Graduation, birthdays, family visits, drawings, preparation for up-coming shows kept me away from the computer, but here is the schedule for the next few weeks. We hope to see you at these very exiting shows:

Sunday June 27th
Metropolitan Museum
1:00PM
“Picasso, Pablo Ruiz: Spanish Poet Who Dabbled in Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture””

A conference by Pierre Joris, co-editor and translator of Pablo Picasso’s poetry: Burial Of The Count Of Orgaz & Other Poems
I will be the reader for  the French & Spanish versions of Picasso’s texts.

TRIALOGUES @  The Vision Festival XV
Tuesday June 29th
9:15PM In the Downstairs Theater

Mike Bisio/Nicole Peyrafitte/Pierre Joris

Thursday July 1st
5:00pm -midnight (our time TBA)
at the Brooklyn Bridge Park
Pierre Joris & I will be among the many poets & performers of:
I Do Not Doubt I Am Limitless: Walt Whitman’s Brooklyn

MARCH—collage/drawing from N.P.  Calendar Series

Yeap! We are in March and I saw some crocuses “piercing” the ground on 71st street yesterday. It cheered me up. The general mood has been down with all the international and national events, catastrophes, health care mess… Even my hometown, Luchon, was seriously affected by a storm coming from the Southwest with winds at 200km/h. It killed one man, pulled out thousands of ancient trees, lifting roofs, and closing bars for one day! No one remembers seeing or hearing about such an event in a place that is so naturally sheltered from the wind. Who says there is no global warming? The same idiots who feel threatened by universal health care? The same idiots who worship a god that knows neither nature nor health. We need D.A Bennett  The Truth Seeker all over again, I just read that book and it is amazing how the problem of religion in politics has remained the same for two century ago and is far from being solved.

Anyhow, life must go on and I have been busy. The “d’Artagnan 25th Anniversary Art Show” at The World Bar is still on. Works by French painter Michel Calvet and 3 large collage/paintings of mine are on display.  The World Bar serves delicious cocktails and their $8 happy hour special is totally worth it. I had a “peace cocktail” concocted by the excellent (1/2 french) mixologist Jonathan, all fresh juices and premium liquors — a real treat! We will have another event there soon as the opening was affected by the storm. So don’t feel bad if you couldn’t make it; D’Artagan has agreed to provide us with more patés and saucisson for another event, so stay tune!

Below you will find my detailed calendar of events for March, four events still coming up, it is all exciting especially the Umami festival one, which is leading me into fascinating research about yeast and beer in Mesopotamian time. As a result of all this action the fridge as been consistently empty and home made Miso soup (see recipe here)and rice has become a staple.

I cook two cups of brown rice twice a week and eat it in different forms. The breakfast version is becoming a house favorite and even Pierre who is not a brown rice aficionado really likes this one:

-Warm up some rice milk in a bottom of sauce pan. Add 1/2 cup of cooked rice per person, one small apple cut into small pieces, 1/2 banana, raisins, cranberries, goji berries, maple syrup. Just warm it up. Before serving add chopped roasted almonds, pistachios, walnuts. That’s a tasty healthy breakfast!

When we finally made it to the coop a few days ago we got the making for a chicken soup. I had been craving it since Dawn Clements (now showing an amazing piece at the Whitney Biennial click here) served me the most delicious one at her studio in early February.  That recipe is also very easy:  throw it all in the pot and let it happen while the smell of the broth takes over the house. This is what I threw in the pot of cold water:
-1 organic chicken (with feet!)
-3 celery ribs
-3 carrots peeled and cut
-2 “fanned” leeks
-1 onion with 3 cloves planted in it
- 1 spice/herb bag with: fresh parsley, thyme, laurel leave, 1 cardamon pod, 6 blk pepper corn.
- Sea salt.
Then you can either delicately lift some of the meat and eat it separately or debone  the whole thing and return it in the pot. You will have to add some salt and pepper to taste and you can of course add some pasta or rice or potatoes. I just had a bowl and this is ever so restauring and satisfying.

Now the schedule and if I don’t see you there, please stay in touch!

Sunday March 7th
Sunday Best Reading Series
4PM $7
The Lounge, Hudson View Gardens
Pinehurst Avenue and 183rd Street
183rd & Pinehurst Avenue
New York City

Friday March 12th
UMAMI Festival
Featuring Sarah Klein, Murray’s Cheese, Tom Cat Bakery, Ithaca Beer Company
& NP w/ Rosie Hertlein ( violin)
6:30PM
click here for reservations
Astor Center for Food and Wine
399 Lafayette (at 4th Street)

Sunday March 21
NP & Pierre Joris, Nick Flynn, Major Jackson, Douglas Unger
6PM
Poets for Peace at Erika’s
85-101 N. 3rd St # 508
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(between wythe and berry
and it is the bedford stop on the L train)

Monday March 29th
NP w/ Pierre Joris & Michael Bisio (bass)
THE LOCAL 269
269 E Houston Street NYC

Ongoing until Agust 2010
D’Artagnan 25th Anniversary Art Show
Michel Calvet / Nicole Peyrafitte / Jean-Pierre Rives
The World Bar /The Trump Tower
845 United Nation Plaza
New York NY 10017

As blogged last week, this past Friday I set up my kitchen/stage at 5C Café in Manhattan. I  want to thank Michael Bisio who delighted us on bass, Pierre Joris, Yuko Otomo & Steve Dalashinky who read fun & beautiful food & Paris poems, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte who took  the photographs and helped set up/clean up, Adrien Aquilina for his  assistance on waiting tables, as well as Bruce,  Trudy  & the volunteers at 5C  for their graceful hospitality & for giving me the opportunity to cook and sing. Many thanks also to a sophisticated, warm & engaging audience. Please feel free to post comments about the evening if you were there. If you were not there: the menu, the recipe of the main course, & Miles’ photographs are below.
But first let me tell you about my next performance coming up this Thursday with Peter Knoll on electric guitar. No food this time, but singing 3 French songs. I am really excited to be part of the Mongrel Vaudeville, and looking forward to the various & extravagant performances.
Program:
Mongrel Vaudeville “Blue Moon in June”
What: Performance
Host: Julian of Nowherr
Start Time: Thursday, June 25 at 8:00pm
End Time: Thursday, June 25 at 10:00pm
Where: thru the swingin doors at Freddy’s Bar & Backroom
485 Dean Street Brooklyn, NY 11215
That’s the corner of Dean Street and 6th Avenue in Brooklyn.

Now Friday’s menu:
Appetizers:
Sardine Paté w/ pink peppercorns (see Sardine Tartine blog ; all I added were the pink peppercorns)
Syrian Cheese served with green spicy Turkish and black Moroccan lemon olives
Baguette
Main Course:
Summery Garlicky Beans & Kale
(Thank you d’Artagnan for the coco Tarbais beans)
Dessert:
Strawberry short cake w/ live whipped cream!
(Thank you Pierre Landet for the pan and the strawberries)

Photographs by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Summery Garlicky Beans & Kale Recipe

I don’t have exact proportions, and it is really up to you to make it the way you like. Though as a rough indication here are the ingredients and the proportional ratio.
Soak beans over night:  2/3 white (coco tarbais)   for 1/3 red beans (dark red pinto beans).
Cook your beans separately and reserve.
Sauté —in duck fat, or olive oil— enough diced onions  to cover the bottom of the skillet in which you will cook your dish.
Add a few ribs of diced celery and diced red pepper. Sauté for a few minutes.
Add the purple kale, about half the pot, sauté until wilted.
Add the green garlic cloves. Make sure you buy them with the green stalk attached. Use about 1/2 a head per person. Green fresh garlic is very mild, do not be afraid.
Add about 1 to 2 garlic scapes per person (see last blog for info on scapes). Make sure they are very tender, if not peel them and cut them like green beans.
Salt & freshly ground pepper.
Add stock or water to just cover your vegetables & legumes.
Cook for about 40/60 minutes depending how big your pot.
Just before serving add one tablespoon of a pesto —my “pesto” had only  basil/regular garlic & olive oil, but nothing prevents you to add pignoles and cheese. I just wanted to keep it light as the appetizer had cheese and the dessert, whipped cream.
Make it soon because the garlic ain’t gone be fresh for much longer.

A multimedia and multi-sensorial experience will happened this coming Friday June 19th, 2009 8PM at 5C Cultural Center, 68 Avenue C (corner of 5th Street), New York, NY 10009 (view map here).

I’ll set up my stage/kitchen at 5C Café. Not only Mike Bisio and I will perform from our repertoire of songs and contemporary poetry but I have also invited:
Yuko Otomo she will read  her Paris poems.
Steve Dalashinsky & Pierre Joris will read food poems.
and
I will cook you a 3 courses dinner (mostly live cooking!) of  seasonal and mostly vegetarian fares.
It is reasonably priced for dinner & entertainment: $12 at the door
Wine & beer extra available at the bar.
Details:
-”First come — first served” basis (limited to 30, no reservations)
-One menu (3 courses, only one option available and mostly vegetarian)
-We will start on time!

Looking forward to see you!

Saturday May 16 2009
6:00pm -7:30pm

Concert CD release of:
“Whisk! Don’t Churn!”
Nicole Peyrafitte
(voice, video, electronics, whisk & sweets!)
Michael Bisio
(double bass)
&
with guest poet & producer
Pierre Joris
$8
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
(212) 614-0505

CD Details: here
Read  reviews: here
Get the CD: here (though if you come to the release party Saturday the CD will be available on donation)

And you can always find out more about my works on:
Cooking Parties
Nicole’s Website

I am very excited to announce the release of “Whisk! Don’t Churn!” my new cd with Michael Bisio. Correct me if I am wrong but I think this is the first recording that feature a duo for Crème Chantilly (whipped cream) and Double bass!
Our first CD concert release is this coming Thursday at Justin’s on Lark in Albany NY, where it was recorded live on November 20th 2008. We will perform material from the CD but also some new pieces. For more info on the CD click here. There will also be a New York City release at the Bowery Poetry Club Saturday May 16th 6PM.

Drawing by NP from a series inspired by Henri Michaux. A poem by Henri Michaux is included in the CD.

“Whisk, don’t Churn!”
A Live Recording
Nicole Peyrafitte with Michael Bisio

Remember, if you are in NYC on New Year’s Day do come to see us at the St Mark’s Poetry Poetry Project 35th Annual New Year’s Day Poetry Marathon. Pierre Joris, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte & myself –and about an other 140 poets, musicians & dancers– will perform from 2pm into the euphoric early morning. We are scheduled to appear in the early afternoon (between 2 & 3PM) and I also will be flipping crepes in the Parish Hall until I run out of my gallon of bater. Voilà for now! & Thank you for reading my blog and some of you since I have started back in March. The readership is seriously increasing but I would love to get more feed back.
Until next post: Bona Anada, Bonne Année, Happy New Year!

Nymphéas

Pour John & Wayne

The sun has set too fast today.
Can a water lily show me the way?
An impression by Claude Monet
Let Giverny bridge Albany.
Wet paint into wet paint
Emphasizes your qualities.
The perception of your movements
Belongs to les effets de soir.
Your blue shadow is a landscape
Your reflection a guide.
Like a painting by Claude Monet
“Impression, Sunrise”
Impression, soleil levant

N.P
Bay Ridge -Sunday, October 26, 2008
Bass: Michael Bisio
Photo/Voice/Text: Nicole Peyrafitte
Recorded Live at Justin’s in Albany N.Y by Sten Isachsen -Bender Studio-November 20, 2008

Thursday Michael Bisio -double bass- and I -voice & sounds- will be performing original works and contemporary poetry at Justin’s in Albany. Mike and I have collaborated since 2005. Over the years, thanks to Mike’s unconditional dedication to a very atypical artistic adventure, we have developed an ongoing and challenging conversation taking place at the borders between sound & sense, music & word. Cookin’ with Mike is about whippin’ not churnin’! see video.

Pierre Joris, poet, translator, editor & also my partner of 18 years has decided to produce a live recording of the event. Sten Isachsen from Bender Studio in Delmar will be once again our recording engineer. I did record my cd “The Bi-Continental Chowder/ La Garbure Transcontinentale “ at Bender Studio. This is very exciting and I hope you can join us:

Thursday November 20th 2008
VOICE & BASS unleashed!
PEYRAFITTE & BISIO
Justin’s on Lark
301 Lark Street Albany NY
9PM $3cover
reservation recommended
518-436-7008

And now, just in case you missed it or want to know more about the incredible work of Extraordinaires “Liberal Pranksters” : LE FAUX NEW YORK TIMES and all the news I wish for. It was distributed Wednesday November 12 2008 & dated July 4th 2009. I was so exited to be one of the hundreds of anonymous distributors.

My favorite article was:
“Maximum Wage Law Passes Congress”. Salary cap will help stabilize economy
but check out:
Website
Videos
pdf
& do not miss the *real* New York Times blog reaction.

See you here or there!