2 more to go... and this one's personal...

Hey foodies, EC&I 831, youtubeez,

In this weeks episode of Poets in the Kitchen, I rock out my mother's Vietnamese Lemongrass Porkchops. Probably the easiest of all my recipes, but also the most rushed. It's been so tough coordinating with artists. I'm in scramble mode, trying to get postings up, but trying to not rush the product.

My original premise was creating an almost reality tv-esque aesthetic with candid footage, and always having an audience. This time around- it was super tough, so I wrestled with how am I going to show the cooking and art, and if it would be ok to just shoot them separately and show them.

I decided it was ok to do this. Not just because I needed to get stuff up, but what I realized- which I'll chat more about in my reflection post on this- is I discovered why I decided on working on this project. Spoken word, comes from a place of speaking out loud. Recent history has tied it with many community based art practices, but specifically with activism and social advocacy. People without voices, join in community, to create a space where they suddenly have a voice, a platform to speak. And part of the agreement is that people will listen. Much like cooking shows, and cooking for friends- it's a space where one decides to cook, and creates a platform for that to happen, where bystanders/audience members/guests agree to eat and take in what is offered. I think it's about the communal identity that is created when entering an agreement to share something between two or more people.

This week has also been especially hard... in light of all the recent news about Ferguson, and racism across N.America... a lot of the work I do has been impacted by it. And it shows up in my poem. One point of sadness- I was hoping to put my intro/preamble of my poem and my poem together in 1 video, but length was a concern- so sadly, I had to split it. Anyway, enjoy! As always, comment and spread if you like :)

P.S. as promised... more attractive friends- even though Michael is a repeat guest :) And also a smoke alarm candid fiasco that you just can't script. LOL.

Thanks,

Johnny.

Poets in the Kitchen Episode 3 reflection thus far!!!!

More than any episode I think Poets In The Kitchen Episode 3 has been the most revealing, most successful, and closest to the products that I want to create. I’ve decided that this project is going to continue- even beyond this class.

At the same time, I feel incredibly vulnerable with the video. In all my videos, I don’t make a public statement about my sexual orientation, for a lot of reasons. The primary reason- is that I am making a point to not make an issue of it. I perform myself all the time, I made/make a choice to be as authentic as possible and not try to hide. One thing that I’ve learned is that, especially with the cameras rolling, if I have close friends I trust, and good company around me- I’m more likely to act like myself in the most candid way. Much like the strategies I’ve learned from watching reality tv (specifically for this course- I don’t watch reality tv much- beyond top chef J). The other main reason is that I’ve had incredibly challenging relationships with media, and being public.

One experience was in 2004 when I attended the first gay wedding convention with my then- ex-fiance, Jordan. To this day, I say that we weren’t planning on wearing matching cream sweaters, scarves, satchels…. But gay marriage was a hot topic in Canada, and they got a shot of us looking at orchids. Of course. I asked to now have my last name used, but they did it anyway. I believe it was the Toronto Star. I was still unphased- I was already out to my family- though we never talked about it- and I was relatively convinced that “they don’t read the Star or the Globe or whatever the paper was.” Anyway- unfortunately, the convention was in the same print as some major awards- i.e. the Golden Globes or Oscars or something… and it was immediately in the section behind it, so it ended up in many papers, the metro, 24… and word got out... Hard. I learned that it wasn’t about coming out to my family, but it was my family coming out to the ENTIRE Asian community and the networks therein. People from Alberta were commenting. This led to a stint of disownment, homelessness, and a lot of strife between myself and my family. To this day, I get calls whenever Pride comes around- “make sure you don’t end up on TV.” To be clear, I wasn’t the victim here- I created a situation based on my public performance of my sexual orientation that hurt my family.

The most telling part of this episode for me, was my performance at the end fo the video. I recently performed the piece at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. It was so well received that I was asked to perform it on the Final Stage as a highlight from the festival… and that is a huge honor.

One thing about performance and art/performance art, there is often a discussion of rehearsal, authenticity, replicability and repetition. For my guest on episode 3, I had Michelle Ilbalio, a friend, screenwriter, and coworker. I was expecting to read some of her sides, or have her talk about her writing, but nerves got the best of her… which often happens to everyone, especially those who prefer to be- behind the scenes. So I ended up performing the piece, it’s titled ‘Ferry Man.’ It’s a play on words, referencing “Fairy” (a historical pejorative for queer man) and Kheron, the ferry man in Greek Mythology. The poem was inspired by, and is an account of sexual violence against young men- specifically in a religious context of the Christian Church. I have experienced sexual violence in this context and others. It’s been a journey to come through it. I still identify as Christian, but the poem is a comment on religion, and hypocrisy/fallibility of men in power in the Church, closeted men, who- so repressed, become predators, and the men who have survived despite them.

For me, what’s telling, is that I’ve performed that piece 4 times in this final iteration. The first time, was for a poetry slam as part of the CFSW Festival in Victoria. The moment of being on stage, actually competing with this personal story was overwhelming. I have many strategies in my arsenal as a conservatory trained actor to decompress, enter, and exit a performance safely and to practice self care… but I was so lost in the piece… It was really well received. Standing ovation. But after I performed, I had to leave the stage to take a few minutes to return to a more public state. I performed it again at the Final Stage, which were the finals of the festival. But having just performed it a couple days before, and with little notice about performing it again- it lacked a lot of the energy and commitment. I was less honest… correction… I was as honest as I could have been. Anyway, that brings us to episode 3. I thought, ok, this is in my living room, in my new kitchen, I can make this facebook friendly, and youtube accessible, and it will be watered down- but perhaps because it was such a personal space. It totally ‘dropped in’ (as we actors say) with little difficulty. I was less prepared for what happened on camera. And it shows in my reactions after.

So what I’m trying to say is, that I’m openly performing my sexual orientation in the episode. Fears and anxiety about family seeing this, or people I know seeing this… are not… small. I’m not taking risks for this class. I’m making choices because I feel it’s time to.

There are too many silenced voices. I speak from a male voice, even if it’s from a person of colour’s voice, but a voice of relative priviledge in Canada. If we want to make things better… my family is strong enough to bare the resistance of the community they live in. I also don’t think it’s likely they’ll viralize a random blog vs. a national paper J.

For me this reflection is about talks from Bonnie Stuart on performing self, and also ties in the guest lectures of storytelling, and Audrey Walters speak about gendered lines… and really- identity.

What I take away from this episode is I’m much more aware of how when we perform ourselves- we consciously perform what we think we want people to see, but may not realize what we never intended for people to see. I recognize now that, perhaps unconsciously, subconsciously, I wanted my friends as a live support for these revelations. And that we are not performing only ourselves, but performing our networks, our histories, simply by realizing that those memories and connections helped form how we behave in the present.

I’m now speaking both about episode 3, and also episode 2. It’s strange the contrast being being in a group setting, vs. being very intimate with only one guest.

What is also interesting which I can talk more on later is how peers, colleagues, friends- all of them, commented on ‘how natural I was on camera, how the camera loves me, because I am very comfortable and personable to the camera.” I chalk this up to some solid theatre/film training, but it also made me focus more on how I am on camera, and playing up that “strength.” By focusing on that, and trying to heighten that- I discovered how much more of the rest of my self that I revealed.

I hope you enjoy episode 3! Please let me know if you make it at home and share comments!!!!!!

Johnny.

Poets in the Kitchen Episode 3!!!!

OMG How did we come this far, and where did my work go? Hey EC&I 831. So lots of happened to me over the last few weeks. It’s been terrible to be honest. BUT here is  my final latest videos that I’ve been making for Poets In The Kitchen.

So as promised, one of the problems with my last video is that I RAN OUT OF ROOM!!!!! L Lesson learned? DO NOT try to make a holiday special for your second episode with 3 different recipes in one.

But this one is for my desert from Asian Thanksgiving. It’s for my caramel croissant bread pudding. Please let me know what you think! Try it at home- it’s soooo easy…. The things you can do with some milk, eggs, and sugar. #Bless #givethanks #ECI831

Check out these videos, and definitely check out the poetry in the end. It's probably my most personal work... and then have a look at my reflection- wow- I didn't realize how intense and revealing this project is becoming.

More to come soon. PS. I know it's late in the game. I had no idea term was only one more week- I thought we had until exams ended. So if you still have time to look and comment, that'd be so appreciated.

Cheers, J.

People are actually trying it! YAY! Thai Red Curry Recipe

A few people asked! So here is the recipe- it's my first stab at writing, some slight inconsistencies with video- but general feel/foundation is the same. Let me know how you do!

Here it is on the blog as well! So glad you're wanting to try the recipe. I've not written one before, so here is a first stab. Let me know what questions you might have!

Ingredients:

1 small can of coconut milk
1 larger can of coconut milk light
1 small jar (60ml) of red curry paste
2-3 tbsp of fish sauce
6 kaffir lime leaves (if you don't have these, I just throw in limes)

1 large onion (I prefer sweet yellow, but some use red also)
1 head of garlic
3 bulbs of shallots
1 yam
1 large carrot
2 stalks of celery
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
(most of these veggies are optional, its whatever you have on hand or want to use)
Optional- Chilli Paste
Optional- Thai Chillis
Optional- Jalapenos
3 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

I also like to add:
1 small handfull of cut chinese long beans / plain old green beans
1 can of baby corn
1 small handful bunch of chopped asparagus (if I want to get fancy)

1 block of medium soft tofu (optional)
3 chicken breasts (I prefer 5-6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs) Or any protein you like- (I've used shrimp, mussels, clams, lobster, and beef- but I generally don't like this recipe with beef- it's too easy to overcook it).

salt and pepper

thai basil or regular basil
mint leaves
cilantro
lemongrass (you can buy a small jar of frozen and prechopped lemon grass that works great)

I know it seems like a lot, but again, so much is up to what you like, so you can cut most of these out if you prefer.

Instructions:

I prep my protein (if I'm going with a meat option) by taking about 1 tsp-2tsp of the red curry paste and rub it all over the meat so it can marinade for a show while. You can totally do this over night, by mixing the paste with some chillies, minced garlic, and onion.

I chop up my mirepoix (the onions, carrots, celery) and in this case, also the yams into even chunks. Turn the oven on to medium high, pour in the olive oil, as the pan starts to heat up, toss in the chunks of veggies. These harder vegetables take longer to cook, so I let them sit in the pot for about 5 minutes, with minimal stirring- so long as they don't burn/char on the bottom... too much. The idea is to let them soften slightly, and start to cook.

While it's cooking, I chop up the shallots, smash the garlic into tiny bits, and dice up the peppers into even chunks. I then toss these into the pot, and stir a bit more vigorously- you don't want your garlic to burn to black.

Once I've added that in, I chop up the green beans into manageable chunks, or if using regular green beans, I snip off both ends and try to cut them into relatively even pieces. They go in the pot.

Once the aroma of the garlic and other veggies start to rise, I mix in all the red curry paste and stir vigorously. You want to get the paste all over the veg, and not clump or burn. Once the smell starts to rise, I pour in both coconut milks. You should start to really smell that base thai curry aroma around now.

I stir a fair bit until things appear to be well mixed and even. At this point, I'll add the tofu, that is sliced into even cubes, and I'll strain the baby corn and add that in. (I usually buy baby corn in a can- again cutting the baby corn into similar sizes).

I then leave it to simmer by turning down the heat slightly.

In another pan, that marinating protein I have been saving is going to be used- again- in a different pan. I like separating my meat from the curry in the even that you need a vegetarian/dairy free/gluten free option, by being able to set stuff aside. I fry up the meat until it's JUST cooked, even slightly under- because it's going to sit in the curry stew for some time, you don't want to over cook the meat. With seafood, you can just toss them in, and wait until they open. Once ready, I set the protein aside.

Once all the veg are in, and it's starting to smell up your kitchen, I add my other aromatics. i.e. the lemon grass, basil, I usually save the mint as a garnish, but sometimes i'll toss it in earlier. Someone told me once that if you slap the herb leaves in between your hands, you activate the flavour in the oils. I dunno if it's true, but I slap them anyway. I also add the bunches of cilantro and potentially mint.

Finally, when ready, we combine the meat and curry, mix it up a lot, and taste. I then add some fish sauce, to my tastes, and use it as a tool to help with balance. Then to make sure we are balanced, I add in the spicy chillis. I also add the kaffir lime leaves. again if these are unavailable- I squeeze in lime juice and toss in the whole lime(2).

Then you let it simmer for about an hour, or put it into a crock pot on low for a few hours.

Then you serve! I think it's best with rice. The curry tastes even better the day after. Good Luck! LMK how it goes!