It’s been a few months since I last did a Favorite Meal, but this one has been well worth the wait. I decided to try something a little different by trying to do it long distance. I wanted to see how it would work, if my physical presence was really needed, and if creating a framework for the participant(s) was enough. After working with Yuri and Erin– who did a fantastic job and looked like they had a lot of fun–I decided it depends on the favorite meal and those who are carrying it out. If you’d like me to do a favorite meal for you long distance, send me your ideas!
Just to recap, the Favorite Meal series (click to see other favorite meals that have been done) started as my thesis project for my masters degree. I ask people a series of questions about their favorite person. Based upon their answers, I create an entire experience–food and environment–really focusing on connecting themselves with their Favorite and with themselves. It is a wonderful design challenge, forcing me out of my “comfort zone” with having to cook and experiment with different foods, experience intimate moments and memories, and face the humanity of the experience for all of us involved. Some ‘Favorites’ have been present (and that is a lovely surprise for both parties!) while most are for a ‘Favorite’ who is deceased. Some Favorite meals have been really funny and some have been heavy and sad; others have been uplifting and cleansing–it all depends on who the Favorite is, who the facilitating person is, and what the situation is. But they ALL have been a celebration of life in its various forms, from the painful to the hilarious, clearing the air and the way for people to experience that and move on. And I have been so incredibly grateful to have been made a part of my participants journeys!
(Erin (left) and Yuri–wrapping and tasting their own chocolate bars)Yuri and Erin are friends of friends from undergrad–we all went to DAAP for various forms of design. They live in Brooklyn and I live in Portland–this was a great test for distance because, well, that’s pretty far! But it worked out beautifully. Yuri chose his Uncle Bunky as his favorite. Johannes George Devos, otherwise known as Uncle Bunky, was Dutch. Yuri used to spend summers with him in Holland; Uncle Bunky was a food connoisseur and lover. He used to plan field trips to various wine, cheese, and olive oil making farms because he valued, treasured, and loved the traditions of food so much. They took all the pictures of their excursion to the Factory and of their meal.
(The front counter at Mast Bros.)
(A Mast Brother hard at work!)
With this in mind, I created a little field trip of their own, right in Brooklyn to the Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory. I screenprinted some “tickets” with the information of where it was and when to go–the tickets were meant to resemble the beautiful wrappings the Mast Bros. use on their chocolates. Did I mention that this chocolate tastes amazing too? It’s good chocolate. Real good. I then sent him a recipe of an authentic Indonesian curry to make when they got home from their excursion. It looked delicious and they even platted their meal beautifully–so nice guys!Yuri’s Favorite Meal Answers:
Who would you like to have a Favorite Meal with?
Bunky – Johannes George Devos. Bunky is my uncle from my mother’s side. He lived in Holland his whole life.
Why?
I chose Bunky because I would give anything to cook a meal for him. He passed away two years ago and as I continue my culinary journey, I would love to share with him all I have learned. He was fascinated by everyone and everything. He would call my mother and want to know all about her work, life, the kids and what we were doing. He was extremely passionate about art and music. Bunky worked as vice president of legal sales for Dunhill and Peter Stuyversant cigarettes. One major accomplishment in his career was putting art work in the factories to improve the decor and work environment. He was a painter himself, as well as his daughters and wife. Bunky provided for his family in every way possible. He was so close to his three girls, and was determined to stay close to them his whole life. He was the “master of the house”, as my whole family called him. He always wanted to bring the family together. My parents, sister and I spent the summers in Holland when I was a child. We took trips to the south of France and I watched as the adults ate and drank for hours. He was all about the tradition of sharing a meal with family and friends. He would take us all to wineries, cheese shops, and once the oldest factory which made hazelnut oil. He visited as many things local as he possibly could. He cared about it all. In a small village in the south of France, he woke everyone up at four a.m and took us to a cow trading auction. We stood in cow shit and watched the farmers buy and sell cows. His fascination with life was so amazing. It was so fun to watch him eat. He took so much time to smell, taste, raise his glass, do a whole song and dance to have the first drop of a bottle of wine. [personal note: sounds amazing, right?]
(Yuri is a great cook–he was excited when he saw quail eggs as part of the recipe:)
What flavors remind you of this person?
Bunky was a lover of Indonesian food. He enjoyed spicy hot food. He liked savory over sweet. He loved scallops, oysters, foie gras, as much as an occasional white castle or Mc donalds hamburger to remember his childhood. Two foods that come to mind that he didn’t like are brussel sprouts and pumpkin. We learned this one thanksgiving when the family came to Cincinnati. He was never a fan of sushi.
Bunky loved to drink. He drank scotch and then moved onto wine with almost every meal. He drank beer with Indonesian food.
What time of day would be most appropriate for the meal? It could be any time of the day …breakfast, cocktails, midnight snack…?
The meal most appropriate would be cocktail hour and or dinner.
Where do you see this favorite meal happening? A specific city? A climate? A time period?
His home in Amsterdam on Van Bree Straat. He always loved to be home.
What smells remind you of this person?
Smells that come to mind are cigarettes and his cologne.
Are there any mementos or small trinkets that you have that you’d like to incorporate and are special to them?
A bow tie he gave me. He always looked sharp. He wore bow ties.
Indonesian Prawn Curry with Quail Eggs
INGREDIENTS
12 quail’s eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 shallots or one onion, finely chopped
1 inch piece fresh ginger root, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 inch piece lemon grass, finely shredded
1-2 small fresh red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 lbs raw shrimp tails, peeled and deveined
14oz can coconut milk
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
4 oz of Chinese leaves (bok choy or napa cabbage), roughly chopped
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 scallions, green parts only, shredded
2 tbsp shredded coconut to garnish
1. Boil the quails eggs for 8 minutes. Refresh in cold water, peel by dipping in cold water to to release the shells and set them aside.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok, add the shallots or onion, ginger, and garlic and cook until the onions have softened, without coloring. Add the lemon grass, chilies, turmeric, and fish sauce and fry briefly to bring out their flavors.
3. Add the prawns to the wok and fry briefly. Pour the coconut milk through a strainer over a bowl, then add the thin part of the milk with the chicken stock. Add the Chinese leaves (bok choy or napa cabbage), sugar, and salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 6-8 minutes.
4. Turn out the prawn curry on to a warmed serving dish. Halve the quail’s eggs, using a sharp knife, and toss them in the sauce until they are well coated. Sprinkle with the spring onions and the shredded coconut. Serve with plain boiled rice.
5. Enjoy with a cold Amstel!
(They even made Uncle Bunky his own plate–love the veggie letters 
Thank you so much Yuri and Erin for letting me create the framework for this experience for you! The chocolate factory looked so amazing to go visit–I’m a little jealous 
.
Cheers!
Last week, I did a favorite meal for the lovely Ms. Kiija Manty Miller. I was so excited when she agreed to do one with me as she was only in town with her husband Brent for a week and had much else to do!
Kiija (pronounced K-aye-ya) and I go way back. We first met in girl scouts when we were about nine; we quit at the same time because of our mutual disgust over the knee-sock tassels and lack of exciting merit badges! She was my first partner-in-crime in the kitchen as well. We were always finding new things to bake and making up new recipes together. This Favorite meal was also a chance for me to know my best friend a little better. I honestly didn’t know whom she’d pick and it was neat to be a part of this with her.
The Favorite Questions
1. Think of a person whom you’d love to have a meal with. 2. Answer these:
who-they are
Edward Jacob Manty, my paternal grandfather
why-they have been chosen
I never had a chance to meet him and I think I’d like a glimpse of what that would’ve been like
what-they have done
struggled through the rigors of rough mining life in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, raising a family including my dad and his sister. Was a miner, a house-builder and mover, among other things. Managed some college education in Milwaukee when his children were young, suffered Tuberculosis and spent a good part of my dad’s formative years in a sanitarium interacting with his family though a thick pane of glass while my dad and grandma did their best with the family business. Eventually settled his family in a ‘safe’ ‘new’ rancher complete with nuclear bomb shelter in the basement. Died following his fifth heart attack.
how-they have touched your life
though I never met him, he is my grandfather, the love of my grandmother’s life, and the man who shaped my father and my father, me.
3. Think about the flavors that come to mind when thinking of this person, whether you know for sure they “like” them or not is unimportant, go with your gut here and make a list.
pasties (stew-filled pocket pies- miner food), trenary toast or korpu (a rock-hard UP version of cinnamon toast), meatloaf, egg-cleared coffee (kahvi), homemade raspberry jam and cardamom bread. Root vegetables. No (visible) onions – I remember my grandmother telling me how she always had to bash onions to smithereens and hide them in food to get my grandfather to eat any.
4. What meal would be most appropriate? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, snacks, cocktails, midnight snack, whenever!
lunch or afternoon snack
5. What place do you think of or associate this person with? Is it a room? another city? a climate? where?
Cold winter, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, warm hearth, steaming food, family warmth
6. What smells come to mind when thinking of this person and are they associated with anything tactile? (ex: a grandmothers perfume and her favorite scarf… a newborn’s scent and it’s baby blanket…)
coffee, the outdoors, a photo of him helping a very young version of my dad navigate a tricycle.
7. Find one piece of memorabilia that you have of this person, anything that you use as a visual for remembering (ex: a book, a photo, a sweater, a trinket, a necklace, a newspaper article, a movie, a poster, a cd, a toy, a letter ….. )
My folks have a photo.
(The little boy is Dale, Kiija’s dad, and the man above is her Grandfather. So cute! Kiija is third generation Finnish, her grandparents above were first generation, steeped in Finnish culture, language, and tradition by their parents who were from Finland.)
About mid way through the meal as Kiija was telling us the stories that she knows about her grandfather, she decided to call her father, Dale. She was explaining to Brent and I that in Finnish culture emotions and talk of the past are not done very often. They tend to be a bit more stoic of a people who wear their feelings very much so on the inside. When she got Dale on speakerphone, he told us a few stories about his dad. In one story, Dale was about 7 years old and was accused of doing something that he did not do (the actual thing was not remembered but something along the lines of taking one of her dolls). When Dale denied it, because he did not do it, his father reprimanded him hard and sent him to his room. That night, Dale’s father, Kiija’s Grandfather, came into his room to say goodnight and apologized. This was huge and memorable for Dale as his father, a stoic Finnish man, did not often confront feelings. He also told us about fishing with his father which gave them time to spend together one on one. Grandpa Manty had Tuberculoses for many yeas while Dale was still young, making these memories of fishing and doing things together especially poignant and special. Thank you Dale for sharing these stories with your daughter and us!
The Favorite meals are always a challenge for me in the way that I find myself pushed within my culinary boundaries about what I like to eat and don’t eat. One of the best things about doing these meals is that it doesn’t matter what I like or not; it is truly about the other person and their favorite which ultimately allows me to expand my own ideas around food and experience someone else’s. In this particular Favorite meal, the Pasties were a traditional minors food that were eaten in the mines in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I don’t eat very much beef for a lot of reasons, but the main reason is that I have a hard time touching raw meat. However, the recipe for these pasties called for 2 pounds ground beef and some root vegetables, all to be mixed together with your hands. Lesson learned: touching raw meat will not kill me (not that I literally thought it would, but you know how those mental humps can seem so huge!).
Whenever I finish a Favorite meal, I am always amazed at the continuum of connections made between people as a result of having the experience. It always starts out with the Favorite and my participant. However the bonds, understandings, and connections tend to have a ripple effect that I can’t quite anticipate what will happen exactley and am fascinated as they unfold while in the midst of it. Not only did this Favorite turn out to be for Kiija, but it was also shared with her husband Brent and I, her parents who were on speakerphone, the memory of her Grandmother Auni, and respectively, you. It was a chance for me the designer to see these connections in action and unfold through the experience and for Kiija to learn more about her paternal grandfather. As always, I am grateful to have been a part of these experiences. I always come away knowing not only a little more about the people I do them for, but a little more about myself as well.
Pasty Recipe (recipe from the U.P!)
2 lbs ground beef (uncooked)
3-4 good size potatoes
½ large onion
4-5 celery stalks
½ rutabaga (optional, but I suggest at least trying it.)
½ turnip (optional)
12-15 baby carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
Makes 8-10 pasties
Chop potatoes into small squares. About the size of a French fry, cubed. Chop rutabaga, carrots, and turnip into smaller squares. Chop onion into small pieces. Combine everything in a large mixing bowl. (By hand is easiest.)
Roll out pie crust to approx. 9” diameter circles, one for each pasty. (I used my own pie crust recipe here.) Store-bought pie crust works fine too, and is much easier. My mom’s pie crust is the best I’ve had, but I don’t make it anymore, since a major ingredient is lard. And I’ve found the name-brand refrigerated pie crusts from the grocery store are a good substitute. For each crust, put in about 1 cup of the mixture of veggies and ground beef, onto one half of the crust. As you scoop it into a cup, it’s easy to see that you get a good variety of all ingredients. Fold over the crust. Pinch together the edges. Place small slits in the top of the crust.
Bake at 375 for one hour.
Nisu (traditional Finnish cardamom bread)
Makes 2 loaves
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk – scalded and then cooled to lukewarm
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled to lukewarm.
2 packages dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees Farenheit)
1 tsp crushed cardamom seed
Approx. 6 cups flour – enough to make dough firm.
Measure out 1/4 cup of warm water — try using an instant read thermometer to ensure that it is between 110 and 115 degrees Farenheit. Sprinkle the yeast in the water and stir gently to mix. Wait a few minutes to confirm that the yeast has been activated.
Beat the eggs, sugar and salt together using an electric mixer. Mix the scalded milk and melted butter together. Then add the milk/butter mixture to the egg/sugar/salt mixture and blend together with the mixer. Next add the yeast, cardamom seeds, and flour.
Add the flour gradually — I add the flour two cups at a time and mix them in, before adding more. You can mix the flour into the bread dough using an electric mixer. I prefer mixing the flour in by hand, with a mixing spoon. It’s a matter of personal preference — I feel like I have a better sense of the dough’s texture when I mix the flour in using a spoon.
You want the dough to barely stick to the fingers — this may require more than six cups of flour. Add the flour gradually until you get this consistency. Knead the dough on a floured board until the dough comes off your hand. Note that if you mix the flour into the dough with an electric mixer, you do not need to knead the dough.
Place the dough into a bowl, cover with a tea towel, and then put it in the slightly warmed oven to rise. The dough should rise until it is double in size. This will take around two hours.
After the dough has risen for the first time, turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead. Next, divide the dough into six equally sized pieces and pull them into long strips (around 15 to 16 inches in length). Using three strips, braid the dough into a loaf. Repeat braiding to create a second loaf.
Place the loaves on cookie sheets. Note that insulated cookie sheets will prevent the bottoms of the loaves from burning, when they are baked. Alternatively, I stack two cookie sheets with small sides, thus creating a sort of improvised insulated pan. Cover with a tea towel and return to the slightly warmed oven to rise again — to double in size. This will take an hour or two.
After the second rise, remove the breads from the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown. Then brush with a mixture of cold, brewed coffee and sugar, and sprinkle the tops with sugar.
Kahvi- Finnish egg-cleared coffee
The national drink of Finland is coffee and it is enjoyed all day, every day. Their secret for great coffee is to never, never boil it! It should be brought to the boiling point and then taken off the heat.
8 cups cold water
1 egg well washed
16 teaspoons slightly rounded coffee
+1 teaspoon for the pot!
Bring the cold water to a boil in a coffeepot or saucepan. Meanwhile, in small bowl, crush the egg (shell and all) into the dry coffee grounds and mix thoroughly. When the water has come to a rolling boil, add egg-coffee mixture and stir quickly. Let it come to the boiling point, and remove from the heat. Repeat this twice more. Then cover and let stand about 5 minutes so the grounds can settle. Makes 8 cups.
Leif is an interesting character. I only met him this past weekend when we did our collaborative Secret Supper together, piggy-backing a Favorite meal onto the festivities. It was a challenge for me to really plan what this meal was going to look like, taste like, and ultimately be like until I met him. After we had spent a considerable amount of time together due to the nature of our Supper project, I knew exactly what I needed to do: bento.
Learning about his favorite, the elusive Ms. Emily Cohen, was no easy endeavor. It took him months to get back to me about who his favorite was. I was especially intrigued with the description he gave:
“Emily is one of my best friends and I haven’t seen her much in awhile. She is also my ex-girlfriend. I love her a lot and we have shared tons of great meals together. She has helped me to be a more generous person, to others and to myself. She is a do-gooder with a big heart. She’s been living in Vermont as a farm apprentice for a while and is now doing activist work around prisons in Kentucky, for the moment. I feel like being her friend has made me a better person.“
Who is this woman who has helped make him a better person? In order to find out even the tiniest bits more, I listened. She came up in conversation quite a bit as she is still influential in his life. Just little things like “Oh, Emily would like this…” or “that is something Emily always says…”. So I pieced these snippets together, along with knowing him better from working with him and decided that Bento Boxes were the way to go. His list of flavors was really long and intense! There were so many things to choose from, I could have taken this so many ways. But learning from the little bits I was getting about Emily and Leif, earthy, healthy, and Japanese style/macrobiotic foods were what came to mind.
Leif’s flavor list (I laughed when I first saw this because of it’s absolute completeness and length…he even emailed me a few times to “update” it with more):
green tea, barley tea, twig tea, tulsi, oolong, puer, kumquats, arugala, dates, dandelion greens, soba noodles, ginger, cherry tomatoes, vanilla, quinoa, rice, soy milk, mint, blackberries, konbu, miso, beets, peas, chocolate, kale, popcorn, chiles, sushi, maple, ume plum, fenugreek (associated with skin and soft blankets), japanese incense, vegetable stock, tea
In the bento’s, I made sashimi tuna and salmon sushi, hard boiled quail eggs, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, home made miso (from a local Asian food store), cucumbers, and star fruit. I also baked (I mean of course, I had to!) vanilla buttermilk cupcakes with the left over buttermilk from the home made butter used at the Secret Supper.
(Leif took this picture and the one below)
At the meal, Leif took a few pictures that he was going to send to Emily. I asked him if I could also have those pictures. I am intrigued with the idea that this Favorite, while not present, was ultimately present via technology (text, photo, internet) and very much so a part of that experience. I have done Favorites for deceased celebrities and grandmothers, for a grandmother who was alive and present for the meal, but never for someone who was thousands of miles away, aware that this was happening, and the participant (Leif) was taking pictures for her to “experience” it on her own. As the designer of this experience, it was a new take on the Favorite for me. Because of this, I have been thinking a lot about our connections to others, to ourselves and how these relationships ultimately branch out and become part of those around us; how the internet and technology has ultimately changed how we relate to each other and even how relationships form, grow, or terminate. All of this from a bento box meal? Certainly! Food always has a lot to say.
The fourth Favorite was done for Blake Van Roekel and her Grandmother, Mary Alice. This was a different experience for me as this was the first meal I had to do with the Favorite being present. Blake took me over to meet her Grammy (as Mary Alice is so endearingly known in the family) an afternoon about a month before I did the meal. Her house cannot be described as anything but a gingerbread-wonderland-of-grandmother-loveliness. Walking into her house was like walking into a hug. No joke. Imagine, lavender (her favorite color) permeates the house through cushions, curtains, stained glass windows, and art; there are skylights and large open windows creating a light yet cozy feeling; she has an annex upstairs for the sole purpose of her sewing room where she creates hand-made bags, aprons, and baby clothes; her kitchen is organized just as a kitchen should be, it was like I already knew where everything was because it just made sense. Flowers, candy, nice hand lotion, and the permeating smell of cleanliness and roses filled the house.
Grammy had asked if she could set the table for the experience. I was excited that she asked, what a better and more authentic way to evoke a Favorite then having them directly participate. With this design constraint in mind, I set out to come up with a proper menu based on Blake’s memories of her Grandmother’s cooking and philosophy. Mary Alice is of the generation where fast, easy, and convenient foods ruled the kitchen. The 1950s were full of new products, gadgets, and types of food to make life easier at home. It was only natural to find recipes from the 50’s, with their tall claims of being fast and convenient. Deviled eggs, chicken salad sandwiches, a raspberry Jell-o ring with pineapple chunks, a cheese ball, and maraschino-vanilla-pudding-vanilla-wafer pie were all in order.
This meal was one of the hardest I’ve had to make. I stayed true to the recipes, calling for a box mix of this, or a can of that, not making anything directly from scratch as I like to do. The irony of not being able to make a real (or what I perceive as real) homemade meal was difficult! But for Grammy, it was perfect. She loved what was being served and even told us that she “doesn’t do organic from the stores because it is so expensive,” explaining that she’s “made it this long and is living healthily and happily, why change now?”
I decided that I needed to infiltrate Mary Alice’s table setting in a way that was not intrusive but rather additive to the entire experience. So I served the meal on a bed of wheat grass, still growing from it’s dirt, plopped right onto the plate, with the sandwich and deviled egg then nested right on top. It was a beautiful addition to an already gorgeous table. The grass also evoked another theme I was threading throughout the meal: spring and newness. Something about Mary Alice’s house and demeanor all reminded me of freshness, youth, and spring.
The meal itself was full of warm conversation and funny stories (told by Mary Alice about her travels through Germany and youth in Wisconsin). While a young girl, she told us stories of not being able to get margarine, especially the yellow margarine, in Wisconsin because it was illegal. Wisconsin as the capital dairy state, outlawed margarine, so they would drive across the boarder to Illinois, pick up margarine and with it a little yellow capsule of dye to mix in! It was all the rage apparently (both as a food-fashion and as a health food), so whenever they knew of a friend or neighbor who was making a trip across state boundaries, they would ask for some margarine to be picked up.
Through this meal, I understand why Blake chose her Grammy as her favorite. Blake is also an artist and a foodie and she says she owes a lot of her interest in food to Mary Alice. Since Blake was a little girl, Mary Alice has hosted the family holiday’s, birthday’s, and Sunday dinners always with an emphasis on setting a proper table. She is famous in her family for an ornate table setting, which Blake connects with through her memories and her heart. I was so lucky to be able to be witness to their lovely relationship, take part in Mary Alice’s table setting, and create a meal and memory for them to share.
Thank you Abby for taking these photos! Her soft, romantic aesthetic was perfect for the occasion. You can see more of her beautiful work here.
Maraschino Cherry Vanilla Pie
1 purchased shortbread pie crust
1 large package of vanilla pudding mix
2 bananas
1 small jar of maraschino cherries
6 Vanilla wafers
Cut the bananas in slices and place in the bottom of the pie crust.
Mix the pudding mix as directed on the box for pie.
Crumble up or place whole the Vanilla wafers on top of the pie.
Place the cherries around the outside edge of the pie.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Serve cold.
Deviled Eggs (from here)
6 eggs, hard cooked and peeled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
3/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar
pinch of salt (optional)
fresh ground black pepper (optional)
Cut eggs in half. Arrange egg whites cut side up on a serving plate and put the yolks in a small mixing bowl. Mash yolks with fork then stir in mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar. Mash and stir all ingredients together well. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Spoon a little bit of the mixture into each egg white half, dividing mixture as evenly as possible between the eggs. Sprinkle eggs with smoked paprika if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Chicken Salad (recipe adpoted loosely from here)
Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 teaspoons honey
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Salad
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
Method
In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.
When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.
Cheese Ball (recipe adapted from here)
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (1 ounce) package Ranch-style dressing mix
2 cups chopped pecans
4 pecan halves
In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, and dressing mix. Form into one large ball or two smaller balls. Roll in chopped pecans to coat surface. Decorate the top with pecan halves. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
This past Friday, I did my fourth Favorite meal for Blake Van Roekel of Good Keuken and her Grandmother, Mary Alice (or Grammy as she is most endearingly known). I brought along my friend and fellow blogger, Abby to help me document the meal. Abby’s photography is the perfect aesthetic for how I envisioned this experience documented; soft, nostalgic, and beautiful. She uses all film and a variety of antique cameras to give the pictures she takes her preferred look. I am eagerly awaiting her photos, I (as well as you!) should be seeing them soon! But I also took a few pictures with my little digital camera. I thought it would be a nice preview to see some images as well as be a nice contrast to what her photos will look like.
(Blake and Grammy having a good laugh)
(The table setting (done by Mary Alice, infiltrated by me) was gorgeous!)
(a recipe for Sorgum or Depression Cake from the 1930′s, in a cookbook Mary Alice has)
(the nested sandwhiches and deviled eggs, the meal had a wholesome 1950′s-esk and springtime feel to it)
Blake and Grammy’s story + recipes will be coming soon!
Last night I did The Favorite meal #3 with Lalena Dolby. She chose her favorite to be the artist and personality extraordinaire Florence Broadhurst. Florence was Australian by birth. In her early twenties, she was known as Miss Bobby Broadhurst, traveling from Asia to India to Western Europe. In 1926, she opened the Broadhurst Academy, a finishing school for girls in Shanghi. In 1933, she moved to London under the name Madame Pellier, a fashionista who opened a dress shop on the infamous New Bond Street. She had married London aristocracy, but by 1949 she was divorced, re-attached, had a child, and moved back to Australia under the guise as British aristocracy.
(Lalena found this dress for this meal, how perfect!)
In 1959, she opened her wallpaper company. It wasn’t until later in life (she was at this point in her early 60′s) that she went the path of design.” There is debate as to whether she actually drew any of the patterns herself, but clearly she had an eye for talented people—hired many, paid them very little, took full credit.” (Vanity Fair 04.2007) She was a shrewd business woman, however it was said that her factory was incredibly hip for it’s day. Artists, designers, and craftsmen working side by side, a radio always blaring, parties springing up intermittently in the evenings, and celebrities popping in to see the infamous warehouse space. She was a force, energetic and magnetic that despite her low wages and hard-nosed work ethic, people gravitated towards her because she exuded her energy all around and somehow made it fun. (I could go on and on about this woman, she was absolutely fascinating! You can find more articles on her here, here, and here if you’d like to read on. I know I did! She also has a book written on her, beautifully done, here. )
(wall texture detail)
(Horse Details)
Naturally, in order to truly evoke Florence at this meal, I had to recreate one of her beautiful patterns (and there are over 500 of them, it was amazing going through and just looking at many of them!). It dawned on me that I needed to recreate a pattern out of food, on a wall, big, bright, and beautiful, just like Miss Broadhurst (her hair was really that orange color for the last 25 years of her life). I decided on the horse pattern. Actually, I felt the horse pattern. It just stuck and when I came to the end of looking through and studying all her patterns, I puttered around with a few other ideas, but the horses were what called me. It’s that power, that force, and the way the horses morph into one another that resonated with me and I think, with Florence.
I also made quite an array of foods. Portland, it seems, is over run with one big cold. Everyone has one or is getting one! Lalena has been getting over one, so my inital idea of making amazing cocktails and smoking cigaretts (althgouh neither of us smoke, but the idea was funny and resonated somehow with Florence!) I decided to go a subtler and more nourishing route. So, I made Tom Yum lemongrass soup (to evoke all the asian inspired living and traveling Miss Broadhurst did, as well as help cure a cold) and Hot Toddy’s with thick slices of ginger, lemon, a heaping spoonful of local honey and a shot or two of St. Remy’s brandy in a slightly steeped Earl Grey tea. Then, for dessert I made Fairy Bread. Fairy Bread is an austrailian treat they serve to children on birthdays and special occasions. All it is is white bread, buttered, and sprinkles thrown on top. That’s it. I thought it was PERFECT for Florence. I could see her on the morning of her son’s birthday, forgetting it was his birthday, and whipping up a plate of this bread because it is so quick and easy. It’s also a really fake ‘food’.
(Hot Toddy)
(Tom Yum Lemongrass Soup)
(Fairy Bread)
While sipping our Hot Toddy’s and Lemongrass Soup, Lalena and I chatted about the whirwind life Florence had. And how her life did not end with her tragic murder in her wallpaper warehouse. In fact, her life has spurred on people to really embrace what they want from life and do it with passion. Her prints and patterns are being re-constructed and re-produced by a New Zeland designer and pattern company but also being used by fashion houses around the world. We both agreed that we were inspired by her ability to just do it, getting it done with absolute grace and style.
(Hot Toddy)
Tom Yum Soup (Goong, Talay, Pla-Meuk)
* 1/2 pound medium sized shrimp, peeled and de-veined
* 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
* 4 cups water
* 2 stalks of lemon grass (~10″ long)
* 4-6 kaffir lime leaves
* 3 small red onions cut into quarters
* 1 medium to large tomato
* 4 small pieces galangal
* 18 straw mushrooms, whole
* 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
* 1 1/2 limes, squeezed
* 1 teaspoon of white sugar
* 2-8 red and/or green chili peppers
* 1 tablespoon tom yum soup paste
1. Cut the lemongrass stalks into 2″ pieces.
2. If you are using Tom Yum paste you can use 2 tablespoons instead of making your own stock with tshis step. It will cut down on time necessary… Stock: Add the shrimp heads and shells to water, then cook for 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Soak heads and shells for 20 more minutes before removing from broth.
3. Add stock, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chili padi, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chili paste to a pot and bring to a boil. After boiling for 5 minutes, add tomato and onion. In 5 more minutes add shrimp and mushrooms. Cook another 10 minutes. For presentation you can garnish with coriander.
Hot Toddy
Sizeable piece of ginger, cut up into big chunks
1 lemon, sliced
1 heaping tablespoon honey
1-2 shots nice brandy
1 teabag (English Breakfast, Earl Gray)
Steep hot water, lemon, ginger, honey together for five minutes, add the shot(s) of brandy and serve.
Fairy Bread (google this, it is pretty interesting!)
Slices of white bread
Butter
Sprinkles
Butter the bread, sprinkle on the sprinkles, slice off the crusts, cut into triangles and serve.
For my thesis, I am doing a series of meals for an individual and a person of their choice. After several large-scale events, such as Uprooted and Pietopia, I decided to take a more personal approach to the meanings behind food and the action of eating. Participants can choose anyone be it someone they know, don’t know, admire, love, hate, is related to, not related to, dead, or alive. I then take the design challenge to create a full sensory (all five senses are activated) experience for the participant and their Favorite who may or may not be present for the experience. The meal itself is determined on who the participants are, anything from breakfast to cocktails to a midnight snack. The aim of these meals is to explore the more intimate portrait of a community. Each designed experience requires heavy research, open communication between myself and the participant, my reinterpretation of who this person may be and what they are like prescribed through the visual aesthetic, where the meal is held, and recipes that I create and/or find.
I have created a series of questions that I give to each participant to help get the design process started. They are:
1. Think of a person whom you’d love to have a meal with.
2. Answer these:
who-they are
why-they have been chosen
what-they have done
how-they have touched your life
3. Think about the flavors that come to mind when thinking of this person, whether you know for sure they “like” them or not is unimportant, go with your gut here and make a list.
4. What meal would be most appropriate? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, snacks, cocktails, midnight snack, whenever!
5. What place do you think of or associate this person with? Is it a room? another city? a climate? where?
6. What smells come to mind when thinking of this person and are they associated with anything tactile? (ex: a grandmothers perfume and her favorite scarf… a newborn’s scent and it’s baby blanket…)
7. Find one piece of memorabilia that you have of this person, anything that you use as a visual for remembering (ex: a book, a photo, a sweater, a trinket, a necklace, a newspaper article, a movie, a poster, a cd, a toy, a letter ….. )
So far, I have done two. I have about six more coming down the pipe, all completely different and really neat which I am so excited about. For example, someone chose a fairy tale character, a grandmother who is alive, the elusive Florence Broadhurst, and a grandfather who has passed, with a few more on the way. It is so neat to see how food and the senses shape our memories, actions, and lives. It is also fascinating to see what we associate with food or how we can express/communicate our stories through food. Stay tuned for more of these events, I will be posting about them as they are created. Cheers!
The Favorite is a series of meals I am doing with an individual and a person of their choice. They can choose anyone be it someone they know, don’t know, admire, love, is related, not related, dead or alive. I then take the design challenge to create a full sensory (all five senses are activated) experience for the participant and their Favorite who may or may not be present at the meal. Lacy chose her deceased grandmother, Joanne (above), as her Favorite meal partner. Her grandmother was young even in old age. She was a sensual woman who lived life to its fullest, loved vibrant colors, designer clothing, and good wine. One of her pieces of memorabilia she gave me was an old cookbook called Aphrodisiac Cookery.
In it were explanations of sensual foods, some reminiscent of certain body parts therefore thought to be stimulating such as apples, carrots, and nuts. I decided to bring this notion of food as sensuality into the cooking itself, lacing the meal with meaning. I made a carrot soup and zucchini stuffed with millet, kalamata olives, capers and tomatoes. The zucchini and carrots were both mentioned in her grandmothers book for their phallic appearance, the olives, capers, onions and garlic all have pungent tastes known to stimulate the blood and circulation. I also made a loaf of fresh spelt bread as a symbol of pure nourishment, as well as being a lovely compliment to the carrot bisque.
Spelt bread
makes 1 loaf
2 teaspoons fresh yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1.5 cups lukewarm water
4 cups white spelt flour
1 heaped teaspoon salt
Dissolve the yeast and honey in half a cup of water and leave until it begins to froth. Add 3 and a half cups of flour, the rest of the water and the salt and knead to a dough. Leave to rest for 10 minutes then continue kneading, adding more flour or water as required to make a soft silky dough. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to double in size, approximately 1 hour. Punch down, form into a loaf and cover again with a damp tea towel and leave for half an hour. Preheat the oven with a baking stone to 445°F.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Leave to cool for at least 20 minutes.
Carrot Bisque
(recipe inspired by Vegan with a Vengeance)
3 pounds carrots, peeled and diced into smaller pieces
1 large onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
3 cups vegetable broth
1 13-oz can coconut milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
In a stock pot over low-medium heat, cook the carrots and onions in the oil for 7-10 minutes to be brown but not burnt. Add the garlic, curry, salt, and pepper; saute for 1 minute more. Add the 3 cups of broth, cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until carrots are tender. Add the coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Turn the heat off. Blend half of the soup in a blender, return to the pot and add maple syrup. Serve hot.
Olive, Tomato, and Millet-Stuffed Zucchini
(recipe inspired by Vegan with a Vengeance)
1 medium sized onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup millet, rinsed
black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 22-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth or water
4 medium-size zucchini, ends trimmed
1/2 cup chopped, pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup capers
chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Saute the onions in the olive oil over moderate heat for 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 more minute.
Add the millet, herbs, spices, and salt; saute for about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with juice and vegetable broth. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 mins.
Meanwhile, prepare the zucchini: slice in half lengthwise. Place in a large saucepan cut side down, fill the pan with enough water to cover the zucchini halfway. Cover the pan, bring to a boil, cook for 5 minutes. Remove the zucchini from the water and place on a plate to cool. Once cool enough to handle, use a spoon to remove the pulp, chop up the pulp and reserve.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the Zucchini pulp, olives, and capers to the millet mixture. Simmer for about 5 more minutes, until the millet is tender. Stuff each zucchini half with some of the mixture. Place in a baking dish and bake for about 20 mins. Serve warm.
All five senses were activated through this meal. The tactile was actualized through a “safety pillow” I made. Created from a vintage velvet coat, rose colored satin, and a piece of animal print silk, the pillow can act as a protective shield and something to hold. I kept the pockets of the jacket in the front for your hands to easily slip into. I chose the velvet, satin, and silk for their extreme touch ability, all evoking a softness and sensuousness that is also comforting. As Lacy found herself holding it, she told me that her grandmother used to own a coat just like this, affirming my choices for the materials used.
The sense of smell (as well as taste) was evoked through the fresh vanilla bean steeping in the bergamot tea, both smells Lacy had told me reminded me of her grandmother. Smell, touch, and sound were also active through the fire in the fireplace, the warmth, crackle, and smell of the burning wood all engaging the senses.
Something that I did not know was that her grandmother always had a fire in the fireplace going whenever she had people over so she was happy that I had one going for our lunch. In the background, I had my favorite Ella Fitzgerald album playing, hoping to evoke the calm sophistication that Ella and jazz tend to bring to a room. Lacy mentioned that along with a fire always going, her grandmother was always playing jazz music, Ella being one of her favorite singers.
The visual component, other than the food and ambiance, were through two screen prints I made. The prints were replicas of two of her grandmother’s designer scarves. I also screen printed an image of her grandmother from a photo of her as a young woman, onto the backs of the recipes I used in our lunch and on to the top of a box I filled with the vegan coconut fudge.
The experience was more rich and rewarding than I could have ever imagined. It is one thing to design an experience for someone, but it is another to do it for someone who’s relationship with food has been one of fear and hatred. To hear Lacy talk about her plunge into anorexia, how food and nourishment became the enemy, and the slow demise of her self-worth was as healing as it was painful. I feel honored to have been witness to this very real and very scary step she has taken towards health and absolutely applaud her for it.
