Tag: Food

When I first heard of Juka’s Organic, I wasn’t sure what it was. I was like “which one is Juka again?” Notwithstanding, I gave them the audience and I have to tell you it was one of the most pleasant audience I had ever granted. Juka’s Organic is a company that sells African products and one of my favorite things, the African organic Palm oil.
Receiving the palm oil in the mail, the box smelled like sweet plantain chips. On opening it, it was a box of palm oil, coconut oil and palm oil sauce. Although the oils smelled so sweet on opening them, I didn’t rush to taste them as I wanted to take my time to relish in each bottle.

Tasting
The first of the oils I tried was the palm oil sauce. I was not salty and it tasted freshly made. I had it with some boiled white yam and some corned beef sauce. It was so good I had to start adding it in everything we ate. Even with beans and African bread it was tickety boo!

The coconut oil wasn’t any different. It tasted coconutty and wholesome. I used it for my oil pulling and I made some noodle stir fry. Freshness guaranteed!
My favorite was the Red Palm oil. Juka’s Organic palm oil is the truth! The whole truth and nothing less. I’m a cook/chef and I am someone who cooks for people so I use a lot of palm oil in my soups and sauces. I know people who do not like palm oil. They would eat anything but palm oil until Dr. Oz and even Oprah endorsed it as a superfood.

I think as Africans, we don’t understand the value and wholeness of our foods. And I digress.
In my first attempt using Juka’s Organic red palm oil, I made some yam pottage with it. The oil smelled sweet and the color was the most brilliant shade of red I had ever seen. The yam pottage tasted differently from the others I had ever made. The taste was deliciously inexplicable. Sweet spot confirmed! I thought I was enjoying palm oil until I tasted Juka’s Organic palm oil. Now I hide my Juka’s oils in my pantry make story no enter abeg.

The Interview
After tasting these oils, I knew I had to talk to Juka and not only is she a beautiful human being, but her story is one every woman has to listen to.
Nlc: Who and what is Juka?
Juka: “My name is Juka and I am from Gambia. I am an entrepreneur and a former activist but once an activist, always an activist”
Nlc: You said you’re an activist. What area of activism do you have a passion for?
Juka: “I’m an activist against injustice, I was part of a movement that brought an end to 22 years of dictatorship in the Gambia”
Nlc: Are your parents Gambians?
Juka: “Yes but they both lived in Sierra Leone, my father was a businessman. They later moved back to Gambia and my father had a very successful business as the sole importer of Sunoco motor oil. With no formal education, my dad started that business and did very well by opening franchise stores across the country. My mom also had a poultry and few other business and did well for herself”
Nlc: How many siblings do you have?
Juka: “It was nine of us and with my brother’s passing, we are now 8.”
Nlc: What made you start Juka’s Organic?
Juka: “At a young age, I moved from New York to California and I opened an African store in Inglewood. After few years of running the store, I decided to close it and liquidate everything and ended up with only two thousand dollars. I invested and lost a lot in that store but even with that loss I knew I had to do more with our red palm oil because a lot of the palm oil that was sold across the country weren’t that authentic. But I still had to close my store. After closing the store, that was when I decided to go to the villages in Africa to get the real thing and work particularly with women farmers. Dr. Oz had also endorsed red palm oil as a super food, I started selling more of it to non-Africans as well; then I decided to add more natural, healthy food and beauty products from African villages to our catalog”

Nlc: what states and stores can we find your products?
Juka: “Texas, New York (Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, New Jersey), Arizona, Las Vegas, California (Los Angeles & San Diego), Canada, Singapore or they can get it from Walmart.com or Amazon.com You can also visit us on our website for partner store locations www.jukasorganic.com Or on all social media platforms with the handle, Juka’s Organic Co.
Nlc: Are all your oils in glass bottles?
Juka: “We have both glass jars and high grade plastic bottles which are BPA free and are easier to transport. But a lot of our customers are very health conscious and they like the glass containers hence we still have the glass jars for those who prefer them.”
Nlc: what did you study in university?
Juka: “Accounting and business. I also worked as a model with Wilhelmina models in NYC for three years and went back to California. I was very lucky I must say, as a model and TV commercial actress, I did around 20 national commercials. My first national was booked with Virgin mobile in NYC and after that it just took off. I did American Express, T-Mobile, MasterCard, Dell, Saab car commercials, Axe deodorant AT&T and so many more that I still can’t believe it when I look back.

Nlc: Are you still in the industry?
Juka: “No. I don’t have the time to stay in the industry at this moment as I have to focus on growing Juka’s Organic Co. I remember I had to always put a sign up my store to let customers know I was coming back so I could go to my auditions. I was very attached to the store, it was my baby and closing it was one of the hardest things I had to do. I worked so hard, with getting all my permits and all the investments but I believe closing it was a blessing in disguise. It certainly opened a new door.
Nlc: Where do you see yourself in the future?
Juka: “I see myself working with more countries in Africa. I would like to see an expansion into more states and more stores in the U.S.A. Africa is one of the biggest continent in the world yet our food is not noticed by many. My goal is to bring Africa to mainstream through our healthy foods and beauty products.
Nlc: Is there anything you’d want people to know about you?
Juka: “I’m a fighter, I don’t give up easily. I want to inspire every young mind especially girls. I want every young girl to know that they can be the best in whatever they want to be as long as they are willing to work hard, smart and with great intentions behind their ideas”

Here is an easy and quick way to prepare a soft and delicious clafoutis, the famous baked cherry French dessert.

Looking for a tasty new vegetarian appetizer? Try to prepare these colorful rolled beetroot pancakes that could be served also as a tasty brunch finger food.

Looking for a flavorful recipe for a special occasion? Try this turkey breast wrapped in puffed pastry, that could be served also as a tasty main course.

The Caesar salad is again off the menu as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises everyone not to eat romaine lettuce after an outbreak of E coli.

Here is an easy and quick way to prepare a delicious peanut butter cookies, ready in about 30 minutes from start to finish.

From exclusive dinners to Christmas markets, take your pick of the tastiest events on offer around the world this month.

The Tommasi winery of Italy’s Veneto region has purchased a significant share of Fattoria La Massa, an estate in Panzano in Tuscany’s Chianti Classico region. The deal was signed Nov. 23. The percentage of shares and the price were not disclosed.

Ermen Minari, an Italian entrepreneur, also invested in the deal. La Massa owner and founder Giampaolo Motta will retain ownership of the remaining share of the company.

“[La Massa] was in need of restructuring to be able to invest for the future,” Tommasi executive director Pierangelo Tommasi told Wine Spectator. “We at Tommasi have been looking for a Chianti Classico project for a long time …. We have known [Giampaolo] for several years and understood the opportunity to do something together at La Massa; we decided to pursue this opportunity.”

“We will define some rules more specifically in the next few weeks, but it is clear and agreed that Giampaolo and his team will continue to look after the vineyard and wine production, in synergy with my cousin Giancarlo [Tommasi, the company’s winemaker] and our team,” added Tommasi.

The agreement will give La Massa more resources, the possibility of planting additional vineyards on the property and help it grow the wines’ distribution in markets around the world.

Founded in 1992, La Massa occupies 111 acres, 67 of which are planted to vines, in the Conca d’Oro of Panzano, an amphitheater of vineyards that is also home to top Chianti names likes Fontodi and Castello di Rampolla. It makes modern-style super Tuscan reds, led by its flagship Giorgio Primo, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Total production is 12,000 cases.

The Tommasi winery is based in Valpolicella, but now makes an average of 250,000 cases per year from multiple regions. Tommasi’s latest investment increases its presence to three estates in as many different areas of Tuscany. In 1997 it bought Poggio al Tufo in the Maremma, replanting the existing 148 acres of vines, eventually expanding to 222 acres. In 2013, the company purchased an additional 198 acres from a winery in Scansano, for a total of 420 acres in the Maremma. It then gained a foothold in Montalcino with the purchase of Podere Casisano and its 54 acres of Sangiovese in 2015.

“La Massa makes great wines and has a great brand. We are very happy to be part of it,” said Tommasi. “I can assure that La Massa has a great future ahead.”

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Enjoy a sample of dishes from the three-star chef Arnaud Donckele – just named the best chef in the world!

What are the cheese pros excited about right now? Like wine, the world of cheese is vast and diverse—potentially overwhelming, but rewarding to explore. No one is happier to guide you than your neighborhood cheesemongers. You should talk to them! In “Cheese Talk,” we introduce you to a top cheesemonger and ask them for three cheeses to look for this month, as well as what wines or other beverages to pair with them.

Sarah Dvorak grew up in America’s Dairyland. But it wasn’t until the Wisconsin native moved to California in 2002 that she considered the prospect of a life in cheese. “I fell in love with the uniqueness of cheese, the science of it, how it starts with milk and results in this magical rainbow of flavors,” Dvorak says. “The seed was planted [staging at Jardinière], which had a pretty remarkable cheese program.”

Corporate life called her away, however, putting her dreams of bloomy rinds on hold. But she was never far from her next wheel of cheese. “I joined the California Artisan Cheese Guild and the American Cheese Society, and became a little bit of a cheese groupie. I think I was the first enthusiast to join the guild; looking back, it’s quite hilarious. I fell in love with the industry—particularly in California, where the cheese world is predominantly female—which felt … very collaborative and was really coming into its own in a sense of American artisan cheese. I was attracted to the product, but brought in by the people.”

In 2011, Dvorak took the plunge, opening Mission Cheese in San Francisco’s Mission District. “I decided to leave my corporate job and create a place where I wanted to hang out—a casual, authentic cheese place where you could sit and enjoy cheese and pair it with some wine or beer and have an experience and a conversation and make friends. So that’s what I did.”

In addition to an all-American selection of about 50 cheeses, Mission Cheese features about a dozen wines by the glass and another dozen by the bottle, along with beers and ciders—all California-made. “We like to work with small-production, responsible producers to line up with our cheese assortment,” says Dvorak. “We like interesting varietals that are a true expression of the land and grape, but also stoke conversation. We rarely have a Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon on our by-the-glass list, mostly because we’re passionate that folks try new flavors.” The kitchen prepares composed plates of charcuterie and cheeses as well as pressed sandwiches.

But it’s the cheeses that are most dear to Dvorak, so much so that she couldn’t pick just three. “I have to give honorable mentions to Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese Co. and Bandaged Bismark from Grafton Village and Crown Finish Caves. There’s too many to choose from!”

Mission Cheese
736 Valencia St., San Francisco
(415) 553-8667
MissionCheese.net

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Capriole Sofia

Milk: Goat
Category: Soft-ripened bloomy ash rind
Region: Greenville, Ind.
Age: 2 to 6 weeks
Price: $38 per pound

Sarah says: We’ve basically carried it the entire time we’ve been open. I’m in a phase of paying respects to those American classics that have been the baseline of the American cheese movement. There’s something amazing about the original set—the Sofias, the Pleasant Ridge Reserves, the Rogue River Blues—that have been so good for so long. Sofia, I think she is the most elegant, beautiful, classic goat’s-milk cheese around. Sofia is perhaps the longest-standing cheese in my top five. Her silky texture delivers bright sweet cream and brioche flavors that are a perfect start to a cheese flight.

Sarah’s recommended pairing: I love it with a bright white like the 2017 Jolie-Laide Melon de Bourgogne Chalone during the day to bring out the bright lemon and sunshine and a more textured white in the eve, like the 2016 Potek Riesling Santa Barbara County Kick On Ranch (this wine is bonkers and is a good friend to so many cheeses), which brings out the sweet cream and adds a little honeycomb and herbs. Beer drinkers should find a farmhouse saison.

Wine Spectator picks: Sauvignon Blanc is a classic match with fresh, tangy goat cheese. For the more subtly elegant Sofia, try the racy and precise Pascal Jolivet Sancerre 2017 (91 points, $29, 40,000 cases made) or a Sauvignon Blanc–Sémillon blend from Bordeaux like Château Guiraud Le G 2015 (91, $20, 15,000 cases made).

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Alemar Bent River

Milk: Cow
Category: Soft-ripened bloomy rind, Camembert-style
Region: Mankato, Minn.
Age: 6 to 12 weeks
Price: $30 per pound

Sarah says: If I’m getting a cheese flight at Mission Cheese, my staff knows that if they put Bent River on there, I will be a happy camper. It’s a cow’s-milk camembert from Alemar Cheese Company in Minnesota, and the first time I had it I was mind-blown. I was like, “What? We can produce real, vegetal, funky, amazingly buttery camembert in the U.S.?” It’s super luscious, sweet, beautiful milk, and it’s a pasteurized camembert that does for me what many of the Camemberts in France do. When it’s young, it’s grassy and buttery and sort of easy-breezy with a little bit of mushroominess, but then, as it gets older, there’s roasted cauliflower and [it’s] super funky. It’s definitely my favorite Camembert-style cheese made in the U.S.—buttery, unctuous and dangerously snackable.

Sarah’s recommended pairing: This is the perfect match for a fun pét-nat, which brings a little effervescence to lift the rich, buttery texture and yeasty funk and herbs. I love the Malvasia Biancas from Birichino and Onward wineries with my round of Bent River. (Yes … all to myself.) I’m drooling.

Wine Spectator picks: Buttery bloomy rinds like Camembert have long shared a place at the table with Champagne. In fact, they’re so closely matched, a tasting note for one could easily be confused for the other. Try a traditional-method California sparkler like Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley NV (93, $24, 80,000 cases made).

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Bleating Heart Death & Taxes

Milk: Cow
Category: Washed rind
Region: Tomales, Calif.
Age: 1 to 2 months
Price: $24 per pound

Sarah says: Death & Taxes comes from Bleating Heart Cheese [just across the Golden Gate Bridge] in Marin County. It’s washed in Death & Taxes Black Beer, which is a pretty special California beer from Moonlight Brewing Co. When it’s on, it’s my favorite cheese on the whole planet, because of its buttery, oozy, hammy goodness. Bleating Heart is run by Seana Doughty; she’s a remarkable character. She’s the most determined, bad-ass cheesemaker that I know, which makes her cheese all the better.

Sarah’s recommended pairing: This intermediate stinker is washed in Death & Taxes from Moonlight Brewing Co., so if you can find that, it’s a no-brainer. Fort Point Beer Company Summer Porter will also do the trick!

Wine Spectator picks: Beer is the obvious pairing with a beer-washed cheese, but one of the signatures of a washed-rind cheese is ham or bacon notes. Try a wine you’d pair with cured meats, like a medium-bodied rosé such as Gérard Bertrand Languedoc Rosé Cote des Roses 2017 (90, $17, 400,000 cases made) or a Nebbiolo-based Piedmont red like Renato Ratti Langhe Ochetti 2015 (91, $25, 3,820 cases imported). Or try a winebeer!