1. Pasona Urban Farm
"It is important to note that this is not a passive
building with plants on the walls, this is an actively growing building, with
plantings used for educational workshops where Pasona employees and outside
community members can come in and learn farming practices."
An architect mate of mine sent me off to see this inspiring
office with not just your everyday ho hum vertical garden but a fully
functioning farm, rice field included.
2.
My
Kitchen Rules: people pushed to breaking point screaming at food
‘Should that not sufficiently put you off, there’s the
contrasting aural tonnage emitted by the contestants madly careening around the
kitchen as they descend into a psychotic rage for your sedentary amusement.
People pushed to breaking point screaming at food seems to get ratings but is
nevertheless a disturbing televisual concoction, like watching Jack Bauer
interrogate a muffin. It makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong every time I
manage to cook a meal without using a megaphone to hurl abuse directly into my
partner's cranium.’
Possibly the funniest crit I have read of a tv food program.
3. How to eat: hot dogs
‘The integrity of the hotdog as a portable product can only
be maintained if key rules are observed. 1) All toppings must be secured either
under a layer of grilled cheese or, on a top-loader, by making sure said
toppings are firmly tucked deep into the bun's cleft. It may look appealing,
but anything you stack in a teetering pile atop a hotdog, will end up on the
floor as soon as you take a bite. 2) It is all too rare, but sauces should be
applied under the sausage so they don't end up all over your top lip and nose.
3) The bun must not be sopping wet. Anything moist, ie. beef chilli, pulled
pork, should be placed on top of the sausage, not just poured all over the
bun.’
The author makes some excellent points in other parts of
this article but I think is very wrong in the matter of toppings. As with a
burger, a large part of the pleasure of eating the hot dog is in trying to
avoid getting toppings squirting violently at the person immediately in front
of you, or drenching your shirtfront, both of which can only be avoided I find
by having the toppings coat one’s fingers, palm, wrists, and in extreme cases
elbow, which is to be enjoyed and not dismayed by as it leads to that delicious
descent into childhood where one then proceeds to contort the arm like some
deranged acrobat as one tries to lick the gunk off.
4. Extra Virgin Suicides
Why am I not surprised?
5. How the experts use salt in their
cooking - and why
‘Never cook peas and broad beans in salted water unless you
prefer their skin hard and cracked. And don't salt mushrooms before they're
cooked, unless you actually want them limp and shrivelled.’
Ooops...
However, now I also know why I love salt on pineapple and
granny smiths and feel smugly justified.
6. Bread, Freedom, Social Justice: The
Egyptian Uprising and a Sufi Khadima
‘The tension between present and future also figures in the
call of Egyptian protesters for bread, freedom, and social justice. The demand
for bread points to present need. Bread (‘aīsh) in
Egyptian Arabic literally means life. Bread is a staple food in Egypt that has
been state-subsidized for decades. International Monetary Fund–enforced cuts
led to bread riots in 1977, and rising food prices are today often associated
with the looming danger of a “revolution of the hungry” yet to come. At the
same time, while symbolically calling for bread, activists in Egypt often dismiss
food distribution as “anti–social justice.” Many claim that Egypt’s widespread
“culture of charity” is in fact the primary reason why a revolution did not
happen sooner. The argument is familiar: Handouts allow the poor to get by and
keep them quiet but will never lead to true change. In this sense, the
prioritizing of the future has affected not only the work of NGOs but also
shaped (and narrowed) visions of social justice.’
A fascinating article for those of us interested in the
hospitality of the table and social justice and where and how the two
intersect. It is also a provocative critique of current models of both
‘charity’ and development and humanitarian aid.
BTW the Journal of Cultural Anthropology from which the
article comes has just gone completely open accessible on line J
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