Inner City Kitchen Blog

Great Days Ahead!!

innercitykitchen — Tue, 18 May 2010 05:48:37 +0000

It’s so funny how I always plan to start this blog off by telling you what’s new with Inner City Kitchen but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t share a little bit of my life as well. So… I have been struggling these last few weeks with a back injury and low and behold I woke up Saturday with no pain. I give credit to my amazing Chiropractor but mostly to the support I have gotten from my friends and family. My girls at the Brighter Future Program sent me a beautiful card and everyone at my job has helped out so much with taking on some of the work load. Now I am thankful to say, I am good and ready to start my training for the Los Angeles Mud Run!! For those of you that don’t know, I love to workout but hate to workout at the same time. You know that feeling after you have exercised is the BEST but lets not forget what happens before exercising. You know that feeling of wanting to crawl into bed with a delicious Ben and Jerry’s Jumpy Monkey Sundae while watching reruns of Fraiser.

The Los Angeles Mud Run ( http://www.active.com/running/pasadena-ca/los-angeles-mud-run-2010 ) is one of the many activities I like to do to stay healthy. I figure, if I give myself a workout routine that is helping me prepare for an event such as this I tend to stay focused and dedicated to eating right. Okay, so that’s a little life with Crystal, now for what’s going on with Inner City Kitchen.

Yay for all of the events we have coming up next month!! June is crazy busy for us as it is when our interviews begin for the cookbook. The classes we have set up for the women are going to be so much fun and if you feel you have a story/recipe to tell that would be a great fit, please share with me on the blog. Your comments, ideas, and stories are highly appreciated.

June 4th Inner City Kitchen will be at Joseph LeConte Middle School for career day with an amazing line up. I want to tell you so bad but I must wait until it gets closer…that way you keep reading the blog!! I really wanted to talk about Inner City Kitchen but today I just have some other things to get off my mind…if that’s okay?

I went to the YMCA today in Hollywood but not for my class. Today’s class was taught by Elizabeth (Brighter Future Program Director) and Miriam Negri, who is a fabulous Architect working with me on our community garden project at Selma Elementary. Anywho, the class is about life and tonight I realized how different my life could have been if my mother made different choices in hers. I don’t want to go to much into detail about what we talk about because it’s confidential but I really am humbled by some of these women. I see them and I see what life must of been like for my mother when she became a single mother. I owe my life to her, I thank her for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself and I thank her for showing me love. Today I was in a class with several single mothers, single ladies with no children, and mothers/women with significant others but what I got out of it was that confidence to continue to do anything I set my mind to. I am grateful to be teaching some of these women about worldly cuisine but more thankful that they’re teaching me about LIFE!! I know that blessings do exist because of these women. They’re smart, beautiful, and headed for success!!

Until next time,

Crystal

Another day at the office

innercitykitchen — Sat, 08 May 2010 20:44:07 +0000

I have never run a business on my own…to be honest this is the hardest thing I have ever done. I am in the process of writing a cookbook, teaching classes, and somehow working a full-time job. People ask me all the time how do I do it? Well, the truth is I tell myself every morning if I don’t give 100% today, someone else will. Yea, right… I wake up every morning and say to myself, Crystal, how are you going to get people to believe in Inner City Kitchen today? I think most artist go through this everyday. How do I get people to love what I love? For the ones that tell you they don’t care what people think, it’s not true. Everyone cares what people think about them but it’s those that truly make a positive difference in our thinking of ourselves, that’s who should matter.

Okay, you came to my blog to hear about Inner City Kitchen, so here is what’s up!!

I am excited to tell you we have taken on a few new clients this month and before I mention who they are, I want to get it in a contract first, so no names. I can tell you this, we are still moving forward with our community garden and we finally have a new office in Downtown L.A. As for the cookbook, if I told you it was going well I’d be lying. I am just a girl with an idea and for some Amazing reason people believe in me. I guess that’s another thing that keeps me going. My PR company thought it would be a good idea for me to blog about my life as it takes a spiral downward towards cookbook hell. How about I fill you in on what the cookbook is about? The cookbook will promote empowerment and overcoming culinary struggles while sharing real stories about family, food, and real life. It will also serve as a nutritional guide in language that these women can relate to.

For this cookbook I am going to open it up to whomever wants to participate. The Hollywood YMCA and I are going to offer free cooking and nutrition demonstration to the young women and mature women of our community. I have done demographic studies on the current weight related issues in the Los Angeles County areas so each class will offer a lesson on creating healthy meals on a budget in your community. At the end of the demonstration I will be offering an opportunity for the participants to be a part of our cookbook. I will be traveling with a video camera where some women’s stories will be featured in the cookbook, while others will be highlighted on the Inner City Kitchen website.

So now that you have an idea of what this cookbook is about, how could it possible be hell? Well, what I tend to run into now a days is juggling. Work, culinary classes, cookbook, events, (ahem) blogs, friends, family, and love. But guess what, I always have time to eat. I am not a writer. I just love food!! I want people to see that I know the joys of it and the curse. I know what it’s like to have it and what it’s like to wonder where your next meal is going to come from. I hope that you continue reading my blog and if you don’t it’s cool because regardless, food is still food and I am still me!! I don’t have an agenda for the blog but I have a time line for this cookbook. So if you follow for any reason, follow to see if this thing really comes out by Thanksgiving!!

And I know you ask yourself, if this is such hell why are you doing it? Because at the end of the day I love it all!!!

Until next time,

OMG, it’s our 1st video blog!!

innercitykitchen — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:20:17 +0000

Hello Friends, I must say for the first blog this was insane. I want to thank everyone who helped us get this out there and a very special thank you to Chef David Lespron for joining me on this venture and Zerik Scales for EVERYTHING you do!! During these next few months Chef David and I will allow you into our homes, restaurant, minds, and well the craziness that goes on while putting together a cookbook. I will be traveling throughout California interviewing women and children to tell their stories of food, family, and fun!! You will see how the concept came about for both cookbooks and get to know a few of the interviewees through the Inner City Kitchen website. Please don’t hesitate to interact with Chef David and I while watching the Inner City Kitchen Blog because your comments, questions, and suggestions are welcomed and very much appreciated.

Also, this is not a cooking show so we won’t be taking request but we will be cooking some fabulous cuisine during the recipe testing aspect of our book and you can always pick up an Amazing recipe from the website.

Until next week,

Chef Crystal

Recipe of the Week – BrightIdeas.com

innercitykitchen — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:33:45 +0000

bread pudding

“Pumpkin spice and rich chocolate always make a sweet team.”

ingredients and directions:

Butter for ramekins
1 loaf (5 x 9 inch) pumpkin bread
1 cup DOVE® Brand Milk Chocolate
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
1 ½ cups lowfat milk
½ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup whipped topping
8 ramekins or 9 x 13-inch baking dish
Cookie sheet pan

Yield: Makes 8 servings.
Prep Time: 30 min.
Bake Time: 30 min.
Decoration Time: 5 min.
Difficulty: Easy

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter ramekins, set aside.
2. Cut the pumpkin bread into 1-inch cubes and spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake bread cubes for approximately 20 minutes or until dry and lightly toasted. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool. (This can be done in advance.)
3. Reserve 8 DOVE® Brand Milk Chocolates, and roughly chop the rest of the candy. Set aside.
4. Whisk together the pumpkin puree, milk, brown sugar, eggs and salt until smooth. Gently stir in the chopped chocolate and toasted pumpkin bread. Divide mixture between the prepared ramekins and place them on the cookie sheet pan.
5. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until golden and filling is slightly firm. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.
6. Top with a dollop of whipped topping and a reserved milk chocolate candy.
Tip: If using a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, bake the bread pudding for 45-50 minutes or until golden and filling is slightly firm.

Am I better off eating fast food?

innercitykitchen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:54:51 +0000

I woke up this morning not feeling well but I sucked it up, got on my bike and road the 20 minutes it takes to get to my office. While riding I saw an older Hispanic woman, about 60, getting on the bus groceries and child in hand. For some of us this is a normal, everyday sight to see but have you ever thought about how hard it must be to take groceries on the bus, let alone with a child? It gets better, what if you had to travel 8 miles on 2 buses with 2 small children to shop at a grocery store outside of your community just so you can buy food that isn’t expired or spoiled.

So what happens when you’re not able to go to a grocery store 8 miles away by bus? Well there is always the quick fix solution we all lean towards……FAST FOOD!! I remember when getting a happy meal was almost as exciting as going to Disneyland, ok maybe not Disneyland but you get my point. Fast Food has become our home away from home and the more fast food restaurants that are built up just means more grocery stores are torn down. You won’t believe some of the things I have found during my research this week. It is so outrageous I have decided to save it for next week and go undercover to expose to you what is really going on in our city.

Check out this video I found on YouTube about Deserted South LA foods

And don’t forget to check us out next week to see what we at Inner City Kitchen found during my undercover research experiment in Los Angeles grocery stores and Americas Fast Food monopoly revealed.

Who doesn’t love food?

innercitykitchen — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:39:22 +0000

Oh Los Angeles, I am excited to bring to you a new kind of blog. Inner City Kitchen’s new blog is about you, what you like to eat, and where you like to eat it!! I am on a journey to explore the hot spots of Los Angeles through food as it is related to health, nutrition, fashion, sports, culture, and music. Los Angeles is a big city and I want to Eat!! I mean “who doesn’t love food?” whether it’s a hot dog from Hollywood’s most famous stand or one of my favorites Mikes Deli in Ladera Heights, food is a representation of who we are and where we come from.

In this blog I hope to open our eyes to the truths of cuisine in all of the inner city neighborhoods of Los Angeles. I want us to find truth about what’s brought in and sold in our grocery stores here in South Los Angeles. How the “Taste of Life” vegan soul food at the Hollywood Farmers Market, a wonderful savor of flavor, that can hold its own to any meaty soul food restaurant, or perhaps what one of Los Angeles’ favorite Lakers players likes to eat before a big game.

So today as I keep this short and sweet I will end with this… Check out my blog every Sunday night at 8pm to see what my week was like, who ate it best!!

MMmmm tacos anyone?