Kitchens for Good Launching "Dinners for Good"

I've been a fan of Kitchens for Good since, well, before it even launched just a couple of years ago.

Never heard of the organization? Well, top of line, it's a San Diego culinary school designed for people 18 and older with barriers to employment—youths aging out of foster care, veterans or people who were formerly incarcerated, for example. The program, which is free to the students, uses curriculum developed by LA Kitchen and DC Central Kitchen, which together have graduated more than 1,500 students over 25 years and have a 90 percent success rate of full-time employment within three months of graduation. Kitchens for Good teaches both fundamental culinary skills, including knife skills, baking, fish fabrication and plating, and what founder and president Chuck Samuelson called “soft skills,” like anger management, résumé writing and professional social interaction. Students graduate the program with ServSafe certification and job placement assistance.

And it's graduated hundreds of students so far. But Kitchens for Good is more than just a culinary school. It's an advocate and example of reducing food waste. It provides nutritious meals for families in need. And it funds jobs and supports local farmers.

Any nonprofit that is juggling this many projects needs financial support. And Kitchens for Good used the collective smart noggins and came up with a new fundraising program: Dinners for Good.

Dinners for Good is a combination chef demo and tasting series sponsored by Catalina Offshore Products and Specialty Produce (yes, the same folks who have brought us Collaboration Kitchen). It  will be hosted by Catalina Offshore Products' Tommy Gomes. Each event will consist of a five-course tasting menu with paired drinks--all prepared by some of San Diego's best chefs during a live cooking demonstration.

Tommy Gomes

The kickoff event will be held on March 24 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Kitchens for Good. It will feature Gomes, with Hanis Cavin of Carnitas Snack Shack and "Sam the Cooking Guy" Zien of Not Not Tacos.

Hanis Cavin

Here's the menu:
1st course:
Shaved squash / roasted cherry tomato / almond
tapenade / manchego / sherry vinaigrette

2nd course:
Smoked pork stuffed sweet-pepper / corn puree / corn-
pork belly sauté / chive oil

3rd course:
Roasted black cod / mussels / sweet garlic / toasted
focaccia / mirepoix / black pepper butter

4th course:
Seared NY strip / crisp potato cake /
mushroom-onion-lardon hash / port reduction

5th course:
Mini ice cream cookie sandwiches /
white chocolate dipped

Sam "the Cooking Guy" Zien

On April 28, the next Dinners for Good program will feature Gomes with Matt Gordon of Urban Solace and Solace & the Moonlight Lounge and Sam Zien.

On June 30, the program will feature Karen Barnett of Small Bar, Logan Mitchell of Cellar Door, and Coral Fodor of Garden Kitchen.

Tickets for Dinners for Good are $115--remember, the proceeds from the events support Kitchens for Good and their culinary job training program!

Kitchens for Good is located at 404 Euclid Avenue Suite 102, San Diego 92114.




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The Fish Pit's Flaming Poke Bowl

Zach Stofferahn looks like he could be one of the students at San Diego State who frequent his little restaurant Fish Pit that sits on College Ave. near El Cajon Blvd. In fact, he's an accomplished chef with a long-time love of Japanese food that is the essence of Fish Pit--sushi done his way. Fish Pit, which has been around since October 2016, is all about seafood--poke bowls, fish tacos, ceviche, salads, rolls, and more.

The first time I visited, my friend Trish Watlington and I shared his Green Papaya Salad, which was a refreshing mixture of julienned green papaya, mango, and cucumber with sprouts and roasted peanuts tossed in Thai Lime Vinaigrette and his sweet chili sauce. I then dug into a Jumbo Shrimp Taco, made with fired garlic spiced shrimp, mixed cabbage, fresh salsa, and cilantro.

Stofferahn started cooking at the age of 14, when he got a job at Wendy's Sukiyaki in Utah, where he was raised. He came to San Diego for his formal culinary education at the Art Institute. He spent time at Cafe Japengo training under chefs Jerry Warner and James Montejano. When he was all of 20 he relocated to Park City, Utah to cook for Sundance Festival attendees. At one point, Stofferahn ran his own catering business in Park City. But then came the financial crash and by 2010, he was back in San Diego where he opened and then ran Sabuku Sushi on Adams Ave. for four years as executive chef. And then he decided that once again it was time for him to go out on his own. He took random gigs, worked at Petco Park, making sushi for local big shots, including the Spanos family, and started catering again. In fact, he still has a mobile sushi bar he takes out to do catering gigs. Then he opened Fish Pit.

When you arrive at Fish Pit, you'll see its cool "shack" look. Think Moondoggie's beach shack in Gidget. In fact, Stofferahn built all of it using pallets, stacks of which he still has in his backyard. Seating is limited to about 10--all outdoors along a counter that wraps around three sides.

Cool backstory, but it's the food that counts, right? Read the menu on the blackboards and you'll see Stofferahn's dishes are whimsical takes on sushi but the ingredients are local and sustainable--seafood from Catalina Offshore Products, produce from Specialty Produce's farmers market section. He's also  conscious of how he deals with food waste. A guy in the neighborhood who grows coffee beans and produce in his backyard for his wife, who is ill and needs impeccably "clean" food, picks up produce and fish waste to fertilize his garden.

When it came time to make a dish for San Diego Foodstuff, we decided to focus on his Flaming Poke Bowl. I loved the fresh Big Eye tuna that's featured but it also featured grilled salmon skill. C'mon, who wouldn't want to just snack on grilled salmon skin.

Watching Stofferahn prepare a seemingly simple dish revealed his skill. Because it's not at all simple once you get past dicing vegetables. The daikon sticks, for example, require a thorough competency in katsuramuki, a Japanese technique for peeling away a thin, wide, even layer of the daikon around its circumference before slicing it into matchstick-size pieces.

There's the skinning of the salmon and then seasoning and grilling it. Stofferahn advises leaving some meat on the skin for flavor and when you grill it, starting with flesh side down, leave it for longer than you think you should--until it starts to lift off the grill, then turn it over to the skin side.

Finally, there's the defining Triple X Sauce that is the "flaming" part of the poke bowl. This is a sauce you can use in other dishes. But here's the thing, combine the ingredients a few days out from when you plan to use it because you want the chili slices to marinate in the vinegar. Then you have pickles, some of which will be turned into sauce, some left to top the poke bowl.

There are lots of steps to this bowl, but it's not at all complicated. And it's so worth the effort.

Flaming Poke Bowl
From Zach Stofferahn of Fish Pit
(printable recipe)
Yield: 1 bowl

Ingredients
1 tablespoon each olive oil and canola oil
¼ red onion, sliced
1 piece of raw salmon skin about 3” by 6” with just a little meat on it
Salt and pepper
4 to 5 ounces raw Big Eye tuna, diced into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup hothouse cucumber, seeded and diced
1 ½ ounces seaweed salad (available at Asian markets)
¼ avocado, diced
1 ounce daikon, peeled, thinly sliced into matchsticks (keep in cold water to stay crisp)
1 quarter fresh lime
1 cup white or brown rice, cooked
Handful of mixed greens
1 tablespoon Triple X Sauce (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
2 ounces Ponzu sauce
Peppers from Triple X Sauce
Sesame seeds

Directions
1. Heat oils in a skillet and add onion. Sauté until caramelized, then remove from heat and set aside.
2. While the onion is cooking, season the flesh side of the salmon skin and place flesh side down on a hot grill or griddle. Season the skin side and let cook until the flesh side of the grill almost lifts off the grill. Flip it over to grill the skin. Remove and let cool, the slice thinly.

3. In a bowl, mix together the tuna, cucumber, seaweed salad, avocado, and daikon.
4. While putting together the dish, grill the lime quarter on both sides. Set aside.
5. In the bottom of your serving bowl, place the rice on one side and the greens on the other. Spoon in the tuna mixture. Add the three sauces. Arrange caramelized onions on the tuna mixture, then spoon the pickled pepper slices over the top. Add the salmon skin slices and sprinkle the dish with sesame seeds. Finish with the grilled lime quarter.

Triple X Sauce
Yield: 24 ounces

Mix together the ingredients for this spicy sauce at least three days before you expect to use it so the chili slices can absorb the garlic, vinegar, and sugar. Then reserve some of the pickled slices and blend the rest.

Ingredients
6 garlic cloves, skinned
20% habanero chilies
12.5% serrano chilies
12.5% fresno chilies
35% jalapeños
20% Thai chilies
Rice wine vinegar—enough to cover chilies
Handful of sugar

Directions
Slice chilies crosswise. Mix together with garlic cloves. Cover with rice wine vinegar and add sugar. Mix well and refrigerate for at least three days. Remove a couple of tablespoons of the pickled chilies and set aside. Blend the rest until smooth.

Fish Pit is located at 4632 College Ave. Visit the website to find out when it's open.

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Nathan Lingle's Pear Tart

It must officially be fall if chefs are now making desserts with pears!

And, in fact, the morning I hung out in the kitchen with Kitchen 1540's executive chef Nathan Lingle the weather was cool and overcast. Perfect for making a pear tart.

We started the morning with David Johnson and his Specialty Produce colleagues tasting vegetables and fruits on their farmers market truck. I walked away with a small bag of smoked sun-dried tomatoes from Windrose Farm, but not before we tasted a variety of pears and melons. Lingle made his selections from both conventional Bartletts and Asian pears, then we walked through the L'Auberge grounds to the kitchen to make the tarts.

Lingle came up with a duck fat tart dough using L.A.'s Grist & Toll Urban Flour Mill's flour that he paired with almond frangipane, diced sweet Asian pears, grilled Bartlett pears (to bring out the sweetness in a bland piece of fruit) and pear balls poached in a dry Riesling syrup (the fragrant syrup alone is worth having the entire recipe; pour it over ice cream or poached fruit or custards). There were also pear slices tossed in fresh thyme and cinnamon, and a swoop of almond butter. Together the various taste notes created a lovely symphony of flavor. He made individual tarts using--get this--mason jar lids as tart "pans" but you could easily make a single tart to serve.

Lingle, who's originally from Camden Rockport, Maine, has been with Kitchen 1540 for two years. Previously, he had been in Woodstock, Vermont as a restaurant consultant, and before that with the Ritz Carlton--spending five years in Philadelphia and 10 in Naples, Florida.

"I grew up in a household where Mom always cooked dinner," he said. "We had a garden and bought eggs from neighbors down the road. The best pasta was made with those eggs. I was eating and cooking duck and goose eggs before they became trendy."

With an uncle who ran two restaurants in New Haven, cooking was central to the family. When he'd return to Maine, the family would gather for a stretch of cooking and feasting.

"As I started to get into cooking, that's what resonated with me--finding good ingredients and helping people to connect with that to have an experience of fresh ingredients and a meal that brought them together."

Nathan Lingle's Pear Tart with Duck Fat Tart Dough
(printable recipe)

There are several components to this tart. Each one is listed below, with instructions for how to put it all together at the end.

Duck Fat Tart Dough 
1 tsp thyme leaf
1 tsp salt
1 tsp water
3 T sugar
1 whole egg
2 T cultured butter
2 T duck fat
1 ¼ cup flour, sifted
½ tsp baking soda

In a bowl, combine thyme, salt, water and sugar. Add the egg, butter and duck fat. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture in small increments. Knead until pastry comes together, and then work dough for 2 minutes. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.

Roll out the dough between sheets of parchment paper. Place in a single tart pan or use mason jar lids to create individual tarts.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Blind bake the tart shells for five minutes. Let cool and reserve.

Almond Frangipane 
2 eggs
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
1 cup almond flour
10 T whole butter

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Reserve.

Dry Riesling Syrup Poached Pears
1 bottle dry Riesling wine
1/4 cup sugar
1 ripe Bartlett pear

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and reduce until syrupy over low heat. Using a fruit baller, scoop out balls from the pear. Add them to the syrup and continue cooking over low heat until pears are cooked through. Let cool and reserve.

Create Tart

Ingredients
Duck Fat Tart Dough
Almond Frangiane
Ripe Asian pears, diced
Fresh pear slices
Thyme leaves
Ground cinnamon
Almond butter
Dry Riesling Syrup Poached Pears

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Smooth a layer of frangipane over the bottom of the duck fat tart crust.
3. Add Asian pear pieces.
4. Bake for 10 minutes.

5. To plate, spread a swish of almond butter on the plate. Place the baked tart on the plate. Toss the pear slices with thyme leaves and cinnamon, then strategically place the slices on the plate around the tart. Then finish with the poached pear balls. Serve.

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Eat Your Weeds

They're baaack! And I couldn't be happier. After suffering for many seasons with roof rats eating everything in sight in my garden (except for some reason my citrus, for which I'm so grateful), those nasty critters seem to be gone, or at least at bay. And, along with the veggies I've planted, which I'm actually harvesting (yet another sign), purslane has started appearing again.

You've probably seen purslane growing in cracks on your neighborhood street--or perhaps in your garden. You've probably also pulled them and tossed them in the trash thinking they're useless weeds.

Don't! Pull them, wash them, and eat them! They're delicious, have a long culinary tradition, and are even nutritious! Purslane actually has the most omega-3 fatty acids of any other green vegetable. Plus it's filled with high amounts of vitamins A and C, as well as moderate amounts of magnesium, potassium and calcium. 

Purslane is a trailing succulent herb with a thick stem and fleshy little leaves. Keep your eyes open for them because they're summer annuals. If you go to Hispanic markets, you'll probably see bunches of them there called verdolago. In fact, I've seen them at Northgate Market, as well as some farmers markets and Specialty Produce.

One word of warning, thanks to my friend Jeromie Jackson, who noted that foragers shouldn't confuse purslane with spurge, another weed that looks something like purslane. Here's a link to a blog that addresses this.

Purslane was also cultivated and eaten in ancient Egypt and classical Greece and Rome--known by the Romans as portulaca. And, it's also popular in the Middle East and India.

Why is purslane so well liked? Well, it has a terrific crunch and is just a little peppery in flavor. And you can do so much with it. Chop it and eat it raw tossed in a salad. Sauté purslane and add to an omelet. Bread it (dip in flour, beaten eggs, and then bread crumbs) and fry it for an interesting snack. Add to a sandwich or to tortillas. Create a Mexican-style vegetable soup with them, along with tomatillos and chiles.

In fact, in Mexico, purslane is eaten in omelets, sautéed as a side dish, rolled in tortillas or dropped into soups or stews. I have friends in Mexico who eat it all the time, prepared like spinach (steamed a few minutes with a little water, then drained and seasoned with a lot of lemon, salt and pepper). They tell me it's better a little al dente than too soft. Joe Rodriguez of Rodriguez Farms suggested sautéing it with onion, garlic and tomatoes as a side dish or cooking it with pork. It also pairs well with cucumbers and is a great addition to a traditional Middle Eastern fattoush salad, which would include large cut up pieces of cucumber, tomato and onion, mint, along with parsley and stale pita and tossed with olive oil.

You know what else? You can pickle purslane. And I'm all about pickling. Add pickled purslane to a charcuterie or cheese plate, a sandwich, to a green salad, or even potato salad. Or just snack on it.

Pickled Purslane
(printable recipe)

Ingredients1 quart purslane stems and leaves
1 quart apple cider vinegar (or leftover pickle juice)
3 garlic cloves, sliced
10 peppercorns
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Instructions
1. Clean the purslane stems and leaves by rinsing with fresh water. 
2. Cut into one-inch pieces and place in clean jars with lids. 
3. Add the spices and pour the vinegar over the purslane. 
4. Keep this in the refrigerator and wait at least two weeks before using. Serve as a side dish with omelets and sandwiches.


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Chicken and Whole Grains Casserole

It's so easy for contemporary home cooks who consider themselves sophisticated in the kitchen to poo poo casseroles. Many of us grew up in the days of tuna embalmed in noodles and Campbell's mushroom soup. Or macaroni and ground beef. Yeah, we've all been there.

But think of it this way: lasagna is essentially a casserole and we all love lasagna. It's really a matter of what you do with the concept, which is basically a meal in a baking dish. For some, it's a way to use up leftover ingredients. For others, it's the quintessential dish you bring with love to friends or family who are too stressed (from grief, illness, new babies) to be able to make meals themselves.

I got to thinking about this recently when I saw a piece on casseroles in The Kitchn. They ran a list of casserole links and what was interesting was that recipes not only described how to prepare the dish but in advance of that, how to prep the ingredients for freezing and provide instructions to the recipient for then making it.

One of those recipes struck a chord with me. It was baked chicken with rice. Once I sorted through the freezing instructions, which I didn't need, I realized that this was a casserole I could fall in love with. After all, it takes two dishes I really enjoy--roasted or baked chicken and grains filled with vegetables and herbs and spices. All this does it put them together in an easy-to-make, one-dish dish.

Like all great casseroles, you can change this up, depending on the season or the ingredients you have or prefer. I happened to be at Specialty Produce recently and they had elephant garlic scapes. These are a rare find so I nabbed what I thought I could use (I usually make pesto with scapes) and decided to add some to my casserole, along with mushrooms, marinated artichoke hearts, and onion.

You could add sliced kalamata olives and capers for one specific flavor profile. Or you could go in a totally different direction with tomatillos, fresh poblano or Anaheim chiles. Or eggplant, zucchini, red bell peppers, pine nuts, and za'atar. Cooking for one? I am--I easily cut this recipe in half for two meals. I just used a smaller baking dish.

So, use this as a foundation for building your own one-dish wonder. I hope you'll share with me what you came up with.

Chicken and Whole Grains Casserole
(printable recipe)
Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
½ cup of your favorite vinaigrette
½ cup onion, diced
½ cup fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced
½ cup garlic cloves sliced (or, when in season, garlic scapes)
1 cup marinated artichoke heart quarters
2 cups brown rice
¼ cup wheat berries, wild rice, farro, or other grains
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups water, white wine, or chicken broth, depending on your preference

Directions
1. The day before you make the dish, combine the chicken thighs and vinaigrette in a freezer bag. Seal and massage the bag to coat the chicken. Refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
3. Grease a 9X13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
4. Combine the vegetables, grains, and herbs and spices in the baking dish. Stir in the liquids. Remove the chicken pieces from the bag and place them on top of the grains mixture.
5. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover the dish and bake for up to another hour. You want the grains to have absorbed the liquid and the chicken to be cooked through with crispy skin.

Savory Citrus Salad

Pity the poor people outside of Southern California this winter. They get snow. We get citrus! And greens! And all sorts of other delicious produce.

I spent some time at Specialty Produce last week and picked up several unusual items.

First there was the real reason I went there: for Blushing Violet Potatoes. Owner Bob Harrington had posted a photo of them on Instagram and I just had to have them. I'd tell you to go rush over to get them but they appear to have been kind of a fluke, mixed in with other tiny potatoes from the Santa Monica Farmers Market. But keep your eyes open for these. They're sweet little potatoes that are cream and purple. Even when you cook them (I roasted several on a bed of course sea salt in my French diable clay pot), they maintain their distinctive colors. You could boil and slice them into a salad for an unusual-looking side dish.

With those in hand, I went into the chilly farmers market walk in fridge and learned about a couple of different and unusual citrus varieties.

One was a Vanilla Blood Orange, sold by Tom King Farms. It has the look of a blood orange but not the acid. So it's got a more bland, sweet--and, yes, slightly vanilla flavor to it. Doesn't sound like something to rush out for? Well, the coral color is lovely and the flavor actually complements the more dramatic flavors you'll find in some citrus, like grapefruit and the other fruit I took home with me, Daisy Tangerines.

Oh, you'll love these tangerines from Polito Farms. They are knock-you-on-the-head fruit in terms of flavor. Very sweet and juicy but also very acidic. They're perfect for snacking and would be wonderful for jamming or baking.

While I was cruising around the walk in, produce wrangler Nathan Bochler decided to introduce me to a couple of other unique items.

One is called yacon. It's a long Peruvian root most often used to make syrup. But if you peel and slice these tubers, you'll find they taste a lot like jicama or water chestnuts. They're fresh and crispy with a sweet, clean flavor. You can add them to a salad or stir fry.

Finally, Nathan produced a Valencia Pride Mango grown in San Diego and near the Salton Sea. Now, they look like conventional mangoes--sort of. They have the right coloring, but they're more elongated. These late-season mangoes also have a very smooth, thin edible skin and gives up a slightly coconut flavor. They also aren't nearly as fibrous as what you're probably used to. What Nathan likes to do is let them go very very soft. So soft that you cut off the tip of the fruit and squeeze to get a mango paste. I tried that but it didn't work for me. So what I did do is slice a large, very soft chunk off and cleaned the pulp from the skin to make a salad dressing.

Yep, a salad dressing. Because I took the citrus and the yacon and created a beautiful winter salad atop mixed greens. I added some sliced red onion, olives, and toasted pecans. Then I created a dressing with the Valencia Pride Mango pulp, lime juice from limes in my garden, really good olive oil, sea salt and red pepper flakes. The dressing was thick and sweet and tart with a little heat to it. Oh, who would have thought you could enjoy something so tropical in January!

Valencia Pride Mango Dressing
(printable recipe)
Yield: About 1 cup

1/2 to 3/4 cup of very soft Valencia Pride Mango pulp
Juice from 1 and 1/2 limes
Large pinch of high-quality sea salt
Large pinch of red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons high quality extra virgin olive oil

Using a whisk stir together the mango pulp, lime juice, sea salt, and red pepper flakes. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until you get the texture you want. Depending on the texture of the mango you may need more lime juice or more olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.

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My 2016 Thank You Notes

It would be an understatement to state how tumultuous 2016 was for me. Losing a parent slowly and painfully--and finally, permanently--to dementia takes its toll. It'll be awhile before I'm truly back to my life. Even so there still were a lot of bright spots. There were big-hearted friends who made sure I was doing okay by bringing me food or yanking me out to the occasional movie. And there was my work. How could there be a totally bad day if I got to spend part of it in the kitchen with a chef?

So, I'd like to end the year by thanking all the chefs who over the past 12 months invited me into their most sacred space and taught me a recipe, a skill, a neat trick for me to share with readers.

Thanks to Quinn Wilson of Balanced and Bright, who invited me into her home to teach me about her bone broth and demonstrate how to make her Autumnal Pork Stew. It would be so lovely to have a bowl of that right now!

Thanks to Willy Eick, such a talented young chef who now has his own place in Oceanside, 608. But earlier this year while working at Real Bar & Bistro, he taught me how to make a lovely Seared Scottish Salmon with White Beans, Bacon, Chard, and Pesto Aioli.

Thanks to the energetic Teri McIllwain of Chandler's Restaurant at Cape Rey Carlsbad. She made me her Farro Stir Fry filled with plump shrimp.

From Junya Watanabe of Rakiraki Ramen & Tsukemen, I learned a terrific version of poke that's fresh and flavor popping. Thanks, Junya!

Moto Deli's chef Andrew Halvorsen taught me how to make their rich Moroccan Meatball Sandwich from their food truck. Congrats on completing the new deli! And thank you and Alex Carballo for the experience!

Thank you, Christine Rivera of Galaxy Taco, for teaching me how to make your fabulous Brussels Spouts in the Style of Elotes!

Chefs move around so much! This thank you goes to my friend Anthony Sinsay, who earlier this year was running the kitchen at Duke's and made me his stunning Mussels Adobo. Now he's ensconced at JSix and my story on how he forages in his kitchen will run in the San Diego Union-Tribune next week.

I love Bottega Americano, so it was a huge treat to have Chef Jeremy Oursland invite me to come in and learn how to make his Salmon with Vegetables, Gnocci, and Tomato Fonduta. Thanks, Jeremy!

Chocolatiers are a special breed. Michelle Lomelin of Sweet Petite Confections fits right in with her mix of precision and whimsy. Thank you, Michelle, for taking the time to teach me how to make your bonbon, The Earl and the Tarts.

Oh, my friend Maeve Rochford! I love Sugar and Scribe and loved our time together in your kitchen, learning about the Irish Halloween tradition of Tea Bramback! So good!

Finally, there's Lorne "The Hammer" Jones, whom I met through the training program Kitchens for Good. The Hammer has worked hard to reach the goal of becoming a certified baker and is now baking at Panera. The day we got together he taught me how to make a family favorite, Pineapple Upside Down Cake--only miniature versions. They were divine. Thanks, Hammer, and good luck to you!

I also want to thank Bob Harrington, Kelly Orange, and Specialty Produce for their always generous support--of this space, of my Close to the Source blog for Edible San Diego, and of the community projects I work on. They are smart and far-sighted people--and beyond kind. And, thanks as well to Tommy Gomes and Dave Rudie of Catalina Offshore Products for being my seafood gurus, community teachers, and just great pals. Thanks to the many farmers, farmers market managers, and artisan vendors who always take the time answer my many questions and share their knowledge and bounty with me so I can help our community better understand what they do. Thanks to the many restaurant owners and chefs who are working so hard to put San Diego's best on the table and do it responsibly--and clue me into their efforts. And, last but not least, I thank you for taking the time to read San Diego Foodstuff and sharing it with your friends. It means a lot.

Thank you all for pulling and tugging me through 2016 with your love and concern. It has meant more than you will know.

I'm looking forward to more kitchen fun with chefs in 2017, but in the meantime, I wish all these chefs, vendors, farmers,  and their loved ones, as well as you, a very happy, healthy, and joyous New Year!


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Cold Processed Homemade Berry Shrub

I love a good shrub. The chemical transformation in just hours of the mixture of fruit, perhaps some herbs, sugar, and vinegar creates a unique libation as part of a cocktail, blended with soda water, or used as an ingredient to make a dressing or sauce. You can pour shrubs over ice cream, too.

I first came across shrubs just over a couple of years ago when I met and wrote about the owners of The Gingered Pear. They create astounding shrubs and syrups--so wonderful that it really hadn't occurred to me to try my hand at it at home. Then I got some gorgeous berries from Specialty Produce and that little balloon thought appeared over my head. What if... So I did some research.

What I learned is that there are essentially two methods of making a shrub, both easy and requiring few ingredients. One is via heat and a fairly quick process. The other is a cold method that sits for several hours or even a day or two as the ingredients macerate.

Essentially what you'll want is your fruit, sugar, and vinegar--red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar are good choices. You want something that has some substance but won't overtake the fruit flavors. Balsamic is a good choice, too, but know that it will vie with the fruit in terms of flavors. It's actually what I used for my shrub along with the apple cider vinegar.

Another cool thing about shrubs has to do with the fruit. Since the fruit will be turned into a liquid, you don't need to buy the most flawless, perfect fruit. If you have peaches or plums or berries that are a little past their prime, they're great candidates for a shrub.

Okay, so what do you do? The quick way is to combine equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan and stir the mixture over heat until the sugar dissolves. Then add your fruit. Stir as it simmers and the juice melds with the sugar mixture, becoming syrupy. Let it cool, strain the solids, and add your vinegar. That's it.

Now some people feel that the way to extract more complexity and brightness is to go with the cold method. There's no heat to dull the fruit flavors. This, too, is quite easy. And, it's what I did.

In a bowl I mashed the berries a little to extract some of the juice and allow the sugar to penetrate more easily--sort of a head start. Then I added the sugar, covered the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerated it.

The next morning, I pulled the bowl out of the fridge and could see the juices and syrup already forming.

At this point you strain the liquid from the fruit. If you have a fine mesh strainer or chinois, that's the perfect tool for this. Press down on the fruit to get every last drop.

Then you'll whisk in your vinegar.

Pour it into a pretty bottle using a funnel and you're good to go.

Your shrub will be wonderfully tart and sweet, a combination that will mellow with time when stored in the fridge. I like to keep it simple and enjoy it combined with sparkling water on a hot late afternoon.

I've got a recipe for you that I adapted from Serious Eats that outlines the process perfectly.

Cold Processed Berry Shrub
(printable recipe)
Yield: 20 to 24 ounces of shrub syrup

Ingredients
1 cup of berries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1. Place berries in a bowl and gently mash them to release some juice.
2. Add sugar and mix together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least six hours or overnight until the fruit releases liquids into a syrup. There's no hurry here.
3. Place the mixture into a fine mesh strainer or chinois over a bowl or measuring cup and carefully press on the fruit and sugar mixture to extract as much syrup as possible. If there's some sugar remaining in the original bowl scrape that in, too.
4. Whisk the vinegar into the syrup.
5. Using a funnel, pour your shrub into a bottle. Seal and keep refrigerated.

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