Jenni Field, Organizer: Peoplehood of the Traveling Swirly Pan

Jenni Field graduated from college with a double major in psychology and drama. Obviously she had no idea what she wanted to do when she grew up.

She did love to collect cookbooks and watch PBS cooking shows.

Jenni spent more Friday nights than she cares to number tackling the most intricate recipes that she could find. Sometimes she met these challenges with flying colors, and other times she fell short. And through it all, she was learning. She came to realize that grasping the science of baking was essential: what ingredients do, how they act, and how to get them to act the way she wanted them to.

After teaching for sixteen years and also earning a Master of Education in Emotional Handicaps, she made the leap and changed courses to follow her passion of baking science to what she thought was its logical conclusion: culinary school and a job in a commercial kitchen.

After spending a few years working in fine dining kitchens, Jenni came to realize that she still loved teaching too much to completely abandon it. While still working as a pastry chef, she started a website and later a blog to share her knowledge with others, and as blogs sometimes do, it took over. Now, through her writings and baking demonstrations on her website, Pastry Chef Online, Jenni works full time marrying her two joys–teaching and baking–as she shows her readers and fans they hows and whys behind the whats of baking, and teaching them to become more confident cooks and bakers.

Jenni began the Peoplehood of the Traveling Swirly Pan project as an offshoot of a giveaway on her blog and has been amazed, heartened and touched by the response she has gotten thus far.

Map of participants in the Peoplehood of the Traveling Swirly Pan

Jenni Field, owner and head pastry chef at Pastry Chef Online, hadn’t planned to start a movement, but within moments of suggesting The Peoplehood of the Traveling Swirly Pan in April 2013 on her Facebook page and blog, she had a following.

This multi-year project will see a Nordic Ware, cast aluminum Heritage Bundt Swirl pan travel throughout North America and into the kitchens of home bakers who joined The Peoplehood; they will bake a cake (or two…) in the pan before shipping it to the next Peoplehood member on the list. It’s not too late to join this project where Jenni says they are, “Building Community on Cake at a Time.”

1. Join! Check out the site, especially the Rules and Disclaimer pages so we’re all on the same page, and then fill out the form on the join page here:
2. Share the project with any of your friends and/or family who you think might be interested.
3. Interact on the social media pages. Even if you choose not to join, there’s a lot of interaction, and you’ll be able to see photos and recipes of the cakes as they are baked!
4. What started out as a project just about baking cakes has really turned into an opportunity to make a difference in our world and in our communities. While it is fun to bake for yourself in “Dorothy,” “Matilda,” or another Peoplehood pan, somehow this project is inspiring participants to bake for others. It’s more than just the recipes; it’s the stories about the cakes and the recipients that is so compelling and gives us all goosebumps.
5. If you do decide to join, when your turn comes, consider donating your cake to perhaps a woman’s shelter or a day care. Or maybe you could auction it or sell slices and then donate the proceeds to your favorite charity. For some other ideas, or to share some of your own, check out the Doing Good page.
6. Get together with Peoplehood members in your area and have a potluck. Pool your resources to have a bake sale to raise money for your favorite cause in the name of The Peoplehood.

A Swirly pan named Dorothy and her faithful journal Toto, photo courtesy Jenni Field

A cast aluminum Bundt cake pan with a swirl design, that’s named Dorothy, plus a journal named Toto started their journey across North America this month as the center of what will be a multiple-year project called The Peoplehood of the Traveling Swirly Pan.

Home bakers from the US and Canada who signed up to be in the Peoplehood will get their chance to bake a cake in the pan before sending it off to the next baker on the list.

This ambitious project is the brainchild of professional pastry chef, Jenni Field, who spoke with me last week by phone from her home in North Carolina. “My motivation was simply to try and give as many people who wanted to use the pan a chance to do so,” she told me.

The project was inspired by a giveaway she conducted on her website  – www.pastrychefonline.com — which generated a lot of excitement. Jenni said she wished she could give everyone a pan; and then inspiration struck.

Why not have everyone whose interested share one pan?

She shared the idea on her blog and Facebook page, and it was an immediate hit. “I think we spend so much time isolated in front of our computers that the idea of this physical object that’s going to pass from hand-to-hand is just exciting.”

Since mid-April when she first presented the idea to last week when we spoke, the number of people signed up for the project was nearing 300. And a separate group of bakers started their own Peoplehood group in Australia. The organizer there is Rachel Elich, who owns and operates the blog The Untamed Cook.

The pan swirling its way Down Under is named Matilda, “As in Waltzing Matilda.”

Gorgeous swirly cake by Jenni Field

Jenni Field also created a website, Facebook group, Google + group and twitter account to support the venture. It’s a way to keep track of the travels of the pan named Dorothy. “I didn’t intend to name the pan, but when Rachel in Australia named hers Matilda I thought, we ought to name ours, too. The Name Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz fit, since she had some amazing adventures in new places before returning home.”

The journal named Toto (of course it would have to be named for Dorothy’s little doggie), is where bakers enter their experience with the pan, including the recipe they used, and the recipient of the cake. “Not everyone will keep the cakes they bake. Some have special people they plan to give the cakes to. One member of the Peoplehood told me she plans to give her cake to first responders.”

Jenni Field says the pan’s first stop is Willis, Texas, north of Houston.

Anyone can become a member of the Peoplehood at any time. And even if you don’t sign up for a turn baking in the pan, you can still follow Dorothy and Toto’s journey and cook along with your fellow bakers and share the cakes  you bake. Because as Jenni says: “We’re about creating community one cake at a time.”

Slice of Gaga’s Coffeecake

Addie Broyles, food writer for the Austin American-Statesman, grew up eating her Gaga’s — grandmother’s — coffeecake. She submitted this recipe for inclusion in the Austin Food Blogger Alliance Community Cookbook, which was published 2013 by The History Press. It tastes of sweet memories.

Gaga’s Coffeecake

For batter:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk

For topping:

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar.
3. Work in the softened butter, eggs and milk.
4. In another bowl, lightly mix together the topping ingredients.
5. Pour half of the batter into a greased 8×8-inch glass or metal pan. (A bread loaf pan will also work.) Sprinkle on half of the topping mixture on the batter and then pour the rest of the batter on top.
6. Add the last of the topping mixture and then bake for about 35 minutes. Serves 8.

Addie Broyles with her Gaga’s Coffeecake hot out of the oven.

Food writer, Addie Broyles has had a lifelong love affair with cookbooks — particularly those tied to family and community. I asked her to share a few suggestions about how to bring family stories to life through food.

I love the idea of telling family stories through recipes. One particularly tight Christmas season, my mom decided that instead of traditional gifts, she would gather our family’s favorite recipes (and the stories that go along with them) in a three-ring binder that remains one of my most treasured (and longest-lasting) Christmas presents of all time.

We call that a family cookbook and not a community cookbook, but the idea is the same: collect recipes and stories for prized or favorite dishes from a number of people who make up a unit (be it a family, a classroom, a church group or even a neighborhood) and then make enough copies for everyone. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but if you are feeling called to take on such an endeavor and want a little more guidance, I’d recommend “The Keepsake Cookbook” by Brenda Hulin.

Sometimes the biggest hurdle is getting people young and old to think more profoundly about what dishes help define who they are. Just asking questions about fondest food memories from childhood will usually get people talking about such dishes, and when you get down to it, the story is even more important than having the exact recipe. What did your family eat when money was tight? Who did the cooking? What was the first meal you made for your spouse?

For smaller projects, testing the recipes to make sure they work for a wide audience probably isn’t necessary. Just collecting the stories and what recipes you have is a meaningful way to honor the family (and community) in which you live.
Photos make everything better, so snap a few of the people telling the stories or even of the old recipe cards or cookbook from which the dish came.

A potluck is a great excuse to get people (and their recipes and stories) together in one place. In fact, you could knock a whole book (or booklet) out just by hosting a potluck and asking people to bring a copy of their recipe in addition to their dish.

Addie Broyles, Food Writer

As the food writer for the Austin American-Statesman, Addie Broyles writes about everything from farmers and up-and-coming chefs to food trends in Austin and beyond in a weekly column and blog called Relish Austin.

When she’s not chasing after her two young sons, the Ozarks native and University of Missouri graduate writes about women and food at TheFeministKitchen.com and is the advisory council chair of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance. In April 2013, the History Press published “The Austin Food Blogger Alliance Cookbook,” a community cookbook that Broyles spearheaded and whose production she oversaw.

In 2011, Addie was named by Tribeza magazine as one of the top 10 Austinites to watch and for the past two years has been voted the top food writer in the city by readers of the Austin Chronicle. She recently won the National Headliner Award for special or feature column on one subject by an individual, and her freelance work has appeared in Dwell and The Guardian. For more recent clips, go to the “stories” tab at the top of the page.

You can contact her at broylesa@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @broylesa.

ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF THE AUSTIN FOOD BLOGGER ALLIANCE COMMUNITY COOKBOOK

Austin Food Blogger Alliance Community Cookbook

Long before we had the internet, food blogs and other social media outlets where we could share our cooking exploits and recipes — we had community cookbooks.

I remember my mother would bring home such a treasure every year from Holy Cross Church in Batavia, Illinois (where our family attended), filled with the recipes for meals and treats our friends and neighbors prepared in their homes. It was exhilarating for a budding food enthusiast and future writer. One year after having moved to Texas, my mother sent one of the Holy Cross Community Cookbooks to me for Christmas.

Thinking back — I guess she knew me better than I knew myself.

Addie Broyles was a curious kid who grew up to be a journalist. And for the past five years she’s been the food writer at the Austin American Statesman, the daily newspaper of the Capital of Texas.

She is also the Editor of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance Community Cookbook.

I am a member of the organization and contributed my family’s Easter Bread recipe to the book.

The non-profit Alliance (AFBA), the formation of which was instigated by Addie when she recognized the vast wealth of energy and talent among Austin Area food bloggers, supports its membership, and community through classes, social events, and philanthropy.

Like me, Addie grew up with community cookbooks. Yet, it wasn’t until she attended cookbook conference in New York and learned the importance of community cookbooks from a historical perspective. She said: “The kind of data community cookbooks gathers is invaluable when you are studying foodways, how families develop, and how people actually cook.”

Community cookbooks once a popular fundraising tool for churches and other organizations lost favor in the past decade or so, but with the resurgence of interest in all things digestible, these databanks of food and culture are beginning to make a comeback.

Funds raised through the sale of the Alliance cookbook will support the non-profit’s community outreach and philanthropy efforts. Addie says volumes like this reflect the times in which they are published, and the lives of the people who contributed to them.

Unlike most community cookbooks that are self-published, the AFBA found a publisher in The History Press. “We feel really lucky that History Press wanted to take a chance on a new group. They, as a publisher of historical titles, really saw the mission as an effort to create a snapshot of food in Austin in 2012-2013. And I think they;re really happy with the result.”

The result is a perfect bound book of fully tested recipes, beautiful photography, and people’s stories.

If you live in the Austin area, head over to BookPeople on North Lamar Blvd., at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 11, 2013; Addie Broyles and others from the Austin Food Blogger Alliance will be on hand to speak about the Community Cookbook project, food blogging, and to sign books.

RULES FOR THE GIVEAWAY OF THE AUSTIN FOOD BLOGGER ALLIANCE COMMUNITY COOKBOOK

1. Leave a comment below telling us your favorite meal from your childhood.
2. Must be 18 years old to enter.
3. Open to people living in the Austin metro area.
4. Entries must be received by 6 p.m. CDT Monday May 13, 2013 to be eligible for the drawing.
5. Comments that do not meet that criteria will be posted but will not be entered into the drawing.
6. Only one entry per person | household | IP address.
7. Must include your full legal name and valid email address to be eligible for drawing. (An email address that uses your full name will suffice.) Commenters who do not include their full legal name will have their comments posted, but will not be entered into the giveaway.
8. Only entries from people who have not won anything from Field & Feast in the last three months are eligible to win.
9. THREE winners will be selected at random using random.org, after 6 p.m. CDT Monday, May 13, 2013.
10. Winners will be contacted by the show’s producer via the email address they provided when entering contest to make arrangements for obtaining the book. Ensure the email address you provide is free of typos. Producer is only responsible for her own typos, not yours.
11. Winners must respond to producer’s email notification before 6 p.m. Friday, May 17, 2013 to be eligible to collect their prize. Be sure to check your bulk/junk folder in case your email client filters producer’s email. Producer is not responsible if you do not see your winner’s notification.
12. Email the producer with any questions about the contest at info@fieldandfeast.com.
13. Producer is not responsible if a winner is unable to receive or pick up their prize.
14. SUBMITTING A COMMENT BELOW MEANS YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND THE RULES.

NOTE: These comments are monitored, so don’t fret if you do not see your comment for several hours. It will be time stamped and counted if it meets the deadline and eligibility requirements.

Andrew Zimmern’s Low Country Shrimp

The Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods host, Andrew Zimmern shares this not so bizarre dish that’s great for the summer ahead. He says, “Served as a main (with fried green tomatoes and crusty baguette) or a hearty side with pulled pork, it’s one of my go-to summer staples. You could make this ahead of time and it’ll be good, but it’s far superior when served immediately. I like to use Serrano chiles (found at just about any grocery store) because they offer a more consistent heat than jalapeños.”

Ingredient List:

The Shrimp

• 2 pounds medium sized shrimp (@ 15 per pound)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon crushed peppercorns
• 1 lemon in quarters
• 3 ears sweet corn kernels, cut from the cob
• 1 cup shaved scallions
• 1 lemon thinly sliced
• 2 fresh hot green chiles, split
• 5 sprigs fresh marjoram

The Sauce

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoon minced dill
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large sauce pan place the shrimp in just enough water to cover.
2. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns, and the quartered lemon, squeezed.
3. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat.
4. Add the corn, marjoram, chile and stir once, remove from heat.
5. Drain and turn into a serving bowl.
6. Remove the lemon and bay leaf.
7. Fold in the scallions and lemon slices.
8. Pour the vinaigrette over the corn/shrimp.
9. Let stand for 20 minutes tossing occasionally.
10. Serve.

There’s been a food revolution heating up over the past 30 years. It didn’t suddenly boil over into our consciousness and lives; it’s been  simmering slowly over the decades to become a surprisingly delicious phenomenon.

Yet not everyone feels welcome at the table.

Thirty years ago, we could count the number of well-known chefs on one hand — such as Julia Child and Graham Kerr, for example. But today, chefs have come out from behind the doors of steamy kitchens and into the spotlight, where they’ve become the new rock stars and messiahs of the modern world.

With the advent of cable television, and networks devoted to all aspects of food, chefs from every corner of the country — and globe — are influencing how we think about, prepare and eat food.

This includes a greater awareness of sustainably raised crops and animals, organic agriculture and artisan food products. Moreover, the mantra has been to eschew fast food and the convenience of prepackaged, additive laden, products  that line grocery store shelves.

And therein lies the disconnect for many people.

Eating well in America is a class issue. The foods and cooking techniques espoused by today’s chefs, authors, bloggers and others is out of reach for many Americans because of both cost and time. People on tight budgets say they feel marginalized  by today’s emphasis on “clean, home cooked meals.” They feel “less than” because they are unable to emulate the purchasing and preparation abilities of those with more money and time.

Add to that frustration the understanding by the sidelined citizens that this way of shopping and eating really is better for them, their families and the environment.

Now there’s guilt.

Rethinking food production, cooking and eating is a good thing. Making people feel that they are losers if they cannot follow along — for whatever their reason — is not.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and marginalized by today’s endless emphasis  on eating a slow, sustainable, clean, organic, whole, humane, and additive-free diet, because you want to follow that path but feel unable to do so because of finances or time, here are some suggestions we hope will help you transition to whatever degree you can.

1. One thing. That’s all you need to do: one thing. So if you ‘d like to eat organic fruits and vegetables, but the cost is prohibitive, then just choose to buy one item organic all the time; when you have been able to do that for several weeks or several months, and it does not break the bank, you may decide to add another organic item to your shopping list.  This article from The Daily Green spotlights the “Dirty Dozen” – the 12 fruits and vegetables that harbor the most pesticide residue on and in them. You can use that list to decide what to swap out for organic.
2. Double [Triple, Quadruple] Duty: In her acclaimed book, An Everlasting Meal, Cooking with Economy and Grace, author Tamar Adler says with a little resourcefulness, budget-minded cooks (and non-cooks who want to feed themselves well) can partake in local, organic, sustainable and humanely raised produce and protein without having to sell off family heirlooms. She emphasizes using every last bit of everything you cook, using it to go into the next thing that you cook. While it may cost less to buy a bucket of chicken from a fast food place than it does to buy a whole, free-range, organic chicken from the Farmers Market (or even a conventionally raised chicken from the grocery store), with a little thought, you can turn that one chicken into multiple meals. Tamar is a big believer in boiling the bird so you will have broth and meat. The meat can go into a variety of simple, delicious dishes, and the broth can enhance any dish. Tamar started cooking this way when she was near broke, but still wanted to eat well. If you can find a used copy of her book, I highly recommend it.
3. Grow your own: Growing vegetables at home takes some skill and finesse, but once you understand what’s needed, growing your own fresh produce is a great way to relieve pressure on your food budget while getting some fresh air and exercise. You don’t even need a backyard. You can grow nearly any food crop in a container if you have enough sunlight. Intimidated? Then start with herbs. Herbs are one of the most forgiving crops you could grow. For the cost of a packet of seeds [from .89¢ to over $2.00] you can grow big pots of basil, cilantro, oregano, sage, dill, parsley, and many more. Some herbs are annuals — like basil, dill, cilantro and parsley — and must be replanted yearly. But others like oregano and sage come back year after year. Fresh herbs make the food you cook taste more alive. You can also grow lettuce in containers, which can be a real savings when you use the “cut and come again” method of trimming leaves from the plants instead of pulling up the entire plant. This way, the plants will continue to grow new leaves, and keep you in lettuce for many weeks.

Consider these three suggestions if you wish to start eating more sustainably, but didn’t know where to start. And please share your own ideas for eating well on a budget below.

Andrew Zimmern – The Munchies – People’s Choice Food Awards – photo by Javier Cabral

Andrew Zimmern is a two-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, food writer, teacher and is regarded as one of the most versatile and knowledgeable personalities in the food world. As the creator, host and co-executive producer of Travel Channel’s hit series, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World, he travels the globe, exploring food in its own terroir. From world class restaurants to street carts and jungle markets, it’s all about discovering and sharing the authentic experience.

In his latest series, Bizarre Foods America with Andrew Zimmern, the widely-recognized host explores the bizarre foods and cultures in America’s own backyard. His mission is to help viewers understand the relationships we have with foods as wide ranging as traditional ethnic foods, modern dishes born and bred by American innovation and the foods of the immigrant experience in our country.

Andrew Zimmern has also partnered with General Mills to host “The Munchies: People’s Choice Food Awards,” a national food awards ceremony that lives online and celebrates the most deserving people in the culinary world.

Read more about Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel’s website.