Food, Music, Food, Music, Food, Music... Ad Infinitum

"I'm thinking of going vegetarian, even vegan". Both my wife and I looked at each other incredulously. My daughter was also surprised. What my son had just said was as shocking as Donald Trump saying that he's been a closeted fan of Andrea Dworkin all his life. My son, vegetarian? Vegan???!!! This is the skinny lad who was wolfing down steaks with his mate less than two weeks ago. "Well, if it were down to me, I would have turned the whole family vegan long time ago." It was my wife's response now that made me laugh.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love vegetarian and vegan food. That is why I'm an omnivore. I get to experience the best of both worlds. But I like my meat. I can't hide it. Tonight, however, I am making an exception in order to post a recipe I came across whilst reading The Voice the other night. It sounds so yummy that I had to share it with you. This is the sort of fare I like tucking in and which I will be making at some point in the near future.

Baked Chickpea Burgers

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 8 burgers

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil (or canola oil)
8oz or 225g onions (finely chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tsp ground cumin
2oz or 50g carrot (finely chopped or shredded)
7oz or200 g canned or cooked chickpeas (drained)
1 tbsp tahini (or peanut butter)
2 tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
1oz or 25g chickpea flour (white)
1tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
2tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Spray oil

Preparation

1. Sauté the onions over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they soften.
2. Add the garlic, cumin and carrot and continue cooking for two more minutes.
3. Transfer to large bowl or food processor and add the chickpeas.
4. Mash or process until ingredients are combined.
5. Stir in tahini and parsley and lemon juice.
6. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in the small bowl, and stir into chickpeas.
7. Add flour to the bean mixture.
8. Flour your hands, shape mixture into four patties and dust them with flour. Fry in 1 tbsp
oil over medium-low heat for 1 minute, until just beginning to brown or spray with cooking
spray and cook that way for fewer calories.
9. Bake in a medium oven for 20-2 5 minutes or until golden brown.

The music to go with this groovy recipe must be equally groove-inspiring. That is why my first offer comes from Gorillaz, the animated invention of ex-Blur frontman Damon Albarn. Still love this song after all these years.



Next up an oldie for those who are into reggae. I've always had a soft spot for Tosh's music. I still find it more radical than the more radio-friendly Bob Marley (no disrespect to Bob, by the way, but once you become a legend, your hard edges are softened to accommodate new tastes and audiences). This is foot-tapping music with a message.



The Unthanks get heavy play chez moi. As the clip below shows, there are many reasons: the harmonies, the arrangements, the risk-taking approach, It all adds layers of delicious musicianship to be enjoyed, preferably, with baked chickpeas burgers.



Last clip comes from my neck of the woods. I have followed William Vivanco's musical career closely for some years now. I'm glad he has carried on pushing boundaries and making it hard for others to pigeonhole him. I am sure that tonight's recipe has done a similar thing: vegan food has its own groove. That's why I'm an omnivore, remember?



Next Post: "Saturday Evenings: Stay In, Sit Up and Switch On", to be published on Saturday 21st May at 6pm (GMT)

Food, Music, Food, Music, Food, Music... Ad Infinitum

I love avocadoes. And now my son does, too, which fills my heart with glee. It is said that if you were to be stranded on an island and you had the opportunity to choose just one kind of food that you could eat every day in order to survive, avocado would be the most appropriate and healthiest option. It contains a high percentage of monounsaturated fat, vitamins B, E and K and fibre.

In Cuba we have a funny way of finding out whether to use an avocado for salad or dip/paste. We shake the fruit close to our ear (cue puzzling looks from other customers in my local supermarket) and if we hear the seed inside it moving, that means it can be added to any green salad you're preparing. We call that type of avocado, 'aguacate aguachento' (watery avocado). If the seed remains static, we press our fingers on the fruit skin instead to assess its ripeness. If they sink, then we go for the paste.

Guacamole is not very common in Cuba as it is in Mexico and other Latin countries in Central America. Hence my introduction to this dish came only when I was in my twenties, courtesy of a Mexican family who lived in Havana at the time and with which I was acquainted. I found their guacamole quite spicy for my taste, if truth be told, but after almost thirteen years in Britain where I've had th pleasure of occasionally tucking into Mexican food, I've grown accustomed to the hotness (as in spicy).

The recipe below is by Felicity Cloake, a writer specialising in food and drink. I have to admit that I don't include tomatoes when I make my guacamole, just try to keep it as simple as possible. Plus, I like using lemon juice as opposed to lime, or garlic dressing if I haven't got any lemons. This recipe is perfect as a light lunch on a rainy day, followed by some hot 'mate', drunk, preferably in a customised gourd. Just, you know, to keep things as Latin as possible.

Guacamole

1–3 fresh green chillies, depending on heat, and your taste, finely chopped
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
3 ripe avocados
1 ripe medium tomato, cut into 3mm dice
Juice of 1 lime
Salt

1. Put a teaspoon each of the chilli, onion and coriander into a pestle and mortar, along with a pinch of coarse salt, and grind to a paste.

2. Peel the avocados and remove the stone. Cut into cubes, then mash into a chunky paste, leaving some pieces intact.

3. Stir the chilli paste into the avocado, and then gently fold in the tomatoes and the rest of the onions, chilli and coriander. Add lime juice and salt to taste. Serve immediately, or cover the surface with cling film and refrigerate.

And if we're to keep things as Latin as possible, then it should follow that my first musical offering tonight has Latin written all over it. Late Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer joined forces with the British pop band, Gorillaz, and together they released this gem of a song. Full, like a ripe avocado.



To me, grinding the chilli, onions and coriander is like listening to Franz Ferdinand's guitars. The workout I get from combining those ingredients in a mortar is similar to the syncopated beat of the Scottish band. Marvellous.



Once my guacamole is ready, it's time to sit down, put my feet up and enjoy it. Just the way I enjoy how Caetano's voice sounds: mature, confident and serene. The water is boiling and pretty soon I'll have a gourd with steaming 'mate' in hand. Happy eating!



© 2010

Next Post: 'Birthday Post: Reflections and Music', to be published on Tuesday 16th November at 12:01am (GMT)

Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music

I still remember my first act of altruism. I was in year 4. There might have been other moments of generosity before, but they were probably unintentional, and anyway, I cannot recall them. At that age, eight going nine, I was probably one of the fastest runners in my school and rare was the day when I didn't leave my opponents way behind as we raced around the local park during our PE class.

But one day a competition was organised against a nearby school, which happened to be also the place one of my closest mates attended. That's when my principle of unselfish concern for others (unbeknownst to me until then) made an unexpected appearance.

My friend used to be bullied at his school and many people, including me at that tender age, were of the opinion that his personality was partly to blame for this. I knew this because even amongst my close circle of pals, he was also abused every now and then. Apparently he was a 'softie'. Although he sometimes stood up for himself against the bullies, he ended up on the ground very often, overpowered by other children who were physically stronger than him.

On that day the stakes were high. If we beat his school, we would progress in the competition and consequentely we would be entered in a draw at borough level. Tell that to a year 4 student and watch him dream about the victory and glory success brings. What I didn't know at the time, until we almost positioned ourselves on the start line, was the fate awaiting my friend.

We had been pitted against each other. He was a good runner, but I knew I could beat him, having already done it many times when we played after school. Then, minutes before we were poised to begin, he whispered: 'They'll beat me'. What? I asked, what was that you said? 'They'll beat me if I lose'. And then he, surreptitiously, pointed at a group of three or four pupils standing nearby. Thoughts raced through my head. Was he having me on? After all, he knew I was a better runner. I looked at the bunch of thugs again and by the time one of the teachers shouted out: 'Go!', I had already made up my mind. We were supposed to run two laps around the park. I took the lead straight away and cheered on by my classmates I sped up. However, by the time I was three quarters into my second lap and on the way to victory, I pretended to fall. I tripped myself up and ended up on the ground, face down; unhurt but feigning injury. My friend, who was lagging way behind me, overtook me, not without first looking in my eyes and realising what I'd done. I limped towards the finish line and was warmly hugged by my mum and my teacher. The 'Never mind, that happens' and 'We're still proud of you' phrases rang in my ears like a scratchy record. At some point I turned around and saw my friend being lifted on the shoulders of those who, moments before, had been bent on inflicting damage on him.

Almost thirty years after I stuck out my neck for my mate, I am on the touchline on a warm summer day with myriad parents and carers. We are all looking at our offspring racing and skipping. Only this time there's no bullied kid to stand up for, but bullying parents to cope with.

Welcome to School's Sports Day.

If someone had told me when I was a teenager that one day I would become a pushy parent when sports day came calling at my son and daughter's school I would have laughed their comments off. After all, both my wife and I have fostered a non-competitive approach to activities that demand more brawn than brain since our children were young. But I guess some things never change in life. My surprise was that I thought I was an isolated case. Well, far from it.

Let me just get back to that touchline for a second. And what's that I hear? 'C'mon, son, you can do better' (I swear that wasn't me), 'Get stuck in, luv', 'Oh, sweet'eart, you grazed your knee, never mind. Now get back up and run!', 'Wha' you rollin' on the ground for, son? Cross the ball, mate, cross the ball!' Ah, love it. And that was just the grandparents. Just joking. Well, just.

What is it about seeing our children, as in my case, engaging in physical activity that brings out the animal in our otherwise placid homo sapiens existence? And that makes us discard the sapiens from the equation, too, in the process?

I confess that throughout that whole sports session that day I tried to remain calm and cheerful, shouting out encouraging words not just to my two children but to the rest of the team of which they were part. But when my son and his classmates came up second in one of the races, it was hard to disguise my disappointment. And the funny, ironic, unfair aspect of it was...? That I was blaming another kid. Oh, yes, I was! Self-righteous, smug, little pushy father that I am (was, was, sorry, it happened only that day, I swear!). I zeroed in on this other young chap and began to watch him closely and as soon as the other games resumed I started to cheer on him rather than my son, to his parents' surprise - oh, yes, they were both there and that must have looked odd, to say the least.

That's why it's only now, as an adult, that I can understand how the experience of playing sports, competing in them and participating in an open school day where you have your next of kin watching you closely, can leave damaging scars for life sometimes. I've met people for whom the experience of playing for their school's football team was too awful to bear; the tackle came too late, they did not react quickly enough, the teacher's criticism was too harsh and the jibes from his or her teammates were cruel.

And yet, is this winning vs losing quagmire not a reflection of the life my children will have to face at some point? A basic lesson on the pros and cons of teamwork and individual effort? My pragmatic self would say that, yes, indeed that's reality, but, at the same time I hope someday they both learn the importance of tripping themselves up for the sake of somebody else.

Copyright 2010



Next Post: 'Yesterday' by the Jasmin Vardimon Company (Review), to be published on Tuesday 9th February at 11:59pm (GMT)