Saturday, October 2, 2010

Meet the New Chef at the Hollywood Farmer's Kitchen - Weekly Email

Greetings!

I know it has been quite some time since this newsletter has gone out - the last one was about pickling Easter eggs, actually. I had to put this newsletter on hiatus when I changed jobs and my new work schedule prevented me from continuing this newsletter.

Today, however, I announce that I've taken a new job as the chef at the Hollywood Farmer's Kitchen: http://www.hollywoodfarmerskitchen.com/

The Hollywood Farmer's Kitchen is a project of Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA - http://www.see-la.org/), a
nonprofit community development corporation dedicated to providing local food sources and food security, nutrition education, microenterprise incubation and related services to our surrounding community. The Farmer's Kitchen is a community kitchen that will further those goals as a permanent addition to the Hollywood Farmers' Market.

This position is a much better match for my interests and talents. Indeed, it is my dream job. Not only will I be able to cook with fresh, seasonal produce direct from the market, but food preservation is a significant part of the plan. Finally, I will also be able to support the other missions of SEE-LA through teaching, among other things. For example, I am participating in the Cafeteria Improvement Committee for the LA Unified School District, trying to improve school lunches.

On the food preservation front, I just started this past Monday but we've already canned some Rancho Santa Cecilia Applesauce and some Peach-Amaretto Jam, made with heirloom Indian Red Peaches from Yingst Ranch in Littlerock (where you can pick your own). We're also cooking with our preserves. On Thursday we made a cake for a VIP birthday. We did a two-layer Italian Almond Cake and, rather than frosting, the filling and topping was the Peach-Amaretto jam, topped with toasted sliced almonds for crunch and appearance. Tomorrow, at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, we will be serving a zucchini-apple soup (summer squash meets fall fruit in this light, yet flavorful soup) garnished with diced dried apples.

I expect that future newsletters will often reflect what I'm working on in the Farmer's Kitchen.

In other news, I'd like to invite everyone on this list to attend "Good Food for All" this coming Wednesday evening, Oct. 6th. The Hollywood Farmer's Kitchen and SEE-LA are working in partnership with Hunger Action LA and Roots of Change on the "Veggie Voucher" program to increase the purchasing power of low-income consumers by matching their dollars in farmers' markets. This innovative new program directly benefits small family farmers, and consumers who lack the resources to buy the fresh fruits and vegetables that they and their families need. All funds raised at this event will support the "Veggie Voucher" program! The event will feature tastings from forty of LA's finest chefs, including SEE-LA's Farmer's Kitchen.

For more information and to purchase tickets, see here: http://rootsofchange.org/Goodfoodforall

I'll be in the Farmer's Kitchen this Sunday, but Master Food Preserver Delilah Snell will be at the market to answer your questions from 9:30-12:30, and be sure to drop by HFK to say "hi"!

That's it for this week. If you have any questions about canning, pressure canning, fermentation, dehydration, freezing, pickling, curing, smoking or brewing, feel free to email me at ernest.miller_at_gmail.com.

Be sure to check out the blog, which is updated several times a week
(usually): http://preservenation.blogspot.com/

And/or join the Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=280846286958

Thanks,
Ernie Miller

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