The Creamery Fridge

07/09/2021

02/26/2019

meal for February 28th

Yucatecan white fish in banana leaves, citrus salsa & pickled onion
roasted poblanos, chayote, onions and potatoes
chopped salad with lime
raspberry bars

A little over a year ago I had a chance to visit the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. We stayed in Tulum, which is a weird place to say the least, but in general I loved this area of the Eastern Mexican jungle. Unlike many other parts of Mexico, you can feel the native roots here as the Mayan imprint is still quite strong and alive; in the food, culture and many ancient buildings which still remain intact.

This meal is an ode to that part of the Caribbean, to cooking over fire and wearing summer clothes in winter months. As I write this our little seasonal creek is perilously close to its banks.

For those of you who missed my email last week, today's meal is the very last one for the Creamery Fridge. I've been unable to resolve my ongoing back problems and it's become clear that I need to find work with less impact on my body. In other words, welcome to middle age! It happens to most chefs eventually. I thought I had another decade or so in me, but my body has other "thoughts."

Thank you all for coming along with my on this journey. It has been a joy, and it's allowed me to be home for my kids while also making some money and doing what I love.

I'm not exactly sure what is next, but I plan to start working one-on-one with people who have received a health diagnosis that requires them to dramatically change their diet. More to come...

xo
Traci

02/14/2019

February 14th
paillard of chicken breast with caper and lemons
roast turnips, potatoes, greens and onions
caesar salad
coconut chocolate chia pudding

Chicken paillards are one of the few exciting ways to eat boneless skinless chicken breast, in my not so humble opinion. Thought they have little fat, a good breading and dowsing with capery, lemony olive oil fixes them up good. They are great as dinner and picnic food, or in sandwiches, a meal most kids and adults can get behind.

I love caesar salad! It's hard for me not to order it when it's on a restaurant menu. For some reason I never make it at home, which is why I'm excited about today's meal. I am trying to resist eating all the delicious croutons I made for you.

This pudding is a new one...chia provides a natural binding, as well as fiber, protein and antioxidants. It's healthful properties temper the richness of chocolate, coconut milk is a bridge between the two. It feels important to straddle the line between health and enjoyment in the winter, when most of us are at our least physically active moment of the year.

As I write this the rain is pounding sideways, and the little creek on our property is uncomfortably full. For the most part, all the plants around here are looking pretty happy. We are grateful for the rain, and hopeful that the creeks will stay in their banks.

Happy lovers day!

Please note: no fridge February 21st

February 28th
Yucatecan white fish in banana leaves, citrus salsa & pickled onion
roasted poblanos, chayote, onions and potatoes
chopped salad with lime
raspberry bars

02/04/2019

Thursday, February 7th
Sinaloan street chicken
chipotle sweet potatoes
jicama citrus slaw
chocolate chile brownies

While there are still glorious amounts of rain coming down, the quality of the rain is shifting from the fat heavy downpours of early and mid winter towards the lighter, sideways rains of Spring. Today's meal is also straddling seasons. Another subversive attempt to grill chicken in winter will be belied by cozy mashed sweet potatoes, enriched with coconut milk.

Last Friday I catered a dinner. It was Italian inspired: pasta puttanesca, chicken with figs and vinegar, roasted spaghetti squash. It turned out to be a blustery evening, and the food paired perfectly with the weather: warm, comforting and yet light and nourishing.

You just never really know what the day will be like...I hope today's meal meets you and the day at a sweet spot.

February 14th
paillard of chicken breast with caper and lemons
roast turnips, potatoes, greens and onions
vegan Caesar
coconut chocolate pudding

01/29/2019

Thursday January 31st

turkey picadillo Cubano
pink beans & sprouted long grain rice
watermelon radish and jicama salad, avocado lime dressing
chocolate peanut butter cookies

This week has been a train wreck. Cooking with a wonky back has been my bane lately, then Monday the oven finally died for good, a couple of hours after our childcare fell through for the entire week. I am praying the universe doesn't have any more disturbances in store for us...I'm just trying to get to Friday eve.

Anyhoo, not complaining (ok maybe a little), but also trying to keep it real.

Fortunately this menu was mostly cooked on the stovetop. The rice and cookies were baked in a neighbor's oven. I've gotten to know the ins an outs of four different ovens in my neighborhood due to ignition woes. Good bye, old oven!

I'm sure this is true of many different types of work, but so much of cooking in high stress situations (large catering events or busy restaurants, for example) is knowing how to adapt and pivot quickly when possible. Catastrophes are just part of the business.

I worked at a restaurant with a wood fired grill whose power went out one Friday afternoon when a mylar ballon zapped the outside electricity poles. Of course, the grill kept burning, so we had to race into the smoke filled restaurant with wet bandanas over our noses and mouths to rescue all the food and bring it to the neighboring restaurants refrigerators. A faulty electrical system tripped the fire suppression system on my food truck one busy weekend, spraying nasty chemicals all over a day's worth of food and everyone in the truck. And a restaurant I worked at in the Mission had the upstairs tenant's bathroom come crashing into the kitchen during peak Saturday service. And so on....s #%$t happens.

On another note, I hope you all got to enjoy some of the glorious weather this week.

Thursday, February 5th
Sinaloan street chicken
chipotle sweet potatoes
jicama citrus slaw
chocolate chile brownies

01/24/2019

January 24th, 2019

Vatapa: Brazilian coconut seafood stew
black rice
salad with avocado and grapefruit
teff and carrot cake

The salmon stew last fall was a huge hit. I think it’s the combination of homemade bone broth, Thai chile paste and coconut milk that did it. This Vatapa has a lot of the same elements, though instead of chile paste in the base, I’ll use a Brazilian refogado, made of sautéed aromatics like onions, garlic and peppers.

I love the contrast of black rice with the creamy stew. It’s high in anthocyanin, pigment producing properties that have been used to treat colds, high blood pressure and urinary tract infections.

We are loading up on vitamins, and herbs over here, trying to make this winter with small kids healthier than the previous ones. I'm taking a similar approach with food, and trying to keep things really clean so our immune systems can do their thing. The organic bone broth in the stew, which is simmered for 24 hours, is possibly the most powerful food medicine of them all.

That said, enjoyment is part of good health. I love this carrot cake. It is incredibly nutritious, loaded with calcium-rich teff flour, applesauce, coconut oil, coconut, eggs, walnuts and carrots.

Thursday January 31st
turkey picadillo Cubano
pink beans & sprouted long grain rice
watermelon radish and jicama, avocado lime dressing
chocolate peanut butter cookies

01/16/2019

Meal for Thursday, January 17th

Grilled chicken with zhug
mashed cauliflower and potatoes
salad with cara cara oranges and green olive dressing
almond butter blondies

Admittedly, it’s a bit risky to attempt grilled chicken in January, especially given the forecast this week. Hopeful there will be a break in the clouds long enough to do my thing outside, but if not, there’s always the oven. It’s nice to have options and not be tied to one way of doing things. Perhaps its getting to the part of winter rich in fantasy: of warms days, of the beach, of kids playing out of the house, of grilling and dinner al fresco. While we are all still enjoying the stillness and inward nature of this time of year, a bit of subversive winter behavior will help prolong the good feelings.

If you haven’t noticed, I can’t get enough of grilled chicken in an infinite number of preparations. Zhoug is a spicy herb sauce of Yemeni origin, popular in Syria and Israel. If only we could all behave as we ate. How many people chanting "build the wall" ate some Mexican food this week?

In the winter, I rely on herbs, citrus and olives to brighten food up. We are doing a cleanse over here and just about everything on today’s menu is approved (except the dessert and potatoes :( ).

As far as desserts go, these blondies are pretty virtuous: almond butter, eggs, coconut sugar and chocolate chips. That’s about it.

Meal for January 24th
Vatapa: Brazilian shrimp and fish stew
black rice
grapefruit and avocado salad
teff carrot cake

01/10/2019

January 10th
turkey and zucchini burgers with yogurt sumac sauce
squash and white beans
salad with cauliflower & tahini dressing
tahini brownIes

These turkey burgers are a staple at our house. I love how much zucchini you can sneak into them. I don't usually manage to make the yogurt sauce for family dinners. They are delicious without, but the sauce takes them to another dimension.

After the onslaught of baked goods and rich meals (and not cooking for the better part of two weeks), it feels good to be back in the kitchen working with lots of vegetables.

These tahini brownies have become my most requested dessert. They are my favorite too.

I'm going to have to keep it short today- I hurt my back again on the drive home from Southern California, and I'm running behind/slow this week.

I hope you all got plenty of extra sleep and leisure time with your loved ones the past two weeks!

January 17th
Grilled chicken with zhug
mashed cauliflower and potatoes
salad with citrus and green olive dressing
almond butter blondies

12/18/2018

Dec 20th
spatchcocked chicken with chimichurri
roasted vegetables
lettuce with sherry vinaigrette (state bird provisions)
chocolate buckwheat cookies

So today's entree doesn't have the most compelling name, but here's the story:

A spatchcock, otherwise known as "spattlecock", is poultry or game that has been prepared for roasting or grilling by removing the backbone, and sometimes the sternum of the bird and flattening it out before cooking. The preparation of a bird in such a manner for cooking may also be known as butterflying the bird.

Anyway, rest assured that it is one of the more delicious ways to prepare chicken indoors with reasonable home equipment. And the chimichurri comes from close family ties...one of my best high school friends, Rob, was born in Argentina. His father's family is originally from Japan. I often spend the 24th of December with them, and in addition to a table loaded with grilled meats, empanadas and the classic "Russian" potato salad, there is also sushi! His chimichurri, the classic Argentine herb sauce for meats, uses rice wine vinegar as the
acid and it's the best I've tasted. One year I gleaned the ingredients from him, and I've figured out measurements that make a version pretty close to his.

Today's meal is quite clean and light nourishment, some preparation for what lies ahead the next two weeks. Even the sweet is somewhat virtuous, well, except for the chocolate! Buckwheat is actually a grass and not a wheat, so besides being unique and delicious, those with wheat allergies can enjoy it.

Happy winter break! See you in the New Year.

Jan 10th
turkey and zucchini burgers with yogurt sumac sauce
squash and white beans
salad with cauliflower & tahini dressing
tahini brownes

12/13/2018

meal for Thursday December 13th

Indian spiced white fish with citrus salsa
carrot and winter squash puree
cucumber and kale salad with jimmy nardello vinaigrette
coconut lime bread

Today's meal is brought to you in part by our local library and a bunch of inspiring cookbooks published in the last year. Some are new recipes/experiments, others adaptions of recipes I've already tried.

The spices in today's fish are a new recipe from Samin Nosrat's fabulous book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. She now has a series on netflix, and she's getting a lot of (well deserved exposure). I've gleaned some excellent recipes from her. If you are looking for an easy and fun weekend bread baking project, check out the focaccia recipe on her website cooking section on "fat", www.saltfatacidheat.com. It's a no knead dough that needs to ferment overnight. Follow the instructions carefully and you will be rewarded with the best focaccia you've ever eaten, made by your own hands!

The jimmy nardello pepper vinaigrette recipe is from the State Bird Provisions, just like last week's carrot juice vinaigrette, a new discovery and a keeper. The whole menu today is a new one, inspired and adapted from three books and one online recipe.

Today's write up will have to be short and sweet, as one would have in December, I'm behind on just about everything. Next week is the last menu of the year, I'll be back in business on January 10th.

meal for Thursday December 20th

spatchcocked chicken with chimichurri
roasted vegetables
lettuce with sherry vinaigrette
chocolate buckwheat cookies

12/06/2018

meal for Thursday December 6th

Devil's chicken thighs
potatoes and green beans
salad with radish and celeriac
chocolate brownie

This is possibly all time favorite chicken dish. Dijon mustard, bread crumbs, tarragon, onions, vermouth, with hails from one of my favorite cookbooks, Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Lucques is an LA restaurant run by chef/owner Suzanne Goin. I interned there in between semesters of cooking school; I probably learned more relevant skills in my three months there than in two years of cooking school.

Compared to just about every other food business I worked for, Lucques stood out. They worked directly with farmers before it was common practice. Suzanne runs her kitchen with equal parts fairness, good taste, reason and exacting standards. An absolute anomaly in the food industry. She remains my favorite living role model in the food world. I always wonder what path my life would have taken if I'd accepted her offer to continue working there instead of finishing culinary school and heading north.

The salad today has classic French ingredients of celery root and radish. Since there is already a good amount of mustard in the chicken, I deviated from tradition and experimented with a carrot juice vinaigrette from a new library acquisition, the State Bird Provisions cookbook. State Bird Provisions is an SF restaurant I've been trying to get reservations at my past three birthdays. Every since they were named as one of the best restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit magazine, reservations have been nearly impossibly to get. Stuart Brioza, the chef, and his wife, pastry chef Nicole Krasinski, seem to have the makings of some of the best restauranteurs: creative backgrounds (photography, ceramics), and years and years of training at some great restaurants.

Lastly, a decadent chocolate brownie. Happy December!

Thursday December 13th
Indian spiced white fish with citrus salsa
carrot and winter squash puree
cucumber and kale salad with jimmy nardello vinaigrette
coconut lime bread

11/28/2018

meal for Thursday November 29th

salmon and sweet potato curry
bhutanese red rice
massaged kale, pomegranate and persimmon salad
almond cookies

We've all been craving soups and stews over here. Whether it's our bodies way of detoxing all of the smoke inhaled, or the tendency of the season, today's curry fits the bill. It's loaded with homemade bone broth, coconut milk and the magic red curry paste that can't be compared to the store bought stuff. This Thai inspired stew is cleansing and nourishing and best eaten while staring out the window at the softly falling rain (yay rain). Serve it over warm red rice.

Curry comes from the Tamil word for sauce, kahri. Thailand is the only southeast Asian country not colonized by the west, but its culture and food were influenced by neighbors. From India came Buddhism and spices such as cumin, coriander and cardamom. The Malays to the south shared their love of coconuts. Chiles came via South America from Portuguese Missionaries in the 16th century. It can be fun to trace a dish back to it's roots. So many unique forces converged to bring us what we eat today, a testament to our history and our present all in one mouthful.

While these almond cookies hail from Siena, to me they pair equally well with Asian cuisine, and I think the recipe is so much better then the classic Chinese almond cookies you find in restaurants. Made with almond flour, coconut sugar and egg whites, they are nutrient dense and nourishing. A pious sweet for these days between winter holiday fare.

Thursday December 6th

Devil's chicken thighs
potatoes and green beans
salad with radish and celeriac
gf chocolate brownie

11/15/2018

Thurs Nov 15- Creamery Fridge
moroccan chicken stew with preserved lemons
black quinoa with sweet potatoes
carrot, pepper and feta salad
lemon pound cake

Eddy and I spent last weekend in Big Sur at Esalen. It was a second attempt at celebrating our 10 year anniversary. The first celebration was in May: I threw my back out on our planned night away and I spent the day we had intended to hike in the car, unable to walk. Now that my back is much better, I've been feeling the urge to have a redo. Everything about our two and a half days away was fabulous. Being fed delicious, healthy food prepared by other people was one highlight. Esalen has a cafeteria, and some of the food they prepare is picked in their extensive gardens.

I have had to drag myself back into the routine of shopping, cooking and cleaning this week. While I'm sure it was a good thing, it was almost a tease to have a couple of days of the good life, soaking in hot tubs, taking in workshops and taking a break from the heavy lifting of life with kids and work. It has me fantasizing about having a community kitchen here. While that is just a dream, at least there is one night a week you can all take a break. I wish a good fit a hot spring soak in a big mason jar.

Today's meal has just about every color but blue. You eat first with your eyes! We're on a stew kick around here, to help ease the transition to colder nights and mornings. This chicken stew is warming, and hearty and delicious. It also has a gift from last Spring, some preserved lemons which offer brightness and hints of the seasons to come.

Liz Pruiett's delicious lemon pound cake has earned a spot in the dessert rotation. No fridge next week: we'll be away.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! (and don't overcook the turkey!!).

Nov 19th- away all week

Thur Nov 29th- Creamery Fridge
salmon and sweet potato curry
bhutanese red rice
massaged kale, pomegranate and persimmon salad
almond cookies

11/07/2018

meal for Thursday November 8th

lamb stracotta with olives and oranges
sprouted rice risotto with winter squash
arugula and fall fruit salad
almond cardamom cake

As much as I love this time of year, for me there is sadness in leaving summer behind and heading towards the cold and darkness.

Eating the foods of the season, and transitioning towards warming stews, risottos, soups and hearty dishes helps bring comfort and acceptance inside our bodies. I suppose the same could be said for the turnings happening all over the globe. As we move towards darkness and greater unknown, the best we can do is be present to every moment. I hope today's meal helps brings your family comfort and togetherness.

Today's combination of this lamb stew risotto is so luxurious, it's a wonder it's made without the traditional butter and parmesan. I think the secret ingredient here is high quality homemade bone broth. I make my own bone broth, and simmer it for 24 hours. Save for Three Stone Hearth in Berkeley, I've yet to find one for purchase that has depth and purity. Most people start with inferior quality chicken bones; and because of the long, slow, simmer all the impurities are drawn out and easy to taste. Bone broth gives the risotto a depth and richness that makes it feel complete. It's so satisfying to take classic recipes and turn them into something nourishing that just about everyone can eat.

After the abundance of melons in our csa box this summer, suddenly there were no more. This fall fruit salad is so beautiful, filled with crunchy persimmons, pomegranates, apple pears, and fuji apples, it makes me forget we'll have to wait another three seasons before fruit gets exciting with the return of the cherries, strawberries and harbingers of Spring.

I'm playing with my favorite almond cake today, with the addition of cardamom.

Thursday Nov 15
moroccan chicken stew with preserved lemons
black quinoa with sweet potatoes
carrot, pepper and feta salad
lemon pound cake

10/30/2018

Meal for Thursday November 1

miso mustard fish
sweet potatos with scallion "butter"
salad with endive, jicama, snap peas and sesame
ginger cake

I once had a cookbook of 3-4 ingredient recipes. There is no correlation between number of ingredients in a dish and deliciousness. I am always looking for simple, quick and elegant ways to prepare food. Even though I love to cook, I don't like fussy recipes with too many steps. Today's miso mustard glaze comes from that book. It is basically miso, dijon mustard, honey (or maple syrup), lemon juice and salt. So simple yet so delicious. The less ingredients you have, the more important their quality is.

When it comes to buying fish, you never know what you'll find. It's best to keep an open mind and not be set on one kind. If what you had your heart set on is looking lackluster, it's best to find the freshest, most beautiful substitute. There are three main ways to tell how fresh a fish is: the eyes should be taut (if it's whole), the flesh should be firm (A finger push in shouldn't leave a mark), and lastly, it shouldn't smell fishy. I often ask to smell a fish; good fishmongers don't balk at that request; they know it's the best way to determine freshness). I rarely name what fish I'll be preparing (unless it's wild salmon that's flash frozen on the fishing boat). Good cooking and eating requires a bit of a sense of adventure and surprise.

Through the exercise of dairy free cooking and baking, I've come to love coconut oil. It is a fantastic substitute for butter, especially in baking. It has similar properties, and acts and taste quite similar. The scallion butter on the sweet potatoes seems lighter and more virtuous made with it's vegetal counterpart.

If you been with me a while, you might have noticed no two salads are ever the same. Salad is just about my favorite thing in the world to eat. I'm always hunting for what looks freshest and most exciting. Even the dressing is rarely from a recipe, but rather a slow process of tasting, adjusting, tasting and adjusting until it's as good as it can be.

The ginger cake is making the rounds. As you may remember, my first version had too much fresh ginger and made some kids cry. I love the process of making things over and over again, honing recipes and getting closer to perfection. I love this recipe!

Thursday November 8th
lamb stracotta with olives and oranges
sprouted rice risotto with winter squash
arugula and fall fruit salad
almond cardamom cake

10/25/2018

meal for Thursday October 25th

chicken with poblano "cream" sauce
Rancho Gordo midnight black beans
salad with jicama, avocado and pineapple dressing
coconut tres leches cake

Language tells so much about a culture. In Mexico, the sheer number of names for chiles in their different states shows how important they are in Mexican cuisine. Often, the name for a fresh chile is different than it's dried version and also different from it's smoked version. A dried poblano chile is called an ancho chile. And in the case of the poblano, it has more names. When sliced in strips and sautéed, it's called rajas. They are also sometimes called Pasillas. Poblanos have tremendous flavor, but you have to be careful. Sometimes (usually in the hottest months) they can be fire-y hot. And other times they taste like a flavorful green bell pepper (one that actually tastes good). Unlike green bell peppers, poblanos are green in their ripened state. Green bell peppers, on the other hand, are the byproduct of an impatient farmer and shouldn't be eaten. But I digress...

Anyway, the pairing of thick Mexican cream, or "crema", roasted onions and poblanos is a classic one in Mexico, often served over chicken. Today I am playing with coconut milk as a substitute to see if I can find an equally delicious counterpart to the traditional sauce.

Rancho Gordo is a Napa-based company that scours tiny indigenous markets in Mexico, looking for special beans. There was a great article on the owner, Steve Sando, in the New Yorker last year. He goes to these small markets, falls in love with a bean, and then, with the help of two local translators. tries to convince the farmers to grow very large quantities of the beans that he will then purchase and import. The beans he finds are always lovely, they hold up well to cooking, tend to keep their shape, have creamy texture and a myriad of shapes and colors. I'm in love with this company.

Coconut tres leches cake is back! One of a small handful of gluten free cakes I loved enough last year to make again.

Happy Halloween ya'll!

Thur Nov 1- Creamery Fridge
miso mustard fish
sweet potatos with scallion "butter"
salad with endive, jicama, snap peas and sesame
ginger cake

10/16/2018

meal for Thursday Oct 18th

harissa chicken
farro with black garbanzos
moroccan herb salad
tahini brownies

Last year my harissa came out so spicy. I somehow forgot to order my beloved Turkish urfa chile when I put my spice order in. I went to four stores in Marin and couldn't find it. I had to settle for pimente d'esplette, which is lovely but turns out much spicier when cooked, requiring me to use less sauce then I usually do. So I feel the harissa chicken needs re-introducing, provided I can get my hands on urfa and aleppo chiles this year.

The recipe comes from my former food truck, Vesta Flatbread. For those who haven't read about it before, we served this harissa chicken in our homemade pita sandwich (there was a hearth oven on the truck!) with carrot and jicama pickles. It was very very delicious and I miss eating it once a week. Someday I'll build a hearth oven in my backyard and be able to reliably recreate our pita. It likes temperatures upwards of 750 degrees, too much to ask from a hand me down residential oven.

The contrast of colors in the farro and black garbanzo dish is so pleasing to the eye, especially next to the bright red harissa chicken and green herb salad. As they say, you eat first with your eyes. I also had to make a special trip to the East Bay to find black garbanzos. Last year I had some leftover black garbanzos, black tahini and pomegranate syrup on hand, so I later made a spooky black harissa for halloween that the kids loved. It was surprisingly delicious for something coming from an aesthetic concept.

Ok, can we talk about these tahini brownies? I need to be careful not to have too many extras as I just can't keep my hands off of these. This recipe was probably one of my favorites discoveries last year.

Thursday October 25th
chicken with poblano "cream" sauce
ayocote negro beans
salad with jicama, avocado and pineapple dressing
coconut tres leches cake

10/10/2018

Meal for Thursday Oct 11

salmon with mango salsa
black coconut curry rice
thai kale salad
gingersnap cookies

This meal is a repeat from last year, with an adjustment to the salad. I love the ways all the element of this meal play off one another; the rich salmon, sweet-tart mango salsa, earthy, funky black rice, fresh, bright salad and sandy, spicy cookies.

I was quite happy with the flavors last year. For me, the homemade red curry paste in the rice (pictured here) is what takes the meal to another level. I'm still in search of a Thai salad dressing I love enough to continue making, but I'm getting closer. Today's is a bit different; I've taken classic marinated cucumbers from a Thai salad and combined them with kale and a cilantro mustard dressing. There are 36 weeks to our school year...my goal is to, over the years, create 36 perfect meals to repeat once every year. While it's fun to explore and try new recipes, I also enjoy moving towards perfection; a practice achieved through repetition.

Playing in the kitchen is so fun for me. Before I got back into cooking for work, my skills had been relegated to the drudgery of feeding young kids: quesadillas, pasta, and tiny bits of cut up food. Many an adult dinner consisted of quesadilla scraps eaten over the sink, while dreaming of salad or really any adult food prepared with love. I'm so happy to have this outlet, it makes the inevitable sad quesadilla meals more tolerable.

Thurs Oct 18th- Creamery Fridge
harissa chicken
farro with black garbanzos
moroccan herb salad
tahini brownies