A GLOSSARY

From Japanese Farm Food Illustrations by Mary Brown   Bocho knife: a general purpose knife, for cutting fish, meat, and vegetables   Yukihira pot: general use saucepan made of hammered aluminum   The heavy-duty cast iron Yamaga Nabe is perfect for cooking and serving soups or noodles. Commonly used in Japan for dishes such as nabeyaki…

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WHAT'S IN SEASON

BY BARBARA KOBSAR ILLUSTRATION BY MARGO RIVERA-WEISS When you’re at the farmers’ market, it’s all about what’s in season. Choosing from items harvested at their peak is your sure bet for fabulous flavor and freshness. MAY/JUNE Cherries and berries show off their stuff in June. Orchards on the eastern edge of the East Bay and…

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EDITOR’S MIXING BOWL

Illustration by Margo Rivera-Weiss During a recent airing of A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor quipped: “Pleasure is generic and suffering is individual.” Far be it from me to contradict the “modern-day Mark Twain,” as Keillor is often called, but as images from the films of Les Blank float through my mind, I can’t help…

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SIDE DISH Juhu Beach Club

MISTRY REVEALED By Sarah Henry Photos by Paige Hermreck There’s a new Top Chef in the Temescal, one with a mighty spicy pedigree and a fan base from her days popping up in San Francisco with Mumbai-inspired mobile food—not to mention a following from a certain popular cooking show contest (Season 6, for those who…

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SIDE DISH Living Apothecary

By Sarah Henry Photo by Nicki Rosario Tonic and tasty don’t always belong in the same sentence. But try rolling these around in your mouth:  Cold Pressed Juice Elixir No. 1, a blend of kale, romaine, watermelon, cucumber, apple, and mint.  Vegan Milk No. 2, an almond-cashew combo infused with cacao and enhanced by rose…

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SEVEN STARS OF SUMMER

BY JESSICA PRENTICE Jessica Prentice, Maggie Gosselin, and Sarah Klein created the Local Foods Wheel to help us all enjoy the freshest, tastiest, and most ecologically sound food choices month by month. Here are seven of Jessica’s seasonal favorites. You can learn more about the Local Foods Wheel and the group’s other ventures at localfoodswheel.com.…

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A PRODUCE PICKER’S COMPANION

BY HELEN KRAYENHOFF ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARGO RIVERA-WEISS Is it ripe? Is it ready? Will this one taste better than that one? What’s the best way to enjoy it? How do I grow it? Whether you’re in your garden or at the market, there are always these questions . . . Last fall we shared insight on…

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Peko-Peko Japanese Cateriing

The Robust Food of the Izakayas Sylvan Brackett’s Peko-Peko Japanese Catering Photos by Aya Brackett In a tidy, raftered workshop behind his Oakland home, Sylvan Mishima Brackett works a special magic of the Japanese culinary sort. Brackett is the owner of Peko-Peko, a catering company specializing in Japanese izakaya food. Izakayas are like taverns serving…

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A NEW LEAF

Planting Justice creates edible gardens and second chances By Rachel Trachten Unlike the vast majority of men released from San Quentin, Kevin Williams left prison with the promise of a steady job. Williams is one of 10 men who have made the transition from San Quentin to employment through Planting Justice, an Oakland nonprofit that…

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SIDE DISH fuseBOX

MODERN KOREAN FOOD LIGHTS UP WEST OAKLAND By Sarah Henry Photos by Nicki Rosario Sometimes it pays to listen to the females in the house. For years, Korean-born chef Sunhui Chang listened to his wife, theater director Ellen Sebastian Chang, and daughter, SunIm, encouraging him to open a restaurant serving the kind of Korean comfort…

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GARDENER’S BOOKSHELF

CALL IN AN EXPERT Ed Rosenthal’s Protect Your Garden Review by Ann Ralph Oakland’s Ed Rosenthal is a marijuana expert, a grower, researcher, writer, teacher, and activist who stands at the center of a movement to promote the growth and decriminalization of marijuana. As such, he’s had occasion to study and practice gardening principles in…

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SIDE DISH Sweet Bar Bakery

HOW SWEET IT IS By Sarah Henry Photos by Paige Hermreck Innovative new restaurants like Hopscotch, Duende, and Hawker Fare have cemented Uptown Oakland’s growing reputation as a dining destination. But until recently the neighborhood has lacked an everyday place, a heart-and-soul business—like a bakery-café—where people could pop in to pick up a sweet indulgence…

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LAST BITE

REMEMBERING LES BLANK Les Is Still More BY L. JOHN HARRIS When I got the news that Les Blank had passed away on April 7, I was deeply saddened. But not surprised. Word of Les’s inoperable cancer leaked out last fall and everyone who knew him, personally and/or professionally, was shattered. Much-loved Les and his…

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OBENTO!

I love all things Japanese, including My Neighbor Totoro and other Hayao Miyazaki movies; shōjo manga comics; and Aranzi Aronzo’s cute, strange, silly sewing craft books. And, of course, Japanese food. I’ve read Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu and have pretty much memorized every recipe. I like her book because it explains ingredients…

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Umami Mart

  Japanese Cooking and Barware Supplies in Oakland’s Popuphood By Kristina Sepetys In 2007, Yoko Kumano was living in Tokyo and Kayoko Akabori in Brooklyn. Friends and former high school classmates in Cupertino, the two wondered if they could do something creative with their shared passion for eating, drinking, and Japanese culture. That’s how they…

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OUT ON THE TOWN

  Here’s a small selection of local spots that offer both the flavor and the atmosphere of casual Japanese dining. Ippuku in downtown Berkeley serves up yakitori made from local, organic meats together with other intriguing small plates like bacon mochi and squid-ink rice. During the daytime, you’ll find handmade soba noodles in more than…

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JAPANESE VEGETABLES IN THE GARDEN

By Helen Krayenhoff Since its founding in Oakland in 1917, the Kitazawa Seed Company has been an important source for commercial and backyard growers interested in raising Asian vegetables. Among the Kitazawa offerings are seeds for many traditional or heirloom Japanese vegetables, including a specific group known as dento yasai, which date back to the…

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Contents Summer 2013

  SUMMER 2013 EDITOR’S MIXING BOWL SIDE DISH Sweet Bar Bakery Juhu Beach Club FuseBOX Living Apothecary GARDENER’S BOOKSHELF Ed Rosenthal’s Protect Your Garden A PRODUCE PICKER’S COMPANION Two market farmers on how to pick the best seasonal produce “IT TAKES A GRANDMOTHER” Saqib Keval’s People’s Kitchen SEVEN STARS OF SUMMER And a strawberry trifle…

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Turnip Greens with Soy Sauce (Kabunoha No Ohitashi)

From Japanese Farm Food Katsuobushi is skipjack tuna (bonito) that’s been dried, fermented, and smoked in a process that can take three to five months. In the kitchen, the dried fish is shaved with a razor-sharp tool and the flakes are used to make stock or flavor vegetables. While packaged, shaved katsuobushi is relatively easy to…

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Seared Bonito with Ginger, Garlic, and Chives (Katsuo No Tataki)

From Japanese Farm Food Reprinted with permission from Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu, published in 2012 by Andrews McMeel Publishing. In Japan, bonito (skipjack tuna) season starts in spring with lean, clear-flavored flesh and ends in fall with fatty, darkly flavored (and colored) meat. I love both seasons, but I particularly like to…

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Vegetables Pickled in Rice Bran(Nukazuke)

From The Cultured Pickle Shop which is a chapter of Japanese Farm Food Adapted from Japanese Farm Food Years ago, when Tadaaki and I were first married, we made rice bran pickles (nukazuke). They immediately captivated me. The mildly sour rice bran imparts an unusual tang to the vegetables that is more subtle than the…

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Raw Egg on Hot Rice (Tamago-Kake Gohan)

From our story on Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu Andrews McMeel Publishing     Japanese Soul Food For most Japanese, raw eggs over very hot rice with a dash of soy sauce (tamago-kake gohan) is like the American standard eggs on toast. “I was raised on Japanese food,” says Bill Fujimoto, a self-described 66-year-old…

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The Cultured Pickle Shop

  TSUKEMONO The “pickled things” By Kristina Sepetys Pickles with a bowl of rice and miso soup is the “quintessential Japanese meal,” Nancy Singleton Hachisu notes in her book. Like their counterparts everywhere in the world, Japanese farmers, gardeners, and cooks see an overly abundant yield as an opportunity to preserve the harvest so they…

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Japanese Farm Food

From Farm to Table in Rural Japan Nancy Singleton Hachisu, author of Japanese Farm Food, finds inspiration and friendship among East Bay chefs and food artisans By Kristina Sepetys | Illustrations by Mary Brown   Sylvan Brackett cooking with Nancy Singleton Hachisu at her farmhouse kitchen in Japan.  (Photo by Kenji Miura) It’s Monday evening…

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“IT TAKES A GRANDMOTHER”

Saqib Keval calls the community and the ancestors to the People’s Kitchen Photos by Nicki Rosario Perhaps you have heard legends regarding the challenges of securing reservations at the French Laundry or Chez Panisse? Well, it might be just as hard to book a seat for dinner at the People’s Kitchen of Oakland. The comparison…

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