So here's where i've been and here's what I've been doing....stories to follow. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
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Chef Mark and I
Karen Small, Owner, The Flying Fig
Everything you wanted to know but already did.
SUSAN WALTERS
the creator of
THE VODKA CIGARETTE DIET;
How I Got Healthy By Mistake
BY MISTAKE SERIES I
CHECK FOR NEW RECIPES!
(Bottom of this column)
THE VODKA CIGARETTE DIET;
How I Got Healthy By Mistake
BY MISTAKE SERIES I
CHECK FOR NEW RECIPES!
(Bottom of this column)
ABOUT THE BOOK, SO WHY VODKA & CIGARETTES?
When I turned 30, I left a lucrative, corporate, retail job to finish my art degree. What I thought would be a simple transition from modish executives to twenty-something tragically hip students, turned out to be one of the most difficult struggles of my life. Not only was I not tragically hip, I missed my fat paycheck.
In my effort to shake off the corporate world and renew my youthful sanguinity, like many students I waited tables. I knew nothing about food or wine but I was immediately drawn to the milieu, quickly embracing the culture of the industry. I worked my way through the ranks of Cleveland’s best independent restaurants and in a relatively short time, moved into management and operations. The socialness of food was exhilarating! Vacations and travel were planned around food and wine. Savour and Food & Wine became my new bathtub read. Whisks and sauté pans, my new shoes. I hosted insidious dinner parties, cooking with and for friends. I became a “foodie”, a wine geek, a smoker, and a martini expert.
In 1994 I opened my first restaurant, KēKA (pronounced kee-kah). Inspired by my passion for Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine, KēKA was a hip, upscale bistro, set in a trendy, historical, neighborhood in Cleveland. It was within hiking distance of bustling downtown and strolling distance to the local outdoor food market. With my mind set on tapas and sizzling pans of paella, I asked friend, co-worker, and recent celebrity Iron Chef, Michael Symon, if he knew anyone to run my kitchen. Without blinking an eye he recommended Cleveland’s expert on Mediterranean cuisine and mentor to many of this countries future hot shot chefs, Chef Mark Shary.
Mark was the owner and creator of Cleveland’s famous Players Pizza and Pasta. In the 80’s Cleveland was a culinary barren city. Players was the first boutique restaurant specializing in Mediterranean-California cuisine.
Before sustainability was fashionable, Players boasted locally grown, organic ingredients, fresh, bright, stocks and sauces, and house-made pasta. Known for their artesian breads, Players introduced infused oils, tapenades, and grilled pizza to Cleveland. Through Marks kitchen, the future Cleveland culinary scene was triggered. If you were serious about cooking, Player’s kitchen was the place to learn. Mark and Players had a successful 14 years together before he sold it to pursue other projects. As luck would have it, he was available to join me at KēKA.
THE BIRTH OF KeKA
The opening of KēKA was like most first babies, late. The restaurant which was targeted for a March opening was delayed by construction until August. With no kitchen in place but a staff ready to go, we improvised by turning my small city home into a test kitchen and training center. Daily for 4 months, Mark used my tiny kitchen to create KēKA’s menu. The living room became the office and design room. The porch became the training and tasting room. The bedroom became the place I tossed, turned, paced, and stressed through delay after delay. During this time, with the help of local vendors and the patience of my partner Dan, we created an adventurous wine list, an aggressive tapas menu, and a brilliant staff. By the time KēKA opened its doors, I owned a beautiful restaurant, a 23” waist, a two pack a day smoking habit and a hankering for vodka. When asked how I could run a restaurant and stay so thin I jokingly chimed,
“It’s my Vodka Cigarette Diet.”
I have never been a fan of diets, for the most part because I could never fool myself into staying true to one, but more so because they’re just not fun. Please understand, I am in no way advocating a diet of vodka and cigarettes! To the contrary, my Vodka Cigarette Diet was slowly draining my body of nutrition, energy, and brain power. Instead of embracing the “eating lifestyle” I was promoting everyday to my guests; a fresh, tasteful, grazing type of dining, I was “lifestyle eating”, quick, convenient, and processed, with an extra helping of nicotine and blue cheese stuffed olives. Sure I looked thin on the outside but I was fragile and meek on the inside. So without a plan, without counting calories, without cutting out my favorite things, I started eating what I was I preaching and I got healthy….by mistake.
In my effort to shake off the corporate world and renew my youthful sanguinity, like many students I waited tables. I knew nothing about food or wine but I was immediately drawn to the milieu, quickly embracing the culture of the industry. I worked my way through the ranks of Cleveland’s best independent restaurants and in a relatively short time, moved into management and operations. The socialness of food was exhilarating! Vacations and travel were planned around food and wine. Savour and Food & Wine became my new bathtub read. Whisks and sauté pans, my new shoes. I hosted insidious dinner parties, cooking with and for friends. I became a “foodie”, a wine geek, a smoker, and a martini expert.
In 1994 I opened my first restaurant, KēKA (pronounced kee-kah). Inspired by my passion for Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine, KēKA was a hip, upscale bistro, set in a trendy, historical, neighborhood in Cleveland. It was within hiking distance of bustling downtown and strolling distance to the local outdoor food market. With my mind set on tapas and sizzling pans of paella, I asked friend, co-worker, and recent celebrity Iron Chef, Michael Symon, if he knew anyone to run my kitchen. Without blinking an eye he recommended Cleveland’s expert on Mediterranean cuisine and mentor to many of this countries future hot shot chefs, Chef Mark Shary.
Mark was the owner and creator of Cleveland’s famous Players Pizza and Pasta. In the 80’s Cleveland was a culinary barren city. Players was the first boutique restaurant specializing in Mediterranean-California cuisine.
Before sustainability was fashionable, Players boasted locally grown, organic ingredients, fresh, bright, stocks and sauces, and house-made pasta. Known for their artesian breads, Players introduced infused oils, tapenades, and grilled pizza to Cleveland. Through Marks kitchen, the future Cleveland culinary scene was triggered. If you were serious about cooking, Player’s kitchen was the place to learn. Mark and Players had a successful 14 years together before he sold it to pursue other projects. As luck would have it, he was available to join me at KēKA.
THE BIRTH OF KeKA
The opening of KēKA was like most first babies, late. The restaurant which was targeted for a March opening was delayed by construction until August. With no kitchen in place but a staff ready to go, we improvised by turning my small city home into a test kitchen and training center. Daily for 4 months, Mark used my tiny kitchen to create KēKA’s menu. The living room became the office and design room. The porch became the training and tasting room. The bedroom became the place I tossed, turned, paced, and stressed through delay after delay. During this time, with the help of local vendors and the patience of my partner Dan, we created an adventurous wine list, an aggressive tapas menu, and a brilliant staff. By the time KēKA opened its doors, I owned a beautiful restaurant, a 23” waist, a two pack a day smoking habit and a hankering for vodka. When asked how I could run a restaurant and stay so thin I jokingly chimed,
“It’s my Vodka Cigarette Diet.”
I have never been a fan of diets, for the most part because I could never fool myself into staying true to one, but more so because they’re just not fun. Please understand, I am in no way advocating a diet of vodka and cigarettes! To the contrary, my Vodka Cigarette Diet was slowly draining my body of nutrition, energy, and brain power. Instead of embracing the “eating lifestyle” I was promoting everyday to my guests; a fresh, tasteful, grazing type of dining, I was “lifestyle eating”, quick, convenient, and processed, with an extra helping of nicotine and blue cheese stuffed olives. Sure I looked thin on the outside but I was fragile and meek on the inside. So without a plan, without counting calories, without cutting out my favorite things, I started eating what I was I preaching and I got healthy….by mistake.
Chef Mark and I
WANT A RECIPE?
Many of the recipes for tapas, paellas, stocks, and KeKA specialties will be published in my book. In the meantime, if there is a favorite KeKA dish or recipe you'd like, post a comment or question and I'll send it your way!
SPEAKING OF PAELLA
SLOW GROWING
This section will be dedicated to my heroes, sustainability, saving the planet, eating organic, shopping local farmers and markets, and supporting the business owners that support them. I'll try to keep you updated on the latest events, peak shopping times, and any new findings about food and health. Please contribute! Send me news of your event, articles, or your favorite local grocer you'd like us to support! swchacha@aol.com
Here's how to compost foods at home!
www.seattletilth.org/compost/HomemadeFoodDigester.pdf
This is one of my favorite links for CSA and Organic Farming. Lists markets, farms, groups, etc. for not only Ohio, but the entire country. www.localharvest.org
Thanks to Jen for this awesome site! If your looking for anything Spanish, olives, spices, jamon, this is the place to shop online! http://www.tienda.com/
THE FIG SAVING THE WORLD, ONE MUSHROOM AT A TIME
Karen Small, Owner, The Flying Fig
Karen Small didn’t possess the typical 4-year-old’s palate as a preschooler. “I was raised on low-on-the-food-chain food — every-thing was unprocessed,” she explains. “No Wonder Bread, soda or fast food in our house. Most Sundays were spent eating [with] my grandparents, who were from Italy. Everything we ate consisted of clean, natural flavors.”Small fondly recalls her grandma’s escarole soup with ditalini pasta, a childhood favorite. Her grandma, she says, taught her about cooking from scratch and to respect what comes out of the ground and to use it wisely. She calls her grandparents the original herb gardeners. “They had a plot in the back of the house and grew it all, from tomatoes to herbs to fennel and celery.”That period of her life has defined how she approaches and tastes food today. When she creates a dish, she seeks a harmony of sweet, salty and sour, albeit often through unconventional means. Rather than go for honey or sugar to bring in a sweet element, she may place a sweet tomato flavor opposite a vinegar.“These three things have to bounce off of each other in a dish or it becomes one-dimensional,” she says. “When we taste and create new things, we always play around, but these three characteristics need to come into play.”
Find out more about The Flying Fig www.theflyingfig.com
(article borrowed from Cleveland Magazine, May 2008, to read more go to http://www.clevelandmagazine.com/ )
Find out more about The Flying Fig www.theflyingfig.com
(article borrowed from Cleveland Magazine, May 2008, to read more go to http://www.clevelandmagazine.com/ )
VEGETABLE STOCK
I always keep a tub in my refridgerator to throw my bits and pieces of leftover vegetables in. The heel of the bunch of celery, the brunt of a carrot, the ends of tomatoes, the leftover onion, the green parts of leeks, the stalks from the parsley, etc. When I make stock all these bits and pieces get thrown into the pot. I make stock every week, so whether I throw in a chicken carcass, beef, veal bones, or a fish head, it's all still fresh. Throw out the rotten parts and avoid peppers, peas, and starchy vegetables. For additional color leave the skins on the onions.
Remember, in most cases, the longer you let stock reduce the more flavorful it will become, but because vegetables flavor diminishes if cooked longer than 45-60 minutes, veg stock is quick and can be ready to use in a snap!
Always start with cold water, as you want the cold food and water to heat at the same time. Once you bring the stock to a boil, reduce the heat and keep the stock simmering at an even heat. I leave the pot partially covered to keep all the flavor in and I rarely skim the foam off the top, but if you do you will have a clearer stock.
Summer Vegetable Stock
Makes 12 cups
4 cloves garlic
1 yellow onion
8 branches flat leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
2 medium carrots
2 celery stalks
4 summer squash, 2 green , 2 yellow(optional)
Romaine leaves chopped
10 button mushrooms
1 tbsp whole black or mixed peppercorns
1 1/2 cups domestic lentils
Bring to boil, then reduce and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain.
Before refridgerating or freezing any stock make certain it is completely cooled. Stocks usually hold pretty well for 4-5 days in the fridge but I usually freeze all but a quart to use later.
NOTE: If your cooked veggies are clean, ie; no skins, nubs, roots, etc. you can take this one step further and throw them in your food processor to use later as a thickener for soup. Otherwise, compost!!!
Remember, in most cases, the longer you let stock reduce the more flavorful it will become, but because vegetables flavor diminishes if cooked longer than 45-60 minutes, veg stock is quick and can be ready to use in a snap!
Always start with cold water, as you want the cold food and water to heat at the same time. Once you bring the stock to a boil, reduce the heat and keep the stock simmering at an even heat. I leave the pot partially covered to keep all the flavor in and I rarely skim the foam off the top, but if you do you will have a clearer stock.
Summer Vegetable Stock
Makes 12 cups
4 cloves garlic
1 yellow onion
8 branches flat leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
2 medium carrots
2 celery stalks
4 summer squash, 2 green , 2 yellow(optional)
Romaine leaves chopped
10 button mushrooms
1 tbsp whole black or mixed peppercorns
1 1/2 cups domestic lentils
Bring to boil, then reduce and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain.
Before refridgerating or freezing any stock make certain it is completely cooled. Stocks usually hold pretty well for 4-5 days in the fridge but I usually freeze all but a quart to use later.
NOTE: If your cooked veggies are clean, ie; no skins, nubs, roots, etc. you can take this one step further and throw them in your food processor to use later as a thickener for soup. Otherwise, compost!!!
FROM FLOOR8B
Chicken Curry Vegetable Stew Serves 6
3-4 chicken thighs
1 8oz chick peas
1 20 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 2.5lb spinach
6-8 cloves garlic, diced
1 small onion, diced
1-2 Anaheim, chili, or hot pepper of your choice, diced
1 small shallot, diced
3-4 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 8 oz can coconut milk
10-12 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup curry paste ( Recipe below.),
Chop potatoes and boil for about 10 minutes; drain and set aside.
In a roaster or large sauce pan, over high heat with peanut oil, (may use blended oil) sear chicken thighs quickly until skin is brown. Slice and return to pan.
In same pan, add carrots and potatoes and sear. Reduce heat.
Add the onion, garlic and hot peppers. Sweat onions until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Turn heat to low and add tomatoes, chick peas, chicken stock, coconut milk, shallot, and curry. Simmer covered for 2 hrs. stirring occasionally.
Add spinach. Cook for about 1 hour.
The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.
Curry Paste Makes approx. 1/3 cup.
Combine ½ Tbsp. each of the following dry spices .
Ginger
Coriander
Cumin
Cloves
Cinnamon
Fennel
Hot curry
Mild curry
Cardamom
Turmeric
Garam Masala
Add a dash of cider vinegar and just enough peanut oil to make it into a paste.
Add it to pot of curry, adjusting the amount of paste to suit your heat preference. I like it hot so I add it all!
3-4 chicken thighs
1 8oz chick peas
1 20 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 2.5lb spinach
6-8 cloves garlic, diced
1 small onion, diced
1-2 Anaheim, chili, or hot pepper of your choice, diced
1 small shallot, diced
3-4 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 8 oz can coconut milk
10-12 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup curry paste ( Recipe below.),
Chop potatoes and boil for about 10 minutes; drain and set aside.
In a roaster or large sauce pan, over high heat with peanut oil, (may use blended oil) sear chicken thighs quickly until skin is brown. Slice and return to pan.
In same pan, add carrots and potatoes and sear. Reduce heat.
Add the onion, garlic and hot peppers. Sweat onions until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Turn heat to low and add tomatoes, chick peas, chicken stock, coconut milk, shallot, and curry. Simmer covered for 2 hrs. stirring occasionally.
Add spinach. Cook for about 1 hour.
The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.
Curry Paste Makes approx. 1/3 cup.
Combine ½ Tbsp. each of the following dry spices .
Ginger
Coriander
Cumin
Cloves
Cinnamon
Fennel
Hot curry
Mild curry
Cardamom
Turmeric
Garam Masala
Add a dash of cider vinegar and just enough peanut oil to make it into a paste.
Add it to pot of curry, adjusting the amount of paste to suit your heat preference. I like it hot so I add it all!