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| I Left My Fridge In San Francisco
By Emily Kaiser
Edible San Francisco Summer 2006 What better way to get acquainted with some of the beloved residents of the City by the Bay than through the contents of their refrigerators? France-born Muriel Maffre, 40, has danced with the San Francisco Ballet for the last sixteen years. With her extraordinary technique, grace and enviable work ethic, she helped transform the company from a regional favorite to an international standard under Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson. She recently bought a fixer-upper in Ingleside with her boyfriend, Benjamin Pierce, a former dancer with the company. At the start of her summer break, she generously sat down with ESF and not only opened her fridge doors, but shared a warming cup of ban-cha tea on a rainy morning to talk about how she savors the city’s gustatory offerings. ESF: So what’s in your refrigerator? MM: It’s basically just vegetables. There’s nothing in the freezer; Ben uses it for his ice cream. We keep on hand what I’ll need to make a sandwich for lunch, and a little more for dinner. These condiments, the Worcestershire, the mayonnaise, the wasabi, those are all Ben’s. I might use the roasted peppers or the mustard. The apple sauce is mine. As you can see, it’s all organic. ESF: Are you a vegetarian? MM: I’ve been on a macrobiotic diet for the past seventeen years, but I’ve recently started opening up my diet. I’m very into the sharing and conviviality of cooking—we have a lot of friends who are wonderful cooks—and I think it’s more important to share than to maintain any particular diet. Lately, especially since living with Ben, I’ve been eating more dairy, and more chicken and fish. But I still eat seasonally. I never eat tomatoes in winter. I won’t put sauerkraut on my sandwich in winter, I’ll put pickles instead. ESF: Where do you shop? MM: I usually shop at Rainbow Grocery. It’s difficult for me to get to the farmers’ markets because I’m usually training in the mornings, and during the season, I’m training all day. I like Rainbow because they use so many local farmers. So I use Rainbow, and as a last resort, Whole Foods. ESF: How often do you go? MM: (laughs) If I’m very focused when I shop, I get enough to last me six days. But oftentimes I have to go twice a week. I’ll get what appeals to me, what smiles to me. But our staples are lettuce, carrots, onions, soy milk, tea, and breads. ESF: I see you have a few kinds of bread; where do you MM: I get them at Rainbow. I love Della Fattoria’s bread; it’s like cake. I also get Acme Bread, and Arizmendi. I like to try them all. I’m very French in that way: bread is sacred. We always have a couple of loaves. ESF: You also have a vegetable garden? MM: We’re planning a lot of renovations, but while we wait, we thought we might as well grow something; it could help us to know the soil. So for my birthday, Ben prepared a square patch. Ben has gardened as much as I have, which is very little. But we have peas, swiss chard, parsley, and some other ESF: Where did you learn to cook? MM: Mostly by watching my mother and my grandmother, and my sister. Through my way of life, I learned a lot that obviously affected how to use salt, and the time you use to cook vegetables, when to sauté, when to boil, and when to steam. I use salt very sparingly. It brings out the yang—if you’re trying to balance the yin and yang, salt yangs it up. I use it more to create balance and to bring something out of the produce than to create a salty taste. I use no, or little to no sugar. If I’m making a dessert, I’ll use some, but only natural, ESF: What do you like to eat for lunch? MM: I usually have a sandwich. I might grate some carrots or radishes, use some lettuces, or sprouts, fresh herbs, a little sauerkraut and oil and vinegar. I’ll put all that on whole wheat bread and eat it for lunch. During the season, I’ll eat lunch quite late, maybe around 4:30, because rehearsal can run till 4 pm. When I get ready for a performance, I’ll eat an energy bar. Then I’ll eat dinner after. ESF: You don’t mind eating so late? MM: I like it; it’s a very European tradition, and a relaxing time. I’ll come home, and if friends have come to the performance, we usually end up eating together. ESF: What do you like to have for dinner? MM: I’ll eat what’s around, depending on what I have in the fridge. For a rice dish, I might sauté an onion, and put some kale and carrots in the pot with the rice. I like to have grains with vegetables. I’ve also been making soups for dinner. I made a cream of parsley root and an escarole salad with some chaource cheese that we had left over. During the season, I like to make soups a lot on Sunday nights. I’m home earlier on Sundays, even with a performance, so I like to spend time cooking. Last night I made a fava bean salad and the swiss chard from the garden. That was a lighter meal, because I’m on break. ESF: Does your diet change during the season, depending on what dances you’re working on? MM: I definitely eat more if I’m dancing. When performing, I’ll eat much more starches and cereals, whole grains, whole wheat pasta. But overall, I’m pretty consistent in what I eat. ESF: Besides the energy bars, do you like to snack during the season as well? MM: I personally don’t. A big part of European education is that you don’t snack. It’s not part of the culture, except for the quatre heure, except for the break in the afternoon. During the weekend, or on my day off, I might have a little quatre heure with Ben. We joke and say it with a really strong American ESF: You’re a nutritionist’s dream. MM: (laughs) I’m pretty well-known in the company for having this excessive, very natural way of life. During rehearsal, I always have a cup of tea in my hand, like Ban-cha tea, or Genmai-cha, Japanese aged green teas, very low in caffeine, very rich in minerals. People think I’m suffering, but for me it’s a joy. It’s so satisfying to cook from scratch, to use fresh produce, to make wholesome food. Even when I retire, I don’t think I’ll change my diet. I might be a little looser as far as how much alcohol I drink. Right now, as an athlete, I don’t like the after-effects. But everything else should stay the same. |
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© 2001 - 2008 Emily Kaiser |
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