Camaraderie: Dark City Recap from Kailani

The S. Kitchen’s celebrated San Francisco’s favorite holiday with Dark City, a Halloween cocktail and birthday party (happy b-days Jen, Huck, and John) on Friday, October 22nd. We blacked out the windows of Jason and John’s home and decorated with silver confetti and candles. The theme may have been “dark,” but the mood was lit up by colorful costumes, from Popeye and Olive Oil to the Devil and a flapper.

Unlike other kitchens, Dark City was a cocktail party and not about food, though Jason and I did make the salsa (recipe coming soon!). My mother, though, loves Halloween fun food and spent all day making “toxic” jello shots and “dirty” cupcakes with gummy worms.

My friends and I spent most of the night on the back porch. It was cool, like San Francisco nights are, but we enjoyed talking and laughing with old and new friends. We were the youngest ones at the party, but it was fun meeting new people and seeing all the great costumes.

Camaraderie: Cooking Up Fun with the Boys and Girls Club

On Friday, October 8, 2010, we met with Susana Rojas, the director of the Mission Boys and Girls Club. We discussed the s. kitchen having a cooking program which would a class for children and parents/guardians. The class would be once a month on Saturdays for two hours. Each quarter (approximately three months) would have a cultural theme and topics for discussion.

Susana explained that there is a gap between children and parents, even among elementary school-age. The goal of the boys and girls club is to bridge this gap so that children may feel safe in expressing their feelings to their parents. we would like to encourage parents and children to eat more meals together. We would also like to educate parents and children to make healthier food choices and give them easy recipes so that they can cook together at home.

My family is very close to begin with, so it is hard for me to understand what causes such a gap in families. The meeting opened my eyes to cultural differences and challenges that other families face. Even though we don’t eat as many meals together any more, growing up we did and I believe that is why our family is still close even though my brother and sister no longer live at home. I also feel our strong family bond is what makes my brother and sister and I confident and independent.

I am excited to be a part of helping bridge families through cuisine, conversation, and camaraderie.

Camaraderie: Introducting Kailani S., The S. Kitchen Apprentice

Hi. I’m Kailani Schulze. My first name is Hawaiian and means heavenly ocean, but I am Japanese, Okinawan, German, English, Irish, Scottish and French. I am a native San Franciscan, born and raised in the Richmond District. I went to Lafayette Elementary school, attended Roosevelt Middle school and graduated from George Washington High school in June of 2010.

In June 2011, I will begin classes at Skyline College in San Bruno. I plan on studying business with the intention of owning my own small business, hopefully a pastry shop.

In my spare time I like to read. When I was a little kid my parents would always read me a bed time story, so I think that’s what made me like reading so much. I also take yoga classes a couple times a week with my mother. Yoga is more than exercise to me; I feel at peace whenever I’m practicing it. After every class, I come with a positive attitude and sometimes hungry.

I am excited to be a part of The S. Kitchen team because cooking is something I am interested in. I grew up in a family that’s always been involved in community work, so combining the two is great. I have been to many S. Kitchens and had a wonderful time at every one!