This week’s One New Recipe is not Mediterranean, but it is wonderfully delicious and simple.  

The recipe for Buttermilk-Cinnamon Coffee Cake comes from Chef John Ash, legendary Chef, cooking teacher (named the IACP Cooking Teacher of the Year in 2008), and one of the first chefs in the country to focus on local, fresh, seasonal ingredients for his restaurant.  I met John in 1993 at the Oldways Conference, called Food Choices 2000, on the Big Island of Hawaii, which was the Oldways Conference where the Chefs Collaborative was born.  The next year Fetzer Vineyards hosted the Chefs Collaborative Retreat, with John Ash as the Fetzer Chef. Fast forward almost twenty years, and I had the pleasure of appearing on “The Good Food Hour,”  a radio show John Ash has been hosting with Steve Garner on KSRO in Santa Rosa, California since 1987.  Every Saturday from 11am to Noon, Steve and John delve into the makings of delightful delicacies, daring dishes and decadence! From classics to the creme de la creme, The Good Food Hour takes a bite out of the mysteries of cooking and offers easy tips that everyone can understand.  I was on the show to talk about Oldways and the recent conference we organized for Supermarket Dietitians.  It was a great treat to see John again, and to meet Steve and spend time talking about a variety of issues, near and dear to Oldways’ heart.  And, to top it all off, John sent me all the recipes for the “Elegant Brunch” cooking class he was doing the next day in Sonoma.  This week’s new recipe is the first of John’s Elegant Brunch recipes.  Give it a try.  You won’t be disappointed.  — Sara

Ingredients 2 ¼ cups flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ginger 1 cup brown sugar ¾ cup white sugar ¾ cup canola oil 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 egg beaten 1 cup buttermilk Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Mix together in a large bowl the flour, salt, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, ginger, both sugars and oil.  Remove ¾ cup of this mixture and to it add the nuts (if you’re using nuts) and the remaining teaspoon of cinnamon.  Mix well and set aside to use as a topping. 3. To the remaining batter, add the baking soda, baking powder, egg and buttermilk.  Mix to combine all ingredients.  Small lumps in the batter are ok. 4. Pour the batter into a well-greased 9 X 13 X 2 inch pan.  Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the surface.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Serves 12.

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