It’s interesting to see the differences difference between frying in copper and iron (copper is hotter !) My daughter @fannysinger is visiting so we made an egg in the @permanentcollection copper egg spoon. Works like a charm every time!
I cannot tell you how addictive the potato chips are at Chez! The fried rosemary is the crowning touch. Thank god they come in small boxes “to go” and that I am embarrassed to order 10 small boxes! Thank you to the cafe cooks at Chez especially Sam.
I love this picture of Lawrence Ferlinghetti drinking a glass of wine. He died today at 101 years old! I was so lucky to have a friend bring him to Panisse for his 90th birthday. He has always been a hero of mine because of his radical opinions and amazing landmark bookstore in North Beach SF which never fails to have a book I love or a sign on the front I must read. My friends have always gathered there. His spirit is alive and always will be!
I have to say that I am more than a little embarrassed to post this. But the thrill of being part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Women’s History Month for founding the Edible Schoolyard Project made me cry and want to shout it out to all of my friends. Our children need this national attention now!
I’m so excited to be speaking with my good friend Jane Fonda for the Edible Schoolyard’s virtual Spring Celebration on May 6th! We’ll be talking about SCHOOL-SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE. I think it’s the most hopeful solution to the climate crisis! 🌱💚
It’s not too late and only costs $25 to join us. The link is in my bio to purchase your tickets today. @janefonda @edibleschoolyard
This was part of the Cafe Panisse staff at year 10. We are celebrating 41 years today!
Maybe you recognize some of the amazing cooks that made the Cafe what it is: Mike Tusk, Ramona d’Viola, Gilbert Pilgram, Russell Moore, Tony Brush, Deborah Sigler, Suzanne Goin and Jon Helquist. But thank you and love to everyone who has been part of its creation.. our loyal customers too.
I went by the Chez for the first time in weeks.. Gary was grilling the quails for the dinners “to go” tonight and I was mesmerized . His attention attention and skill was so impressive. He says he marinades them with herbs and a bit of wine to brown them well and to keep them beautifully medium rare inside.
This is Natalie Baszile who wrote an amazing soulful book celebrating African American farmers , land and legacy called WE ARE EACH OTHER’S HARVEST. Thank you dear Henrik for introducing us because I feel like we are close friends already and our collaboration has begun!
Happy Chinese New Year to the family and friends of dear Cecilia Chiang. Even though she is not with us anymore ,we will be toasting her and eating dim sum “to go” from Yang Sing . So sad we cannot all be together around the table there and bringing the new year in with music and delicious food . Next year!
Celebrating the lunar new year with Niloufer Ichaporia is my favorite meal at Panisse ! This photo was two years ago when the restaurant was decorated with garlands of marigolds, gardenias and chrysanthemums. This year, of course, we have our Niloufer inspired Parsi food “to go” and I am setting the table for five of us at home with a garland Janet made. It is not the same but beautiful and aromatic nonetheless….
Fanny and I went for our first inside restaurant experience at the Ramen Shop. Sam and Jessica were there with their new baby Forest. We all watched him eat his first strawberry ever!!! Loved watching the power of taste take over..
My daughter @fannysinger picked ALL these beautiful lettuces from my front yard Victory Garden which has been such a source of so much happiness this past year ! The lettuces are so many different colors and texture and flavors, with the sweetest coriander flowers too. The bowl and salad spoons are from my collaboration with @permanentcollection.
This is a valentine from Esther Cook who inspired the Edible Schoolyard Project . Every year she would hand make valentines for all the students at King! Everyone felt loved and felt empowered by her teaching in the kitchen classroom over the 25 years at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley. Thank you Esther with all my heart.
Yesterday I visited @apricotlanefarms and had lunch with its owners John & Molly Chester. This is his hand showing us the organic regenerative soil under the citrus trees. A lot of worms means healthy soil= healthy food! Laurie David made an extraordinary film about this farm, @thebiggestlittlefarm, and now she has a book, #imagineitbook, that celebrates all of the things I believe in. An inspiring book to read this earth month!
My dear friend Patty Curtan knows how much violets mean to me and picked this bouquet from her Berkeley garden. The aroma was intoxicating and Fanny@ fanny singer and I just buried our noses in them . Is that where the word nosegay comes from?
These are maybe the last last of the Kishu mandarins for this year from Jim Churchill’s farm in Ojai . They are small, seedless, easy to peel and they have sweet juice that is irresistible ! The biodiversity of citrus has opened up a whole new world of taste to us.
Peggy took this photo of an exquisite magnolia blossom. Nature is distracting me with its beauty in the most necessary way right now . It is almost as good and necessary as my acupuncture treatment with her!
I’m thrilled to announce that my friend Jane Fonda has agreed to join me at the Edible Schoolyard Project’s virtual Spring Celebration on Thursday, May 6th! I’m so looking forward to speaking with her about School Supported Agriculture, a most hopeful solution to the climate crisis that has extraordinary potential to support our local regenerative organic farmers and nourish our children all while drawing carbon from the atmosphere into the soil! I hope you’ll join us and other friends. Link in bio to purchase your ticket today.
Last night the Chez meal “to go” included a grilled asparagus blood orange salad, stuffed duck breasts with cardoon gratin, and a bittersweet chocolate ganache tartlet just like this one. It felt like I was really at the restaurant!
Listen to the latest episode of the BBC’s podcast The Food Chain, with Carlo Petrini here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1rfh It is one of his very best interviews ever!
My daughter @fannysinger’s company @permanentcollection is offering this handmade walnut wood salad server set and utensil holder to raise money to support @alexandriahousela and @oaklandelizabethhouse, two vital organizations that house and feed women and children in California. THANK YOU! $4,590 was raised!
Today my dear friend Orville Schell’s new book comes out, and I cannot wait to read it! I am so happy it is being published in memory of our beloved Baifang Schell, 1955-2021 for whom the book is dedicated.
