The Washington Post’s Peeps Show/Contest has become one of my favorite spring traditions. And this year is no exception in terms of creativity and talent. I never thought Peeps were food in the first place. Always left them in my Easter basket. My favorites were the chocolate anything and the colored eggs. This year the winning Peeps diorama went to an Arlington pair (girlfriend and boyfriend) for their rendition of the 2009 animated film “Up.” Check out the full story on the Washington Post.com.
My “Copyright Criminals” screening community partners The Future of Music Coalition and Words Beats & Life Inc. have teamed up to present “If I Ruled the Blogesphere” Saturday, April 3 from 4 to 7 PM at Busboys and Poets (2021 14th Street, NW). The event will feature prominent hip-hop bloggers in a dynamic conversation about how artists are gaining traction online, the impact of technology on music promotion and how bloggers and artists can raise awareness about important issues in the hip-hop community and beyond. It’s free for WBL Cipher members; $10 for non-members. Register or get more information here.
And the “Copyright Criminals” documentary now has a “Classroom” version available for FREE from ITVS. Check it out here. TREME premieres on HBO April 11th
Unfortunately, I don’t have HBO. I’m not crying about most of the other offerings on cable. But I’ll have to be patient, or depend on the kindness of Undercover Black Man and his colleagues on the team for the new David Simon series “Treme” which premieres in April. Great write up in The New York Times Magazine March 21st. I cringe thinking HBO programming executives had to be sold on Mardi Gras Indians with the woo-woo-woo thing. (sigh!) But buzz is generating. “Treme” is a new drama set three months after Katrina in a community just outside New Orleans proper, primarily populated by musicians.
Next FOOD & FOLKLORE – April 19 at Eatonville Restaurant – “Sophisticated Ladies and Food of the Harlem Renaissance”
I believe I’m introducing A’Lelia Bundles Monday, April 19th at 6:30 PM for Food and Folklore at Eatonville Restaurant (2121 14th Street, NW). A’Lelia is the great-great grand daughter of the pioneering hair care entrepreneur and African American millionaire Madame C.J. Walker; and the great grand daughter and namesake of A’Lelia Walker, a socialite, hostess and “It Girl” of the Harlem Renaissance. (Zora Neale Hurston was one of A’Lelia Walker’s artistic guests and admirers.)
The theme for the Food and Folklore event is food and parties of the Renaissance and a nod to the Arena Stage production of “Sophisticated Ladies” starring and choreographed by Maurice Hines opening April 9 (two tickets will be given away as a doorprize). The cost is $45 (plus tax and gratuity). The price includes a prix fixe 4 course “rent party” menu served “family style” and thematic drink specials. Reservations required. Call 202-332-6432 or email foodandfolklore[at]eatonvillerestaurant.com for more information. Don’t you just love the graphic by Michael Chan?
[click twice on video above]
Three years ago I had my first Mardi Gras experience — in New Orleans. It was part of my “Church Lady Cakes” project. Johari Roshad and I went to New Orleans with a suit case of pound cakes for her friends. It was not so much the shock and awe that took me by surprise. Personally, I ignored that. I was actually noting all the families out and about watching the parades. Personally I think it’s tourists who are the exhibitionists.
This video is from Fat Tuesday in downtown New Orleans where Johari and I set out in the AM to see the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club march. Now, before everybody jumps on the PC bandwagon (reminder, the term “PC” was at one time a joke among liberals for being toooo culturally sensitive), let the Zulu’s, an African American krewe, tell their own story and meaning or history of the black face they continue to wear today in the parades. As Leah Chase reminded me about New Orleans “This is something else.” It’s not the south that I’m accustomed to. Zulu coconuts are the most prized possessions. I have two thanks to the kindness of strangers who brought them to me.
After that experience, I made a goal for myself that I’d try to see at least 5 major Carnivals or Mardi Gras celebrations around the world. Here are some potential candidates: Venice, Italy Brazil (reports say Rio is toning things down to tidy up for the Olympic Games in 2016) Mobile, AL (claims to be the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the US) Bahamas (Junkanoo) Jamaica (Bacchanal) Haiti (called off this year, but like New Orleans in 2007, they’ll be back someday) Nice, France Ponce, Puerto Rico
Other suggestions?
Reminder, Carnival begins on the 12th Night, Epiphany, or 3 Kings Day (after Christmas) and comes to a climax on Fat Tuesday. At midnite the Christian Lent season begins. Fat Tuesday is the final day to indulge in the pleasures of the material world before Ash Wednesday when fasting and abstinence (it’s your choice) begins until Easter Sunday. And then it starts all over again the next year. Indulge, repent, indulge, repent.
New Orleans Saints 31; Indianapolis Colts 17. Super Bowl XLIV (2010)
Amid all the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras madness, there seems to be one story that didn’t get as much attention outside New Orleans: The Mayoral election on Saturday. Yes, Nagin is out (term over) and Mitch Landrieu is in receiving over 60% of the vote. More attention has been paid to the shift in hue of the mayor than the shift in direction of the electorate, i.e. just saying “chocolate city” isn’t cutting it with NOLA’s African American voters – at least the ones who stayed. Take a cue from the Janet Jackson hit – “What have you done for me lately?” So “Who dat” Mitch Landrieu? Undercoverblackman has a hat tip. He’s the son of New Orleans last white mayor (since 1978), Moon Landrieu who integrated city hall. Mitch Landrieu will be sworn in May 6. People forget, New Orleans politics is just as fascinating as its party culture.
Here’s Michel Martin’s report on today’s “Tell Me More.”
This is one year I wish I was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. The city’s already pumped about the Saints being in the Super Bowl. And as UndercoverBlackman told me “The city really needs this.”
But I’m working Fat Tuesday on another Mardi Gras celebration at Eatonville Restaurant for Food and Folklore. I asked John Franklin from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and a culinary griot in his own right (someone I just love to hear talk), to be our guide through the foods of the Americas that somehow found their way on the Mardi Gras supper table; that’s where Nona Martin takes over, a native of New Orleans and also a member of the Smithsonian team (like John) at the American Art Museum. She’s going to give the real deal about the Mardi Gras meal. And of course there will be food and Hurricanes to drink. Mardi Gras attire encouraged.
I’ll update this post with the final menu. Price still $45 (plus tax and tip) and includes a 4-course prix fixed themed menu. Reservations required. Email foodandfolklore@gmail.com or call 202-332-3264 (ask for Michael C.)
How ’bout this graphic? That’s Zora Neale Hurston. She wears the mask.
As promised (to myself), I completed a clip to promote my documentary foodie project “The Church Lady Cake Diaries.” Let me set this up. This clip features Johari Rashad. By day she’s a federal government employee (not appointed) and professional development trainer. On Saturdays she attends the Capitol Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church where she’s an active member. I’ve been chomping on Johari’s pound cakes for years. In the clip, she’s making a batch to take to her friends in New Orleans during Mardi Gras (I went with her). It was Johari’s first trip back to the crescent city since before Katrina. It was my first trip to NOLA ever! There’s more to the story. But press play.
Two weeks ago, I had my first day doing lunch prep in my church kitchen, All Souls Unitarian. I came away with red finger tips after julienning (is that a word?) fresh red bell peppers all morning. I’m like my aunts on my father’s side; I don’t do crowd cooking so well, but I can manage dinner for 4. Perhaps I’ll learn something from the “kitchen ministry.” Afterall, if I’m going to do the Church Lady Cake project, better practice what I preach.
BTW I did bake a coconut cake from scratch last month. Haven’t made a layer cake in years. I found the cake recipe on the Epicurious recipe site. It’s the Shubox Cafe of Cedar Grove, NJ coconut layer cake. The liquids are Coco Lopez cream of coconut (your pina colada ingredient) and buttermilk. I don’t use the traditional egg white icing; I use a buttercream. Unsweetened crushed pineapple in the center. It was yum!
NYC SCHOOLS RESTRICT STUDENT RUN BAKE SALES – Are cupcakes the new crack?
The “wellness” policy is in the name of what’s best for “the children” and addressing childhood obesity. Personally, I’ve never seen anyone pig out at a bake sale especially when the goods are home baked from scratch — that should always be the criteria IMO. Piggies at the convenience store? Yes. At fast food joints? Yes. At family picnics and Thanksgiving? Yes. Yes.
The NYC Board of Education issued a 3-page memo in June outlining the new policy. Basically, there’s only one student bake sale per month and not during school hours. The exceptions are parent groups and PTAs, only if baked goods are sold after the lunch hour. There’s a cultural piece in this that is triggering a negative reaction to the policy. There’s probably a business piece, i.e. who’s getting the contracts to be a preferred vendor. I’ve said, putting down people’s food is like talking about their momma. Will bake sales become a Libertarian cause? The New York Times editors were sweet on eclectique916’s comment [“Editors’ Selections“] #61 to their article:
eclectique916
DC
October 3rd, 200910:34 am
It’s highly probable that students will buy less if they pay $2 – $3 for a cupcake at a fundraiser bakesale, than buy more and pay less for convenience foods (at the sports games after school for example) which are the real culprits for childhood obesity in addition to lack of exercise and parental supervision over food available at home. We had bake sales. Our parents and other family members made cakes and cookies for special occasions such as holidays and birthdays. We were rationed servings. Guess what? I’m not over weight, and I don’t suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure. In other words, I had loving, caring and wise adults around me.
Food stuff is a delicate balance.
Byron Hurt and I are due for a chat about his new doc project SOUL FOOD JUNKIES. It’s about the good, the bad, the ugly, and tasty bits of those BBQ ribs, greens, beans, chicken, mac and cheese, comfort foods known in the urban African American community as “soul food.” Soul Food’s grand mother is southern cooking. I guess the soul is a reincarnation from the great migrations. For some people, soul food is all they eat, all they know. Byron seems to want these folks to step away from the table for a second and assess the damage. I sent Byron the CHURCH LADY CAKE clip after seeing his SOUL FOOD JUNKIES clip. It’ll be an interesting conversation. Byron is accepting donations to complete SOUL FOOD JUNKIES. Visit his website www.bhurt.com for more information.
Bryant Terry’s VEGAN SOUL KITCHEN: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African American Cuisine
You’ll see Bryant in Byron’s clip. But during my little window of opportunity at the end of summer when I had time to cook, I checked out a few recipes in Bryant’s cookbook at the recommendation of public health nutritionist and vegan Tracye McQuirter of byanygreensnecessary. Bryant definitely appeals to my need for flavor. I’ve tried other vegetarian and vegan recipes and left the table feeling okay, healthy but not satisfied. Bryant knows the value of appealing to all the senses. Any chef who isn’t afraid of cayenne pepper is a chef after my own heart. Each recipe comes with a recommended soundtrack. So far I’m sold on his Red Beans and Brown Rice with Red Wine-Simmered Seiten. The soundtrack for this dish is “Beans and Cornbread” by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five. I didn’t have that in my stash, so I turned on Queen Ida’s Zydeco. Bryant Terry is a star in the organic food justice orbit. He’s based in Oakland, CA.
AU REVOIR GOURMET MAGAZINE Conde Nast puts GOURMET MAGAZINE on the chopping block or board
I was shocked! Or should I be? Being that I’m a home cook, GOURMET was the magazine I turned to as an aspirational resource. I may have made 3 recipes from the magazine – and I had a subscription. Not all of their recipes quite hit the mark especially for the novice cook. I always had to work with them a bit. But the photos and the articles were phenomenal.
GOURMET and several other magazines including COOKIE and two bridal magazines were discontinued as a result of an assessment by the McKinsey consulting firm hired by Conde Nast to evaluate the financial health of the corporation and its publications.
Granted, in the early days GOURMET’s writers and readers were privileged foodies. The magazine was founded before the US entered World War II. If these foodies couldn’t get the food at home; they were willing to get it abroad. Good food and flavors were best experienced in their native land.
I noticed in the last couple of years GOURMET focusing on what regular folk in these destinations ate on a daily basis or for special holidays — there was street food (last issue) and comfort food. I remember an issue dedciated to food featured on comedy and dramatic TV shows. It included a recipe for Alice’s “Pork cheeops N Apple Sauze” (“The Brady Bunch”). I still have that issue. Road food was added to the mix and the 10 minute gourmet.
Editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl took the magazine in a direction that made all food and the people who make it special and phenomenal. She’s cleaned out her office and is on a book tour for the cookbook Gourmet Today. Reichl appears to be finishing out the season with the GOURMET brand. She plans to write a book about her experiences. I’m sure it’ll be well received by today’s foodies. Her new 10-part television series “Gourmet’s Adventures with Ruth” will premiere this month on PBS stations. “Diary of a Foodie” was GOURMET’s first television venture.Sunday, I bought the recent copy of GOURMET (October). November will be the last issue (updated info.). Today I browsed the same food magazine rack at Borders. GOURMET was nowhere to be found. Perhaps there will be life after “good living” for GOURMET in the digital world.