humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of chefs, professionals, amateurs, inspiring youth, influencers, and general feel good human stories in the Feast food sphere.
The Way of Toast
Camp toast. It’s like comfort food on the trail and so simple to make. Spread some almond butter on it and top it off with some fruit, and you have yourself a hearty breakfast that delivers on nutrition with minimal time expenditure.
Kennedy FarrPublished 3 years ago in FeastThe Bircher Muesli Mutiny
Howdy to all of you super-outdoorsy souls who are already planning your menu for this spring’s camping, climbing, rafting, bicycling, kayaking, or hiking trip. It’s a general truth that dehydrated meals are the way to go when you’re going to be carrying any kind of weight on your back or in your boat . . . and it’s also true that while some of these expensive, ready-made meals that you buy in outdoor stores are pretty darned good, others are, at best, kind of mediocre. Why not set mediocrity aside and start each day on the trail with a fresh and energizing cup of Bircher muesli? It’s easy to make, and it tastes great.
Kennedy FarrPublished 3 years ago in FeastBrandy Milk Punch
My foodie heart comes from the city where I was born, raised and lived for over fifty years. In New Orleans, it is always about the restaurants. My parents and my maternal grandmother Memére most enjoyed the seafood places that diced Lake Pontchartrain. These were popular, unique, crowded on Friday nights, and all independently run. But Lenfant’s was my most favorite, close to our home in Lakeview, an upper middle class New Orleans neighborhood that changed drastically post Hurricane Katrina. There were starched white table cloths in the old pink building at Lenfant’s, and it was located next to a noisy railroad track. Demolished completely in later years, my visual memory still holds a clear, unforgettable picture of us sitting and enjoying the best ever seafood.
Cooking for the neighbors
Wiping sweat from her brow, with hands triumphantly on her hips, Arya looked down at her counter. Plated and pretty, she completed the final recipe for her cookbook, her dad’s manti recipe. Armenian dumplings, smothered in a stewed tomato sauce, topped with strained yogurt and brown butter. The earthy cumin fragrance and the sharp scent of sumac lingered in her apartment. Her neighbors have grown quite used to the smell, and the deliveries coming from Arya’s apartment these past few months. At least twice a week, she heads to the Fausto’s apartment, decked in her wildly Jackson Pollack-ed apron, with a bit of fresh bread, baked goods, and sometimes full meals, when her feverish day of cooking ends. They are always grateful, and even give her honest feedback when she asks. Every recipe, and “Fausto feedback,” is recorded in her little black notebook: very used, with sauce and grease stains on almost every page. She bought that book the same day she lost her job, two months earlier.
Carnivore!
have a confession. I am a carnivore. I’m also extremely weird. Let me explain the carnivore part first. You see, I LOVE meat. I can eat chicken, literally, every single day and not get tired of it. Porkchops? Bring it on. Beef? Oh, heaven! And that’s just listing the basic. I think the only meat I don’t like is fish (and even then, some get a pass like canned tuna fish) and slimy seafood like oysters. And the only reason I don’t like ham is the salt content but when I can get my hands on a ham that is unsalted, oh, delish!
Carmen CorridonPublished 3 years ago in FeastBean Sorting
Laurel always loved to cook. From her earliest years, the kitchen had been her playground. When she was six it was her job to sort out the broken beans and little stones from the pinto beans her father, Joseph, would make. Later that summer she graduated to smashing and peeling the garlic. She was so small she had to stand on a chair and push all her weight to mash the clove under the flat side of the blade. Her father had developed a system of measurements for teaching her recipes at such a young age, she was too young to work with ounces, cups, quarts, tablespoon and such, and so he divided it into “long pour” and “short pour,” “dad sized pinch,” and “kid-sized pinch,” small blue cup with the little flower on its side, and large coffee mug with a picture of the Coneheads from Saturday Night Live. Rice was one small cup of rice and two small cups of water. Mexican beans were half an onion cut in half again, four cloves garlic mashed, one small cup of pinto beans (sorted of course), two dad-sized pinches of salt, and two Conehead-cups of water.
Laylah Muran de AsseretoPublished 3 years ago in FeastTraditions
I was never a sports fan growing up. My mom was a single mother, and like many single parents of the 80’s worked hard to provide shelter, food, and clothing. There was nothing left over for extra curricular activities. Not that it mattered, I really had no interest in sports. My mother is a life long music lover and raised me in the same manner. My earliest memories were of listening to vinyl and 8-tracks. When we finally acquired a TV, we didn’t watch Sunday night football, but Soul Train and American Bandstand instead.
The Notorious D.I.P.
2 packs of cream cheese 1 can of deviled ham 1 can of black olives 1 bunch of green onions Milk (enough to make it creamy)
Claire McKeanPublished 3 years ago in FeastThe One with the Dip
My family has never really cared much for sports (watching or playing), but boy, do we enjoy watching expensive commercials while munching on salty treats. When I was a child we would always go for the quick and easy store bought French onion dip with plain potato chips. Pairing this with different bologna, cheeses, and crackers created a salty bounty of yumminess. As my sisters and I got older and began exploring different culinary avenues than what our parents traditionally stuffed us with, we began crafting our own dips. One of my all time favorite dips is a spinach dip paired with bread or crackers. I prefer it cold with the crunch of water chestnuts and the tang of a vegetable soup mixture of dried seasonings. For a more sophisticated taste, I like to make a roasted red pepper dip. Once upon a time I stumbled upon the recipe in one of my first cookbooks. Hello, adulting. Ranch or veggie dips with carrots or salsa (sometimes sweet or spicy) have always been classics as well. Fresh fruit such as strawberries or pineapple dipped in a whipped topping always satisfies that pesky sweet tooth (not to mention a glass or two of wine).
Samantha BeamPublished 3 years ago in FeastThe Super Bowl vs Weight Watchers
I watch football. Whether I'm doing it as a genuine interest or for the opportunity to hang out with a bunch of men is unclear. However, I can honestly declare I love beer, wings and that passion a human being has for their favourite sports team. (Yes, I will be speaking Canadian in this piece. I won't bring up the CFL though. Not just because it's Super Bowl Sunday, but also because I don't really know anything about the CFL.)
Christina WalkinshawPublished 3 years ago in FeastIt’s Not Super Bowl without (this) Amazing ‘Guac’!
It’s statistically proven! Guacamole or ’Guac’ (like some people call it), is the queen food of Super Bowl. One of the most eaten snacks, and for me definitely the most delicious. Guacamole is one of the five favorite foods for Game Day, with about 12% of Americans' annual avocado consumption happening during Super Bowl week (Today Magazine, 2021). Every year more than 8 million pounds of guacamole are consumed during day of the Super Bowl in the U.S. (The Post Game, 2018). If you do a Google Search with the terms ‘guacamole’ + ‘Super Bowl’ you will find thousands of recipes with names like “Super Bowl Super Guacamole Bowl” or “Guacamole Footbowls” (which, by the way, look super cute!).
Marina FortuñoPublished 3 years ago in FeastTraditionally A Big Deal
One of the biggest days celebrated in my family is, of course, the Super Bowl! Since I was seven years old my dad and my brothers and my mother go all out every year for game day. You would think it would be a simple recipe of maybe wings, nachos, chips, maybe some extras thrown out on a grill but, no. It always starts the day before game day crag legs, fried corn, wings, lobster, sausage, and of course the Winners punch and the Losers punch. I’m talking big messy crab boil, mixed with fried foods and our traditional winner/loser punch! Safe to say that at the end of it all everyone 21 and up are all inebriated and barely functioning.
Laura FeatherstonPublished 3 years ago in Feast