Not Cooking

So how to pay tribute to local blog Cleveland Foodie being the latest to vacate the amateur ranks of blogspot? With a CF style interview, of course. Based on one with Ms. Robb, another ex-blogspotter now the master of her own domain.

So without further ado, here's an interview with a local micro-celebrity, Ms. Chicken. We asked her 20 questions. Her responses were surprisingly candid, articulate, and insightful.

1. Top 5 spices everyone should have in their pantry? Chili flakes, peppercorns, coriander, cumin, thyme.

2. What is your favorite spice or herb to cook with and why? I don’t really cook much, but I love cilantro.

3. Favorite kitchen tool? I think a lot of people have too many things in their kitchens. Really, who needs poultry sheers. A good pair of scissors works just fine.

4. What do you love about Cleveland and what drives you nuts? I love the neighborhoods. It’s nice to know I have other chicks to hang with right down the street.

The hot dog cart cartel drives me nuts. I hear rumors about change, but . . . .

5. Favorite restaurant? Probably the Fig if I had to pick one. Not many places care so much about the lives of the animals they serve.

6. What restaurant do you miss? The girls and I are still kind of new to the area, but we hear Parker’s New American Bistro was quite the loss.

7. Favorite dish to make? I kind of eat what’s laying around. Lately I’ve been enjoying imperfect strawberries. Looking forward to peaches.

8. Easiest item to make for a large gathering? Easy, a frittata.

9. Where do you grocery shop? Mostly the yard.

10. Where does your passion from cooking come from and how did you get into this business? I don’t consider myself so much a cook as a food producer, and I guess that comes kind of naturally to me. It’s like I was put on this earth to make food. It’s all I do, and I find it most fulfilling. I don't know how to do anything else.

11. Biggest lesson(s) learned in the kitchen? Stay the hell out.

12. How does your love and regular practice of yoga inspire your dishes? Egg laying is taxing to the body, mind, and soul. And as you can see by clicking this link, yoga has long been a way of life for my kind. By practicing yoga regularly I can be sure to lay eggs of hard shell and sound nutrition on a daily basis.

13. What projects are you currently working on now? One long term project is to bust out of my run. So far not so good. I’m also working on increasing the size of the eggs I lay. That is going much better, likely because of my aforementioned commitment to the chicken yoga.

14. You’re having a dinner party, top 5 songs on your playlist? I'm more about artists than songs. Anything Marvin Gaye, most definitely. Perhaps some Peter Tosh. Sam Cooke, for sure. Definitely no Alice Cooper. That guy's nuts.

15. Describe your job in culinary media and the role you played in Michael Symon’s upcoming cookbook. I really don’t do too much. Symon asked if I’d be part of a demo for the book, do some posing and whatnot, but that wasn’t the direction I was looking to take at the time.

16. What local farmers do you support most often and why? Love Gather ‘Round Farm. You can hear those girls from the Rapid stop. It's very empowering

17. If you could be any chef for a day, who would it be? Colonel Sanders. I'd kill myself.

18. You have two plane tickets to anywhere in the world. Where are you going and who has the other ticket? Key West. My people run the place. Other ticket goes to any rooster who’s down. We'd kick it Hemingway style and eat conch fritters.

19. What’s your favorite meal from your childhood and last meal on Earth? I love lamb's quarters. Something about how they’re so often ignored makes them taste all the better. Last meal on earth. Probably a posthumous foie sauce.

20. What advice would you give to someone planning an event? Relax. These things usually work out fine.