Grace, It’s Generational

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Judy

Tradition and history strengthen the resolve in the face of impending loss.  A good recipe for black-eyed peas helps, too. 

Grace, a new musical playing until May 14 at Ford’s Theatre, celebrates the multi-generational culinary tradition of a long-established restaurant and catering business run by the black Minton family in Philadelphia.  With daughter Ruthie in danger of losing the restaurant as the customer base vanishes through neighborhood gentrification, the family must pull together to save it, or let it be a casualty of “The Wave of Change,” as the song describes.

At first, bowed by the recent loss of the family matriarch, the two generations gathered for the funeral are obsessed with their own issues.  One brother pushes for selling the place.  He even claims to have a “guy” interested in buying it.  Others support carrying on with the century-old Minton family business, but can’t quite come around to helping Ruthie out with the critical loan payment that is just about to come due.

There’s a cast of twelve mostly outstanding voices, Virginia Ann Woodruff as Miss Minnie and Nova Y. Payton’s Ruthie strongest among them, both with showstopping solos.  Woodruff’s belting belies her shuffling walk and elderly stoop as she assumes the mantle of eldest family member.  Payton’s finest moment comes about midway through the production; in a longer play (this one is just 90 intermission-less minutes), it would surely serve as the Act One curtain.

The backdrop (designed by Jason Ardizzone-West) almost functions as an additional cast member, displaying a mural of the past generations of Minton’s owners, creatively highlighted as each ancestor is name-checked in “Bogle, Augustin, Prosser, Dorsey, Jones & Minton.”   A history lesson that goes down a treat.

From left: Jarran Muse, Raquel Jennings, Nova Y. Payton, Virginia Ann Woodruff, Rayshun LaMarr, Arica Jackson, David Hughey, and Duawne Starling. Ford’s Theatre presents the world-premiere musical Grace, by acclaimed American composer, Nolan Williams Jr, and directed and choreographed by Robert Barry Fleming.

The variety of musical styles include classical jazz, R&B, soul and traditional spirituals, lending themselves to moods from wistfulness to moments of broad comedy.  “Black-Eyed Peas” is hilarious as a study of one-upmanship through salad recipes.  (Speaking of, I can’t remember ever seeing a recipe as lagniappe printed in a theatrical program, but there it is, courtesy of Carla Hall, no less!)

Another rousing number, “The Gospel Bird (This Chicken Died),” starts out as a testament to that fine dish, fried chicken wings, and climaxes with the entire cast doing the chicken dance. 

I don’t think it will count as a spoiler to recount that Grace ends on a hopeful, if rather rushed, note, embodying its title as the entire family is united in their desire to work toward the continuance of the Minton family tradition and culinary enterprise.  Go see it, and you, too, will feel the urge to praise the chicken who died so that you might live.

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This Year’s Mid-March Madness: Ides, Pi Day, Guinness, Guinness Pie Day

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Judy

Once again, a convergence of events conspire to produce cognitive dissonance and tasty culinaria!

It’s March, and the wonderful folks at Taylor Strategy, on behalf of Guinness, sent me a couple of cans to cook with.  Last year I made Guinness Potato Cheese Soup, but this year I decided to honor Pi Day by making a round baked good with filling and crust.  With Guinness, of course.

I had a package of the head and butt end of a salmon, which Harris Teeter has been offering at a discount after they sell off the fillets to the bourgeoisie.  Perfect for the stock and filling of a Guinness Fish Pie.  I found a recipe on the Irish Country Magazine website credited to Oran Colhoun, head chef at Visitor Catering.  I converted the metric measurements, cut the quantity in half, and subbed the salmon for the mixed seafood it called for.

Raw Ingredients for Pie

There’s another attraction to this recipe: instead of a pastry crust, it’s topped with mashed potatoes.  Despite the shuddery memories of high school cafeteria shepherd’s pie, I forged ahead.  It’s fish, not ground beef!  It will be delicious!

And it was.  I made stock from the fish head, filleted and cubed the flesh from the tail, cooked a mix of vegetables with more garlic than the recipe called for, and deglazed them with white wine and Guinness; then added the stock, fish, lemon juice, and a generous heap each of dill and parsley.  This mix was thickened with milk and cornstarch (Americanized from the recipe’s cornflour).   I topped it with mashed potatoes enriched with more milk and butter, and ran it under the broiler until the potatoes were nicely browned.

The recipe (being from a chef) called for cream in both filling and topping.  A little rich for my blood.  The substitution of milk worked out well.

Here’s Looking at You, Fish!
Filling Ready to Fill
Pie is Served

I happened to be running an errand near the Leisure World Giant the day before, so I stopped in for the dill and parsley (if you make this recipe, do not, by the way, omit the lemon juice or dill; they add immensely to the flavor.  By contrast, the parsley seemed dispensable.)  The Giant had a display of foodstuffs for St. Patrick’s Day which gratified the cognitive dissonance niche this time of year seems to foster. (As I mentioned in my last post, Harris Teeter has apparently spent their budget on Valentine’s Day this year.)

Green Giant Display

Hot cross buns; “St. Patrick” sugar cookies; and something labeled “Guinness Chocolate Stout Cake” containing neither Guinness, nor chocolate, nor stout.  The label very carefully describes it as “infused with the genuine flavor of your favorite brands.”  Looking at the list of ingredients, it’s really hard to see how they did that.  I guess “natural and artificial flavor” is how.  I’ll just stick to the real thing, thank you!

Cake Ingredients List
Untruth in Advertising?

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It’s (Almost) Cherry Blossom Time!

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Judy

And I could not be more ready.  There are many other folks who share that feeling; some of them gathered last week for the National Cherry Blossom Festival press conference.  There were two pieces of news to report: it’s happening in person this year! And, the estimated time of peak bloom has been determined.

High atop a building with a perfect view of the Tidal Basin, a blast of pink greeted members of the press and many folks excited to be involved with the festivities.  From the Mayor to the National Park Service Superintendent of the National Mall, they were all tickled, um, you know.

Welcome to the Pink!
Were the Pink Will Be

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the first cherry tree gift from Japan.  The Festival has not been running for quite that long, but it has grown from simple tree-planting ceremonies to this year’s four-week-long celebration, which has spilled over from the Mall to several neighborhoods.  In addition to the Opening Ceremony; the Kite Festival; the Cherry Blossom Parade and Sakura Matsuri; the Petalpalooza music festival; and the Pink Tie Party (all downtown), some pandemic-driven innovations have been retained, most notably the Petal Porches.  Residents are encouraged to decorate their porches and register to compete for prizes.  Best Blossom Block, anyone?

Sponsors have also been corralled. Some are participating with product introductions, one of which was proudly on display at the press event: La Croix Cherry Blossom sparkling water.  It has a lovely floral aroma and a light taste, with no cough syrup overtones at all.  The water itself is not pink, although the can sustains the optics of the theme.

The Pink Drink
The Clear Drink

I met Barbara Ehrlich, a Cherry Blossom board member, whose association with the Festival began years ago, “when it was all-volunteer.”  She has the collection of yearly pins to prove it.

Ms. Ehrlich Shows Her Pins

Also present: Lea Craigie, the artist who designed this year’s theme.  We bonded over a love of cats and craftwork.

Each of the honored guests gave a short speech, and then it was time for the Big Reveal.  Superintendent Reinbold and the juggler executed a little routine designed to draw out the suspense, and then the beans were spilled: Peak Bloom Time will be March 22-25 this year – at least as far as we can tell on March 1.

Keeping Those Balls in the Air

After that, all the speakers lined up for a group picture.  Here it is.

The Blossom Brigade

In order, left to right: Jeffrey Reinbold, National Park Service; Brooke Pinto, Ward 2 DC Councilmember; Diana Mayhew, President, National Cherry Blossom Festival; Lea Craigie, Artist; Muriel Bowser, Mayor; Chinyere Hubbard, Events DC; and Ryo Kuroishi, Embassy of Japan.

The Festival website has the full schedule.

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Fabulous Frivolous February: Eating Events

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Judy

Ah, the eating opportunities of February!  There are three: Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and the unofficial but very real holiday: Girl Scout Cookies Go On Sale Day.

Time was, a trip to Chinatown or a dim sum palace in the ‘burbs was in order for the first, but alas! Circumstances have conspired to deprive me of that happy experience.  Never mind, the month contained a couple of gastronomic events worthy of being written about.

I walked into the Olney Harris Teeter about a week before Valentine’s Day.  One entrance to the store looked pretty normal.  The usual fruit, vegetables, sushi, and deli counters were the same as always, with a few exceptions.

I Love (You) Shrimp

Take home a heap of heart-shaped shrimp!  And if that doesn’t prove your love, try again with sushi!  And for dessert, a taste of honey? No, chocolate-dipped strawberries, packaged in guess what?

But I Love Sushi More
My Heart Belongs to Chocolate Strawberries

Fair enough.  I just assumed HT got a carload of heart-shaped food containers for Valentine’s day and was not afraid to use them.  I continued shopping, and wandered over to the other side of the store, where I was met with a blast of red and pink.  The florist, Debbie, who has worked there since the store opened, had outdone herself.  The whole area devoted to seasonal candy displays and the flower department had been transformed into a vision of hearts, cupids, and opportunities to prove to your significant other how much (s)he means to you.  It was dazzling.

Smother Your Lover with Flowers and Balloons
There’s Debbie, Between the Strings

I managed to escape without too much red overdose.  But if you want to see for yourself, I’m afraid it’s too late.  The whole display has been swept away, replaced with green (St. Patrick’s Day) and some premature pastel Easter stuff.

And as for Girl Scout cookies, there were not one but two troops selling from card tables in the mild weather of about two weeks ago in Ashton.  They were set up across the road from each other, and didn’t realize they were competing until I mentioned it (their views were blocked).  For that day at least, Ashton was a two-cookie town.  I was proud.

Troop 31042 Sold Me Samoas
The Leaders of Troop 516 Assured Me That the Girls Were on Their Way

I got a box of Samoas, my favorite.  And they’re gone now, too, just like that overdose of Valentine red.  Tempus fugit.

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Good for What Ails You: Something Like Penicillin, Made with Cascade Moon Edition 2 Whisky

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Judy

The weather at this time of year cries out for a warming, restorative drink; something with spice, which can warm you even while the drink remains cool.  We found a good use for a special edition whisky from George A. Dickel/Cascade Hollow Distilling Company in a variation on a classic cocktail called a Penicillin.

According to Wikipedia, this cocktail was invented by bartender Sam Ross early in the 21st century.  It calls for two different kinds of whisky; a blended one to combine with the other ingredients, and a second, single-malt to float on top after the shaken (not stirred) mixture is decanted into a glass.

We dispensed with the finishing flourish of the single-malt for two reasons: first, we wanted to showcase the Cascade Moon, and second, we didn’t have any other whisky.  This elision didn’t detract from the finished product in the least.

We also didn’t have homemade ginger syrup, but something at least as good: Korean Honey-Ginger Tea, available in any Asian grocery store, especially during the fall and winter.  It’s not really tea in the Western sense; more like marmalade.  It’s meant to be mixed with hot water for a soothing, toddy-like drink in cold weather, or cold water for a refreshing cooler in the summer.

The cheaper brand comes in a large jar, and another, pricier brand is available in a fancy smaller jar, topped by paper and described as “Ginger Honey Concentrate,” which it is – so the price difference mostly evens out.  Both brands market products with more variations of fruits mixed with the honey, but I have not tried them.  The ginger is my go-to.

The sample bottle of Cascade Moon Edition 2 (a limited release, small batch blend) was kindly supplied to me by the Taylor Strategy publicists. It was released in December but only in Tennessee, California, and Texas.  Sipped straight, it has a smooth, complex and mature nature.  It makes an excellent ingredient for cocktails, as our experiment with Something-Like-Penicillin proved.

The Ingredients
Something-Like-Penicillin for Two

Here is the recipe we developed:

Something-Like-Penicillin

Makes 1 drink

2 oz. Whisky

¾ oz. Lemon juice

¾ oz. Honey-Ginger Tea

Candied ginger for garnish

Combine whisky, lemon juice and honey-ginger tea in a shaker and shake well.  Pour over cracked ice into a small snifter or cordial glass.  Garnish with candied ginger.

The result is complex, powerful but smooth, and a perfectly seasonal warmer for a cold night.

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Crunchy, Cheesy, Easy: A Friendly Bread’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Judy

I met Lane Levine several years ago when he was selling his bread at the Olney Farmers and Artists Market.  He was a scrappy start-up from Baltimore then, and still is.  Alas, as his business evolved, the farmers market model was phased out.  I now have to buy his bread in Roots.

He is also broadening his product line.  He introduced a line of “toasts,” Melba-like crackers, last year.  Now he is test-marketing grilled cheese sandwiches.  I received a sandwich for review last week.

Now, one might think that a grilled cheese sandwich is an item that can be made at home without much trouble.  After all, you only need: 2 pieces of bread, one or more slices of cheese, and some kind of fat.  Cook in a skillet until browned and melty.  Done.

But Lane thinks that there is a market for his sandwich, and he might just be right.  It comes frozen, ready to pop in your toaster-oven (or microwave, if you must), and is ready to eat in under 10 minutes.  He has done extensive research to find just the right blend of cheeses for the inside, and of course the bread is none other than his Simple Country Sourdough, for which I have nothing but superlatives.

As It Comes, Frozen
And What To Do With It

I followed the directions, and the cheese was molten a few minutes before the 8-10 minutes called for (but my toaster-oven runs hot).  The top of the bread was lightly toasted; the bottom a little darker.  I let it sit as directed, so the cheese was not burning-the-tongue hot when it hit my plate.

Out of the Oven, All Toasty and Delicious
With a Salad for Lunch

And it was, indeed, delicious – the edges of the bread were shatteringly crisp, the insides contrastingly and satisfyingly unctuous.  The mix of extra-sharp cheddar and mozzarella gave it a “grown-up” taste way better than the classic processed American cheese slice we all grew up with.

I think this sandwich will be popular with A Friendly Bread’s customer base, those who know how good Lane’s bread is and don’t mind paying a premium price for it.  The value-added aspects of excellent cheese and toaster-oven convenience make it a very attractive addition to A Friendly Bread’s product line.

Learn more about A Friendly Bread and place your order here.

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Review: Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide, Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras, Workman Publishing, New York, 2021.

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Judy

Eat On The Wild Side!

Here’s a geographically-ordered romp through the world’s strangest food customs, dishes and ingredients.  I’ve been receiving emails from these folks for several years, each highlighting short articles about random things I needed to know more about right away! – which I could remedy by going to their website. And now there’s a book that gathers them all in one fabulous, fully-illustrated artifact.  I couldn’t have designed a better rabbit-hole myself.

Although it’s organized by region (not excluding Antarctica), the most fun way to experience this book is by randomly opening it and starting to read.  You will find juxtapositions of the delightful and the disgusting (Italian spaghetti ice-cream sundaes and fried octopus ink sacs); food pioneers, among them Tom Carvel (soft-serve ice cream) and Maria Orosa (Philippine banana ketchup); and deep dives into subjects you didn’t even know you wanted to know more about (a two-page spread on “Oregon’s Mysterious Mycology”).

This book has considerably lengthened my bucket list (as if Tony Bourdain’s shows weren’t bad enough – Hawaii Spam Jam, here I come)!  But they throw historical as well as contemporary tidbits into the frangipani.  Did you know that prospectors in the Yukon gold rush (1896) were required to bring a year’s worth of food with them?  On page 253, there’s a reproduction of one department store’s suggested packing list.  Seventy-five pounds of sugar, $3.00.  Ten pounds of coffee, $3.00.  Seems a little light on the coffee to me.

Uses of foods in non-gastronomic ways are also explored.  A page on “Pantry Alternatives to Tarot Cards” describes using vegetables in ways similar to reading entrails, but less messy.  Oh, and “gastromancy,” practiced by the ancient Greek oracles: intuiting the will of the gods through the gurgling of the stomach.  This continued through the Middle Ages, when it was considered witchcraft, to the 18th century, when it fell out of favor as the “prophets” were revealed to manipulate their gut sounds to simulate voices.

And about Antarctica?  The last article includes a roundup of every base station’s cuisine, including their specialties.  Most are what you’d expect: the European Union station boasts foie gras, Yorkshire pudding and chicken Parmesan, while the Polish station prides itself on a traditional Polish Easter breakfast.  There are some edgy innovations, though – the Japanese station has adapted the cold noodle dish nagashi somen, where diners pluck up noodles moving through running water in a bamboo slide, to present the noodles flowing through a channel cut directly into the ice.  However, the consensus appears to be that the Chinese Great Wall station has the best cuisine, and a hydroponic garden, to boot.

Still, even with the lure of good food, Antarctica will not be added to my bucket list.  There are so many other places to go and things to eat in this excellent book, I’m sure I won’t miss it.

The Colorful Cover Is a Hint of What’s Inside
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Laurie Anderson and Eye(s) at the Hirshhorn

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Judy

I jumped at the chance to meet Laurie Anderson, when her exhibition “The Weather” opened at the Hirshhorn in September.  She has been a working artist since the 1970’s, influencing innumerable aspects of art: performance, music, sculpture, opera, multimedia, and writing.  She reached a wider audience than art-world-famous when her song, “O Superman,” rose to No. 2 on British pop charts in 1981.

As I walked toward the Hirshhorn from the Metro station, I got the uncomfortable sensation of being watched by a large, all-seeing presence, and sure enough – the museum building had been surrounded by scaffolding for a renovation project.  Rather than letting an opportunity to make lemonade go to waste, the Hirshhorn commissioned Nicolas Party to design a site-specific artwork enveloping the entire building.  “Draw the Curtain” is composed of several huge faces partially hidden by draperies.  The effect is of classical portraiture with eyes following one about the room, but enlarged by a few orders of magnitude.

A Giant Face on the Hirshhorn
And Creepier Closer

It’s an opportunity to contemplate the way indoor and outdoor spaces are being redefined in the time of covid and climate change; of a piece with choosing “streeteries” over the interiors of restaurants, and farmers markets rather than grocery stores.  Also, to feel relief from a gargantuan gaze by entering the Hirshhorn courtyard.

Inside the building, we were greeted warmly by the museum staff, then treated to a walking tour of the exhibit by the artist.

Laurie Anderson and Yet Another Looming Presence

The exhibit is a combination retrospective of her past career and new work.  Highlights include a corridor of flags dipping and rising by automation (“Red Flags”) referring to “O Superman;”  a swath of shredded pages from Crime and Punishment as a matrix for a video projection; a series of newspaper front pages deconstructed, recombined and superimposed; and the room which Ms. Anderson spent hours painting and in which an observer could spend hours absorbing in and through all senses: “Four Talks.”

The Raven in the Four Talks Room
The Parrot Needed a Little Amplification

Ms. Anderson covered the walls with whatever spontaneously occurred to her, a frozen stream of consciousness, accompanied by ambient sound and four related works.  Among them, two birds stand out: an oversized raven (“The Witness Protection Program (The Raven)”) and  a parrot that looks like bronze but is painted foam (My Day Beats Your Year (The Parrot)”).  While the raven is mute, the parrot (true to its kind), speaks.  Actually, it mumbles, and needed a little electronic assistance to be heard.

Although I was enjoying the event for the art that surrounded us, I felt an obligation to provide reader service by seeking out any food-related references I could find – and there were a few: a slice of devil’s food cake and a reference to Dairy Queen among the painted bon mots, and two IRL references.

There’s the Dairy Queen Reference
And the Devil’s Food (With Some of the Press Corps)
And the Negroni Bag

The negroni bag is part of a fundraiser for bartenders and other restaurant workers who lost jobs because of the pandemic.  It’s also a very clever reference to to-go cups from New York City diners.

As we processed into another room covered with large-scale paintings which Ms. Anderson was still tweaking just days before the public opening, I realized that the woman with recording equipment was Davia Nelson, one half of the Kitchen Sisters.  She produces terrific audio stories for her podcast and NPR.  The Sisters have widened their scope from the first series of stories on “Hidden Kitchens” to encompass many things lost and found.  I can’t wait to hear their take on this exhibit!

Davia Nelson, Busy Recording

As the tour ended, I asked Ms. Anderson if she had any perspectives on food or cooking.  She allowed as she did have “one recipe” and described the procedure for “Hotel Hot Dogs.”  One strips the insulation from a lamp cord and sticks it into a bratwurst – and “BOOM!”  Did I believe she had ever done this?  Not until I found the story on the web.  Even so, keep that grain of salt handy – and consider the accompanying photo includes a man who looks very much like Andy Warhol.

There’s plenty of time to see this exhibit.  It will be at the Hirshhorn until July 2022, and Ms. Anderson is scheduled to make live appearances starting in January.  But, unless you’re Superman, don’t cook bratwurst with a lamp cord!

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As American as Beisbol, Elote, and Flan: Smithsonian Cooking Demo and ¡Pleibol! Exhibit

Posted on September 27, 2021 by Judy

Who else remembers the old advertising jingle?  (Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie…) The new Smithsonian exhibit and related virtual chef demo prove that Latinx fans are just as enthusiastic and voracious as any others.  While the demo was a function of the Smithsonian Associates and therefore a ticketed event, the exhibit, spotlighting the popularity of baseball among Spanish-speaking folks throughout North and South America, is free at the National Museum of American History.   It would have been a real pleasure to view even if that museum visit hadn’t been my first in a very long time.

Take Me Out

The Entrance is Designed to be Interactive

I admit the demo colored my experience of the exhibit – I was primed to spot any reference to food.  Sure enough, among the uniforms, stats, and homages to the great ones (Roberto Clemente!), there were a few artifacts and some video footage relating food to sport.

Admiring the Great Roberto Clemente
Girls’ Leagues Videos Got Girls’ Attention

Among the displays of associated merchandise were familiar artifacts: a Wheaties box, a glass, mugs, a soda can, a Coke bottle.

The Merch Display

A wall of imagined orange crates with exaggerated and wonderfully fanciful end papers depicting heroic men’s and women’s teams by artist Ben Sakoguchi was one of my favorite parts of the exhibit.  One team, from East Los Angeles, was known as the Carmelita Chorizeros (sausage-makers), providing not one but two food references. 

Ben Sakoguchi’s Baseball Series
Carmelita Chorizeros: Sweet and Savory Combined
Orange Juice: Part of the Breakfast of Champions
The Aztecs of the North

The teams were real; the orange brands and embellishments were created in the artist’s imagination. But wouldn’t that Aztec warrior strike fear into the hearts of your opponents?

Connecting the Corn

The chef demo, billed as “Pleibol and Eat Well! Latino Culinary Traditions and America’s Game,” neatly dovetailed into the ¡Pleibol!  exhibit by featuring Dayanny de la Cruz, executive chef of the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.  The virtual audience was treated to a demonstration of three dishes served in the ballpark, all traditional but with a few tweaks designed to make them easy to eat while holding a scorecard or anticipating a leap for a foul ball.

Bull Pen Elote, corn on the cob covered with a savory cheese and spice mix, was inspired by a stop at a Mexican street market on the way to a ballgame (in Chicago, go figure!), where the elote was topped with Cracker Jack.

The Cubano sandwich is popular throughout the Latinx world, but where else would smashed plantains substitute for the bread?  According to Chef Dayanny, “plantanos” are thought to be the source of Dominican boys’ extraordinary strength, and so as a tribute to those ballplayers, she uses tostones for her “Domini-Cubano Sandwich.”

Other ingredients are more traditional: pernil (roasted pork), Dijonnaise sauce with guava jam, hot dogs, pickles, and Swiss cheese.  Layered on those fried and flattened plantains, that would give any fan a run for their money!

The last recipe Chef Dayanny demonstrated was controversial at first.  Nobody thought it would work at the ballpark, but it was a big hit.  Tomatillo and Watermelon Salad, says the chef, “represents very much who I am, as a chef, as a woman, and I as a mother…This dish was not made for certain times, or places, or seasons; I created it to break expectations of what food in sports entertainment was supposed to be by incorporating Latino flavors and culinary techniques along with my own culinary style, which is very much grounded in my identity as a woman.”

Community and Resilience

Other ways of representing women in the Miami baseball community reflect the inclusiveness of South American fans.  About fifty local vendors supply food to the ballpark, supporting small businesses and promoting a sense of community involvement. 

And the long tradition of players’ mothers supporting their boys’ teams with homemade food just happened to be on display in the ¡Pleibol! Exhibit.  Among a collection of video clips was one profiling Mrs. Altagracia, Vladimir Guerrero’s mother, who cooked for all the teams her son played for during his 16-year Major League career.  She’s just one in a long tradition of “the moms of baseball,” looking out for their sons and all the other players on their team.

Vladimir Guerrero and his Mother, Mrs. Altagracia
She Fed Her Son’s Teams for Sixteen Years

This virtual chef demo series includes two more events, one which has passed (Lena Richard’s New Orleans Cook Book), and another on September 30th, for which you can still sign up: Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge: Chinese Americans and the Power of Stir-Frying.

¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas continues at the National Museum of American History.

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My Wild Backyard

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Judy

Well, it’s shaping up to be a banner year for wild things from my backyard.  Last year was something of a bust; hardly any pokeweed, and just a few handfuls of berries.  This year, however, is something else.

Was it the cicada invasion (speaking of wild things!)? Or just the cyclical nature of nature?  Whatever, I’m having to think of things to do with all the wineberries that are coming in.  The pokeweed has experienced a rebirth as well.  Fortunately, I have no worries about using up the poke while the new shoots are harvestable; I pick some every day for about two weeks, and then, just as I get slightly sick of it, presto!  it’s too old to eat.

Pokeweed, Picked

So far, I’ve had pokeweed tacos, poke pasta, and my old favorite, cold poke salad with an Asian-inspired dressing.  Poke seems to have a special affinity with toasted sesame oil.

Poke in Tacos with Lots of Cheese
Poke Pasta with Blue Cheese Sauce

In contrast to the wineberries, the black raspberries have not been particularly plentiful.  They tend to grow intertwined with the wineberries and probably compete for resources.  The raspberries ripen earlier, and there is a short window when I can enjoy both berries fresh on my morning cereal.

Black Raspberries on Bush
Black Raspberries, Picked

I’ve frozen some wineberries, and this year I’ve started a batch of shrub, following a recipe using (red) raspberries which includes dried hibiscus and rosehips.  I added some hibiscus but left out the rosehips.  The mix infuses for two weeks in apple cider vinegar, then is strained and  sweetened with honey.  Diluted with sparkling water, it promises to be a refreshing summer drink.

Wineberries, with some Annoying Rosebushes
Shrub Ingredients
See You in Two Weeks!

Speaking of cicadas, I had to decide whether to try sampling them when Brood X was upon us for some of May and all of June.  The media were full of suggestions, as if eating insects was suddenly the thing to do.  Call me a contrarian, but I decided to give them a miss this year – not through revulsion, but for sympathy for their survival strategy.  Seventeen years in the dark for a few weeks of fun in the sun!

After their little corpses started to litter the ground, I confess to being glad that the earsplitting noise was gone, but really, who could begrudge them their short, wild time aboveground?

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