tarot recipes, occupy my soup pot, resistance food

 i know i'm not the only heifer out here who worries about money all the time - heightened by an awareness/guilt that i'm @ LEAST (& i do mean @ least) able to tie a few ends, sometimes for chrissakes/have not cast it all to the wind to move in w/my sistren over by occupy wall street.  & with all that in mind, i have been thirsting, the last few weeks to bring a giant pot of mushroom barley soup down to occupy.

you & i both know that it was inevitable that my rabble-rousing-rebel grrrrrrrrl Infamous S, would be the one to firmly entrench herself in the thick of the wall street protests.  when she asked for my herbal support on consulting w/resident healers, i was only too happy to oblige. i only wish that i had the time/money/resources to fully engage.  so for the last three weeks, literally, i have had to abort my beloved plan to bring a few gallons of bone warming (due to the chicken stock), healing (due to the cordyceps) mushroom barley soup to the protesters. this soup has really special meaning, as it is sacred to the tarot card 5/pentacles, & as far as i'm concerned, 5/pentacles is the state that the country is in right now.  when you read the meaning below, i am 1000% sure that you will concur.

with all of that in mind, i am also working on a tarot deck with healing recipes that relate to each card, as i might have mentioned in my 'word, rock, sword' post.

so in honor of the adjustments that we all must make to accommodate the earth plane's fluctuations, i am debuting "The Urban Tarot & Recipe Book" here.  (working title - feedback???)

5/pentacles: 
worry. insecurity, pressure, destitution, adversity, discomfort. physical concern; changing circumstances. (exists as a barrier to the 6 of pentacles/success) can you make something out of nothing? how will you use the lean times? as obstacle: you have to make a change but refuse. herb: mugwort (to see clearer physic dreams).
planetary:  mercury in taurus       
lots of times, what has caused these financial problems is a matter of your own emotions/core beliefs – greed will lead to loss, anxiety will lead to error, possessiveness will lead to solitude.  focusing only on the material can make you lose sight of your spiritual development. you can be rich  all you want, but this means nada if you learn nothing.
socially, 5/pentacles can also point to a time of being alone, feeling abandoned, ignored and unwanted. you may be excluded from group events or you are being ostracized by others.  you need support and comfort from those who actually care.  know that the community exists, & ask for help!!!  in the psyche, 5/pentacles points toward difficulty with your relationship to money and material things. if money is the main/only motivating force in life and the gauge by which you judge your worth, the lack of it will 1) make you crazy, & 2) give you a sense of being excluded from the good life. if your financial difficulties are rooted in the loss of a job or an investment gone bad, you may have lost faith in your ability to rebuild. you're going to need to consider your actual financial circumstances but also your attitudes toward money. examine your fears around money and wealth.  ask yourself honestly if one of your core beliefs is anxiety around never having enough, or do you have faith in your ability to manifest what you need to live a prosperous, fulfilled life no matter what your circumstances? now is the time to synthesize the lesson of worry, & create wealth consciousness.  affirmations are extremely powerful here.  the element of writing/the spoken word is ruled by air.  but your body (earth) is the instrument that brings the magic to life.  use the lean times well, & you will gain a lifetime's worth of skills to create a reality in which you no longer experience lean times @ all!

ps:
years ago, i was down on my luck.  i didn't even know how i was going to pay the rent. (5/pentacles, worry, etc.) i was depressed, but had skills that needed to be used to transmute my circumstances (the mining of talents that 5/pentacles inspires).  blessedly, w/the help of one of the most inspired fly-assed poets (a real one, not an open mike amateur) i have ever known, a grrrrrrrrrrrl whose literary depth makes her appear to float, put out a call to a # of our collective sistren:  we're paraphrasing here, but it was something like - "aiiight alla you sexy-assed witches - come git ya soul cleansed (learn how to read tarot) w/one of the flyest (pun intended) witches i know, stefanie kelly..." (this is a perfect example of the community of assistance that awaits all who are caught up in 5/pents influence) there's no way to describe the honor felt when a luminary calls you out as fierce.  so why try? but lemme tell ya this -  @ first, i didn't know what my student's thoughts were - & for me? it was one of the most transformative experiences of my entire life.  i learned that although i had not sold my soul to the board of ed, that i was a teacher.  & learned that i had something to teach.  the lovely, beaming faces of 10 - 15 of my sistren radiated a brilliance of intent that was contagious, & inspiring.  @ the end, w/so many laughs, prophesies & magic in the mix, my only sadness was that i wouldn't know how to re-create the class should i need to.  probably simultaneous to this thought, 'the mixtress' a grrrrrrrrrrrrl so fly that she should have wings, walked up to me all lovely, glowing, her air sign wit alighting the air around her & handed me a sheaf of papers.  it was the tarot seminar.  she had copied down every single word. (the new skills/wealth that should accompany the successful handling of 5/pentacles energy pattern)

you know my corny ass burst into tears immediately.

p.p.s.  & BTW - do you know that the seminar paid my rent???

that is 5/pentacles.

speaking of which:


no worries wild mushroom soup:

2	Ounces	Dried mushrooms, e.g. porcini, morel, chanterelle, 6 TBSP cordyceps
2	Cups	Warm filtered water
¼	Cup	Brandy
14	Cups	Chicken stock
2	Tbsp	Worcestershire Sauce
1	Cup	Pearled barley
2	Large	Onions, diced (approx 3 cups)
4	Ribs	Celery, diced (approx 2 cups)
1	Lb.	Carrots, diced ( approx 3 cups)
8	Cloves	Garlic, minced
2	Each	Bay leaves
2	Tbsp	Oregano, fresh, chopped
1	Tbsp	Basil, fresh chopped
2	Lb.	Fresh cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
To taste		Salt and white pepper
2	Tbsp	Parsley, fresh chopped

method:
	put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl & cover with the warm water. Let stand for 15 minutes or so to re-hydrate. When hydrated, squeeze out any excess water & place mushrooms in another bowl, rinse them under several changes of cool water to remove any grit. Toss the mushrooms with the brandy, allow to soak for 1 hour. Gently turn and mix the mushrooms & brandy several times to evenly soak. Once the dried mushrooms are hydrated, line a sieve with a coffee filter or paper towel. Strain the mushroom water into another bowl to separate any grit.
	while dried mushrooms are soaking, add the chicken stock to a large stockpot &  add the Worcestershire Sauce & bring to a boil covered.  add the barley. continue to boil for 30 minutes over medium heat covered.
	add strained mushroom water to the soup.  add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, & basil, bring back to a boil, reduce  heat, & continue to simmer for 20 minutes over medium heat covered. add the sliced fresh mushrooms, stir well, & continue to simmer for 15 minutes covered.
	chop wild mushrooms, add them to the soup with the brandy, the 6 TBSP cordyceps & simmer another 5 minutes. (a brief word on cordyceps - chinese superfood.  amazing for lung capacity, energy, general healing - great for winter!)
	season to taste with sea salt & white pepper, then garnish with the chopped parsley. if i am successful in my attempts to feed some part of occupy wall street, you'll be the first to know, friends...  (pics, too!) thank you for your time!

kitchen reminiscences, words*rock* sword, astrological foods, sisterhood ad infinitum!

yesterday, i was in the middle of catering the word rock sword music/women's festival which took place in various parts of the city, when food network caught my eye:  there on the screen was my old boss from 9jones.  9jones was a very slick 2 - 3 star on... you guessed it, jones street in the west village - the establishment had more family atmosphere than a little bit, & the food, if i may say so myself, was superlative.  the original chef, a woman, had crafted an elegant menu full of unexpected treats:  such as grilled lamb chops w/a verbena glaze.  having now moved on to greener pastures, the new chef needed to hire an entirely new staff.  my first kitchen idol, the only other fly-assed black grrrrrrrrrrrrrrl chef i knew of in ny, & something of a mentor to me had invited me by way of her boyfriend, the aforementioned new sheriff in town.  she wasn't personally working there, but he was.  @ the time, i was still over @ aqua grill getting my life threatened by that prick of a chef.   when the sous-chef @ aqua grill shared w/me his fond memories, post my latest verbal beat-down ("shut the fuck up, & gimme my mushroom emulsion, you goddamn idiot!") of a chef & sous chef who used to, on the daily, enter the walk-in fridge, & beat each other to a bloody pulp before the shift, ("oh, he's not so bad, you should have worked w/my old boss,  he used to"...)  i couldn't take the testosterone.  the chef from 9jones, whom i'll call mr. nosmo, plucked me out of aqua grill in, according to mr. nosmo, one chef-to-chef convo - "are you done w/her yet?"
"...not sure..."  mused the prick from aqua.
"well if you are, lemme know.  i'll take her."

talk about from the frying pan into the fire...

in one of the more epic of our disagreements, i was trying to explain to him that taking 24 oz steaks out of a 700 degree pizza oven (the flames were two feet high) w/a pair of tongs was too much action for my small wrists. he insisted that i 'just didn't want to listen' - & this was true b/c he was dead wrong - & that i needed to 'try following directions once in a while' @ which point i said, 'ok, fuck it. i'll do it your way.'

resolute, i started the shift, & was even starting to think that the tong method wasn't so bad until, trying to gain leverage & hold the metal plate firmly, the tong slipped & the oil & meat hit my arm w/a sickening sizzle. the waves of pain were an acid trip of agony. & it kept going on. my vision spotted. chef nosmo avoided my gaze, as i glared @ him in a withering fury. & continued to work, demanding a bucket of icewater & a dram of lavender essential oil from the aromatherapist down the block which still, thankfully, was open.

so there we were - a furious grill grrrrrrrrrrrl, & a guilt ridden chef in denial. shortly after, he left the restaurant amid much cigar smoke & contention around the amount of "completely brown plates" that he brought to the menu. those veteran staff members who'd witnessed the restaurants evolution liked some things about his menu but found it sadly lacking in color. i remained & ultimately became sous-chef until the establishment closed its doors a while later. imagine my surprise, then, to find him up against no less than an african grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl chef, in Chopped!!!

what perfect karma, i thought,whether he wins or looses, that he could get whipped by a black grrrrrl - in the house that mario batali (our lateral competition in the west village, who, w/his offering Home, was sometimes superlative, & sometimes awash in sandy spinach gnocchi,) built.  LMBAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

love it.

love it or hate it - chef nosmo gave me a couple of important lessons w/his refusal to be in any way cognizant of my needs/limitations as a worker:
1 - always go w/your first mind:  i knew his method of carrying meat to plate would not work for me.  it was my responsibility to protect myself.
2 - b/c of my burn, & its subsequent healing w/lavender, i was swallowed whole by aromatherapeutic studies, & remain in the belly of the beast to this day - obsessed - not only that, the aromatherapist down the block informed me that robert tisserand, the father of aromatherapy discovered lavender's healing faculties b/c of a - what?  burn. - can you stand it?  it was apparently the first herb that he studied intensely on this level after using it to heal a self-inflicted chemical burn.
3 - working w/women will always be a more nurturing, fulfilling experience than working w/men.

no matter the industry, it is...what it is...

which brings me to one of my most pleasant gigs to date:

a couple of weeks ago, i was contacted by a legendary musician.  born into a musical dynasty, this grrrrrrrrrrrl is a force to be reckoned with, & has her own stunning musical chops.  her name is power.  she emailed me out of the blue w/dreams of a women's festival benefitting mothers all over the world, & i was wit' it, yet mystified @ how i could personally be of service - what could i contribute?  i mean the woman already had mad musicians, writers, poets, dancers & producers under her belt who would beg to work w/her. - maybe she was just being nice, i reasoned.
after my first lukewarm answer to her women's festival missive, she fired back three options for me.  while i mused on these, my homegrrrrrrrrrrrrrl, a master manifester/epic/writer/director, (i mentioned her before - she's the one for whom soul food means sushi)  who does NOT the fuck suffer fools gladly took me into her confidence around career matters:  'what you need to do', she said, 'is write a recipe for every card of the tarot.  that's your next book.' -  after the memoir. after thanking her profusely, i asked my inner self/the deck which card would be the one to start off w/.  it was the star.  open roads, hope, beauty, artistry, innovation, cleansing, healing all are roads ruled by the star.  i started free associating.  still, it took yet another convo w/my magical, tantric, sexxxxxxxxxy editorial assistant to solidify the action:  "stef.  you're gonna do that - whatever that is - the tarot/food joint for the festival.  email her now!"

& that is how my presentation was born!

as usual, i was sure the jig would be up the minute i presented my food (@ the venue, the lovely Pillow Cafe where the black grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl chef was so unbelievably kind & helpful) & everyone discovered the truth:  that i can't really cook.  but what actually happened was astounding:  seeing my struggles w/set up, my fellow sorceress, ally & partner in crime from witches brew stepped into the vortex & just said "no."  she is so fierce.   "nope, you are not serving on shitty paper w/no platters, no you are not giving up a leaf of lettuce until you are set up, & you sho ain't giving out that amount of food.  profit margin, anyone???"  she jetted BACK HOME, y'all, to pick up anything i might need to make this an actual catered event as opposed to the zoo that was being fashioned from my lack of preparedness.

talk about the angels in your life!!!

so there was that tear inducing sisterhood, along w/my 'manuscript doula', who showed up to eat & ki-ki, but ended up acting as waitstaff, my grrrrrrrrrrrrrl who is the international songstress a sound healer in & of herself, who had performed the night before for the festival, & was acting as fundraiser/producer/female preacher (yes, as in lyn collins) aggressively collecting tips for my jar.

when i looked into the audience, & saw all of the gleaming beautiful faces, i was brought to a point earlier in the day, when through my stress, i realized that i would be cooking for/presenting to some of the grrrrrrrrrrrrrrls i have loved the most ever, i felt a calm that has been unmatched on almost any 'job'.

sisterhood, B. the blood that runs through the veins.

what a ball we had, & here are the recipes:

Menu to access the properties/qualities of the Star/Aquarius:

seared* ceviche w/watercress:

1 # pink snapper, (yes, pink snapper, y'all.) filleted
1 tsp. crushed garlic
3 TBSP. lemon juice
sea salt, cracked pepper
1 tsp. fish sauce

marinate the filleted pink snapper (love saying/writing that) w/all ingredients for up to 2 hours.  in a smoking pan sear onlt the skin side till crispy.  serve rough chopped atop 2 bunches cleaned, torn watercress tossed w/:
2 TBSP garlic
1 minced shallot
lem j to taste - about 1 tsp. or more
1 tsp. yuzu juice
2 TBSP shoyu
olive oil to coat the leaves, about 2 TBSP

you will not be sorry.

*now my original plan was to do a classic raw ceviche - but i didn't feel that it would travel the way i wanted it to, ( a 45 min. cab ride, that is) hence the new title of the dish:  seared ceviche...

watermelon, heirloom tomato cucumber salad w/lemongrass vinaigrette

 word to the wise - actually ended up switching the vinaigrettes on this one - it ended up going on the tuna nicoise but here goes:
2 whole small watermelons medium dice, about 1/2 inch cubed
3 english cucumbers no need to peel these the skin is super thin & good for you medium dice, about 1/2 inch
2 8 oz. pkgs cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

this worked extremely well simply tossed together, & served in small cups

seared tuna nicoise w/yuzu wasabi foam  


for this, actually i used

1 # each of tuna, yellowtail (hamachi, a sushi cut), & bluefish.

marinate these in a 1/2 & 1/2 mixture of soy sauce & yuzu juice.  this is ponzu.
sear these in a smoking hot skillet w/either grapeseed or sesame oil or a touch of both. cut into cubes.  set aside.
3 bunches romaine lettuce, shredded, tossed w/
3 TBSP rice wine vinegar (preferably japanese, & brown rice)
3TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP grated ginger
2TBSP crushed garlic
3 TBSP thai green curry paste - (yes yes y'all.  LOTS of grated fresh lemongrass in that mixture - don't be a fool!)
olive oil to taste, about 3 - 4 oz.
 2 # baby yukons, parboiled in salty water then baked for 45 min - 1 hr. ina 375 degree oven w.roast garlic & 3 TBSP butter
4 ears corn, boiled for 1 - 2 min, iced, then cut off the cob

haricot vert, trimmed, parboiled 1 - 2 min & shocked in ice water
crumbled feta to taste
whisk everything except the vegetables together.  group each veg together & place on top of the lettuce.  pour dressing over all & garnish w/the yuzu cream/foam:

2 TBSP. yuzu juice
1 pt. heavy cream
3 TBSP. wasabi powder or freshly grated - if powder, dissolved in about 3 TBSP of the cream first
1 tsp. soy sauce
in a blender or  food processor whip the cream to stiff. fold in all other ingredients, whip to stiff peaks. dot the salad w/the foam right before serving.



thai guacamole served w/chips

6 avocados mashed
6 cloves garlic
2 TBSP thai green curry
couple dashes fish sauce
lem j to taste
1 tomato, pureed
mix together & serve w/corn chips

5 - bruschetta checca (mozz tom & basil)
i did these tiny b/c i was serving as a passed appetizer - i had lovely beautiful Fairway market slice 3 big baguettes into tiny rounds on their slicer - perfection!!!
then i tossed them w/melted 1/4 # butter, 6 TBSP olive oil, 3 TBSP crushed garlic, lots of dried parsley & toasted them for some time - 15 - 20 min in an oven @ 375.


on top of these were tossed


about 15 tomatoes nice ripe romas, or heirlooms in a medium, (nuccomme says small) dice marinated for 1 - 6 hours in 10 cloves SLICED fresh garlic,
1 large or 2 small bunches basil, rinsed in 3 changes of water & sliced
olive oil to glaze
sea salt & pepper

this last is a dessert that was left out as per necessity - (read budget)


so i'll do it next time w/pics -

lemon bars w/lavender whipped cream


- aquarius-y?  i think so.  now our time apart has not been wasted friends - within the next few, i will be able to provide y'all w/a lot more recipes, via excerpts from projects that i am working on now, like other cookbooks, memoirs & shit - oh!  one of which is the zodiacal/tarot based cookbook that this was all a dry run for.
brief explanation:  when we need a certain astrological influence in our lives, it's all well & good to ritualize the ingestion of that need w/a candle or some oil, right? we've all heard of those methods - however it brings things to a whole new energetic level to actually ingest the energetics of a star sign.


now, you may be asking yourself, why in hell would i need to do some stupid-assed shit like that?


& now i shall unveil why.  each one of us, is born w/our jupiter in a certain sign.  this is the key to our luck.  you may be a virgo, say.  so you act like one - exacting, detail oriented, antisocial.  but your jupiter may be in, say, sag! so all your life you have been doing yourself a disservice, hanging out w/only earth/& or water signs, never going to parties.  spending your weekends w/your nose buried in a book... & wondering where your good luck is.  awww!!!
& all that time, in order to access the luck of the irish, all you ever had to do was hang out w/sag (& this is not hard) & adopt some of that freewheeling philosophy as your own.  the new cookbook takes things to another level.  each of the signs of the zodiac has a cell salt sacred to that sign, & foods that help the person embody the vibration of that sign.
lucky sign + lucky foods =luck!

if you want to know your jupiter sign & attendant lucky foods, let me know. 


happy (belated) equinox.  all the best.


thank you for your time!

salty. on eating words, revolutionary foods, redemption, & REAL summer pasta salads

it's gonna take a miracle to get through all the recipes that i owe you for these past few, but here goes:

upon review, i noticed that within various posts, i promised readers some recipes, then went off on a tangent & forgot to post the recipes; & since the eating of words/redemption is the theme of this post, then whatever i have missed over the last few weeks shall be included among the new recipes posted.

ok so @ the cafe @ which i guest cheffed for some weeks in may/june, i did all this talking about an over-salted  falafel encrusted salmon, right?   & here it is, along w/an analysis on why the over-salting occurred:

to serve 6:

• 1 large cucumber, (english are best for this:  can be peeled or not, & are longer that US cukes, also, unwaxed) peeled, seeded and thinly sliced or cut into triangles

• 3 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, (or roma, or heirloom tomatoes) cut into cubes or triangles if you feel super fancy
• 3# salmon filets - (wild caught is best) seasoned & set aside
• 2 -3 teaspoons vegetable oil

Falafel Crust

• 1 cup cooked drained chickpeas
• 1/2 medium russet potato, peeled and finely chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped leeks or 1/2 cup green onion
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces
• 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and black pepper

Hummus

• 1 cup cooked drained chickpeas
• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 -3 garlic cloves, peeled

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar 
• 1/3 cup olive oil

1. For the falafel crust, combine the chickpeas, potato, parsley, leek and/or green onions and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped and well mixed. Add the bread crumbs, coriander and cumin and pulse to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. For the hummus, wipe out the food processor bowl. Add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Process until smooth, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the hummus to a bowl, cover and chill until needed.
3. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cucumber and tomato and toss well. Chill until needed.
4. Preheat the broiler and set the oven rack 4 to 6 inches below the element. Season the salmon fillet pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy ovenproof skillet, preferably nonstick. When hot, add the salmon and sear until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Spread the top of each fillet piece with some of the falafel crust mixture, transfer the skillet to the oven and broil the salmon until the crust is bubbly and the salmon is cooked to taste, about 2 minutes for medium or 3 to 4 minutes for well done. (If the crust is browned before the salmon is cooked, turn off the broiler, close the oven door and let the salmon sit for a minute or two to continue cooking.).
5. To serve, spoon some of the hummus onto the center of individual plates and spoon the tomato and cucumber salad around. Set the salmon pieces on the hummus and serve right away.

over-salting deconstructed:

i wanted to revisit one of my old stomping grounds for the purposes of nostalgia.  so i decided to hit chinatown to shop, as i haven't done since '95.  i should have taken it as a sign that i stopped into a restaurant on canal (what was i thinking???) & had about the worst chinese meal i have ever, EVER suffered through.  all the most disgusting elements were in play:  rubbery, greasy squid, a rice so bad that it felt/smelled/tasted straight evil.  & no dipping sauce!?!  i know enough about chinatown to comment with authority that the myth of asian politeness is just that w/a healthy dose of pure romanticism - but the service was ominous.  i don't know why i continued my journey, but i did.  to the detriment of my pockets, fish & sanity...
when i hit my favorite old market on canal & mott, i was filled to brimming eyelids with remembrance of my early days of hustling as a young young chef upon my return to NY, newly divorced (we'll get into that later) & only 23!  how much fun is that.  EVERYTHING was just as reasonable as i remembered;  though not as vibrant, admittedly.  i picked out the finest specimens available - those dear sweeties even packed all my fish with ice - & pressed on.  but when i got to the 'lem  (been trying to re-christen harlem as the 'lem for years... you don't think that's as wack as all my friends do, do you???) & unwrapped my goodies, they were... icky.  the only way to describe them.  they smelled fresh, but the colors were dull, & the salmon, upon closer inspection, was soft.  not firm @ all.  so i went into emergency mode, & brined (see march, i believe, for brining) the salmon, then salted & iced the shellfish (shrimp, & scallops).  i was so paranoid that i let the salmon sit waaaaaaay too long in the brine, & so the flavor was then described as  'punishing'.  so i must make this one again, then provide pictures.  & i send a mental note of thanks to my chinatown comrades, b/c that mis-step led to one of the most pleasurable crow-eating contests of my entire life:

rejoined park slope food coop, y'all.  first of all it is an essential blueprint for anyone who entertains thoughts of starting one anywhere in the world.  & secondly, as much as i love whole foods/fairway, i just couldn't let another one of my entire paychecks go through the grinder like that, y'all.  just...couldn't do it, B.  so a friend was like, 'call & see if you are still a member.'  & when i protested 'from '95???'  my friend was still like 'check & see'...  i decided to put off procrastinating & call - b/c there were no more spaces for orientation, & b/c the new member fee of $125 was off-putting to say the least, on a lark, i said, 'just checking - i was a member there in '95-96, & was just wondering...'  well slap my face, y'all.  within a few minutes, i was a member again, with instructions to bring id & a piece of mail to the office, next time i showed up in their neck of the woods.

we're back together.  & it feels so right!!!

it's been all about knowing looks, winks, & triumphant nudges as the community that makes up the coop (happily more multi-culti than EVAH) knows good & kot-dayum well that they/we are doing the best we can for our bodies, wallets, families health & for the small price of 2hrs. & 45 min of service every month.  while checking out, the fellow shopper/owner/worker who was helping me (& who i discovered was traveling to the coop from 190th @ one point - soldier! - said, as giddy as i was,  'you know this WOULD have cost 2X as much anywhere else, right?'  lol!)

if that's not revolutionary food, then i don't know what is. 

so when i do the salmon again, friends, it WILL be w/wild alaskan, (fresh frozen - you DO know that all of that beautifully displayed fish @ your fave gourmet market has necessarily been previously frozen, right?) to be used @ my convenience, & with the confidence that comes w/intimate knowledge of your quality product.

yes.  chile.

now let's not get ahead of ourselves;  my plans for the ultimate coop uptown are still inching along - in fact every time i go to PSFC, the need for one closer to where i live becomes more pronounced.

talk about momentum:  on my way to a catering gig in bklyn, i was approached by an adorable grrrrl - i'll call her T, who raced up out of nowhere & said that she knew someone who needed a caterer for his spiritual circles.  i said, no problem.  three weeks later, having been asked to serve a light, informal vegetarian menu, i offered this:

theosophical society menu:


bean & cheese tacos

a simple affair:

corn tacos
1# pinto beans , dry
1 gallon water
3TBSP salt
butter to taste
2# roma tomatoes or heirloom, diced
4 cloves fresh garlic, pulverized

fresh parsley, cilantro optional in a fine dice nevertheless
sea salt & pepper
olive oil
1TBSP red onion, slivered
sliced avocado
shredded lettuce
grated cheddar

just toast each taco in a dry pan, & layer beans, cheese, salsa, avocado, & lettuce atop all, then fold.

refried pinto beans:
boil pinto beans w/abundant water & salt until soft.  mash w/a potato masher, then stir & fry in butter/oil till fragrant.
salsa:
combine diced tomatoes with garlic, onion, & herbs.  let chill to blend flavors.  go on from there. 

summer pasta pt.1:

don't y'all hate those 'pasta salads' - foul little affairs w/a bunch of mayonnaise, canned tuna, & most egregiously, peas?

welcome to my world, friends.  let's set this bad boy off on the right foot for summer:

linguine checca (a fresh basil, tomato, fresh &/or smoked mozzarella salad - pasta is served @ room)

this i would like to serve as a trio with that nice butternut squash pasta above & linguine tonno, a tuna based pasta that i used to make all the time, when i lived in LA:

to serve 6 or more as part of a buffet:

2# linguine boiled in salted water, drained & tossed w/olive oil
3# roma tomatoes or heirloom, in a large dice
1 - 2# fresh or smoked mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
6 - 9 cloves garlic, sliced
1 whole large bunch basil or 2 small, rinsed 3 times & jullienned
olive oil
sea salt pepper

marinate the tomatoes w/all else save the cheese & pasta for 1-3 hours.  toss w/warm or hot pasta, & serve w/cheese tossed throughout.

warm pasta salad from Ustica
1# fresh tuna
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (e.v.o.o.)
juice of 1/2 lemon
finely chopped fresh red chile pepper to taste
4 large tomatoes ripe but firm, chopped
2 - 3 TBSP chopped fresh basil
2 - 3 TBSP  chopped fresh mint
2 - 6 garlic cloves, peeled & minced
1# imported penne rigate
ss & p (sea salt, pepper)

in a glass bowl in the fridge, marinate tuna w/lemon juice, ss & p. 1/2 the garlic, & 1/4 cup the olive oil for several hours.
in a smoking hot skillet, sear the tuna 2 - 3 min on each side, then pour the marinade over all & simmer for 3-4 min.  remove from heat, & rest.  when cool, break into large chunks & save all, including marinade.  boil pasta to al dente.  toss with olive oil, ss & p.  combine all other ingredients, & serve on top of pasta.

next? a small office party for a media group in midtown:

media menu:

when i first saw this recipe, i was completely weirded out - but i loved the idea - light, bright, pretty, summery - upon sampling, diners @ a vegetarian gathering were super happy - & so was i: super easy to make, minimal heat, perfect for summer cooking, a win for all. i happened to have some roast eggplant on hand, frozen, surplus from another job, along with some sun dried tomatoes, which all received a rough chop before being thrown in with the rest...

roast butternut squash/yam, marinated feta, summer leek/ramps farfalle w/rosemary to serve 10:

3 whole butternut squash or yams, peeled & diced, large 

olive oil

butter 6TBSP, divided in half

2# farfalle, boiled in abundant salty water until al dente

2 - 3 bunches summer leeks, ramps, or scallions, cut crosswise into small rounds

8 oz feta, marinated 

2 bunches rosemary

4 - 6 cloves garlic, sliced, can be thrown in with the squash to roast, or sauteed with the scallions/ramps/leeks

4 oz sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped

3 roast eggplant: see below

1 - roast squash/yams/garlic w/butter/olive oil/rosemary till candied. no sugar is required for this - the squash/yam cubes will become translucent, glossy & browned around the edges.  when a fork inserted slides in easily, they are done about 1 hour.

2 - toss boiled farfalle with remaining cold butter

3 - saute the spring onion rings/sliced garlic till all are lightly browned around the edges/translucent, set aside

4 - roast 3 eggplant - cut into rings, salt, & leave aside, 2 - 8 hours in a strainer or colander.  after the bitter juices have drained out, rinse, then pat dry with paper/kitchen towels.  bake w/olive oil until soft, lightly browned, crispy around the edges.  when cooled, roughly chop, & set aside.

5 -serve in a large bowl, sprinkle the cheese, broken into chunks on top of the pasta, followed by all veg.
enjoy.

chicken roti:

(i bought the roti skins for this, @ my favorite indian market, India Spice & Sweet, on lexington between 27th &28th.  the best.)

2 TBSP patak's curry paste
1 TBSP curry powder, madras, preferrably
virgin coconut oil
coconut cream
curry leaves - 3- 10 to taste
1 bay leaf
chicken stock
2 onions, slivered
2 green peppers rough chopped

rinse chicken well.  season & set aside.  in a pan, saute onion & garlic, bay leaf, & curry leaves in the coconut oil till translucent.  add curry powder, stirring till smoking, then add the curry paste.  saute for 3 - 5 min, then add peppers, saute till semi soft, & the chicken, browning on all sides.  pour in the chicken stock to cover, add the coconut cream, & simmer for 1 - 1&1/2 hours. delicious chicken should slide off the bone. when it does, remove the bones - you should be able to simply pick them out of the stew, leaving the tender chicken pieces behind.

thai beef salad:  refreshing.

3 # ground beef, preferably  grass fed, @ least hormone free
1 (or more) fresh hot Thai chili peppers (prik kee noo), sliced crosswise very thin (or substitute jalapenos or serrano chilies, minced)
2 large cloves garlic, sliced crosswise very thin
1 tbsp sugar - palm or jaggery - (has the perfect rich brown sugar taste, & has the added benefit of a minimal effect on blood sugar) found in thai/asian markets
5 tbsp Thai fish sauce or nam pla
5 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (1 medium size lime)
1 head Bibb or Boston; or 1 heart of Romaine lettuce
15 sprigs fresh mint (optional), remove the leaves and discard the stems
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 small cucumber (seeds removed), peeled and sliced thin
2 to 3 shallots, sliced crosswise very thin or 1 small red onion, sliced very thin
6 cloves garlic, sliced paper-thin
3 or 4 sprigs cilantro, stems removed
1 small bunch basil
make a paste: in a blender, pulverize the mint, basil, & cilantro, setting aside a few sprigs for garnish.

in a smoking hot skillet, sear the garlic & shallots till lightly toasted & brown around edges.  add ground beef & cook through.  add a touch of soy, nam pla, & a bit of the herb paste to taste.
Mix garlic, chiles, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar in a small bowl. Add the cooked ground beef and toss with the cucumbers and shallots. Taste and add more fish sauce if desired.
Make a bed of the lettuce on a serving plate. Place the beef on top. Garnish with cilantro, mint & basil paste.
guests wrap the meat in the lettuce leaves.

Serves 2 to 3 as an appetizer or as part of a meal.

thai melon salad:

hollow out a watermelon.  chop the pieces roughly & mix them with a touch of the basil, cilantro, mint paste.

easy.  cool.  fresh.  this is my wish for you all summer - heat waves be damned!

thank you for your time.

fusion foods, fusion politics, fusion life!!!

chile, you might even call this a fusion post;  i'd like to start off by saying that i omitted a fly gorgeous black grrrl from my last post:  miss lovely brenda sykes - & i just feel like chaka khan should have her own post.  whew! was literally nauseated when i thought that i might have left them out - ok nausea NOT the best way to begin this weeks food blog, huh?  lolololol

new beginning:
 

this is the stuff i  did for my first guest stint @ Globetrippin, where i am returning this saturday to do a revisit-cum-art-show w/my grrrrrrrrrrrl, the divine miss M.   

salmon ceasar salad
semi artisan croutons with st. andre & brie, alternatively

artisan, by my definition, refers to that which is made completely by hand with a special eye for excellence.  in the case of the croutons, i made the wheat bread for them but to be honest, it was a bit dense for sandwiches, (so i'll need to play with the recipe again, before i release it) but perfect sliced into rounds, tossed with luscious grass-fed butter, garlic, & parsely.  this i alternated with a fine baguette from the whole foods nearest me @ 98th & columbus.  i think whole grain alternated with white was a perfect aesthetic choice for my crowd that night, but if you want to use exclusively wheat, that's beautiful.

this is so simple - adapted from my time @ angeli mare, in santa monica, ahhh, california kitchens - where the grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrls rule!

cut the croutons into rounds, & toss in a large bowl with melted butter, minced fresh garlic, parsely, olive oil, & butter.  lay flat on a sheet pan & bake @ 375 for about 15 - 20 min or until toasty.
add a smear of st. andre, softened, &/or brie, softened.

ceasar salad dressing:
olive oil 1 cup
red wine or champagne vinegar1/2 - 2/3 cup
6 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lemon
thai fish sauce 3 drops, 2 anchovies, or for vegans, bragg's amino acids
sea salt
pepper black or tri-colored
parsley
thyme
2 TBPS mustard
a girl's handful of grated parmesan
this is also from angeli mare.  throw everything except the  oil, parsley, & the parmesan into a blender.  when blended, add oil slo-o-o-wly till emulsified.   pulse blender to add cheese, then parsley in that order.
serve w/croutons slathered w/brie & st. andre, alternatively.

seared tilapia butter shrimp sauce
season tilapia, set aside
4 TBPS butter
1 # shrimp, shelled
lemon juice
2-4oz chicken stock reduced to a glace
white wine or champagne

heat the pan to smoking, then add the tilapia.  let it get a nice crust on both sides, thensautee till cooked through.set aside.  add shrimp to the pan till pink, then remove.  add champagne, reduce then add stock, reduce, then the lemon juice, & the butter, in 1 TBSP pieces till the sauce is mellow, sexxxy & glossy.  serve the shrimp cascading over the sauce over the tilapia.

then wow your friends.

i always look @ a bunch of books, & meditate on the romance of the region  before i experiment with a nation's cuisine.  in this case i did all of that but it was my scandalous friend, S, who supplied the advice for the finishing touch:  saffron is fat, more than water soluble.  so it makes best sense to steep the saffron in milk (or yoghurt, i think as well) rather than in water - more potency, better color/flavor.  i call that a win for you, & for your diners, right?
the other touch, also added by S, is the toasting of the nuts & dried fruit in butter, before adding to the rice.

persian rice-
1/2 cup of cream, (grassfed or other fresh, preferably hormone-free) heated almost to the boil, w/ a pinch saffron threads steeped like tea set thisaside while you assemble & cook other ingredients
basmati
butter
apricots, medium dice
dried cherries
walnuts chopped
slivered almonds
pistachios
gold leaf if you have it on hand - not as crazy as it sounds you can get this @ indian/middle eastern specialty stores such as india spice & sweet, & kalyustan's & in a pinch, pearl paint! lol - sounds industrial - but it is sterile -


1 - melt the butter in a rice pot or dutch oven
2 - stir & fry the rice in the melted butter
3 -add water, bring to boil, & bake for 20 - 25 min.
while the rice is baking, go ahead & melt some butter over medium heat.  add to the butter the dried fruit, & let them sizzle a little before adding the nuts to lightly caramelize.  then add the cream to this mixture, bring to a simmer, & add the saffron to this, (as S specified, saffron is fat soluble, so you will get a more extreme flavor/color if you add it to milk than to water.  - genius.  milk, like blood, is thicker than water.  yes.)
once the rice is baked, let it rest for a touch & then add your milk/nut/saffron miture to the rice.

yes chile.

this is pure fusion based on my parent's background(s) - my paternal grandmother is jamaican.

such a cutie.

but the rest of my dad's family is southern.  & the sauce is a cult hit from a peruvian place...whew!  jamaica/southern/persian/peruvian, huh?  i calls that fusion.

curry fried chicken
1 3-lb. fryer cut into pieces.
curry paste - patak's
yogurt
1 egg
garlic paste
ginger paste
flour
curry powder to taste mixed w/flour
mixed seasoning salts - old bay, borsin, or salt & pepper
coconut oil to fry

marinate the chicken in a mixture of yogurt, garlic, ginger, & curry paste 8 hrs - to overnight
heat the oil to popping
pull the chicken from the marinade, & dredge in flour/curry mixture.  drop in oil till the pieces float.
voila.


pio pio dipping sauce

1 bunch cilantro
1 habanero green
1 sweet green bell pepper
6 cloves garlic
blend.

aioli:
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic
2 TBSP vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 cup olive oil

throw everything except the oil in a blender.  add the oil first in drops, & then faster till the mixture turns white & is emulsified.  if it separates @ any point, add 1 TBSP of hot water, & blend again.

now combine the two.  this is the dipping sauce for the chicken.


then returned to do an encore tilapia for these (literary) addicts uptown who kind of refuse to eat anything else that i make - got to give the people what they want, right?
& added this to that menu:
salmon baked with a falafel crust on a bed of hummus that swims in a cucumber-lemon-tomato salad
that to be honest, i over salted & for a salient reason that i will get into @ length in the recipe:

then, talk about fusion!!!

joined forces with the FAB.U.LOUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.  ms.  nucomme davis-walker's witches brew to cater some fun, truly sexxxy brunches. ms. davis-walker is a singer, bartender party-thrower whose fusion life is working out quite nicely;  every time i have worked with her, she has been on her way to another gig:  the first week, she was catering the mos def 'ting in Ft greene park, & the next, right after the japanese fusion brunch, she was on her way to another private party in williamsburg. (talk about fusion...when brunch was slow, i just packed up my operation & accepted her gracious invitation to the next gig) i trailed with her for a few events, & what i like about her set up, is that she has a set menu that can travel the world:  there is always a
pancake
fishcake
greens
some sort of potato
eggs
taco
japanese tacos, huh?  i know i know who'da thunk it but doing research, i found an actual blog featuring a japanese taco truck in japan.  yes.  in japan.
this got me thinking:  & this is what happened...



tamago (japanese omelet) stuffed with maittake-shiitake rice:

3 cups sushi rice
4 - 6 oz maiitake mushrooms,
8 oz shiitake mushrooms,
4 oz crimini mushrooms all rough chopped
1 med onion &
2 shallots, diced
1 cup dashi
3 cups water
butter
soy sauce
sautee the onions till soft, on a med-high flame.  add the mushrooms & go @ it till they are sweated out & mostly toasty brown. remove half the mixture, then add rice.  coat in sautee oil, then add dashi & water, cover & steam for 20 min. set aside, then heat the skillet again.  when popping hot, add the onion mushroom mixture, sautee for a sec, then add the cooked rice & toss for a few secs.  add soy sauce.  done.

satsumaimo (japanese sweet potato) pancakes with adzuki bean syrup

adzuki bean syrup:
1 # adzuki beans
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cup maple syrup
& nucomme had some wonderful berry compote that we mixed in @ the end.  - there's that fusion again...

cook the beans & sugar to soft & process or blend to a smooth paste.  add maple syrup & the berry compote.
serve w/the pancakes.

3 satsumaimo boiled & mashed
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tspbaking soda
2 eggs
4 oz melted butter
1 & 1/2 - 2 cups yogurt, buttermilk, or milk w/a squeeze of lime/lemon (creates the same acidic environment as fermented milk & reacts well w/the soda for a high rise)

- or pancake mix w/ one egg, & milk or buttermilk -
sift all dry ingredients together, then combine all wet ingredients & to this, add the mashed sweet potato mix - just to combine.  do not over mix.  these are not flapjacks.

heat the skillet to popping, but not smoking.  add the butter to melt, & drop a pancake of whatever size you desire into this hot oil, & turn the heat way down.  when the disk is dry on top w/many holes, flip it.  there should be a nice buttery crust on that bad boy.  cook on the second side till the pancake bounces back when touched, or when a toothpick comes out clean.

tamago (japanese omelet) stuffed with maittake-shiitake rice with scallion (the beautiful purple ones from above are some stunners from park slope food co-op - more on that later)




a lot easier than it sounds:
make the omelet with 3 eggs:  heat a skillet, add butter, & the scrambled eggs. add some scallion slices. make a really thin omelet, & flip it over w/or without a spatula. add the rice mixture & fold the egg over this.


satsuma-age (deep fried fish cakes) - panko crust (((can be made w/a variety of fishes)))
i used marinated mackerel from sunrise mart - {yaaaaaaay sunrise mart!!! pne of my favorite markets in the city for both arcane & common japanese ingredients - everything from 15 different soy sauces to fresh yuzu airflown in from japan in season - LOVE.} & you can find this in their frozen section.
& salmon about 2 lbs.  you can use fresh or canned, totally up to you.
minced shallots
onion
scallions to taste
bread crumbs to mix
panko (japanese bread crumbs) as coating
1 egg
sea salt
pepper
oil to fry
while the oil is heating over a medium high flame,
mix all together except the panko.  make disks (the size is up to you i have made the anywhere from burger sized to damn near quarter sized.)
roll the disks in the panko.
fry till golden brown & gorgeous.

grilled chicken taco with miso

one whole chicken split down the middle, or a whole chicken cut up
corn tacos, about 20
2 TBSP miso
soy sauce
indonesian chili sauce (but don't be fooled ALL asians use & love this stuff)
sake
avocado
julienne shiso (japanese  cousin of basil.  unfuckingbelievable)
rice is optinal
marinate chicken in the liquids for some hours (1-6) then throw these on the grill turning frequently. once the chicken is opaque & firm, w/the meat falling off the bone or moving easily in the joint, it is done.  remove from flame & let cool.  once it is @ about room temperature, pick the meat off the bone.
dry toast the corn tacos in a dry skillet.



fold the shredded chicken & some teensy slivers of shiso into the taco shell.  optional is the avocado & the mushroom rice.  i liked it all 3 ways -

interesting week - there is an online debate raging about the question of beyonce's feminist leanings:  objectified male fantasy?  nouveau feminist who uses what she's got to get what she wants?

as a feminist/womynist who supports & advocates pornography/sex work as one of the world's oldest hustles, & as someone who makes no judgement of any woman's choices (as long as those choices do not involve self-harm or harm of another) i have to say that i am split down the middle on that one - in my grrrrrrrrrrrrl nicole moore's blog -

http://thehotness.com/2011/06/28/beyonce-the-f-word/

"the comments are flying fast & furious - w/every position from her as a modern, more convenient form of traditional woman-hood as in this comment:
i don’t really see Beyonce doing anything all that challenging to any status quo. Her numbers may be bigger but I’m betting that’s a product of a growing market and not necessarily her changing the game that much. Beyonce is succeeding in all the ways that feed into mainstream male fantasies: a strong sexy independent woman with her own loot and ideas but who knows to fall back and let her man play the lead. how is this challenging anything?"

to nigroes touting her as the second coming of the triple goddesses yemaya/oya/oshun.

as a goddess worshipper i find that one a bit hard to swallow.  but the question begs to be asked, as she is a woman of many contrasts:  modern day man tom (a woman who kow-tows to men's desires, borrowed from uncle tom), or a woman's woman who knows how to market her sexuality & milk it for its unlimited power?

i'mma have to call her a fusion feminist. 

she takes a page from a  # of books:  writes her own songs, her songs tend to lean toward self sufficiency re: bugaboo, i got it, irreplaceable & of course independent women, controls her image in media to a large degree.

as for her hyper-sexualized image, as a strident feminist, i, too was shaking my ass to 'bitches ain't shit but hoes & tricks' in the 9-deuce & i knew all the lyrics!!!

so we've all got work to do.

of course my greatest problem w/her politics is her crowing about her need to keep bbq sauce in her purse for international travel, & her burning desire to locate a mcdonald's no matter where she is in the world.

for that one, i need a sit down & an explanation - LMBAO - thoughts?

speaking of independent women (& men) - happy 4th...

peace & power

black grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrls - heh heh - fuckin' rule, drop squading our lovely daughters - salty chocolate cake!!!

first off, lemme make it quite plain:

all women are beautiful  no matter the race/creed/color - doesn't matter.  i have seen women from every corner of the globe who have made me cringe with envy, then bloom with celebration.  but this isn't about beauty.  it is about something more sinister than that.  this is about a veritable haute couture fashion week with only one problem - the empresses wear no clothes.  & we have all been standing around clapping for way too long -

ok so what is this fucker called?  dark girls, i think?  & it's viral, y'all.  all over the web, this on the heels of the psychology today piece PROVING, supposedly that black women are the most unattractive of all,  & this on the heels of the "most unsafe place in the world is the black woman's womb" ad campaign for pro-lifers.  need i mention the furor, in 2010 of pity parties & shit for all us 'poor, wretched, unwanted, single black unmarried loooooooooooooooooonely women'...

gabrielle union, angela basset, iman

& of course all this built on the backs of rape after rape after rape.  of our pockets, for all the money we spend buying into the myth of the white beauty aesthetic -

white media, do you honestly think you can fool us?

is it that deep for you?  i mean why do all that ass licking of one group, when, if you did lick our black, disposable wealth having asses even a little bit, you could have all our money?  or is it that you, white media, just like to see us squirm - but lemme just get to this documentary, shall we?

naomi simms, lauryn hill, alek wek

it opens with a lot of tears. women trying to 'scrub the black off of themselves', frenemies crowing with glee @ having escaped the fate of a 'darkskinned' daughter, progresses through the sweet-faced child indicting the darker skinned dolls while she extols the virtues of the white one - dayum.  watching this, one would think there were only two sides to this game - color (damn you is ugly, celie) purple, & imitation (that wuz mah mammie!) of life...

not to discount ANYONE'S struggles, but, this was not my/many of my sister's reality.  period.  point blank - but you won't ever see THAT movie.  scenes from my movie?  - : driving up the road one day, in an intense discussion with my dad, i turned to him, all verklempt & said, 'thank you for being my parents - y'all are nut bags, but @ least y'all made sure that i knew that i was beautiful...'  & his reply was, 'oh hell no matter what color you turned out to be, we would have raised you to know you are the better - the best'

sobfest, anyone?

& the thing is, no, not all of us are lucky enough to have gotten all of the psycho support that some got around self worth - but @ this point, it is my JOB to make sure that anyone on my watch is.

tamara dobson, pam kot-dayum-motherfuckin grier, grace jones

so i'm going to end up having to drop squad nashira.  i have no choice - no, i will not be prying her eyes open with pins, forcing her to watch reel after reel of images of black beauty.  but i will insulate her from any threatening white media driven imagery that seeks to make her feel less than.  & please make no mistake, black moms - we are @ war with an industry that has spent trillions toward the goal of making some feel elevated - by making others feel like lower beings who literally disappear into the background.  i look to my mom for inspiration on how to navigate this particular battlefield, but we are in very different times.  one of my sexiest grrrrrrrrrrrrrls, a rock star DJ, & a sister in vittles said, about this issue of self worth as reflected in the media, that 'hip hop saved us' & indeed, i was lucky enough to come of age (in my 20's no less) in the 'my beautiful black queen era...  panther ideology aside, there is no hip hop to speak of.  what will save nashira/our beautiful cocoa daughters?  it hurts me that i have no answer for this.

jennifer hudson, cicely tyson, tammy terrell

anywhoo the boards have been on fire for days - some of my favorite comments?

1- i am already annoyed

2 - This is just Tyler Perry all over again, "I'm black, fragile and handicap, unloved and unwanted....the negress is just a sad sack of unloved rubbish". It does more harm than good. All my dark dark dark skinned girlfriends are married and my yellow creole french white mixed behind is single. With four kids. Shit aint THAT hard. - <--------can you stand it?  LMBAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - this was from a friend of a friend - i had peeped her hilarity on other posts, but this one was better than my (non-existent) abs workout - lolololololol

3 - That's what I was hoping for... That the other portion of the documentary are chocolate women who speak from a different voice. who tell the story of how they've been told they were beautiful their entire life & how they combatted someone trying to test that very view. "WHO WAN TEST DI ORIGINAL CHOCOLATE DONDATTA!!!! - tee to tha hee - this one was from my glamorous, hilarious grrrrrrrrrrrrl, a talented makeup artist

4 - Yes Sister!!! the road to Self Love can be a treacherous lonely painful one, BUT yet and still I am claiming the right to JOYOUSLY celebrate SELF LOVE at this moment and pray for all of us to JOYOUSLY celebrate ourselves NOW!!! We are AMAZING right at this very MOMENT!!! even if we don't know or accept it yet! Love you Sister!! Solidarity!! ♥!!!! <- love her - this is a siren who will soothe your soul, in addition to being a full on jet-setting international rock star this is my sis of many nations/lives & she is always an inspiration.  always.-

5 -  At times I've hated my own skin for not being black enough to be "controversial" or being light enough to enjoy privilege. - loved that, too.  deep - 

6 - (this one might be my actual favorite:) -  and i also must include that ALL of my lovers black and those from various ethnicities have always thought my darker skin tone was GLORIOUS too!! and they claim me Boldly in the streets! they be runnin' to feature my Fine ass! lol! Black skin is beautiful EVERYWHERE!!! ♥!!

robin givens, phylicia rashad, robinn lee 

so this has been a real education - the RESPONSE TO the trailer, as much as the trailer itself  & frankly,  i do have some suspicions, among them:

1 - remember blaxploitation?  @ least these films had a sense of irony - like the one (i wish i knew the name of this one, & as soon as i find it out, i will post it) where the supa foine afro-ed protagonist turns to the star of the movie - i don't think it was tamara dobson - & says 'do the dishes.'  she turns her pistol on the dishrack & WRECKS SHOP. then turns to him, content as hell & says, 'ok - there you go, babe.  they're done'.  until ya boy jesse-cut-loose-the-jerry-juice-jackson dismantled the industry, it was buzzing with serious iconic potential, a healthy dose of self-mockery, black comedy, & a plethora of images that referred to us as beautiful, heroic, powerful.

2 - i maintain, although you could call me biased, that the afros were halos.

3 - there is something to be said about what the filmmaker's eye chooses to see - i, right now know maybe 50 chocolaty sis's that would laugh in the face of any nigga that tried to test them on any aspect of their beauty/sexuality - & will NEVER EVER BE ON FILM BECAUSE OF IT. where is THAT documentary - a film i could show my lovely brown daughter & build her confidence from RIGHT NOW???

nona gaye, garcelle beauvais, gladys knight


4 - this is a suspect assed situation - all part & parcel of an attack- i believe - on black woman's confidence, pride & all around fierceness - & i am sick of it - it's not a matter of do these issues exist - it's a matter of why do we never focus on anything positive/proactive b/c i have noticed that whenever we do indulge the self love fest, that we tend to take over the world -

5 - it's such a conspiracy - interesting story - our boy/my hero/cinematographer for my trailer, is ARTHUR JAFA - he shoulda been on ALL these threads - talk about a defender of our beauty!!!!!!!!!!!
in any case, GT tells me that he LOVES black skin to the point where he, knowing that most all film in the us is SKEWED TO REFLECT THE FULL COLOR SPECTRUM IN WHITE SKIN ONLY  (it's a sickness) - went to JAPAN procure melanin sensitive film to shoot such amazing shit as daughters, clockers, etc -
let's not even get into what it says about japanese self-worth that they discontinued making the film - so what did homeboy do? learned to treat the film to get the full color spectrum from black skin

6 - i repeat - we have to drop squad our daughters - imbue them with such deep confidence, that it is unshakeable - i was told, for so many years that i was beautiful, that by the time the dominican chick in my 3rd grade class wanted to whisper 'blackie' in a sinister voice behind me on line, i didn't know that she was referring to anything bad - it was her nastiness that put me on to the fact that i was supposed to be ashamed of this - we need to change the convo from 'poor black woman just a wretched bag of unwanted shit' to something affirmative - something powerful - something beautiful - it worked for me - & it works for my daughter who turns to me on the daily to remind me of how beautiful she is - ♥ - & please believe that ms. nashira has no doubts around her beauty - now when (i know it is inevitable) she starts watching network TV - all bets are off - which is why i believe that they must be brainwashed early - to prepare for the media onslaught of subliminal messages that is childhood.


aj johnson, kerry washington, joy bryant,

let us start with this simple dessert (my closing ceremony - from the restaurant takeover -  recipes are next week) which talks of who we really are:

this recipe is (heavily) adapted from almost bourdain & is very different from the original - 

now, this is what it's supposed to look like:  i'll reconvene w/ real time pics  real soon - 

salty (saucy, sassy, spitfire in southern vernacular) chocolate cake, or 

gateau de chocolat with fleur de sel:

8 oz  dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids - callebaut, valrhona or other fine-assed dark chocolate)
8 oz unsalted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
4 medium eggs
1 cup sugar
1&1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 TBSP yoghurt
Extra virgin coconut oil
Fleur de sel (sea salt)

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease and flour a 10 inch cake pan or a cupcake tin
2. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of hot simmering water. add butter and stir well to mix the two ingredients completely.
3. Put the eggs, yogurt and the sugar in a bowl and whisk with kitchen mixer until the mixture turns pale and doubles in volume. Add the flour, a tablespoonful at a time, and the baking soda.
4. Mix in the chocolate mixture, pour the lot into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. The cake is cooked when a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.  cupcakes 12 - 15 min.
5. Leave the cake to cool for 15 minutes before turning out.
6. To serve, cut the cake into slices, set them on plain white plates and pour some extra virgin coconut oil to garnish -

& remember, y'all the blacker the berry!  LMBAO!!! enjoy!!!

keisha knight pulliam, res, tamala jones, kenya moore, regina hall, nia long, theresa randle, tayana ali jessica white, chaka khan, brenda sykes, a bunch of grrrrrrrrrrrrls i know i forgot, & my new favorite demaris lews.


roll call.

busy. goddammit. cold sweat in the hottest kitchen.

ok friends, our time apart has NOT been wasted - why has it been so long, you ask? b/c in addition to the perils of mercury retrograde - which looked like this for me:

ya.  - you?

& b/c there has been a lot going on - i've taken over, for two weeks, a tiny cafe in harlem - & NOW i remember why restaurants are slavery - but, as my ex-husband explained about jews (as he was/is one) most thoughts of where to go or what to do, for the most orthodox people of that religion, are prefaced by the lifestyle inquiry:  'is it good for the jews?'  this determines the action that must be taken in most instances.  in my case, my first thought will be, 'is it good for the blog?'  & also, 'is it good for the book?'  in this case, it was good for both - & you, friends, are the beneficiaries. this is the prep for sunday brunch's fritatta::

it all happened so fast - my dope-assed sis/mentor, who births books, & that's really all i can say about her career without exposing exactly who she is, is a sexy, worldly-with-a-concentration-on-afrocentric, nappy, erudite & luxuriant mac - although she doesn't LIKE to use the word cougar, if she accepted the title, would be an ace-boon-cougar if there ever were one - she is well-groomed, powerful, & confoundingly gracious, & humble - not qualities that one would normally attribute to a sexpot - but there it is - & it adds to her allure - she is my one of my daughter's rock-star godmothers & as they are born on the same day, i have faith, from the way that Nashira moons @ her, that they are already in some sort of psychic mind meld that will ensure that my baby is 50X as fly as me...something like my sis/mentor, whom i will call M.

M calls me, & from the echo on the line, i knew before she told that i was
"on speaker...  i'm here with G - she owns that cute little cafe we went to that time - you remember, right?"
"uh... yeah i think so -"
"ok great well she's going to Burma..."
"for two weeks & since M spoke so highly of you," - this was G herself, adding to my confusion, "i was thinking did you want to run it while i am gone?"

my brain imploded, & then i said, "sure!"

friends, i have a lot to say about restaurants, none of it good:  let's briefly review, for those of y'all who haven't been subject to my ire on the issue, shall we?

1 - pure slavery.
2 - no money.
3 - workers are rarely, if ever protected by any union (i am not speaking of hotels) & are
4 - subject to the rules of the fiefdom:  the petty tyranny of the owner/s - read unstable nightmare.
5 - i guess the slavery piece should highlight the SHITTY pay & LONG-assed hours, but if that wasn't clear @ the top, then it should be now -

i will not mention these people by name, but i walked out on one restaurant whose basement was flooded with sewage - & to dispel any cloudiness on why i walked out, the answer is, yes, to your unspoken & horrified question:  YES they still wanted me to cater among that sewage.


the thing about restaurants is this:  you live in a constant state of panic.  you will NEVER.  be set up enough, have enough back up, plas (as in mis-en-place the state of everything in its place-ness that every line cook goes for yet seldom achieves) or order.  my own tenure in restaurants, much as i loved it, was a perfect set up for PTSD - pure anxiety, all the time.  in fact, it was one of the chefs @ union square cafe (NYT three stars, three hundred covers a night - cold sweat in the hottest kitchen, anyone???) who helped me to quit drinking coffee:

"hey. you.  get your ass over here."  he barked on me with total distaste, as i was running around like a beheaded chicken, revisiting my quart of coffee between tasks.
kitchens are very 'thank you, sir.  may i have another', so i was just happy that he, a mighty chef was even speaking to me.  i hopped over on high alert.  "yes, chef?"  i was bright eyed & bushy tailed, ready for orders.
"what are you doing?"  he queried.
"setting up, i'm chopping parse-"
"no you're not you're running around crazy.  if i see you with coffee tomorrow, you're fired."
"no problem, chef."
& that's how i gave up coffee.  if i bumped into him tomorrow, i would thank him profusely.


maybe that's why i'm so obsessed with geisha:  the tradition, beauty, intensive drilling, grace under pressure, sense of the ancient, strict organization, & standardized ritual - not to mention the way horrific treatment is mythologized as 'mentoring'... & then there is the food these glittering fireflys of the night all entertain in tea houses with superlative vittles.  i have often fantasized that i spent one of my (i am sure of this) past lives as a chef @ any of the most exclusive geisha tea houses in Gion, Kyoto, or Tokyo.  this is the fantasy food of courtesans & their masters (who have no choice but to be millionaires):  FABULOUS cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey talks about a man-made stream in Japan with tables placed strategically @ the curves bends of its trajectory.  cold station chefs float cold noodles in this stream, & the patrons use hashi (chopsticks, as they are called in japan) to lift the noodles from the stream, & dip them into the sauces on their table.

yes chile.

now, since my tenure as screamed on garde manger (pantry & cold foods) peon, i have become a chef, toured all stations, expedited, ordered my fair share of subordinates around, & still, am in no hurry to re-enter kitchens.

still, here i am, busy as fuck, goddammit.

a short description of the surroundings, just a couple of recipes & then it's back to running the cafe, while working my day to day bill payer, editing the cookbook/memoir, freelance catering, & operating the $10 million plan w/my friend, S:

it's a beautifully decorated,  teensy jewel box of a cafe, shelves lined with books, some of them authored by the owner, who has produced a children's book, a coffee table standard about headwraps, & a book called 'down there' about, you guessed it, the sacred bush.  it's adorable, & the perfect place to test out specials, & here they are - you already know one of the specials from the post previous to this one - salmon croquettes, from one brunch, & i had a breakthrough with beer-battered  shrimp & marinated kale which i will describe below:

10-20 ppl:

3-5# shrimp,cleaned w/the tails on
2 quts to a gallon of oil for frying:  this can be either grapeseed, or coconut & be poured to about 3" deep in a frying pan or pot.
 i use extremely finely ground cornmeal  - finely ground for prettiness - Whole Foods loose, or Indian Head (political incorrectness rules this blog!!!) mixed half & half with all purpose, either whole wheat or white - your choice - whole wheat gives a rounder flavor though -
2 12-oz bottles beer - i used a fine pale ale, locally crafted, but do what your budget allows - let's not get too crunk & throw a malt liquor in it, but you have some leeway here -
2 eggs
2 cups flour
seasoning - i use various seasoning salts in addition to dried herbs : borsari, old bay, pixie dust (that's a brand - note to self - we can mix up our own @ a later date), herbs can be parsely, thyme, savory



now for the breakthrough:

i've always been afraid of beer battering.  so i decided, what better time to try out a new, intimidating recipe than under pressure for a catering gig?  perusing various recipes days before, i thought i had it all together - you make the wet batter, & that's your only dredge - but these images of fish & chips - which use a beer batter - kept swimming to mind; & i don't like that style of batter - it rises OFF of the fried food, sometimes with space between the shrimp or fish, & the coating.  yuck.  still, i wanted the lightness of the batter, & the flavor of the beer.  so i simply used the beer batter as the wet dredge:

In a bowl, combine the beer flour, eggs & salt, & allow to sit at room temperature for several hours. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels & dip the shrimp in the wet batter then in the seasoned cornmeal mixture & fry for approximately 2 to 3 minutes. drain shrimp on paper towels layered over brown paper bags.

this made a super crispy, light crust that was not only translucent, a plus, but insulated the shrimp from overcooking leaving you with bliss in your mouth.  & that is all!



marinated kale:

6 bunches kale, cleaned & rinsed twice
6 cloves fresh garlic
flax seed oil to coat greens, about 2-3 oz.
& then to taste:
lemon juice
coconut aminos
soy sauce
apple cider vinegar
grated carrots

so easy!!!

rinse well, filling the sink 3x w/extremely cold water, plunging the greens in, pulling them out to drain, & filling the sink once more.
chop the greens to bite-size
chop garlic finely& mix w/the other ingredients, except the carrots, which should be sprinkled atop the kale when you're ready to serve

the salad is ready to go within 10 min & you can reuse this marinade.

last thing - the recipes i am printing here are from the fabulous Coon Bidness (yes yes y'all, coon.  bidness.) party &  Burnt-Sugar jam session that i catered (in a scandalously late fashion that can only be described as the ultimate C.P.T. - i'm gon' have ta claim that i was possessed & we all were w/that mercury retrograde - WHEW! - glad that's over) for the ultimate playa, Greg Tate & fly-assed gangsta diva, Nucomme Davis-Walker, in the Do or Die:  Bed-Stuy...


so okay i'll be back with all the specials from the cafe, as the 15th is my last day - promise.

thank you for your time!