Road Scholar does a marvelous job of providing knowledgeable lecturers and tour guides, and Charleston was the perfect place to learn some of our nation’s history, seamy side and all.

One of the plantations we visited was the 18th century Middleton Place, a carefully preserved national historic landmark that survived the American revolution, the Civil War, economic upheavals and the devastating earthquake of 1886.

But beyond the breathtaking gardens and grand residence were the more than 2,800 enslaved Africans and African Americans – seven generations – owned by the Middleton family from 1738 to 1865 who made their economic empire and way of life possible.

The Middleton Place Foundation, a nonprofit educational trust that owns and operates Middleton Place, has made its key mission to research, document and share their stories. Their comprehensive 10-year study led to a permanent exhibit, Eliza’s House, a Reconstruction-era African American freedman’s dwelling; a book, “Beyond the Fields – Slavery at Middleton Place” published in 2008; and a documentary film of the same name.

At lunchtime we were treated to a typical Southern spread including some iconic Southern dishes: collard greens, corn pudding, biscuits, cornbread and, of course, Southern fried chicken.

If you think Col. Sanders invented the dish, you would be wrong. Early accounts from China, the Middle East, and West Africa go as far back as 9,500 years ago. Many believe that the Scots, who emigrated to the South in the 1700s and brought with them their custom of frying chicken in fat, invented the dish. Others believe it was brought from Africa.

The earliest published recipe for fried chicken appeared in “The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy” by an English cook, Hannah Glasse. The recipe called for frying seasoned and floured chicken in lard.

The first recipe for fried chicken in the United States was printed in 1824 in “The Virginia House-Wife” by Mary Randolph, a White woman from a slaveholding family and a distant relative of Thomas Jefferson.

With the advent of fast food – Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeye’s, Chick-fil-A and the like – this Southern dish went national.

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

PERFECT SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Southern cooks use a marinade of buttermilk for its distinctive tangy flavor. I found this authentic Southern version in “Deep South Dish: Homestyle Southern Recipes” (Quail Ridge Press, $19.95) by Mary Foreman.

If you don’t have a thermometer, oil is generally ready when a pinch of flour tossed in sizzles.

Ingredients:

Brine 1:

• 1 (3 to 4 pound) whole fryer, cut up
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt8 to 10 ice cubes

Brine 2:

• About 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup hot sauce

Chicken:

• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Peanut oil or cooking oil, for frying
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat, lard, or shortening

Method:

1. Brine 1: In large non-metallic bowl, dissolve salt in enough water to cover chicken; stir in ice. Add chicken; cover; refrigerate overnight.

2. Brine 2: Next morning, drain, and return chicken to bowl; cover chicken with buttermilk; mix in hot sauce; cover, and refrigerate until supper time.

3. Drain chicken in colander 15 minutes until room temperature.

4. Chicken: In large bowl, whisk flour with all seasonings. Set aside 1/3 cup; coat chicken pieces; place on rack.

5. Fill chicken fryer or cast–iron skillet with enough oil so chicken will completely submerge; add bacon fat. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry chicken in small batches, 10 to 14 minutes. Regulate heat; maintain 375 degrees. Drain on paper towels.

6. For gravy, stir 1/3 cup flour into 1/3 cup frying oil in skillet over medium heat until browned. Add 2 cups water; bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened.

As I write this, I’m in Temecula at the Vina de Lestonnac Retreat Center operated by the Sisters of the Company of Mary, where I’m spending the week making art with 17 very talented friends.

Fortunately, some of these artists also like to bake, and our snack table groans with all manner of temptations. This year’s most popular item was Rose Mary Jameson’s apple cake, which screams fall with its warm spices and deep apple flavor, a cake that can take you from Halloween, through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course, I had to get the recipe.

With a few changes, Rose Mary converted King Arthur’s recipe to gluten-free, and no one could tell the difference.

“Four, five years ago I was diagnosed with ischemic colitis,” Jameson explained. “The doctor wanted to give me medications, but I asked if a diet would fix it. His first response was, ‘No dairy, no flour.’ It’s challenging.

“You have to read every label, learn the different chemical words they use to hide flour,” she said. “In restaurants the gravies and sauces have wheat. Even French fries. They look crispy, because they’re dredged in flour. But making these changes really worked. I felt much better right away. I find it easy to make better choices, because it’s just not worth the pain.”

Jameson’s husband does most of the shopping.

“He goes on hunts and researches for me. Canyon Bakehouse makes some of the best tasting gluten-free breads I’ve had. Schatt’s is another really good brand, and Live Free,” she said. “That’s the hardest thing, to find is a bread that doesn’t have a weird aftertaste. Why waste the calories if it doesn’t taste good?

“So Delicious brand non-dairy ice cream is really good,” she added. “I like almond milk, coconut milk and oat milk especially. Hard cheese seems to be okay. I always add an egg to the prepackaged gluten-free cake mixes, which tend to be dry, or I’ll add a little more applesauce or liquid, water or oil. And I watch the time.”

For her apple cake, Jameson substituted Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour, one to one.

“I made the rest of it just according to this recipe. In the future I might add one egg so it sticks together and becomes a little more cake-like,” she said. “The frosting is awesome. I substituted almond milk for the regular milk. You can also use the cider.”

Boiled cider, as the name implies, is sweet apple cider that has been boiled down to roughly an eight-to-one concentration. It is thick and syrupy and the secret ingredient for amping up that real apple taste. You can find it on line or at specialty markets.

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

OLD-FASHIONED APPLE CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR FROSTING

Ingredients:

• 2 1/3 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice or 1 teaspoon cinnamon +1/4 teaspoon each ginger and nutmeg
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups peeled, cored, finely chopped apple (1/4 inch to 1/2 inch), about 1 1/3 pounds whole apples
• 2 tablespoons boiled cider, optional
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and diced

Frosting:

• 7 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk or 2 tablespoons milk +2 tablespoons boiled cider
• 2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 3/4 teaspoon King Arthur pure vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13 pan or two 8-inch round pans.

2. Mix all cake ingredients except apples and nuts in large bowl. As soon as mixture comes together and becomes pretty uniformly crumbly, stop mixing; you don’t want a cohesive mass.

3. Add apples, boiled cider and nuts; mix until apples release some juice and stiff mixture becomes a thick, creamy batter, between cookie dough and brownie batter consistency. Don’t worry if mixture doesn’t immediately loosen up; this will take about 3 minutes at low speed. Spread batter in prepared pan(s), smoothing it with your wet fingers.

4. Bake cake 45 minutes for 9-by-13 pan or 38 minutes for two 8-inch round pans. A toothpick or paring knife inserted into center should come out clean, or with just a few wet crumbs clinging to it. Temperature at center of cake will be about 205 degrees. Remove cake from oven and place on rack to cool a bit while you make frosting.

5. Frosting: Sift confectioners’ sugar into bowl or onto piece of parchment or wax paper; set aside. (This guarantees lump-free frosting.)

6. Melt butter in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and salt and cook, stirring, until sugar starts to melt and mixture becomes fairly smooth. While you may still notice a bit of grittiness from sugar, you shouldn’t see any melted butter puddled atop sugar. Add milk and boiled cider, if using, and bring to a boil. Remove syrup from heat and pour into medium-sized mixing bowl (large enough to accommodate confectioners’ sugar). Let syrup cool in bowl 10 minutes.

7. Poor confections’ sugar into warm syrup in bowl, then add vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Work fast; frosting stiffens up quickly as it cools.

8. Pour warm frosting onto cake, spreading over entire surface. Cut cake, either warm or at room temperature, into slices to serve. Store cake, covered, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.

Cindy and Fred Jacobson of Yorba Linda recently returned from a trip through Spain and loved the chickpeas and spinach dish featured here so much, they recreated it at home and brought it to a potluck (where, luckily, I was in attendance.)

“We found the class on Trip Advisor,” said Cindy. “It was called ‘Tapas and Sherry, an Andalusian Gourmet Experience,’ given by Linsey Drake, a caterer and chef who lives up in the hills between Seville and Malaga. They grow their own olives and make their own olive oil. You get the whole rustic Andalusian experience at her house.”

Drake’s business name is La Rosilla, Cindy told me.

“She’s actually from Birmingham, England. She and her husband moved there 25 years ago and raised their kids in Spain. During the class we also made meatballs and stuffed peppers, and we tasted four different kinds of sherry. We baked cookies called galletas de pueblo made with olive oil and lemon.”

Variations of the chickpeas and spinach dish are very popular in Seville, where it’s served in all the tapas bars, Cindy noted.

“Spinach came from Persia, and when the Arabs took over, they brought spinach to Spain, and it became the most important Spanish vegetable,” she said. “Chickpeas were brought to Spain by the Phoenicians and continue to be very popular in Sephardic Jewish and Moorish dishes. You can eat this dish as a big stew, as a meal, but it’s very popular as a tapa.”

“Tapas refers to a style of serving small portions of food between or before meals. The word comes from the Spanish word “tapar,” meaning “to cover.”

Originally, tapas were served so patrons could cover their drinks to keep the flies away. The custom began in Andalusia, influenced by the Moors. As the story goes, in the 13th century King Alfonso X of Castile had to consume small portions of food and wine as he recovered from illness. Subsequently he ordered that taverns must serve small snacks or tapas with wine.

Cindy and Fred had their work cut out for them when they returned.

“Linsey wrote no measurements, nothing, so then Fred and I experimented and developed a second recipe that works. We had had it served as a tapa in Seville. Linsey’s was even better because she used different spices. Ours is even spicier,” Cindy said. “Linsey served it in individual bowls, with the cinnamon, mint and yogurt on each. We served it in one pot and just decorated the whole thing.

“This dish is often served at room temperature,” she added. “Like any stew, its flavors are actually better if you give them time to meld.”

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

MOORISH/ANDALUSIAN CHICKPEAS AND SPINACH (ESPINACAS CON GARBANZOS)

Adjust the heat with the chili or harissa to your liking.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red onion, sliced thin
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon paprika (sweet or smoky)
• Harissa paste or chili paste, to taste
• 4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• 2 cans (16 ounces each) chickpeas
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 pound fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• Juice of 2 lemons (1/4 cup); lemon peels sliced into small wedges
• 1 capful orange blossom water
• Salt and pepper
• Ground Cinnamon, fresh mint, and plain Greek yogurt, to serve

Method:

1. In large sauté pan, heat olive oil and gently fry onions until softened. Stir in cumin seeds, paprika, and harissa. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in dried mint and chickpeas. Simmer 5 minutes

2. Place cinnamon sticks into mixture, cover with spinach, pour in lemon juice and orange blossom water, and lay lemon peel wedges on top. Cover pan and cook until spinach wilts, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove lemon peels; then stir and adjust seasonings, adding salt and pepper and harissa to taste.

4. Place cooked lemon peels decoratively around top of stew. For best flavor, replace lid and allow dish to rest for about an hour.

5. To serve, dust with ground cinnamon, then sprinkle with sprigs of fresh mint and add dollops of yogurt around the top.

Fifteen years ago, Bob Cox and his business partner, Ray Zahab, started the nonprofit Impossible2Possible.

“We take youth on expeditions to some remote part of the planet – the Amazon jungle, the Sahara Desert,” explained Cox, “where they attempt to do something impossible, like run a marathon a day for six consecutive days in this inhospitable place. It’s all free, paid for by corporate donations and sponsorships.

“They’re also immersed in an educational program, so if we’re in the Amazon jungle, it might be biodiversity or ecosystems,” he added. “Everything is videoed, and simultaneously we share it with schools throughout the world. We get between 10,000 and 20,000 students in classrooms following the program. We’ve done approximately 16 of them since 2008, and our program has reached over 200,000 kids in classrooms – all of it for free.”

Over time, adults approached the nonprofit wanting to pay to go on these adventures, so they formed KapiK1 Expeditions.

“It’s an Inuit word, loosely translated meaning coffee, so far back we had our sights on coffee,” Cox said. “On all our expeditions, coffee is very important to us. I have a little hashtag, ‘No coffee no expedition.’ Even before we had our own brand, coffee was important to us.”

A coffee shop in Chelsea, Quebec, created an expedition roast for them, which they brought on every expedition.

“Fast forward to the pandemic,” he said. “We’re thinking about that expedition roast. He and I, but mainly he, developed our dark roast blend, which took six months. We started selling in Canada. It was going so well we thought we have to take this down to the states.

“Our model is farmers markets,” Cox said. “That’s how we’re trying to grow our brand.”

Kapik1 is available at farmers markets in Norwalk, Whittier, Fullerton, La Mirada, downtown LA and Palos Verdes, and also through their website, KapiK1.com.

“We have four separate roasts: light, medium, medium dark, and dark roast, each with its own flavor profile,” Cox noted. “The flavor profile you get from the dark roast is a heavy chocolate with an earthy tone. For our cold brew, when we immerse the beans into water, the dark chocolate really comes out of it, so whether you add a little oat milk to it or drink it straight, it’s like a chocolatey coffee treat without adding chocolate. When you add the oat milk, it’s like a dessert.”

“Coffee beans are all scored on a scale of 0 to 100. If your quality is enough to get above 80, then you’re in the highest category. All of our beans fall into that specialty category,” Cox said. “And ours is fresh. You’re not going to get any mold. If you go to a regular grocery store, that coffee could be sitting on that shelf for six months. You talk to a lot of people and they have a stuffy nose or headaches – there’s probably mold in their coffee.”

Growing their coffee business has not deflected attention from the nonprofit.

“We have a youth expedition scheduled for November to the Atacama Desert in Chile. We take four to five kids at a time, 16 to 21 years old,” Cox said. “We put out the word through schools, social media, CNN. I look for people who can relay the education program, our youth ambassadors.

“There’s an athleticism to it, but you don’t have to be a runner,” he said. “We look for someone who can complete the 13-, 16-, 18-week training program, because they’re going to try to run a marathon a day for six straight days in the desert. We have professional coaches who deliver the training program wherever they are. We have videos on our website illustrating the program.”

See impossible2Possible.com.

The Wednesday Fullerton Farmers Market is held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. behind the Fullerton Community Center on Commonwealth Avenue.

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

As the Jewish High Holidays approach, I start getting phone calls – from my family, my friends, my mother’s friends … even strangers!

“Can I make the brisket ahead and freeze it?”  “How about the kugel?” “How can I rescue my burnt honey cake?” (Yes and yes to the first two and “Do you have a dog?” to the third.)

Whoever invented the freezer should get the Nobel Prize. Imagine expecting a houseful of company and having to make everything at the last minute. The freezer is your friend.

Here’s your game plan: Cook. Freeze. Relax.

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sunset on Sept. 15 with Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, following on Sept. 24. Yom Kippur is a day to atone, repent and make amends. It is also a day of fasting, and if that were all I had to say about it, this would be a really short column. But fortunately, all good fasts must come to an end, and the lovely tradition of break-the-fast follows.

Usually the meal is dairy, as befits ending a day of fasting, and the menu might include bagels, lox and fixings, salads, fish and vegetarian dishes, quiches, and/or various cheese casseroles, but I’ll bet you’d be hard pressed to find a break-the-fast without a kugel.

A kugel is a baked pudding with a starchy base – potatoes or noodles are most common – bound with eggs, enriched with fat (butter, margarine or oil), and peppered with an endless variety of colorful and tasty additions, such as vegetables, fruit, and/or cheese.

According to tradition, the kugel is Sabbath fare, imbuing it with almost mystical qualities. Its origins can be traced to the Middle Ages, when it was cooked along with the Sabbath stew.

While today a kugel is usually served as a side dish, in the villages of Eastern Europe, where meat was rare and expensive, a starchy kugel might become a filling meal.

Some assembly required – true for swing sets and true for kugels – but for the most part, kugels are a snap to prepare. Once you’ve cooked and drained the noodles, you simply stir in the other ingredients and bake.

The kugel featured here was my mother’s signature kugel. She got the recipe years before from her friend Carol Cohen, the lovely wife of the cantor at Temple Beth Tikvah in Fullerton, Eli Cohen, both, alas, no longer with us. (Mom did tweak the recipe, adding a can of cherry pie filling on top for a picture-perfect presentation.)

My friend, Joyce Taback, originally from La Habra, is still making it and even won the annual Kugel Cook-Off with it this year at Temple Sinai in Denver.

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

CAROL COHEN’S LUSCIOUS NOODLE KUGEL

From “Cooking Jewish” by Judy Bart Kancigor; yields 12-16 servings.

Note, A cold kugel is much easier to slice than a hot one, so make this ahead and reheat.

Ingredients:

• Butter or solid vegetable shortening, for greasing the baking pan
• Kosher (coarse) salt
• 1 pound medium-wide noodles
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 cups sour cream
• 8 large eggs
• 4 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/4 cups golden raisins
• 1 can (20 ounces) cherry pie filling (not plain cherries)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

2. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until al dente, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, 2 cups of the milk, and the sugar, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into large bowl.

4. When the noodles are done, drain well and add them to egg mixture. Stir in butter, raisins, and remaining 2 cups milk. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and bake until set, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

5. A few hours before serving, remove kugel from refrigerator and set aside to come to room temperature.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

7. Cover, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

No, not the weather. It’s Hatch chile season, but you’d better get them fast.

These prized chiles, known for their unique combination of sweetness, heat and smokiness, are available for only a few short weeks between August and September.

What makes these chiles unique is where they’re grown.

“Hatch chiles, grown only in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico, have a thick, meaty flesh because their growing fields are at high elevation – 4,000-foot altitude – where the days are hot, into the 100s, and the nights are cool, into the 60s, which creates a thicker chile,” explained Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa’s Produce.

Don’t like the heat? No worries. The Scoville Scale measures the relative heat of hot peppers, and although available hotter, most Hatch chiles score between 1,500 and 2,500 units — about the same level of heat as poblano or Anaheim peppers, making them ideal for all your Mexican favorites: chile rellenos, chile verde, chile con queso…the list is endless.

But don’t stop there, said Chef Ida Rodriguez, co-author with Sharon Hernandez, of “Melissa’s Hatch Chile Cookbook” (World Variety Produce).

“I want people to know you can use Hatch chiles in everything – Italian, Asian – not just Southwest,” she said.

Try Hatch chile pizza dough, Hatch pepper buttermilk biscuits, Hatch chile braciole, Hatch shrimp and Andouille sausage gumbo even Hatch chile chocolate chip cookies and Devil’s Food Cake.

So popular are these chiles that thousands converge on Hatch, New Mexico, for the annual Hatch Chile Festival, to be held this year Sept.1-3, over Labor Day Weekend. The festivities will include mariachi and Ballet Folklorico performances, a parade, a carnival with rides and, of course, a chili cook-off.

“We go to Hatch every year,” Rodriguez said. “You’d think, who’s going to buy a 35-pound case of chiles, but you bring them home, roast them immediately and freeze them, and you can use them all year. The smell in the car coming home is incredible.”

Interestingly, the longer you keep these chiles, the hotter they get.

“As the moisture evaporates in the freezer, the flavor becomes concentrated and they taste hotter,” Rodriguez explained.

Attend a Hatch chile roasting, and that work is done for you. Locally head to Bristol Farms in Yorba Linda from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 19, or Bristol Farms, Newport Beach on Sept. 2, same time.

Check your local market for fresh Hatch chiles as well as Melissa’s Hatch Pepper infused polenta, cheddar popcorn, pecans, shakers and seasonings, salsas and granola-like Clean Snax.

Chile peppers belong to the nightshade family and are related to tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. They not only spice up your food, but are good for you, too. One fresh medium-sized green chile pod has as much Vitamin C as six oranges, and one teaspoon of dried red chile powder fills your daily requirement of Vitamin A.

Who knew healthy could taste so good!

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

HATCH CHILE BRACIOLE

From “Melissa’s Hatch Chile Cookbook” by Sharon Hernandez and Chef Ida Rodriguez.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds flank steak, trimmed
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3 hatch chiles, roasted, peeled, stemmed, and seeded
• 5 fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 (24-ounce) jar prepared pasta sauce

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use kitchen mallet or heavy skillet to pound flank steak to about 1/4-inch thickness to tenderize. Season with salt and pepper.

2.  In medium bowl combine breadcrumbs, both cheeses and egg.

3.  Place flank steak horizontally on work surface, and spread breadcrumb mixture onto bottom third. Layer chilies and basil leaves on top of breadcrumb mixture. Starting from bottom of long side, roll steak up tightly and tie with butcher’s twine. Season again with salt and pepper.

4.  In large ovenproof pan, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering, and sear steak on both sides. Pour pasta sauce over steaks and cover pan with foil. Transfer pan to oven and cook 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook steak additional 10 minutes or to desired doneness.

“I got a job at Cal State Fullerton as the director of the American Language Program, overseeing 250 students who came to the United States to learn English so they could get accepted to universities,” she said about what brought her to the community. “That number grew to 500 students when I left in 2014.”

Recently, a mutual friend, Sue Lieberman of Rancho Mission Viejo, invited us to an “African Thank You Supper” for all her friends who had contributed to her favorite nonprofit, Water Wells for Africa.

“I couldn’t believe how inexpensive it is to build a well – $8,000 – and it lasts 20 years,” she told me. “They train the villagers to repair and maintain it and how to sanitize their pots, and they don’t have cholera in the villages anymore that have these wells.

“They sent me a video of my well in the village of Kalosi, Malawi, and the villagers were all dancing and singing and drinking the beautiful, clear water,” she added. “When I saw the plaque with my name on it, I was in tears and thought, I’ve got to do another.”

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, and Rhona said I missed a fabulous buffet of African food.

“It was beautiful to look at and delicious to eat,” she said. “I even asked Sue for two recipes, the Moroccan chicken and Moroccan lamb meatballs.”

Sue’s menu included: cashews from Mozambique and for drinks, peri peri from Mozambique, baobab juice from Ethiopia, and fresh clean water.

“I put out a sign that said, ‘We are pleased to serve you fresh clean water. Please pass it on,’” Sue noted.

The entrees included beef pilau from the Swahili coast, lamb meatballs from Morocco, Moroccan chicken, chakalaka, or  vegetable curry, from South Africa, lentil salad from Ethiopia, and couscous from Northwest Africa.

“I made injera bread from Ethiopia, which was easy and turned out great,” Sue said. “Finding the teff flour was the hardest part. I finally found it at Bristol Farms.”

Sue also served three sauces: berebere from Ethiopia, a tomato-peanut sauce from Malawi and atchar, a spicy condiment from South Africa.

“For dessert I made avocado mousse from Guinea and Amarula cake from South Africa,” Sue noted.

“I learned so much about African food through my research. The amarula fruit falls on the ground and ferments, and the elephants eat it and get drunk. Baobab juice is made from the baobab tree, which is called the upside-down tree, because it looks like its roots are in the air,” she said.

Sue says she has raised about 60% toward her second well.

“Charitynavigator.org gives Water Wells for Africa a 100% rating, meaning it gives every penny possible to the people being served,” she said. “Tax deductible donations are deeply appreciated.”

To contribute visit waterwellsforAfrica.org.

When Rhona raved about the Moroccan chicken, I had to have the recipe too. “I’ve been making it for decades,” Sue said. “It’s a long-time favorite of my kids.”

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN

Yield: 6 servings

Spice blend:

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

Chicken:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 bone-in, skin–on chicken thighs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix spices.

2. Heat oil in large oven-proof pot over medium heat. Season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper. Place chicken skin side down in pan. Cook 4-5 minutes per side, or until browned.

3. Remove chicken from pan. Add onion and cook 4-5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add spice blend and flour to pan. Cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Stir in chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken back to pan. Stir in raisins.

4. Cover pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove pan from oven. Uncover, then stir in olives and lemon juice. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle cilantro over top, then serve.

The Downtown Fullerton Market will continue weekly from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays at the Downtown Plaza, 125 E. Wilshire Ave., until Aug. 31.

Visit for the live entertainment as well as family and children’s activities. Bands change weekly and begin at 6:30 p.m. at the beer-wine garden hosted by the adjoining Fullerton Museum Center, which remains open for the evening.

Mediterranean is my favorite cuisine, so my first stop during a recent visit was Baba Foods, which boasts an amazing variety of pita chips, including cinnamon-sugar, lemon pepper, garlic and herbs de Provence, za’atar and sea salt. It sells falafel, hummus in a dizzying array of flavors, including classic, roasted garlic and roasted sweet bell pepper, as well as handmade baklava.

At Elisa Marie Baking a sign boasts “third-place brownies” – at the OC Fair, I learn. The previous year her cherry-limeade jam took first place, Elisa tells me.

“I’ve been baking since I was 3,” she said. “There are pictures of me baking biscuits with my mom.”

Elisa worked as a corporate pastry chef in Chicago. “When the pandemic hit, I couldn’t get work, so my husband encouraged me to start baking for myself.  Now we’re in five retail locations, including the Anaheim Marriott and The Butchery, besides the markets.”

Galaxy Toffee next door sells cookies, but the toffee must be popular because it was sold out by the time I arrived at 5:30.

I can’t help noticing a crystals and chakra balancing booth next to one for the Fullerton Library. This is quite the eclectic market!

The busiest stand was Sunny Cal Farms from Fresno with a wide variety of stone fruits, including white and yellow peaches and at least five varieties of plums and pluots (plum-apricot hybrids), my favorite being Red Beauty.

Their most popular summer fruit, they said, is their cherrums, a cherry-plum combination that tastes sweet with a tang of plum. The tangelos, a pomelo-tangerine cross, are equally delicious.

I grabbed a basket of large, perfect black mission figs, the best I’ve ever had. Prominently displayed are useful instructions for ripening fruit.

“1. Remove fruit from reusable or plastic bags. 2. Place your unwashed fruit on a cutting board, platter, or flat surface slightly spaced apart. 3. Check fruit 2x daily in the morning and evening. 4. When ripe, place fruit in the fridge to prevent from going bad or bruising. Once ripe, flavor will hold in the fridge until enjoyed.”

I stopped at Berumen Farms for zucchini and its many-colored heirloom tomatoes whose weird, other-worldly shapes belie their luscious texture and taste.

For most of my purchases this day, my recipe is simple: 1. Eat 2. Enjoy. Or if you want to get complicated: 1. Ripen, 2. Slice. 3. Eat. 4. Enjoy.

As for the zucchini, there’s zucchini bread and zucchini cake – why not zucchini pancakes? Zucchini’s flavor is mild, adding texture and moistness without the funk of, say, broccoli or Brussels sprouts, yielding a generous, satisfying portion.

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

LOW-FAT HEALTHY ZUCCHINI BREAKFAST PANCAKE

Shred zucchini with a food processor and spread it out on a tea towel 12 hours to dry. Then place it in a sealable bowl, cover with paper towel, seal and refrigerate upside down.

Change the paper towel daily and it will keep a week.

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg plus 1 white
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (not Greek)
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free pancake mix (I use Arrowhead Mills, available at Sprouts)
• 1 tablespoon ground flax or chia seeds or combination
• Pinch fine kosher or sea salt
• Sweetener of your choice, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• Vegetable spray
• Low calorie or pure maple syrup

Method:

1. Beat egg plus white and yogurt with a fork in a bowl. Add pancake mix, ground seeds, salt, sweetener, cinnamon and vanilla and beat until no lumps remain. Mix in zucchini and blueberries.

2. Heat medium frying pan over medium heat. Spray with vegetable spray. When beginning to brown, add pancake mixture and spread.  Cook until brown on one side, then flip pancake and cook the other side.

3. Remove pancake to a plate, pour on syrup and serve.

And wasn’t it thoughtful of our founding fathers to declare our independence during summer when the whole country is bursting with delicious produce. Now is the time to shop your local farmers market for fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables.

This week I visited Placentia’s Farmers Market, held from 3 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the Placentia Town Center, 130 E. Yorba Linda Blvd., and I was surprised to see a lot more than produce.

Brisket beef jerky, kettle corn, fresh eggs from Henry’s Egg Ranch, roasted peanuts, take-and-bake empanadas, pet supplies, fresh tamales, coconut milk, hummus and baba ghanouj from Bros. Products, Nature’s Nectar juices and bowls and kefir yogurt from Bonjour, were just some of the tempting offerings.

I snagged a beautiful turquoise and sterling ring from Hilton Rings for 20 bucks – they’re at this market the second Tuesday of the month. Check out their website: simaninternational.com.

Daniel Lara Teas from Whittier sells regular and herbals with names such as  “Stress Less,” “Cleanse It Out” and “Clear It Up.”

“Our most popular teas are Jasmine and Jasmine Finest Pearls,” Lara told me. “The jasmine blooms in water and opens up like a little flower.”

Marcos Birante of St. Augustine Gourmet had me taste their sea salt, and I was amazed.

“No one smokes high-end quality sea salt,” he explained. “You only need a tiny bit, because it contains a lower dose of sodium. It’s all about the minerals, where it’s made.”

Flavors include steak seasoning; chipotle, garlic sea salt, hickory smoked, apple smoked, mesquite smoked and maple smoked.

Beekeeper Lynne Gallaugher of Bee Ladies Honey offers a dazzling array of flavor-infused honey, including ginger, Meyer lemon, plum, raspberry, strawberry-mango, vanilla, guava, chocolate–cinnamon and honey pecan.

“Pollen is one of the best things on the table,” she said of its beneficial properties. “It’s good for other things besides allergies.” See beeladieslocalhoney.com.

But I came for the produce and found delicious apricots (finally!) and white and yellow peaches at G Farms from Exeter, out in the San Joaquin Valley, as well as cherries from Garcia Riverside. But hurry, there’s only about a month, a month and a half to go, Amado Damian told me.

I found luscious berries at Berumen Farms from San Luis Obispo and most of the ingredients for my Independence Day “flag” featured here at Chavez Farms from San Bernardino.

My friend Joanne Rocklin introduced me to roasting vegetables decades ago, and now I roast one vegetable or another practically every day.

Roasting in a really hot oven concentrates the sugars in the vegetables, sizzling them to a luscious brown on the outside with an almost creamy texture on the inside. But beware of overdoing it, at 500 degrees they can overcook fast and turn mushy.

A roasted vegetable “flag” appears on my table every July 4, and the ingredients vary from year to year. Okay, the flag is red, white and blue; not red, white and green, but if you can find a blue vegetable, let me know.

For the red stripes I use roasted red pepper, carrots (orange is close enough) and/or beets. (I love the Steamed Baby Beets from Melissa’s Produce, a real time-saver.)

Cauliflower, mushrooms, white corn or my favorite, parsnips, work for the white stripes.

For the blue field, unpeeled eggplant is closer to blue on the color wheel, but green works too. Try roasting asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and/or green beans.

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

ROASTED GREEN BEANS

Adapted from “Cooking Jewish” by Judy Bart Kancigor

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds green beans, stem removed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher (coarse) salt
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil, and coat foil with oil or spray.

2. Dry green beans well with paper towels and toss them on prepared baking sheet with oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and sesame seeds, if using. Roast until browned on the outside and crisp-tender, 7 to 8 minutes.

If you’re cooking for dad this holiday, how about planked salmon for a change instead of meat?

“Long before cedar planks started turning up on American grills, 19th century chefs cooked fish on oak planks in the oven,” writes grilling expert Steven Raichlen in “Man Made Meals” (Workman, $19). “Even earlier, the Indians of coastal Connecticut nailed shad fillets to boards that they stood in front of a campfire.”

The plank adds an interesting flavor, he says, “somewhere between the oak in a bottle of Chardonnay and the smoke from smoldering hardwood.”

While cedar is most commonly used, Raichlen also suggests maple, oak or cherry, each with its distinctive flavor.

For the best quality fish, my favorite fresh fish market is Dry Dock Fish on Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton, started by Marc Lewis in 1989.

“My dad actually started in the garment business,” son Sam told me. Born in Casablanca, Marc grew up in Marseilles. “He missed the seafood he couldn’t get here and got out of the clothing business.”

Today’s consumer is well educated, he said. “Starting in the early ’90s you couldn’t give wild salmon away. Now, with the internet, people are educated.

“We reject a lot of fish. Some people do stuff to food to extend shelf life,” he said. “We are small, not fancy. We’re here in your community. We’re going to see you all the time. We see every piece of fish one by one. We think of each piece of fish as somebody’s dinner.”

Buying fresh fish can be so confusing.

“Know your fishmonger on a personal level,” Sam advised. Fish has a short shelf life so the pressure is on. “It’s two to three days’ shelf life from here. If you cook it the day you buy it, even better. You pay a premium for logistics, getting it where it needs to be.”

A common mistake is overcooking, but Sam says that may not always be the case.

“A customer will say, ‘I bought fish in the supermarket and I overcooked it.’ Fish in the supermarket is marked “refreshed,” which is their fancy way of saying frozen and defrosted. Then when you cook it, it’s dry.”

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.



PLANKED SALMON WITH LEMON MUSTARD GLAZE

From “Man Made Meals” by Steven Raichle

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless salmon fillet, preferably wild
• Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise, preferably Best Foods
• 1/4 cup Dijon or Meaux mustard
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, or to taste

Method:

1. Soak plank in cold water in large pots, sink, or on rimmed baking sheet 30 minutes (keep submerged by placing pot on top). Drain; wipe plank dry.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees or set up grill for indirect grilling; preheat to medium-high.

3.. Run your fingers over salmon feeling for pin bones. Remove any you find with needle-nose pliers or kitchen tweezers.

4. Generously season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange it, skin side down, on damp plank.

5. Place mayonnaise, mustard, and lemon zest in mixing bowl and whisk to mix. Using a rubber spatula, spread glaze over top and sides of salmon.

6. To bake salmon, place fish on its plank on baking sheet or piece of aluminum foil in oven. Bake salmon until glaze is puffed, bubbling, and browned and fish is cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes. To grill salmon, place fish on its plank in center of grill away from heat. Close lid and grill salmon until cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes. (To check for doneness, insert an instant–read thermometer in wide end of fish for 15 seconds. When salmon is done thermometer will register 145 degrees. Or insert thin metal skewer into fish and leave it there about 15 seconds; when salmon is done skewer will come out hot to the touch.)

7. Transfer fish on its plank to heat-proof platter and serve right off plank.