Tuesday Open Thread ~ Soul Food


~
“The nourishment of body is food, while the nourishment of the soul is feeding others.”
~ Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S
~
~

Good Morning,

Welcome to Tuesday’s Open Thread. Week two of limiting myself from terrifying news and I’ve been spending more time in the kitchen. Between my Sister, my neighbor, and a girlfriend from work, who all like to cook, we decided to set up Face-Time in our kitchens where each of us takes turns sharing a dish we like to make. It's been a curious alchemy of interaction. Inevitably, pretenses fall away and we end up having heart to heart discussions that reveal how tired we are, how concerned we are, and how we long for normal again. Yet, throughout all of these conversations, the one topic that always seems to lighten the mood is when we talk about food. So, in the spirit of feeding the soul, I decided to include some uplifting stories about food and people and our irrepressible ability to adapt. Virtual hugs to all!

~
ot feeding the soul2.jpg
~


A Little Dash of Altruistic Ingenuity

As heartwarming stories go, this one topped my list. It's got food, chefs, people who are hungry, and everyone comes out the winner!

Caterer Crowdfunds To Feed Those In Need Amid Coronavirus Crisis

EVANSTON, IL — Backed by support from the Evanston community, a local catering company has been able to keep paying its workers while providing hundreds of meals a day to residents in need.

Feast & Imbibe Catering Group, based at 1601 Payne St., also offers the chance to sponsor meals for health care workers at local hospitals, sending personalized cards along with lunches to those on the front lines in the fight against the new coronavirus.

Owner Heather Bublick, a 15-year Evanston resident, said the catering business cratered in March — the month after the business bought its building — as first large gatherings and, later, non-essential activities, were forbidden.

Despite income drying up, Bublick, who founded the company in 2013, has been able to keep all nine full-time employees on the payroll through crowdfunding and catering to those in need. The company also has 25 part-time employees.

Feast & Imbibe began offering free individual meals from Executive Chef D'Andre Carter, a former executive sous chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant Moto, the same day dine-in service at restaurants was prohibited.

"There were already so many families in need, and now the need has just been exacerbated," Bublick told Patch. "There's families that were already in need, families that were just making it, and so it's all just been compounded. It's been a huge strain on the social services that were already in place."

In addition to providing free meals to families in Evanston and Skokie, Feast & Imbibe has committed to providing 50 meals every day to the nonprofit group I Grow Chicago to be distributed to seniors in the Englewood neighborhood.

Anyone can purchase Soul & Smoke meals online, sponsoring a meal for someone in need for as little as $20. Donors can also sponsor meals for health care workers at the intensive care unit and respiratory department of Evanston Hospital, or workers at other area hospitals.

On Monday, the company delivered 60 meals to Swedish Hospital in Chicago. And on Tuesday, Feast & Imbibe dropped off a dozen lunches for the respiratory team at Evanston Hospital, as well as a personalized card and truffles.

~


Chef-tabulous!

File this under great idea meets perfect audience. While many of us are finding ourselves isolating at home with a lot time on our hands, some well known chefs have found a way to bridge that gap via virtual classes.

Chefs Offer Online Cooking Demos During Coronavirus Pandemic

Massimo Bottura, Michael Symon, and Antoni Porowski are offering simple classes for viewers at home.

As people stay home to #flattenthecurve and prevent the spread of coronavirus, several chefs and industry professionals have found a way to engage with social-distancing viewers via virtual classes.

Some, like Massimo Bottura and Antoni Porowski, have been posting videos with guided cooking demonstrations and helpful tips for viewers looking to make the most of pantry ingredients. Some of the demos will cost you, but for a good cause—Sean Brock is offering paid virtual classes so he can continue to support his staff as restaurants are forced to close.

If you're spending more time than usual in the kitchen, check out these short cooking demos and get cooking.

~

Here's a Sample of Super-Hunky Chef Antoni Demonstrating His Skills
Some of you may remember Antoni from Netflix's "Queer Eye" series. He was the chef on staff who would teach basic cooking skills to make-over candidates. What made Antoni so engaging in the series, besides his good looks, was his empathy and ability to make cooking for the uninitiated less intimidating. Here he is launching a series of cooking demonstrations on his Instagram account. Using simple ingredients he already had at home, he shares his ideas and techniques in such an accessible way, it's as if he were just a friendly neighbor who came to your house to cook for you. I could watch this guy all day. Thanks Antoni!

~
~


Around the World in Six Breakfasts

The premise is pretty simple. You take a group of American kids, sit them down in a studio, serve them unfamiliar breakfasts from around the world, and then film their reactions. While that in and of itself is worth watching, what I enjoyed even more was being able to take a peak at what kinds of food children in South Korea and Vietnam Nam were actually eating. A far cry from Captain Crunch, the meals these American kids were presented were both visually interesting and nutritionally superior to any conventional American breakfast they were used to eating. Needless to say, the kids had other opinions.

~
~
Well, that about wraps things up for this week's edition.
~
~
What’s on your mind today?
Arrow.png
Share
up
19 users have voted.

Comments

Lookout's picture

We've been enjoying cooking and eating well. We're still limiting meals and carbs so this isn't the case...
pastedImagebase6417.png

Got several entertaining things from friends this week...
Half of us are going to come out of this quarantine as amazing cooks. The other half will come out with a drinking problem.

I used to spin that toilet paper like I was on Wheel of Fortune. Now I turn it like I'm cracking a safe.

I need to practice social-distancing from the refrigerator.

PSA: every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pajamas will have you believe all is well in the kingdom.

Homeschooling is going well. 2 students suspended for fighting and 1 teacher fired for drinking on the job.

Day 5 of Homeschooling: One of these little monsters called in a bomb threat.

Day 6 of Homeschooling: My child just said "I hope I don't have the same teacher next year".... I'm offended.

I don't think anyone expected that when we changed the clocks we'd go from Standard Time to the Twilight Zone

This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought her cat understood her. I came into my house, told my dog..... we laughed a lot.

So, after this quarantine.....will the producers of My 600 Pound Life just find me or do I find them?

Quarantine Day 5: Went to this restaurant called THE KITCHEN. You have to gather all the ingredients and make your own meal. I have no clue how this place is still in business. 

My body has absorbed so much soap and disinfectant lately that when I pee it cleans the toilet.

I'm so excited --- it's time to take out the garbage. What should I wear?

I hope the weather is good tomorrow for my trip to Puerto Backyarda. I'm getting tired of Los Livingroom.

Classified Ad: Single man with toilet paper seeks woman with hand sanitizer for good clean fun.

Better 6 feet apart than 6 feet under

I went to the store yesterday...
pastedImagebase646.png

I was much smarter than this one...
pastedImagebase6416.png

So happy cooking and survival everyone! Take care Anja. Thanks for the OT.

up
20 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

enhydra lutris's picture

@Lookout
and couldn't help but focus on this one:

I don't think anyone expected that when we changed the clocks we'd go from Standard Time to the Twilight Zone

My immediate reaction was that nature is telling us not to fuck around with the clocks.

be well and have a good one

up
9 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Anja Geitz's picture

@Lookout

Kinda makes me wonder what the court jesters were up to during the black plague?

The guy dressed in a hazmat suit saying he was going to the store made me laugh. It shouldn't have, but it did.

Glad you're doing well.

up
10 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Raggedy Ann's picture

I love that catering story! People get very creative when pushed. These people got creative for the good of all. That's the theme of the corona virus - come together!
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45cYwDMibGo]

Ah, the Beatles soothe my soul, still.

What to cook today? So much time, so few ideas. LOL! Just kidding - but it might be helpful to tune into those cooking shows to hone up one's skills. We've always eaten at home more than out, but that's because of location, location, location. We don't have a plethora of restaurants to choose from in this small farming community.

Can't wait for that garden to get going! I know we're a couple months off from feasting (except for the spinach and leafy greens), but I'm so excited to live from the bounty of our own hard work.

Take time to be outside in the freshest air we have experienced in decades. Breathe deeply and know you live in love. Be kind to others. Live in the present moment.

Enjoy your Tuesday, everyone! Pleasantry

up
13 users have voted.

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Anja Geitz's picture

@Raggedy Ann

A nice change of pace from the stories of greed out there. And who doesn't like a good story about food? Figured we could all use a counterbalance. I know I did!

Thanks for the Beatles tune!

up
10 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Thanks so much for the videos. It has been interesting checking the pantry to see what we can create. Since am sheltering with relatives, we do lots of creative cooking. One thing I lean toward is making any meal a colorful choice.
Wish they would have shown an African country breakfast from a tribal perspective.
Have a good day all and love how some businesses have risen above the restrictions and made things win/win

up
12 users have voted.

Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

Anja Geitz's picture

@jakkalbessie

One nice thing to come out of all of this, for me anyway, is the focus on getting creative with the ingredients I already have. Yesterday I made a tuna salad with eggs, kidney beans, olives, and TJ's garlic spread. And you know what? It was delicious!

up
7 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

enhydra lutris's picture

will in a few minutes. I've been tempted by some ads for some of the cooking classes that pop up before other you tubes, one can always learn something new. My wife gets to cook this week, so all I know for sure about tonight is the protein: grilled salmon. Probably also a sweet potato dish since we took delivery of 4 ginormous sweet potatoes Saturday (they weigh 5# together). We made bread (2 ea 2# loaves) yesterday, and a batch of my refrigerator cookies, so we're good for a couple of weeks there. The cookies aren't overly sweet, more like Speculoos, but I'm thinking that they need more nutmeg. I'm definitely intrigued by the breakfast video. I already do some unusual stuff for breakfast like congee with shrooms and greens, polenta with shrooms and greens and spaghetti with with shrooms and greens and oil and herbs, in addition to stuff like oatmeal and poached eggs and such and it would be great to find some more fun ideas.

Glad you're all entertaining yourselves and each other, definitely beats sit-coms.

be well and have a good one.

up
9 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Anja Geitz's picture

@enhydra lutris

I think we are all looking for new ways to make our meals more interesting. The cooking class ads on you tube is inspired brilliance since we are all finding ourselves in tne kitchen. Good news for families who have someone who knows how to cook. Not so good news for families who don't. I think you'll enjoy the breakfast video Smile

up
8 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

If I told you and others what was actually on my mind, you or somebody here, would call Adult Protective Services to do a welfare check.
You see, I am supposed to panic about having no income. I am supposed to meet deadlines, write legal briefs, and those things can now be kicked down the road. I am supposed to be tossing and turning all night, getting up to write down some line of questioning for an upcoming hearing at 3 a.m.
Instead, I am up until 3 a.m. laughing, talking, cooing, screaming, purring, making sounds I thought only a lioness made.
I hit some Lotto of Love, where someone actually wants to hear about my life's little adventures, like that time I stopped freeway traffic to wait for a turtle to cross, or what I felt when I wet my foot in the Caribbean Sea.
I took a cooking class in Bangkok. The chef from Colorado was right beside me.
He cracked his egg, spent the rest of the class trying to fish out the pieces of shell from his masterpiece.
I cracked my egg to perfection.
Lotto of Cracked Eggs.

up
12 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

Are we to infer that you have a new love in your life?

up
7 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@Anja Geitz Damn straight!

up
9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

But then, leave it to you to find love in the middle of a pandemic. You give us all hope, I tell ya!

up
10 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@Anja Geitz the pandemic by a couple months, but with all this free time on our hands, it has certainly caught fire.
There is a recipe book in St. Petersburg with 700 recipes for human dung. Those people under siege wrote recipes, songs, poems, and loved their cats.
We are under siege.
I have no recipes, songs, or poems within me.
I do love my cat.
And I do make my lover sing.
Just for me, but I thought I would share it with you.

up
10 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

be well and have a good one.

up
8 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris I spent decades trying not to make a total fool of myself, only to discover that my inner-fool was my best part.
Hope you have a lovely day!

up
8 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

Ain't feeling too great these days, but it's so good to hear someone else made lemonade outta lemons.

Romance. What a frighteningly exhilarating concept for those brave enough to pursue it.

up
9 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@Anja Geitz if you just live your life. That lover isn't interested in your party dress. What he falls in love with is that sweet way you put the salad on the plate, or the way you step out onto the patio to listen to the rain.

up
9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

Let us all be so fortunate Smile

up
4 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

You don't suppose there are a few dumpling recipes in there, do ya? No, huh? Well, I guess if the choice is starvation and eating dung, people will do what they have to. I just don't understand how the body overcomes all the bacteria.

up
7 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

I keep it on a purely platonic basis. A few kisses here and there, but that's where I draw the line.

up
8 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

I suppose the bacteria was their own, sort of recycled.
I think dumplings were included.
Certainly pies.
What will we Americans show as our pandemic legacy? How do we make our siege say something forever about how we faced down this killer?
Will it be snippets from some sitcoms with musical background?
We shall see, won't we?

up
9 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

There were a lotta ways I coulda gone with that, but dumplings seemed the safest way Smile

up
4 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

"Who was that masked man?"

Thank you, I've waited weeks to use that line.

up
6 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris Don't wait. Total release is good. lol!
When you do discover who the man is, do share.
I have lost my mind.
You'd think I would be looking for it.

up
6 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

lotlizard's picture

@enhydra lutris

up
4 users have voted.
enhydra lutris's picture

up
2 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

in trial, trying to find out exactly had had gone on with an autistic child's cat.
Pets are not allowed in her apartment complex, so you figure that out.

up
7 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

wendy davis's picture

“The nourishment of body is food, while the nourishment of the soul is feeding others.”

this:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLmLo9pDXFk]

and oy, that %&*^ gif...please ignore my swearing under my breath... kinda/sorta: ; )

up
5 users have voted.