Laura G Manifold

Lentil Taco "Meat" Salad

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 02:45:00 +0100

This one’s for you Gabs.

Lentil Taco “Meat”
Recipe adapted from The Ordinary Vegetarian

1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over - I usually use brown lentils, but when my stock is low, red lentils and/or chana dal work just fine. Be sure to soak the chana dal before you cook it.
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced - or more, if you’re nasty
1/2 large bell pepper, chopped - red, yellow or orange, I do not recommend green
1 cup sliced mushrooms - I like crimni best
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 ribs of celery, sliced
1 can diced tomato - Muir Glen’s Organic Fire Roasted are where it’s at
1-1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
dash cayenne
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp lime juice
Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste.
Olive oil for sautéing - I use about 2 T, but you can use more or less depending on your preference.

Saute onion until soft and slightly brown. Add about 1/4 cup of water and stir in the garlic, bell pepper, and mushrooms. If the pan starts to dry up and the contents get sticky icky, add a bit more water. Next, add in the lentils, carrots, celery, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, bay leaf, and cayenne, and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add in the broth and bring to a boil. Let the goodness boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly so as not to burn. Then, turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the mixture starts drying out, add more water or broth.

Remove from heat and carefully drain off extra liquid. Don’t forget to remove bay leaf! Stir in tomato paste and lime juice. Transfer to food processor, blender or nifty hand blender and pulse a few times, until a crumbly texture is achieved. Be advised to not puree the mixture, otherwise you’ll have taco soup. Which is not bad, just not the goal here.

This recipe will make six 1/2 cup servings, which you can could be use to make tacos, burritos, nachos or a salad (my preferred way to enjoy).

For taco salad, I like to use a mixture of spring greens and spinach. I add avocado, radishes (trust on this one), tomato, fresh parsley and/or cilantro, cucumber, black olives, if I haven’t already demolished the jar, and lime juice.

A Talk with the DREAM GIRLS

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:23:29 +0200

Want to get to know the fly DREAM GIRLS from the photo shoots in my previous posts (sets I & II)? Check out the series of video interviews here.

Big up to Tewodross Melchishua aka That Soul Cinematic (TSC) for his production skills and to Gerald Watson for his hard work with this project. Keep on!

I feel amazing. After years of struggling with digestion...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 01:01:00 +0100

Lentil loaf sandwich and a spinach salad

Harissa spaghettini

Thai-inspired macaroni and 'cheese'

Vegan curry

Raw tacos

Spinach salad with sweet potato chunks

Sautéed broccoli over cranberry quinoa

Rainbow chard

Black bean salad

I feel amazing. After years of struggling with digestion issues, malnutrition, malabsorption, doctor visits, colonoscopies, misdiagnosis, I’ve finally discovered what works for me. The whole me. Mind, body, spirit - all of that business.

I no longer wake up in pain in the middle of night. I no longer have to excuse myself constantly to use the restroom. I no longer fear road trips. I can get out of bed in the morning. I can think clearly. I don’t miss out. I smile.

It’s been about two full weeks now that I’ve gone full-on vegan. While I’ve been gluten free off and on for several years, I’ve found that a plant-based diet void of any gluten is the best thing that I’ve ever done for myself.

Savory Lentil Loaf

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:28:20 +0100

A delicious meal that’s easy and inexpensive to make.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lentils

3 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth (I recommend Pacific Food vegetarian broth – super savory)

2 onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cups pre-cooked rice (I use brown.)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large soup or stock pot, simmer the lentils in water or vegetable broth until cooked, about 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly then mash the lentils until they are half mashed.

Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft.

Combine the onions, garlic and olive oil with the mashed lentils and add the rice, salt, ketchup or barbecue sauce, sage, and Italian seasoning.

Gently press the mixture into a lightly greased loaf pan. Drizzle a bit of extra ketchup on top if desired. I also like to add some nutritional yeast to the top to make it just a little bit crunchy.

Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly before serving, as this will help the lentil loaf to firm up.

I like to serve it with vegan mashed potatoes and sautéd veggies (marinated in Braggs raw apple cider vinegar, olive oil, kosher salt and oregano).

Note: I sometimes add a bit of whatever I have in the fridge that I need to get rid of – carrots, leeks, peppers, fennel. Just make sure you slice them very thinly or dice them well. Also, if you like a little spice, add some hot sauce to the ketchup. I’ve done it before with harissa (a Tunisian hot sauce) great results.

It also makes great leftovers for sandwiches.

What Looks Like Crazy...: CFP: Tupac Amaru Shakur Collection Conference

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:41:47 +0100

What Looks Like Crazy...: CFP: Tupac Amaru Shakur Collection Conference :

missturman:

Tupac Amaru Shakur Collection Conference:
“Hip Hop, Education, and Expanding the Archival Imagination”

The Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library and the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF) present the first annual Tupac Amaru Shakur Collection Conference: “Hip Hop, Education,…

A Chicagoptical find: Labrabbit Optics

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:07:00 +0100

My soon-to-be 90 year-old granny has been looking for a pair of big, round, red frames to replace the old pair she sat on a few weeks ago. I’ve searched and searched the Internet for a replacement pair, called her eye doctor to specially order a similar pair to no avail. The closest I’ve come is a pair of candy red Calvin Klein sunglasses that Granny (whom I affectionately call G-funk) claims ‘aren’t dressy enough’.

On a recent trip to Chicago, I stopped by Dusty Groove to grab some records and the new Wax Poetics. Parking the car, I noticed a vintage eyewear store with loads of goodies filling the window. My heartbeat quickened as I approached the storefront and saw a pair that was an almost exact match of G-funk’s broken pair. I entered and – lo and behold – six more possible replacements were found. The young woman attending the shop allowed me to snap a few photos and put a pair on hold, in case G-funk was keen to buy the frames.

Clutching the stylish business card of Labrabbit Optics in my hand, I immediately called G-funk to tell her the good news. We both gushed like teenagers about what a find I had just made. Upon showing her the photos, she agreed they were exactly what she had been looking for.

I was even happier when I called Labrabbit Optics to order the red frames. Grown out of an ‘optical speakeasy’ in the Chicago flat of owner Coyote DeGroot, Labrabbit is an independently-owned ‘optical dispensary like no other.’ As a consumer who prides herself on purchasing products from local, independent and unique retailers, I was immediately assured of Mr DeGroot’s professionalism in his business and intelligence with his craft. His knowledge of his product and kind demeanor were refreshing, as he knew my name and the exact pair that I had put on hold two days before. I spoke directly with Mr DeGroot on the phone and received a receipt via email within minutes of placing the order. He even texted me when the transaction was complete, and thanked me for my purchase.

I highly recommend Labrabbit Optics if you’re in the market for some new glasses. Check out the online shop to find the perfect pair. Rest assured you’ll be taken excellent care of. You’ll look good, with the added bonus of supporting local and independent business. I know G-funk will be envy of her friends when she kicks it in her new frames.

punchdouble: Power (2009) Much love and respect to...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:00:15 +0100

punchdouble:

Power (2009)

Much love and respect to @punchdouble

Welcome to Part 2 of the SHAOLIN JAZZ – DREAM GIRLS photo shoot...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:51:59 +0100

Welcome to Part 2 of the SHAOLIN JAZZ – DREAM GIRLS photo shoot for the SHAOLIN JAZZ – T-shirt line.

Part 2 finds the girls progressing from their day in Part 1 into some familiar territory, especially if you’re a Hip-Hop head.

DREAM GIRLS …is a nod to the 90′s female Hip-Hop head, who is just as knowledgeable, confident, participatory, and literate in Hip-Hop culture as her male counter parts – essentially a male Hip-Hop head’s ‘Dream Girl.’

Shot by Chris Carr (Eat The Cake NYC), make-up by Diti (Diti Devi Makeup Artistry). Featuring Alison Carney,Jayne Kennedi, Jheanelle Morgan, and Shanika Wright.

See the full shoot here.

This could be the best flyer ever. (via quadrillion)

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:50:38 +0100

This could be the best flyer ever. (via quadrillion)

subtilitas: Louis Kahn - Phillips Exeter Academy library,...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:48:19 +0100

subtilitas:

Louis Kahn - Phillips Exeter Academy library, Exeter NH 1971 (click for big). Via Trent Bell.

A great article about the Phillips Exeter Academy Library in New Hampshire.

The Jazz Aesthete: Political Theory With The Jazz Aesthete: On Modern Fascism

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:31:17 +0100

The Jazz Aesthete: Political Theory With The Jazz Aesthete: On Modern Fascism:

thejazzwriter:

Fascism is upon us and I do not mean this lightly. I am writing this piece in the context of recent struggles which have exposed the acute nature of the current sociopolitical landscape. With the recent passing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) “which [authorizes] the U.S….

SHAOLIN JAZZ: SHAOLIN JAZZ - DREAM GIRLS - Photo Shoot - Part...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:31:47 +0100

SHAOLIN JAZZ: SHAOLIN JAZZ - DREAM GIRLS - Photo Shoot - Part 1

In Part 1 of the “DREAM GIRLS” Photo Shoot we highlight a day in the life of four friends (during the winter on the East), Hip-Hop enthusiasts, who are producing their next music project, rocking T-shirts, they customized, from the SHAOLIN JAZZ – T-shirt line.

Instead of the women playing the “back” the DREAM GIRLS are in the forefront: hardcore yet tempting, raw yet feminine, strong yet alluring, casual yet striking.

Welcome to Part 1 of the SHAOLIN JAZZ – DREAM GIRLS – Photo Shoot. Shot by Chris Carr (Eat The Cake NYC), make-up by Diti (Diti Devi Makeup Artistry). Featuring Alison Carney, Jayne Kennedi,Jheanelle Morgan, and Shanika Wright.

To see the DREAM GIRLS full shoot click here.

daughtersofdilla: Erykah Badu’s Radio Series Explores Music...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:53:19 +0100

daughtersofdilla:

Erykah Badu’s Radio Series Explores Music Generated by Black Power Movement

Contributors include: Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, founder of the Black Arts Movement Amiri Baraka, Black Arts poet Sonia Sanchez, jazz flautist Lloyd McNeil, Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets, Gill Scott Heron’s co-writer Brian Jackson, hip-hop artist Talib Kweli and former Black Panther leader and songwriter Elaine Brown.

Listen to the second part of “Black is a country” on BBC Radio 4’s website.

analog-blog: John Coltrane - Africa/Brass LP. By NICK DERISO -...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:51:00 +0100

analog-blog:

John Coltrane - Africa/Brass LP.

By NICK DERISO - All About Jazz

It’s perhaps no surprise that John Coltrane wanted to do something different upon moving to the Impulse label after a long association with Atlantic.

No surprise, either, that it might be a recording with a larger aggregate behind him. That was, and is, the style of the day when jazzers seek to get out of the box a bit.

Leave it to Coltrane to turn all of that on its ear with “Africa/Brass,” a 1961 release that — because of its orchestration — is at once rumbling and mellow, rather than swinging and bright. Coltrane hand picked a back-up group that featured only trumpets, trombones, French horns, tuba and euphoniums (a rarely used baritone horn).

Pianist McCoy Tyner, who even then had such burnished layering in his block-style approach, led Coltrane to this place. And it marked the beginning of a period of deep introspection and startling experimentation over the six years that remained before Coltrane’s tragic, too-soon passing.

Coltrane’s only Impulse recording with legendary producer Creed Taylor, “Africa/Brass” actually includes, in all but one tune, charts by future Coltrane regular Eric Dolphy — who listened intently to Tyner, and matched his texture and style. These music sheets were created from rough sketches by Coltrane, and workshopped right in the studio.

In this way, Coltrane kept the basic quartet approach, despite having all those other guys in the room. The close-knit, absorbing “Africa/Brass,” interestingly, had a limited number of solo voices — despite an orchestra that included Dolphy, Booker Little, Paul Chambers, Julian Priester and Freddie Hubbard, among others. It remained immediately identifiable as Coltrane, even in the new setting.

We hear an expected, by then, take on a waltz standard in “Greensleeves” — something few would question after the artistic and commercial successes of Coltrane’s blockbuster “My Favorite Things” in 1960. The difference is drummer Elvin Jones, who was becoming ever more confident in the polyrhythms that would dominate jazz in the decade to come.

More interesting was the chant-like, almost religious beauty of “Africa,” this set’s centerpiece — and the launching pad for Coltrane’s move away from swing conventions into drones as a compositional foundation. Likewise, “Blues Minor,” worked out on the spot by Dolphy in a style that fit well with the stirring creativity now associated with this group, broods and swings with equal power.

Just that quick, Coltrane reinvented the one-off, large-group project.

Rather than sounding like a patch job, as many of these things so often do, the attention to improvisational detail, and careful selection of instrumentation, instead make “Africa/Brass” dark and powerful — adding unexpected hues to one of jazz music’s most brilliant improvisers.

Unfortunately, this is one of only two big-band sessions by Coltrane (the other being the otherworldly “Ascension,” also on Impulse, from 1965). Yet, “Africa/Brass” somehow — and this is baffling — remains one of his lesser talked-about releases.

To my mind, though, no John Coltrane collection is complete without it. Even four decades later, “Africa/Brass” still casts him — and this is saying something — in a new, insistently inventive, light.

BY THE TIME I GET TO ARIZONA is a mural project through the...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:08:49 +0100

BY THE TIME I GET TO ARIZONA is a mural project through the collaboration of several artists throughout the US. This mural, as executed by the Momentum Art Team over a period of two days, is located in a Chicago Westside neighborhood. Their goal was to recreate Chuck D’s venture into the fine art medium for everyone to see. Chuck D, working in conjunction with Scenefour Art Collective, used this project to focus on the problems associated with ill-conceived immigration policies in Arizona.

See a post of mine from this winter which features two of the artists, TOKEO and C3PO who hail from Chicago involved in the BY THE TIME I GET TO ARIZONA collaboration.

WeFunk Radio

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:46:17 +0100

Give a listen. Donate. Funk a little. Funk a lot. You know you want to.

The Mint Collective: Eavesdrop Radio | Broken Beat Special

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:27:25 +0100

The Mint Collective: Eavesdrop Radio | Broken Beat Special:

Our favorite Philly Radio show, Eavesdrop Radio, does it again with an amazing broken beat throwback episode. This is a nice reminder of the genre - that some of us often forget but love nevertheless. Thanks to Junior and Lil’ Dave for always keeping it fresh.

Download

beautone: Infographic: What the New Digital Divide Looks...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:37:51 +0100

beautone:

Infographic: What the New Digital Divide Looks Like

The defining question of the information age is no longer who’s online, but how they got there. In a Colorlines.com investigation, Jamilah King explains how big telecom created two Internets—one in which consumers and their content enjoys some, limited protection and another in which they are left prey to mobile wireless companies’ decisions. People of color, who have closed the traditional digital divide with their smartphones, are streaming into the latter space—and as a result, racial inequity is being wired into the 21st century economy. Read the full Colorlines.com investigation, “How Big Telecom Used Smartphones to Create a New Digital Divide.”

redlightpolitics: Just a regular day at a Dutch office...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:33:29 +0100

redlightpolitics:

Just a regular day at a Dutch office party.

Hans: This Caprese salad looks amazing!

Inge: It sure does, but I wish the caterer would have followed our suggestion for more exotic food to match our Black Face entertainers

Hans: You know, Inge, our business slogan is “We educate change makers” do you really think our future change makers will want to keep up with our yearly Black Face celebration every December 5th?

Inge: (Sings) Ch-ch-ch-changes! You know, Hans, what good are changes if we cannot keep our little traditions going? Our business premise of “educating change makers” only applies to change we can support. You know we cannot go around offending people by eliminating our right to don Black Face every year! What would the world come to if we allowed those hordes of politically correct reactionary activists to take away our identity?

Hans: You are right, Inge! Change is overrated anyway. There is so much to our old colonial ways we should keep.

* The dialogue is imaginary, however, the company where this photo was taken, Knowmads.NL is not. This IS their office party, as they posted the image on their Twitter feed and their slogan IS (and I sure wish i was making this up), “We educate change makers”.

/Me: Sinterklaas

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:18:44 +0100

/Me: Sinterklaas:

punchdouble:

I originally wrote this on November 17th 2011 and shared it on my personal Facebook page. Ever since I’ve been in doubt on whether or not to share it on Tumblr too. My Tumblr consists of my own work (with one exception) and my assumption is that those who follow me are doing so for that reason….