By Carolyn Snyder
 Jesse Ziff Cool runs several restaurants, including jZcool eatery in Menlo Park, where she holds a plate of one of her organic produce menu selections. |
Celebrated chef Jesse Ziff Cool’s passion for organic food has taken her from a hippie commune to hip cuisine.
For more than 30 years, through personal and business endeavors, from commune to Palo Alto cottage, she has been dedicated to sustainable agriculture and cuisine. She and the organic movement have come a long way since she hitchhiked across the country in 1968 with her son, Josh, then 4, and put down roots on the Peninsula.
She is known for the CoolEatz food company, an umbrella organization combining a catering company and her three organic restaurants - Flea St. Cafe and jZcool eatery, both in Menlo Park, and the Cool Cafe at the Cantor Art Center at Stanford University.
She started out waiting tables at the Good Earth restaurant in Palo Alto before opening Late for the Train in 1976, one of the first organic restaurants in the country, with former husband Bob Cool and friend Steve Silva. By using organics at the Menlo Park restaurant, they were considered on the “lunatic fringe.”
“At the time you couldn’t use the word ‘organic.’ People thought you were crazy - you know, making food from scratch and cooking it by hand,” she said. “People would laugh at us, but all of these things are trendy now.”
At first she had trouble finding organic produce. About the only source was the Palo Alto Farmers’ Market. Today, it’s in supermarkets everywhere.
The words “sustainable” and “agriculture” hadn’t been linked. Today, they embrace a philosophy that goes beyond the mere growing of food.
Just what is sustainable agriculture?
“Sustainable, to me, takes into consideration all aspects of being thoughtful and careful with the planet, our own well-being and the community.” Cool said. “It’s more about the people involved. Organic is only part of it. We need to care for the people who grow our food - the farmers, ranchers, vintners.”
Cool, whose organic garden is featured in the current issue of Sunset magazine, refers to organic farmers as her personal heroes and the first real environmental pioneers.
The groundswell of interest in sustainable agriculture she attributes to environmental awareness and what she calls “personal reasons,” the fact that people are concerned about their health and welfare and where food comes from.
“We have learned new ways of thinking about the food we eat and how it is produced,” she said. “We are realizing and accepting the value it has on our total well-being, including its impact on the future of a healthier planet.”
Sustainable seafood is part of the picture, too. “At Flea St., people come in and challenge us when they see sea bass on the menu,” Cool said. It is California bass, not Chilean, which is labeled “avoid” on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch list. She calls the people who supply her restaurants with seafood “the keepers of the gate.”
Filling somewhat the same role, Cool and other celebrity chefs will be joining forces at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Cooking for Solutions celebration May 19-20. It is an extension of the Seafood Watch program, which helps consumers and businesses make choices for healthy oceans.
Guests will enjoy premium wines and gourmet dishes prepared by celebrity chefs from sustainable ingredients. The “honored chef” will be Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, a renowned exponent of regional Mexican cuisine who is deeply committed to promoting sustainable seafood and environmentally sound farming practices.
Special guest will be Julie Packard, aquarium executive director, whose lifelong passion for conservation and the natural world keeps her involved with many environmental organizations. She is chair of the Conservation Program Committee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which oversees one of the largest environmental grant-making programs in the nation.
She and Bayless will lead a food and wine adventure tour during the two-day event, as will Cool.
Cool will be taking guests to Glen Deven Ranch in Big Sur, where she will talk about selecting fresh ingredients and using them in creative ways.
Can’t make it to Monterey? Here are two of Cool’s favorite seasonal recipes. She uses the Green Goddess dressing at jZCool throughout spring and summer. It can be tossed with asparagus, grilled vegetables, peppers or tomatoes.
Green Goddess Dressing
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup sour cream
1 cup buttermilk (or sour cream)
1 cup chopped green onions
½ cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon fresh dill
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
Puree all of the above in blender. Thin with water if necessary.
New Potatoes and Fava Beans
with Spring Garlic
Serves 4 as a side dish
This recipe is the epitome of springtime. Fava beans, freshly dug new potatoes and not-yet-mature, fragrant, yet mild garlic are among the first signs that winter is at its end. Garlic grows just like onions, with tender green leaves and a delicate, unformed slender bulb before the cloves begin to form. Cool harvests some garlic plants early, using both greens and the bulb, as one would a green onion.
2 cups (about 3/4 pound) new potatoes
About 2½ pounds fresh fava beans
¼- to ½- cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 green garlic, whites and greens sliced into ¼-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock or water
Pinch of cayenne (optional)
Scrub potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces and set aside. Cut open and remove the fava beans from the pod. You should end up with about 2 cups. Set aside. In a medium pot of salted boiling water, cook the potatoes for 5 minutes or until tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes to a medium bowl. In the same pot of boiling water, put the fava beans and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl and run under cold water to cool. Use a sharp knife and slice through and remove the skin by popping out the tender bean. Set aside.
In a medium skillet, over medium-low heat, warm ¼ cup of the olive oil. Add the potatoes, fava beans, oregano, green garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, adding a little stock or water to moisten if necessary. Remove from heat and adjust seasoning, adding cayenne if you choose. Serve with pasta, grilled meats or roasted chicken.
