826chi guest post series: my amazing summer

ceviche in peru via .mayli.'s photostream.

yesterday it was hawaiian pork chops. today, it's ceviche.

this is the second in a short series of guests posts from the kids at 826 chicago, and while in just two posts the kids are finding a connection to these family table foods, there's also a common thread that's formed. on the surface the kids identify with the foods enough that for an exercise that calls for "recipes and reflections," we've seen two that span a generational gap in each family. what's beneath the surface though is that the kids aren't quite developing the understanding of this significance. the question isn't being asked, "what story is behind my mother's ceviche? how did she learn to make it?" instead the reflection we get is scene specific to the memory: watching the clouds pass overhead, dropping the bikes before going inside, and drinking lemonade.

which is refreshing for me to see, because it's easy to forget we once were at that point, too. a time when enjoying a simple thing like fresh ceviche, and sharing it with friends after a day in the park, was all it took to make the best day of the summer. it's called innocence—or naïveté or, calling a spade a spade, just plain youth—and it's given me pause to think back on those moments when i finally did ask the questions as to why a thing was what it was, and how did it get there, and why was it in our home?

call it sentiment, but i get a kick out of wondering what that ceviche will mean to tiffany ten years from now. my guess is that summer day will be a forgotten memory, but the stories of the ceviche, the time spent with her mother learning how to make it, will surface.

“My Amazing Summer” 

By Tiffany M.

It was a nice beautiful day. I was hanging out with my best friends Jackie, Lorely, and FiFi. We were lying down on the grass in the park. We were watching the clouds, relaxing, and there was a wonderful breeze. Jackie, FiFi, Lorely and I then got hungry. So we decided to go back to my house for lunch.

We took our bikes and rode them as fast as lightning because we were so hungry. When we got to my house we dropped our bikes and went inside. We sat on the couch drinking lemonade and trying to decide what was for lunch. Then I faced them and said, “Why don’t we have ceviche?” Jackie, FiFi, and Lorely agreed. So my mom helped me cook the ceviche. Jackie, Fifi, and Lorely gathered half a pound of cubed fish, 5 limes, 1 big red onion, half of a green pepper, 1 small tomato, 1 teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, 2 spoons of vegetable oil, and a bunch of cilantro. We cut all the ingredients and mixed it up. I served everyone and we ate it all. It WAS DELICIOUS!! This was the best summer day EVER!! THE END.

826chi guest post series: hawaiian pork chops

the infamous index card recipe from gherringer's photostream.

to be totally candid, i couldn't wait for wednesday morning to roll around so that i could begin posting this guest series from a group of kids who recently took a field trip to the 826chi center with a theme of "recipes and reflections." when i approached 826 about raising money for them when i guest bartend next week, i had no idea there was a food theme in their program. here's the prompt they offer for teachers on the theme:

Everyone loves food, but what does it really mean? During this field trip, students bring a family recipe and discover how food holds more meaning than just the ingredients in the recipe. Students work with volunteers to write reflections, incorporating memories of the recipe and its place in their lives. At the end, volunteers type the stories and the class is mailed a class book with their class photo on the back.

so much of what i've found through this blog is rooted in the premise of this simple exercise. there are endless stories to tell surrounding our food—which is why i can't get my fingers to type fast enough to introduce to a new way of storytelling on this blog. writing on "hawaiian pork chops," and the first in what will be a series of posts from the 826 kids, here's dylan's reflection on his family's recipe...

"Hawaiian Pork Chops"

By Dylan C.

The recipe for Hawaiian pork chops runs in my family. They taste really good and also they are easy to make. We make them for holidays or just days that we just like to have good food. It tells people that I really like yummy food. Also every time I hear “Hawaiian pork chops” my mouth waters, especially when my dad makes them. Some ingredients are brown sugar, ketchup, salt, pepper, and plenty more. The holiday we usually make it on is the Fourth of July. When I hear the word I get really hungry. When we make them everyone can help themselves—or at least if you hurry up.

charity guest bartending for 826chi

this isn't my drink, but it'll look something like it,
ward eight via cookthinker's photostream.

a week from tonight, for two hours, i'll be wearing my bartender pants. thing of it is, i've never worn those pants before. i don't even know what they look like. so one can only hope pants like those have pockets full of whiskey, right?

i'm guest bartending. i've been fortunate to cross paths with sarah stegner at prairie fire here in chicago, who is both co-chef and owner of the restaurant. every tuesday night the restaurant hosts a guest bartender, inviting them to serve a cocktail of their own recipe, with any tips raised going to a charity of that person's choosing. when sarah asked me a while back if i'd come in and do this, i didn't really hesitate to say yes.

i'll be pouring out a ward eight, which is a classic whiskey drink with somewhat of a story. the drink is named for a boston politician appointed to state government in 1898, and it was the voting margin in boston's ward eight that helped push him over the top. and the restaurant that created the drink? locke-ober. a place that is alive and kicking pretty strong near beacon hill still today—and brings the story full circle, with our short-lived boston roots. but i'm calling mine a ward826.

most major cities in the u.s. have an 826. l.a. has one, and so does boston. and there was one down the street from alicia and i in chicago last year, and we didn't even realize it—which made us feel pretty small, with our mfa-creative-writing-gung-ho-literary-student-loan-debt-enthusiasm and all. that's because 826 is a non-profit writing and tutoring center, for children.

"the facade of 826chi. the boring store is a front for the spy store is a front
for the after-school writing program," via rcavalcante's photostream.

the 826 centers are a product of writer dave eggers, whom a lot of people know from his book a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. when i was writing more, his mcsweeney's collection of stories and essays was the one publication i wanted to see my work published in. the writing is off-the-grain, unique, and the kind of stuff we'd all be better off with stumbling across just a bit more.

a student reads in november via 826 chicago's photostream.

so even though i've worked closely with taste of the nation and am more recently working with green city market and the upcoming family farmed expo, there wasn't much hesitation when i decided to go to 826chi with my tips for next tuesday night. and they reciprocated. so much so that they've shared a few samples of student writings from a recent "recipes and reflections" field trip to the center. the kids bring a family recipe with them on the trip, and the point is to discover how food holds more meaning than just the ingredients in the recipe. if you've read this blog before, that should sound just a tad familiar, no?

everything looks better upside down, via 826 chicago's photostream.

so for the rest of the week leading up to my stint behind the bar at prairie fire, i'll be featuring an entry a day from the kids.

and in the meantime, if you're in chicago, make plans for next tuesday night. i start pouring my ward826 (whiskey, oj, lemon, and grenadine i'm making myself) at 6pm and won't stop until 8pm. and the kicker? the auer family foundation has stepped up as a matching donor for the night—so whatever tips are raised, we're now throwing the kids twice as much.

cheers to that.