Vegetables. Photo: Getty Images

Six years ago, Mark Bittman was a full-time omnivore. But then a doctor told him to turn vegan for health reasons, and suddenly Mark found himself facing a world void of meat, dairy, or processed foods. So the New York Times food writer decided to personalize his vegan diet and allow for some cheating. He called it “Vegan Before 6,” or “VB6,” and says it helped him improve his health and focus on cooking at home. Mark Bittman talks about his new book, and how a full-time meat lover adapted to part-time veganism.

Host: Michael Krasny

Guest:

• Mark Bittman, food writer, columnist for The New York Times, and author of books including “VB6: Eating Vegan Before 6,” “Food Matters” and “How to Cook Everything.”

More info:
• Next Meal: Engineering Food : A half-hour documentary from KQED Science
• VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good : amazon.com

We wish this one was televised, too: Alice Waters, Martin Yan, Joanne Weir, Virginia Willis, Nell Newman, Rick Bayless, Thomas Keller, Charles Phan, Joel Riddell and Irvin Lin were among the folks who took the stage for Tuesday night’s 2013 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) awards ceremony in San Francisco. Oakland Food Connection and food incubator La Cocina were also honored. IACP’s professional awards are widely viewed in the food world as something of a gold standard for cookbooks, food writing, digital media and culinary tours. The awards marked the closing night of the organization’s 35th annual conference, which went with a “Dirt to Digital” theme this year.

Check out the full list of award finalists and the grand list of winners. While the awards ceremony stretched out over a few hours and was oddly lacking any form of culinary nourishment (there were definite rumblings after the ceremony about that), it offered quirks, songs and even a few dick jokes courtesy of Libbie Summers, whose Salted and Styled blog won for Best Culinary Blog. On the other end of the spectrum, the evening kicked off with all guests looking up and saying “thank you” as a dedication to publisher Peter Workman, who passed away just this week. It was also emotional for Lifetime Achievement Award winner Alice Waters, who gratefully accepted her prize and joked in her speech that while she cannot farm, “I am a picker,” which got the audience laughing–wise words from the founder of Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard. Waters also professed her admiration for cooking teachers because: “I cannot teach.” She immediately went on to acknowledge IACP attendee and stalwart Darina Allen, whose Ballymaloe cooking school she visits every year (for her birthday).

When Charles Phan won in the Chefs and Restaurants cookbook category for his “Vietnamese Home Cooking” (co-authored with Tasting Table Senior Editor Jessica Battilana), he confessed that he did not have a speech but had enjoyed some bourbon to presumably get warmed up. Phan thanked Battilana, his agent and wife, Angkana. “My wife made sure I turned the book manuscript in, so I wouldn’t have to return the book advance money to Ten Speed Press.”

“Jerusalem: A Cookbook” by Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, received the award for Cookbook of the Year, and Marion Nestle garnered a prize in the Food Matters category for her weighty tome, “Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics.” The deeply satisfying sugar-rush images in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook garnered an award for Food Photography and Styling, and the Dining Around with Joel Riddell radio show won in the Long Format Audio category. The team at Chronicle Books may still be celebrating given their author Diane Morgan won for her book, “Roots: The Definitive Compendium with more than 225 Recipes.”

Culinary Tour Operator of the Year went to Copita chef Joanne Weir, who shared that as a child, she told her father that she wanted to be a bus driver, so that she could drive a bus on every road in the world. Her confession seemed to scare him a little. Weir dedicated her prize to him because he passed away last year. Food blogger Irvin Lin won the Best in Show prize for his photography, and he asked the IACP crowd to “hire me, I’m available,” a sentiment which was echoed by the next winner.

The conference itself is that rare chance to possibly figure out how to eke out a living doing things in the culinary field–it can be exciting but also daunting in the number of possibilities it presents. There were various declarations for members to support each other and that each one “stands on the shoulders” of those who have come before and after them. That may sound hokey and like general conference speak yet three people we spoke with found these pronouncements to be inspiring.

Many attendees shared with Bay Area Bites that the chance of learning from so many different people doing interesting things is one of the main draws of shelling out $750 to $950 to register for the full conference—that’s on top of the $280 it costs to initially join IACP. Off the record, we were told that IACP is in the midst of something of a revamp and that costs and programming issues have been noted if not yet changed. These folks said that they attend as much for the learning sessions on, say, the meaning of restaurant reviews in the era of Yelp to getting a lowdown on sourdough or video content strategy. The coffee breaks are also highly valued and networking even happens in the bathrooms. Yes, really.

Kale salad and eating local may remain a big trend, but IACP attendees see much, much more at play in the food world. We asked some notable thought leaders to answer a few questions in person:

• What is this conference about for you?
• The theme of the conference is Dirt to Digital; what does it mean to you?
• How does the theme translate to the food industry?
• What did you learn about in the workshops and what are the clear trends that emerged from the conference?

Here are insights from Corby Kummer, Danielle Gould, Sandor Katz, Joanne Weir and Sarah Copeland. Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Corby Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine. Known as “the dean of food writing,” Kummer’s 1990 Atlantic series about coffee is a benchmark for excellence in long-form food writing. He is the author of “The Joy of Coffee,” based on his Atlantic series, and the recently published “The Pleasures of Slow Food.” Kummer is the recipient of three James Beard Journalism Awards, including the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award.

Kummer: This conference is about seeing people who are following food issues on the level of the home cook. It’s about how the things that we in the media are interested in and write about play out in real life and the home of a consumer.

IACP has always been the most connected to the real world of any group because it’s people making their living as culinary professionals. They are in touch with sustainability, farming and local issues. I thought the conference was brilliantly named “Dirt to Digital” because online is where all of the IACP members need to be marketing themselves and their products.

With social media, no one yet knows how to master it but everyone’s trying to learn. IACP has always been at the forefront of practical and real world applications. That’s a unique role because being so smartly focused attracts the most interesting, lively and active people in the food world. And I’ll take any opportunity to connect with them.

Danielle Gould is the Founder and CEO of Food+Tech Connect, a media company and network for innovators transforming the business of food. Through news and analysis, events, and custom research, Gould helps companies of all sizes drive innovation and understand how information and technology are changing the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed. She is also a founding member of the Culinary Institute of America’s Sustainable Business Leadership Council and is a regular contributor to Forbes.

Gould: This is my first time at IACP and they invited me to talk about food and tech trends and hackathons as a model for food innovation. Our panel touched on the opportunity and the medium, as well as how to demystify technology. It is also about helping people understand the knowledge and the challenges that are out there. We’re trying to empower people to put that knowledge out there where they’re collaborating with designers and developers to solve that problem. I travel the whole country and spread the gospel and learn about how people are thinking. It’s about using technology to help solve problems, spread messages and improve business models and just accelerate innovation that’s happening on a small scale.

In the past, a book would take you two years and a product would take 18 months. For a food producer or chef, that means that it takes awhile to market things. Technology offers opportunities: now you can self-publish that cookbook in close to real time, and get feedback on your product.

“Dirt to Digital” is at the heart of what food technology is. You’re looking across the supply chain, and food is interconnected. It is a system, and that goes to the consumer. A lot of times when people think of digital, they think of consumers. Emerging trends and what role technology is for each trend is a part of that. Technology is very broad and means so much to so many different people.

I just love learning how people respond to technology and food and how they use it. The other major takeaway was a lot of the panels weren’t very popular or not as sexy but were about funding. Everyone’s having trouble making money in the food space.

Sandor Ellix Katz, “one of the unlikely rock stars of the American food scene” according to The New York Times, is a self-taught fermentation experimentalist. His books “The Art of Fermentation” and “Wild Fermentation,” and the fermentation workshops he has taught across North America and beyond, have helped to catalyze a broad revival of the fermentation arts.

Katz: I’ve never been to IACP before. I don’t think of myself as a culinary professional. The work that I do is demystifying and sharing skills with people who aren’t necessarily culinary professionals. The highlight for me has been to meet people whose books are influential. [Katz was sitting with Bruce Aidells when we caught up with him and Aidells shared the table with us while we caught up.]

Aidells: What’s good sauerkraut without good sausages?

Katz: A kraut — quesadilla is my fast food, and I make it with Pepper Jack. That’s one of my standard meals.

The theme of the conference is significant. What does “Dirt to Digital” mean? I was just on this panel that was high tech versus low tech yet I don’t necessarily see things that way. I’m interested in understanding these processes in their simplicity. So that doesn’t mean you can’t use technology to have more control over the processes. It’s very empowering to see how the underlying principles don’t need equipment. If you get involved in sausage making, you can use a funnel for the casing. You can also just be there with you hands, pushing the meat through to the casing.

For cheese, you can buy nice molds, perhaps. There are elegant crocks to make things but you can also do it with a jar that’s already in your pantry. I appreciate the conference and there’s much information spreading by digital means but it may be telling people how to use their hands.

Joanne Weir is a James Beard award-winning cookbook author, cooking teacher, host and executive producer for the award-winning television series Joanne Weir’s Cooking Confidence. She is the chef-owner of Copita, a tequileria and restaurant in Sausalito. The author of 17 cookbooks, including the newly released “Cooking Confidence,” Joanne is the Culinary Editor at Large at Fine Cooking! magazine. She travels and teaches extensively around the world as well as in her studio kitchen.

Weir: This conference was so interesting because I’ve approached it differently as a restaurateur this year. I usually approach it as “I write for magazines” or my cookbooks or how to fill your cooking classes. This time I’m taking in things that are really different. I want to sit in on the reviewing and Yelping session.

I still love to see all the people I know when I come to IACP. And I love that it’s in SF and I get to share Copita–they’re going over by ferry. I did a tour on Saturday and people loved it. I’ve shared in a different way and am still excited about my restaurant.

For me with “Dirt to Digital,” I don’t know if I put the two together. Yet every single thing I do is fresh. I have an organic farm — and my next series is called “Fresh” for TV. I am always interested in digital media. The market has changed and the whole landscape is changing. My hope is it that it goes back to dirt and less digital. Is that so ‘Chez Panisse’ of me? (laughs) I do digital but food is still my passion. Perhaps next year the IACP theme should be “Back to Passion.”

IACP is pretty current on things. What they’ve done this year is now bloggers have been integrated. I left feeling in past years that I had to do so much on my own blog. I’ve always done food that is following my passion and on what brings about major possibilities for me. I attended a book session that talked about book advance spending and how book tours are back and rely on the digital medium.

My trend is always Mexican, and that comes with owning Copita. I saw the trendologist Kara Nielsen here and she said, “You couldn’t be in a more trendy thing, with Mexican food and tequila.”

I do modern Mexican food.

We used to think of Italian red tablecloths and Chianti — yet now Italian food has come a long way. One of the trends here is taking cuisines and elevating and educating around the cuisine. Thomas Keller was talking about that and I have seen that in this conference.

Sarah Copeland is the Food Director at Real Simple and author of “The Newlywed Cookbook: Fresh Ideas and Modern Recipes for Cooking With and For Each Other.” Her book, “Feast” will be published in December this year and she has authored numerous articles and recipes for Real Simple, Saveur, Food & Wine, Health, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens and Food Network Magazine. She has appeared as a guest on The Martha Stewart Show, Good Morning America and ABC News Now.

Copeland: A lot of the conference is about relationships. I see faces from every different facet of my career and have been reconnecting and catching up on what people are doing that is new and exciting. There’s a chance to celebrate successes while hopefully helping a few people too.

On “Dirt to Digital,” one of the most challenging things of this industry from my perspective is that I started in print. That part has changed so dramatically in ten years or even five years. For most food people who are in love with food, it is very tactile how we communicate yet that is changing so much. The dirt part communicates place, smell, and touch, which are all the good things. It includes the agriculture, and the farmer. There are so many layers and it is complex with dirt. That’s how food is to me: we touch humanity and civilization, nutrition and wellness. In the digital sphere, how do you capture that? I think we are all figuring that out.

I did a panel on recipes and copyright for the conference. There were folks from Pillsbury there who were trying to figure out their contest. We also had teachers, bakery owners and bloggers. As Food Director at Real Simple, I have to be savvy and think about those aspects.

On almost every panel I ask, ‘What’s the best panel?’ This year, everyone is focusing on video. I worked at the Food Network — and yet this industry has been print for so long. With Hungry and YouTube and different avenues, it’s just so video-focused. The trailer for my first book is a minute and a half but my next one will probably be half that, to seventy-five seconds. My new book ‘Feast’ from Chronicle Books is coming out in December and I’ve learned a few things that I’ll do differently. I am coming away from the conference with the feeling that there is room for every voice and every talent. If you are generous, they will help you, too.

It’s official, spring has sprung and the markets are exploding with asparagus right now. You can’t walk two feet without getting assaulted with these vibrant green spears.

I’ve fallen in love with this cold preparation for asparagus salad. It’s perfect for a big brunch or dinner party because you can easily prep it in advance, plus the presentation of the dish with the mimosa of hard-boiled eggs is dramatic.

Have you heard of eggs mimosa before? No, this is not some bizarre brunch cocktail with an egg in it. This kind of mimosa is simply finely chopped hard-boiled eggs, often used as a garnish. The preparation gets its name from the yellow blossoms of the mimosa flower. Spring blooms for a spring meal!

Pro tip for prepping your asparagus this season: peel the bottom half of the stalks with a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer skin. You will end up with a nice tender stalk that’s a gorgeous jade green color.

The beauty of this dish is in its simplicity too. The asparagus gets a quick blanch before getting tossed in a bright citrus dressing, and topped with the mimosa. Scale it up or down as you need to. Easy enough for a weeknight, pretty enough company. Add a slice of EVOO-crisped bread and some creamy burrata, and that could be fully satisfying meal in itself. What I love most about this dish though is that it really lets the fresh sweetness of the asparagus shine.

Asparagus Salad with Eggs Mimosa
Perfect for showcasing sweet spring asparagus, this salad is topped with a beautiful garnish of eggs mimosa (fancy French for chopped up hard-boiled eggs).

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 pounds asparagus
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Bring to a boil a pot of salted water large enough to fit your asparagus. Prepare a bowl of ice water.
2. Hard-boil your eggs — place the eggs in a small saucepan covered with about an inch of cold water, bring to a boil, boil for a minute, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 12 minutes. Transfer the eggs to ice water until cool enough to handle.
3. Meanwhile, trim the tough ends off the bottom of the asparagus spears. With a vegetable peeler, peel the bottom half of the stalks to remove the tough outer skin.
4. Blanch the asparagus in salted water just until tender (about 3-5 minutes). Drain and shock in ice water to stop the cooking. Roll the asparagus on a sheet pan lined with a towel to dry.
5. Peel the hard-boiled eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Mince each finely.
6. Whisk together the lemon zest, juice, shallot, white wine vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Gently toss together the asparagus and dressing until evenly coated. Arrange the asparagus on a platter, sprinkle eggs mimosa on top and enjoy!

“I’m always going to err on the side of whole foods, that’s my philosophy.” Rebecca Katz

Rebecca Katz. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Katz

(Get recipes for Golden Roasted Cauliflower and Bella’s Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato Salad below)

Included in the book is a list of the Super 16 Power Foods, foods that “nibble for nibble offer the highest levels of antioxidants.” I liked the list, but it was missing some of my favorite medicinal foods. Where was the broccoli with its anti-cancer and hormone balancing effects; or turmeric, the potent anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer Asian spice? So, I was pleased to find that the second chapter of the book contained a culinary pharmacy — a list of over 80 foods that are used as ingredients throughout the book along with their various health benefits. Here I found turmeric, medicinal mushrooms, broccoli and many more. There are also notes included with many of the recipes that talk about the health benefits of specific ingredients. These notes go into greater detail and explain the benefits of important foods that aren’t included in the Super 16 or the Culinary Pharmacy like flax seeds.

Here are the three major reasons why I found “The Longevity Kitchen” to be a valuable resource.
• The first is quality. The ingredients in the recipes are truly health promoting. Katz emphasizes fresh, organic, unrefined foods in each recipe.
• The second reason is that the book is almost entirely gluten-free. There are a few recipes that contain gluten but most include easy substitutions for people with sensitivities. In fact, many of the recipes are also free of eggs, dairy, soy and sugar making “The Longevity Kitchen” a valuable resource for people with allergies and special diets.
• The third and most important reason is that the food actually tastes good. I have tested recipes from every section of the book, from Latin Kale to Mango Lassi and they have all been delicious. I have served these dishes to friends and even to my four-year-old twins. People love them. I got so many compliments on the Parsley Mint Drizzle that it felt like cheating; its only six ingredients in the blender after all.

As a naturopathic doctor I focus on optimal nutrition for each patient, and this often involves diet change. It is relatively easy for me to tell people what they should and shouldn’t eat. It is much harder to tell them how to prepare those foods. This book does an excellent job of bridging the gap and making healthy food accessible and flavorful. One caveat is that most of these recipes require some basic cooking skills to prepare. People who don’t already know how to chop, dice, mince or zest may need to brush up before attempting them.

This month I had the opportunity to interview Rebecca Katz about her new book and her philosophy on food. Excerpts from our interview are transcribed below. The content has been edited for length and clarity.

Your previous two books, “One Bite at a Time” and “The Cancer Fighting Kitchen” were specifically targeted to cancer patients and their families and this book is targeted to the general public. I’m wondering why you made that shift?

Katz: If I had one more person come up to me and say, “these books are great, but when are you going to write a book for the rest of us.” …A lot of people are afraid of the word “cancer.” So even though the recipes in both of those books are yummy for everybody, number one — people who have been through cancer and are on the other side don’t want to look at the word anymore. Number two — there was a larger audience to reach. Many of the same rules apply when we are talking about eating for a cancer-fighting diet and eating for longevity. We are still dealing with the major chronic issues that we all face which are free radical damage, inflammation, and getting a lot of antioxidants. Nothing really changes. What changes is the way the story is told, but not the principles of eating. One of the challenges with this book, in dealing with the topic of longevity was how to grab people’s attention and make it relevant to their lives.

Absolutely, one of the things I experience in working with people with cancer is that I’ve become really passionate about prevention. You see all of the steps that led to the development of the disease and you want to help other people make changes earlier.

Katz: There are very few things in our lives that we have control over. But one of the things we do have control over is what we put in our bodies and it can be a joyful experience. We are talking about longevity and our connection with food being one of joy. This is a book about all of the things that you can have, not simply a list about all of the things that you can’t have.

I was really interested in your list of 16 foods. I was a little surprised to see coffee, chocolate and green tea on the list. We know that all of those foods have a very strong profile of phytochemicals. But I wonder if you believe that people need some level of stimulation to be optimally healthy and happy?

Katz: Honestly it was really hard to get it down to 16. Here was my criteria, number one was the antioxidant properties, number two was some of the latest research coming out on brain health which shows that a little stimulation can go a long way. But really every recipe and every ingredient in that book could be considered on that top sixteen. So I was really looking for a blend of nutrient dense, antioxidants, phytochemicals, the right amount of stimulation and I wanted people to look at that list and be able to recognize those foods. I also think there is a psychological component — giving people permission to indulge in some of the foods that they resonate with. Food is such an emotional issue and if you take away everything, people really get upset. When I take something away, I always have to give something back. Just because you want to eat well and be healthy doesn’t mean you should be relegated to the sidelines.

How did you become a cookbook author, specifically one focusing on cancer prevention and longevity?

Katz: I had a motivation at the very beginning. My father was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2000. I took a leave of absence and went to take care of him and I didn’t know anything about cooking for people with cancer even though I was trained chef. There was nothing out there! There was nothing. So my father was my guinea pig. Food was the platform of his life, so it was not an option not to feed him well. Then I got a wonderful opportunity (to work) at Commonweal Cancer Health Program. I really believe, truly, in that connection to food and to being a nourisher — I felt like I had found my calling. One Bite at a Time came out of my experience working with people individually and The Cancer Fighting Kitchen came out because there was so much new science appearing. I was now at a different level, I had gotten my masters of science in nutrition, I was witness to this evolution. I look back and think, wow what a wonderful gift.

I think that is the gift that everyone is looking for in a career, being able to find the thing that you are meant to do in the world and be paid for it.

Katz: Yes, I feel incredibly grateful.

EVENT:
April 5, 7:15pm: Rebecca Katz will be signing books at Book Passage in Corte Madera

RECIPES:

Golden Roasted Cauliflower

Roasting cauliflower completely transforms it into a candy-like delight that yields to a gentle fork. The spices—cumin, coriander, and turmeric—really make this dish sing. Turmeric has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, and holds great promise for maintaining (and possibly improving) brain health.

Golden Roasted Cauliflower. Photo: The Longevity Kitchen

Serves 4

1 medium head of cauliflower (about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds) cut into 1 1/2 inch florets (about 8 cups)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley or cilantro

Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric and garlic. Spread the cauliflower mixture in an even layer on the prepared pan. Bake until the cauliflower is golden and tender, about 25 to 35 minutes. Toss with spritz with fresh lemon juice and parsley or cilantro.

Variations: If you’re not in a spicy mood, omit the spices and toss the cauliflower with olive, salt and pepper. You’ll love how sweet this vegetable tastes after its oven “sauna.”

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes
Storage: Store refrigerated in airtight container for 2 days

Notes: Chopping cauliflower releases enzymes that increase the bioavailability of its nutrients. Delaying cooking for 5-10 minutes after cutting helps insure that heat won’t destroy these enzymes’ effectiveness. Also, the enzymes need Vitamin C to activate, which can be accomplished with a hit of lemon or lime juice.

Bella’s Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato Salad

This is proof that exposure to vegetables expands one’s horizons, whether they have two legs or four. My 8 year old Portuguese Water dog Bella had become known around our house for her love of carrots. She literally comes running every time she hears the carrot peeler come out of the drawer. We figured ‘hmmm, that’s different for a dog,’ and played the approving parents. Well, she’s expanded her palate (or maybe she just likes orange-colored veggies). Now she’s on to sweet potatoes. No sooner do they hit the counter, than she’s dancing and singing around my feet. I quarter and square off the potatoes so she gets the ends, and she’s been known to get some serious hang time under her paws as she leaps for a toss. Seriously, Air Bud has nothing on Bella. Maybe she heard about how good sweet potatoes are for health. Their natural sweetness is perfectly balanced with high fiber content, slowing the rush of sugar into your system. That’s great for vasculature and mood. All I can say is, whenever I make this salad, Bella’s awfully happy.

Bella’s Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato Salad. Photo: Courtesy of The Longevity Kitchen

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, diced small
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 pound orange-fleshed sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (2 medium sweet potatoes)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt,
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (preferably blood orange)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tablespoon lemon juice
12 pitted kalamata olives cut in half
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup toasted almonds or pistachios roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan over medium heat, then add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until onions are translucent and slightly golden. Add the ginger, cumin, paprika to the onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add the sweet potatoes, sea salt, the water, orange juice, and zests. Cook covered for 20 minutes, remove lid and continue cooking until potatoes are tender and the liquid is reduced to almost a glaze. Add the maple syrup and the lemon juice, and olives. Gently combine. Taste and add another pinch of salt or squeeze of lemon juice if desired. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and garnish with the parsley and nuts. Serve at room temperature.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Storage: Store refrigerated in airtight container for 5 days.

Recipes courtesy of Rebecca Katz, The Longevity Kitchen

Steve Sando neck-deep in Rancho Gordo beans. Photo courtesy of Steve Sando

Sexy and bold looking beans from Rancho Gordo: these aren’t your granny’s beans! Bay Area native Steve Sando brings a touch of glamour to his indigenous “New World” heirloom bean company, which was founded in 2001. The Napa headquarters for his company, Rancho Gordo, is decorated with movie posters from 1940s and ‘50s Mexican cinema. Those posters serve as the inspiration for Rancho Gordo’s unique packaging, which feature images of beautiful Mexican women from that era. That is but one creative spin Sando has been put on marketing a food group often relegated to the bulk bin aisles.

Rancho Gordo Napa store. Photos: Wendy Goodfriend

Come summer, it’ll be interesting to see how many of Sando’s posters will make it to his soon-to-open store inside the Ferry Building. Rancho Gordo will move into a space currently occupied by the Scharffen Berger Chocolate folks. Sando sells more than two-dozen types of beans, and Rancho Gordo’s new brick-and-mortar presence will let him expand his offerings to include stone ground chocolate, banana vinegar, grains, corn tortillas, and other products that complement the beans.

Sando originally started his heirloom & heritage bean business from his dining room table, when he was searching for heirloom tomatoes and could only seem to find ones that were from a hothouse in Europe. Many of his beans are rare and endangered, and Sando travels to Mexico and Central and Southern America for research and discovery. In the beginning days of Rancho Gordo, Thomas Keller became a customer and word soon spread. Other famous fans now include Annie Somerville, Marcella Hazan, Deborah Madison and Paula Wolfert. Rancho Gordo quickly grew into a bona fide operation, with much of the bean production done in California. In 2008, he co-authored Heirloom Beans: Recipes from Rancho Gordo (Chronicle Books, $22.95), with Vanessa Barrington, who was profiled on Bay Area Bites in early 2011. His next book was The Rancho Gordo Heirloom Bean Grower’s Guide: Steve Sando’s 50 Favorite Varieties (Timber Press, $19.95).

Steve Sando in his office at Rancho Gordo. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Sando recently talked with Bay Area Bites about the move into the Ferry Building, a book he’s working on, and more. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Bay Area Bites: How did the Ferry Building move come about? How does that fit into the history of Rancho Gordo?
Sando: I have been selling at the Ferry Building Farmers’ Market for eight or nine years and have long been interested in doing a store there. It seemed like the right time to pursue that and I went to my business advisors. They told me that we grew 34 percent last year. Knock on wood, I haven’t taken any money to keep the business going. I live really humbly and let this thing grow. We are taking a line of credit to open in the Ferry Building, but there’s no debt. The most amazing thing is that I did this during the recession. I hear horror stories. We fill a real demographic need for real new world food. We’re not doing Mexican food per se but we do acknowledge that this area was Mexico at one time.

I started Rancho Gordo ten years ago without any sort of agriculture or business background. My professional career began at Esprit, where I was a sales rep. I did all of these different things after that for work and didn’t find my stride. My plan wasn’t to have a bean company. It just happened. I had decided that I’d be a screw up and have a nice garden and maybe work at Target. But everything with Rancho Gordo all worked out.

For our chefs, beans are a drag to ship. Once we open in the Ferry Building, it will be easier for a lot of them to visit and pick up more product. CUESA and the Ferry Building have been really encouraging. Early on, Thomas Keller decided that what we’re doing was groovy – that reaction definitely worked its way down, or up as it is.

Bay Area Bites: Tell us about your Bay Area upbringing.
Sando: I grew up in Sausalito and watched the food revolution. I wasn’t thinking I’d be a part of it, but in high school I worked for the farm worker boycott. We asked people to boycott grapes and lettuce. That was my ‘ag background.’

Bay Area Bites: Did anyone ever teach you about beans when you were younger? Why focus on beans for a business?
Sando: We had taco night when I was growing up, with doctored up Rosarita beans. That’s where my love of beans came from–I could eat them out of a can, I loved them that much.

It seems that we should know our own food before we lose focus. Before, people tried to do beans and had the focus be mainly on the health and vegetarian qualities. I have no interest in health and vegetarianism and feel that vegetarians don’t own beans per se. There was a complaint that my Heirloom Beans book did not have enough vegetarian recipes in it… There is a great bonus that beans are so healthy and are so green to grow. When you make meat, you grow food for cows. With beans, you put the seeds in the ground and have the protein. I’m interested in the green aspects but really most interested in the bean’s flavor.

I am researching a new book on beans and looking at dishes like pasta fagioli and cassoulet. I am finding Jewish dishes and Spanish dishes. Beans are a great ingredient for main dishes, yet too often they are put off to as side dishes or forgotten. The book is still in the proposal stage and we are conceptualizing it.

Bay Area Bites: What are your favorite heirloom items?
Sando: I love heirloom corn because the quality is so much more interesting and there are different varieties. My palate can tell which valley this corn is from, and when they still have a dried corn flavor. It’s not as distinctive then. I just love heirloom melons.

Bay Area Bites: Part of your work at Rancho Gordo is traveling and bringing back heirloom varieties. What have you been traveling for lately?
Sando: I asked Marcella Hazan, “What is it that you can’t get?” Then I try and find it. I asked Marcella and she said Sorana beans. I love to drop a name and it’s fun to just ask folks like Marcella. If you’re a young farmer, you can’t just have beets and chard anymore.

We’re getting more European varieties of beans from working with Georgeanne Brennan. Her husband worked with us on projects and her books are great. We found French Tarbais seed but call them cassoulet beans due to a terroir issue. Georgeanne was really key in her work with early vegetables and bringing the seeds over.

We’re working on getting pottery along the Oaxaca and Guerrero coast and importing stuff from Los Reyes. There’s no glaze on them, and the sides are just really thick so they don’t break. I love the pottery for cooking beans. We’ll be on the coast hunting for pots.

Bay Area Bites: Where do you like to eat and shop for food in the Bay Area?
Sando: I live on Mount Veeder, which is the mountain between Napa and Sonoma. For shopping, I have so many friends who grow food. I get the rest of what I need at the Mexican market.

I shop at Mexican markets around here for sour prickly pear, known as xoconostle. It lasts longer off the shelf and adds sourness to mole dishes. I like Lola’s markets in the North Bay.

In San Francisco I go to Bi-Rite and Fatted Calf.

I used to go to Bombay Bazar. My city (San Francisco) is changing a lot. I had a great 20 years there but now it’s losing a lot of things I used to love.

Related Information:
Rancho Gordo
Address: Map
1924 Yajome St.
Napa CA 94559
(707) 259-1935

Twitter: @RanchoGordo
Facebook: Rancho Gordo

Eggplant is one of my favorite foods. It is almost decadent with its creamy texture, and so versatile because it loves soaking in the flavors of seasonings or sauces like a thirsty sponge. Eggplant is like the guy everyone gets along with — super easy going and plays well with others.

This attribute is especially valuable in a recipe like this, where some seriously vibrant flavors are at work. Thank you, The Kitchn, you never let me down. I made some adjustments, swapping in ribbons of mint for parsley, and feta in place of goat cheese, but the rest the preparation was spot on. The dish is a bit tangy, a bit smoky, creamy, fresh, mouthwatering. Healthy and light, yet comforting and indulgent at the same time.

The eggplant is tossed in a marinade of olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, smoked paprika, cumin, and garlic, and then roasted until all that goodness is baked in.

After the eggplant is done roasting, it’s dressed in lemon juice and soy sauce, and finished off with a handful of almonds, feta, scallions, and mint. And that’s it! The result is incredible.

I’ve been eating it as a salad with big handfuls of baby spinach thrown in, as a side with steak, made into a wrap with a bit of grilled chicken, even in the morning with a few eggs over easy. I’m a little obsessed…and pretty sure you’ll also find yourself coming back to this dish again and again.

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Almonds, Feta, and Mint

Eggplant is tossed in a flavor-packed marinade, roasted until golden and creamy, and then dressed in lemon, soy sauce, almonds, feta, mint, and scallions. You’ll be coming back to this again and again — as a side, on its own, in a wrap, served with eggs…it’s a good every which way! (Adapted from The Kitchn.)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 large Japanese eggplants, about 2 pounds
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup toasted almond slivers
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
Kosher salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes and put in a large bowl. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and set aside while you make the marinade.
3. Whisk together the olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, smoked paprika, and cumin. Toss the cubed eggplant in the marinade. Stir in the garlic.
4. Spread the eggplant onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes, or until very tender and slightly browned. (Stir after 20 minutes and check it at 30 minutes to make sure it is not burning.) Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
5. Whisk together the lemon juice and soy sauce. Return the eggplant to the bowl and toss with the lemon juice mixture. Stir in the mint, almonds, and most of the cheese, reserving a little for garnishing.
6. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the reserved feta and scallions on top.

Three types of lentils in jars. Photo: T. Susan Chang for NPR

Post by T. Susan Chang, Kitchen Window at NPR Food (2/27/13)

Get recipes for Mudardara (Mejadra), Lentil Meatballs With Lemon Pesto and Red Lentil Dal.

The year I discovered lentils, I was broke and lonely and didn’t know how to cook. Lentils, it turned out, would have gone a long way toward providing the solution to some of these problems. However, when I first had them, they were a mystery.

They also were the cheapest thing on the menu at the Middle Eastern deli around the corner. The dish was mudardara, I was told. “What’s that again?” I said, unable to untangle the knot of plosive consonants. It was repeated.

I sat by the window, watching the rain trickle down the plate glass, and slowly ate what I couldn’t pronounce: the rice, the lentils, the caramelized onions. At the time, it seemed like the best food in the world — filling, nutty and earthen, the onions sweet and crisp on the edges. As I walked the block home, I muttered, “Muhdaahrderer, moojardarah, murdarjerer,” stumbling over the rolled “r” in the middle and wondering how I would go about ordering it the next time.

I didn’t know then that mudardara is as common as can be — a staple found throughout the Arab world — and is spelled mejadra and mjaddarah among others. Though it’s thought to have originated in Persia, it’s eaten everywhere between Greece and India, from North Africa to the Black Sea. Even if you have almost nothing, you can probably scrape together a handful of rice and a handful of lentils, and if you can do that, you have mudardara.

Like many other intrinsically boring foods — say, tofu or grits — lentils shine because they get out of the way. They provide a vehicle and a backdrop for other flavors — whether it’s good olive oil and gently gilded onions, or ground spices or minted yogurt. They provide a sturdy, comforting stage for a colorful cast of characters, from chaste cumin to tart sumac, brilliant lemon zest to cool cucumber.

It took me awhile to learn my away around the understated charm of lentils. I started with soup, which was a cinch to make. Dry lentils were another story. Eventually, after many tooth-cracking undercooked lentils, I learned to pan-steam them with rice into the corner deli’s signature dish. I learned, too, that the flavor wasn’t magic. It was onions, as is usually the case. It’s said that Esau’s mess of potage — the one for which he sold his birthright — was an early variation of mudardara. If it had fried onions, then I think I know how he felt.

Over the years, I have come to love lentils many different ways. I eat them in stews. I eat them seethed with bits of bacon or salt pork. I like them in cold salads. I especially like the red split lentils as a hot, spiced dal. I recently found a recipe that transforms them into “meatballs” — airy, nutty, meatless ones.

Yet time and again, I return to that ancient blend of rice and legumes. It’s not that I would sell my birthright (whatever that might be — my father’s name? my mother’s good teeth?). But somehow, after eating my lentils, I always feel comfortably full, as if I could want for nothing. And if I can pass along to my children the know-how expressed in a dash of cumin, a handful of grains and a crisply dealt-with onion, surely that’s an inheritance worth a good deal more than a hill of beans.

Recipe: Mudardara, Or Mejadra

This version comes from Jerusalem (10 Speed Press, 2012), the smashing cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. It has lots and lots of fried onions. It’s not a deep fry so much as a shallow fry, and the onions are so very, very good. If you don’t want to fry, you can certainly caramelize the onions instead (using 3 tablespoons of oil and taking unhurried pains with the texture and the color).

Mudardara, Or Mejadra. Photo: T. Susan Chang for NPR

Makes 4 servings

1 1/4 cups green or brown lentils

4 medium onions (1 1/2 pounds before peeling)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1 cup sunflower oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 cup basmati rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups water

Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside.

Peel onions and slice thinly. Place on a large flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands. Heat sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully (it may spit!) add a third of the sliced onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy (adjust the temperature so the onion doesn’t fry too quickly and burn). Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do the same with the other two batches of onion, adding a little extra oil if needed.

Wipe clean the saucepan in which you fried the onion, and put in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil, then add the cooked lentils and the water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, lift off the lid and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes.

Finally, add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.

Recipe: Lentil Meatballs With Lemon Pesto

These meatballs, from Sara Forte’s The Sprouted Kitchen (10 Speed Press, 2012), are surprisingly light in texture, though robust in flavor. Don’t skip the pesto, as it makes the dish — if Meyer lemons are not to be had, regular lemons will do.

Lentil Meatballs With Lemon Pesto. Photo: T. Susan Chang for NPR

Makes 4 servings

1 cup lentils, rinsed

2 cups water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup ricotta

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

A few pinches of fresh thyme leaves or dried thyme

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

Lemon Pesto Sauce

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

Grated zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon

Pinch of sea salt

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1/4 to 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons water

Put the lentils in a pot with the water and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes, adding water if the liquid has evaporated and the lentils are still tough. Drain the lentils and set aside to cool.

Transfer the lentils to a food processor and pulse until a chunky puree forms. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the eggs, olive oil, ricotta, Parmesan, garlic, fennel seeds, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well. Stir in the bread crumbs and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In the meantime, make pesto. In a food processor or mini blender, blend the garlic, pine nuts, lemon zest and juice, and salt until smooth.

Add the basil, 1/4 cup of olive oil and Parmesan, and pulse again until smooth, adding more olive oil as needed to smooth it out, and a bit of water as needed to get a thinner, saucelike consistency.

Check the lentil mixture by rolling a 1-inch ball together between your palms; it should hold together fairly well. If it seems too wet, add another tablespoon or two of the breadcrumbs to the mixture. Roll the lentil mixture into 1-inch balls and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. They don’t need a lot of space between. If you like a bit more of a crust, give them a thin brush of olive oil. Bake until the tops are golden brown, gently turning the balls over halfway through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove to cool slightly.

Serve with a drizzle of pesto sauce.

Recipe: Red Lentil Dal

This very traditional recipe originally came from a family friend, Rohini Nilekani. I like it best with red split lentils (masoor dal), although yellow lentils (moong dal) also are good. You can find them at many natural foods stores, as well as online and at Indian groceries. The latter are your best bet for the harder-to-find items, such as fenugreek and curry leaves.

Makes 4 servings

1 1/2 cups red split lentils (masoor dal) or yellow lentils

3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon black or brown mustard seeds

2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 or 2 small fresh green chili peppers (e.g. Thai bird chilies), finely chopped

10 to 12 curry leaves

4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons ground coriander

Pinch of turmeric

Pinch of cayenne

1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds

Cilantro sprigs to garnish

Cooked rice

To cook the dal, place the lentils in a medium saucepan and cover with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the dal forms a loose, tender mass (or until it achieves the texture you prefer), about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the age of the dal. Salt to taste.

In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over a medium-high flame until it shimmers. Grab a splatter screen or cover and add the mustard, fenugreek and cumin seeds to the pan (the mustard seeds will instantly begin to pop, so wield the splatter screen wisely). Before the popping ceases, add the chopped onions, chili peppers and curry leaves, and reduce the heat to medium. Gently cook the onion mixture until the onions have softened and show a pale gold, stirring as you go and checking for salt, about 15 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir to amalgamate. If the onion-spice mixture is very dry and stiff, add water to loosen it until aromatic and slightly wet. Add the coriander, turmeric, cayenne and fennel and stir to mix. Add the cooked dal with salt to taste, and cook very gently until just married, turning off the heat before the pan dries out.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.

About The Author
T. Susan Chang regularly reviews cookbooks for The Boston Globe, NPR.org and the cookbook-indexing website Eat Your Books. She’s the author of A Spoonful of Promises: Recipes and Stories From a Well-Tempered Table. For more information, visit her blog, Cookbooks for Dinner.

Copyright 2013 NPR.

Preeti Mistry at Juhu Beach Club with spice jars. Photo courtesy of Preeti Mistry

Chef Preeti Mistry is gearing up to open her Indian street food-inspired, previously a pop-up, Juhu Beach Club in Temescal, Oakland on March 1. Having her restaurant business set up in the old SR24 space in the East Bay instead of the originally planned Mission District is a marked change from when I interviewed her last summer, for the Bay Area Bites’ annual LGBT Pride stories. Breaking off (amicably) with a business partner and wanting to live closer to her work were the main factors behind this decision. She shared that she is now working with family to run the business but has also been buoyed by offers of general help from fellow Oakland business owners. Getting a Top Chef to set up shop in Oakland is a bonus for Temescal, a district that has arrived as a food and dining destination–complete with its own new culinary tour from Edible Excursions and a thriving Sunday farmers’ market.

I was able to experience Juhu Beach Club via a stop on the Oakland Taste Temescal media tour from Edible Excursions. It’s obvious Chef Preeti and her crew have worked hard to transform the once grey and dark hues of SR24 into something that is definitely more Mumbai-beachy and fun: pink and orange swirl together with golden notes in a wonderful monkey wall pattern, which match the adorable tiffins that will be used to serve kids meals (a smart menu move, considering the local population). Her partner Ann Nadeau was on hand to help serve sassy lassis but mainly stayed in the background while the Chef talked to our group. Guests will be able to see the kitchen action, where Preeti will cook with her sous chef and line cooks.

Juhu Beach Club interior. Photo: Naomi Fiss

There are 50 seats and 6 stools and the open space definitely grants guests an up-close-and-personal view of the making of every slider-like pav (with custom rolls from Starter Bakery), Gujarti-style samosa, mung bean “Guju chili” soup, curry, salad and sassy lassi. The menu is approachable: vegetarians, carnivores and kids should all find something here. The color blocked kiddie-friendly tiffins are designed by a nearby artist and will be for sale; I am making space in my pantry after seeing how cute and functional they are. Juhu Beach Club just received their beer and wine license and will be opening for dinner March 1. Cheers!

I interviewed Chef Mistry to find out more about how the process is going from operating her pop-up restaurant to getting an actual restaurant finalized. Her comments have been edited for clarity and length.

Pav (slider-sized sandwich) menu items: Sloppy Lil’P (left+right) Holy Cow (middle). Photo courtesy of Preeti Mistry

Bay Area Bites: Congrats on the new restaurant. When we last talked to you, you were planning to open a spot in the Mission. That situation changed for you in October 2012. Why do Indian Street Food in Temesal?

Mistry: It was a matter of circumstances. Even when I was in San Francisco, I was saying ‘I want to open in Oakland.’ The Mission space and the partner connected to that didn’t work out, which was actually a blessing. If we were having a hard time then, running a business wouldn’t have been easy. We were able to realize that and walk away from each other and there were no hard feelings ultimately. I moved to Oakland a year and a half ago. Once we walked away from a financial partner, I started looking at things financially but also looked at how it would affect my lifestyle. We’ve gotten to know the scene and it’s so happening here. Temescal is really fun, and there has been a great community in terms of chefs and restaurateurs.

India’s Bizarre Love Triangle Samosas. Photo: Mary Ladd

Bay Area Bites: Do you have a new business partner? How did you come up with the funding after the relationship with your former business partner ended?

Mistry: No. (Laughs). It’s a family business now. So. You know. That was one of the reasons why we picked the space. It was really set up. I talked to a few contractors and architects and they were urging me to find a spot that was already set up. I looked at cheaper places but it was a Pandora’s box — they had been dumped for a reason. Once you start with the building department…. With our new Temescal location, it’s been all elbow grease and a little cosmetic work. There have been a few expenses that have come up but that’s par for the course.

We did a lot of cleaning and changed the space pretty dramatically. It was really dark in here, very Gothic with big chandeliers. The baseboard and entire ceiling were dark grey and then there was deep magenta red. We just brightened it so there is a lot of bright pink and orange on the walls. It gets an advantage of the sun that comes through in the day. We got funky wallpaper with monkeys to give the space a fun and casual feel, because we want to see people wanting to hang out here.

Monkey wallpaper at Juhu Beach Club. Photo courtesy of Preeti Mistry

Bay Area Bites: Have you met any of your restaurant neighbors?

Mistry: The person that owned this restaurant owns the taqueria next door. We share bathrooms and storage space and one of the more qualitative parts of purchasing was that he wanted to make sure it would be someone who’s cooperative. Not ‘I bought your restaurant. See ya later.’ I interact with his manager Kevin and family all day and they’ve been super. I’ve also talked with Jen Louise Dunning at Pizzaiolo. Tanya Holland was super helpful with advice as was Sarah Kirnon with Miss Ollie’s. I just ran into Paul Arenstam at the restaurant supply store and he said, ‘Give me a call if you need anything.’

Bay Area Bites: What are your favorite menu items?

Mistry: The Bombay sandwich, which we just tried out. The way it’s made in India is with a sandwich maker in a campfire. We’ll use a steak press and do it on the flat top. Everyone was like ‘I don’t know what this is but it’s awesome’ when we did the taste tests. I’ll press it with Jack cheese, cilantro chutney, sliced beets, potatoes, pickled onions and our house-made chaat masala. There’s also a healthy amount of butter and it’s like a veggie grilled cheese. I’ll change it seasonally. It’s kind of funny how the chutney and masala make it distinctly Indian. It’ll probably be priced at $7.

Bay Area Bites: How about drinks and desserts? … anything unusual?

Mistry: All of our wine will be on tap. I want to focus on beer more because it just pairs better in my opinion with the Indian food and spices. We’ll have 1-3 white wines. People want to pair Indian food with really sweet Rieslings and I can’t stand that. The wines will definitely be on the crisper side. For every tasting we’ve had, the big question is, ‘What will the red be?’ We’re looking for something nice and lean, and nothing really fruity and jammy or high alcohol.

I make the sassy lassi in-house, and it’s sweet and salty. We’ll have cilantro lemonade and also the Darjeeling Limited, which is half cilantro lemonade and half tea. Gotta have a hot chai and we will be serving imported Thums Up plus Limca sodas, which are owned by Coke now. They have a distinctive Indian flavor.

Sassy Lassis. Photo: Naomi Fiss

We’re going to have Straus soft-serve for dessert, but will do it differently than other places. I may use infused oils as toppings: things like pistachio and pumpkin seed oils. There will be tropical fruit drizzles of passion fruit, guava or rosewater. I’m sure we’ll make some seasonal local macerated fruit. Then there will be add-ons like salty curried peanuts, Chai spiced pecans and those little fennel candies.

Bay Area Bites: Any advice for folks looking to open a restaurant?

Mistry: Laughs. That’s so funny. Cholita Linda was talking on the Edible Excursions tour about how they’re opening on Telegraph and that it had been in 3 months of waiting. I couldn’t wait like that!

I guess for me as a first time restaurateur I would say finding an existing business is a way to factor your time and money. Juhu Beach Club will not have that high a price point. The average check will not be $70 per person. The ability to make that money back and profit is crazy. For me, it was always start small and see if people liked it. Even with that funny liquor store in the Mission, we spent $1,500. My advice? Start small.

Vada Pav. Photo courtesy of Preeti Mistry

Bay Area Bites: Do you think there is a Top Chef celeb halo that helps or hinders your work? What is that like?

Mistry: I think for a long time I was really angry about Top Chef. But you know it’s the thing that has helped me get the word out. I suppose if I hadn’t been on the show it would take longer for people and media to show up. The fact that people already know who I am is helpful.

As for hindering, I can’t say that there is anything negative at this point four years later. People are excited. I’ve talked to people in Oakland and they’re excited to have someone from Top Chef. I was at the farmers’ market and a lady told me ‘I’m really excited you’re opening here.’

I was talking to the cashier at the planning department and she said she is a huge Top Chef fan and she recognized my name. It’s nice that people recognize me. If my food didn’t stand up or the service wasn’t helpful then people wouldn’t continue to show up. Especially in the Bay Area, where there are so many good chefs who haven’t been on TV.

Preeti Mistry at Juhu Beach Club. Photo: Naomi Fiss

Related Information:
Juhu Beach Club
Opening March 1 for Dinner
Address: Map
5179 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland CA 94609
(510) 652-7350
Hours: Tue – Sat: 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Twitter: @juhubeachclub
Twitter: @chefpmistry
Facebook: Juhu Beach Club

Grains well-suited for porridge include (clockwise from top) polenta, quinoa, millet, amaranth, oat bran and buckwheat. Photo: Deena Prichep for NPR

Post by Deena Prichep, Kitchen Window, NPR Food

Get recipes for Tropical Amaranth Porridge With Coconut Milk, Mango And Ginger, Saffron-Scented Millet Porridge, Savory Polenta Porridge With Poached Egg and Sunflower Apple Oat Bran Porridge.

Porridge doesn’t get a lot of love and respect. It’s the fairy tale stuff of Goldilocks, or the pauper gruel of Oliver Twist. But really, porridge can be a beautiful thing, especially during the cold slog of winter. It’s a comforting way to start the morning, a nice warm hug of a breakfast. And, dare I say, it actually can be kind of exciting.

Some background: Most of us are familiar with a hot bowl of oatmeal, whether the usual flakes of rolled oats, or their delightfully nubby steel-cut cousins. A pat of butter, a pour of cream and maybe a sprinkling of brown sugar. Every now and then we’ll try a seven-grain option. Cream of wheat and cream of rice, sadly, are usually abandoned once we’ve graduated from primary school. There is, however, much, much more.

By definition, porridge is any sort of cereal grain, cooked until nice and soupy. And when we say any sort of grain, we mean all of them. Sure, there are oats, and rice cereals. But anything can become porridge: buckwheat, amaranth, millet, spelt, teff, barley, quinoa. Grains can be cracked if they’re large and hard, or just simmered up whole. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to new ingredients, playing around with whatever you may find in the bulk bins of your local grocery store. As a bonus, you don’t need to worry about overcooking an unfamiliar purchase — simmering unto mush is sort of the point of porridge. To cut down on your cooking time, you even can toss ingredients in the pot to soak and swell overnight, letting you enjoy the healthy heft of whole grains without spending too much time in front of the stove.

If the wide world of alternative porridge is not as exciting to everyone as it is to me, start with incremental changes. Simmer grains with a bit of cream instead of water, or, if you’re feeling particularly luxurious, some coconut milk. Grate in a carrot or two, add a sprinkling of healthy flax seeds, or swirl in a few spoonfuls of leftover pumpkin puree or almond butter. A handful of raisins, currants or other dried fruit, coarsely chopped, will rehydrate along with the porridge, adding a subtle sweetness. A pinch of cinnamon or cardamom adds a nice bit of flavor, or try curry powder or white pepper for a savory breakfast.

The options for personalizing your porridge continue, even after it’s out of the pot and into your breakfast bowl. Loosen things up with a bit of milk or cream, or a pat of butter. Boost the fiber with a sprinkling of wheat germ, and sweeten things up with a drizzle of maple syrup or sprinkling of brown sugar. Pretty much any fruit makes an easy match — fresh or frozen blueberries or some diced crisp apple. If you want more crunch, grab a handful of whichever nuts or seeds you have in the pantry — sesame, sunflower, cashews, almonds.

Maybe porridge doesn’t quite have the flash of a fresh stack of pancakes or the punch of huevos rancheros. But it’s not just a delicious and healthful way to start the day. It’s a blank canvas for your imagination. Make it a tropical-scented, mango-topped indulgence, or a creamy polenta bed for your poached egg. There are limitless options with which to start any winter day.

Recipe: Tropical Amaranth Porridge With Coconut Milk, Mango And Ginger

The tiny grains of amaranth — not much bigger than poppy seeds — cook up to a delicious porridge full of essential amino acids. Coconut milk gives it a luscious creaminess, topped with juicy fresh mango.

Tropical Amaranth Porridge With Coconut Milk, Mango And Ginger. Photo: Deena Prichep for NPR

Makes 2 servings

1 cup coconut milk, plus more for drizzling on top

1 cup water

Pinch salt

3/4 cup amaranth

2 1-inch pieces crystallized ginger, minced

1 mango, peeled cut into cubes

Zest from 1/2 lime

1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar or sweetened condensed milk

In a saucepan, bring coconut milk, water and salt to a boil, then stir in amaranth and ginger. Reduce heat until it just maintains a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed and the amaranth has swelled and softened, about 20 minutes. (Add more water if the mixture thickens before the amaranth has fully cooked.)

When the porridge is ready, divide it into 2 bowls. Top with a drizzle of coconut milk, the mango, lime zest and brown sugar or condensed milk to taste.

Recipe: Saffron-Scented Millet Porridge

Millet is generally thought of pretty much as bird food. But cooked until fluffy, it can make a nice side dish. And cooked until soupy, it’s porridge. Carrots and cashews are cooked with the porridge, along with a pinch of saffron and cardamom that scent it like an Indian pudding.

Saffron-Scented Millet Porridge. Photo: Deena Prichep for NPR

Makes 2 servings

2 cups milk

1/4 cup cashews

Pinch saffron

Pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup millet

1 carrot, peeled and shredded on the coarse holes of a grater

1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Handful additional cashews or pistachios

Bring milk, cashews, saffron, salt and cardamom to a boil in a saucepan, then stir in the millet and grated carrot. Reduce heat until it just maintains a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has absorbed and the millet has swelled and softened, about 40 minutes. (Add more water if the mixture thickens before the millet has fully cooked).

When the porridge is ready, divide it into 2 bowls. Top with the additional nuts, if desired, and brown sugar to taste.

Recipe: Savory Polenta Porridge With Poached Egg

Italian polenta usually shows up at the dinner table, but it’s a perfect backdrop for breakfast. You can top with blueberries and cream for a sweet option, or a poached egg for savory.

Savory Polenta Porridge With Poached Egg. Photo: Deena Prichep for NPR

Makes 2 servings

2 to 3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup polenta

1 to 2 pats butter

2 large eggs

1/2 avocado, peeled and sliced

Hot sauce, to taste

Bring 2 cups water and salt to a boil. Add the polenta, whisking or stirring to prevent lumps, and reduce heat until it’s just high enough to maintain a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed and the polenta has become smooth and creamy, about 35 minutes, adding more water as needed.

When the polenta is almost done, heat a pot of water and poach the eggs (or pan-fry if you prefer). Stir the butter into the polenta, divide between 2 bowls and top with a poached egg, half the avocado and a few shakes of hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe: Sunflower Apple Oat Bran Porridge

Simmering a pot of steel-cut oats can take a good long while. But fiber-rich oat bran cooks up into a surprisingly tasty porridge in just minutes. Oat bran porridge is smooth and creamy, perfect for accenting with a crisp apple and crunchy seeds.

Sunflower Apple Oat Bran Porridge. Photo: Deena Prichep for NPR

Makes 2 servings

2 cups water

Pinch salt

3/4 cup oat bran

1 crisp apple, chopped

A few pinches cinnamon

2 handfuls sunflower seeds (or other seeds/nuts of your choice)

2 to 4 teaspoons honey

In a saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil, then stir in the oat bran. Reduce heat until it’s just high enough to maintain a simmer, and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the oat bran is soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Divide into 2 bowls, and top with apples, cinnamon, sunflower seeds and honey to taste.

About The Author
Deena Prichep is a Portland, Ore.-based freelance print and radio journalist. Her stories have appeared on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Marketplace, The Splendid Table, Voice of America and The World, and in Bon Appetit, The Oregonian, Vegetarian Times and Portland Monthly. She chronicles her cooking experiments at Mostly Foodstuffs.

Copyright 2013 NPR.

Of course, you can season them anyway you want, really. Use this curry seasoning just as a suggestion but maybe try this Coffee and Chili mix or this Maple and Sea Salt? And go Niners!

Recipe: Roasted Curry Chickpeas

Ingredients:
• 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Strain the chickpeas and rinse them clean. You don’t want any of the liquid they were packed in to remain.

3. Place a paper towel on a flat surface and spread the chickpeas onto it so that they are a single layer. Place another towel on top of them, rolling them around, until they are completely dry.

4. Toss the chickpeas with olive oil and then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

5. Roast them for about 40 minutes until they are a deep golden brown and very crunchy, making sure to not burn them.

6. Combine all of the spices plus the salt into a bowl large enough to hold the chickpeas.

7 Add the chickpeas and toss until they are fully coated.

Enjoy!