Who's Who: Anya Soltero

Name: Anya Soltero 

Age: "On the other side of 40"

Occupation: Operations Specialist with the Institute for Health Policy, Kaiser Permanente; creator of Cooking with Caleb blog

How long have you lived in El Cerrito? My husband and I purchased our home in El Cerrito over seven years ago. We left San Francisco over 10 years ago, after feeling the pull to the East Bay. 

What is your history with El Cerrito and the Bay Area? I'm a San Francisco native. I grew up in the Richmond District and my second home was the San Francisco Jewish Community Center. I went to Lowell High School, then San Francisco State. When I was in middle school, I remember hearing that one of our close friends was moving to El Cerrito. It might as well have been Siberia—I had never heard of this place, and it seemed like another planet to me. We never heard from her again.

What is your opinion of El Cerrito? Living in El Cerrito has been such a quality-of-life upgrade for my husband and I. We're five minutes away from BART, , and a short walk to Memorial Park where we bring our two kids, Sadie, age one, and Caleb, age five. We love taking weekend walks over to Solano Avenue and the Gourmet Ghetto. We're a quick ride from Monterey Market—a food fantasy land for me and my favorite place to shop for ingredients—and are walking distance from several farmer's markets. 

One of the special things I love about our neighborhood is living so close to the cemetery. In two minutes, we're in open space with the most beautiful view of the bay. The headstones are so interesting to read, and we sometimes sit on a memorial bench and just watch the deer graze or stare at the gorgeous Bay view. 

What is your history with cooking? Cooking and eating have always been my top two passions. If you know me well, you know that I constantly have food—or a bad '80s song—on my mind. When I'm eating breakfast, I'm already salivating over a dinner menu.  When I was a kid, my mother and I would come home from an ethnic restaurant in the city, and I would beg her to teach me how to recreate what we had eaten. Some of the first dishes I cooked in our kitchen were tempura, potstickers, wonton soup, sushi, and even escargot. I've taken many classes at the California Culinary Academy, but mostly to strengthen my home-cooking skills. I'm especially crazy about fine cheeses and have fantasies about opening a friendly little wine, cheese, chocolate, and bread shop in El Cerrito one day. Maybe even on Fairmount where we live.

How did you come up with the idea for your blog? Each weekend, my son Caleb and I go on a food adventure either out on the town or in our own kitchen. Just as my mother had raised me in the kitchen, it feels very important to teach my children how to cook their own food, learn about its origins, and be as excited about cooking and eating as I am. If I can affect that, I'll certainly try! We also live in such a culturally diverse and food rich area, it's a shame not to get them excited about what's available to them!  I also have an inner-Rolodex of recipes that I'm just very eager to share with Caleb, then Sadie. 

About six months ago, it occurred to me to begin sharing these experiences with others, as well as recipes, kitchen wisdom that was passed down to me and funny five-year-old anecdotes. I've been very pleased with how well-received my blog has been and that others take pleasure from our experiences. 

What have been your experiences with living in El Cerrito? My experiences living in El Cerrito have been incredibly positive. Almost every time I drive north on Colusa, back to my home, I look out to the bay view, take a deep breath and say, "I love where we live!" 

What are your favorite things to do when you're not blogging or cooking? Spending time with my family and going on adventures around the Bay Area. I also love to garden, dance, create menus and cook delicious meals for friends and family, as well as discover delicious new food things and ethnic restaurants. Life is so good here.