If you are on Twitter, there’s a very good chance that you know Felisha Wild, @cheffelisha. That’s where I met her too. She was one of the first to make me feel welcome and one of the first people who went out of her way to let me know she wanted to be my friend. With the anonymity of the net and the hundreds of thousands of people you meet online every year, few people stand out in the same way.
Felisha is a chef and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her partner, 2 dogs and five children between them who are in and out of the house. Felisha cooks for everyone even if they aren’t vegan or vegetarian but that’s about all you’ll find on her website at Our Daily Salt.
She’s also feisty. Last year she did a post on ending food pornography (sacrilege to many) saying that pretty pictures and overly complex recipes are suitable for people to wank off to. I laughed but I also understood where she was coming from. She believes strongly that we should look toward the delicious beauty and simplicity of fresh ingredients. She warns of over-styling the dishes we create as we’re giving our readers the impression that their preparation will look that good without painstaking effort.
Speaking of feisty – know anyone who decided one day that she really wanted a new kitchen so she could play with food? We all know someone like that – I’d love a new kitchen. Know anyone who’s remodeled their kitchen from top to bottom all by themselves? We’re talking rip the entire kitchen out, including the floor, wiring, cabinets and appliances and then build it all back step by step? That’s what Felisha’s online friends watched her do last year. She made 16 video updates of her kitchen transformation.
Once Felisha finished the kitchen, she had a bit of wood left over so decided to make a cutting board from the leftovers. It looked so good and she enjoyed making it so much that she decided to sell them through her blog. To let everyone know, she ran a contest and had quite a few entries. @Nelly22 from Cooking With Books won the cutting board.
I didn’t win so I decided to buy one and have it shipped all the way to Australia. I know, I’m probably nuts but I really wanted one because I knew that it would be the most beautifully made cutting board I could buy.
I was very pleased with both the quality and the service. It seemed like she started building my cutting board within 24 hours of receiving my payment and within a week or two I had it in my hot little hands.
All her cutting boards come with information about the board as well as instructions on how to keep a cutting board in top shape so it will last for years. Whenever John comes to the kitchen to fix a sandwich he always uses this board. I asked him one day why did didn’t use one of the other boards and he said this one was really sturdy.
“It’s a man’s board,” he said. I’m not quite sure how a cutting board can be manly but hey, it was a sandwich I didn’t have to fix.
If you would like to check out Felisha’s handmade cutting boards, she’d love to see you. She’s very proud of them and well she should be too!
When she’s not making cutting boards, working in her garden, cooking for other people or enjoying the company of her partner, she also has other things to sell like a wrought iron pot rack, caldelabra and a nifty bottle opener amongst other things. Each piece is made to order by master blacksmith Kent Knapp.
Doesn’t that opener look snappy? I might have to get one of those one day soon.
If you happen to view Felisha’s videos you might happen to see her gorgeous golden-doodle, Reina. She’s only a couple of years old but I think she’s just gorgeous.
I have an “oodle” too named Charlie and think a poodle cross is just the best dog you can get. Felisha even has a couple of recipes for dog food on her site.
Felisha has many vegan and vegetarian recipes on Our Daily Salt. One of my favorites is her Easy Peasy Beautiful Peanut Butter Cookies which is a vegan recipe. You might also want to check out her Lemongrass Cupcakes with Ginger Frosting. I think they sound wonderful but I haven’t made them yet. Those cupcakes are on my wishlist though.
Felisha has a sweet tooth and you will see a lot of desserts on her blog. That makes me very happy because I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas. I have to be careful because I’ll have an ass the same size!
The recipe she’s sharing with us today is her Gingerbread cookies. These aren’t hard but pillowy soft and bursting with flavor. I know this because it’s written in her recipe. She says we’ll love them and one peek at the recipe and I tend to agree with her.
- 1 cup earth balance ( or margarine )
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Bob’s Red Mill Egg replacer + 3 Tablespoons of water ( or one egg )
- 1 cup molasses
- ⅓ cup hot water
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- This dough should be chilled prior to rolling, cutting and baking
- Place cloves in hot water and set aside
- Cream earth balance and sugar
- Beat the Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer and 3 tablespoons of water together ( or use an egg if you’re not vegan )
- Add the beaten egg replacer to the creamed sugar and beat together
- Add molasses and beat together
- Strain cloves from water and keep the water, discard cloves
- Add clove water to and beat together ( The dough will look like it’s breaking don’t worry )
- Set 4 cups of flour aside then add the rest of the ingredients and beat together
- Gradually mix in the 4 cups of flour
- Chill dough
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit
- Roll dough out to approximately ½ inch thick
- Cut into your favorite shapes
- Place carefully on parchment paper lined cookie sheets
- Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes
- The cookies will still be firm but spongy when they are finished.
- The size of your cookie cutter will determine how many cookies you get from a batch.
- Let them cool down and break out the decorations and let your imagination run wild.
- Eat Liberally
Follow Chef Felisha on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Its lovely to see and know more about Chef Felisha! I met her on twitter too!
The gingerbread recipe sounds great. Love the way she presented it!
Baker Street recently posted..Bundt 101: How to remove bundt cakes from a pan
Totally agree with Felisha about simplicity in cooking and using fresh ingredients.
Regarding cutting boards, We too have three different types for each one of us. Have to check on Felisha’s hand made boards.
Love this feature … heading to check out her site now
CJ at Food Stories recently posted..Lovely Avocado Cucumber Soup
Good morning Maureen,
Thank you so much for your wonderful article. I like being classified as feisty. LOL I’m so happy that I met you and also all of the wonderful people online as well. I’m also relieved that the cutting board is getting used and enjoyed by you and your husband. To make something that people enjoy using in their daily lives is one of my greatest joys.
Have an amazing weekend dear, and thank you so much!!
Hugs,
Chef Felisha Wild
I’m not one bit surprised at all these lovely comments, Felisha. You inspire a lot of people in your quietly, confident way.
I love Felisha so much, and I’m so happy you profiled her. I firmly believe everyone should know her! I also really appreciate your Food Writer Friday series–you do a great job and introduce us all to people we just Need To Know!
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Great post, and always fun to discover a new blogger. I think I definitely need one of Felisha’s gorgeous bottle openers! Also wanted to say I am an “oodle” owner too-as in LABRADoodle~Aren’t oodles the best?!
Nice to see a Chef I know and admire. Felisha was also very generous and kind to me when I first came to Twitter. She has a huge legacy.
I now know why this blog is called The Orgasmic Chef. I let out a Sally met Harry moan when I saw that chopping board! Thanks for introducing us, I’m going to follow Felisha on twitter right now, and heading over to check out her website as well.. x
I couldn’t agree more with the food pornography part…..I am experiencing the pain first hand. Some of the best dishes look pretty bad when photographed, and that breaks my heart.
Can’t wait to check her site out.
You did it, again, Maureen. I missed your Food Writer Friday last week, but this more than makes up for it
Minnie@thelady8home recently posted..Matar Pulao magic (Peas Pilaf)
Lovely post Maureen! Chef Felisha was one of the first to welcome me to Twitter as well. I loved watching her kitchen transform last year!
It is very nice to hear of Chef Felisha – she sounds so down to Earth and talented
Thank you Maureen!
Cheers
CCU
Choc Chip Uru recently posted..Here’s S’more Irony
Obviously I’m not on twitter enough – Nice to meet you Chef Felisha! Wow, that cutting board is absolutely beautiful! I also saw gorgeous pot and wine wrack and I’m very impressed! Thanks for introducing another amazing blogger, Maureen!
Love how Felisha’s is so down to earth, agree that we should look toward the delicious beauty and simplicity of fresh ingredients and avoid over-styling the dishes we create. I do not have twitter so cannot follow Felisha, sad.
Thanks for the introduction to Chef Felisha – beautiful cutting board and I love the cute gingerbread cookies!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) recently posted..fresh berry cupcakes
She’s a chef, a blogger, has five kids and makes chopping boards? I feel like an under-achiever. How does she fit all of that in? That chopping board really does look sturdy but also it’s a very attractive board. I might have to order one myself. Great write-up Maureen xx
Great chef spotlight post!
The cutting boards are beautiful! It is so fun to see the kitchen transformation. I went through one a few years ago and know how life altering it can be!
She sounds like great fun! Although I must admit I’m all for food porn although I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually w***ks off to it-eek! Love these posts Maureen and how you do what you do
My jaws just dropped when I saw this picture.
My gosh! I think I have a cutting board that looks exactly the same that I bought from an Op Shop! It’s a huge and very sturdy board and very very useful.
Felisha sounds lovely, and I do agree with her saying that dishes are getting overly complicated and styled. I’m starting to fall into that category too unfortunately, although I do try to use fresh and beautiful ingredients in the dishes. 
Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake recently posted..Grilled chicken tacos with green tomato salsa
That cutting board is gorgeous, she did a wonderful job!
such a beautiful cutting board! thanks for introducing us to chef felisha, can’t wait to check out her stuff!
Thanks for the introduction Maureen – I’m off right now to follow on Twitter.
I love what she says about food porn. Maybe the simple approach appeals to me because I’m lazy, but I prefer to let the ingredients in my food do the speaking, not a fancy display.
This is the first I’ve seen of Felisha! Great introduction to a badass blogger! She’s like superman. She can do anything
That kitchen is super flash
Thank you, Maureen, for introducing to us Chef Felisha. I visited her blog, and she has some interesting information there to be read through. I love the kitchen: spacious and bright, my type of kitchen.
The chopping boards are gorgeous… Love them. Nice to meet you Chef Felisha:)
What a great interview! And that cutting board is gorgeous. The last thing I need is another cutting board, but that’s so pretty – and reasonably priced, too. Another winner this week – thanks.
What a creative person Felisha is! I love people who don’t just have ideas, but also the energy and will to see them through. Many businesses are started around the kitchen table but not too many, I imagine, come from a bit of leftover work surface. Lovely guest post and cute gingerbread men – I used to love making these as a youngster.
Maybe Chef Felisha will come out of her shell soon! I love her honesty. Thank you for introducing me to someone I definitely will follow now!
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This was so cool to read. I love how versatile Chef Felisha is. My kind of gal. I am in love with the cutting board. Like stalker love. She does gorgeous work.
Yes, I know Chef Felisha from twitter but I am ashamed to say I’ve not visited her blog in a while. Your interview will have me dashing there now! What a fascinating and thoughtful person. I love her food philosophy and I totally agree with her. And how cool are her cutting boards? Thanks for sharing another great chef and blogger with us, Maureen!