Retroblogging: Chicago Trip 2012, Art Institute

I totally should have taken some candy.

Art Institute of Chicago, January 2012

Felix Gonzalez-Torres

American, born Cuba, 1957–1996

"Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), 1991

Multicolored candies, individually wrapped in cellophane

Ideal weight 175 lb; installed dimensions variable, approximately 92 x 92 x 92 cm (36 x 36 x 36 in.)

Promised gift of Donna and Howard Stone, 1.1999

© The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres produced work of uncompromising beauty and simplicity, transforming the everyday into profound meditations on love and loss. “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) is an allegorical representation of the artist’s partner, Ross Laycock, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991. The installation is comprised of 175 pounds of candy, corresponding to Ross’s ideal body weight. Viewers are encouraged to take a piece of candy, and the diminishing amount parallels Ross’s weight loss and suffering prior to his death. Gonzalez-Torres stipulated that the pile should be continuously replenished, thus metaphorically granting perpetual life. 

Note from here. Emphasis my own.

Sandy: Spared and not Spooked

I am very grateful and relieved to relay that my little Attic, building, and neighborhood were spared most of the ravishes of the hurricane (aka FrankenStorm aka Superstorm aka the Sno'eastercane) known as Sandy.

Although I was up in CT visiting ye old homestead, Grumpa Max, Jenn, Wendy and Ms. Emily, the forecast was dire enough that plans were cut short so I could return to NY, unload my rental car, return it, and get on one of the last MetroNorth trains before the system was frozen. I was able to get all my emergency supplies of candles, soda, bread, and Diet Coke tucked away next to the food storage tins Dad brought East from the land of the 72 hour kits, fill the bathtub, make sure the freezer was full of ice, have the cooler ready next to the water supply, and to sit and wait to see what Mother Nature would wrought.

I even took pictures of the local river and highway so I could do before and after shots. In previous storms, the river has flooded the highway and trees have come down. 

The Bronx River

Having prepared as much as I could, I 'hunkered' in. The most scary part in the early stages was making sure that Dad was able to fly out of Hartford and back to Vegas. His was one of the last flights out Monday morning, much to everyone's relief. Especially his. (Next time, I believe he will be packing more than just a trip's worth of medication -- WON'T YOU DAD!?)

The waiting is what begins to get on your nerves. The pressure literally plays havoc with your brain. I had the worst migraine until about 9 p.m. on Monday - the day we got the brunt of it. However, I have learned one of the best things to do is actually turn off the television and radio for the most part, and to use common sense. Don't go outside. Don't go near the windows. Take all the potentially flying debris out of Mother Nature's way. Prepare. Be Calm. Carry on. Then don't be stupid when things look to be over. Stuff actually is more dangerous in the 6-36 hours afterward.

I can't say that all of my neighbors quite get this. The stupid upstairs neighbors, they of the illegal fire-escape Christmas lights, still hadn't taken them down, from last year, and they were unfastening in the wind, swinging down, and BANGING on my windows until I went up and pounded on their door and told them that I was going to pull them off if they didn't freakin' take them down -- HOURS into the hurricane winds. STUPID STUPID STUPID! I am still annoyed at the upstairs stomping neighbors, but I was more 'understanding' of the people on my floor. Understanding enough to be prepared to be the Crazy Craft Community Children's Entertainer for the 5 kids of varying ages on my floor if the power had gone out. When talking to one of my little neighbors, I asked what she was going to do if the power went out. She didn't know. She doesn't like to read. She didn't have games or puzzles, so she was just charging her iPod and hoping. Now ... Please. That's just ridiculous. I remember being her age in a hurricane and being shut in, but I knew how to entertain myself then, and now! I said fine and told her and her mom I had a plan. If the power went out, I had scissors, paper, pens, stamps, stamp pads, yarns, and stuffing, and we'd set up in the hall under the emergency flood lights with candles and have craft time. We'd make Christmas cards, work on snowflakes for our doors (we always have a "contest"), learn how to crochet, and make it a party -- thus entertaining the kids, charging their imagination, distracting them, giving them and their parents a break. I am kind of relieved it didn't come to it, but I know if it does, I  ... need more crafting supplies to be part of the storm prep, as well as batteries and candles.

Luckily, although we had some scary power flickers, we never lost cable, the Internet, or power. I was able to text, tweet, e-mail, and call people all day and through today. The winds were crazy, but the rain and winds have been worse for other storms. I also don't live near the ocean and am far enough inland that we were spared. I only found out tonight about how lucky this building was -- the one right next door is without power. Let's hear it for post-WWII brick low-rises. They may shake and sway in the wind, but for this storm at least, she held together.

I can't say the same for some of my NYC colleagues' situations. I'm sure the newscasts and photos don't do it justice. I know that some people of certain ages (those 20 somethings) had absolutely NO idea what to do with themselves when the power was out, or how to prepare, or how to deal with things even now. This may have been their first hurricane, now that I think about it. A lot of them lost power. Many are stuck in Brooklyn, Queens, and lower Manhattan with no way, for now, to get to work. (They may, or may not, be unhappy about this.)

I did venture out on Tuesday to assess. The river didn't overflow it's banks and the highways (as far south as I could see) have no trees down on the roads. The only real damage to my neck of the woods was in our strip mall. The main CVS sign is gone. The Dunkin' Donuts was closed so none of the local cops could stock up, even though the Starbucks was open. The 7Eleven was out of important things like chips, bread, and ice, and the papers couldn't get delivered, but the guys were calm, cruising through Lotto ticket sales, and charging people's cell phones and mobile devices.

School for the local and NYC kids was cancelled through the week. The Big J was closed for classes and staff on Monday and Tuesday. By today, classes were cancelled but staff were encouraged to get in if they could.

WHICH WAS/IS RIDICULOUS 

The NYC transit system is a mess! Luckily I commute through mid-Town and the Upper West Side which was spared, but the transit system wasn't even beginning to assess until late today. People did try to drive in, which apparently TOOK HOURS.

I spoke with my supervisors as early as Sunday and basically said I was going to work from home, as I could, until the situation stabilized, with a guesstimate of Friday ... maybe ... trying to get back. Guess what? I was right. I *might* deign to go to the office on Friday, but given that most of my work is in a database or e-mail? Welcome to the 21st century; I'm working from home!

Once things calm down I will be talking to my database colleague about our emergency back-up plan, for the server and the back-up of the back-up. The organization got lucky this time. We might not be next time. We're not that many blocks from the Hudson River and just lucky it "surged" mostly down-town and not that far in-land.

The only major bummer for the neighborhood kids was the apparent town curfew. This sign appeared on one of the doors on our floor. (Yes, the typo is driving me absolutely crazy.)

Which was too bad. There were some cute decorations put up in anticipation of Halloween. Mine is the one on the left -- all from my trash/recycling.

Usually I dress up as Ms. I'm-not-home or The Grumpy Neighbor Lady Who Doesn't Answer the Door. This year, since the kids knew I was home, I had to come up with a costume and go buy some candy, since I didn't think they wanted apples and/or granola bars. I did have a stash of Cyclops hats,

and then I remembered I had this t-shirt from years and careers past.

So I was a Scary Children's Librarian - threatening to SHUSH or hand out apples but really handing out NERDS to those kids who wanted candy. I purposely bought the NERDS. I figured I might as well give into the stereotype. I had one 10 year old lace-clad-goth-vampy girl that I intentionally gave the apple to and said, "Use this and say you are the cover of the Twilight novel." Luckily she hadn't read it, but the mom totally got the reference. Which is fine. I think 10 is still too young for the first Twilight novel. Why set her up for disappointment? Edward is .... well, let's not get into that right now. (Go Team Jacob! or something, I like The Host the most.)

Had I had more time, these are what I wanted to get together for my trick or treaters. I saw these at a bake sale/craft fair in Chelsea when I was running around earlier this month, and of course, wanted to "borrow" the idea. Clear catering gloves, some Tootsie rolls, M&Ms, Swedish Fish, and microwave popcorn. Healthy, unique and creepy. NEXT YEAR!

So that was my experience with Sandy. Lots of prep, lots of supplies, luckily no loss of power, life, or limb, and a few days off and then working from home. I am very very very fortunate indeed.

Please extend your prayers to those snow bound, or those further south in New Jersey and part of New York City, and up into New England, that were ravished by rain, floods, and fires. They will need your thoughts in the days ahead.

As for me, I will be giving blood at a blood drive on Friday (pre-scheduled, but now urgently needed), taking brownies into thank some of the MTA information/technical crew that hasn't been home since Sunday, and possibly donating some perishable supplies to a local food bank.

Be prepared.
Be smart.
Be calm.
And
Be a Good Neighbor.

For more on hurricane preparedness, please refer to this information prepared by the Red Cross at:
http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/hurricane

I will also be browsing the aisles at Paintball, Food Storage, Violins and More in St. George a little more carefully this coming Christmas vacation.

Recipes from Aunt Flora -- Peanut Butter Fudge

Peanut Butter Fudge

Cook together:

2 cups sugar (white)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 cup cream

Add
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cook until it forms a soft ball in cold water; add the vanilla and beat until creamy. Add nuts. Pour into buttered pan and when cool cut in small squares.

So I have a candy thermometer, so I cooked this until about 240 degrees, removed the pot from the heat and added the vanilla until it looked creamy and added the nuts.

I let it set up for a couple of days, and when I tried to cut it, it more crumbled, than cut. I tried a bit of this and its was "grainy" in that you could really taste the sugar. It might have set too long and crystallized or something. Plus the sugar to peanut butter ratio was more in favor of the sugar.

I warned my IT test tasters that this was the first try of this recipe, and that it was really old-fashioned rather than the really fudgey stuff they might be used to. Just to curry favor, I added some left-over brittle from another project to the goodie box for the boys.

Recipes from Ollie J -- Peanut Fudge Candy Redux

If you've been following along the last year or so, you've been seeing lots of references to the grandmas, and the various recipes that have been discovered in family boxes and passed down as part of the family lore. I've been trying to test and tweak some of the recipes to pass along to the nieces and nephews and other branches of my extended "families."

I first attempted to make this one in November but was thwarted by rancid dry milk. I actually found dry milk in the coffee/tea/filter section of the local emporium, and have marked the container where the excess is stored, so I'm not surprised when I go to use it the next time!

Just looking at this you know it's going to be sweet. 1 cup of syrup AND a cup of powdered sugar? Makes my teeth ache already.

Peanut Fudge Candy

1 cup peanut butter (creamy)
1 cup syrup (Karo, white)
1 1/4 cup dry milk (in this case, 1 full packet and part of another)
1 1/4 cup confectionery sugar (powdered)

Mix all ingredients well, and then make little ball. Press into 1/4 inch thickness.

I skipped the pressing part of this, and just made this very stiff and sticky dough into little bite-sized balls. I filled 4 layers of this Ziploc container with over 100 little bites of peanut buttery fudge. Since there were so many holiday parties, I slipped these into the gift tins, along with rocky road fudge and brittle.

Recipes from Aunt Ruby -- Candi(e)d Nuts

Here's another gem from Aunt Ruby's recipe archives. I like how you can be candid about how much you like candied nuts.

For this test, I used the much cheaper peanut.


Candid (Candied) Walnuts

Put in saucepan.
1 1/2 cup sugar (white)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
(I actually added the cinnamon to this step -- and the apartment smelled lusciously of cinnamon and honey for a few days.)

Boil until firm ball (use candy therm. with this marking, over 200 degrees)

Take from fire (stove) and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon vinegar (white).

Stir until creamy. (Color if desired) (no coloring for this test, don't know what creamy was supposed to be, but there were no lumps?)

Add 2 cups nuts and stir until covered.

Spoon out on wax paper.

When cool break apart.

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional?)

As the nuts cooled, the excess liquids turned creamy in some places, but was still sticky in others. This is an old-fashioned flavor. I enjoyed it, but I think it may be an acquired taste. After 2 days in one office, I tried another. It disappeared there. I assume it got eaten.

Maybe if you use the walnuts, the extra liquid covers the nuts? Next time, we'll test with pecans or walnuts.

Recipes from Ollie J -- Peanut Fudge Candy

On my most recent trip to Connecticut, I managed to snag Grandma's recipe box from Mom before she packed it away for relocation in her new Western domicile. I had to promise that I wouldn't keep it, but nothing was said about when exactly I had to give it back to her. In the meantime, I going to keep poking through it to find gems, like this one;

Peanut Fudge Candy
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup syrup (Karo)
1 1/4 cup dry milk
1 1/4 cup confectionery sugar (powdered)

Mix all ingredients well, then make little ball and press to 1/4 inch thickness.

The first time I perused recipes in Grandma's box (last fall), I passed right over this one. I don't know about you, but dry milk isn't something that just everyone keeps in their pantry these days. I know I didn't have any, or powdered sugar either. That is, until Mom decided that it would be smarter not to pay the freight charges to haul part of her food storage back to Utah and instead bequeath a copious assortment of dry and canned goods to me. (50 pounds of white flour anyone?!) Two of the vintage '70s Tupperware containers (in bright yellow, thank goodness, not avocado green) that ended up in my larder just so happen to be full of .... you guessed it, confectionery sugar and dry milk. Go figure. Along with 4 large jars of creamy peanut butter ... I guess I was really supposed to try and make this fudge candy.

[later that afternoon]

Well, I was GOING to make this, but when I opened the container with the dry milk in it, the whiff I got was so FOUL I couldn't stand it. A little unscientific research via a search engine backed up my initial inclination to discard that stuff and bleach the unholy heck out of the Tupperware.

I will attempt to make these later.

Dry milk smells GROSS! Sour and foul, and JUST GROSS! YELCH!

Friends don't let friends -- let their dry milk go bad!

Recipes from Ollie J -- Pecan Brittle

Or in this case:

Peanut Brittle

2 cups pecans, chopped
OR 1 3/4 cup peanuts [shelled, husked, rough chop]
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Karo syrup (light or dark)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 heaping teaspoon baking soda

Cook pecans (or peanuts), sugar, syrup, vanilla, and water 280 degrees F.*
Stir constantly.
Remove from heat.
Add 1 tspn soda and stir well.
Quickly Pour on greased baking sheet and spread as evenly as possible.
Cool well -- overnight or so.
Break into pieces.
(I {author of recipe} try to thin the brittle by sliding a case {?} knife under candy and pulling it out in all directions).

*Or, since I didn't have a candy thermometer, and I refuse to pay $15 or more for something I'll use only three times a year, as close to the "soft crack stage" of candy cooking as outlined in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

I don't know if it was because I hadn't brought it up to the right temperature, or because it was slightly cold and damp the two days I let this sit out and set up, but this recipe for brittle is, um, how to explain ... chewy and sticky at the end. It cracked, but it's still chewy. Stick to your fillings and pull them out and go to the dentist chewy. Definitely, NOT as brittle as the other recipe I've tried out. Maybe I will have to invest in the candy thermometer after all.

Recipes from Ollie J -- Pauline's Brittle

Pauline is my recently turned 90-years-old cousin on my mother's father's side. She was related to Ollie's husband Jack, through Jack's mother Mary Ann. My great-grandmother had two boys, half brothers. Jack was my grandfather, Pauline's father, Ira was the other boy. (Got that?!) G-grandma's family genetic legacy is quite strong. There's a resemblance that was passed down to Grandpa Jack and Pauline, my mother, me and my brother J, and now to Amber. It's fairly obvious, even with the passage of time and the branching of the family tree. I was speaking with another cousin from that line at Ollie's funeral and people approached us saying that we must be "kin" somehow, since we looked alike -- although there had to be a good 40-50 year difference our ages. That cousin had to do the convoluted genealogical explanations back up the family tree to where the lines divided, but she could do so with ease!

I'm glad that Pauline and Grandpa Jack can make an appearance here on the blog, even if it's a brittle one.

Pauline's Brittle

2 cup - R. Peanuts (Mom says this means raw. I couldn't find them. Used shelled/roasted)
1 cup - Sugar (white)
1/2 cup - White Karo syrup
1/4 cup - water
1 tsp - Soda (baking)

Combine all ingredients except soda in a pot - Cook on high heat & mix constantly until mixture begins to turn brown* - Remove from heat. Add soda and stir quickly - Instantly spread on greased cookie or candy sheet. (I used my Silpat.)

Spread the mixture very thin. Let cool for hours before cracking.

*Bring to rolling boil over heat. Takes about 8-10 minutes after this point for it to turn brown. It's a subtle change. The syrup gets thicker and there a slight change in the smell. Be careful not to scorch the sugar mixture.

Do not touch the hot sugar! Use a LONG spoon/stirrer, maybe not metal.

I used shelled and roasted peanuts because I couldn't find any raw ones. Everything I found was roasted already. The shelled and roasted peanuts gave it a very smokey peanuty taste. I may use lightly roasted (non-salted) ones for the next batch, and, based on the suggestions of my colleagues, try updating the recipe to "fancy" by sprinkling fleur de sel (aka sea salt) over the cooling brittle.

SOOOOOO good. Ridiculously good.

It's not really about the fruitcake!

In the rush of the hollydazes some of the important things can be forgotten in the mad rush to get everything done. Things like remembering those people that aren't here anymore and the traditions and recipes that they passed down. To that end, I'm posting my maternal grandmother's fruitcake recipe.

Now, don't groan. It's not that kind of fruitcake. It's not cakey. It's more like candy, crunchy, chewy, tooth-rotting, filling-busting fruitcake, with nuts, candied fruit, and a whole parcel of South Beach Diet No-No's.

Plus, it's not really about the fruitcake. It is more about the family traditions -- of having the fruitcake around at the holidays, of the family trips to No. Carolina to the farm, where time would literally stand stilll, to other cultures, and branches of the family tree. The pecans for the recipe would come from the tree in the yard, and would be painfully shucked by the whole family. (That's another story, about Thanksgiving.) Many of us wouldn't eat the fruitcake for years, well, because it was fruitcake. It wasn't until last year, when she wasn't with us anymore when we all realized we had to have "Grandma Jones' fruitcake." Seeing Mom and Dad struggle to make it just added another layer to the memories -- of nutty people cooking, of brothers and sisters squabbling over the last piece, of Grandmas playing with their grandchildren, and Christmas spirit.

Enjoy the holidays.


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Grandma Jones' UNCOOKED FRUIT CAKE
3/4 Cup Milk
1 Pound Marshmallows
3 Cups Pecans
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Pound Graham Crackers
1 Pound Seedless Raisins
1 Pound Mixed Candied Fruit

Mix the crushed Graham Crackers, Raisins, Candied Fruit, Pecans, and Salt in a large container.

Melt Marshmallows in milk over medium heat or in the top of a double boiler. Stir until the Marshmallows are melted.

Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and mix together well. (Using your hands is OK!)

When mixed, press together into a slightly buttered plate or pan in whatever shape is desired.
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