FOOOOOOD!

This week, no, this month has really been about food for me. And my jeans told me too. That morning when the size 9's just don't want to make your ass look spectacular anymore. But, with that realization I got back on my couple years derailed slow food train. Except, not entirely slow food. It's a balanced approach! And when have I ever eaten weird low fat organic diet food? I don't...

So, these are the creations of note that are bouncing in my brain like giddy little children right now.

Naughty Naughty.

1 quart peeled garlic cloves

9 Habenero Peppers

2 Tbsp Onion Powder

12oz White Vinegar

1 tbsp Salt

1 tbsp Black Pepper

1 tbsp chili powder

Liquify and combine.

Don't Kiss the Crab!

Cream:

1 cup packed and minced cilantro

2 tbsp lemon juice

8 oz Sour Cream

1 tsp Cumin

1 tbsp minced garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

COMBINE! In a bowl...

Cakes:

1/4 cup Mayo

3 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp red pepper

2 large egg yolks

2 tbsp cilantro - minced

1 tbsp spicy mustard

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/4 tsp pepper

1 lb crab meat

1 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Combine! And Shape! And fry! I use these little round cookie cutters to form them and fry them in. They work perfectly! Don't use plastic ones. Common sense. I know it's a rare commodity.

Oil or butter or ghee for frying.

ROTI!

6 Tbsp West Indian Curry Powder

2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 scotch bonnet pepper minced. (Use more or less depending on desired heat)

4 tbsp minced green onions

1/4 cup white vinegar

4 lbs goat meat

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp veg oil

2 chopped tomatos

2 1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 quart water

4 minced shallots

Combine curry, garlic, scotch bonnets, shallots, green onions and vinegar. Add meat and toss each piece with the seasoning. Cover and let sit in the fridge for 8-12 hours.

~~

Heat butter and oil in a dutch oven or other such pot. Add meat and brown. Add water, tomatos, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and reduce the liquid to 1/8 and meat is tender. Add a cornstarch slurry or arrowroot to thicken remaining liquid.

~~

Roti Bread

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup olive oil

Combine all and mix well. Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes and wrap in plastic. Put in the fridge for a half hour.

~~

Divide dough into portions and roll out. Add filling and wrap. Add oil, butter or ghee to a frying pan and melt. Once wrapped, cook the roti in the pan. Viola!

Or you can cook the roti skins in the pan without the filling and then add later. I served it with fried plantains. Very nom.

Slow Food in the city of Toronto

Now, there is a BEST THING EVER that isn’t a misuse or a misconception in the English language, it is a little ideal called sustainable local organic agriculture aka the Slow Food Movement.  Slow food has been a growing movement within the world for quite some time now with books such as Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” bringing the fight to the forefront by allowing us to participate the journey from the land to the plate.  Overall, in the past twenty years people have become more and more aware of what exactly we’re putting into our bodies and what we’re taking out by choosing such things as a vegan diet for anything other than a moral belief.  It’s not a surprise that many of the metropolotian papers in cities such as New York, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, San Francisco and Seattle we’re seeing a rise in the advancements of the “Urban Farmer.”

 

Just this week in NOW Toronto (www.nowtoronto.com)  the feature article is do it yourself gardening within the city.  It features not only ideas for urban gardening in your front yard, should you be lucky enough to have one, or even patio gardening for those of us who live in the many high rise buildings that populate Toronto’s landscape.  It offers ideas for not only recession proof agriculture in the (redundancy warning) urban gardening but how to use the free industrial spaces for an ever-growing green alternative that this country seems to embrace. 

 

I’m greeted with these ideas the same month that I picked up a new cookbook written by one of California’s top chefs from the East Bay Area, David Tanis of Chez Panisse fittingly titled “A Platter of Figs.” 

Misuse and Misconception in the English Language

The idea of tackling the Strange One as he adds cheese to an already incredible chicory salad I just made has to be up there on the list of things that could be considered the BEST THING EVER! (There’s more on the Chicory Salad to come.)

 

The term, “Best thing ever,” is a misconception and misuse of the English language that seems to dominate our everyday conversations in recent years.  Now, mind you, I like it only slightly better than groovy and light years more than hella, yet, I can be heard using it.  In my own defense, it’s a statement learned by osmosis. 

 

I have come to learn however that there are particular categories in the use of this term.  We aren’t talking about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.  We’re talking about that child-like sense of awe in which we find things that for a single moment bring us an air of whimsy borne on a flight of fancy if you will allow me some clichés. We tend to re-live our childhood sense of awesome (not awe, that IS different) in these moments. 

 

Ironically, many of us under the age of thirty-five can list our best things ever in a variety of ways or even in form of a countdown, as Vh1 has so plagued us.  For instance, Jones Soda Strawberry Lime is the BEST SODA EVER! In n’ Out Burger is the BEST FAST FOOD EVER!

 

I think it honestly comes down to being the way that the minds of this generation 

Life Modeling

A little over two weeks ago, I did life modeling.  It was my first time.  There’s a certain energy about Ontario that is awakening adventurous aspects of myself that I never really recognized.  I feel good about myself and I figured, why not.  I didn’t think about it for very long when I was put on the spot by a friend of my former land lady’s. I merely agreed and went on with my day.  Later, I definitely dissected it into little bits of high school biology imagery. 

 

I would not have done if it were not for the tokes of green goodness that were ravaging my system. 

 

I arrived at the gallery in Peterborough that is nearly just across the street from where I used to love called, The Blue Tomato.  It’s a nifty little place with a lot of eccentric art work from local artists including a locally produced comic.  The lady who managed the place lead me downstairs so I could get into my robe before heading upstairs. 

 

I had no idea what I was expecting! And forgot to overthink the expectations as I changed in those few moments I was only hoping that cockroaches didn’t live in the basement of this place.  Finding a pre-historic visitor to my naughty little panties, not such an appealing thought!

 

I put in the back of my mind though.  I had gone upstairs.  There was only a dozen folks waiting for me, sitting in chairs that surrounded a stage.  A STAGE!  Heh. Heh. Heh.

 

Sidenote: I’ve never been on stage but once in my life.  Social anxiety.  It’s not a forgiving beast.  Okay, twice. New York Bartending is definitely a stage! This was to be my third time and you know that fear of being naked on a stage? Yeah. Hi.

 

I’m shaking! If I hadn’t been so stoned that I was worried I’d fall down the stairs if I were to bolt… there’d have been no evidence that I even existed in that place.  It would just be a blur of motion! But, I was stoned and naked and on this stage.  Three deep breaths and three hours of random poses.

 

I’d do it again.  In a heartbeat! The places my mind went were some of the most entertaining and erotic bits of imagery that I’ve shown myself in quite some time.  I think I wanted to literally run to Toronto to tackle the Strange One. 

Fuckin' Amazing.

Almeria 2008 from Vicente Sahuc on Vimeo.




This was borrowed from Thinking Fluidly. It's an incredible piece of work.

IGNITION CITY IS OUT!

On Procrastination, Ideas, and Rumors...

There's a bed bug infestation in the Strange One's apartment building. They were going to spray last week, but we had them put it off till this week. Now, it's 11:30pm and we have to pull all the furniture out from the walls, empty all clothing and linens from the apartment and be sure to clear off the counters. He's exhausted and we got a late start tonight overall. Partially of a plot I had concocted earlier, going out for sushi, and tackling some book stores. Not the best course of action. Albiet, a fun one for us both.

At dinner a rather odd statement was tossed my way. "I think I need to update my facebook."

My response is the usual, "Oh?"

To which he says, "Yes, there is a rumor going around that you and I may be a relationship."

Rumor or not, it was a fact that both of us had been dancing around and over-thinking and confusing ourselves because we tend to be rather good at that regardless of the situation. Needless to say, this is happening on a night in which my idea for a collective community of comic writers and artists took hold and had a sense of clarity. Enough to which I could write my proposal for work. I'm a bit proud of it.

"It is our goal to bring together the fibers that create the independent comic industry in order to weave the tapestry for a community that is dedicated to the fans and patrons of our growing industry. For too long we've grabbed at loose ends and whored ourselves to the machines that at times reward mediocrity and nurture the regurgatated ideas that form the classics of our industry. It is our goal at the Comic Collective to raise the standard as well as give once ignored or unheard voices a forum in which to showcase their arts in all forms. We hope to bring awareness to publishers, patrons, and old fans alike in our own personal journeys towards the creation of the tales that live in our minds. We seek to not just push the envelope, but draw out a new line.

Welcome to our sandbox."

My mission statement, of sorts. Here's to dreams becoming realities.