10 Questions with ... Fatimah Ali

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

My journalism career began in radio in 1981 in my hometown of Philadelphia, at heritage station WDAS-A/F. For more than two decades I've reported and anchored news and talk radio in several major markets, including New York, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. I anchored news for New York's 1010 WINS and WBLS/WLIB, and at Philadelphia stations Power 99 FM and former Talker 1340AM WHAT, where I hosted a program called The Real Deal. As radio jobs began disappearing, I evolved my career into print and write op-ed columns for the Philadelphia Daily News, where I'm also an associate member of the editorial board.

My passion is cooking, so I also blog about food at healthysoutherncomforts.com for the We Are Black Women blog site. I cater under the same banner -- Healthy Southern Comforts, which targets clients who want southern-inspired, but healthy food. I offer recipes that remove the fat and high cholesterol out of my grandmother's southern soulful recipes and transform them into delicious treasures. I recently served Cedric "The Entertainer" and his crew at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.

1) What do you do to maintain a positive mental attitude and stay motivated?

My family keeps me motivated to stay positive and to pursue new endeavors. With five children and two grands, there's no time for negativity, and I pray, write, read, network, and create new recipes for my blog, healthysoutherncomforts.com.

2) How are you occupying your time, besides looking for a job?

I'm constantly working on my columns: one for the Philadelphia Daily News, and one for my food blog; I am working on my "brand," and on several book projects, while I continue searching for that next full-time gig, be it contract writing or in radio, TV, print or PR. Meanwhile, I'm creating my own enterprises, which include podcasts and catering, and I recently cooked for Cedric "The Entertainer"at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.

3) Some people get discouraged or enlightened with the business when they actually step out of it for a while. Tell us your observations from the outside.

While I miss the steady full-time paychecks, I appreciate not always being exhausted from getting up at 3a to anchor morning-drive news and missing sending my kids off to school. Many of my friends from radio also lost their jobs and have re-invented themselves as multi-talented entrepreneurs.

4) What is the next job you'd like to obtain?

I would love to program, produce and host a magazine/news format talk show or public access TV station, dedicated to teaching people how to make positive lifestyle changes in cooking, family, relationships and health.

5) What has been your biggest career accomplishment?

Being the News Director and morning-drive news anchor at Philadelphia heritage station WDAS.

6) Is there anything specific that you regret doing while you were still working?

Leaving the comfort and familiarity of the heritage station that I grew up listening to so I could work in what appeared to be a better anchor job in a strange city.

7) If you were offered a similar position to what you were doing for considerably less money, would you seriously consider taking the job just to stay in the biz?

I was offered an anchor position at an all-News station in the neighboring market for far less money than I had made as an intern 20 years ago. Today, since there is so little local presence on the air, I'd take it in a heartbeat to supplement my other jobs.

8) Having been through all you have dealt with in this biz, what advice would you give people trying to break in?

Build your personal brand and learn every aspect of the business, i.e.: how to do everything and how to multi-task. Always build your own enterprise on the side and network, network, network! Also, stay well informed about everything that's going on in the world, whether you're in news or an on-air personality.

9) How will this experience change you when you get back to work?

I've always been a mentor and will do even more for young people who are just entering the business. The one thing I've learned is that you should always keep up your own endeavors because radio jobs are very tenuous.

10) Where do you see yourself in five years ... 10 years?

In addition to utilizing my pipes on the radio again, I'll be a successfully published author and voiceover artist, with a highly profitable podcast and blog enterprise and a top-notch catering business with a celebrity clientele.

Care to contribute a low-cost recipe to our "ON THE BEACH" cookbook?

Teriyaki Stuffed Salmon -serves 5-7 people depending on side dishes

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

INGREDIENTS

2 lb. whole piece of fresh salmon
2 tbs virgin olive oil
No-stick spray vegetable coating
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 cup of prepared stuffing (from scratch is best, but boxed will do)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
sprigs of fresh parsley for garnish
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
1 dash of finely ground sea salt
1/3 cup of thick prepared teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp tamari sauce
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
3 tbsp. spring water

DIRECTIONS

Have the butcher cut a neat pocket in the middle of the salmon.

Wash salmon and pat dry. Place in a baking or roasting dish coated with vegetable spray. Dish should be large enough to lay the salmon flat.

Finely chop parsley and cilantro, and mix together with sea salt and lemon pepper and stuffing. In a separate dish, whisk together garlic, soy sauce and lemon juice and set aside.

Prepare stuffing and mix with fresh herbs and seasonings, plus one cup of bread stuffing either boxed or your own. Stuff into salmon, placing the remaining stuffing around the edges of the pan.

Brush a thin glaze of teriyaki sauce on the salmon and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk remaining teriyaki glaze with soy sauce. Brush half of this mixture onto fish.

Sprinkle water on bottom of pan around, but not on top of, the fish.

Cover with foil and continue baking for about 10-15 more minutes until fish flakes apart but is still moist (some people prefer their salmon rare but we like ours well done).

Drizzle with remaining sauce and garnish with sprigs of parsley.