On Men and Culture

I didn't grow up in the Armenian Orthodox Church but my friend Gary and his wife Sona have opened their arms to me and made me welcome into the community. You may not think that's such a big thing. Christian churches are supposed to be welcoming to new members. But I'm ges-hye, only half Armenian.

Remember Cher's big hit "Half Breed"? She wasn't singing about being half Native American. She was signing about being half Armenian.

The Armenians, like the Japanese and Amish, have been, by necessity, are an insular culture. Like the Jews, they have been scattered to the far corners of the earth. Holding onto cultural identity has been key to the Armenians survival. And marrying outside any ethnic group is definitely the way to dilute culture.

What holds a culture together?

I often say that food is the last thing that disappears in a culture. The first thing is dress, for sure. I hate to think there may be a day when everyone on the face of the earth will be wearing dull-colored, baggy workout clothes and Nike shower slippers on the street.

Yesterday, I witnessed a big part of what holds the Armenian culture together, the church. Armenians pride themselves as the first country that converted as a whole to Christianity. They say their Bible is the "Queen of Translations."

So the 65th anniversary of St. James Armenian Church paired with the ordination of sub-deacons was a big event. Sona and Gary's son Nicky was one of the three young men being ordained so I had to go.

The ceremony began with a service that looks very much like a Catholic high mass. Lots of candles and incense burning. The choir signing. This is something I could relate to being brought up Catholic.

Gary and Sona's 9-year old son, dressed in a sharp suit, assumed the role of usher, helping people find empty seats. And the church was packed.

When the ordination began, one of the young men was taken to the back of the church. Surrounded by the bishop, the pastor, the several deacons and sub-deacons, he knelt down. We were told that he would be tonsured to show his submission to the church.

Tonsured monks have a circle about 3 inches in diameter shaved on the crown of their heads. A woman behind me, obviously a non-church goer like myself, gasped and said, "Are they really going to cut his hair?" She voiced my thoughts exactly.

Scissors were produced and a tiny bit of hair was cut. The young man then walked forward on his knees about 6 feet and was given a whisk broom. We were all told that this signified that he was now worthy of sweeping out the church.

He walked forward another six feet. This time he was given a candlestick to signify that he was worthy of lighting the candles on the alter. He proceeded forward being stopped again and again to accept the symbols of his new station in the church.

I looked around at the others watching the ceremony. The elders, the middle-aged, the parents with babies in their arms, the young marrieds, the teenagers. All of us focused on this young man. All of us bearing witness to the threshold he was crossing over. All of us recognizing his new status in the community.

After the ordination, the Sunday School students entered the church holding candles, sometimes rather precariously. They approached the altar for a special requiem ceremony to honor those "who have gone before us to their eternal rest."

Here was the whole of the church's history laid out before me. From birth to death and beyond we were all included. We were all part of the fabric of this life.

And what stood out for me was the men in the gathering. I usually am so woman-centric but this time I focused on the men. Here on the altar were men I knew, men I had joked with, men who just a few short years ago were boys.

I thought about how the church had been supported for nearly 2 thousand years by the men like these and how important it was to have a new generation of men be invited, generation after generation to take up responsibilities, to make vows to the community.

Men are early adopters of alien culture. Men switch from sarongs to blue jeans first. In Tanzania, they will wear traditional garb plus a Yankees baseball cap. In a very short time, as men emulate a more profitable or invading culture, essential things get lost.

How does a culture keep their men hooked in?

What I saw in that church definitely said it's not just role-models, but being included, inducted into the group.

It works for the military. It works for street gangs. It works for terrorist organizations.

The challenge is providing a positive structure for young men. Because the way young men go the rest of us follow. That's why television programmers are so desperate to attract that group.

And so I am going to follow. I'm going to follow the young man with the tonsured hair. Witnessing his induction as sub-deacon of the church, I became closer to the community. I've been dancing on the edge of this culture all my life.

It's time to take a step into the circle.

Back Home in Louisiana

Last night Roger and I arrived in New Orleans for a brief stop before we head out to New Iberia and start filming on the "Ma Louisianne" project. We came in at night so I really couldn't see the bayou flanking I-10 but as soon as we hit the familiar streets the tension rolled off my shoulders.

We've been planning "Ma Louisianne" for 3 years now. It started when we ran into Chef John Besh backstage at the James Beard Awards when Spatulatta won in 2006. The amount of work leading up to this shoot is unlike any other we've done. Besides the usual ducks that must be gotten in a row there was the fundraiser last September. I haven't really had a day off since then.

So when we walked into Drago's last night and saw the happy crowd we knew we were home. I ordered a split of champagne to celebrate the fact we had arrived at last. We'd been on our cells phones in the car on the way down borrowing waders from cousins, booking hotel rooms, making contact with friends. But now we could kick back and relax.

Roger and I just looked at each other across the plates of char-broiled oysters and thanked each other for the work each of us has done to get us to this place and for the commitment to our marriage and our goals.

New Orleans seemed to rejoice with us. All the laughter of the happy holiday revelers engulfed us and welcomed us home.

It's the Nuts

I had the opportunity to test some of Fisher Nuts Culinary Touch Add-ins and Toppings and Fusion Snack Mixes. As soon as I popped open the first bag I knew I was working with a quality product, the aroma was great. I have had problems recently with walnuts from other vendors which smell old and slightly rancid when you open the bag. So I was pleased by the wholesome, fresh aroma.

I added 1/2 a cup of Fisher Culinary Touch Pecan, Cranberry, and Orange blend to give a new twist to the my favorite banana bread recipe. The additional fruit and nuts really gave the bread a wonderful range of flavors. Each bite was a surprise.

I used the rest of the bag as topping for a green salad tossing it all together with extra virgin olive oil and Lucini 10-year Gran Riserva Balsamico vinegar. Again, it was like a symphony for the tongue - a hint of orange here, a bit of tart cranberry there, then the satisfying texture of the pecans.

About that time, we where throwing a big gumbo party fundraiser for our "Ma Louisianne" project and I used the Fisher unsalted cashews as the protein in a vegan gumbo. (The recipe is posted below.) I added the nuts at the end of the cooking so they wouldn't become too mushy. They gave the gumbo an incredibly rich flavor. Chef Melissa Graham of Monogram Events, one of our guests that night, said it was her favorite gumbo out of the 4 selections. She thought I had added cashew butter but it was just the lovely cashews themselves.

The Fisher Fusions snack mixes were a bit too sweet for me. The Ice Cream Sundae mix was especially sweet. If you read the ingredients, all of the fruit was sweetened: pineapple, banana and strawberries. Those were then mixed with marshmallows and chocolate covered peanuts. Whoa! I'll stick to the nuts.

The great thing about the Fisher Culinary Touch bags is that they are small enough to put in ones' bag for a healthy snack on the go. I'd like to see Fisher go even further and make smaller size snack bags of their nut mixtures as an alternative to candy.

Gaylon's Cashew Vegan Gumbo

This is a cut-down of a recipe I put together for the "Big Easy Gumbo Party" we hosted last July as a fundraiser for our "Ma Louisianne" television project. I had a number of vegetarian guests and one vegan guest who couldn't eat the other gumbo offerings. I looked around for vegetarian gumbo recipes, but none of them had the hardy, earthy taste I wanted.

Roasted corn and smoked paprika stand in for the smoked meat and I added cashews as an homage to shrimp, another traditional gumbo ingredient. The original recipe was enough to serve 75 people using 5 pounds of okra. Here's a version for 4 to 6 servings.

2 ears of corn

1 cup oil

1 cup flour

3 stalks of celery - chopped coarsely

1 large onion - chopped coarsely

1 large green pepper - chopped coarsely

3 cloves garlic - finely chopped

3 cups vegetable broth

1.5 tablespoons of fresh thyme

1 serrano pepper - chopped finely

3 Roma tomatoes - peeled, cored and seeded, chopped coarsely

1.5 cups of sliced okra

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews

Salt to taste

Roast the corn on the cob ahead of time. Soak 2 ears of corn, with the husks on for 30 minutes then put them on the grill. Turn the ears as the husks began to burn. You want the kernels to darken on the edges but not burn. When the husks are blackened all over, remove the corn from the grill and let cool. Remove the husks, pull off all the hair and slice the corn away from the cob. Set aside.

Make a roux by putting 1 cup of oil and 1 cup of flour in a heat-proof bowl. Mix well. Microwave uncovered for 6 minutes. Let the roux set in the microwave for a minute or two. It will continue to cook. You're aiming for a roux the color of the the outside of a hazel nut. Whisk out any lumps and put the bowl back in the microwave for 2 minutes.

When the roux has reached the correct color, pour it into a heavy bottomed pot. Add the "holy trinity": celery, onions and green pepper. Add the thyme, garlic and hot pepper. Sauté until the vegetables are soft.

Add the vegetable stock, bring everything to a boil then simmer for 1 hour. (I made my own stock from the dozens of onion skins, parings from the peppers and celery I had after making 4 gumbos for 100 guests. I added 3 carrots, 6 bay leaves and a handful of black peppercorns. It boiled for 2 hours then I strained the vegetables out then reduced it. The stock was slightly sweet.)

The corn, tomatoes, orka and cashews go in for the last 1/2 hour of cooking. I don't like okra to get slimy and I've found that if you don't overcook it, it will retain its shape and texture.

Lastly, I added the smoked paprika and tasted. Then added the salt, a little at a time, until I hit the right flavor balance.

POM Wonderful Juice

Am I the best person to taste test POM Wonderful juice?

Pomegranates are my favorite fruit. I think it's genetic, because pomegranates are a hallmark of Armenia. Maybe it's because of their tough skin. Once you get past the nearly impregnable skin there are the bright red, juicy seeds shining like jewels. The pomegranate has been a symbol of fecundity since ancient times and in my lexicon creativity.

I get really excited in the fall when pomegranates start to appear in the stores. I'd love to take a whole crate home. A few years ago, I made up a refreshing pomegranate and grapefruit salad that appears in the Spatulatta Cookbook. When pomegranates are in season, I eat the salad for breakfast and dessert.

Their crisp refreshing flavor is something I hunger for year round so I was glad to see POM Wonderful appear in the refrigerated cases at the grocery store. Seeing the bottles refrigerated, rather than sitting on the shelf with the other juice, signaled that there were no preservatives.

Plus, I've been hearing wonderful things about the ability of pomegranate juice to reduce accumulations of plaque on artery walls. Big issue in my family.

Okay, so I was really looking forward to my first taste.

Zingy!

Then I detected a slight undertaste from the white membrane that surrounds the bright red seeds. It was hard for me to overlook and it never diminished as I continued to sip.

I wound up pouring soda water into the POM Wonderful and squeezing in a bit of lime. Yum!

So I tried POM Wonderful out on other people. I started with Joe, the 9-year old taste tester from Spatulatta. Joe's immediate reaction was a scrunched up face. "It's tart!" And then after another sip he said, "And sweet!" After the initial shock (he was expecting it to be like cranberry juice) he did indeed drink the whole 6-ounce bottle.

Next taster was Farrah, a visiting peace advocate from Iraq. Pomegranates are a favorite fruit in Iraq and Iran. Farrah took a sip and decided to add soda water as well. Likewise, my film editor friend, Jan who is a connoisseur of non-alchoholic beverages.

The last taste tester was my 14-year old nephew Max who was visiting from Japan. Max loved the POM Wonderful. He sucked down every drop he could get his hands on.

So my analysis? It was tasty. Not a flavor you come across everyday. My adult friends found it lovely in a mixed non-alcoholic drink, kids who like tart things really get into it, and hide it from your teenagers!

Little Chefs Race to the Taste in Ireland

I just got the cutest e-mail from Julie Kane at Cactus PR. Julie's doing public relations for the Belfast Taste and Music Festival. Julie writes:

THE RACE TO TASTE IS ON…

Little chefs Jake O'Neill (aged 7), Daniel Catterson (aged 11), Matthew Catterson (aged 8) and Jasmine O'Neill (aged 9) race to welcome Team Spatulatta which will be making their UK and Ireland debut at the Belfast Taste and Music Fest which runs from 6th to 9th August 2009.

Team Spatulatta is really looking forward to meeting our Irish friends in person. It's been months in the planning and soon we'll actually be getting on the plane. We'll be doing cooking demos and activities for kids during the Festival in the Belfast Botanic Gardens.

I'll be blogging from the festival so stay tuned!

Small Plate Diet

A couple months ago, my nano-tech engineer brother-in-law, Matt came up with a great new diet and he lost 15 pounds with one simple trick.

He started serving meals on smaller plates.

He'd figured out that he could trick his brain into not noticing that he was serving himself smaller portions. And it worked!

So I got excited when I came across a cookbook Small Plates: Appetizers as Meals by Marguerite Marceau Henderson, published by Gibbs Smith. Henderson has a around 200 recipes for appetizers that pass as very, very satisfying entrees.

The first recipe I made was Calamari with Fingerling Potatoes and Fennel. I picked that it because I just happened to have all the ingredients in my refrigerator. You scoff. Don't.

My husband is such a stickler for following recipes to the "n" degree that we had an extra bulb of fennel languishing around from something he'd made the week before. We had kalamata olives from a Spatulatta cooking demo and fingerling potatoes looked so good at the farmers' market that I had to get some. So all these great ingredients were hanging around, waiting for an opportunity to be turned into something wonderful.

And then I cheated. It was 6 PM. I'd just come back from a meeting downtown and I wasn't about to go out to the store for calamari. So I thawed out some talapia instead. But that's the joy of cooking for me, improvisation.

I baked the talapia separately with a little olive oil and spices. At the same time I was roasting the potatoes, fennel and olives.

The potatoes came out toasty brown, the fennel nearly carmelized, the olives added a salty hit, and the red pepper flakes gave a little heat here and there. My new favorite dish!

Henderson includes some tapas and traditional recipes from Italy. There are all-vegetable dishes, seafood and meat small plates. Inventive salads like Two Melon and Cucumber Mint Salad really peaked my interest.

And I have to applaud her, she not afraid of spices. She uses plenty of herbs, giving one's taste buds a lot of exercise. I find if a dish is spiced well, its richness will satisfy me in a way that mere volume won't.

Take for instance, Coffee and Spice Lamb Kebabs. What a concept! The coffee and spice rub, which includes cinnamon, cumin, allspice and fennel, gives the lamb a wonderful exotic flavor.

So why not try the small plate diet with a little help from Small Plates: Appetizers as Meals?