Sugarcane Candles

I had my second annual Divali dinner last month (I just realized that when I say it like that, it sounds like a real tradition!). It's a tradition I really enjoy keeping, though my dinner parties don't resemble the Divalis I grew up with.

For one, it wasn't called Divali. It was Divari with the accent on the first syllable. The Indian New Year I grew up with had lots of family and the homemade sweets that you could only have at that time of year and maybe little presents for the kids - or maybe I'm making that part up, not sure. My grandparents' apartment was always alit with candles to keep away the evil spirits and the doorways were decorated with wreathes of flowers and scrolled designs on the thresholds made of colored powders. Everyone endeavored to get along for the night and usually did. Which meant they'd all get together and urge on the child of the house - me - to do the prayer/benediction/ceremony that involved walking around the house with a homemade sugarcane candle chanting the Aireu Maireu (anglicized obviously). I'd wonder at how the piece of sugarcane with the cotton ball wick turned into a candle, get horribly bashful about the chanting, thrill to the moment and then ask for another of the sweets. All the food was always delicious - not just because of the holiday but because my grandmother was a great cook.

Cooking is one of the arts that I wish I had cared to learn from my grandmother when she was still alive to teach me. She died about 10 years ago and it was a few years before I realized the lost knowledge. But I still missed eating good Indian food so I started cooking anyway using cookbooks. It wasn't the same, but I had to start somewhere and I got better the more I cooked. After moving to DC, deciding to have the first Divari dinner party was a big deal - would we end up eating anytime that night? would it feel like something was missing if there weren't sugarcane candles and chanting? what if someone was allergic to something? and of course, would it taste good? It all came together beautifully though and that's when I started branching out beyond Indian food for people other than myself.

I'm not experienced enough with Indian cooking to be the intuitive cook that my grandmother was but, in getting to a place where I enjoy sharing my cooking, I feel like I've reclaimed some of what was lost. Except the sweets. I need to figure out how to make those to complete the lesson!

It's probably just as well that I forget to take pictures at my dinners since these and these are much, much cooler.

Tradition

Ah, the week of large meals was a tasty one.

As a kid, Divali was one of my favorite holidays. The food was so good and always featured Indian sweets - kinda of like not-oversweet pieces of fudge - and gifts and a funny song that the kid in the family had to sing throughout the house with a handmade candle to bless the home.

My own celebration last Sunday was sans song or gifts, but with a good dinner with friends and candles to ward away the evil spirits. The dinner featured Mushrooms & Potatoes in a Tomato Sauce, Lentil Soup, Rice and Peas, Lemony Cilantro Chicken, a kick-ass Raita, and one of those orange-shaped chocolates that you smack to break into sections. A good time was had by all and my very first dinner party was a success and has encouraged me to do it again.

Random thought: If I married a Chinese guy who was Jewish, then we'd have four, FOUR different New Year's celebrations to observe and three of them would move from year to year!

The next day I traveled up to Boston for Thanksgiving. It was fairly low-key trip since I was feeling crappy, but I was glad to be there. In addition to the big meal, I caught the most recent Bond film with Justin (of Loudcity). Quantum of Solace needed more moments of quiet to highlight its moments of craziness. One of the things I liked so much about Casino Royale a few years ago was that Daniel Craig's Bond finally seemed like a fully realized character rather than a caricature of one. Quantum of Solace took a step back: there were too many chase sequences, too many explosions, too much violence and none of it particularly memorable. Maybe he'll have gotten over himself in time for the next Bond?

Not by choice, but I also saw The Notebook. It was cheesiness itself but Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are mostly winsome characters and it was enjoyable enough despite the Velveeta gloss. Then again, watching Star Wars IV: A New Hope later was an object lesson in stilted acting despite its status as a classic. Context is everything I guess.

Anyway, I'm off to New Orleans tomorrow for a short trip to talk about artist activism, to see how things have changed since I was there at the beginning of the year and catch up with some friends.

Vegging

One of the interesting challenges that came out of the Hindu funeral I was at a few weeks ago is that I was told I had to be vegetarian for two weeks. While I'm a committed omnivore, I'm often accidentally vegetarian, so the change hasn't been difficult with the exception of takeout lunches. Good vegetarian sandwiches aren't easy to find and salad bars get expensive, so I've been cooking more than usual for the leftover lunches.

In thinking about it, here's what I'd miss if I decided to be vegetarian: all the various pork products - especially bacon and all the deli meats that go into Italian subs and muffalettas - and the very occasional burger. I don't eat any of those delicious things often, but how I'd miss them all...*sigh*...I'm making myself hungry. OK, no more food talk.

Caught The Black Crowes during their 3-night stand at the 930 Club last week. It brought back fond memories of the first time I saw them with my then boyfriend, an overly sensitive, Jesus-lookalike, drummer. This time around, it was just the rock if you please. They totally killed it...and without feathers, any overly-self-indulgent solos, banter, or opener to warm up the crowd, just two and a half hours of the Crowes. They played a third of their set from new material which wasn't as strong as the older tunes, but it didn't detract at all. They had a couple of gospel-esque back-up singers who I wish they'd used more. The crowd went wild over "Remedy" and I got to hear a few tracks off my favorite allbum Amorica (i.e. the album with the cover straight outta Hustler). Something about the Southern-tinged rock always leaves me feeling relaxed and refreshed.

In other non-election news, stuff I've been enjoying lately:

Feeling slightly less like a modern jackass when reading about the financial crisis now that I've listened to this and understand what "breaking the buck" means.

The awesome occasional mixes by the boys at Shilo Presents: #4 and #5

Patrick Smith @ Salon does a weekly column called Ask the Pilot about airplanes, air travel, airports, you get the picture. This post on airports, hedgehogs and poverty especially moved me.

Being something of a map fanatic, I found this fascinating.

Calexico's "Two Silver Trees"

Eat

I'm nearly done reading Michael Pollen's The Omnivore's Dilemma. I'm coming to the conclusion that there's no sustainable, ecologically-healthy way to eat other than growing my own food and living off the industrial agricultural grid. Being vegetarian, even if I wanted to go that route, apparently wouldn't change a whole lot. As educational as it's been to read about how food gets from from field to plate, I'm left wondering: where does that leave the conscientious urban consumer after they've been to the farmer's market?

Sticking with the theme: Aesop Rock's carefully thought out list of Top Ten Cereals and Retro Kids Cereal Boxes - just check out what they thought your kid self would want. (The post was written, by the by, by the guy who dreamed up one of the ultimate geekfest events, the Buffy Sing-a-Long, which is now in mothballs because of legal issues.)

I was sad to learn that Cookie Monster no longer says: "Me want cookies!!! Omm, nom, nom, nom!!" Apparently, political correctness and the mommy state (literally) took over and he now says "cookies are a sometimes food." Where o where is the childish glee in that? Trust NPR to notice, but at least the rumor that he'd be turned into a Veggie Monster was a hoax.

Finally, a bit of food-related wackiness, courtesy of Boing Boing, a whole photo blog dedicated to documenting banana peels on the streets of London. No doubt, some of these bananas, could've used a Banana Guard. God, I love the Internet.

Farmer's Market Love

The Mt. Pleasant Farmer's Market started again on Saturday. I love going to the farmer's market and I'm completely spoiled since it happens 60 seconds outside my front door. I like vegetables and fruits, but the farmer's market makes me want to cook and eat even more of them. I like buying what looks good/interesting/different and then figuring out what to do with it - the green, diamond-spiked, Romanesco cauliflower, the Thai eggplant, the riotously- colored tomatoes and all the rest of it. For instance, this weekend I brought home some stir-fry greens, spicy radishes and this crazy looking purple asparagus.

I also brought back some herbs. My apartment faces north and while it's really bright from indirect sunlight, it only gets actual sunlight for a bit in the early morning so growing anything is a bit of a crapshoot. Based on last summer's experiments, I'm going to plant thyme, chives, and mint and I'm going to see how rosemary does without sunlight. I tried lavender last summer and it grew beautifully but I couldn't figure out what to do with it.

Someday, I want to have an actual garden with all sorts of vegetables and way too many heirloom tomatoes growing in it. In the meantime, my windowsill garden is a nice start.

Rhymes with Stealin'

It's been a travelin' kind of week.

Monday was a quick trip to Philly where I visited my co-worker Kristin to talk through some website stuff. For lunch that day I had the most delicious vegetarian Italian hoagie at a place called Chickie's. They were stuffed with sauteed broccoli rabe, roasted red peppers, baked eggplant and provolone cheese. For the skeptical amongst you, I promise that broccoli rabe is GREAT in sandwiches.

Wednesday I left on my tour of upstate New York. This is part of the same free-educational-seminars-for-musicians-project that I went to Syracuse for. That trip was so useful and productive that I sorta, kinda, maybe, OK, I really did volunteer myself for this second trip. I'm beat right now, but it was worth it. If I ever forget how much you miss on conference calls and emails, this was a huge reminder. I met some great folks who are eager to learn more and to get as many people involved as possible, so mission was definitely accomplished.

I suspect the musicians' union as a concept is going the same way as other labor unions in that membership and leadership are aging and they're struggling to continue catering to their existing membership while also trying to find ways to appeal and be relevant to the younger, non-orchestra folks. Not an easy task.

One of our project partners, The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester have a mini gallery in their office with a cool metalwork exhibit going on. The metal chair in the photo was pretty comfortable.

I saw country/folk/blues singer Eilen Jewell (yup, it rhymes with stealin') last Saturday at the Iota Cafe. She opened there last year for The Holmes Brothers and I spent her entire set talking to them (and over her). And once I paid attention, I felt badly that I hadn't paid more. So, I wanted to see her and she of the smoky voice didn't disappoint. Her guitar player played the tastiest, honky-tonkish, chicken-pickin' licks, her upright bassist was slappin' away like one of those guys in the old black and white reels from the 40's wearing tails, her drummer brushed with abandon, and she crooned over it all to the dancers and watchers. In addition to originals, she covered Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday and Loretta Lynn ("Fist City").

Heard on the radio while in a DC taxi cab on Friday night, sidekick says to DJ: "You know, this is probably the only hip-hop show with an all Will Ferrell intro."

From Monday's NYTimes: the new, more personable Hillary Clinton "recently tried her hand at bowling an orange up the aisle during [her campaign plane's] take-off, a favorite game of the news media." If we have Clinton as President, will the White House Press Corps graduate to grapefruits or maybe even pomelos? Watch the party start then, yee haw!

Off to SXSW next week. As wrecked as I feel right now, I'm still excited ;)

The Underage Shimmy

No doubt Mitt Romney must know from bling since he talks about it here.

It has been a long week of crunching numbers and watching Twin Peaks Season 2 to recover from the resulting brain freeze. I've also been part of the search committee for an Operations Coordinator at FMC. This person will fill my job so I can become Events Organizer. The process has really made me think about how you judge someone's ability to do a job when they don't have much experience. I've been lucky when people have made that leap of faith about me in the past but how do you judge that in someone else? I'm feeling grateful these days that I don't make my living in HR.

I saw Buffalo Tom at The Black Cat last night. Bassist Chris Colbourn used to be my boss but I'd never seen him perform. I enjoyed the show, but equally entertaining was the underage girl who was doing the suburban butt shimmy against her equally underage boyfriend. She danced. He squirmed while trying to figure out how to cop a feel but not actually dance. The best part? When her mom appeared and joined her in dancing (bad dancing runs in the family) while the boy kept his distance only to sidle back when mom's back was turned.

Feeling the need to make fondue? Wow.

Saw Juno last weekend. Smart and sharp movie that could've been cold, but instead was done with a lot of heart. I really liked it.

Other odds and ends:
Tim Wu talks here in Slate about why both you and AT&T don't want AT&T to try to filter content for violations of intellectual property. Color me convinced.

Heard on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me this morning regarding Bill Clinton: "You know, he's like that kid that graduated high school, but keeps hanging around. You just want to ask him, 'aren't you, like, 28?'"