News / eats

Vegan Goodness in Chickpea Quarterly Magazine

We're now proudly carrying Chickpea Magazine in the shop! It's a beautifully designed vegan print quarterly inspired by the hipsterfood – a popular blog started by Cara and Bob (pictured below) who post all kinds of expertly photographed vegan eats and recipes for their foodie followers.

Chickpea showcases a their favorite things in the vegan world at the moment, whether a personal story, a new book, a great recipe, or photographs that capture the essence of the season at hand. The magazine supports a whole-foods, plant-based way of life, but offers recipes that anyone can try.

We have the summer issue in the shop currently, and we can attest that it's a goodie. The features include fresh fruit desserts, a trip to the berry patch, a vegan travel guide to the south, a summer skin survival guide, refreshing chilled soups, and a tribute to the farmer's market.


And, of course, we'll have the Fall Issue in the shop this October. Some of the features include: make your own hard apple cider, fair trade vanilla, jam-making, dating omnivores, DIY candle holders, an ode to oats, and a Portland, OR city guide. We can't wait to check it out – it's sure to be chalk full of autumnal inspiration. 

Nicole Grant Kriege
Posted on September 10, 2013
Nicole Grant Kriege
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Seasonal and Sweet – A Q&A with Rachel of Blue Chair Jams

With all of the amazing press and accolades that Blue Chair has gotten recently, it's sometimes hard to believe that their kitchen is right here in Oakland. Rachel Saunders, their head jammer, is a visionary with a penchant for creating seasonally inspired artisan marmalades and jams in tiny batches in traditional French copper jam kettles.

She loves to share her know-how with the local community, and you'll often spot her or another one the of Blue Chair staff out at farmers markets peddling preserves, as well as The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook. With figs, tomatoes, apples, grapes, stone fruits coming into season in September and October, you can bet she's going to have a busy Fall. Here's a Q&A with Rachel:

We hear you studied jam-making for 10 years before you launched Blue Chair. What was the research process like?
It was an extremely arduous process of trial and error. I spent all my free time pursuing jam and fruit, and had many days of despair and torment. Mastering the art of jam making is not for the faint of heart!! When people taste my jams today, they cannot imagine what it took to get where I am; I make it look easy now. I am a true believer in the 10,000-hours theory of mastery. And 10,000 hours is just the beginning!!




Do you really still make all of the jams by hand? What are some of your most exciting creations? Yes; all of our jams are completely handmade. Every flavor is exciting! We just cooked a nectoplum jam – a rare hybrid fruit of white nectarine and plum. We also just did a tomato and Adriatic fig jam.

It's pretty cool that you host jam-making classes. What's coming up in the schedule? I absolutely love to teach, because I love people and I love the chance to share some of what I know. My next classes are a Jam 101 class at Ramekins in Sonoma on September 6 and a Flavor Construction class at our kitchen in Oakland on September 8. Information about both is on our website. In mid-September, I go to Seattle to teach for several days at the Pantry at Delancey.



It seems like you guys are always out at the local farmer's markets. Where can we catch you here in the East Bay? Grand Lake on Saturdays from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. and Temescal on Sundays from 9 a.m. -1 p.m.

How can locals support you and stay in touch? The best way to follow us is on Facebook or Twitter; our name is bluechairfruit. You can also join our mailing list on our website for news about classes and new flavors!  

Of course, you can always find a selection of Rachel's latest creations for Blue Chair at Marion and Rose's Worksop! 

Nicole Grant Kriege
Posted on August 21, 2013
Nicole Grant Kriege
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Calling All Foodies... Old Oakland Restaurant Round-Up


Nicole Grant Kriege
Posted on August 13, 2013
Nicole Grant Kriege
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The Japan Issue of Kinfolk is in!

We were so thrilled to receive the new issue of Kinfolk in the mail! It's a beautiful ode to Japan, with all of the usual photographs, recipes, essays, and anecdotes we've come to expect from the expertly curated publication. In the editor's words, this volume is a love letter to a "unique country, including the basic values, skills and recipes that come together to form the beautifully simple lifestyle."



Some of the most interesting stories include:
- An interview with Fog Linen’s Yumiko Sekine
- Recipes for Cherry Blossom Macarons with Black Sesame, Salt-Pickled Napa Cabbage, Wakame Cucumber Salad, Red Bean Mochi and Matcha
- Harvest essays on green tea, wakame seaweed, and wasabi.
- A guide for learning shibori (hand dyeing indigo fabric) and creating beautiful floral arrangements using ikebana.
- Thoughtful essays on Japanese concepts such as wabisabi, mono no aware, and ichi-go ichi-e.
- A summer playlist.



And the bonus? A profile on Oakland's Ramen Shop! Too cool. 

We only have ten copies here at the shop, so come on over and claim yours. Hope you enjoy thumbing through this issue as much as we did.

 

 

Nicole Grant Kriege
Posted on July 18, 2013
Nicole Grant Kriege
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Emmy's Pickles – Back in Stock!

 

You all liked Emmy's Pickles so much, we sold out! So, we ordered a bunch more and got to meet Emmy in person when she dropped off the loot the other day. Turns out she's a San Francisco native with a passion for combing the farmer's markets for beautiful organic produce worthy of brining.

From big ol' whole dills to more nontraditional preserves like her turmeric infused cauliflower, she has been pickling away since her college days in New York. Lucky for us, she's back in the Bay Area and sharing the goodness. Her pickles even recently won her a Good Food Award.

Here's what we've got in stock. These make great hostess gifts!

Golden Beets
Jalapeño and Carrots
Turmeric Cauliflower
Whole Dills
Bread n' Butter Pickles

And by the way, if you haven't seen the Portlandia sketch "We Can Pickle That," you should really give it a watch.

Nicole Grant Kriege
Posted on April 05, 2013
Nicole Grant Kriege
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