Photo Book Pick of the Day: Events of the Social, Portraiture and Collective Agency

Events of the Social:
Portraiture and Collective Agency

African Photography from The Walther Collection

This delightful photo-essay catalog focuses on themes of gender, race, class and social change across three generations of African photography.

Events of the Social is a comprehensive investigation into photographic works by artists from the African continent and its diaspora. Taking the politics of the “colonial gaze” as its starting point, the book looks at the diverse complexity of the nineteenth-century archive through a selection of vintage portraits, cartes de visite, postcards and album pages.

Grace Ndiritu, “Lying Down Textiles,” from the series Still Life , 2005-2007

Three generations of African artists from the 1940s till now then chart the changing features of African societies through portraiture, exploring notions of the self, gender, sexuality, race, social status and politics. The book also examines landscape and the built environment, showing how architecture and spatial planning convey social order and ideology while reflecting experiences of migration, colonialism, war and industrialization.

Dawit L. Petros, “Untitled (Prologue II),” from the series The Stranger’s Notebook , 201. © The artist.

Another group of artists, born after the mid-1970s, explores issues of social identity, lineage, questions of belonging and personal experiences. Artists featured include Sammy Baloji, Jodi Bieber, Mimi Cherono Ng’ok, Alfred Martin Duggan-Cronin, David Goldblatt, Seydou Keïta, Zanele Muholi, Malick Sidibé and Mikhael Subotzky.

Co-published with The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm / New York

(Reviewer’s note: contains some nude images)

Seydou Keïta, “Untitled,” 1952-1955.

Events of the Social: Portraiture and Collective Agency African Photography from The Walther Collection

  • Edited with text by Elvira Dyangani Ose
  • Book Design: Gabrielle Guy
  • 200 pages, 232 images
  • 6.75 x 9 in. / 17 x 23 cm
  • Softcover
  • US$ 45.00 / € 30.00
  • ISBN 978-3-96999-087-2

3 Gift Books for the Multicultural Child in Your Life

Chef Rene Johnson releases new vegan soul food cookbook, From My Heart to Your Table

Chef Rene Johnson has released her new cookbook, From My Heart to Your Table, featuring vegan and healthier traditional soul food. Her unique coffee table-style cookbook shares easy to follow recipes your holiday guests will love, along with personal stories and scrapbook-style pages, and some amazing tips on how to make healthier, plant-based versions of everyone’s favorite appetizers, entrees, and of course, desserts.

Chef Rene is known for taking her grandmother’s homespun southern soul food recipes and making them every bit as flavorful and culturally relevant, without many of the harmful fats added to traditional comfort food dishes.

Chef Rene’s has many celebrity followers, with clients ranging from Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris to actor Danny Glover, author Dr. Cornel West, California Governor Gavin Newsom, multi-platinum selling music group, Tony! Toni! Toné, and top execs at Google and YouTube.

Vice President Kamala Harris has a sweet tooth,” says Chef Rene. “Her favorites were the desserts I made for her event, like my mini sweet potato pies, mini vegan cupcakes, and mini homemade vegan chocolate chip cookies.”

California Governor Gavin Newson throws a yearly event for Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and they loved my vegan greens, picnic potato salad, mac and ‘cheese,’ vegan candied yams, and hot water cornbread.” But, says Rene, “the vegan quinoa ‘meatloaf’ was Gavin’s favorite.”

Actor Danny Glover gravitated towards my vegan beans and rice. That was his favorite by far,” says Rene.

As far as more traditionally prepared, yet healthier dishes, Rene shares, “Dr. Cornell West enjoyed the jerk turkey meatballs, mini mac and cheese bites, and he also loved my vegan red beans and rice. Then he dug into my blackberry jam cupcakes.”

From My Heart to Your Table features all of the celebratory holiday food appetizers, entrees, and desserts Chef Rene Johnson is famous for, from Hollywood and Silicon Valley to Washington, DC.

A true pioneer of the healthier soul food and vegan soul food movements, Chef Rene’s food is so flavorful and delicious, you won’t miss the meat and dairy, or the excess fat.

Some of Chef Rene’s vegan soul food dishes include: fresh tomato succotash, smothered cabbage, vegan dirty rice, vegan fried okra bites, cashew “cream” sauce, vegan butter beans, mini-quinoa and spinach cakes, and quinoa meatloaf.

More traditional fare featured in Chef Rene’s cookbook includes: hot water corn bread, junky black eyed peas aka “cold day chicken soup,” sticky barbeque wings, big ol’ pot of gumbo, grandmother’s fried chicken, off-the-hook ox-tails, the “mac attack” mac and cheese, salmon croquettes, stewed salmon and grits, and more. “The beautiful part is that you can mix and match traditional and vegan dishes for the holidays. It doesn’t have to be one or the other,” she says.

There is also a healthy mix of dessert recipes for staples such as sweet potato pecan pie, peach cobbler, blackberry jam cupcakes, vegan chocolate chip cookies, and her signature “Mama Cake (yellow cake with chocolate icing).”

4 Tasty Finds that Food Fans Will Love

It’s always exciting to discover a new product, flavor, or ingredient combination. You feel like you’ve walked over a bridge and entered an entirely new realm of culinary enjoyment and creativity. What is also exciting is wanting to share those discoveries with a friend or family member. That’s how we feel right now, with these four tasty finds that food fans will love that we are sharing with you.


FABRIZIA LEMON BAKING COMPANY

For the fans of limoncello, that delicious liqueur made from fresh lemons, there is now an option to enjoy its taste in baked form. That’s right, there’s an entire line of biscuits, biscotti‘s, cookies, brownies, and other tasty items that are all flavored with limoncello.

The Fabrizia Lemon Baking Company is a family owned business which incorporates award-winning Fabrizia Limoncello into each and every one of its baked goods. After launching Fabrizia Spirits (the leading producer of limoncello in America) in 2008, brothers Phil and Nick Mastroianni longed to share another cultural aspect of their upbringing, in other words, food.

Says Phil Mastroianni, “Growing up in an Italian household, food was always a big part of our lives and we wanted to share that in a unique way…with a special Limoncello twist. We import all of our lemons directly from Sicily and they are the ONLY thing that provides our Limoncello with its flavor and color. That Limoncello is then used as the foundation to our cookies, biscotti, lemon loaves, blondies, cake jars and whoopie pies.

The TasteTV food editors, all citrus fans, had the enviable opportunity to review some of these items and found that most of them were extremely popular among the testers. The baked goods captured the taste of a real limoncello without being overly sweet or heavy. In fact many of the options were quite light in texture, and we found that the cookies and biscottis in particular were hard to keep in stock. Everyone loved them.

If you are a person who likes the tart flavor of fresh lemons and citrus, this might not be for you. Although made from lemons, most limoncello brands by nature are not tart. In general they have a sweeter profile that is balanced with the alcohol. If you are a true limoncello fan however then the Fabrizia Limoncello product line of baked goods is perfect. You can get any of these products individually, or as an entire gift set. You can also have sets that include the actual Fabrizia Limoncello included for sipping, or to mix it with your favorite cocktail.

Visit http://www. FabriziaLemonBakingCo.com

 


MIKE D’S BBQ SAUCE

Every region and every city has its own version of barbecue sauce, kind of like everyone has their own version of chili, spaghetti, and gumbo. Mike D’s BBQ sauce comes from North Carolina and is quite delicious, regardless of the region that you prefer. It is smooth and tangy with a bit of a citrus element that goes well on any protein you can want, including chicken, beef, pork, and even fish. Not to mention on fries.

Mike D’s BBQ is an award winning family-owned line of BBQ Sauces and Dry Rubs based in Durham, NC. They say their sauces are a twist on the traditional BBQ sauce with some unique seasonings and spice levels inspired by Mike D’s African American and Latino heritage. Their BIG Sauce is the mild/medium sauce and has won many awards, such as 1st for Medium BBQ Sauce in the 2021 International Spicy Flavor Awards and 3rd place for Kid Friendly BBQ Sauces in the 2022 Scovie Awards.

One TasteTV editor remarked that it reminded them of a “high quality mumbo sauce.” If you be don’t know what that is (or “Mambo sauce”) then that is an entirely different BBQ sauce discussion.

If you prefer your barbecue with a rub, Mike D’s barbecue also has a Sweet & Spicy Rub that has won several the competitive food awards, such as 1st place in the 2021 International Artisan Flavor Awards for Rubs and 1st place in the 2022 Scovie Awards in the Dry Rub/All Purpose Category. The Sweet & Spicy Rub presents taste elements such as brown sugar, honey, and chili lime to give your recipes just the right pizazz.

Visit Mike D’s BBQ, at http://www.mikedsbbq.com

http://www.facebook.com/mikedsbbq


CHILI SAUCES FROM CHINA LIVE

Restaurateurs George Chen and Cindy Wong Chen originally conceived of China Live as a Chinese version of the multi-level and multi-location Italian food emporium known as Eataly, but they have long surpassed that vision to become a true dining destinations in the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area. China Live in San Francisco has won numerous awards for their food and their restaurant design, and they have also won many awards for their line of sauces and spices. This includes their spice and sauce sets that come with different condiments selection, all created from proprietary China Live recipes.

According to OpenTable, “When China Live opened in 2017, it was unlike anything else in San Francisco, let alone the United States. Sprawling over 30,000 square feet, the space is ambitious in its scale and offerings, with a sit-down restaurant, marketplace selling Chinese pantry items and home goods, a cocktail bar, tea counter, and more. And while much of the space remains closed, fortunately diners still have ways to sample the restaurant’s stellar Chinese menu.”

China Live’s Signature Chili Bean Sauce was a finalist in the 2022 Good Food Awards, presented by the Good Food Foundation. The sauce is mildly spicy with a rich umami flavor, and the perfect addition to your favorite dishes. Another Good Food Awards finalist Chef Chen’s Famous Chili Crisp, which George Chen says “is a delicious topping for almost anything, and a must for your Asian pantry.” It is made with carefully selected ingredients such as rice bran oil, dried chili flakes, broad bean paste, fermented soybeans, Shaoxing rice wine, and paprika. We’re sure that you’ll find a lot of uses for either of these sauces.

Visit: https://chinalivesf.com/


AUSTIN EASTCIDERS SPICED PEACH

Hard cider continues to grow in popularity every year, and each region that makes it tries to outdo the others with their creativity and product sources. Austin, Texas for example, or specifically Austin Eastciders, has a limited release of spiced peach cider that is sure to have anyone with a thirst trying to snatch them out of the refrigerator without being noticed. California, Washington State, Oregon, and New York are all well-known for their ciders, but with their new spiced peach cider that reminescent of a delicious cobbler, Austin definitely holds its own.

Brittnay Perlo, Master Cider Maker at Austin Eastciders says, “Now what is better than the perfect combination of fresh peaches, crisp apples, and mulling spices? You will taste notes of ripe juicy peaches, and undertones of orange, cinnamon and nutmeg.”

Adds Dave Rule, VP of Marketing at Austin Eastciders, “Spiced Peach tastes like we threw some of your grandmother’s Peach Cobbler in the fermentation tank. Blending mulling spices with apples and apple cider is a long-standing American tradition. It reminds us of football season, tailgating, getting together with old friends and family and huddling together to stay warm.”

Austin Eastciders’ Spiced Peach is made with real fruit, no artificial sweeteners, and is gluten-free. The Spiced Peach is available in 12-packs as part of Austin Eastciders’ Winter Variety Pack, and on draft. Visit https://www.austineastciders.com/ to learn more.