PopLab and Picnic

Monday evening, a small group of PopLab (see here) participants had a picnic and talk in Washington Square Park.  We found an accessible place to circle our wagons, then dropped a lot of food inside the circle.



Several people had made dishes using CSA bounty.  Prinny cooked up bok choy with garlic; Kelly made a salad.  I had nothing to share, but I still felt welcome.  Even our conversation was sometimes delicious, as I'd hoped.


Sandals from Payless. 


p.s. These were good.

Agape Meal

[I wrote down the name of the artist who painted this striking installation, which she did for a video/dance collaboration, but I've lost the piece of paper!  Anyone recognize the artwork?]

On Agape Sundays at church (the first Sunday of each month), we share communion as part of a service-long meal of fruit, bread, crackers, doughnuts, cheese, etc.  Juice and wine are served.   I always try to pick a seat close to the cheese.

On this particular Agape Sunday, I forgot to bring anything to share (because I forgot it was Agape Sunday).  I'm embarrassed to admit I had only enough snacks for myself in my bag.  I tried to drink my pineapple juice and eat my Chex Mix "Turtle" Bar quickly, so as to not call attention to my thoughtlessness.



As it turns out, the Chex Mix bar makes a much better dessert than a breakfast. It's way too sweet and sticky for me to think of it as nearing "healthy."

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PopLab and Potluck

Here's where you go to buy the meat bread to take to a potluck lunch.  Vegetarians, fear not!  I also bought blueberries.

A few weekends ago, pepperoni and cheese "meat bread" in hand, I attended the inaugural PopLab event, held at Judson Memorial Church.  This was a (free) day-long interactive seminar or creative think-tank of sorts, in which participants explored our pasts, presents and futures in small groups -- through the lenses and intersections of faith, culture, politics, and activism.

Here is part of how the event was described by the founders:

Ever ask yourself why the progressive left doesn't do a better job at capturing America's political imagination?
Ever reflect on why life is so interesting and yet church can be so boring?

PopLab is the place for you.  Join us Saturday, April 10th for a creative workshop/retreat.  Join us for socializing, discussion, brainstorming games, and food. (Yes, FOOD.)  Our primary agenda is a very laid back one: reconnecting, free-associating, and talking smack about the future, progressive politics, and making a scene in order to make a point.  Maybe there's a more interesting (or just more fun) way to develop our collective voice and build the kind of future we all dream of?

Also: it was always our intention to have this be the first meeting of an ongoing conversation, a kind of "artistic and political think-tank for populist theology," so if you can't make it on the 10th, but want to be in the loop on what grows out of this, please let us know.  And please feel free to email us with any questions, concerns, or ideas...

You see how "FOOD" is written in all caps in the text above?  That certainly captured my attention.  And, yeah, the rest of it was intriguing, too.  I made sure to attend.

This first event was themed loosely around the idea of "superheroes," and all that might imply/encompass.  Over the course of the event, we were asked to answer the following questions on paper and in person:

• When was the first time you can remember being politically “activated,” (however you define this)? 
• What was your earliest moment of insight (or inspiration) in regards to the spirit, God, or religion (for or against, however you define this)? 
• What was the first time you can remember being truly moved by a work of art?  Could be a book, play, song, or painting, but what was it? 
• Name one superhero you have personally known.  Imagine what his/her icon might be.

• Where are you most “hooked” politically?  What are the issues that motivate you?  Wherever possible, push yourself to ask “what am I for?” 
• What are your spiritual values (however you define that), and how do they manifest themselves (or not manifest themselves) in your life today? 
• Give an example of artistic expression that truly moves you today.  This could be a song that’s stuck in your head, a movie you saw, or something you are creating yourself. 
• What is the greatest living super villain of our times?  And what might his/her icon be?

• What next step do you see yourself taking to actualize your ideal political future? 
• What action do you see yourself taking in your ongoing spiritual evolution? 
• What creative endeavor are looking forward to most?  Is it yours?  Is it someone else’s? 
• Describe what kind of super hero you’ll be, along with one element of your costume.

Have any answers in mind?  Much discussion ensued, to say the least.  At the end of it all, I found the day challenging, exciting, fascinating, inspiring, and delicious.  And just what was so delicious? Why, that aforementioned FOOD.  We enjoyed a buffet breakfast and outrageous potluck lunch.  Take a gander:


A welcoming breakfast table.  I committed one misstep and drowned my blueberry green tea bag (brought from home) in coffee.  I thought it was a hot water urn!  Strange as it might seem, I sometimes forget people drink coffee.


What to do when your breakfast clashes with your pants?  Eat quickly.  Also, I think it was Suresh who found the sea salt in the kitchen closet.  A thousand blessings upon him!  A little salt makes tomato slices so much more divine.


Incredibly incredible potluck spread.  Ah, deviled eggs.  How you bedevil me.


Grainy phone photo spotlight on my meaty meat bread.


My delightful lunch.

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I'm looking forward to future soul-searching, stomach-filling installments of PopLab.  If you're in NYC and you'd like to know when the next one happens, just comment below.  I'll make sure you get all the details.

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Have beans, will travel.

Outdoor space is precious, especially in NYC. If you live in an apartment or building that includes access to a yard, deck, balcony, or rooftop, you will be envied by those of us with none of that.

I, personally, envy you. I have little in the way of outdoor space. Just a skylight with which to view the sky, a fire escape too rickety and small for purposes other than escaping fires, and a cement "front yard" that is made unpleasant and unusable by its proximity to an angry Italian woman wielding a kitchen knife.

It's wise to share your outdoor space liberally if you've got it. This will help keep your friends feeling friendly towards you. I'm lucky to have some very friendly friends. Several have marvelous rooftops.

I shared a lovely picnic dinner with friends on one of these rooftops in Brooklyn last week. We supped on fried green tomato BLTs, grilled vegetables with feta and vinegar, green bean salad with soy-encrusted almonds (which I toted over, as pictured above), and two kinds of ice cream with shortbread.









The evening left me grateful for rooftops, sunsets, summer vegetables, great views, and generous friends. I haven't been that relaxed, happy, and satisfied in a number of weeks.

I promise I'll return the favor and invite people over to hang out and BBQ in my front-stoop's cement "yard" again (which used to be a yearly event) just as soon as someone disarms my alarming elderly Italian neighbor. Until then, don't tell me you have a yard/roof if you don't want me in/atop it.

Poetry Tuesday Limericks: I don't care if the rhyme is right as long as the food is good.

There once was a girl born near Berkeley,
Whose camera took pictures too murkily.
And so she has naught
Of the pudding she brought
To the FEAST (Hope you don't find this jerkly).

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(photo by Dan)

A girl from Dubuque, overheard,
Said, "For snackfoods I'm kind of a nerd."
"And to watch Rescue Dawn
I need pop-off-cob corn."
After that, she did not say a word.


(photo by Dan)

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A young miss who has known two Manhattans
(So smoke on your pipe and put that in!)
Is happy to share
Several fries, if you care.
But she needs all her nuggets and napkins.

Photo Essay: Spring's Newborn Animals Vernal Equinox Potluck

On my plate: figs, blackberries, Mike's standout tabbouleh (my favorite dish of the night), onion-poppyseed bread, parsnips and carrots, salad, prosciutto, mozzarella.


(photo by Dan)











Ostara Altar




Dan and I made a vegan mushroom pate with Enoki and Shitake mushrooms. We adapted this recipe by using 4 x the garlic called for. The result was delicious, but surprisingly sweet. I might add red pepper flakes next time.

FEAST: creating community one mouthful after another.

(photo by Dan)

I was honored to attend the inaugural dinner event for FEAST (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) in Greenpoint, Brooklyn yesterday.

From the website:

FEAST is a recurring public dinner designed to use community-driven financial support to democratically fund new and emerging artmakers.

At each FEAST, participants will pay a sliding-scale entrance fee for which they will receive supper and a ballot. Diners will vote on a variety of proposed artist projects. At the end of dinner, the artist whose proposal receives the most votes will be awarded funds collected through the entrance fee to produce the project. The work will then be presented during the next FEAST.

I had little idea what to expect from the night, despite having attended a planning meeting for the thing, but it wowed me in every way. Soup to nuts, as it were.

Not only that, but Dan was the recipient of the grant awarded after the votes were counted. I was almost sorry that he won, in a weird way, because so many of the proposals were endearing and interesting, and all of the artists were "worthy" of funding. I wanted someone rich to stand up, doff his (or her) top hat, and promise on his or her personal fortune to become the new FEAST patron, proclaiming that everyone there would get several hundred dollars to make his or her artistic dreams come true. My "I have a rich patron" fantasy continues...

Seriously, though, it felt empowering to fund art in this way. The money I gave at the door, along with my participation in the event, made me patron in a personal and communal way, which made it mean so much more than simply witnessing a gift or grant.

I was told that over 80 people attended the FEAST feast, perusing proposals, enjoying the company and the food, and literally and figuratively breaking bread together by candlelight while the band played on.



(photo by Dan)


So how were the eats? Oh, boy. My friends at One & Supp coordinated the terrific menu. The Tuscan bean soup was transcendent (the PERFECT amount of salt!), filling, and plentiful. Roasted vegetables, pasta salad, and bread were also on hand (almost everything was vegan), and a number of us brought dessert. Molly's apple and raspberry pie was great, with a lovely buttery crust. I made apple crisp with crystallized ginger and walnuts, the topping modified from an Alice Waters recipe, and was happy with how it turned out. Next time, though, more ginger!

I could go on. It really was a sweet event, in so many ways. For now, though, I'll end this post by saying I hope if you're in the area I'll see you at the next FEAST!

Gobbled.

Another day; another potluck.

Today was the annual Thanksgiving Shared Meal at church. I had but a paltry plate and a half of food, yet was stuffed so full I feel I must have waddled home. What a way to kick off this holiday season of eating.



I was feeling good about my plate (knowing I'd saved a little room for dessert) when I realized there was a second, smaller table filled with salads and more sides. Eep.

This is an occasion on which you are better off skipping the bread (and I'm a plate mopper from a young age).



As for those desserts, I stayed away from the pie, figuring I'd have plenty of that in a few days. Instead, I went for the cheesecake and peanut-butter related items. This second plate also contains a few stray salads.



I could eat only half of an amazing, thick, peanut-butter mousse-y sort of tart or cheesecake piled with white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and chopped peanut butter cups(with Oreo crust). My heart said, "Take a whole one," but reason prevailed.



The last bite is the hardest.

I love a potluck.

"Hit Cook" Cookbook Potluck. Winter issue, 2008

The Scene:












I Ate:
















I think I managed to eat at least a couple of bites of everything that wasn't predominantly beef, pork, or lamb (and I don't think there was any beef there). Every time I thought I was done, another dish came out of the kitchen (which is why the final plates featured above are not full).

Good looking and creative people for company, romantically-bad-for-photographs lighting, tables groaning with delicious food, an adorable dog, and twin four-month-old babies -- these comprise my edible heaven.

Huge thank yous to our hosts, Molly and David!