Why I cook
Author: Kitchen Shaman
Crepe o’matic
A crepe o'matic in action. The French invented this machine to be able to make crepes faster than you can by hand. The video shows this piece of equipment in action.
Food Journal
It has been recommended that I keep a food journal, documenting that which I create. My partner thinks I need to think about what kind of beverage or drink would go with the food I’m serving. This is beyond wine, mind you.
She asked what I would serve with what I cooked last night. My brain froze: what did I cook last night? She said, “food journal.”
If you don’t mind, I’ll indulge here. That means keeping some kind of accurate record of what I cook. Not sure it will take the form of recipes, but it will detail what I create.
Dilemmas and top chefs
Still, at work I’m consuming meat as I tell myself “Stop it, Stop that!” The good thing is I am allergic to corn, so most of the products made out of corn are not available to me.
Erotic Food
Recently I reacquainted myself with Matt Freedman Photography. He’s been working with Chef Tiberio Simone, originally from Italy, now based in Seattle, on a project that marries food and photography, two of my greatest loves.
Freedman has done extensive work on The Burning Man project, and photographs many subjects. Chef Simone is based in Seattle, and is a James Beard Award Winner. The combining of these two talents has resulted in the book titled La Figa: Visions of food and form, due out sometime this year. They will be showing and performing in the Seattle Erotic Art Festival, May 1st-3d. That’s this coming weekend.
Obsessions
I have a new obsession: Nutrition labels.
I became a chef to learn about how food goes together, what foods work with each other. I had the humble beginnings from my grandmother’s garden, and her fresh baked breads, and later in life, I began my culinary career.
Now that I’ve learned the different combinations along with ingredients, and all the beautiful ways food can be put together, coupled with the pantheon of herbs and spices, I need to learn about what I am putting in my body.
Food, fresh or convenient?
I’ve been interested in the history of food, where it comes from, how old it is, how it migrated to where it is now. In the last week I’ve learned so much about the foods we eat, and why we eat them.
The books I’m digesting right now are:
The Move and Transfer
Upon returning home from the road trip, I started the transfer paperwork at work. The hardest thing to decide was how to talk to my Chef about leaving. Someone else opened up the door with another discussion. So I let him know that we would be going.The transfer paperwork went through incredibly fast. I already went back out to Santa Fe to tour the property and meet the Chef. The beauty of this interview was not having to negotiate benefits or time off! The Chef’s philosophy fits right in with mine, and he seems to be very approachable.I leave Phoenix August 31st. I’m not coming back. I’m leaving my home of 40+ years. Wow. There is so much familiar about Santa Fe though. I am really excited. We go back next weekend, and they have the Salsa Festival. Chili festivals start in September. And like I mentioned in my last post, it is a Chef’s town. And what I am really excited about is that there seems to be more women chefs out there that are visible. Phoenix is pretty sexist when it comes to the Culinary community, and it’s a shame too, because there are alot of good female chefs here.
Apparently I have endeared myself to many people at The Biltmore. Some of them are very surprised I am leaving. I was pretty set on becoming an institution there, but I get stale if I’m in a job for too long. And the last thing I want to be is a stale Chef.
What’s on order for this weekend? Roasted garlic hummus and pita bread, served classic with cucumbers and black olives. I’ll be really busy working today and tomorrow because we have a very large group in house that we are feeding (3,200 tomorrow…yes you read that right!).
Eating on a road trip
I had the opportunity to take a nine-day road trip. I spent four hours making sure the cooler was packed with yummy vegan foods for the partner. I knew that in Topeka, Kansas, our first stop, food choices were bleak. But we were heading to Denver, destination...Watercourse Foods.
We managed some nice sandwiches at a subway shop in Erril, Kansas on our way to Denver, and had a picnic by the river. Food to fuel our bodies on the grueling ride through grain elevators, corn and soybeans.
Time flies
Wow! I didn’t realize it had been almost 6 months since my last post. Work got really, really busy. We had a bit of a break during the Holidays, and then came back full force!
I have found time to start up gardening. I am tired of high produce prices and low quality, gassed and hot house tomatoes, and having to spend almost $3.00 for herbs that cost that much for the seed.
This year I am growing Anaheim chili’s, cilantro, and basil. Being a Sonoran Cuisine Chef, the more chili’s I can grow, the better my salsa!
Books by Chef Johnna
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