“Soupvein”
Sweet Potato and Apple Latkes with Cinnamon "Sour Cream"
Teresa: Tell us about your meal and why you chose it.
Jessica: Apple-Potato Latkes with Cinnamon “Sour Cream”.
I wanted to make a recipe I learned to master from my grandmother. Recipes are passed down as “handfuls of this” and “dashed of that” - nothing is formally measured. I remember watching my Nana rhythmically conduct Passover Seder as I’d impatiently sneak nibbles of delicious hot, fried, buttery potato. It’s a dish almost impossible to get on the dinner table because everyone in the family noshes on them while we cook the rest of the meal.
I have been trying to modernize the traditional Jewish recipes of the generations before me. The recipes are simplistic, so I amplify ingredients but maintain the comfort and familiarity of home cooked Jewish meals. It has been a practice or reconnecting with my roots while I am 3,000 miles away from my family.
Teresa: Where were you born?
Jessica: Bay Area baby!
Teresa: Favorite artists/bands?
Jessica: My admiration for Patti Smith, for her music, her writing, her spunk, has definitely influenced my own work and outlooks on the world. Also Marion Zimmer Bradley who wrote Mists of Avalon. Other favorites- The Wytches, Hope Sandoval, Janis Joplin, Amyl and the Sniffers. Recently I have been really enjoying the work of Sharona Franklin (@paid.technologies) who makes fantastical gelatin sculptures that explore the experiences of chronic illness and disability. Food as an artistic medium-best of both worlds!
Teresa: What are your hobbies?
Jessica: Constantly biting off more than I can chew (pun intended). I like to dip my toes in lots of different things. I’d mainly classify myself as a poet and avid reader. I love to research, literally anything, get lost down the rabbit holes. My partner and I go camping as much as possible. Nature is the sweet escape for both of us. Aside from that, I’m constantly looking for new ways to occupy myself, be that through membership in social justice organizations, bike rides, french braids, wood staining, failed herb gardening, fake fashion design, niche films, astrology quiz, sudoku, imagining the world as a better place.
