Family – Nicole Peyrafitte

The Boise Report

Very much enjoying our stay in Boise, Idaho.
On Saturday I was invited to give a short performance at The Cabin, a Center for writers, readers — & performance, since the event was called: GHOSTS & PROJECTORS presents: The Poetry Speakeasy.

Otherwise, incredibly busy teaching / cooking / performing 3 classes to remarquable, attentive & generous students. My courses are 2 sections of a food & culture course for the Boise State Honors College:

What Do We Eat? Why Do We Eat It? Where Does It Come From? How Do We Cook It?
While eating is the most common shared need of humankind, the great varieties of foods and cuisines serve not only our biological survival but also help to identify ourselves culturally. This course explores historical, economic, and ritual aspects of food, and looks at the role of cooking and eating in the context of the transformations of the world food system due to globalization, new technologies & migrations. Through lectures, demonstrations, films and hands-on preparation, students will learn to analyze their own food heritage while exploring local, national and international ingredients and their use. This very interactive —and tasty seminar— will also give you the basic skills to cook simple, healthy and affordable meals. You will learn knife skills, soup making, how to prepare party foods like crêpes or simple hors d’oeuvres, and how to plan menus for yourself and/or the family.

& one workshop for the English department —where Pierre is visiting writer in residence:

P P P : Practice Performance Poetry
As Jacques Roubaud writes: “Just about anything may be encountered in the guise of ‘performance poetry’: music, declamation, theatrical bits, acrobatics, ‘primal screams,’ and so on.” We will indeed explore the full range of poetry-in-action both theoretically & practically. Your active participation will be the key that will open the space for an experimental individual & collective heuristic practice.
Our workshop type class emphasis is on practice. You will be making work in class & are expected to perform it. Be prepared to be immersed in the art of the act of doing from the moment you walk into class on day one. Practice will include working on skills that will help you connect with your voice & body as the instruments they are.
Through breathing techniques, voice warm-up, light stretches you will learn to develop & expand your creative & delivery powers, to trust & stretch your performative skills.
To substantiate this practice we will investigate a range of manifestos, movements and cultural contexts from paleolithic art to today’s performance art.

Life is on a slower pace here. The weather mild & dry, people extremely kind —& surprisingly liberal, food exquisite & to give it the perfect flavor a huge Basque community —some say about 20 000! ( see pictures below) So chorizo, pimiento, lamb dishes permeate many restaurant menus!
We were graced by Jerome & Diane Rothenberg visit. They came to talk to our classes & Jerome gave a wonderful reading —Video to be uploaded soon!

Happy Trails!

A Happy New Year to Y’all! May the force of health & creativity be with you!

Given our family’s nomadic proclivities, permit us a little résumé of ‘15 & a preview of ‘16 as we are readying ourselves to drive to Boise, ID at dawn on the New Year’s first morning. (We will therefore, sadly, not be able to take part in the 2016 annual Poetry Project Marathon readin’ & eatin’ fest for the first time in many years.)

2015 started with a late January trip for readings & performances to Israel & Palestine, that took us into February, followed in March by a trip to the West Coast, then in April we were in Minneapolis and after a few weeks home in Bay Ridge we lit out for two months in Alt Europa, specifically the South of France: Nicole had a show of her artwork in the Galerie Edouard Paradis in Marseilles, then at the May/June cusp a literary festival “Les Eauditives” in Barjol to celebrate the publishing of the French edition of Bi-Valve by Plaine Page, followed in early June by a collaborative performance at the “Jardin des 5 sens et des Formes Premières” in Aix-en-Provence, followed in turn by readings in Paris around the marché de la Poésie.

On 30 June we landed back in Nueva York & five days later flew off to Durango, Mexico to the Encuentro Internacional de “Escritores José Revueltas,” to celebrate the publication of Pierre’s Mawqif: Poemas y ensayos (Selected poems & essays). We then happily spent the remainder of the summer here with moult visits to Coney Island beaches.

Above is a 4 minutes résumé of Nicole & Pierre’s summer

Pierre would fly off to Paris & Luxembourg in early September to get to work on the first of his shows as resident author of the Luxembourg National Theater— a show that premiered in early late October to excellent notices form the Luxembourg media. Meanwhile Nicole had also returned to Europe & we both did readings and talks at the University of Mulhouse, and in late October a joint reading in Toulouse under the aegis of our good friend Serge Pey. It was fun once again reading in the Cave Poésie a place we had worked in many years earlier.

Nicole had already spent a few weeks in October in Luchon in pre-production of Things Fall Where They Lie a film she then shot during the first ten days of November: an amazing, tiring, inspiring experience with Nicole as director & Pierre as gofer & an excellent team including Steve Dalachinsky & Yuko Otomo, Eric Sarner and Katalin Pataki as protagonists and crew including Asa Westcott, Zia Anger, Agnès Mathon, Jean-Louis Peyrafitte & in co production with Ecran Sud. While Nicole stayed in Luchon for an extra week to wrap things up, Pierre went off to Paris to be interviewed for a film on Osip Mandelstam & Paul Celan & was thus in that City on Friday 13. We flew back to New York on the 22nd. Also in 2015 Nicole had great the opportunity to perform with Michael Bisio, Connie Crothers, Steve Swell, Jason Hwang, Trio Erms, Denis Brun, Armoire Normande, Yoshiko Chuma. And we are now preparing our 4-months move to Boise Idaho.

2016 Preview: At BSU Nicole will be teaching two courses, on on food and culture called What Do We Eat? Why Do We Eat It? Where Does It Come From? How Do We Cook It? & another one: Poetry Perfromance Practice, while Pierre teaches a grad seminar on poetry & poetics. We have already done out best to surround us with friends: in early February Jerry & Diane Rothenberg will be coming in to go to both our seminars & for Jerry to do a talk & reading; in late March Habib Tengour will come in from Paris for a 2-day conference Pierre is organizing around Arab literature & translation (More details t..b.a.).

While Nicole will be off to the Coast at some point for performance & readings, Pierre will be doing a talk & reading at the U of Oklahoma in March or April. We will both be performing at The New Orleans Poetry Festival on April 16.

Meanwhile, son Miles, who finished his first feature film, As You Are, in November, on which his brother Joseph is producer & post-production editor, had the film accepted at the Sundance Festival in the US drama section competition. We will drive down to Park City from Boise to witness the premiere on January 25.

FamPix2015

During the first week of May we will drive back (the Northern route through the Dakotas) to Nueva York, where after 10 days or so we’ll switch suitcases and then Pierre will be off to Luxembourg for work on the second play, a 3-act drama, that will premiere at the LNT on 14 June, while Nicole will wing it to Luchon where she has a one month one-woman show of her art plus performances June1-30. Après, on verra… Home in Bay Ridge would, we are sure, feel very, very welocme by then. dreaming of Coney Island beaches…

Don’t worry, the car has been perfectly winterized, fitted out with 4 brand-new Michelin all-weather tires. We will of course keep you updated on the various twists our paths will take in 2016. We are planning to give updates of the road trip on Facebook/Blogs/Instagram….follow us!

Bona anada, feliz anno nuevo, bonne année, e schei’nt neit Jo’er, a nappy ewe’s ear, & however else you want to say it,

Pierre & Nicole

Chia Seeds Pudding (Fr/Eng)

(Video in French – Recipe in english below)

Dans la série “recettes pour mes parents,” aujourd’hui: Le pudding au Tofu Soyeux aux graines de Chia.
C’est encore une recette très rapide (environ 8 minutes), ne requiert aucune cuisson, n’a ni produit laitier, ni sucre ajouté et est très pauvre en glucide.
J’utilise les graines de chia depuis peu. Ces graines magiques étaient cultivées par les Aztèques avant Christophe Colomb. Elles avaient presque disparues, car leur utilisation religieuse aurait poussé les conquistadors espagnols à s’en prendre à cette culture. Elles sont très riches en fibres, ont une forte teneur en acide alpha-linolénique (du groupe oméga-3), en antioxydants, en protéines et sont pauvres en glucides.
Les graines de chia sont onéreuses, mais heureusement très avantageuses.

Ingredients:

Tofu Soyeux – 450 gr
Chair ou pulpe de Noix de Coco -2 grosses cuillères à soupe
Noix de Cajou – 1 poignée
Le zeste d’un citron rapé
Graines de Chia – 1 C à soupe
Stevia – selon le goût mais: attention! deviens amer si on en met trop
Vanille- 1/2 gousse
Cannelle -selon le goût

In the series “recipes for my parents,” today : Chia Seeds & Tofu Pudding.
This is a very quick recipe (took me about 8 minutes) & it doesn’t require any cooking, no dairy, no added sugar et very low carbohydrate.
I started using chia seeds recently. These magic seeds were cultivated by the Aztec in pre-Columbian times. They almost got eradicated, as their religious use would have enticed the conquistadors to ban them.
Their nutritional benefits include fiber, omega fatty acids (omega-3), calcium, antioxidants, protein & they are low glycemic.
They are a bit expensive — though they do expand in volume.

Ingredients:

English
Silken Tofu – 1lb
Coconut Mana 3 generous tablespoons —or to taste
Cashew nuts – 1/2 cup
One lemon grated
Chia Seeds – 1 Tablespoon
Stevia to taste
Vanilla- 1/2 bean scraped
Cinnamon to taste

Menus & Video for Jean & Renée

This blog is in French because it is for my parents who keep asking me about low glycemic menus.
Below a first set of menu & a video for my coleslaw recipe, all in French. Though the coleslaw recipe in English is here.

Idées de menus avec index glycémique bas pour Jean & Renée Peyrafitte

Tout les jours au réveil:
1 verre d’eau tiède avec quelques gouttes de citron bio

LUNDI

Déjeuner
-Côtelettes grillées ou poêlées avec lentilles
Faire sauter légèrement oignons, céleri, ail, persil, un anchois ou deux hachés, et ajouter sel poivre et lentilles et eau bien sûr! Cuire. Au moment de servir, ajouter un filet d’huile d’olive et du persil frais.
-Yaourt Nature avec cannelle moulue
de préférence chèvre ou brebis avec graines de courges, tournesol, lin. Les faire sauter séparément dans une poêle chaude — attention les graines sautent!

Dîner
-Soupe de légumes
suggestions: pas de pommes de terre (index glycémique très élevé) ), en hiver oignons, chou, champignons, poireaux, 1 petite carotte, 1 panais, navet, citrouille, topinambours, blettes, ail , persil… en été seulement: tomates, courgettes.
Pour y donner de l’épaisseur y ajouter soit: des graines de Chia, de l’orge, de l’avoine entière, du seigle entier ou du sarrasin entier; ces graines donneront de l’épaisseur et bon goût! On peut aussi rajouter haricots adzuki qui n’ont pas besoin de tremper.

-Salade Composée
Exemples:
Varier la verdure: roquette, laitue, romaine, endives
Ajouter: oignons, céleri, radis, persil, avocat, oeuf dur, thon, haricots, lentilles, pois chiches
Varier les vinaigrettes
-huile d’olive et citron
-vinaigrette aux anchois
-vinaigrette asiatique avec gingembre, sauce soja, vinaigre de riz, ail, huile de sesame
-vinaigrette au roquefort pour salade d’endives
Varier les huiles: Huile de Sésame, d’Olive, de Colza. et toujours bio pressées à froid
-Fromage des Pyrénées avec une demi Pomme non pelée

MARDI

Déjeuner
-Sardines avec rondelles d’oignons
-Omelette au Fromage/ ou Oeufs cocotte/ ou Oeufs aux plat
-Epinards vapeur au beurre frais
-Poire

Dîner
-Soupe de Lundi
-Chou Cru en Salade ( voir video)
-Tranche de Jambon d’York naturel ( sans conservateur)
-Yaourt

MERCREDI

Déjeuner
-Poisson poché ou à la poêle
-Purée de pois chiches ou de haricots
Après les avoir fait tremper, faire cuire des pois chiches ou haricots nature (préparez-en beaucoup à la fois — ça se congèle très bien).
Faites blondir des oignons, du poireau, du céleri, du thym, du persil, rajouter assez de liquide pour faire chauffer et passer à la moulinette pour une consistance de purée.
Servir avec herbes fraîches et oignons crus ciselés en garniture et un filet de très bonne huile d’olive et quelques olives kalamata si ce sont des haricots blancs
-Pomme Verte (avec peau) avec un morceau de Fromage

Dîner
-Potage de potiron maison ou soupe de lentilles avec les restes de lundi
-Salade composée (voir suggestion de lundi)
Pudding de graine de chia (recette à venir! en attendant mangez un yaourt!)

JEUDI

Déjeuner
-Poulet Rôti
-Chou Fleur Sauté ou chou de Bruxelles ou topinambours et champignons sautés
-Compote de pomme maison cuite sans sucre et avec la peau!

Dîner
-Viande froide
-Salade composée
-Yaourt

VENDREDI

Déjeuner
-Poisson poché, à la poêle ou au four
-Chou de Bruxelles ou haricots verts avec une noix de beurre frais bio
-Fromage avec pomme

Dîner
-Soupe avec restes de la carcasse de Poulet
-Salade Composée
-Yaourt

SAMEDI

Déjeuner
-Avocat vinaigrette
-Rôti de veau avec haricots blancs ou rouges ou noirs (faire une variation de mercredi)
-Kiwi

Dîner
-Soupe de pois cassés
-Carottes râpées assaisonnées au citron, ail, huile d’olive
-Yaourt

DIMANCHE

Déjeuner
-Radis beurre
-Morue aux Poireaux et Topinambours
Acheter de la très bonne morue et la dessaler 12 heures et changer l’eau souvent.
Mettez la morue dans une grande casserole et recouvrez-la d’eau froide (non salée, bien sûr). Portez à ébullition très doucement; retirez la casserole du feu dès le premier frémissement, couvrez et laissez pocher 10 minutes. Égouttez. Faire revenir les poireaux et des oignons dans de l’huile d’olive avec un peu de beurre.
Couper les topinambours en cubes. S’ils sont frais pas besoin de les peler; les gratter avec une brosse dure.
Dans un plat à gratin beurré, mélanger morue, topinambours, poireaux, oignons. Ajouter de la bonne crème fraîche, bien poivrer, bien mélanger et cuire au four environ 1 heure. S’il y a des restes: Rajouter de l’eau et/ou un peu de lait, mouliner et voilà un potage délicieux! Servir avec du persil frais en garniture.
-Poire avec un morceau de très bon camembert ou brie

Dîner
-Soupe de légumes au miso et aux algues
Faire revenir légèrement de l’oignon, du chou haché fin, du céleri, de l’ail, du gingembre frais haché. Rajouter l’eau et 1/2 tasse d’algues Wakamé que vous aurez fait tremper quelques minutes dans le d’eau, 1 cuillère (ou 2) à soupe de sauce soja.
Ne pas cuire très longtemps, 20 minutes suffisent. Au dernier moment y rajouter la pâte miso et bien remuer. Ne jamais faire bouillir le miso, il perdrait toute valeur nutritive.
– Quinoa avec beurre frais (on peut aussi l’ajouter à la soupe)
– Pudding de graine de chia (recette à venir! en attendant mangez du Fromage blanc!)
Si vous avez des suggestions et/ou des questions merci de laisser un commentaire ci-dessous et en attendant:
Bon appétit!

Méchoui or Whole Lamb on a Spit

Cooking on a spit was the theme of Pierre’s 65th birthday. After the cake on the spit (see previous blog here), voilà the lamb on the spit a.k.a méchoui! According to the Robert historique de la langue Française the origin of the word méchoui is: “Borrowed (1912) from the Arabic maghrebien mešwi “roasted, grilled; lamb roasted on a spit”, past participle of šawa (شوى ), to roast, to grill”. This dish is very popular in North Africa where Pierre lived several years.

As we still are in the village of Bourg d’Oueil, in the heart of the French Pyrenees, the lamb will be provided by no one else than our neighbors & friends, the Jamme family. The 17 kgs (37,5 lbs) lamb, fetched from the nearby mountains a few days before, is “un broutard” or a “grazer”; that is a lamb that had passed the nursing stage and is already grazing. And now the photo log of an another amazing communal food experience:

The day before our friend André brought very dry wood he had split for the occasion & the spit that Marc had fetched from Yves the butcher. In the late afternoon I went to the Jamme’s house to rub the lamb with a thick marinade of olive oil, garlic, wild thyme, salt & piment d’Espelette (chili pepper from the basque country); then we returned the lamb to rest overnight in the walk-in cooler.

Now we went to the village hall multipurpose room to set up the tables. The meal will be inside, since we knew the weather was not going to be warm enough. As no rain was forecast, so the aperitif will be served outside. With Sylvia Gorelick —who made all the bouquets with wild flowers she had gathered in the fields near by— Marie Jeanne Jamm, — who brought additional sheets to cover the tables— Maïté & Michou — Pierre’s sister — set up a beautiful banquet table for 50 people. The event was becoming more elaborate as I had planned. As we got closer to the date the eating of the birthday lamb as a casual outdoor buffet turning into an elaborate banquet.

On d-day: I am up at 7:30 am to set up for the méchoui. My neighbors Robi & farmer Roland Jamme (remember him from the cake) arrived shortly thereafter. Together we start the fire, strategize and go get the lamb prepped as best as we can to avoid any complication during cooking.

That’s it! it is 9:45am the beast is on the spit, as we have a manual spit, it is going to be crucial to have someone monitoring, turning & basting —w/the same marinade as above— the lamb & adding coals to the fire. Robi & Roland have set up a second fire next to the méchoui were they burn logs to turn them into charcoal, which they add under our lamb in order to keep an even fire.

I had nothing to worry about as Robi, Roland & now Pierre were fully in charge of the lamb. Accompanied by the same crew as last night we are setting up for cocktail hour & hors d’oeuvres. Joseph Garcès, who was Maitre d’H at the family hôtel for 14 years, came right on time to slice the magnificent bellota ham —acorn fed pig— shipped to us by my nephew Vincent from a small Spanish farm. I had also prepared salads of heirloom tomatoes and organic haricots-vert that we set up on the table along with the ham. The fragrant cantaloupe from the Gers will be passed around once people are seated.

It is around 12pm and guests are filling in. They are “appetizing” on cherry tomatoes, patés, salamis, radishes —here my 89 year old father is particularly enjoying them— while sipping the pleasant Marquisette, a cocktail make by Maïté & Robi — wine, vanilla bean, lime & seltzer, served by Marie-Jeanne Peyroulan an old time friend who came from a near valley with her son Teo who played a lot of “Quiller” —an ancient version of bowling— with my adorable niece Lou.

It is now 1 pm and the lamb is cooked! My brother Jean-Louis will assist Roland, Robi & Marc for the carving while my nieces Mag & Isa will pass the cut meat to the guests. To serve with the lamb, my friend Paulette made the most tasty Pistache Luchonnaise ever—a white bean & lamb stew with pork rind — a specialty of the Comminges region— Paulette’s Pistache almost stole the show from the Méchoui and the cóca! Unfortunately no pictures were taken as every body was too busy eating. We had seconds & some had thirds. We took a little break and had a cheese course. Not any kind of cheese, no, a Poubeau cheese if you please! Read about it here. It was a perfectly aged one; Joseph Garcès is on a “cheese plan”; that is that he reserves a full wheel six months in advance and lets it age in the cheese maker’s cave. Joseph offered his reserved wheel to Pierre for his birthday party!

It is now about 4pm and about time to present the birthday boy with his very special cake. After singing Happy Birthday, we serve the cake with crème anglaise, all the details about the incredible ancient cake are here. More singing was done by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, Sylvia Gorelick, and a special tribute to Pierre by Joan-Francès Tisner & family who had come all the way from the Béarn. After coffee, Armagnac & Mirabelle —Thank you Michou & Julien for bringing the real stuff from Luxembourg! — it was about 6pm when the last guest left!

All of this could not have happend without the amazing help of the family & a tight community of friends. Special thanks to the Jamme Family, Joseph Garcès & Paulette, Robi Castebrunet & Maïté, Conso, Michou, Marie-Jeanne, Domenja, Marie-Jo, my parents Jean & Renée Peyrafitte, the Toucouère family, André, Marc & my brothers: Jean-Louis for his carving assistance and Pierre for the pix, Miles, Sylvia, all the wonderful guests & last but not least to Pierre whose birthday gave me a great opportunity to throw a party. MERCI!

Photo credit: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte & Nicole Peyrafitte

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Category: Family

A Happy New Year to Y’all! May the force of health & creativity be with you!