"I'm always running late," he said from inside his self-made whirlwind of activity. "I'm two quarts in a one-quart jar."

As students began trickling into the New Leaf classroom, it seemed improbable that even half of Schultz's planned menu -- dishes of chicken, calamari, lamb, swordfish, pilaf, two kinds of bread, three relishes, a Middle Eastern pizza, doughnuts and ice cream -- could be cooked and enjoyed in a mere three hours. But with the help of Kim Deer, his Gal Friday for the past five years, and almost four decades of cooking experience under his wide leather belt, Joe Schultz -- aka India Joze -- brought the evening off nimbly, handily belying the fact that he turns 60 next March.

"My meals are like growing a garden," Schultz said about his cuisine based on esoteric ingredients, cultural traditions and local tastes. "I plant a lot of seeds and something always comes up."

A fixture on the local food scene since opening his wildly popular restaurant India Joze in 1972, Schultz has spent a lifetime educating Santa Cruz tastebuds at formal venues like UC Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College and New Leaf as well as serving as host for wild banquets and feasts.

Nudge most longtime residents for stories, and you'll likely get a synopsis of the 17-year Calamari Festival, the nine-year ChickPea Festival, the five-year Mushroom Festival, or of individual feasts he's created for nonprofits like New Music Works and Shakespeare Santa Cruz.

Locals who mourned the restaurant's closing in 1999 will be glad to know that, come May, a new India Joze -- a little cheaper and a bit more casual -- will be opening on Front Street in downtown Santa Cruz.

A small space with room to borrow for larger occasions, the new India Joze has already attracted a coterie of local investors eager to resuscitate the restaurant as a community resource.

Until opening night, Schultz will keep busy writing his new cookbook, selling high-end cooking implements and giving advice to wannabe chefs on how to cook without recipes.

"It's all about understanding functional cuisine," he said as he made his own tahini and stirred a quick chicken stock: "If you know the building blocks -- how proteins, oil and acids work -- it's easy to modify a recipe to the ingredients on hand."

To demonstrate, Schultz added fizzy water to a fritter beer batter dough to thin it, used hazelnuts instead of walnuts for a sauce and squeezed frozen lemon juice into a dish instead of red wine vinegar.

As his well-fed students sidled out, Schultz and Deer eyed the dirty dishes facing them with equanimity, knowing that soon, they'll have their own space to spread out in.

Cerkes Tavagu Turkish Chicken Salad
1½ lbs. chicken
1½ med. carrot
1½ stalks celery
1½ med. onion
1½ qts. chicken stock
1½ Tbsps. lemon juice
6 ozs. walnuts -- as needed
1½ Tbsps. garlic
3 pieces pita bread
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 tsp. paprika
3/4 head romaine lettuce
1. Cook chicken in stock with vegetables. Bone chicken and dice meat. Grind walnuts with splash of stock and bread. Adjust seasoning. Mix some sauce with some of the chicken, place on lettuce, spread remainder of pieces on top. Garnish with paprika and olive oil.

Tzatziki Çacik
1 pint yogurt, can use kefir cheese
1 cucumber, diced
1½ tsps. garlic for Tzatziki
¼ tsp. salt
3 dashes black pepper
1/8 bunch fresh dill
3/8 oz. walnuts, toasted
Drain yogurt or kefir briefly, if desired. Fold in other ingredients. Can be garnished with chopped walnuts.
Cacik can also be thinned and iced for a cold soup.
NOTES : Greek Tzatziki uses more garlic, Turkish Cacik more dill. For Greek style thick yogurt, hang yogurt in muslin a couple hours. This is a great side dish for many cuisines.
Güveç
4 Tbsps. olive oil
1 Tbsp. garlic minced or paste
1 onion
1 lb. green beans
2 zucchini
2 red and green bell peppers
1 butternut squash
1 head cauliflower
1 eggplant
½ can tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
½ cup water as needed
1. Prep veggies so they will cook in same time. Wok onion and garlic in olive oil, then add vegetables. Add tomato paste, water, salt and pepper and continue wokking until done. Adjust seasoning with tomato or lemon.

SCHULTZ
takeouts
Though he's easily sidetracked by interesting conversation, Joe Schultz can, on occasion, cook, chat and teach all at the same time. When such a thing occurs, you'd better be paying close attention because he won't be repeating it. Such has been the case during 'A Wok on the Wild Side,' his cooking series at New Leaf. And February's installment on Greco-Turkish cuisine was no different, as you can tell by the following outtakes -- er, takeouts -- from the class.
'Risen bread is part of the emancipation story of women.'

'Salt is the most important of all spices: it helps keep you alive, tastes good, strengthens bread gluten polymer chains and makes desserts taste sweeter.'

'Feta cheeses are not interchangeable: smooth fetas will melt, but not grainy ones.'

'A pizza stone in the oven keeps the temperature even -- even in a convection oven.'

'Chicken is an efficient way of turning grain into protein.'

'To remove grit, wash greens in still water, not under running water.'

'Japanese call the fifth taste umami. We know it as MSG, monosodium glutamate. While some shake it liberally onto food, Turks get it from tomato paste, fermented cheeses and anchovies, and babies find it in their mothers' milk.'

'Your hands learn how to cook, not your mind."

IF YOU GO
India Joze, reconstituted
Where: 418 Front St.,
Santa Cruz
When: May 1
Memberships: For $1,000, investors receive $1,200 worth of meals, services, products or classes.
DETAILS: Contact Joe at www.indiajoze.com or via Facebook to become a member or get on his e-mail list.
Upcoming class at New Leaf
What: 'A Wok on the Wild Side: Persian Cuisine,' with Chef Jozseph Schultz.
When: 5-8 p.m. March 23
Where: New Leaf classroom, 1101 Fair Ave., Santa Cruz
Cost: $59
Details: Sign up online at www.newleaf.com or call 426-1306.
 

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