Shariq’s Département

The Chamber Music Society’s tribute to the music of Joan Tower last night was book-ended by short pieces composed by Beethoven, Haydn and Antonin Dvorak.

Although the NY Times found the starting Beethoven piece simple and not representative of his magnificent output, for me this simple piece was the standout of the evening.

Beethoven’s Opus 44, Variations in E-flat major for Piano, Violin and Cello depends on the intimate interplay between the 3 instruments as they cue off each other.  The plaintive violins sears one’s heart, the piano pacifies it and the cello finds the middle-ground vibration.  The venue, at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, was small, perfect for a plain, yet melodious piece that actually soars with intense emotion.  The violinist, Cho-Liang Lin was amazing, his facial expressions rendering the emotions we all were feeling as he made his violin express true, deep feelings that reverberate deep inside.  The cellist, Gary Hoffman and pianist, Andre-Michel Schub were also excellent.

I am going to try and find this piece on DVD - it really moved me.

After enjoying Jerusalem artichokes recently, I decided to look into them, and found that they are excellent for restoring your gut’s health post-antibiotics.

Whenever you take antibiotics, the drugs essentially kill off healthy bacteria in your gut, including the kind known as acidophilus.  Jerusalem artichokes are a kind of antidote, because they provide nutrition for the “good” bacteria in your gut.  They have a high content of fructooligosaccharides, which good bacteria like to dine on, which helps to re-establish a balanced gut ecology (these nutrients contained in the Jerusalem artichokes are sometimes referred to as “prebiotics”).

A quick note on the origin of the name of these vegetables (they are actually a member of the sunflower family and are also referred to as sunchokes).  They probably got the name Jerusalem because it sounded like girasol, which is the Italian name for sunflower.

Note: This info is sourced from a great book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Jonny Bowden.  It’s easy to read and fascinating.  Buy it if you are into this kind of stuff.

P. and I ate dinner tonight in our old neighbourhood, Chelsea, at Trestle on Tenth.  The restaurant, which debuted with tremendous fanfare about two years ago, when the economy was doing much better, seemed muted now.  There were several empty tables, and we got in easily, even though we had called a couple of hours before arriving.

I ate the pork crepinette as an appetizer, which seemed oddly lacking in taste.  The filling of the crepinette had a coarse texture which was unappealing.  The only redeeming feature of the dish was the nourishing sauteed spinach bed it sat on.  P. had cauliflower soup, which, although nice, was apparently lukewarm.  We both had the monkfish with asparagus as the main - it was not bad, quite pleasant, but needed more seasoning.  The asparagus was fresh, flavourful (and yes, it is supposed to be an aphrodisiac).  The star of the entire dinner was a side order of Jerusalem artichokes bursting with a deep, intense, funky taste.  This is not a common item on Manhattan menus - definitely order it if you go here.

Set in rural Italy in the 1960s, Daniel Luchetti’s Un Certain Regard entry at Cannes last year is a meditation on family dynamics and the desire to belong to family, community, country.

The protagonist Accio lives in the shadow of his charismatic elder brother Manrico who is the favourite of his parents.  Seeking attention and community, Accio joins the local fascist group to counter his elder brother’s leadership at the communisty party.  He also falls for his brother’s girlfriend.  Yet Accio never seems to be able to shrug off his sensibility as an outsider.  A surprising turn of events near the end of the movie ostensibly brings him closer to his family and gives him a starring role.  Yet the role seems empty; Accio is a substitute in the absence of his popular elder brother.  The movie ends with Accio on a beach beaming in satisfaction - but I wondered if he wouldn’t have been happier simply moving on from his life, away from a family that, with its twisted dynamics, will never appreciate him.

I looked up the following information for a friend, but I think it is useful information for all.  If you have high cholesterol, I believe it is much better to try and lower it naturally, rather than getting on drugs like Lipitor.

The following items, added to your diet, will naturally help reduce cholesterol:

1. Beans (all types: kidney beans, black beans, etc.) - according to research a cup of cooked beans a day can lower your total cholesterol by up to 10% in a mere six weeks.
 
2. Lentils - they are loaded with soluble fiber, which breaks down as it passes through the digestive tract, forming a gel that traps some substances related to high cholesterol (better to use brown, green or red lentils rather than the Indian variety, which generally have had their outer skins removed, which lowers their fiber content).
 
3. Almonds - shown to target reductions in “bad” LDL cholesterol
 
4. Cashew Nuts - again, lowers LDL
 
5. Pecans - they are loaded with beta-sitosterol, a plant compouond that has been found to lower cholesterol
 
6. Sunflower Seeds - contain a variey of protective plant compounds known as phytosterols, well known for their ability to lower cholesterol
 
7. Black Tea - reduces LDL for those with elevated cholesterol levels
 
8. Cinnamon/ Cinnamon Extract - reduces LDL
 
9. Garlic - universally accepted as lowering cholesterol
 
10. Hemp Seed Oil - contains Omega-6 fatty acids that help lower LDL
 
11. Oatmeal - contains beta-glucan (a long string of glucose molecules) which helps lower cholesterol levels; one bowl of oatmeal consumed daily can reduce cholesterol 8 to 23%.
 
12. Avocados - high in omega-9 fat which lowers cholesterol; in a study, volunteers who ate avocados every day for a week experienced an average 17% drop in total blood cholesterol.

P. and I finally tried Craftbar last week after passing it by on the street for ages!  It was much better than I expected.  I started with an amazing fried sweetbreads appetizer (better than french fries!).  It was finished almost in an instant.  I then had Berkshire Pork with Kumquats; again quite divine.  The seating was comfortable, the service relaxed and friendly.  We’ll definitely be going back.