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The Creamery Fridge, San Geronimo, CA (2025)

02/26/2019

meal for February 28th

Yucatecan white fish in banana leaves, citrus salsa & pickled onion
roasted poblanos, chayote, onions and potatoes
chopped salad with lime
raspberry bars

A little over a year ago I had a chance to visit the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. We stayed in Tulum, which is a weird place to say the least, but in general I loved this area of the Eastern Mexican jungle. Unlike many other parts of Mexico, you can feel the native roots here as the Mayan imprint is still quite strong and alive; in the food, culture and many ancient buildings which still remain intact.

This meal is an ode to that part of the Caribbean, to cooking over fire and wearing summer clothes in winter months. As I write this our little seasonal creek is perilously close to its banks.

For those of you who missed my email last week, today's meal is the very last one for the Creamery Fridge. I've been unable to resolve my ongoing back problems and it's become clear that I need to find work with less impact on my body. In other words, welcome to middle age! It happens to most chefs eventually. I thought I had another decade or so in me, but my body has other "thoughts."

Thank you all for coming along with my on this journey. It has been a joy, and it's allowed me to be home for my kids while also making some money and doing what I love.

I'm not exactly sure what is next, but I plan to start working one-on-one with people who have received a health diagnosis that requires them to dramatically change their diet. More to come...

xo
Traci

02/14/2019

February 14th
paillard of chicken breast with caper and lemons
roast turnips, potatoes, greens and onions
caesar salad
coconut chocolate chia pudding

Chicken paillards are one of the few exciting ways to eat boneless skinless chicken breast, in my not so humble opinion. Thought they have little fat, a good breading and dowsing with capery, lemony olive oil fixes them up good. They are great as dinner and picnic food, or in sandwiches, a meal most kids and adults can get behind.

I love caesar salad! It's hard for me not to order it when it's on a restaurant menu. For some reason I never make it at home, which is why I'm excited about today's meal. I am trying to resist eating all the delicious croutons I made for you.

This pudding is a new one...chia provides a natural binding, as well as fiber, protein and antioxidants. It's healthful properties temper the richness of chocolate, coconut milk is a bridge between the two. It feels important to straddle the line between health and enjoyment in the winter, when most of us are at our least physically active moment of the year.

As I write this the rain is pounding sideways, and the little creek on our property is uncomfortably full. For the most part, all the plants around here are looking pretty happy. We are grateful for the rain, and hopeful that the creeks will stay in their banks.

Happy lovers day!

Please note: no fridge February 21st

February 28th
Yucatecan white fish in banana leaves, citrus salsa & pickled onion
roasted poblanos, chayote, onions and potatoes
chopped salad with lime
raspberry bars

02/04/2019

Thursday, February 7th
Sinaloan street chicken
chipotle sweet potatoes
jicama citrus slaw
chocolate chile brownies

While there are still glorious amounts of rain coming down, the quality of the rain is shifting from the fat heavy downpours of early and mid winter towards the lighter, sideways rains of Spring. Today's meal is also straddling seasons. Another subversive attempt to grill chicken in winter will be belied by cozy mashed sweet potatoes, enriched with coconut milk.

Last Friday I catered a dinner. It was Italian inspired: pasta puttanesca, chicken with figs and vinegar, roasted spaghetti squash. It turned out to be a blustery evening, and the food paired perfectly with the weather: warm, comforting and yet light and nourishing.

You just never really know what the day will be like...I hope today's meal meets you and the day at a sweet spot.

February 14th
paillard of chicken breast with caper and lemons
roast turnips, potatoes, greens and onions
vegan Caesar
coconut chocolate pudding

01/29/2019

Thursday January 31st

turkey picadillo Cubano
pink beans & sprouted long grain rice
watermelon radish and jicama salad, avocado lime dressing
chocolate peanut butter cookies

This week has been a train wreck. Cooking with a wonky back has been my bane lately, then Monday the oven finally died for good, a couple of hours after our childcare fell through for the entire week. I am praying the universe doesn't have any more disturbances in store for us...I'm just trying to get to Friday eve.

Anyhoo, not complaining (ok maybe a little), but also trying to keep it real.

Fortunately this menu was mostly cooked on the stovetop. The rice and cookies were baked in a neighbor's oven. I've gotten to know the ins an outs of four different ovens in my neighborhood due to ignition woes. Good bye, old oven!

I'm sure this is true of many different types of work, but so much of cooking in high stress situations (large catering events or busy restaurants, for example) is knowing how to adapt and pivot quickly when possible. Catastrophes are just part of the business.

I worked at a restaurant with a wood fired grill whose power went out one Friday afternoon when a mylar ballon zapped the outside electricity poles. Of course, the grill kept burning, so we had to race into the smoke filled restaurant with wet bandanas over our noses and mouths to rescue all the food and bring it to the neighboring restaurants refrigerators. A faulty electrical system tripped the fire suppression system on my food truck one busy weekend, spraying nasty chemicals all over a day's worth of food and everyone in the truck. And a restaurant I worked at in the Mission had the upstairs tenant's bathroom come crashing into the kitchen during peak Saturday service. And so on....s #%$t happens.

On another note, I hope you all got to enjoy some of the glorious weather this week.

Thursday, February 5th
Sinaloan street chicken
chipotle sweet potatoes
jicama citrus slaw
chocolate chile brownies

01/24/2019

January 24th, 2019

Vatapa: Brazilian coconut seafood stew
black rice
salad with avocado and grapefruit
teff and carrot cake

The salmon stew last fall was a huge hit. I think it’s the combination of homemade bone broth, Thai chile paste and coconut milk that did it. This Vatapa has a lot of the same elements, though instead of chile paste in the base, I’ll use a Brazilian refogado, made of sautéed aromatics like onions, garlic and peppers.

I love the contrast of black rice with the creamy stew. It’s high in anthocyanin, pigment producing properties that have been used to treat colds, high blood pressure and urinary tract infections.

We are loading up on vitamins, and herbs over here, trying to make this winter with small kids healthier than the previous ones. I'm taking a similar approach with food, and trying to keep things really clean so our immune systems can do their thing. The organic bone broth in the stew, which is simmered for 24 hours, is possibly the most powerful food medicine of them all.

That said, enjoyment is part of good health. I love this carrot cake. It is incredibly nutritious, loaded with calcium-rich teff flour, applesauce, coconut oil, coconut, eggs, walnuts and carrots.

Thursday January 31st
turkey picadillo Cubano
pink beans & sprouted long grain rice
watermelon radish and jicama, avocado lime dressing
chocolate peanut butter cookies

01/16/2019

Meal for Thursday, January 17th

Grilled chicken with zhug
mashed cauliflower and potatoes
salad with cara cara oranges and green olive dressing
almond butter blondies

Admittedly, it’s a bit risky to attempt grilled chicken in January, especially given the forecast this week. Hopeful there will be a break in the clouds long enough to do my thing outside, but if not, there’s always the oven. It’s nice to have options and not be tied to one way of doing things. Perhaps its getting to the part of winter rich in fantasy: of warms days, of the beach, of kids playing out of the house, of grilling and dinner al fresco. While we are all still enjoying the stillness and inward nature of this time of year, a bit of subversive winter behavior will help prolong the good feelings.

If you haven’t noticed, I can’t get enough of grilled chicken in an infinite number of preparations. Zhoug is a spicy herb sauce of Yemeni origin, popular in Syria and Israel. If only we could all behave as we ate. How many people chanting "build the wall" ate some Mexican food this week?

In the winter, I rely on herbs, citrus and olives to brighten food up. We are doing a cleanse over here and just about everything on today’s menu is approved (except the dessert and potatoes :( ).

As far as desserts go, these blondies are pretty virtuous: almond butter, eggs, coconut sugar and chocolate chips. That’s about it.

Meal for January 24th
Vatapa: Brazilian shrimp and fish stew
black rice
grapefruit and avocado salad
teff carrot cake

01/10/2019

January 10th
turkey and zucchini burgers with yogurt sumac sauce
squash and white beans
salad with cauliflower & tahini dressing
tahini brownIes

These turkey burgers are a staple at our house. I love how much zucchini you can sneak into them. I don't usually manage to make the yogurt sauce for family dinners. They are delicious without, but the sauce takes them to another dimension.

After the onslaught of baked goods and rich meals (and not cooking for the better part of two weeks), it feels good to be back in the kitchen working with lots of vegetables.

These tahini brownies have become my most requested dessert. They are my favorite too.

I'm going to have to keep it short today- I hurt my back again on the drive home from Southern California, and I'm running behind/slow this week.

I hope you all got plenty of extra sleep and leisure time with your loved ones the past two weeks!

January 17th
Grilled chicken with zhug
mashed cauliflower and potatoes
salad with citrus and green olive dressing
almond butter blondies

12/18/2018

Dec 20th
spatchcocked chicken with chimichurri
roasted vegetables
lettuce with sherry vinaigrette (state bird provisions)
chocolate buckwheat cookies

So today's entree doesn't have the most compelling name, but here's the story:

A spatchcock, otherwise known as "spattlecock", is poultry or game that has been prepared for roasting or grilling by removing the backbone, and sometimes the sternum of the bird and flattening it out before cooking. The preparation of a bird in such a manner for cooking may also be known as butterflying the bird.

Anyway, rest assured that it is one of the more delicious ways to prepare chicken indoors with reasonable home equipment. And the chimichurri comes from close family ties...one of my best high school friends, Rob, was born in Argentina. His father's family is originally from Japan. I often spend the 24th of December with them, and in addition to a table loaded with grilled meats, empanadas and the classic "Russian" potato salad, there is also sushi! His chimichurri, the classic Argentine herb sauce for meats, uses rice wine vinegar as the
acid and it's the best I've tasted. One year I gleaned the ingredients from him, and I've figured out measurements that make a version pretty close to his.

Today's meal is quite clean and light nourishment, some preparation for what lies ahead the next two weeks. Even the sweet is somewhat virtuous, well, except for the chocolate! Buckwheat is actually a grass and not a wheat, so besides being unique and delicious, those with wheat allergies can enjoy it.

Happy winter break! See you in the New Year.

Jan 10th
turkey and zucchini burgers with yogurt sumac sauce
squash and white beans
salad with cauliflower & tahini dressing
tahini brownes

12/13/2018

meal for Thursday December 13th

Indian spiced white fish with citrus salsa
carrot and winter squash puree
cucumber and kale salad with jimmy nardello vinaigrette
coconut lime bread

Today's meal is brought to you in part by our local library and a bunch of inspiring cookbooks published in the last year. Some are new recipes/experiments, others adaptions of recipes I've already tried.

The spices in today's fish are a new recipe from Samin Nosrat's fabulous book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. She now has a series on netflix, and she's getting a lot of (well deserved exposure). I've gleaned some excellent recipes from her. If you are looking for an easy and fun weekend bread baking project, check out the focaccia recipe on her website cooking section on "fat", www.saltfatacidheat.com. It's a no knead dough that needs to ferment overnight. Follow the instructions carefully and you will be rewarded with the best focaccia you've ever eaten, made by your own hands!

The jimmy nardello pepper vinaigrette recipe is from the State Bird Provisions, just like last week's carrot juice vinaigrette, a new discovery and a keeper. The whole menu today is a new one, inspired and adapted from three books and one online recipe.

Today's write up will have to be short and sweet, as one would have in December, I'm behind on just about everything. Next week is the last menu of the year, I'll be back in business on January 10th.

meal for Thursday December 20th

spatchcocked chicken with chimichurri
roasted vegetables
lettuce with sherry vinaigrette
chocolate buckwheat cookies

12/06/2018

meal for Thursday December 6th

Devil's chicken thighs
potatoes and green beans
salad with radish and celeriac
chocolate brownie

This is possibly all time favorite chicken dish. Dijon mustard, bread crumbs, tarragon, onions, vermouth, with hails from one of my favorite cookbooks, Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Lucques is an LA restaurant run by chef/owner Suzanne Goin. I interned there in between semesters of cooking school; I probably learned more relevant skills in my three months there than in two years of cooking school.

Compared to just about every other food business I worked for, Lucques stood out. They worked directly with farmers before it was common practice. Suzanne runs her kitchen with equal parts fairness, good taste, reason and exacting standards. An absolute anomaly in the food industry. She remains my favorite living role model in the food world. I always wonder what path my life would have taken if I'd accepted her offer to continue working there instead of finishing culinary school and heading north.

The salad today has classic French ingredients of celery root and radish. Since there is already a good amount of mustard in the chicken, I deviated from tradition and experimented with a carrot juice vinaigrette from a new library acquisition, the State Bird Provisions cookbook. State Bird Provisions is an SF restaurant I've been trying to get reservations at my past three birthdays. Every since they were named as one of the best restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit magazine, reservations have been nearly impossibly to get. Stuart Brioza, the chef, and his wife, pastry chef Nicole Krasinski, seem to have the makings of some of the best restauranteurs: creative backgrounds (photography, ceramics), and years and years of training at some great restaurants.

Lastly, a decadent chocolate brownie. Happy December!

Thursday December 13th
Indian spiced white fish with citrus salsa
carrot and winter squash puree
cucumber and kale salad with jimmy nardello vinaigrette
coconut lime bread

11/28/2018

meal for Thursday November 29th

salmon and sweet potato curry
bhutanese red rice
massaged kale, pomegranate and persimmon salad
almond cookies

We've all been craving soups and stews over here. Whether it's our bodies way of detoxing all of the smoke inhaled, or the tendency of the season, today's curry fits the bill. It's loaded with homemade bone broth, coconut milk and the magic red curry paste that can't be compared to the store bought stuff. This Thai inspired stew is cleansing and nourishing and best eaten while staring out the window at the softly falling rain (yay rain). Serve it over warm red rice.

Curry comes from the Tamil word for sauce, kahri. Thailand is the only southeast Asian country not colonized by the west, but its culture and food were influenced by neighbors. From India came Buddhism and spices such as cumin, coriander and cardamom. The Malays to the south shared their love of coconuts. Chiles came via South America from Portuguese Missionaries in the 16th century. It can be fun to trace a dish back to it's roots. So many unique forces converged to bring us what we eat today, a testament to our history and our present all in one mouthful.

While these almond cookies hail from Siena, to me they pair equally well with Asian cuisine, and I think the recipe is so much better then the classic Chinese almond cookies you find in restaurants. Made with almond flour, coconut sugar and egg whites, they are nutrient dense and nourishing. A pious sweet for these days between winter holiday fare.

Thursday December 6th

Devil's chicken thighs
potatoes and green beans
salad with radish and celeriac
gf chocolate brownie

The Creamery Fridge

02/26/2019

02/14/2019

02/04/2019

01/29/2019

01/24/2019

01/16/2019

01/10/2019

12/18/2018

12/13/2018

12/06/2018

11/28/2018

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