Eye Candy

The Brazilian musician Amon Tobin landed on my radar with his 1998 album Permutation. It was an interesting electronic album - back when I hadn't heard many - full of great soundscapes, but not terribly complex. Essentially, the perfect early-2000s college stoner soundtrack.

On Tobin's current tour, which I happily got to visit last night at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, tracks are still ambient but feel more mature; they're also accompanied by an incredible visual spectacle known as the Isam stage.

photo by Joshua Maser

This 25′ x 14′ x 8′ cubist structure resembles, as one reviewer put it, "what God’s screensaver must look like." Tobin himself sits inside one of the cubes with a silver mac powerbook, climbing out only to take occasional sheepish bows.

Here are just a few of the stunning, ever-morphing projections that moved and breathed across Tobin's 3D cubes:

Breathtaking! Go see this guy, even if you aren't a big fan of loud electronic sounds. Just be sure to bring earplugs and a good beer buzz.

Korean BBQ

Marbled. Mrrrrow.

Dinner at Don Bogams!

I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful Korean grad school buddy who, between shots and cigarettes, is likely to ply you with excellent food and good conversation. 

We let him order rounds of meat (four rounds, for four people -- a little much!). First, plain beef, then gorgeous pork belly, followed by slivers of beef tongue and then a pile of bulgogi. All were expertly grilled tableside by a very beautiful and very stoic waitress.

The endless tiny finger bowls of pickles, fish flakes, salads and sauces might be my favorite part. Add copious amounts of alcohol and you've got a very interesting New York dinner option. My advice? Take someone from out of town!

Suma Chicken Dgna Wolof

Translation: my chicken speaks Wolof. (Wanna fight about it?)

It's been a long time since I sat down to the serious business of my mortar and pestal.

I lived in the West African nation of Senegal years ago, and returned with amazing (but time consuming) recipes featuring the famous flavors of peanut, onion and soured milk. For instance, my host family taught me to kill and pluck a chicken for traditional yassa poulet, a stew with oily mustard sauce, and to haggle for an entire fresh fish for blackening over an open flame, smothered with onions. 

The harder recipes, which I've never ventured to try? Rich goat maffe and the most famous of all, thiebu jen (pungent fish stew with vegetables).

Senegalese Fried Chicken at A Bistro, Brooklyn.

Everyone in New York knows that Harlem is ground zero for these amazing dishes. But, for a change of pace, I like A Bistro, a cozy Senegalese-inspired BYO spot off Brooklyn's Myrtle Avenue. It features Senegalese fried chicken (paired, at brunch, with spiced pancakes), fresh ginger juice and stewed kale or collards with every meal. 

The chef also likes to rotate in Asian flavors, eclectic burgers and other Senegalese novelties, like the braised lamb in peanut sauce we sampled last night.

The details: A Bistro, Carlton and Myrtle; A Bistro South, DeKalb and Vanderbilt.

Fall Recipes I'm Digging

Fall is here and the markets are lousy with apples, pears, dark greens and leftover summer staples (root vegetables, aging tomatoes). Meanwhile, the first chilly days have flipped my annual Hearty Foods switch -- it's the time of year when it's hard not to snuggle with someone over rich, salty takeout.

I don't belong to a winter CSA, but I'm determined to keep eating fresh through the winter and still, you know, not starve.

Here are a few fall recipes I've been playing with. They're on the heartier side of average and still feature seasonal ingredients.

Sriracha Mint Brussels Sprouts

Cut plump sprouts in half lengthwise and roast with olive oil and salt until slightly browned. Then toss with a combination of sriracha, rice vinegar, brown sugar, fish sauce and chopped mint.

Blueberry Spinach Breakfast Smoothie

In a blender, combine one banana, two cups baby spinach, 1/2 chopped apple or pear, and a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries, top with just enough orange juice or water to blend safely. (Optional: ice cubes or oats for texture.) Grate/chop/liquify away.

Indian Spiced Beets with Lime Yogurt

Adapted from a recent New York Times recipe. Roast cubed, scrubbed beets for 30 minutes or until tender. Toss with a spice mixture including cumin and coriander (I like a masala blend, which adds sweeter flavors like nutmeg, cinnamon and clove). Roast another 10 minutes to toast the spices. Meanwhile, blend yogurt, crushed garlic, salt, lime juice and lime zest. Toss with warm beets or serve liberally on the side.

Mac and Cheese con Leche

OK, so this isn't technically local or even vegetable. But it's a lovely alternative to a fatty casserole dish full of cheese, and it's just as warm and rich. Combine two cups raw pasta with two cups of lowfat milk, cook in a saucepan over medium heat, simmering and stirring, until fully absorbed. Add a pinch of mustard powder (or a tablespoon of mustard) and a pinch of nutmeg. Stir in one cup of your favorite grated cheese combination (I used romano with a soft raw cow for balance), serve as soon as it's melted.

Your Inner Researcher

Bestill my proletarian heart.

This week's web trolling led to a discovery that should thrill failed academics, wannabe-anthropologists and all those who believe that the world's best social research is often conducted by the average joe. 

Awesome Food, a branch of the Awesome Foundation (which has been around since 2009), is now accepting applications for "micro-grants" in all areas of food studies. PhD and residence in the Ivory Tower not required.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and the $1,000 grants are doled out about once a month, according to the foundation's website. "We interpret food in its broadest possible way, so use your imagination," it reads, adding that the best ideas are "simple and direct." Past recipients have apparently worked through photo essays, oral narratives, film and the like.

So go! Become my competition. My barbecue-urban-farming-history-of-Cambodian-noodles project will kick your project's tail, anyway.

Three Gorgeous Food Blogs

Admittedly, these three blogs have all been around for some time. But they're new to me, and they might be new to you. Enjoy!


Food 52
This fairly well known site has a definite grassroots feel. It introduces cute thematic ideas, like "Dinner and a Movie" (which pairs, for instance, recipes for glazed ham, mint tea and biscuits with To Kill a Mockingbird); "charcutepalooza," a monthly cured meat-related challenge; and a section devoted to cooking questions and advice ("Food Pickle" - "In a pickle?").

A friend of a friend is the site's senior editor, and if she's any indication, the staff works hard and lavishes love on the project. 

Wrapped greens, from Food52

Challah, from Food52

The Sprouted Kitchen

This blog's tagline says it all: "A tastier take on whole foods."  No meat recipes here, just super seasonal recipes going no further up the food chain than fish and eggs. What I'm really taken with, however, are the beautiful step-by-step photos that accompany each recipe. Here are a few:

Ingredients for strawberry quesadilla, from Sprouted Kitchen

 Grilled corn and lemon, from Sprouted Kitchen

White on Rice Couple

OK, so the name could be less cutesy, but I totally covet the lives of these two Los Angeles-based food photographers. They've got amazing palettes and take on some very interesting recipes, often with an Asian spin (e.g., focaccia with pork belly, sriracha-glazed chicken wings). And, obviously, their photos are just breathtaking.

Persimmons, photographed by White on Rice

Pan-seared cippolinis, by White on Rice

I love to come across new blog beauties. Let me know if you have some up your sleeve.