New cookbook celebrates flavors of Harbor Country

The book features food photography by New Buffalo photographer Gabrielle Sukich and includes a “Secret Local Recipes” section with favorites such as Blueberry Mascarpone Crepes from Luisa’s Café and Red Arrow Roadhouse Gumbo.

Navama’s charming writing is chockfull of phrases that reveal she’s fully embraced her Midwesterner status: “I often suffer from the ‘no pumpkin left behind’ mentality,” she writes, and “It turns out apple pie burnout does exist.” Some phrases are more reflective: “Today I’m beyond grateful that life doesn’t always unravel as planned.”

Those who cook from Hungry for Harbor Country will be grateful too, that this once-reluctant Midwesterner took to the kitchen to make Harbor Country her home.           

Q: After growing up in Lake Tahoe and spending a decade in L.A., coming to the Midwest was a big adjustment. Yet it’s clear from Hungry for Harbor Country that you’ve fully embraced life here—you’ll even head outside for a run on a 30-degree day. What role did food play in making Chicago, and later, New Buffalo, feel like home?

A: It played a huge role. To be able to shop at places like Barney’s (New Buffalo), Sawyer Home & Garden Center, and Flagship Specialty Foods & Fish Market (Lakeside, MI)— they don’t have places like that in Tahoe — these places allowed me to cook with abandon and not have to bring food from Chicago. The produce lit my veggie-loving heart on fire; I became obsessed with the farmers. Then to have Berrien County so close with all of its U-pick berry farms—with the quantity and variety, I was in heaven.

Q: You started a gourmet cookie company after college. How did you first get interested in food?

A: I grew up in a foodie family. The Lake Tahoe resort community where we lived was a small town, but the restaurants were pretty great. My parents worked a lot and we went out to eat a lot. I was an only child, and they never had me order off the kids menu. We’d go home from restaurants and try to recreate our meals, which is how I learned to cook without recipes. In high school I started baking a ton and would sell to other kids. I was always cooking and baking for friends.

Q: What is your go-to winter meal?

A: I love really heart-warming vegetable roasts, where the vegetables are the star. Some nights we’ll add a protein, some not. Squash is a winter staple—it’s so warming and there are so many different ways you can prepare it. In winter I like hearty food with lots of nutrients. Winter can be depressing, and food can make you feel really comforted without feeling heavy. I like to take a recipe and “flirt” with different options, using the recipe as a guide. For example, I made a version of the acorn squash recipe from my book (Roasted Acorn Squash Bowls with Apple Bacon Pistachio Stuffing) with celery root and fennel chicken sausage. Because my cooking style lends itself to always “flirting” with new foods, flavor combos and recipes, I don’t often make the same thing more than once or twice.

Q: Is there a recipe in the book that you consider a signature recipe?

A: The key lime cookie recipe. I was known as the “cookie queen” in high school and college. That recipe is one that I have always loved because it combines tart citrus, vanilla and butter!

Q: Your husband, David, has gluten and cow’s milk allergies. Rather than letting them hamper your cooking life, you seem to have embraced it.

A: In the beginning there were almost no gluten- and dairy-free products on the market, so I had a cooking dry spell. As more products became available, it became easier. When people come to my house, I always cook gluten and cow-dairy free and no one knows. I give gluten and dairy-free options in all of my recipes, but I also make sure they can be made with regular dairy and flour.

Hungry for Harbor Country, which Navama self-published, can be purchased at Sawyer Garden Center, Infusco Coffee Roasters (Sawyer), Whistle Stop Grocery (Union Pier), Susan Fredman Design (Union Pier), the Peasant’s Pantry (Sawyer), Luisa's Cafe (Harbert), Flagship Specialty Foods (Lakeside), Marina Grand Resort (New Buffalo), Red Arrow Roadhouse (Union Pier), Lake Interiors (Lakeside), and Customs Imports (New Buffalo). To read more of Navama’s writing and recipes, visit her blog at foodflirt.com.