Queer Kitchen Connection #1

Welcome Taste Buds!
(Is that weird? Do y'all mind being Buds of mine, and then punned into something food-related?)

I am so glad that you are here.

Creating the Queer Kitchen Connection has been a challenging and exciting process, and I'm really grateful to have reached the point where I can share this first part (of many) with you.

Even on days and weeks where it feels like nothing is going right, I'm thrilled to have this new method of sharing my work and connecting with you.

Please feel welcome and stay a while.

– Jane

Send Foodz

Food pictures, stories, and connection from my kitchen (and yours)!

The top of an oat milk mocha in a white mug with a swirled pattern of foam on top.

A new vegan restaurant opened up in Buffalo, and I checked it out with a friend. I certainly have missed swirly foam on top of a well made latte in a mug. I didn’t get to practice this art much when I managed a small cafe, and I have mad respect for people who make beautiful lattes.

I have lived in Buffalo for almost half of my life now, and this summer was my first pizza and “wings”-like experience. I always wondered why these two foods were paired together, but I get it now! I’m more likely to call this Buffalo cauliflower “spicy salad” than “wings”, though.

Close up view of a red bowl containing large chunks of cauliflower in a generous amount of Buffalo sauce, stirred with a blue scraper spatula.

A white plate with peach slices piled on the left half and sliced half-moons of vegan provolone layered on the right half. In the center foreground is a small wedge of smoky cashew and paprika cheese pointing toward the center of the plate.

This summer has been filled with vegan cheese-making adventures! I loved exploring how different nuts could become cheese, like the cashew and coconut milk cheeses pictured here.

Cheeses are made for sharing and snacking, even the vegan ones! Making these cheeses from almond flour, cashews, and coconut milk and pairing them with other delicious snacks really lightened the cooking load during the hottest days this summer.

A top down view of an octagonal wooden table spread with plates and bowls of snack foods. In the center is a baked almond feta on a small plate, sliced with a knife. Just above it is a large, blue-rimmed plate holding an array of 2 kinds of crackers.

A table spread with a variety of snack foods. In the center is vegan brie en croute, surrounded by pickles, cherries, stuffed dates, gouda, veg deli slices, pistachios, and breakfast sausage links.

Probably the best vegan cheese I learned to make was this brie, made with almond and cashew. It was amazing on its own—I’ve made it 3 times already—and out of this world baked with jam and pastry!

This isn’t a Throwback Thursday so much as a Challah Back to last year when I worked with a client to make rainbow challah. I don’t knead as much dough since my hand pain started/became chronic, but I’m looking forward to learning to lean more on my partner or the bread machine to do the kneading so I can shape more pretty loaves like these.

Two rainbow challah braids rising under a striped towel. In the lower right corner is a second image of three slices of baked rainbow challah fanned out on a square yellow plate.

Want to send foodz? Reply with a photo/story and we'll try to include it in the next Queer Kitchen Connection!

What’s Cooking?

Upcoming special events—Food Focused Nutrition-related or otherwise!

Movie Magic Food-Play Adventure

Sunday, September 25
3-5pm EDT
Live on Zoom

A beige and black pug dog is sitting in a red theater seat, wearing red-rimmed sunglasses and "holding" a red and white bag of popcorn, a red and white cup of soda with a straw, and a movie ticket in its paws.

I LOVE playing with food, and it’s important to me to create opportunities for others to explore food in different ways.

Registration is now OPEN—[sign up here]!

I invite you to explore, build, and create with food in community! Join in and recreate a scene, character, or iconic element of your favorite movie using a variety of different foods.

Forward this email to a friend to invite them along!

A photo of Jane and Kit, two white, non-binary people, smiling mid-laugh and putting their hands together in a heart. Jane has a brown undercut and is wearing glasses and a striped shirt. Kit has long brown hair and is wearing a gray plaid shirt.

I’ll be taking time off in mid-October with my partner to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary!! We probably won’t be traveling anywhere, but we’re looking forward to spending a bit more time together, and probably teaming up to cook something special. If my time off affects any repeating or otherwise already scheduled adventures, I’ll be in touch with you directly.

International Pronouns Day is coming up Wednesday, 10/19: [https://pronounsday.org/]

Having pronouns respected is a big deal; I was forced to leave a job over pronouns. Use this day to step-up your self-advocacy and/or allyship.

The Intersection

I'm always working on making Food Focused Nutrition more accessible with baked-in, intentional inclusion. What's the latest step in my journey?

I’m building a list of ASL interpreters so I can offer ASL interpretation as a standard for group events, and more readily provide ASL interpreting for individual clients upon request. [See my recent post about this on Instagram.]

If you know an ASL interpreter who loves food, cooking, or has a culinary background, maybe they would like to know about this paid opportunity—please spread the word!

Suggest-ipe

Because the way I see it, all recipes are merely suggestions!

Pesto

Basil (or other herb/spinach/asparagus/sundried tomatoes)
Some oil (usually olive oil; other oils are ok too)
Garlic
Lemon juice
Salt
Maybe some nuts and/or Parmesan cheese

[https://www.loveandlemons.com/pesto-recipe/]

This link includes suggested quantities for all the ingredients I find essential for pesto; be sure to taste and adjust to your preference and measure with your heart!

That’s all for now!

Queer Kitchen Connection is a quarterly newsletter from Food Focused Nutrition.

I want this newsletter to be an invitation for us all to foster more connection around food.

My dream is that Queer Kitchen Connection will be the start of a conversation, and I welcome you to taste, savor, and share in the creation of community with direct replies to the newsletter.

Author Jane Calvert, RDN, Food Focused Nutrition
“Edible-in-Chef” Ashley Bovin, Ease Up Consulting