Q&A with marina delio

Author of The Yummy mummy Kitchen

marina delio—a Santa Barbarabased photographer, cook, wife, and mother—shares advice passed down from generations on eating healthy and living well, along with one hundred producerich, deceptively simple, delicious recipes for the entire family to enjoy together.

Why did you write The Yummy Mummy Kitchen? I wrote the book to share my love of cooking and beautiful food. It’s meant to inspire people, especially busy moms in the throws of early childhood craziness, to enjoy food and cooking instead of looking at it as a chore. I wanted to show how to cook simple dishes that are still healthy and stylish.

How much were you inspired by the town of Santa Barbara when writing your book?

local farmer’s market and/or grocery store?

I try to visit the farmers markets whenever possible, but with two little kids I need a lot more than produce. I love the good deals at Trader Joe’s and the high quality food and great service at Gelson’s. Whole foods is probably my favorite – nothing beats the local produce, natural diapers, artisan cheeses, and delicious wines – and doing the shopping while sipping a fresh green smoothie from the juice bar is the icing on the cake.

How much do you focus on healthy vs. tasty ingredients?

a dozen years) with its house-cured bacon, Jidori chicken, Pt. Reyes blue cheese, avocado, tomato, romaine and red onion.

The burger patty in their ALC Cheeseburger is the very definition of simplicity. “All we do is salt the beef,” hardin reports. It comes from San Julian Ranch outside Lompoc, and he buys at the farmers market. “I’m picky about what gets pepper, even,” he says with a smile.

JuLiA MChugh

Arts & Letters Café, open daily for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 7 E. Anapumu Street. 7301463, www.artsandletterscafe.com. Chef Avery offers a recipe on page 31.

I wanted the book to have a very Santa Barbara feel so that I could share the beauty of our town with readers around the world. I did that through photos of our harbor, beaches, wine country, and farmers markets, as well as the recipes. most of my recipes are Santa Barbara inspired and feature ingredients that are abundant here.

How do you come up with your recipes? my style of eating and cooking is plant-based. While many others start with a meat and add side dishes, I start with the produce that is in season and in my fridge and build from there.

I love using flavors that I know work well together and using them in creative ways, and using herbs or flower garnishes to make the dishes beautiful.

Where do you shop—do you have a favorite

In my opinion, healthy and tasty often go hand in hand. To me there is nothing tastier than a juicy fresh peach, or a peak-of-season tomato drizzled with some good balsamic vinegar. I also came up with a recipe for a chocolate almond smoothie that is very healthy and tastes just as good as a fattening milkshake— it’s in my book!

What favorite ingredient (or two) do you plan to incorporate into your cooking this spring?

I love using all the parts of fresh peas in the spring. my kids love opening the pods and munching on the peas. I love the sweet pea flowers in my house and using the tendrils to decorate a simple dish. my favorite spring soup, easy Peasy fresh Pea Soup (also in my book) is made with fresh spring peas and finished with a few pea shoots and a dollop of crème fraiche. It’s simple, colorful, and delicious.

In The Yummy Mummy Kitchen: 100 Effortless and Delicious Recipes to Nourish Your Family with Style and Grace (HarperOne; April 2, 2013)

Louie’s is a hidden gem

offering creative and up-to-date Californian cuisine with spot-on service. Its bistro-like space is located inside the 130-year-old Hotel Upham, and reflects the charm and tradition of its Victorian location, with a jazzy, comfortable feel all its own. The romantic atmosphere can be experienced dining cozily inside or outside on an old-fashioned heated verandah. Choice selections from the well-stocked wine bar are served with extraordinary fresh seafood, pastas, filet mignon and a changing menu of specialties.

2012

Food 26

Decor 21

Service 25

Cost $47

The color of lunch

Ihad my first huevos Valenzuela on the Paradise Café patio over 20 years ago. I’ve had hundreds since, and as a daily downtown lunch veteran I can truly say the dish is my go to favorite. An ode to the famed dodger relief pitcher, fernando Valenzuela, this dish borrows a bit from the classic huevos Rancheros, but features scrambled eggs, black beans, avocado, cheese, house made salsa and wrapped in a flour tortilla. order it with a house green salad for a truly mouthwatering treat. When I’m in the all veggie mood, my newest favorite in that category goes to the Veggie Tostada at Casa Blanca. Bursting with color and fresh farmer’s market produce the dish features a crispy corn tortilla served with black beans and shredded lettuce, then topped with grilled red onion, bell pepper, eggplant, zucchini and garnished with guacamole, chopped tomato and green onion. If crave some protein, the kitchen is more than happy to add fresh seafood or chicken to the mix.--RB

Paradise café is located at 702 Anacapa St. 805-962-4416. Casa Blanca is located at 330 State St. 805-845-8966

A Weekend feast for the Senses

There’s an ethiopian saying that one “eats with the eyes.” diners certainly get an eyeful – and delicious mouthfuls – at weekend lunches at Petit Valentien, when Serkaddis Alemu now serves her native fare.

The menu changes weekly but always includes injera, the soft crepelike bread made from the tiny grain teff. It’s just perfect for scooping up the flavorful sauces of ethiopian cooking, and makes forks optional. divided by meat and vegetables, the menu features dishes served ala carte and in combination platters.

It’s a true feast for the senses. melt-in-your-mouth butternut squash is overlaid with earthy turmeric. Split peas take a golden hue, but reveal a bit of fire. Velvety beets and bright green strips of jalapeno are tempered by creamy potatoes. A traditional lamb dish offers bites of tenderness and an explosion of flavor.

Serkaddis’s family moved to the U.S. so she and her siblings could attended high school. She first visited Santa Barbara as a student, and moved here in 2002. She met her husband, Petit Valentien’s owner/chef Robert dixon, when she worked at east Beach Wines. In the evenings, when their 18-month old daughter is sleeping, she is writing an ethiopian cookbook for American cooks, featuring the simple, savory recipes served at the restaurant.

Though Serkaddis still regularly travels to her homeland, she has no trouble obtaining authentic ingredients here. “I’m still searching for some dried ethiopian herbs,” she says, “but that’s the beauty of America, you can get just about everything.” —JuLiA

MChugh

Petit Valentien serves Ethiopian food on Saturday and Sunday only, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. French menu is served for weekday lunches and nightly dinners. 1114 State Street, in La Arcada, 966-0222. Alemu offers a recipe from her kitchen on page 28.