Winter Holidays 2013
Spaghetti Col Sugo di Baccalà
Spaghetti with Salt Cod and a Spicy Tomato Sauce Recipe from My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino (W.W. Norton & Company, © 2010) reprinted with permission Serves 4–6 ½ pound boneless, skinless salt cod ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 2 large garlic cloves, halved 1 28-ounce can Italian San Marzano tomatoes, broken up by hand,…
Read MoreAbout the Artist
Melissa Garden (yes, that really is her name,) is a sixth generation California native and Oakland resident, with degrees in illustration from the California College of Arts (& Crafts) and UC Santa Cruz. The core strength of Melissa’s work is her ability to skillfully translate the natural world’s diverse beauty and oddity, her subjects…
Read MoreMichelle Lee’s Red Wine Poached Pears
From Any Females in the House? “This is one of my favorite applications for pears throughout the winter. I often serve it with buttermilk panna cotta or with a slice of walnut-honey tart.” —Michelle Lee 3 pounds firm pears (bosc and bartlett work really well) 2 tablespoons peppercorns 1 teaspoon whole clove Seeds from…
Read MoreMore mushroom recipes
Wild Mushroom Pizza By Toby Garrone of Far West Fungi 1 teaspoon olive oil Pizza dough (use pre-made or make your own) 1 tablespoon butter 1 pound assorted fresh wild mushrooms, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices 1 teaspoon dried thyme Salt and pepper to taste 1 8-ounce package cream cheese 4 ounces fontina cheese, shredded 1…
Read MoreWhat’s in Season
BY BARBARA KOBSAR ILLUSTRATION BY DAWLINE ONI-ESELEH 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. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER Kiwifruit, those fuzzy little fruits with the big flavor and great nutritional value, are ripe and ready. Cut and…
Read MorePieTisserie
A Random Act of Sweetness Launches Pie Lady BY SARAH HENRY • PHOTOS BY ROBIN JOLIN In February 2010, Jaynelle St. Jean found herself in a funk. Having traveled cross-country after a relationship break up, she’d just moved back in with her mom in San Francisco and was sleeping on the couch. She didn’t have…
Read MoreBar Dogwood and Stag’s Lunchette
Winning combo in the Heart of Oakland BY SARAH HENRY • PHOTOS BY NICKI ROSARIO Alexeis (Lexi) Filipello knows how to craft a killer sandwich. Feeding folks in the center of Oakland from sun up to sun down, the owner of Stag’s Lunchette and Bar Dogwood stuffs her signature sammies with local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients…
Read MoreSeven Stars of Winter
BY JESSICA PRENTICE LINE DRAWINGS BY SARAH KLEIN • COLORING BY MAGGIE GOSSELIN 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…
Read MoreCHOLITA LINDA
From Farmers’ Market Favorite to Brick-and-Mortar Business BY SARAH HENRY • PHOTOS BY MELISA SOZERI Oakland local Vanessa Chavez, 32, grew up eating fresh, flavorful, often homegrown food in a multigenerational family of multicultural heritage who valued mealtimes. “A meal was an experience, something to come together and share, and the food was the main event,”…
Read MoreCity Girl Farm store
Abeni Ramsey moves her mission from Farm to Fork BY SARAH HENRY • PHOTOS BY NICKI ROSARIO Abeni Ramsey (some may know her as Abeni Massey) has attracted national attention for her local urban farming efforts. They began eight years ago when, with the help of City Slicker Farms, Ramsey, who was on food stamps at…
Read MoreEditor's Mixing Bowl
It’s coming on Thanksgiving as I’m writing this, so it seems appropriate to take the occasion to reflect on things I’m thankful for. The list is long, and at the top, of course, are all the beautiful and loving people (and dogs) in my life, past and present. Then there’s good health, the astounding beauty…
Read MoreWho eats mushrooms?
CHEF SETH PETERSON’S HUITLACOCHE FILLING for tacos, quesadillas, tortas, enchiladas, tamales, etc. Seth Peterson, a second-generation urban gardener living in the heart of Berkeley, has worked as a chef at Berkeley’s Three Stone Hearth and teaches at the Institute for Urban Homesteading. Says Seth, “Huitlacoche [corn smut] is called the Mexican truffle because of its…
Read MoreMore revelations of the mushroom people
Norm Andresen’s Mushroom Finder Wondering which edible mushrooms are found here in Central and Northern California? Says MSSF foray coordinator Norm Andresen, “That depends on the forest and the season. On a morel hunt, one looks for morels but might instead find Gyromitras, boletes, or false morels. Oaks are an excellent mushroom producing tree, so…
Read MoreThe Hidden Kingdom of the Blobs
Revelations from the mushroom people BY JILLIAN STEINBERGER Imagine a subject that branches off in a dendritic pattern, infinitely multiplying and spreading with no beginning, middle, or end. It suggests many connected and intertwined topics, each with endless utopian potential for food, medicine, farming, gardening, ecological vitality, and yet-to-be-discovered uses. Even the Defense Department…
Read MoreMade by Hand
Gifts from Very Close to Home BY HELEN KRAYENHOFF ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVID BALL Homemade gifts come with an extra dose of love. Source your ingredients locally and you’ll be loving the planet too! Custom Teas from Homestead Apothecary Amble down near the end of Oakland’s charming Temescal Alley, open the door to Homestead Apothecary, and…
Read MoreFeast of the Seven Fishes
The Trend and the Tradition By Cheryl Angelina Koehler | Illustrations by Iris Gottlieb “Food trends start here,” a friend with a deep knowledge of San Francisco Bay Area food culture once said. But in a recent conversation, we came up with at least one trend that seems to have started on the East…
Read MoreStuffed Calamari with Celery, Raisins, and Pine Nuts
From The Feast of Seven Fishes This simple and satisfying calamari dish, courtesy of Rocky Maselli, executive chef at A16 Rockridge, works as an antipasto or as a main course. Yields 6 servings 12 calamari, cleaned and tentacles cut away to use separately ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic,…
Read MoreSalt-Cured Ahi Tuna Tataki
From The Feast of Seven Fishes Recipe by Chef Rick Hackett of Bocanova Look for this appetizer on Bocanova’s Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes menu. Chef Hackett says to sear the tuna in a light flavorless oil such as grape seed oil, so as not to detract from the flavor of the salt-cure…
Read MoreBucatini with Dungeness Crab
From The Feast of Seven Fishes This amazingly rich and luxurious pasta dish comes from Rocky Maselli, executive chef at A16 Rockridge. It’s simple to prepare and offers a great way to showcase Dungeness crab. Chef Maselli says that if you take the time to buy whole crabs and clean them yourself, you can collect the…
Read MoreBocanova’s Salt-Cured Ahi Tuna Tataki
From Feast of the Seven Fishes
Read MoreA-16’s Stuffed Calamari with Celery, Raisins and Pine Nuts
From Feast of the Seven Fishes
Read MoreA-16’s Bucatini with Dungeness Crab
From Feast of the Seven Fishes
Read MoreContents WINTER HOLIDAYS 2013
EDITOR’S MIXING BOWL SIDE DISH Cholita Linda PieTisserie Abeni Ramsey’s new projects Bar Dogwood and Stag’s Lunchette FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES MADE BY HAND Gifts from very close to home ANY FEMALES IN THE HOUSE? Oakland’s new wave of top women chefs Recipe: Michelle Lee’s Red Wine Poached Pears THE HIDDEN KINGDOM OF THE…
Read MoreAny Females in the House?
Top, left to right: Sarah Kirnon, chef/owner of Miss Ollie’s; Dominica Rice, chef/owner of Cosecha; Tanya Holland, chef/owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen and B-Side BBQ. Bottom, left to right: Julya Shin, chef de cuisine at Pizzaiolo; Kim Alter, formerly executive chef at Haven and now at Plum; and Preeti Mistry of Juhu Beach Club, who…
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