2008-05 Vital Source Mag – May 2008
Be careful what you wish for
Essure claims to provide non-surgical sterilization with no cutting. But there are risks with Essure's rewards, so be sure you do your homework first.
May 1st, 2008 by Lucky Tomaszek
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 […]
May 1st, 2008 by Cate Miller
No more gilding the lily
“To gild refined gold, to paint the lily… is wasteful and ridiculous excess.” —Shakespeare, from King John (1595): This morning my son and I were planning his 10th birthday party. I live in East Town Tosa, a neighborhood that straddles the border between affluent aspirations and working class reality. His first few years of school, in the early 2000s, I was frequently faced with extravagant birthday parties and gift-giving that felt like either intense competition between parents or the setting of an unhealthy precedent. Of course, everyone’s intentions were good, but it still bugged me. So each year when Harry’s turn to “celebrate” came, I sent a note to parents asking that he not receive gifts in excess of $20 and informing them that we would not open presents at the party, but would send thank-you’s afterward. To my surprise, a few parents whispered their approval in my ear, though just a few took up the call. Harry’s parties get great reviews – we’ve done a backyard campout, a day at Miller Beach, an all-night Star Wars movie-thon (complete with light saber battles in the living room) and my favorite – inviting three boys over to pick up all the sticks in my yard, then burning them in the fire pit while roasting marshmallows. Two for one, everybody wins! And here’s what you don’t see at his get-togethers: boys comparing the gifts they brought; begging for more tokens when they run out first; crying quiet tears in the back seat because they didn’t win a big prize at the arcade. The reason is simple: contentment truly is more about imagination than money. And Harry’s story is a metaphor for what I see all around me these days. Over the last decade, so many fools (yeah, I said it) have spent up their available credit simply because they could, blindly swallowing fantasy stories about an ever-expanding economy and America’s lifestyle entitlement. They believed it was okay to pay way too much for a house because interest rates were low; they justified gas-guzzling, expensive-to-insure, high-payment vehicles for the flimsiest of reasons, which in fact came down to no more than, “It’s shiny and I want it like an Oompa Loompa – now.” At the same time, over 40 million citizens were without health insurance and 13 million children were living below the poverty line. If put to the question, only the most megalomaniacal of conservative thinkers could believe the situation was good for the future of the nation. It just goes to show another apparent deficiency in our education system: the lack of emphasis on cautionary tales. The Panic of 1893, the 1907 Bankers Panic (the 4th in 34 years), the Crash of 1929, the Great Depression, the 1973 oil crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the 1990 oil crisis leading to the Gulf War, five recessions in less than 30 years. The list is incomplete, but long enough to establish a pattern: We rise, we fall. As individuals we don’t control market […]
May 1st, 2008 by Jon Anne Willow
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.
May 1st, 2008 by Amber Herzog
Happy Trails
It’s official: you have no good excuse to stay home this summer. Okay, we take that back. If you want to stay home this summer, you’re welcome to. But there’s a ton to do around here, so we want to make sure you have plenty of ideas for ways to enjoy yourself. Look, we hear you. Times are tight. Fuel costs are insane, which means prices for everything else are insane, too. Consumer confidence is at an epic low, and everywhere we turn, another flawed system we’ve trusted for too long seems poised to collapse: the housing market, health care, energy, the American dollar. We’re still at war. We’re facing down a mighty sense of global unease. And, increasingly, we’re called to task on the bad shape our planet is in, thanks to a hundred odd-years of industrialization, exponential growth and the unchecked exploitation of our natural resources. It’s too soon to determine the consequences of humanity’s reckless abandon, but they could be dire – even disastrous. We know that if we don’t curb the depletion soon, we’ll be helpless when things start to get really nasty. It’s enough to make you hunker down in your cellar with some canned goods and a few good books and say, “See you at Christmas.” But here’s the good news: Wisconsin is amazing. We mean it: rich natural beauty, a diverse cultural landscape, a wide swath of arts offerings. It sounds tired, but it’s true. And thankfully, traveling lightly in Wisconsin – whether you want to kayak, see Shakespeare outdoors, hear a bluegrass band or just eat some chocolate – is easy. It’s good for your wallet and for the world at large. In fact, there has never been a better time to gain perspective, to reconnect with yourself, your family and the land we all share, to learn, to be an active, fearless member of society. We are so anxious for you to have a good summer that we’ve spent some time and thought putting together this idea book of low-stress, low-cost, low-impact summer leisure options. It’s a starting point, so browse and brainstorm. Grab some Post-Its or take some notes. Tread lightly this summer, but please, whatever you do, never forget that fun is a top priority. FOR THE ACTION/ADVENTURER You might think of the rugged north woods or the towering bluffs of the driftless zone when you think of adventure travel in the Badger State, but you don’t have to go that far. Get in gear with Bike to Work Week, brought to you by the Bike Federation of Wisconsin, May 11 – May 16. It’s not just a healthier and more conscious way to conduct a daily commute; there are events planned throughout the city for every day of the week, including a Mother’s Day ride along the lakefront, a morning cruise downtown with the Mayor, daily coffee breaks at the Alterra Foundry, mid-week bar trivia, and a grand finale meet-up at Jackalope Lounj and bike-in to the movies […]
May 1st, 2008 by Amy Elliott
