Mom’s sweet comforts

Food has always been a human fascination that far surpasses its integral role in survival. We love things that taste good; we crave the flavors that remind us of our childhood, that excite us and that make taking nourishment an experience beyond simple sustenance. Some of us enjoy expanding our palates at a trusted bistro. For others, the sampling of new flavors invites us to recreate the experience in our own kitchens. In this new VITAL column, we’re pairing recipes from area gastronomic gurus with those of community contributors who just love to cook. All are here for your enjoyment, and for you to try at home. We hope these recipes will open up fresh and fabulous culinary territory for you, while introducing local resources for high quality and inventive foods and beverages. This month we celebrate Mother’s Day with two recipes that embody the spirit of Mom’s kitchen magic. The first is an elegant spin on an old chestnut by Chef Cristopher Taube of the Milwaukee Chop House; the second is one of my own mother’s favorite cakes that’s easy and delicious. Photo by Kevin Groen Chef Christopher Taube’s Grilled Peach Melba Milwaukee Chop House 633 N. 5th Street Milwaukee 414-226-CHOP milwaukeechophouse.com This dessert, first created in the late 19th century, was seminal French chef Auguste Escoffier’s panegyric to his favorite opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba. The original was made with vanilla ice cream and fresh peaches with a raspberry sauce. La Melba, who worried about the effect of cold ice cream on her valued vocal chords, would appreciate the unfrozen mascarpone substitution in Chef Taube’s luscious version. For the whipped mascarpone: ½ c mascarpone cheese ¼ c crème fraiche (or sour cream) 1 T honey 2 T granulated sugar In a mixing bowl with a wire whip, combine the crème fraiche, sugar and honey. A little at a time, add the mascarpone cheese, incorporating well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate until needed. For the Apple brandy gastrique: ¼ c cider vinegar ¼ c apple brandy ¼ c granulated sugar 1 T unsalted butter Combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepot and bring to a boil, reducing until just before the caramel stage. Add the apple brandy. Continue cooking until reduced by half and remove from fire. Whisk in butter and hold warm. For Grilled Peaches and to Assemble: 1 fresh peach, halved ¼ c apple brandy gastrique ¾ c whipped mascarpone Place peaches on the grill over moderate heat and cook until tender, turning often. (You may sauté the peach halves in a small amount of butter in a saucepan instead.) Remove from the grill and cut halves into quarters. Lay two quarters on a plate in an X. Top with mascarpone mixture and drizzle generously with apple brandy gastrique. Mary Miller’s Apple Walnut Cake (Adapted from Cate Miller’s book, The Gutless Gourmet) My mother took great pride in her cooking and this cake was one of her triumphs because it’s simple, sensational and so moist […]

Chris gets a gig

Hello to everyone in WI Film Land. Peep this exclusive REEL Milwaukee interview with Milwaukee filmmaker / jack of all on-set trades Chris T.K. Coyne for an inside look at Universal Pictures’ Public Enemies with Oscar-nominated director Michael Mann (The Aviator, Heat, Ali, Collateral) and Oscar-winning actor Johnny Depp (21 Jump Street, Cry Baby, Nightmare on Elm Street). Chris is on the set full-time as an office and costume production assistant, so he gets to see it ALL. Enough of my hot air. How did you hear about Public Enemies / get hired? I had been reading about Public Enemies for a while. I just could not picture a film of that scale [Ed.: upwards of $100 million] happening in Wisconsin. Take into consideration the weather and the fact that we only see the sun in Wisconsin for a precious few months in the summer – the weather is not on the side of the filmmaker. But then you add in a check for 25% of your budget from the state and the weather becomes something you can deal with. As far as getting my foot in the door, you could have the best resume in the world and it doesn’t matter unless someone knows you. I submitted my resume to a few different departments and didn’t get any calls back. And then a friend of mine knew someone who was working on the film and was able to recommend me. When they say it is all about who you know, they mean it. Most of the crew is from L.A. or New York. Michael Mann has worked with much of his team on previous projects. You can’t blame him for that. It would be like a CEO throwing out his whole staff and hiring new people every year. By working with the same people he is able to get more done and be more efficient. Bring us up to date on your filmmaking background and how you landed back in WI. I left Wisconsin in 1997 and headed to Colorado College for my Bachelors, then moved to Washington DC to work on documentaries. I worked with the Discovery Channel for a while and then decided that I really wanted to get back into film. I decided to go to film school for an MFA [and] ended up at Savannah College of Art and Design. The great thing about their program was the industry professionals who brought their knowledge to the classroom. My professors ranged from people who produced The Breakfast Club to people who directed Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio before they became mega-stars. I left Savannah College planning on heading to Los Angeles. And then gradually, bit by bit, the possibility of film in Wisconsin started to become a reality. For starters, the new tax incentives are solid and some of the best in the U.S. Wisconsin also has a lot of places people haven’t seen on screen. Before I ended up on Public Enemies, I was in […]

Tim Fite

Timothy Sullivan ain’t proud of his past life as an MTV “one track” rap wonder, and his work under alias Tim Fite is his attempt at renewal. His free 2007 internet LP, Over the Counter Culture, lashed anger at the state of our hate- and greed-mongering union. Fair Ain’t Fair beelines to the acceptance stage. Opener “Roots of a Tree” insists that we shouldn’t be measured by bygones but by whom we have grown to be. Hippy-dippy sentiment aside, this release isn’t for the faint of heart. An f-bomb drop within seconds of play sets an abrasive tone, but more significantly, since each song is a patchwork of obscure banjo and accordion samples recovered from record store discount bins, the musicality takes patience to comprehend. It’s best to start with the approachable “Yesterday’s Garden,” about a distracted Fite accidentally driving through his girlfriend’s flowerbed. The language is plain and details are omitted, yet a lucid snapshot develops over the course of the record. Outside of literature, these moments are rare, but “Motorcade,” a scene suspended in slow-mo as if ripped from a Wes Anderson film, does it more than once, flecked by toy piano. Tympanis, snares, and other percussion — courtesy of a high school orchestra — on “The Names of All the Animals” and “Rats and Rags” pique interest and help the CD achieve more than just cut and paste. Though “Sing Along” finds Fite back in his old pop politics, he primarily continues to propel forward. “Everyone gets to make one,” he says on “Big Mistake.” If lucky, the error of apocalyptical proportions he’s saving up can match Fair Ain’t Fair’s success in overcoming his minor ones.

R.E.M.

“Accelerate” is the perfect title for this recording. After eight years of this millennium mired in a slow gear, seemingly lost on some road in the countryside of musical exploration, R.E.M. has picked up the pace and returned to the path they pretty much paved. This recording is thicker, brighter and much more confident in every aspect: songwriting, production and musicianship. The composition is pure and lean, with 11 tight songs that keep the focus on substance. It all works. Starting off with “Living Well is the Best Revenge,” Michael, Peter and Mike (with exemplary playing from second guitarist Scott McCaughey and drummer Bill Rieflin, whose work is the most urgent and propulsive in the band’s history) lay it all out for the listener. Co-Producer Jacknife Lee has situated each instrument in an incontrovertible sonic space/place. There’s a fresh sound throughout, yet it’s undeniably authentic to the band’s history. Beyond all the subtext of their redemption and rebirth, R.E.M. has not just crafted songs that are cohesive as a collection; they also stand up alongside much of their best work. And like the rest of R.E.M.’s best work, they have captured their muse in each song: four minutes or less of absolute essence. The back-to-back middle passage of “Accelerate” and “Until the Day Is Done” are prime examples: each of a different ilk, both undeniable in their certainty.

Exercising Ideals

“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” Dave Casillas, of the newly founded Echo Base Collective, is not only familiar with this proverb; he is actively trying to live by it. “People don’t appreciate what they have. They’ve got cars, but don’t treat their cars with respect; they don’t drive respectfully. Bike riders, too. They should stop at stop signs instead of plowing through them.” This motivated 23-year-old isn’t merely preaching Utopianism. Echo Base Collective (Milwaukee’s second bike collective – the other is at 2910 W. Clybourn Street) is located in the industrial environs of Walker’s Point, between Milwaukee’s Third Ward and Bay View. It’s an exercise in idealism, but with the proper pushes from the right people, it could become a place where anyone can not only find a bicycle to get them out of doors and into a more active lifestyle, but also learn how to maintain their own bikes and help build bikes for others. Casillas’ motivation comes from his own volunteer experiences and via a cross-country biking expedition that introduced him to collectives on the west coast. He was impressed with what he encountered there. “In Portland, there are four different free bike programs. [In Milwaukee] I’ve gone through the hard work of finding the space and providing the ability to create something. It’s up to everyone else to own up to the fact that they can better their community and own lives.” Ready The collective, a bare-bones space for the moment, houses over 50 bicycles, both kids’ and adults’, mostly donated by The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee and salvaged from Casillas’ own scouting for discarded bikes. They hang from racks on the wall of the collective, ready to be worked on; many wait in storage. The trick is to find enough people to pitch in and make them all working machines. “I’m very motivated, more so than most people,” Casillas says of his mindset towards his collective. “When someone says, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll totally help you,’ I would have to go to their house, wake them up, drag them out and probably dress them just to get them to come down. I’m really looking for people who are motivated enough to take their own initiative.” “[The other collectives I’ve worked in before] have already been established for two or three years,” explains Casillas. “Starting out is the hardest part – it’s as grassroots as you get. I need teachers, people who just want to sweep the floor – anything – even to sort through all these tires. I want to create an environment where you can just enjoy the company of other people.” Set This is the bottom line from which Casillas is building the foundation of the collective: enjoying the company of others and developing mutual respect through hard work. “I pretty much started Echo Base as a facility to put a bike between every pair of legs – […]

Third Ward Construction Continues

Renewable Energy Non-Profit Summit

Johnson Controls, Inc. 507 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, WI 53201 More Information

Marcus Aurelius Online

While ruling Rome, Marcus Aurelius Antonius (b. AD 121-D. AD 180) wrote Meditations. In the twelve books he set down rules written in Greek, rules for living. A Stoic among Stoics, actually he wrote them to himself. In the year 2008, I’m wondering how these famous admonitions and aphorisms would best serve the art community in 2008. Book 1: “the certainty to ignore the dice of fortune….” Dem Bones: Certainly applies to any and all artists who enter the race for grant monies. Book 2: “Now the flesh you should disdain …. blood, bones, a mere fabric and network of nerve, veins, and artifacts. DB: “Body Worlds” is at the Milwaukee Public Museum until June 1/2008. But is it art? Book 3: “Do not waste the remaining part of your life in thoughts about other people, when you are not thinking with reference to some aspect of the common good.” DB: Does the common good include thinking about bad public art? Book 4: “Remove the judgment, and you have removed the thought, ‘I am hurt,’ and the hurt itself is removed.” DB: This pleases any and all artists who receive rotten reviews, are cut from the Mary Nohl Fellowship race, or have yet to be mentioned by local art critics. Book 5: “If on the other hand harm is done to the city, you should not be angry, but demonstrate to the doer of this harm what he has failed to see himself.” DB: A useless rule when applied to the coming of the Bronze Fonz. Book 6: “Some things are hurrying to come into being, others are hurrying to be gone, and part of that which is being born is already extinguished. DB: True enough, but locals are still stuck with Gertie The Duck and the hunk of strange sculpture in Catalano Park. Book 7: “The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in that it stands ready for what comes and is not thrown by the unforeseen.” DB: So what do we do with bad art that has us in a headlock? Book 8: “Everything has come into being for a purpose … a horse, say, or a vine. Does this surprise you? DB: Sort of, because it’s hard to reconcile that with much of the art I see. Book 9: “Enough of this miserable way of life, enough of grumbling and aping.” DB: If you are an artist, go ahead and push that rock up the hill, but don’t grumble about it. Book 10: “The healthy eye must look at all there is to be seen, and not say ‘I only want pale colors’…this is a symptom of disease.” DB: There is truth here. Book 11: “No nature is inferior to art, in fact the arts imitate the variety of natures. If that is so, then the most perfect and comprehensive of all natures could not be surpassed by any artistic invention.” DB: So why bother? Book 12: “Practice even what you have despaired of […]

VITAL’s 2008 Photo Contest! SUBMIT NOW!

In August 2008, VITAL Source Magazine will publish the work of the winners of our annual photo contest. Images will appear online and in print, and receive prizes TBD. Once again, the Best in Show photo will run on the cover of the August edition of VITAL Source. Winners determined solely by a panel of expert judges. 1st and 2nd place winners chosen in each category, plus an overall Best in Show winner. We reserve the right to award separate prizes for black and white and color, or amateur and professional photos, depending on submissions received. Categories: 1) Portrait 2) Still-life/landscape 3) Action 4) Abstract 5) 2008 BONUS CATEGORY: Motorcycles! Submission Guidelines: 1. Submit up to one color and one black and white print in each category. 2. Submit 8 x 10 un-mounted black and white or color prints only, with index cards affixed to the back of each entry. 3. Index cards must include: Your name, full mailing address, email address, phone number, equipment used (be specific and include software) and photo name (if applicable). Indicate top edge. 4. Specify whether you are an amateur or a professional. Professionals are defined as photographers who have received direct compensation for their work more than twice. 5. Only complete entries will be accepted. 6. Include SASE with adequate postage to have your work returned. 7. By entering this contest, you agree to allow Vital Publications, LLC to publish your entry in print and online. Rights remain with photographer. Send or hand-deliver entries to: Photo Contest VITAL Source Magazine 133 W. Pittsburgh Ave, Ste. 409 Milwaukee, WI 53204 Submission Deadline: JUNE 20, 2008

Spring 2008 WEED OUT!

Milwaukee has taken its time warming up for spring. But instead of snow, parks throughout the county are now blanketed with a new seasoned enemy: the garlic mustard, the dames rocks and the burdock, just to name a few. These are the worst of the worst, the most appalling agriculture on this side of town. So with that said, IT’S TIME TO GET THE WEED OUT! For the 2008 season, the Park People are soliciting volunteers to remove those nasty, persistent, and just plain pesky plants that unfortunately take root throughout Milwaukee. Obviously this is not a one-man (or woman) weed job; each year hundreds of volunteers assist in removing these invasive plants from our high quality parks. So, with a good pair of gloves and a few other tools of the trade, join persistent pullers and put your green thumb to good use! For more information on specific dates, times, and locations, please call (414)73-7275.

Armadale

Brian Vaughan and Emily Trask in Armadale Jeffrey Hatcher is one of the most talented American playwrights alive. His deftly-written monologue program Three Viewings recently found a local stage at Kopper Bear productions — a tiny studio staging which became one of the best productions in the county this season, of any size. Even the best writers, however, don’t always write the best stuff. For Hatcher, Armadale is a perfect example. Hatcher’s adaptation of the 1862 penny dreadful by Wilkie Collins makes its world premiere this month at The Milwaukee Rep. While it has its moments, Hatcher’s adaptation of Armadale is an amateurish work that nearly succeeds in spite of itself thanks to the heroic efforts of a top-notch Milwaukee Rep cast. Armadale is the story of two men, both named Allan Armadale, caught in the scheming web of Lydia Gwilt. Collins forged Armadale’s voluminous plot in tiny episodes as a very long-running serial, with the complete novel weighing in at well over 700 pages. In theory there could be countless ways to capture Collins’ unique blend of turgid romantic soap opera and social commentary into a stage play. Only the least imaginative would involve a script that stretches nearly three hours onstage, which is exactly what Hatcher has done here. Rather than carefully choose the most dramatic scenes in the novel to construct a graceful, deftly-paced plot, Hatcher has slapped together a script that lurches, heaves and gasps across the stage, occasionally running when it should walk, jumping when it should crouch, leaving stranded the few truly captivating moments of drama, comedy and beauty. For all its pedigree, The Rep’s world premier production of Armadale fits one of the most common profiles in local theater: a remarkably talented cast thrown at a less-than-inspired script. While the cast manages to salvage some of the script’s less entertaining moments, more often than not, decent talent goes underutilized. Brian Vaughn and Michael Gotch play the Allans, with Vaughn in peak form here as a wealthy man caught up in forces beyond his control. But Gotch, though up to his usual standards, seems to be thrown at a far from interesting character. In stand-out performances, Gerard Neugent brilliantly plays an investigator with a few fleeting but hilarious moments, and Emily Trask is excellent in her twin roles (the last before she leaves town to begin an MFA program at the Yale School of Drama). Living up to her high visibility in the Rep’s promotional material for the play, Milwaukee Rep Resident Actress Deborah Staples gives one of her best performances in years as the story’s incomparable femme fatale: Ms. Lydia Gwilt. VS The Milwaukee Rep’s production of Armadale runs through May 25 at the Quadracci Powerhouse Theatre. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling the Rep box office at 414-224-9490 or visit the Rep online. Wilkie Collins’ original novel Armadale is in pubic domain and can be found free of charge online.

A Vital Bike-in on May 16th

A VITAL Bike-in! (Bikes optional) FRIDAY, MAY 16: 5:30 – 7:30 pm @ Wicked Hop’s Jackalope Lounj, 345 N. Broadway -Meet up for cheap Lakefront taps and $5 Van Gogh martinis, plus amazing appetizer specials! -Win a sweet set of wheels from Sun Ringlé and Hayes Bicycle! -“Trail Mix” by DJ Madhatter! At 7 or so, we’ll fittingly finish Bike to Work Week with a group ride to the Bike Federation’s first Bike-In Movie of the summer (Klunkerz, the fast-moving documentary tracing the global rise of mountain biking, 8 pm sharp at the Media Garden, 1758 N. Water under the Holton St. viaduct). Don’t bike? Just come for the party!