Category: Artisans

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The Mission Barbeque Grills Generously

The Mission Barbeque - Foodzooka Splat Feature

Barbeque famously brings people together to enjoy hearty feasts made with effort and expertise. As a family-run business, The Mission Barbeque aims to add even more meaning to their skillfully grilled meats as a means to help feed the needy in the local community.

The Mission Barbeque started bringing juicy, smoky, fall-off-the-bone barbeque classics and sides as a new vendor at La Cañada Farmers Market nearly three months ago. Each week, George and Judith Buendia and their helpful children prepare two bountiful batches of slow-roasted meats and dishes: one set to sell at the Saturday farmers market, and another set to give directly to the homeless that same evening.

The Mission Barbeque - Combo plate (Foodzooka)
The Mission Barbeque – Combo plate (Foodzooka)

“We cook enough for the sales, and then we make extra for service—for skid row, or the river, or wherever the homeless camps are—and take food out to them,” said Judith. A portion of the proceeds from the market sales pays for the food that the family donates.

On the menu of meats is Texas-style brisket, St. Louis-style pork ribs, and Southern-style pulled pork, which you can order as a combo meal with two sides or buy on their own by the pound. All of the meats are selected and hand-trimmed by George before spending hours and hours in the smoker, absorbing flavors from pecan and oak woods. The final result reflects the amount of patience George devotes to the process as well as the amount of sleep he loses the night before.

“It’s a 12-hour cook a lot of times with the brisket,” he said, which may explain why it’s The Mission Barbeque’s most requested item. The Angus beef brisket is simply rubbed with black pepper and kosher salt and injected with George’s secret mix of juices to ensure the meat is flavorful to its core. As he cuts through the blackened surface, each slice reveals a mark of excellence in the pinkish red ring along its edges. “That’s the smoke ring. That’s the one you’re working for,” he explained.

The Mission Barbeque - Texas style brisket (Foodzooka)
The Mission Barbeque – Texas style brisket (Foodzooka)

George coats the ribs and pork meat with rub recipes he developed to infuse flavors of brown sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and other spices overnight. He also adds special final touches in the last hours of grilling, such as a homemade barbeque sauce glaze on the ribs and a spritzing of apple juice on the pulled pork.

All of it cooks inside a smoker grill large enough to feed 200 people. The Buendias had the grill custom built in Atlanta, Georgia and towed it across the country themselves. Then for three years, George strove to excel in the art of pitmastering and find that coveted balance of timing and temperature required to make plump piles of meat.

The Mission Barbeque - St. Louis style ribs (Foodzooka)
The Mission Barbeque – St. Louis style ribs (Foodzooka)

“I still see myself as learning, but I take it very seriously,” George said. One particular lesson he had to learn was to stop opening the grill to check on the meat. “Once you can get to where you can leave it alone, just keep the temp right and keep the smoke going, then it’s going to be fine.”

To accompany your choice of meat are the traditional sides. Crisp coleslaw, creamy mac and cheese, velvety baked beans, and fluffy cornbread are all made from scratch in a commercial kitchen in Sunland. Judith puts her 23 years of experience as a baker to good use to craft each item from Southern recipes. Even the barbeque sauces are made in-house. “We’ve had people from the South come up to our booth and give us compliments,” she said.

The Mission Barbeque - Side dishes (Foodzooka)
The Mission Barbeque – Side dishes (Foodzooka)

In case you’re finicky about your barbeque, George and Judith are happy to offer sample bites for market goers to try. “A lot of times people are kind of hesitant. They hear that it’s barbeque, but they don’t think it’s real barbeque,” said George. Nevertheless, when the market nears closing time at 1pm, The Mission Barbeque is completely sold out. “There are times when we’re taking everything down and people say, ‘Wait, do you have anything left? Anything? Whatever you have in there, we’ll take it!’”

Like their meals, The Mission Barbeque’s farmers market stand is packed with the essentials and delivers more than expected. Absent is the actual smoker grill, which would be difficult to place, being the size of a small vehicle. But everything else about this tent is pure barbeque delight. The inside is surrounded with food, and the meat is kept dripping hot inside a well-insulated carrier throughout the Saturday event. Foil-covered catering trays keep the side dishes cozy, and a carving station gets its share of marks from George’s slicing skills. Within reaching distance are squeeze bottles of homemade regular or spicy barbeque sauce, along with honey for the cornbread.

“We’ve received nothing but positive feedback. The food—everybody enjoys it. Word is getting around. People are telling their friends. We’re always selling out, pretty much every week,” said George.

The Mission Barbeque - George Judith and Karina Buendia (Foodzooka)
The Mission Barbeque – George Judith and Karina Buendia (Foodzooka)

After the market closes on Saturdays, the Buendias return to their Eagle Rock home to drop off supplies and reload the car with more food. The family then spends the evening driving around Skid Row and along the banks of the Los Angeles River, parking near the tents and offering the crowds warm-cooked meals.

“We get this renewed energy,” said Judith. “And the appreciation from all of the people and all of the hearts you touch, it’s priceless.”

George and Judith were inspired to take this approach by other organizations that encourage helping those in need. They had been active with Angelus Temple, a local Foursquare Gospel church, which runs the Dream Center, a nonprofit community outreach center. The church also practices an active approach of giving items directly to people on the streets, such as food, money, clothes, and blankets. These efforts motivated the Buendia family to come up with their own way of contributing to help others, by serving high-quality meals to the homeless.

The Mission Barbeque - Beef burnt ends (Foodzooka)
The Mission Barbeque – Beef burnt ends (Foodzooka)

“To give people a real hot meal, they appreciate it,” George said. “And not only because it’s food, but because you took the time to give them something that they know you could sell at a restaurant.”

In the near future, the family expects to take on catering gigs. And you can currently request special items, such as beef burnt ends, which The Mission Barbeque will bring to the La Cañada Farmers Market. George and Judith ultimately want to take their passion as far as a brick and mortar restaurant that might allow them to feed thousands of homeless each week. But for now, as their slogan states, The Mission Barbeque is “Smoking hunger one meal at a time.”

The Mission Barbeque - La Cañada Farmers Market (Foodzooka)
The Mission Barbeque – La Cañada Farmers Market (Foodzooka)

For more info and updates, click the Foodzooka profile below to find The Mission Barbeque website and follow them on social media.

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Big Grandma’s Kitchen Gives Pupusas & Yuca Fries A Crisp Edge Around Altadena

Big Grandma's Kitchen - Foodzooka Splat Feature

At the heart of Big Grandma’s Kitchen is a pupusa recipe that’s made its way from El Salvador to Los Angeles through three generations of grandmas. Now in the hands of Chef Guillermo Lima, the family recipe for these savory stuffed corncakes has ventured beyond the home kitchen to local farmers markets and events.

“This recipe comes from my great-grandmothers. It goes way back,” said Chef Lima while manning his regular station at the Altadena Farmers Market. “I was lucky enough that my mom was able to show me, and we’re very happy to pass it on to my daughter Sophia. The name Big Grandma’s, it’s her grandma.”

Big Grandma's Kitchen - Pupusas and ensalada drink (Foodzooka)
Big Grandma’s Kitchen – Pupusas and ensalada drink (Foodzooka)

Though Chef Lima has added some of his own twists, his mother Sylvia still gives the food her stamp of approval, having once managed a pupuseria with her sister in El Salvador where they made everything from scratch.

For Big Grandma’s Kitchen, making pupusas from scratch involves a lot of time and multitasking to prepare each element, from the masa dough to the variety of fillings: cheese, asada, chorizo, beans, spinach, or jalapeno. Popular specialty pupusas include the “loroco,” which combines cheese with an edible green flower bud from Central America, and the “revueltas,” stuffed with pork, beans, and cheese.

“It’s a whole 8 to 10-hour process that I do with just the beans. I soak them, I cook them, boil them, grind them down. The masa, we let sit for a couple of hours,” Chef Lima described. “They’re so hard to make. And it takes a lot of practice to make them round, to stuff them.”

Big Grandma's Kitchen - Pupusa ingredients (Foodzooka)
Big Grandma’s Kitchen – Pupusa ingredients (Foodzooka)

While pupusas can often look uniformly the same with fillings well hidden in a thick blanket of masa, Big Grandma’s Kitchen doesn’t shy away from showing off what’s inside. Chef Lima intentionally uses less masa, so that each pupusa reveals the light and dark shades of its contents, some of which peek out through the edges after being flipped over and over on a flat iron griddle.

“When I ball them up, I take off the excess masa. That way when you bite it, all you get is flavor,” he explained. “That’s my view of my pupusas. That’s what I like. That’s why I’m very picky of how I do my pupusas.”

Big Grandma's Kitchen - Pupusas Revueltas, Spinach and Cheese (Foodzooka)
Big Grandma’s Kitchen – Pupusas Revueltas, Spinach and Cheese (Foodzooka)

Inside his tented makeshift kitchen at the farmers market, Chef Lima applies the skills he learned both from his mother and from his years working on food trucks and in restaurants. He deftly assembles and shapes each pupusa to order, watching over the grill and flipping the pupusas with precise timing to prevent the masa from cracking. His dexterity and focus while cooking has fittingly earned him the nickname Pupusa Ninja.

As his sister, Syl Lima, manages the orders that come in, she marvels at how he hustles behind the scenes. “He’s got magic hands. He’s really good at what he does, and he loves it. And it shows in the food,” she said.

Big Grandma's Kitchen - Chef Lima grilling pupusas (Foodzooka)
Big Grandma’s Kitchen – Chef Lima grilling pupusas (Foodzooka)

Making the pupusas to order ensures that you experience them at their best, straight off the grill—hot and crispy on the outside, steamy and gooey on the inside. The final dish is finished with a tangy topping of curtido, a pickled slaw which Chef Lima makes with purple cabbage instead of the traditional white cabbage for a vibrant visual contrast. A mild, red tomato salsa made from scratch adds another splash of flavor. “Traditionally, Salvadorian food is not spicy at all. That way the kids can enjoy it, and everybody can eat it,” he said.

Chef Lima’s flair for Salvadoran cuisine doesn’t stop at the pupusas. An order of Yuca Con Chicharron is a surprisingly substantial plate loaded with plump wedges of fried yuca and meaty chunks of fried pork. He boils the tropical tubers beforehand and fries them to order, giving the yuca a much fluffier inner texture than french fries, with an extra crispy outer layer.

Big Grandma's Kitchen - Yuca con Chicharron (Foodzooka)
Big Grandma’s Kitchen – Yuca con Chicharron (Foodzooka)

Between savory bites of pupusa or yuca, you can enjoy refreshing sips from a cup of ensalada, a Salvadoran fruit juice made from chopped pineapple, mango, and apples. The diced fruits floating in your cup hint at the freshness and natural sweetness of the housemade beverage.

For a desserty course, the Platanos Fritos is an addictive dish of plantains, slowly caramelized to bring out the mild flavor of bananas with starchy, crisped edges. Big Grandma’s Kitchen offers two dipping sauces, a savory cream and a cinnamon drizzle, which Chef Lima specifically made to cater to the tastes of picky kids, “Because if the kids are going to eat it, the parents are going to eat it.”

Big Grandma's Kitchen - Platanos with cinnamon drizzle (Foodzooka)
Big Grandma’s Kitchen – Platanos with cinnamon drizzle (Foodzooka)

Though Big Grandma’s Kitchen started vending regularly at public venues this past summer, the business first began in 2017 out of Chef Lima’s home kitchen. Initially, friends and family would come to his house for pupusa lunches every other Sunday afternoon. As word spread about the home cooked meals, nearby foodies started joining the weekend gatherings, which soon turned the Lima’s house into weekly a pop-up eatery. Now that they’ve successfully moved the business out of their house, Chef Lima aims to book larger events like the LA Food Fest, which they attended this year at Santa Anita Park.

“It’s been a great journey since we started. People have been showing us amazing love, a lot of support, a lot of good vibes,” Chef Lima said. “This is not a job for me. It’s a passion. It’s a great feeling, and that’s what keeps me going.”

Big Grandma's Kitchen - Altadena Farmers Market (Foodzooka)
Big Grandma’s Kitchen – Altadena Farmers Market (Foodzooka)

You can find Big Grandma’s Kitchen in an extra wide booth at the Altadena Farmers Market on Wednesdays, where a towering sail waving the word “pupusas” will guide you to their spot.   They also regularly attend the monthly Latino market event Molcajete Dominguero in downtown Los Angeles. For updates on upcoming special engagements and menu items, click their Foodzooka profile below and follow Big Grandma’s Kitchen on social media.

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Cobblermania Is Just Getting Warmed Up

Cobblermania - Foodzooka Splat Feature

When you’re compelled to forage through farmers markets for freshly made cobblers, you know you’ve got Cobblermania. Shae Seward, creator and owner of Cobblermania, has been fueling cobbler fanaticism at Los Angeles farmers markets and food festivals for over 10 years.

If you add up all the seasonal variations and multi-fruit combinations, Shae cobbles together over 70 different cobbler flavors throughout the year. Some popular options include Peach, Mango-Blueberry-Peach, Strawberry-Rhubarb, Sweet Potato, White Nectarine-Blackberry-Apple, Fig-Pear, Pumpkin, and Sweet Potato-Pumpkin with Candied Pecans. Even if the top picks are sold out by the time you get to a Cobblermania stand, the mere freshness of any random choice could win you over to flavors you hadn’t considered before.

“People have told me, ‘I can’t believe I like your cobblers, because I normally don’t like cooked fruit.’ But that’s because we don’t overcook our fruit,” Shae said. “I do it all by hand. The fruit is hand-peeled, the sweet potato is hand-peeled, cooked, then strained and baked.”

Cobblermania - Freshly baked cobblers (Foodzooka)
Cobblermania – Freshly baked cobblers (Foodzooka)

Shae shops for fresh produce daily, buying some items at the farmers markets she attends, such as green and black figs, plums, and apriums from Arnett Farms and mango flavored nectarines from Ken’s Top Notch Produce. But the secret to Cobblermania comes from a family recipe Shae learned directly from her great aunt, whose peach cobbler was always her favorite. “Auntie Roi baked with fresh fruit when she made cobblers and apricot turnovers, so I was used to fresh. I’m a stickler for fresh,” she said.

Because of her sensitivities to sweets, Shae’s goal with Cobblermania is to take a more healthful approach to creating nostalgic desserts. Since she’s allergic to eggs and never liked milk, she makes cobblers without eggs, milk, or butter, so they’re all dairy-free and entirely vegan friendly. And since sugar makes her feel sluggish, Shae instead uses a light organic agave, which is flavor neutral, adding a mild sweetness without overriding the natural flavors of the fruits. ”I want everything to taste like what it is, not like a molasses flavored agave. I want you to taste the actual fruits—like white nectarines, guavas, pluots, blackberries, and apples,” she explained.

Cobblermania - Blackberry cobbler (Foodzooka)
Cobblermania – Blackberry cobbler (Foodzooka)

For Cobblermania’s signature crust, a layer of pastry covers the filling and lines the bottom of the pan. It has a tender, flaky quality that’s neither too crumbly nor too doughy. Shae also offers a gluten-free crust made with rice flour instead of white flour. Loaded with chunky ripe fruits, the cobblers come out of the oven looking truly homemade with lumpy golden tops and syrupy juices seeping through the edges. To Shae, this is what distinguishes her cobblers from neatly preened pies, but it’s okay if you want to call them pies.

The heart-shaped opening on each cobbler allows steam to escape during baking, with the offset pastry cutout adding a decorative and biscuity bonus layer to the top crust. This particular embellishment caught on several years ago when Shae switched from cutting a circular hole to a heart for Valentine’s Day and sold out of the entire batch of themed cobblers. “The following week, I was back to doing a circle,” she said, “and people returned asking ‘Where are the ones with the hearts?’” Since then, Shae has always put her heart into the crusts, though she may surprise you with other fun cutouts for special occasions, such as bunnies for Easter, or bats over the moon for Halloween.

Cobblermania - Peach Strawberry cobbler (Foodzooka)
Cobblermania – Peach Strawberry cobbler (Foodzooka)

You can feel all the hands-on work and thought Shae puts into making her fresh cobblers when you pick one up at a Cobblermania stand and find that it’s still warm. She bakes the batches of cobblers hours before each farmers market appearance, even the ones that open at 8am. For those markets, she starts work at 2am. “I tried baking the day before, but I didn’t like the texture,” Shae said. “When you buy from me, it has to be fresh-fresh.”

The 7-inch width of each cobbler looks larger than a single serving and may technically be big enough to share. But to avoid the regret of giving up a piece, Shae recommends, “If you plan on sharing it, taste it first.” Experienced customers have been known to buy two—one to share, and one for themselves, often finishing a whole cobbler in one sitting. This may be why the Cobblermania banner warns that they’re “So good you’ll (want to) slap somebody!”

Cobblermania - Farmers market banner (Foodzoka)
Cobblermania – Farmers market banner (Foodzoka)

Cobblermania turned out to be not just a fun name for Shae’s bakery, but a reflection of its loyal customer base. Shae came up with the name when a friend told her she had turned her into a cobbler fiend. As the business has grown, Shae’s cobblers—along with her exuberant and welcoming personality—have earned a devoted following of self-proclaimed Cobblermaniacs. You may even spot a few celebrity Cobblermaniacs at her booth, such as Congresswoman Maxine Waters, actress Marla Gibbs, Los Angeles Laker John Salley, “Weird Al” Yankovic, legendary model Lauren Hutton, “Byrd” the bailiff from Judge Judy, Tony Todd from the cult classic horror film Candyman, and more.

Shae has gotten to know many of her repeat customers, forming friendships that have lasted for years. Regulars have invited her to parties and family events not just for catering, but as a personal guest. For instance, Chef Tanya Petrovna, the founder of Native Foods, approached Shae to take part in vegan pop-ups at her place in Palm Springs. And at the recent wedding between Jasmine White and Tilmon Keaton, Shae even received surprise recognition when she heard them state in their vows, “I promise never to eat Cobblermania without you.”

“To me, Cobblermaniacs are as important as the cobblers. I focus on both of them. They are both growing my business,” said Shae.

Cobblermania (courtesy) - Cobblermaniac customers
Cobblermania (courtesy) – Cobblermaniac customers

Back when Shae asked her Auntie Roi to teach her how to make peach cobbler, she had no designs on starting a cobbler business. Shae still fondly recalls the first cobbler she made for her great aunt: “She ate it in silence. She was standing up and eating it, and she didn’t say a word. So I thought, oh my God, I messed it up. But then she sat down and she started scraping the bowl, and she said, ‘You have outdone me.’ And she never made it again, ever.”

From then on, Shae made the cobblers for family dinners, holidays, and potlucks, soon receiving requests to make them for friends and parties. As orders grew more frequent, cobblers became enough of a business for Shae to leave her career as a medical transcriptionist and become a regular vendor at local farmers markets. Cobblermania now covers four corners of Los Angeles at the Hollywood (Sundays), Culver City (Tuesdays), MLK Hospital (Wednesdays), and Torrance (Saturdays) farmers markets. You’ll also find Cobblermania cobblers at the annual vegan food gathering VegFest LA held in Van Nuys, as well as other local annual events and festivals.

Cobblermania - VegFest LA booth (Foodzooka)
Cobblermania – VegFest LA booth (Foodzooka)

Now, with Cobblermaniacs coming from all over, Shae has her sights set on expanding to a handful of Cobblermania storefronts. She envisions the shops as distribution spots that would recreate the look and feel of her farmers market booths. To ensure consistent quality and taste, the cobblers will be baked at a centralized commercial kitchen. Having run Cobblermania on her own since the beginning, she also now sees potential in strategic partnering with other complementary businesses as an opportunity to pool resources and grow together.

“Cobblermania is very popular and I work very hard. There’s so much more to it than just the baking,” Shae said. “I love my company, but it’s not that I just love baking. I like my customers, and they’re happy to see me. This is a happy business, and I love what I do.”

Cobblermania - Shae Seward and Kisha Boyd (Foodzooka)
Cobblermania – Shae Seward and Kisha Boyd (Foodzooka)

For more information and updates, click the Foodzooka profile below to view Shae’s farmers market schedule and follow Cobblermania on social media.

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Energy Bee Farm Hums Through 50 Years Of Raw Honey Busyness

Energy Bee Farm - Foodzooka Splat Feature

As you hover through the farmers market, the yellow banner at the Energy Bee Farm stand will lead you to a sweet discovery. Beekeeper Jeff Erb and his family have kept busy collecting and selling prized batches of pure hive-to-jar honey across Los Angeles area markets for more than half a century.

It’s a sticky business procuring raw honey the old fashioned way. Energy Bee Farm has always been a family business, started by Jeff’s father Gilbert Erb in 1968. Since then, three generations have worked to harvest honey from wildflower fields and orchards throughout Central and Southern California, hauling it to their facility in Inglewood, where it’s strained and packaged to be sold at 14 local farmers markets.

Energy Bee Farm - West LA Farmers Market (Foodzooka)
Energy Bee Farm – West LA Farmers Market (Foodzooka)

These days, Energy Bee Farm has between 3,000 and 6,000 active honey bee hives in locations such as Porterville, Lindsay, Ivanhoe, Visalia, and the Santa Monica Mountains. The trek to tend to so many far-flung hives pays off with the distinctive varieties of honey that come from each area. Eyeing the jars on Energy Bee Farm’s table, you’ll see various shades of gold, from bright amber to coffee brown. Simply put: different flowers create honeys of different colors and flavors, depending on the nectar source. Even the rate at which each honey naturally crystallizes can vary based on the traits of the nectar and the temperature where it’s stored.

The varieties currently available from Energy Bee Farm include avocado, sage, buckwheat, orange blossom, and wildflower. Orange blossom honey tastes expectedly citrusy like oranges, while avocado honey tastes nothing like avocados. It’s less sweet with a dark color like molasses, revealing a higher mineral content that occurs in seasons with less rainfall. The sage honey is mild and floral, buckwheat is strong and spicy, and the somewhat fruity flavor of wildflower can change between seasons.

“In drought years, you get a mishmash of everything,” Jeff described. “Because there’s so little rain, there isn’t any one dominant flower that’s producing nectar throughout the season, and then you get wildflower honey.”

Energy Bee Farm - Honey sticks and jars (Foodzooka)
Energy Bee Farm – Honey sticks and jars (Foodzooka)

Raw, unpasteurized, unfiltered honey is sought after for its flavors and health benefits. In this natural state, it contains minerals, vitamin-rich pollen, antioxidants, and antibacterial agents, all of which are compromised in mass-produced honeys that are flash heated during the packaging process. At high temperatures, honey takes on the consistency of water so it can be blasted through a filtration system and shot into jars and bottles with the speed of automation.

Energy Bee Farm takes a less hurried approach to honey extraction and packaging. First, a specialized machine slices off the top layer of the honeycomb to open up the cells, and any cells missed are scratched open by hand with a pointed tool. Jeff then places the honeycombs in a spinning device that tosses the honey out of the cells without destroying the combs. To strain unwanted particles from the collected honey, it flows through a series of gradually smaller holes and then a cloth. The strained honey is pumped slowly into barrels, allowed to settle, then poured into jars or bear-shaped squeeze bottles and labeled by hand.

“You’re not cooking it, and you’re not filtering it. And I’m handling it in a way that a large producer packer would tell me is not efficient,” Jeff said.

Energy Bee Farm - Honey bear squeeze bottles (Foodzooka)
Energy Bee Farm – Honey bear squeeze bottles (Foodzooka)

At the farmers market, a few sticky jars are telltale signs of Energy Bee Farm’s manual packaging process. In the heat of the sun, the honey will expand and seep out from jars that were overfilled. Should you happen to pick up a sticky jar, Jeff may offer you an amusing deal, saying, “All the honey on the outside of the jar is free!”

Honey sold at the farmers markets range from 8-ounce sample sizes to 64-ounce jugs that are typically purchased by restaurants. Energy Bee Farm also sells honey sticks, crystallized honey, honeycombs, bee pollen, bee wax, and royal jelly. Sometimes called “bee milk,” royal jelly is a creamy substance that bees make to feed the larvae and the queen. Royal jelly has gotten buzz as a superfood that helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation, and treat digestive disorders, among many other claims.

Energy Bee Farm - Royal Jelly (Foodzooka)
Energy Bee Farm – Royal Jelly (Foodzooka)

At age 61, Jeff still eats honey every day and occasionally gets stung when working with the honeycombs. This begs the question: why would someone want to work amongst bees?

“They call it bee fever,” Jeff explained. He caught it at age 9 when his older brother Ron showed him a hive and pointed out the queen. “From the minute he opened the hive, it was absolutely fascinating. A bee stung me on the finger and I thought, ‘That doesn’t hurt that bad. I can deal with this.’”

Whenever Jeff visits the hives, he inspects the conditions of each colony, never forgetting that bees are essentially livestock. He’s careful to leave plenty of honeycombs intact for the bees to feed. When conditions like winter or drought inhibit the growth of flowers with nectar, the bees may need supplemental feedings of sugar to ensure that the colonies can survive. Vigilance is crucial since bees are also susceptible to parasites, diseases, chemicals, and other threats that can kill off thousands at a time and spread to nearby colonies.

“The beekeepers who pay the closest attention to their bees are the ones who are the best beekeepers,” Jeff said.

Energy Bee Farm - Honeycombs (Foodzooka)
Energy Bee Farm – Honeycombs (Foodzooka)

Underscoring the vital role of bees in California’s agricultural ecosystem, Energy Bee Farm is often called upon to bring their hives to orchards and crops in need of pollination. This work usually doesn’t make any honey since some flowers don’t produce enough nectar or pollen to sustain the bees. “Like apples. You never see apple honey,” Jeff explained. “Every year, thousands of bees get moved into the almonds, and yet you never see almond honey.”

For Energy Bee Farm to secure so many yards for the hives, it has taken decades of networking with property owners, farmers, and even national forest rangers. The hives often yield honey during the hottest months of the year—an uncomfortable situation for beekeepers who are covered from head to toe in protective suits that can add an extra 25 degrees. Puffs of smoke are used to pacify the bees while removing the honeycomb frames, which are exponentially heavier when filled with honey. Needless to say, Jeff has endured his share of heat exhaustion episodes in the course of his workdays.

“It is the most laborious task I ever found in my life,” Jeff said of beekeeping, “and I’ve worked in a lot of other laborious jobs.” Jeff used to do the heavy bee work with his brother while their father managed the farmers markets. Now that Ron has retired, Jeff works the markets while his nephew Dave Sample does the heavy lifting. Dave came into the bee business by marriage to Jeff’s niece Sarah, who is now building a retail line called True Gold Honey.

Energy Bee Farm - Beekeeper Jeff Erb (Foodzooka)
Energy Bee Farm – Beekeeper Jeff Erb (Foodzooka)

Jeff can be found weekly at the Westchester Farmers Market on Wednesdays and the West Los Angeles Farmers Market on Sundays, which he likes to say is his day off. Quoting his older brother, Jeff declared, “‘If you do what you like, you like what you do.’ And I like what I do.”

You can also find Energy Bee Farm at the following markets: Houghton Park (Mon), Manhattan Beach (Tues), Santa Monica Downtown (Wed), Huntington Park (Wed), Bixby Knolls (Thurs), Downtown Long Beach (Fri), Cerritos (Sat), Torrance (Sat), Buena Park (Sat), Long Beach Marina (Sun), Santa Monica Main St. (Sun), and Encino (Sun).

Energy Bee Farm - Farmers market stand (Foodzooka)
Energy Bee Farm – Farmers market stand (Foodzooka)

For more information, click the Foodzooka profile below to find the farmers market schedule for  Energy Bee Farm and follow them on Instagram.

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Squadros Hint At The Many Sides Of East Side Eats LA

East Side Eats LA - Foodzooka Splat Feature

East Side Eats LA is out to corner the market with savory squared bundles that are part empanada, part samosa, and uniquely named “Squadros.”  These hybrid meal pockets packed with farm fresh fillings are a new creation from East Side Eats LA co-owners and chefs, Jose Vazquez and Shruti Patel.

“The entire idea behind Squadros is that it’s a complete fusion of Latin and Indian cuisine,” said Shruti. “I’m Indian and he’s Latin, so we combined our two favorite things to eat—samosas and empanadas—and came up with something on our own.”

East Side Eats LA - Fried Squadros (Foodzooka)
East Side Eats LA – Fried Squadros (Foodzooka)

Squadros are made with zesty fillings of chorizo, chicken, or vegetables wrapped in a thin layer of pastry and formed into sensibly squarish shapes before taking a dip in the fryer. The result is a baffling balance of light crispness, satisfying heft, and bold flavors.

“As soon as people try it, they dig it,” Jose said. “It’s something completely new that no one else is doing.”

East Side Eats LA currently serves Squadros dishes at the City Hall Farmers Market (Thursdays) in downtown LA and the Torrance Farmers Market (Tuesdays). Every plate comes with three Squadros, each over three inches wide, cut in halves and splashed with flavorful housemade sauces, ensuring that you’re in for a full-fledged meal: fork required.

East Side Eats LA - Squadros=Samosas+Empanadas (Foodzooka)
East Side Eats LA – Squadros=Samosas+Empanadas (Foodzooka)

On the El Loco plate, Squadros are filled with housemade chorizo and potato, enhanced by Latin-skewed flavors of adobo aioli, crema Mexicana and a sprinkling of queso fresco. The Para Los Birds plate has Squadros stuffed with spiced organic ground chicken breast akin to Indian keema, drizzled with crema Mexicana and a rich, tangy blueberry barbecue sauce inspired by the flavors of tamarind chutney.  El Classico is the most Indian-influenced Squadros plate, packed with seasonal organic vegetables and topped with the blueberry barbecue and a mint-cilantro aioli. “We also add a tajin yogurt because there’s so much yogurt in Indian food.” said Shruti.

A pico de gallo mix of freshly diced cucumbers and tomatoes adds color to both the chicken and vegetable plates, and all Squadros dishes are garnished with cilantro and accompanied by a side of cabbage slaw. The fresh vegetables, herbs, and produce used to make Squadros are often sourced directly from other vendors in attendance at the same farmers markets, including C&L Farms, Blessed Farms, Thao Farms, and JCK Farms.

East Side Eats LA - El Classico Squadros (Foodzooka)
East Side Eats LA – El Classico Squadros (Foodzooka)

As a fusion refreshment, East Side Eats offers a jamaica (hah-MY-kah) agua fresca made with hibiscus flowers and Indian black tea, which adds a caffeine kick for midday lunch crowds at the market. Its deep red cloudy color comes from using fresh blossoms, giving it a fruitier depth of flavor that stands apart from the bright pink versions made with dried and processed flowers. East Side Eats gets these hibiscus flowers and several other specialty ingredients for Squadros from small local vendors at traditional Mexican markets in East Los Angeles.

“A lot of our vendors come from East LA so that we’re always giving back to the community,” Shruti explained.

East Side Eats LA - Jamaica Black Tea (Foodzooka)
East Side Eats LA – Jamaica Black Tea (Foodzooka)

For catering gigs and pop-up events, Shruti and Jose use East LA panaderias, tortillerias, goods from Homeboy Bakery, and small shops based in El Mercadito de La Primera. They also volunteer their time at the LA Kitchen culinary job training center, the East Los Angeles Women’s Center, the Downtown Women’s Center, and the St. Joseph Center.

With Jose hailing from Boyle Heights and Shruti growing up in Diamond Bar, both chefs are personally tied to the Eastern area. They first met as classmates at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena and worked together in boutique catering before building separate careers at noteworthy fine dining restaurants and high-end catering houses on the Westside. All the while, they continued to cross paths and cook up culinary schemes, taking inspiration from their Eastside upbringings until they finally teamed up full-time on East Side Eats LA in January.

“With our kind of background in this industry, we’ve been very fortunate to travel the world. As we get older, all we want to do is get back and make sure that our roots are known,” Jose said. “Foodwise, it seems that we’re very forgotten on the Eastside. And we want to bring to light that we do it just as well on the East side as the West.”

East Side Eats LA (courtesy) - Concha ice cream sandwiches
East Side Eats LA (courtesy) – Concha ice cream sandwiches

While your first taste of East Side Eats may be from a Squadros stand at the farmers market, that’s only a small glimpse into their culinary capabilities. Given their combined resumes, Shruti and Jose shine at customizing both casual and formal menus for catered events, ranging from small in-home parties to large, illustrious celebrations such as the Oscars and Golden Globes. Drawing from this breadth of experience, they’re able to take a meticulous yet creative approach to any catering request.

“We like drawing people in based on Squadros and then introducing them to the idea that we do many more things,” Shruti said.

East Side Eats LA (courtesy) - Carrot rice pudding chickpea cakes with curry chicken salad
East Side Eats LA (courtesy) – Carrot rice pudding chickpea cakes with curry chicken salad

In an extreme demonstration of this versatility, Jose and Shruti competed as a team on the Cooking Channel show Farmers’ Market Flip, where they scrambled to impress judges with impromptu dishes made from available farmers market ingredients. They ultimately won the episode with an improvised dish of kettle-corn-crusted chicken tenders and a citrus salad.

“We try to pride ourselves on being a jack of all trades. On our off time, we’re cooking new things, and we’re trying new things to continually build our knowledge of what food can be and how to pair things together,” Jose said. “It’s always fun to be able to offer what the clients want. We can make it happen at the end of the day.”

East Side Eats LA - Chefs Jose Vazquez and Shruti Patel (Foodzooka)
East Side Eats LA – Chefs Jose Vazquez and Shruti Patel (Foodzooka)

Shruti and Jose also collaborate on a pop-up series, Rangoli Food Through Color, which specializes in Indian-influenced cuisine. Between the farmers markets, catering events, and pop-ups, the mounting schedule for Jose and Shruti is a testament to their unfettered enthusiasm for making food. “In our culinary class, our teachers told us, ‘You guys are going to make a name for yourselves,’” Shruti recalled. “And that’s been something that we’ve always taken with us.”

“The most important thing to us when we cook together, is the fact that I know she’ll always stand alongside me, and I’ll always stand alongside her,” Jose added.

East Side Eats LA - City Hall Farmers Market (Foodzooka)
East Side Eats LA – City Hall Farmers Market (Foodzooka)

For updates and more info, click the Foodzooka profile below to find the East Side Eats LA website and follow them on social media.  

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Fried Out Dishes Out Fries…With A Side Of Burgers

Fried Out - Foodzooka Splat Feature

When a side of french fries commands more cravings than most main entrees, it may be up for a promotion. Fried Out has set out to give fries an upgrade from finger food to forkworthy meal, topped with specialty sauces and locally sourced ingredients.

“Many of our fries are entree inspired and include fresh produce and homemade sauces, which provides the feeling of eating a wholesome, home cooked meal,” said Fried Out owner Priscilla Jaramillo.

Fried Out (courtesy) - Fries with beef
Fried Out (courtesy) – Fries with beef

By using freshly cut organic potatoes fried in non-GMO rice bran oil, Priscilla’s artisan approach puts a more mindful perspective on fries as a comfort food, leaning on the natural flavors and inherent nutrients of quality ingredients.

“Customers are surprised to find how well balanced a plate of fried potatoes can be in terms of flavor and nutrition,” she said. “Good ingredients can certainly make all the difference!”

The potatoes are cut to a thickness of about half an inch and cooked until the fries attain a light fluffiness inside their crispy golden edges. Each seasoned bite releases a mouthful of silky starch and steam, without the greasiness or heaviness you’d expect from a plateful of fried potatoes.

Fried Out (courtesy) - Artisanal fries
Fried Out (courtesy) – Artisanal fries

The Lomo Saltado speaks to the beefed up nourishment Fried Out seeks to provide. It features ribeye steak, red onions, and grape tomatoes tossed in a hot wok along with garlic, ginger and soy sauce. A scoop of spicy aji verde also melds into the mix. Altogether, these ingredients combine into a singular characteristic flavor that soaks into a bed of fries. In the vegan version of this stir-fried marvel, plump portabella mushrooms replace the steak.

“When I was 17, I tried lomo saltado for the first time and instantly fell in love with the food and Peruvian culture,” Priscilla said. “One of my best friends is a chef from Lima who taught me how to prepare the dish.”

Fried Out - Lomo Saltado (Foodzooka)
Fried Out – Lomo Saltado (Foodzooka)

Taking a distinctly different direction are the Maple Bacon Sweet Potato fries. These seasoned sweet potatoes are treated to a glaze of maple syrup and topped with chewy applewood smoked bacon and garlic aioli. “I am a big fan of sweet and savory combinations,” said Priscilla, declaring it as one of her favorites.

For the White Cheddar Truffle fries, Priscilla’s gluten-free cheese sauce uses raw white cheddar and a high quality imported truffle oil. Other dish varieties include Avocado Fries topped with guacamole and chimichurri sauce, Bacon Garlic with parmesan and chimichurri sauce, and Garlic Parmesan with chimichurri sauce. Vegan Cheese Fries are also available with soy-free vegan cheese sauce.

Fried Out (courtesy) - Avocado Fries
Fried Out (courtesy) – Avocado Fries

And where there are fries, there must be burgers, right? Though burgers are a fairly recent addition to the menu, they were a logical extension of the Fried Out lineup, with more housemade fixings. The Garlic Burger borrows the chimichurri sauce from the fries, with a kick of garlic spread and marinated tomatoes. The Truffle Burger shares the white cheddar sauce with a truffle aioli, cooked onions, and arugula. The Firehouse Burger comes with firehouse jack cheese and green chile sauce with spicy aioli. The Classic Burger has cheddar cheese and caramelized onions on a layer of butter lettuce.

“I have a lot of experience making burgers, and I wanted to offer a quality burger using locally sourced grassfed beef,” said Priscilla. Fried Out uses 100% organic beef from Novy Ranches, a family-owned operation in Northern California.

Fried Out also makes a Vegan Cheese Burger from a house recipe, which includes oats and power greens without soy or gluten. The accompanying cheese sauce uses vegan ingredients from the Follow Your Heart market located in Canoga Park.

Fried Out - Vegan Cheese Burger (Foodzooka)
Fried Out – Vegan Cheese Burger (Foodzooka)

You can try any or all of these dishes by visiting the Fried Out food stand on Sundays at the Melrose Trading Post. And if the outdoor setting makes you thirsty, you’ll also find several fresh lemonade choices, all made in-house from seasonal ingredients. Some of the flavors include blood orange, mint limeade strawberry, and lavender lemonade made with flowers picked from Priscilla’s own lavender plants.

At special events and pop-ups, you might find other items that aren’t on the regular Fried Out menu, such as fried ice cream, which gives a frozen scoop a quick dip in the fryer with the protection of a doughy outer layer. A vegan version of the dessert uses donuts from Donut Friend.

Fried Out - Melrose Trading Post booth (Foodzooka)
Fried Out – Melrose Trading Post booth (Foodzooka)

In addition to their regular Sunday spot at the Melrose Trading Post in the Fairfax High School parking lot, Fried Out offers catering and has continued to appear at events throughout Southern California for over two years. Also, stay tuned for a regular pop-up location in the works. Click their Foodzooka profile below to follow updates on the Fried Out website and on social media.

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Cooking With Om Makes Vegan Food Bloom With Ayurveda

Cooking with Om - Foodzooka Splat Feature

Om Rishikesh is a chef with a lot on his plate. Whether at catered events, farmers markets, workshops, or in-home lessons, Cooking With Om is a discovery of vegan food that tastes as good as it looks. With a creative blend of textures, spices, and Ayurvedic wellness principles, Om aims to make healthful vegan dishes both flavorful and satisfying.

Some of Om’s plant-based creations include watermelon poke, carrot hot dogs, rice paper bacon, and sweet potato smoothies. “For me as a chef, I am not afraid of experimenting,” he said, “but I’m also very confident about how my food tastes.”

Cooking with Om (courtesy) - Chef Om Rishikesh
Cooking with Om (courtesy) – Chef Om Rishikesh

You can get a taste of Cooking With Om at the Marina Del Rey Farmers Market or Yamashiro Night Market in Hollywood, where he offers watermelon poke with black forbidden rice, jackfruit tacos or nachos, and jalapeno poppers with cashew ricotta.

To make his plant-based poke, Om marinates fresh watermelon in spices and almond butter overnight, then grills it the next day until it attains a texture similar to raw fish. Likewise, the texture of unripe jackfruit mimics that of shredded meat for the tacos and nachos. The jackfruit is cooked with a mix of detoxifying spices, topped with a vegan cheese sauce made with cashews and turmeric, then garnished with cilantro, radishes, and pickled cabbage.

“When I cook, my idea is not only for people to have good food,” Om said, “but also to experience or, even if they don’t know about it, to have the detoxing effects of different spices and herbs.”

Cooking with Om - Watermelon poke (Foodzooka)
Cooking with Om – Watermelon poke (Foodzooka)

One of the core dishes taught in lessons from Cooking With Om is known as kitchari, a classic Indian combination of basmati rice and mung beans. It’s a traditional, nourishing dish in Ayurvedic cuisine that delivers proteins and other essential nutrients. Om adds vegetables and dashes of cumin, coriander, turmeric, and fennel, which are regarded in Ayurveda to reduce inflammation, aid in digestion, or help cleanse the body.

“Those are the main four spices I’m trying to teach people how to use,” said Om. “And kitchari is the easiest way to incorporate all of those spices.”

Cooking with Om (courtesy) - Kitchari with brussel sprouts
Cooking with Om (courtesy) – Kitchari with brussel sprouts

Another high-protein dish Om makes is almond beet hummus. Om doesn’t use chickpeas because they are often hard to digest. By soaking almonds overnight, they become soft enough to replicate the texture of chickpeas, minus the gassy side effects. Om blends them with beets, tahini, olive oil, and salt. The result is a vibrant reddish-purple mash that pairs well with many entrees and looks good on your plate without hurting your tummy.

“Anything that gives you indigestion or unease in your body is something that your body is reacting to,” Om said. “Food should make us feel good; it should never make us feel sick.”

Cooking with Om (courtesy) - Almond beet hummus
Cooking with Om (courtesy) – Almond beet hummus

While Om had been vegetarian for over 15 years, he noticed that he still suffered from skin rashes. After consulting with Ayurvedic experts, he stopped eating the nightshade class of plants that are known to cause inflammation, including common potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants. It’s been a year since he also gave up his love for cheese and transitioned to a fully vegan diet that does not include soy.

“It doesn’t mean at all that when you are a vegan that you are healthy, or that vegan food is healthy,” said Om, adding that vegans should continue to scrutinize their food choices beyond avoiding meat and dairy.

Some dishes he makes to please vegans who may miss meat dishes, or to satisfy meat eaters with healthier substitutes. The carrot hot dogs are spiced roasted carrots sandwiched in hot dog buns with homemade condiments. Rice paper bacon is a smoky, salty, and crispy way to deliver the highly craved taste and texture of bacon.

Cooking with Om (courtesy) - Carrot hot dogs
Cooking with Om (courtesy) – Carrot hot dogs

Om often gets requests to teach families how to cook so they can explore healthy foods that both adults and children will enjoy making and eating. From Om’s repertoire, vegan macaroni and cheese is an obvious crowd pleaser. Kids also like the creamy soups he makes with asparagus, beets or sweet potatoes. But the big winner may be the baked taro fries with cilantro chutney.

“They are the best fries in the world. The kids go crazy for them,” he said. At the grocery store, taro looks a hairy potato patterned with rings around the skin, but it has an earthy sweetness and is richer in fiber than regular potatoes. Om bakes the sliced taro with turmeric and other spices, while the accompanying cilantro sauce adds anti-inflammatory benefits and helps remove heavy metals from the blood in Ayurvedic practice.

On the sweeter side, Cooking With Om demonstrates easy recipes for sweet potato smoothies and desserts, such as chocolate mousse or key lime pie made from chilled avocado, and jello made with agar rather than gelatin.

Cooking with Om (courtesy) - Key lime pie with avocado
Cooking with Om (courtesy) – Key lime pie with avocado

Om’s food has been ideal for diabetics looking for comforting, nutritious dishes that won’t spike their blood sugar. It’s also effective for some looking to lose weight. Om’s non-vegan husband Dustin lost 60 pounds after eating Ayurvedically prepared food for six months. “He’s probably my best case study,” Om said.

Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine first practiced in India that incorporates food as a way of healing the body with a goal of achieving balance. This objective is seen in Ayurvedic cuisine as a balance of six flavors: sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and astringent. While it’s not always feasible to consume every flavor in one bite, Om looks to work them all in with a range of dishes and ingredients.

“I recommend variety—a variety of foods. I practice Ayurvedic cooking but I’m trying to push the boundaries of making any kind of food into Ayurvedic food.”

Cooking with Om (courtesy) - Butternut squash with cilantro chutney
Cooking with Om (courtesy) – Butternut squash with cilantro chutney

Color is another factor Om takes into account, as seen in pictures of his stuffed orange butternut squash drizzled with green cilantro chutney and adorned with yellow, red, and blue flowers. This kind of photoworthy riot of colors is what Om sees as an indicator of balance.

“When you eat a meal that is balanced with colors, you’re going to get all your nutrients and your mind is going to be satisfied,” he said, pointing out that visually attractive fruits and vegetables with dark red, blue, or purple colors also contain healthy antioxidants.

To include this requisite amount of color, Om is constantly on the hunt for edible flowers. Aside from adding visual appeal to his dishes, some flowers such as nasturtiums taste spicy and help rid the body of toxins. Om grows nasturtiums and hot lips sage flowers in his apartment and sources some edible blossoms from the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market, though they’re a hot commodity among chefs and tend to sell out fast.

Cooking with Om (courtesy) - Rainbow salad with wild rice
Cooking with Om (courtesy) – Rainbow salad with wild rice

As a chef who moved from New York to Los Angeles nearly two years ago, Om was impressed by the magnitude of vegan foods and ingredients that California has to offer. “New York is a progressive vegetarian/vegan city, but what I am seeing here in LA is incredible,” he explained. “Even in New York, I didn’t have access to all the vegan things that I can get here now. There’s so much creativity and so much beauty in it.”

Om’s own path to culinary creativity began in his teens when his family moved to the US from Colombia. After graduating high school, Om began a journey toward spiritual nourishment by becoming a monk in a Hare Krishna temple. “The Hare Krishnas are vegetarian and are known as the kitchen religion. Every time you go to the temple, they feed you,” he explained.

Cooking with Om - Jalapeno poppers with cashew ricotta (Foodzooka)
Cooking with Om – Jalapeno poppers with cashew ricotta (Foodzooka)

His passion for cooking was sparked when he started teaching vegetarian cooking classes with fellow monks at New York University and Columbia University as part of their service to the community. After Om left the monastery, he studied at New York’s Bhagavat Life, an Ayurvedic catering and culinary school.

“That’s where my Ayurvedic training started.” Om said. “And then the rest has just been me working in restaurants and developing my own passion for clean vegetarian and vegan eating and cooking.”

Cooking with Om - Nachos with vegan cheese (Foodzooka)
Cooking with Om – Nachos with vegan cheese (Foodzooka)

Now with his own business, Cooking With Om offers prepared and delivered meal plans, catering, and private cooking lessons. Om can create a menu based on your dietary needs, or you can simply pick interesting items from his Instagram feed. His in-home lessons are two-hour sessions that will teach you how to make five select dishes with your own kitchen equipment.

For more info about Om’s services or to schedule a lesson, meal delivery, or catering, click his Foodzooka profile below to find his website and follow him on social media.

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P.O.P. Candy Co. Makes It Sweet Or Savory In A Crunch

p.o.p. candy co. - Foodzooka Splat Feature

It’s hard to miss the plethora of colorfully labeled, shiny gold bags overtaking the P.O.P. Candy Co. table at the Mar Vista farmers market once a month. But this is no rainbow lollipop, sugar coma kind of candy stand. P.O.P. Candy is all about the fresh butter crunch, which you’ll find makes perfect sense to pick up with your seasonal produce.

When you visit the P.O.P. Candy stall, husband-and-wife owners Rachel Flores and Bill Waiste will likely be there to greet you with samples, indoctrinating you to their tasty take on candy. At first glance, these shards of nut-embedded toffee sheets may resemble peanut brittle, but they are distinctly different.

“We’re less sweet, we’re much more crunchy and toasty,” Rachel described. “We’re butter based, and we’re not made with oils.”

p.o.p. candy co. - Nutty flavors (Foodzooka)
p.o.p. candy co. – Nutty flavors (Foodzooka)

Not to mention, none of the 13 current varieties of P.O.P. Candy even contain peanuts. Or corn syrup, or soy, or gluten for that matter. But what makes this handmade small-batch candy so different is what it does contain: real butter, premium nuts cooked into the blend, and freshly ground herbs, spices, and natural extracts. For the binding agent, they found that using organic brown rice syrup helped to amplify the fresh flavors without a heavy sugariness.

“The tastes were up,” Bill said. “You could taste the toastiness of the nuts, and the herbs, and the extract much more strongly than before. And it was less sweet.“

The vast range of options they’ve created from these basic ingredients speaks to the 10+ years Rachel and Bill have devoted to developing their product, taking the core caramel-colored base into different flavor directions. It can go sweet (brown sugar and cinnamon, rum extract and vanilla), savory (fire pistachio, fennel and seeds), or both (maple bacon, thyme walnut cherries). Sampling P.O.P. Candy may remind you of other comforting homemade tastes, such as french toast, biscotti, holiday stuffing or gingerbread cookies.

p.o.p. candy co. - Sampling table (Foodzooka)
p.o.p. candy co. – Sampling table (Foodzooka)

“Rosewater cardamom speaks to our process very well in that each batch we use freshly ground cardamom,” Rachel said. And some flavors come from customer feedback. “We have been asked a lot about coconut, and we came out with a toasted coconut.”

Customers also participate in the creative process by experimenting with their own P.O.P. Candy food pairings. Besides crumbling the candy over ice cream and yogurt, it also adds a lively touch to salads, cheese plates, roasted vegetables like butternut squash, and even grilled steak. The different flavors also pair well with wine and beer. But it may be most fun for your tastebuds to eat it straight out of the bag… like candy.

p.o.p. candy co. (courtesy) - Butter crunch pairings
p.o.p. candy co. (courtesy) – Butter crunch pairings

The product has come a long way since Rachel began making homemade candy to give as holiday gifts. She experimented with recipes to create an all-natural candy inspired by Almond Roca, a flavor she loved growing up. Friends soon encouraged her to start selling it, and with Bill’s help and depth of experience as a food consultant and executive chef, a business was born in late 2007.

“It was obvious from the first that people really liked it, and we played with the recipe and got better and better at it,” Bill said. “We believe our product has never been stronger than what it is now.”

p.o.p. candy co. - Savory and sweet flavors (Foodzooka)
p.o.p. candy co. – Savory and sweet flavors (Foodzooka)

In addition to its youthful vibe, they chose the name P.O.P. as an homage to the company’s local roots. The name comes from Pacific Ocean Park, a legendary Santa Monica amusement park that once stood on the beach at the end of Ocean Park Blvd. in the 1950s and 60s.

P.O.P. Candy Co. has held a permanent spot in the Mar Vista Farmers Market since its beginnings, currently returning there the third Sunday of the month.

p.o.p. candy co. - Farmers market stand (Foodzooka)
p.o.p. candy co. – Farmers market stand (Foodzooka)

Around LA, you also can find P.O.P. Candy products at retail spots including Bristol Farms (Santa Monica), Vicente Foods (Brentwood), Cuvée (Century City), Sketchers Cafe (Manhattan Beach), FoodLab (West Hollywood), Hoopla Emporium (Altadena), and Alta Baja Market (Santa Ana). Or you can order packages online to ship. You might also spot bags selling in select shops across Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Throughout the spring and summer, P.O.P. Candy will be attending regional artisan markets such as Odd Nights at the Autry, Renegade LA, Jackalope Arts Pasadena, Patchwork Santa Ana, and Patchwork Long Beach, as well as events in the Bay Area. And in the fall, they will be featured in a showcase of California-made goods hosted in Paris by France’s oldest department store Le Bon Marche.

p.o.p. candy co. (courtesy) - Fresh butter crunch
p.o.p. candy co. (courtesy) – Fresh butter crunch

Between the farmers markets and events, Rachel and Bill particularly enjoy interacting with customers and seeing the reactions of people who sample their handmade candy for the first time.

“It’s a tasting experience. The experience of trying different flavors.” Bill said. “With new customers, new people walking up, it’s really one of our favorite drivers for this whole business.”

For more information and updates, click the Foodzooka profile below to find the P.O.P. Candy Co. website and follow them on social media.

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Bulle Bakery Kneads To Bring Swedish Buns To LA

Bulle Bakery - Foodzooka Splat Feature

In characteristic Swedish style, the bulle is a pastry that seems almost complex in its simplicity. For Bulle Bakery, the art lies in creating a distinctive doughy texture with an addictive balance of mild sweetness and spice.

Usually shaped in braids or rolls, these pastries are an inseparable part of the daily coffee break in Sweden known as “fika.” In the afternoon, a bulle is ritually consumed with a strong cup of Swedish coffee.

“Almost every office in Sweden does this. People do it on the weekends, too, with friends and family,” says Sarah Reich, a Swedish native who started Bulle Bakery with her husband Ezra.

Bulle Bakery - Cinnamon Bullar (Elina Sundqvist)
Bulle Bakery – Cinnamon Bullar (Elina Sundqvist)

In their quest to introduce bulle to the US, the couple began catering out of a commercial kitchen in Marina del Rey in December. They were immediately slammed with Christmas orders from the local Swedish population.

“I got the idea for the business just from craving bulle myself,” said Ezra, a well-traveled New Yorker who has visited Sweden many times. He notes that most cafes there offer several varieties of bulle. Though Swedish furniture megastore IKEA sells a frosted covered cinnamon roll, they’re just not the same for bulle purists.

“I think you can tell that ours are made from scratch with really good ingredients,” said Sarah.

Bulle Bakery (courtesy) - Cinnamon and Cardamom Bullar
Bulle Bakery (courtesy) – Cinnamon and Cardamom Bullar

For the Reichs, artisanal entrepreneurship sprang from their commitment to bake bullar the right way. While Sarah had been making them since childhood, entering into the LA food industry took some research. They wanted to find local, high quality ingredients—such as the flour, butter, and yeast—that were as similar as possible to those found in Europe. Only the pearl sugar and the vanilla sugar are imported Swedish products that they buy from a local source.

Achieving the look is the easy part, according to Ezra. But to truly nail the thing that defines the bun, the dough must be thick and stretchy. Part of the solution was to dedicate four hours to the entire process, much of that time spent letting the yeast repeatedly sit and rise.

“So many Swedish people immediately try to know the secret,” said Ezra, who will only reveal that it took several months of experimentation to finalize the recipe.

Bulle Bakery (courtesy) - Cardamom Bullar
Bulle Bakery (courtesy) – Cardamom Bullar

The ultimate test was the approval of the local Swedish community. Bulle Bakery does private orders for many companies and individuals including weekly shipments to the Hollywood offices of Absolut Elyx Vodka, a Swedish company. And on Fridays and Saturdays, Bulle Bakery sells a few batches from home furnishings boutique Huset on Abbot Kinney Blvd., which sees a steady stream of tourists from Scandinavia.

“They’ve actually said ours tastes better,” said Ezra.

Bulle Bakery (courtesy) - Available at Huset in Venice
Bulle Bakery (courtesy) – Available at Huset in Venice

Customers trying the buns for the first time say they prefer the bulle over a cinnamon roll because it’s not as sugary, and they appreciate the mixture of savory and sweet flavors, especially in the cardamom bulle. The soft chewiness of the pastry also feels more substantial as a snack.

“It will make you satisfied, like you just had a bagel,” Ezra said.

Bulle Bakery offers two main flavors: cardamom and cinnamon. They also make a vanilla, and in accordance with Swedish Christmas tradition, they offer a saffron bun during the holidays. The bullar are priced at $5 each, and minimum orders of 10 buns can be placed by emailing Bulle Bakery or calling 310-227-2099. Orders can be picked up in Marina del Rey or delivered to your location for a fee.

Bulle Bakery - Saffron bullar (Foodzooka)
Bulle Bakery – Saffron bullar (Foodzooka)

For more information and updates on Bulle Bakery, click the Foodzooka profile below to find their website and follow them on social media.

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Better Try The Butter From Achadinha Cheese Co.

Achadinha Cheese Company - Foodzooka Splat Feature

This may sound cheesy, but something tasty is spreading across local farmers markets. In recent months, Achadinha Cheese Company has been churning out a blend of butter that begs the question posed on their sandwich board, “Who doesn’t ❤ butter?”

Achadinha’s handmade cultured butter is a blend of cow and goat milk—a combination that achieves a velvety richness of flavor so unique that you may be tempted to eat it by itself.

Achadinha Cheese Company - Farmers market butter display (Foodzooka)
Achadinha Cheese Company – Farmers market butter display (Foodzooka)

“Our butter has taken off quite well, but it’s the most labor-intensive thing we have,” said Donna Pacheco, who runs the dairy farm with her husband Jim and their four grown children in Petaluma, California.

The Pachecos are the third and fourth generations to carry on the family’s dairy farming tradition, which began with Jim’s grandfathers in the Achadinha area of the Portuguese Azores. Jim’s parents settled the ranch in Petaluma in 1969.

Achadinha Cheese Company makes most of its dairy products with a signature mixture of cow and goat milk, and much of the work is done by hand. Donna explains that the creaminess of the blend comes from the cows and the flavor comes from the goats.

Achadinha Cheese Company (courtesy) - Dairy goats
Achadinha Cheese Company (courtesy) – Dairy goats

“I honestly believe it’s about what they’re eating and how they are treated,” she said.

Both livestock are benefiting from a diet of brewers grains supplied by two breweries in the region. This spent mash of barley adds subtle flavors to the milk, and the fermentation aids the animals in digestion.

“Our girls don’t eat corn,” Donna said. The goats are fed alfalfa and graze openly on the 230-acre property situated in the prized wine growing region of Sonoma County. Moist air from the Pacific Ocean naturally irrigates the farm.

Achadinha Cheese Company (courtesy) - Dairy farm
Achadinha Cheese Company (courtesy) – Dairy farm

Achadinha has had some success getting their butter into restaurants in Northern California. But according to Donna, the farmers markets are the best venue for sales. The chance to sample the flavors often wins over customers, even those who don’t normally like the taste of goat milk products.

“The first time I had goat cheese, I swore I’d never eat it again,” admits Donna. She went on to reveal that some goat cheeses seem less palatable for a reason. Goat milk spoils faster than cow milk, so the longer it’s allowed to sit, the more it develops a tangy flavor.

How does Achadinha work around this? By milking their goats on the property and aiming to turn it into butter or cheese within a few days.

“It’s just a matter of doing it the right way,” Donna said.

Achadinha Cheese Company (courtesy) - Cheesemaking
Achadinha Cheese Company (courtesy) – Cheesemaking

The butter is completed with kefir, healthy bacteria and sea salt. The bacteria is added to enhance the butteriness and make it more digestible, even for those who are lactose intolerant. The butter also contains no stabilizers or preservatives.

When you buy a batch of butter, Donna recommends transferring it to a ceramic or glass container before storing it in the fridge where it should last for three weeks.

“Cooking with our butter will kill the culture,” she said. “We recommend spreading it on bread, crackers, rolls, tortillas and muffins.”

Achadihna Cheese Company - Cultured Butter (Foodzooka)
Achadihna Cheese Company – Cultured Butter (Foodzooka)

At Achadinha’s farmers market stands, you can also buy the kefir that goes into the butter. The draining process for their kefir gives it a thicker consistency than other drinkable yogurts.

Of course, Achadinha Cheese Company is best known for award-winning farmstead cheeses, most of which are also goat and cow milk hybrids. Broncha and Capricious are two varieties that are exclusively made by Achadinha. They also offer goat cheese, fresh feta, and a selection of flavored curds. Many of their cheeses can be ordered by phone or email and shipped to you.

Achadinha Cheese Company - Broncha Cheese (Foodzooka)
Achadinha Cheese Company – Broncha Cheese (Foodzooka)

In the Los Angeles area, look for Achadinha Cheese Company at farmer markets in Santa Monica (Wednesdays and Sundays), Venice Beach (Fridays), Echo Park (Fridays), Old Town Newhall (Saturdays), Silver Lake (Tuesdays and Saturdays), Hollywood (Sundays), Mar Vista (Sundays), and Culver City (Tuesdays).

Achadinha Cheese Company - Santa Monica Farmers Market (Foodzooka)
Achadinha Cheese Company – Santa Monica Farmers Market (Foodzooka)

For more information and updates, click the Foodzooka profile below to find the Achadinha Cheese Co. website, and follow them on social media.