roast those babies... and then go out and get more... keep the cycle going. how do you roast a squash? don't be afraid to ask... you have a lot of company as probably 85 - 90% of us (random guess) do not know how.... so here you go...turn that oven to bake or convection bake to 400 degrees... cut the squash in half...massage with olive oil, herbs if you have some, a bit of coarse salt...place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper and/or a casserole dish (or anything you have that will fit & is oven proof) and back for 40 or so minutes depending on your oven...place flesh down & skin up...it's easier to take the seeds out after the squash has cooked b/c it's so soft...or you can scrape them out before & toast the seeds on a baking sheet....check the squash with a fork...make sure it goes in all the way. i am beyond myself with the white carrots...yep- those are not parsnips....and the persimmons....wow. breathe. take it in. the ones pictured above are called chocolate persimmons as they have a chocolate color inside within their bright orange flesh. they are so good and their seeds are almost prehistoric looking.... i found them at the santa monica farmers market on wednesday mornings by this sweet french woman who has a name i can't recall...they are grown in placer county at penryn orchards..check them out. let me know how the squash goes...see you in the kitchenxxx

more abundance.

i am still steeping in the awwwwe of these pomegranate seeds... i try different farms and they all range in flavor, juice, sweet, sour...i am now just offering these as an addition to any meal on the table...the other night it was lamb with red lentils & rice. i had to share how beautiful they beamed in this torquoise vessel. i can't promise that this is it on the pomegranates...see you in the kitchenxxx (ps: has anyone tried one for the first time or the fortieth? share the love...)

abundance.

i am in deep awe of the pomegranate....abundance, royalty, fertility, unity & eternal life...bring it on. they are something amazing....many of us do not venture beyond the table when it comes to a lot of these fall fruits, root vegetables & squashes...we adorn our home with them and yet we never break it open & use them....get into the renaissance mama spirit...i give you my support...now...getyour bread knife and cut! there is so much to see, take in, be in awe of...you can see their place in the world among the yellowish/creme tissue of the fruit. you get to taste, share, live inside it for the season....i know, i know....it's easier to buy them all packaged and ready to go. i get it and i do that too if i need to. this fall season... open one up...there is no right way when it comes to your first time. your kids will love them & so will the kid in you.... the pomegranates spirit wants to live all over you so wear your paint clothes and go crazy...live with reckless abandon & allow the earth to inspire you...see you in the kitchenxxx

roasted golden beet & pomegranate salad (above)

400 for 40 minutes...cut, quarter & massage beets with olive oil, mint (or any herb...i love dill, rosemary too) peel beets...add pomegranate seeds and some fancy oil or not...i used walnut oil....anything will do b/c the combo is good..so breathe & enjoy the abundancexxx

erev yum.

there is nothing like abundance...especially when you bring it out from the cabinets & let it shine. when it lives inside of you...there is no void. love is this way. it's barefoot and pregnant. it's that sated, grounded, all you want to do is give feeling. it's at the intersection of freedom avenue & amazing boulevard. i live for that corner. a really great short cut to this place can be a warm tea in the palm of my hand. maybe a milky rooibos with agave or an earl grey with a brown sugar cube. no map covers this area. it's an inside job. this holiday feast we shared with new friends had a bit of this feeling plus the bohemian vibe that resonates in our home....it had a depth that only my ancestors could bring inside the cobalt and gold and brisket....reflecting inside every silver bullion spoon....round, warm, familiar. may this feeling be sealed. see you in the kitchenxxx

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