http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji Want to know what you think of the Farmers Market here in Tehachapi? Want to know what you think of the Farmers Market here in Tehachapi? en-us http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/29441 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/29441 <p>So, I let a few days go by and I went back and read it all again. I was harsh towards you and I should not have been. As the joke that you stated was not directed at me and it was meant as just that; a joke. I do hope you understand that I normally have skin of steel but, when it comes to that issue of racism towards my people, I act out before I actually take it all in. Growing up for me was difficult. I use to get beat up by the Indian kids because I was half Caucasian and the Caucasian kids would beat me up for being half Indian. As far as the &quot;two dogs f***ing&quot; joke, I have been called that at least 10 times in my life (as in, &quot;oh, your Indian?! Is your name two dogs f***ing?!&quot;). I had to deal with a lot of racism back on our reservation, actually just off our reservation. My friends would have me go to the general store off the rez to buy soda pop because I looked the most &quot;white&quot; and the owner would not sell to Indians. It was embarrassing. I have heard and been called more Indian racial slurs then you have probably ever heard (chief, blanket a**, prairie ni**er, tonto, redskin, breed, and wagon burner. Just to name a few.). I can still remember when I was in grade school in Ca. (my father did not want us going to school on the rez) and Thanksgiving came around. My teacher had me stand in front of the class so they could see a real Indian. She asked me to speak my language and dance for the class. I was 9 years old and I did what I was told. I walked home alone and I felt ashamed to be Indian. I told my father that I wish I was just &quot;white&quot;. When I went back to school the teacher had me be a &quot;consultant&quot; on all the paper headdresses that the other children were making. At that time in my life, I so wanted to be someone else. When I got older, I out grew them all and soon the beatings stopped. As a young man, I was very involved in Native American rights and to say that I had a bad attitude would be an understatement. Now I have learned to deal with all the remarks that I hear, well, for the most part. I have come to accept what I am. What I am is a man. As a man, I know when I am wrong and when I am right. I do apologize to you joty. I know that your comment was not directed at me. It just took me awhile to get there.</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/29258 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/29258 <p>I am thinking of getting a food club going here in Tehachapi. Maybe once a month we could get together and talk about food and it's preparation. Maybe field trips to different markets and restaurants and food festivals. Maybe we could work up to full blown cooking at a different persons home every month. All would be welcomed, whether you are a chef or a home chef, it would not matter. All that I would ask is that you are a &quot;foodie&quot; and that you want to learn as well as contribute to discussions about food. What do you think?????</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/28606 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/28606 <p>Why is it so hard to find any reliable help here in Tehachapi??? I ran an ad in the paper and I received many calls. Most of the people who called could not even remember what job they were calling for! Then I hired a new guy and he worked one day and that was it. Another guy that I tried to hire said he was very excited to work and he never showed or called. I did hire a young lady and I will wait to see how that works out. I am still looking for at least one more person to do very limited weekend work. I am only cooking at events in Tehachapi this year and I would really like someone that is reliable and does not mind working with food. The work is not that hard but it does get fast and furious sometimes. I pay cash and you can eat anything that we make for free. If you know someone, let me know. Thanks to you all.....................</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/28605 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/28605 <p>I am sure that many of you already know about this but, I believe that many of you also do not. Tehachapi is having it's first renaissance festival this weekend June 21&amp;22 from 10am to 5pm. It is located at Hwy 202 west of Tucker Rd. Look for the signs. You can also call 775-359-3542 for more info. This should be fun. I have never cooked at an event like this and I am going to be cooking European food which is something that I do not do much of. Sorry, no Indian tacos here. I will be doing a meatball sandwich and a roast pork sandwich. I had an award winning sausage maker make up a bunch of Polish Bratwurst so that I could grill. I am also doing the royal feast which there are a very limited number of tickets still available. I do hope you all come. There are advanced tickets for sale. The menu for the royal feast is,</p> <p>Whole Roast Pig</p> <p>Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters with a Gooseberry Glaze</p> <p>Fresh Green Salad (Tangleweed Farms) with Walnuts and Fresh Goat Cheese served with a Toasted Shallot and Red Wine Vinaigrette</p> <p>Carrots Glace</p> <p>Fresh Dinner Roll (Kohnen's Bakery) with Honey and Rosemary Butter</p> <p>Spiced Apples with Raisins&nbsp; &nbsp; </p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/28314 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/28314 <p>Just to let you all know, this weekend there is a lot of things to do here in Tehachapi. The two biggest are the Spring Fair and the Chili Cook off. The Chili Cook off is on Saturday on Green st. and I believe it is going to be a blast. At City/Central Park, the Spring fair will be going on both Saturday and Sunday. I was told that this year there are going to be around 80 vendors! I wish that I could cook at both of these fine events. I chose to do the Spring Fair again this year as I really like doing events in the park. So if you need your Indian Taco fix, come and see me. Just a little info though; I will not we serving any fresh tomatoes on my tacos due to the risk of bad tomatoes. I understand that tomatoes from Ca. are suppose to be fine but, I will not take that chance. I will come up with something else to top my Indian Tacos. I do hope you all come to both events. It should be fun! Oh yeah! I just remembered. Tehachapi is having their first Renaissance Faire on the 21 and 22 of this month. I will be selling tickets for the Royal Banquet at my booth in the park at the Spring Fair this weekend. Hope to see you!</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/22310 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/22310 <p>In 1978, a group of Native American activists set out to walk from San Fransisco to Washington D.C. to promote Native American rights and our way of life. It was a peaceful, spiritual effort to educate the public about Native issues. Now, thirty years later, it is being done again. The Longest Walk 2008 started just as the original, from San Fransisco on Feb. 11th. It will take five months to complete the walk to D.C.. The southern route is being led by AIM (American Indian Movement) co-founder Dennis Banks. This walk is a grassroots effort to bring attention to not only Native issues but to the environment and to the harmony of Mother Earth. Along the way, walkers will also pick up trash that has plagued our highways for years. Why do I tell you this??? Because, we in Tehachapi are fortunate to have them right here! The walkers will be in Tehachapi on Saturday and Sunday March 1st and 2nd. </p> <p>As a Native American and a long time member of AIM, I have offered to do what I can to support this walk. As many of you know, I am a chef. I will be donating my time and materials to feed the 100+ walkers as they rest here in Tehachapi on Saturday night. They will be staying at the United Methodist Church on Backes Ln. (822-1440). They are due to arrive at 4:00p.m. This is not just a group of Native American activists. They are also being joined by Buddhist Monks from Japan and any and all supporters. Please visit their website www.longestwalk.org and see what you can do to get involved and educated. I do hope to see some of you and I also hope that some of you can take time and walk with them, even if only for a short time. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/21098 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/21098 <p>A few days back, I posted that I had heard that Don Juan's Grill was up for sale. I have heard from the owner and he told me that it is not true. Sorry if I freaked any of you out.</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/20743 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/20743 <p>So as most of you know, I am looking for a place to open my restaurant. In doing so, I hear a lot of local restaurant news that many of you may or may not know. Please understand that what I am about to write may or may not be true. It is just what I have heard. First off, I have heard that Cattleman's is now a Mexican restaurant (just what we need). I have not been there so again, hearsay. I have also heard that Que Pasa is in trouble. I guess they have had some issues with their payroll. Don Pericos is for sale. That is what I was told by one of my Realtors (way too big for me and the lease is very high). I have also heard that Don Juan's Grill is up for sale. I hope not, as I think it is one of the better places to eat here in town. There is talk that another Italian restaurant is coming to the new complex where Del Taco is. There are a few others that I will wait to post as I am actually interested in them for my own place. I do hope you all come out to the Chili and Rib cook-off in June, here in Tehachapi. I do believe that I will be competing in both categories. If any of you know of any good locations opening up, let me know. I would really like to be up and running by the end of 08'. </p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/20732 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/20732 <p>I have a question for all of you (can you believe it has nothing to do with food?), I live out in Cummings Valley and we (family) have T-Mobile as our cell provider. The coverage is not very good and we want to switch to something that&nbsp; works better here at home. Does anyone know if the &quot;other&quot; companies have a better signal here in Cummings Valley?</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/19085 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/matokanji/19085 So here is some restaurant news that you may not have heard. I have heard from many people that the new restaurant called Petra (on Green St.) is pretty good. Although I do not know why people would go to a Mediterranean restaurant and order a sandwich when there are items like Shawerma and Kebbah on the menu (don't fear the unknown). Rigby's Pizza is out of business and there is a new Italian Bistro opening in it's place. Cappi's Bagel and Brew is for sale (there's a surprise) and there have been reports that someone is looking to open a Vietnamese restaurant there. Actually, the people looking to open the Vietnamese restaurant are looking all over town to open a restaurant (I know this because I too have been looking for a location to open my restaurant and I keep hearing about them from different realtor's that I have been in contact with). Let me know if you hear anything restaurant related.