Ann Cohen, Union Organizer, Amateur Baker, Professional Activist

Ann Cohen volunteers at the city of Philadelphia’s food warehouse packing food for distribution throughout the city. She is a retired city worker and President of AFSCME Local 1637, DC 33 where she represented employees in negotiations and the grievance process, as a health and safety activist and an advocate for career opportunities for Philadelphia high school students. She continues to work with students at the school district’s Workshop School who build hybrid and electric cars. She brings her decades of advocacy to the work of #CookThatJawn to address chronic food insecurity that has plagued the city and has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Banana Bread.

¾ cup butter

2 ¼ cups sugar

3 eggs slightly beaten

1 ½ cups banana mashed (appox. four) Use the oldest softest ones you can find

1 tsp. vanilla 

3 cups flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 ½ tsp. if using sour milk

¼ tsp. salt

¾ milk (sweet or sour)

About 1or 1 ½ cups chopped nuts – I like pecans

Cream butter and add sugar gradually.

Add eggs.

Add banana and vanilla

Alternate sifted ingredients with milk

Add nuts

Bake about 50 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Keep checking until toothpick comes out clean.

Turn out onto wire rack.

(Makes two loaves.)

Nicole Younger, Chef and Owner of IHeartChefNY Catering

North Philadelphia native, Nicole Younger (Chef NY), adopted a love for food at an early age under the influence of her grandmother. Raised in North Philadelphia with generational ties to Halifax, VA, where her family owned and farmed the land with a rotation of seasonal crops, she has drawn on both her past and her present to inspire the profile of the robust and soulful flavors she delivers. In 2010, her daughter Madison, now age 10, was diagnosed with severe food allergies; this forced Nicole to quickly adapt her and her children’s relationship with food. Nicole’s journey led her to living the most simplistic yet holistic lifestyle, transitioning her and her children into a plant-based lifestyle.

Professionally, Nicole graduated from the Philadelphia Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) with a concentration in the culinary arts in October of 2016. Her career launched with Eatible Delights, a premier catering organization in Philadelphia PA. It was here she learned the operational basics of catering. In 2018, combining her professional experience with her personal journey, iHeartChefNY Catering was born. iHeartChefNY Catering focuses on delivering unique plant-based culinary experiences to its clients.

Sweet Potato Skillet

2 lbs Sweet potatoes

4-5 Thyme sprigs 

2 Apples (Macintosh were used for recipe, any will do)

1 large onion

Sea salt (season to taste) 

Black pepper 

3 tablespoons Grapeseed oil 

Chop all ingredients (large-diced), and skin sweet potatoes. 

Add oil to heated pan, medium/high heat. 

Pan roast potatoes until almost tender. Add apples, onions, and thyme. 

Sauté until fragrant. 

Sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Enjoy! 

Simple. Sweet. Savory. 

Ari Miller, Chef and owner of Musi

Not so much a chef, as a vagabond with a knife, Ari Miller found a love for food as a kid eating deli, well-done lamb chops, and caviar. After some years as a Tel Aviv-based journalist – including tenure as food writer for an English-language newspaper there – he spent his first day in the professional kitchen cleaning kilos upon kilos of fresh sardines pulled that morning from the sea. A hop, skip, and jump later he returned to Philly and is now chef at Musi.

Kiki Aranita, Chef and owner of Poi Dog Philly

two onigirazu.

2 sheets nori

2-3 cups cooked short grain rice

(Any rice that will stick together is fine. 

The most basic grocery store rice is ideal.

Long grain rice or anything fancy would be trickier.)

1 can tuna

2-3 tablespoons mayo

salt and pepper

Optional ingredients:

sliced fresh vegetables

rice seasoning like furikake

thin scrambled egg

Ange Branca, Chef and Owner of Saté Kampar

Ange grew up in her grandmother’s kitchen where she learned the traditional techniques of Malaysian cooking, a cuisine that bears the influence of multiple cultures dating back to the 14th century when Malaysia was a spice trading hub. Though she grew up in a culinary family, she spent the first part of her career in business consulting, which landed her in the US. After years of living abroad, her nostalgia for the flavors of home coupled with what she perceived as a dying appreciation for humble Malaysian cuisine back home inspired Ange to open Saté Kampar, a restaurant focusing on saté (skewered meat grilled on coconut shell charcoal) and traditional Malaysian cooking made from scratch. The restaurant quickly became one of Philly’s top restaurants and was nominated for the James Beard Award.

braised cabbage.

Ingredients  

1/2 small cabbage, thinly slice, core removed
3 small onions, thinly sliced
2 carrots, grated
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Cooking Directions

In a large skillet over high heat, pour in half the olive oil. Sauté onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add carrots and onions. Stir in Apple cider vinegar. Cook till soft. Season with soy sauce.

Katie is a chef and activist based in West Philly. A 2016 James Beard Women in Culinary Leadership recipient, Katie is now focusing on feeding her community during the pandemic. Catch her every Saturday at Malcolm X Park for her Free Food Distribution with foodeveryonedeserves from 2-3pm. 

Kurt Evans, Chef and Food Activist

Evans is the chef behind the successful End Mass Incarceration dinner series in Philadelphia, a multi-course meal where families impacted by mass incarceration, law makers, law enforcement officials, and curious diners have conversations about prison reform over his seasonal dishes. He was voted one of top chef’s to watch in Philadelphia in 2020.

yellow split-pea soup.

Ingredients

1 lb Yellow Spilt Peas

1 lb Collard Greens 

1 smoked turkey ham

1 ½ cups chopped carrots

1 ½ cups chopped celery

1 ½  cups chopped onion

1 sazon vegetable seasoning pack

Salt + Pepper

Cooking Directions

In a bowl, sort and rinse the dried peas thoroughly. Check for any unwanted debris and discard.

In a sauce pot bring 4 cups of water to a boil, pour over peas then cover and let sit over night.

In a 4-6 quart slow cooker or stock pot, add all ingredients to 5 quarts of water, including sazon flavor packet. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours, or low 7-8

Keep warm until ready to serve.