Archive for July, 2011

Please pardon the iPhone pics. There wasn’t time to shoot proper food porn of this week’s meal.

In many parts of the world, the idea of going meatless is not a new or novel approach to eating. Being part of affluent (and, let’s admit, indulgent) cultures, it’s easy to forget there are many people for whom a mostly meatless diet is historically the norm. These cultures’ cuisines are a great place to look for delicious, healthy ideas for your Meatless Monday menus, so don’t overlook them.

 

Few cuisines make the most of every ingredient while retaining clean, simple flavors like Japanese. Though many of us may picture standard sushi bar fare when thinking about Japanese food, there is an extensive variety outside raw fish, teriyaki, and tempura in the cuisine. The beauty is, the approach remains the same, simple clean flavors with an economy of common ingredients. Later, we’ll get into Japanese home cooking and pub (izakaya) fare but, for today, we’ll keep it super-simple with vegan miso soup and soba noodles, a great light dish for hot summer nights.

 

Dashi is the master broth of many Japanese recipes, so a great staple for starting to explore Japanese cuisine. Granted, traditional dashi requires katsuobushi (shaved bonito), so we’ll tinker a bit to make it appropriate for Meatless Monday by substituting mushrooms, which will offer their own hearty umami flavor.  The upside: an additional treat (the cooked mushrooms) to add to your meal.

 

Having moved from the melting pot of Southern California to not-so-diverse Florida, I know how difficult it can be to find authentic ingredients outside larger cities. Sometimes, specialty food chains carry a wide assortment of ethnic ingredients, but often at a premium. This is mind, I went a step further and substituted the more common brown crimini mushrooms instead of my favorite shitakes, just to be sure the broth will work using the most affordable and easiest-to-get ingredients. I’m fairly sure konbu, the seaweed base of dashi, should be available at any specialty or gourmet market at an affordable price. Of course, this is a must-have for making dashi, so has no appropriate substitute, anyway. Hopefully, you can get your hands on some, if not in person, then online. (Many authentic dried and non-perishable ingredients are available to order on the interwebs.)

 

Always make sure to check for ethnic markets in your area, too. They may be a little off your beaten path, but are worth the trip to get great ingredients, often at a significantly lower cost. Think of it this way, unless you live near a cultural enclave, your regular grocery store will consider ethnic ingredients as specialty items (and we all know what happens to prices when that happens). An ethnic market will consider those same items pantry staples, ingredients people buy (and they turn over) regularly, so the costs will reflect that shift in perception. If you’re not sure where to find markets, check out some of the great food resources online, like the helpful community at Chowhound.

 

Okay, enough of my yammering … let’s make some Meatless Monday dinner!

Vegan Miso Soup with Soba and Mushrooms

serves 4 dinner portions

6 cups water
2 pieces of konbu (rinsed) – aprox 5×5″ each
ginger – peeled and sliced to 1/4″ (using a piece aprox 2″ wide by 4-6″ long, to taste)
6 scallions – whites and light green parts cut in 1″ long pieces and green ends  sliced thin to garnish
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP sesame oil
24 mushrooms – whole with stems trimmed (Use fresh or reconstituted dried shitake mushrooms -plus their steeping water- if available. If not, brown crimini mushrooms will work just fine.)
1 lb package of soba noodles
1/2 to 1 lb firm tofu (depending on desired portion size)
2-4 TBSP light (aka) miso paste (to taste) - You can also use heartier miso pastes, but it is not recommended since their stronger flavors can overpower this lighter, vegan base broth.
wakame seaweed for garnish (if available – may also be labelled “healthy sea vegetable”)

Step 1: The first step to making a Japanese base broth is steeping your konbu and aromatics. Grab a nice, big pot and measure in 6 cups of water (yes, water). Add the konbu, ginger, and white/light scallion.

Step2: Turn your burner to HIGH and let the water come just to the point where it’s about to boil. (You’ll see little bubbles starting to form and a soft rumbling on the surface.) Take the pot off the heat and let steep for about 25 minutes. (The time-frame is longer for this vegan version to infuse more flavor.)

Step 3: While your base is steeping, start up a pot of boiling water for the soba noodles and prep your mushrooms and tofu (as well as any other veg you’d like to add to your soup bowl or sides – see suggestions).

Step 4: Remove the konbu from the pot (For bonus Cheap Bastard points, set it aside to use later, like wrapping around fish or vegetables and steaming). Add your mushrooms, soy, and sesame and heat on HIGH just until the pot starts to boil. Then reduce to SIMMER for 15 minutes.

Step 5: While your mushrooms simmer, cook your soba noodles according to the package instructions. Once done, strain well while rinsing with cold water.

Step 6: Pinch off small amounts of soba noodles and rinse as a small strand, then lay each strand out on your plate in small sections for easy portioning. Set the noodles aside while you finish the soup.

Step 7: Remove the mushrooms from the pot and portion out into small bowls. Then strain the broth (if desired … this will prevent any accidental ginger-eating) and return it to the pot. Bring the broth to a boil and measure out 2-3 TBSP of your miso into a small bowl.

Step 8: Once the broth is bubbling, remove it from the heat and ladle a small amount into the miso bowl. Mix well (a small whisk is ideal for this), then add the miso base back to the broth while stirring well. Taste and repeat mixing miso base

in 1TBSP increments until the soup is flavored as you like.

Step 9: In a soup bowl, add tofu, wakame, and scallion greens and ladle the soup over (to reconstitute the wakame). Serve immediately with the soba and mushrooms.

 

Other groovy suggestions:

Want a more substantial bowl of soup? Add some fresh vegetables before ladling in your soup. Just a few options are: shredded carrots, cabbage, and daikon radish; lightly steamed cabbage; bean sprouts; minced water chestnut; sliced bamboo shoots; chopped spinach; steamed broccoli.

 

Not a fan of tofu but still want to get your protein? Make a delicious miso porridge-like soup by substituting egg for tofu and steamed rice for noodles. This, of course, will render your vegan soup vegetarian, but still meatless. Before you add your miso base, keep the broth boiling and reserve a bit more in case you need to make more miso base. Beat 4 eggs well in a spouted vessel (like a pyrex measuring cup). Pour the beaten egg into the bubbling broth in a thin stream while stirring vigorously to create little ribbons of egg. Let the egg strands cook for a few moments until they set before removing the pot from the heat to add your miso base. If the taste is right for you, add the reserved broth back to the pot; otherwise, use it to mix more  miso base. When serving, instead of noodles on the side, add steamed rice to your soup bowl (along with the wakame and scallion garnishes) and ladle the soup over to make a hearty, porridge-like soup great on cold days for any meal.

 

Braise some baby bok choy in a cup of your base broth (without miso) for a great vegetable side. Add a cup of water plus a little extra of your base ingredients at the start of cooking to have enough broth for braising liquid. Clean the bok choy well and cut into quarters length-wise. Bring the braising liquid to a boil, then add the bok choy and stir until the edges of the leaves just start to wilt. Then, cover and simmer at the lowest heat possible until the thicker portions of the stalk are cooked through (this should probably take about 20-30 minutes). Bring extra flavor to your bok choy by adding a bit of soy, sesame oil, ginger, etc. to the base broth for your braising liquid.

 

Spinach also works great with Japanese flavors and is readily available anywhere. Heat a TBSP each of canola and sesame oil on MED in a large pot. Add a TBSP of minced garlic and 1 tsp grated ginger. (Porcelain ginger graters are readily available at Japanese markets or online and are a HUGE time/energy saver.) Stir well for about a minute. Add spinach by the handful, stirring until the leaves begin to wilt before adding more. Then, add a drizzle each of soy and rice vinegar and mix well until all the spinach is completely wilted and flavors are incorporated. Serve immediately.

 

Pickles are a tasty Japanese staple food. One to three days before your meal, prep your vegetables (slice or shred into small pieces) and let them brine in the fridge in a mix of 2 TBSP kosher salt, ¼ cup sugar, 2 cups hot water, and 1 cup vinegar (or a touch more to taste if you like tart pickles – rice, cider, or plain old white vinegar work well), maybe even a touch of soy if you’d like to add some umami saltiness. If you want to get a little tricky (and spicy), try adding a bit of wasabi or a few Thai red chili peppers to the mix. If the brine doesn’t cover your vegetables, mix another batch more until it does; your vegetables need to be immersed. Mix well a couple times a day. Your pickled vegetables will keep in the fridge for at least a week, so make extras to munch as a healthy, crunchy snack. Some readily-available vegetables that work great for quick, cold pickling are Persian cucumbers (or peeled/seeded regular cukes), radish, daikon radish, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, cauliflower, green beans, and green tomatoes.

Well, that’s the Meatless Monday lot for this week. Hope your week is a good one! See you next week with more recipes and food porn!

We’ve been doing a bit of shaking things up over here! You’re probably familiar with Lip Service divisions … what fashion freak isn’t? But all that’s about to change!

Don’t worry, not too much change, just enough to make exploring the Lippy site even easier.

You may have noticed that, in the past, Lippy divisions were a bit … shall we say … not terribly consistent. If you were looking for hot, new gear, you might just miss out on some sweet cyber styles in our fashion-forward “Collection” division, if you stayed in fetish mainstay, LS VICE.

Well, no more!

We narrowed down to three main divisions of Lip Service, which are ALL about the styles you want. Blacklist, our gothic division, will be expanded to include dapper steampunk styles as well as modern updates, like gothic Lolita looks, as Black Steam. Lip Service Vice will get bigger, too. Now, in addition to your favorite fetish, military, and vinyl clothes, new division Industrial Vice will include cyber fashion, cosplay style, and industrial gear. Of course, we’ve also got to bring the rock. LS Rockers will contain all the badass rock n roll style, punk rock edge, plus classic jeans and tees. Then, we have Finishing Touches for all the extra trimmings and swag: stockings, APE Leather accessories, catalogs, doo-dads, and kickass Lippy stickers.

And, we’re not really the patient, baby-steps sort, so figured we’d just go on ahead and let ‘er rip!

You’ll be seeing the new divisions starting almost immediately. Why wait, right? We love how much easier they make finding your favorite styles on the Lip Service site and are pretty sure you will, too.

Let us know what you think, and maybe even tell us what else you would like to see on the Lip Service site.

Black Steam

gothic, Victorian, steampunk, and gothic Lolita fashion

Industrial Vice

fetish, military fetish, vinyl, cyber, clubwear, cosplay, and industrial fashion

LS Rockers

rock n roll, punk, and casual fashion plus jeans and tees

Finishing Touches

hosiery, APE Leather, intimates, catalogs, stickers, and other killer swag

La Carmina’s Global Gothic travels recently took me to Italy, where I was involved with several artistic projects… including a collaboration with director Carlo Roberti of Solobuio Visual Factory. While we were working together in Rome, he introduced me to SURGERY — an intriguing Horror Apocalyptic Industrial band, with an incredible live show and powerful lyrics.

Carlo manages the band, and filmed 4 of their music videos. Surgery wears custom cyber masks (one has light-up trails) and the live performance involves a dancer with wild, butoh-inspired movements. Their songs have been remixed by Combichrist and famous Italian singer Donatella Rettore sang on a track.

I was keen to learn more, as I’m sure you are. So I asked Carlo a few questions…

How did you meet Surgery? What made you interested in them?

I met them four years ago in Rome. I was a media partner with my video factory Solobuio for a festival, and Surgery was the guest band on the main stage. For the first time, I saw this electro industrial band, performing in horror gothic post-atomic masks. There were two performers on the stage, playing shockingly good music. People were dancing and having fun. So the day after I contacted Daniele Coccia (the singer) to have a beer and speak about the future. I told him that the band needed a strong video impact. He agreed. And that day the partnership Solobuio-Surgery was born.

Tell me about the new masks.
We are very proud to have a great artistic partnership with the famous Master of special effects Sergio Stivaletti. A  master of international horror, he worked with Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava on many movies. He’s a cult artist. So you can imagine how important it is for a masked band to have the masks designed and created by this big artist. Everyone in Surgery grew up loving these films, and now, to have Master Stivaletti as an artistic partner — really great. The design of the masks perfectly matches Surgery’s atmosphere and mood: obscure, dark, post industrial, biomech, and crazy. The next video will feature the new masks, so we’ll show our fans the cinematic look of these creations.

Why the masks? Well, they are very important to us. They represent our way to face the system. It’s both an eternal contrast and fighting, at the same time an awareness of being the victims of the mutation, like in a post-atomic disaster. We are monsters, but we’ll never give up the fight. We are the last scream before the explosion of the bomb.

Can you tell me about your music video MORITURI TE SALUTANT?
“Morituri te salutant” is the latest video for the Italian scene (the title is in Latin). The song tells about a kamikaze mission against injustices. The video is the story of revenge by the hand of a merciless lady killer. The ending is open to other missions. Italian fans really love this video and, at every concert, they go crazy when Surgery plays that song. There are a lot violent and erotic scenes I really love. I think that the lady killer could strike back in the future.

Can you tell me about STUPIDA ESTATE? How did you get international guests involved in the video? (Spiritual Front, Xp8, Klimt1918)

Because of Solobuio Visual Factory I have the oppurtunity to work together with a lot of international industrial, EBM and folk artists. People don’t know many of them are from Rome. That’s why it featured Simone H. Salvatori from Spiritual Front, Maruko and Marco Visconti from XP8, Paolo Soellner from Klimt1918 and many others. Stupida estate is the story of a bunch of blind people lost in the night. All of a sudden a dog comes close to them and barks. So they start running and singing the words of the song. Is a nonsense video; it’s crazy, like a chorus of blind men without hope, someone losts the cane, someone smiles, someone cries. It’s a mad video but the atmosphere perfectly fits in with the mood of surgery. This was the first video without the masks but since everybody sings you can’t find the band members. Stupida estate is the funniest video I shot. I still can remember all the people waiting for his time to run. And when, at the concert, this song starts a lot of fans simulate the blind running. And every time I’m proud about it.

(Above: in Rome, with Surgery’s CDs.)

How did the concept for the video L’ERBA CATTIVA originate?
Do you remember my answer about how I met Surgery? Well… the day after the concert Daniele (singer), Matteo (DJ Freak) and I had a beer, and talked a lot about the right way to show Surgery in an official video. I can remember they asked me to do a strong impact video. With violence but not splatter. So the concept came out. The story of a little child fighting against a bulldog to become a member of Surgery but then, when the child grows up, he takes his revenge against Surgery. Dan and Matteo liked the plot so we shot the video in winter. It was very cold. The band still hate me because of the cold they got during the video. But it was an epic situation and I knew it was the first step for this important artistic partnership.

How does HABITAT represent new directions for the band?
“Habitat” is the first official single in English, the first of a long path I hope. It’s a video of the pure violence, the madness of mankind. Matteo wanted to start the video with a situation like in the 80′s movies and me and Marco (the other screenplayer) totally agreed. An evil radio signal spreads the virus of violence in the air and humanity goes mad and starts to eliminate itself. The signal starts from Surgery, like a conspiracy but the ending is very sad… not even Surgery is immune to the virus. This track is a part of an official EP including 7 remixes from great international industrial EBM artists like Sebastian Komor, S.a.m., Lenny Dee, Xp8 and others. You can download for free at surgerycaos.com

The next album will be a split Italian-English work. We have a lot of tracks that can explode on the international scene, but we want to continue to produce songs with Italian lyrics. In Italy Daniele is considered a great poetry composer and we don’t want to loose this.

Tell me about the band’s LIVE performance. Why is it a must-see?

(videos live @ qube and live @ init club with the new masks)
I choose to follow the project Surgery (at the beginning as video producer, now as manager) because I think it’s a complete band, with both powerful music and live performance. Something people are not used to seeing in a concert. In these difficult times for discography, and expecially for the industrial scene, I think this project has a lot of opportunities to be successful. In a concert you can see a masked band, with the masks of master Stivaletti, playing electro industrial while professional performers Fabio and Fulvius make the people go crazy performing horror, mad, theatrical scenes. It’s impossible to explain, you have to see a concert to understand the real atmosphere I’m talking about.

What is Surgery’s goals for the next year?
The new album, a great promotion in Europe and in USA, two official videos and a lot of gigs. My personal goal is to spread the impact of this band all over the world. You can find more information at surgerycaos.com and on Facebook.

Thank you Carlo for the interview! I had a wonderful time in Italy, and can’t wait to show you our secret musical collaboration. Stay tuned to La Carmina blog to find out the news.

Where in the World is La Carmina? After Italy, my travels are continuing… I’m currently working on 5 TV shows for big networks, as host and arranger. The adventure begins in Tokyo, in July-Aug and September, where I’ll be filming with a Fuel TV / National Geographic / Discovery show! Of course, I’ll bring you photos and reports of Gothic culture from Japan and all over.

‘Til then, you can catch up with me (and my fat Scottish Fold cat) on my blog. Ciao ciao!

XXX LA CARMINA XXX
http://www.lacarmina.com/

One of the biggest hurdles for many people thinking about taking the Meatless Monday pledge is making peace with it not feeling like sacrifice. We are a rather carniverous culture, on the whole, so the idea of no meat in a meal sounds like it should be something limiting, unsatisfying, even though it’s really not. This is where a shift in perspective can come in handy. Instead of thinking about skipping meat as a chore based on what isn’t in the meal, make the meal something fun, a treat to start your week right. Of course, piling Monday plates with indulgences can quickly undo the health benefits we want, so it will be more about taking a new approach to how we look at being a little naughty.

How can Meatless Monday be a treat without calorie indulgence? Instead of a traditional meal, why not plan it more like a party with lots of options to play with and assemble yourself?

A great indulgence for we grown-ups is cheating the expected schedule. Yes, I mean breakfast for dinner! Who says you can’t have nice crepes (which kick pancakes’ ass any day) with some tasty fillings and toppings just because it’s past brunch? The recipe following is a traditional Hungarian crepe, called palacsinta (pronounced pal-ah-cheen-tah), with some rather untraditional toppings. You can use this recipe with virtually any filling or topping you like. If you’re doing sweeter fillings, you might want to add a bit of vanilla to the batter for a dessert touch. You can also get tricky and add spices to the basic mix for savory fillings. The fillings shown here, instead of the more traditional apricot or meat, lean toward Indian freshness and flavor contrasts.

When having this dish for dinner, make sure not to skip the protein. Palascinta make a great vehicle for PB and J. Just spread a little peanut butter (bonus points for natural PB without added sugar and salt) before spooning on the fruit filling. If you have some walnuts, add some chopped into the mix for some more beneficial fats. If PB isn’t your thing, why not add a couple eggs, cooked how you like them, on the side?

Another way to make Meatless Monday more fun is to turn dinner into your own little cocktail party. Hummus, always a popular party dip, is chock full of protein and some of the beneficial fats of olive oil. So, your protein is covered. Add some fresh, chopped vegetables to the lavash or pita to scoop up the hummus and now you’re getting some more low-cal nutrition. Round out the table with some fresh pickles, olives, feta cheese, or whatever quick, fresh, light noshes strike your fancy. Then, everyone can pick as they like and have fun tasting their own flavor and texture combinations. Or, you can do what we did and put all the tasty extra bits into one big spinach salad. (Shown with chopped egg, black olives, marinated mushrooms, avocado, Persian cucumbers, radish, herbs, and minced hot peppers … dressed with vinegar and oil)

Meatless Monday can be the casual, free-wheeling night you look forward to all week. As an extra health bonus, with less cooking and prep time, you can eat early, then go for a nice. romantic stroll. Or you can get in a bit more yoga … or sign up for the tango or pole-dancing classes you’ve been meaning to take.

You’re helping make yourself healthier while contributing to the sustainability of our overall diet. You deserve a pat on the back. Why not take it by treating Meatless Monday as a special evening for taking care of you. Spoil yourself a little … you’ve earned it.

I’ll be back next week with some Japanese vegan recipes and menu ideas. Until then, have a great Meatless Monday!

Apple Curry Chutney
2 T butter
3 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, and diced)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp molasses
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove
1 tsp Madras curry powder

optional add-on: chopped walnuts

Step 1: In a skillet or sauce pan, heat and melt butter on MED. Add apples and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, then stir regularly until they are just starting to break down.

Step 2: Add all other ingredients except curry, lower burner to SIMMER, and mix well until apples are cooked down and all is incorporated together.

Step 3: Add curry powder (try about half first if you want softer curry bite, let it simmer together for about 5-10 minutes before tasting and adding the rest – or more – as you like).

Step 4: Reserve until ready to serve. Chutney can be served chilled or reheated warm.

Mango Cayenne Chutney
2 T butter
3 mangoes (ideally, slightly unripe and tart – peeled, seeded, diced)
lemon juice
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

optional add-on: chopped walnuts

Step 1: In a skillet or sauce pan, heat and melt butter on MED. Add mango and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, then stir regularly until they are just starting to break down. You will tell most easily by taste; as the mango cooks, the tart edge will mellow slightly. This step should probably take about 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of dice and ripeness of the mango.

Step 2: Add a small squeeze of lemon and cayenne, lower burner to SIMMER, and mix well until mango is cooked down and all is incorporated together.

Step 3: Let it simmer together for about 5-10 minutes before tasting and add more lemon or cayenne as you like).

Step 4: Reserve until ready to serve. Chutney can be served chilled or reheated warm.

Palacsinta (Hungarian crepes)
(makes about 12 crepes)
1.5 cups flour
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
unsalted butter
optional: 1/2 tsp vanilla extract when serving with sweeter or dessert fillings
Step 1: Preheat oven to 200º or WARM setting. In a large bowl, mix flour and salt with a whisk and make a little pool in the center for the liquid ingredients.

Step 2: Beat eggs and milk together in a separate bowl (vanilla, too, if using it), then add in a slow stream while whisking to prevent lumps. Batter should be quite loose and liquid. If you have time, it is nice to chill the batter briefly before making crepes (about 20 – 30 minutes), but it’s not necessary. If you want to eat ASAP, just let ‘er rip.

Step 3: In a 12-14″ non-stick frying pan, melt 2T butter on MEDLOW. Once the butter froths, it’s time to make crepes! Follow this process for the best results …

• Use a medium ladle so you don’t over-flow and fill about 1/2 way with batter.
• Hold the ladle over the pan while grabbing the handle.
• SLOWLY let the batter trickle into the pan while you swirl and tilt it to let the batter run and cover the whole pan in one thin sheet. You will get better at estimating batter + swirling as you do more crepes. Don’t sweat it too much … the first crepes often kinda suck until you get the feel of it.
• Let it cook until the top of the batter loses its sheen and the edges are getting golden. You will also have patches of golden brown on the bottom side of the crepe.
• CAREFULLY slide the biggest spatula you have under the crepe and flip in one fast, turn/flick motion using mainly just wrist. This should keep the crepe from folding in on itself.
• Let the bottom cook, which should be a little faster than the top side.
• Remove crepe from the pan and set aside on a cookie sheet in the oven (cover with foil to avoid drying out … if doing a LOT of crepes -more than 1 batch-, include a damp tea towel or cheesecloth under the foil).

Step 4: Serve with various sweet and/or savory toppings.

Roasted Garlic Hummus

1 can garbanzos (drained – and rinsed if not no-salt)
juice of 1/2 lemon (to taste)
1 head roasted garlic (recipe follows)
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
4 TBSP olive oil
(reserve juice from garbanzos &/or broth from garlic if needed)

Step 1: In a food processor, add all ingredients and pulse slowly until the chick peas are all broken up and the garlic and spices are incorporated in the mix.

Step 2: Scrape down the sides and process at the lower setting for several minutes.

Step 3: Once it is very smooth (you will see very even, little lumps throughout), scrape the sides again and taste. Add lemon or seasonings if needed. Then process at the higher setting for several minutes. If the hummus is not completely smooth or has a slightly gritty mouth-feel, add a light drizzle of the broth used to roast the garlic until it is the consistency you want.

Step 4: Serve with lavash, pita, fresh vegetables, or anything tasty that scoops.

Roasted Garlic

1-4 heads garlic

1 cup broth (today, we’re using vegetable)

olive oil + salt

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400º while you prep the garlic.

Step 2: Peel excess paper from cloves and pierce as shown (which will make it easier to remove. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt before pouring in the broth. Cover with foil and cook for 60-75 minutes, until cloves are soft and fragrant.

Step 3: Let cool before using, reserving broth for later use.

Red Pepper Hummus
1 can garbanzos/chick peas (drained – and rinsed if not no-salt)
juice of 1/2 lemon (to taste)
2 cloves garlic (peeled, smashed)
2 TBSP tahini
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cumin
2-3 TBSP olive oil
2 roasted red peppers
(reserve juice from garbanzos if needed)

Step 1: In a food processor, add the garlic and half the garbanzos and oil. Pulse slowly until the chick peas are all broken up and the garlic is incorporated in the mix.

hummus two ways with Persian cucumbers and lavash

Step 2: Scrape down the sides and add the rest of the ingredients except the balance of the olive oil. Process at the lower setting for several minutes.

Step 3: Once it is very smooth (you will see very even, little lumps throughout), scrape the sides again and taste. Add lemon or seasonings if needed. Then process at the higher setting for several minutes. If the hummus is not completely smooth or has a slightly gritty mouth-feel, add a light drizzle of the remaining olive oil until it is the consistency you want.

Step 4: Serve with lavash, pita, fresh vegetables, or anything tasty that scoops.

Summer 2011′s Ultimate Lippy Wardrobe Essentials

Let it be known that The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a peak heat index of 116 this upcoming Friday in the DC metro area. As we seek respite from the Helter Swelter outside and try our best to avoid spontaneously bursting into flames during daylight hours, our cherished latex kimonos, Victorian mourning gowns and those deliciously ubergoth slinky floor-length bell sleeved lace numbers are forced into mandatory hibernation until further notice. It doesn’t take a meteorologist to determine that looking hot while staying cool can pose quite a challenge when daytime highs hit (and surpass) the 100° mark. Conventional fashion “wisdom” pushes crisp, white tees and all manner of apparel classified as “Bohemian”, “hippie-chic” and “surfer girl”. None of which exactly appeal to the self-identified Fashion Freak’s spooky sensibility. Luckily, Lippy is here to help you adapt your wardrobe to the smoldering temps with their latest crop of cute, carefree summer styles suitable for all your outdoor escapades (for those adventurous times when you actually dare to brave atmospheric conditions only slightly cooler than hell).

Check out last year’s guide to summer industrial/goth clubwear here

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A day spent thoroughly abusing your body at an amusement park is practically considered to be the season’s calling card. What would summer be without consuming embarrassingly vast quantities of overpriced beer and funnelcake, promptly followed by stomach-churning thrills of steel coasters — launching your screaming self 40 stories into the air at speeds approaching 130 miles per hour? For a hands-free way to tote all your essentials (keys, credit card, phone), strap on a Millennium Moon Unisex Utility Belt

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Bypass the steel boning and sub the real thing JUST THIS ONCE for Step in Time’s Cap Sleeve Corset Screen Top in the sand colorway for an easier, breezier albeit significantly more low key way to get your steampunk fix in mid-July.

 

 

This heavy, sticky time of year time considered by many goths to be the “unavoidable prelude to the autumnal months” doesn’t exactly lend itself well to the billowing voluminosity which characterizes so many skirts typically associated with the Victorian period. The Jardin Noir Ruffle Skirt in the black/ivory colorway meets you halfway, by marrying the effortless elegance of its charming French country print with a laid back length, which minimizes heat-related distress by allowing for ample air circulation.

Millennium Moon Boob Tube’s tribal screenprint looks quite fetching peeking out of a halfway-zipped sleeveless hoodie (think Spring 09’s Cybertronic Ragdoll line).

 

 

Oppressive weather provides the ultimate excuse for baring slightly more skin on first dates without coming off too Kardashian-esque (Read: Easier than the proverbial Sunday morning). Pair a Pin Me Up Cami Top in the black/red colorway with a plain black pencil skirt and red-lacquered pumps to hybridize the best of modern take-charge chicks and sultry vintage coquettes. If you still feel too naked, throw on a Broken Promises Bolero.

Even come August, those romantic hand-in-hand nighttime walks on the beach can get mighty chilly. Never a better time to score some “good boyfriend points” with your lady friend than by loaning her some form of cover. Even better if said cover just happens to be the Autopsy Mens Y-Incision Hoodie. The only real downside being that you might not get it back.

Maxi dresses are everywhere this summer. Unfortunately, their great versatility and layering potential is too-often overshadowed by the hideous ikat print that’s, for a reason unbeknownst to me, so frequently featured in conjunction with this garment. For girls who lack desire to approximate a table runner, there’s Autopsy Cadaverous Maxi Dress. Just add wedges and some delightfully morbid taxidermy statement jewelry and you’re good to scare the shit out of small children on the boardwalk.

<3

Vanity Kills

What better way to kick off Meatless Mondays here on the ‘zine than with a dinner I just made for one of my fellow Blacklisters!

There are few things I love more than having friends over for dinner. When those friends are vegetarian or vegan, instead of seeing it as a limitation, I welcome having an excuse to eat lighter and trim a bit more meat and dairy from our diet. The other night, The Boss and I were hosts to one of our favorite people, Forest Nui Cobalt, who writes the superb Lippy horoscopes you read here every month.

Like many of you, we keep a pretty hectic schedule, especially during the week. Even though our studio is just a matter of yards from the kitchen, when the work is stacked up, it might as well be across town. Regardless, a great meal is still possible with just a little planning and creativity with handy ingredients.

Really, I swear.

Recently, the weather has been … shall we say … a bit unpredictable. The last thing I wanted was to plan a nice, hot meal and have it suddenly turn blast-furnace hot. Hot stew + summer heat = bleh. So, instead of something hot, I aimed for fresh and cool with lots of vibrant flavors.

Gazpacho!

We love gazpacho. What’s not to love about fresh veg and wonderfully bold flavors? Being a bit of fusion freak, I tilt the Spanish soup a bit toward Mexico and California, but keep the soul of the dish intact. If you’re a beginner, this recipe will be a good one to get some good knife practice, too. A bit of chop-chop and whirr-whirr and you have a delicious vegan dish!

Of course, as healthy as gazpacho might be, you need some protein. So, I added some juiced-up black beans with saffron rice to the party, which also gave a hearty, satisfying base to the meal. Rounding it out, I also threw in some roasted corn because … well … who doesn’t love  fresh corn, right?

Menu done! And 100% vegan!

Here’s how it all went down.

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a little side-note: You might note  I often use the phrase “to taste” alongside the quantites of ingredients. The amounts listed are the general average. As in anything based in taste, your mileage may vary. Often, what I’ve used in our actual dinner will have more spice, since we like that sort of thing, and will always have more garlic, since it is the wellspring of all things beautiful. When in doubt, start with the qty listed or a bit less and add slowly while tasting to get it the way you want it. Bear in mind, some spices (especially hot peppers) will develop further when cooked, so you don’t want to go too heavy from the get-go or add too much in one shot.

****

Gazpacho
(serves 6-8 or makes great, easy leftovers)

base:
1 (28 oz) can – whole tomatoes
1 small jar – roasted red peppers
1 tsp (or more to taste) – pickled jalapeños (escabeche)
juice of 1/2 lemon (or more to taste)
1 TBSP – ground dried ancho/pasilla chilis (to taste)
sprinkle/pinch of kosher salt + ground white pepper + ground cumin
several cups – tomato juice

groovy fresh stuff to add:
(unless otherwise noted should be in a fine mince – 1/4″ max pieces)
1 cup – cucumber (Persian if you can get them – otherwise regular cukes peeled and seeded)
1 small red onion
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 cup scallion
1 cup – grape or cherry tomatoes (quartered or halved)
1/2 cup jicama
3 avocados (you may want more if they’re small)

Step 1: Pre-mince the added veg, except avocado, and set aside in a bowl.

Step 2: Drain canned tomatoes and peppers (remove seeds too if you feel like it) and put in the food processor with the jalapaños. Pulse briefly to break them up, then process at LOW for a few moments (until mostly blended). Add the other base ingredients, except the tomato juice, and process briefly at LOW until blended.

Step 3: Pour into a large bowl or container and mix in some tomato juice (about a cup).

Step 4: Add all the pre-minced veg and pour over tomato juice, while mixing, until the soup is the consistency you want. I like it pretty chunky with just enough liquid to suspend the veg … your mileage may vary. Mix it well and taste. The more juice you add, the more seasoning (plus maybe lemon and heat) you will probably add here to finish it up.

Step 5: Chill about 30 minutes or so and add the diced avocado either just before serving or, if you’re plating, to the individual bowls.

TIPS!

• Use no-salt-added tomatoes whenever possible. Many canned veg and beans have way more salt than you would ever expect.
• When adding strong flavors, such as lemon, chilis, salt, etc, always start with a small amount and add to taste to avoid over-seasoning.
• If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a fine mesh strainer to break down the tomatoes, peppers, and jalapeños. Just add them one at a time and push/scrape with a spoon into a bowl underneath.
• Try using fresh peeled/seeded tomatoes or fresh, roasted  tomatoes for a heartier flavor.
• You can use your grill or gas range to fire-roast red peppers (1 – 2 peppers). Just keep on flame just until the skin is charred black, then let rest in a covered bowl to cool. Once cool, the skin will rub off easily with your fingers. The liquid can also be added to the soup for more fresh pepper taste.
• To quickly and easily dice an avocado, cut it in half and remove the pit. Then use a paring knife to carefully make cuts into the flesh along the length and width. Now that you have the dice, just use a tablespoon to scoop out the pieces.
• To peel jicama, cut off the top and root ends. Then you can more easily cut downward on the curve to remove the skin.
• A small coffee grinder is great for making your own chili powder without all the damned added salt. Just drop in a torn up dried chili and let it rip!

Back Beans with stuff!
(serves 6 -8)

roasted garlic:
1-2 heads – garlic
1 cup vegetable broth
drizzle – olive oil
kosher salt

beans:
2 cans black beans (drained)
1 can Mexican diced tomatoes
1 TBSP (or to taste) – ground dried ancho/pasilla chili
lemon (squeeze to taste)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400º. Remove excess paper from garlic bulbs and pierce the cloves with a paring knife (which will make it MUCH easier to get them out later). Put them in a ramekin or oven-safe bowl, drizzle a little olive oil on top and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Add the broth and cover (with lid or just plain old tin foil).

Step 2: Cook for about an hour, until the cloves are soft and fragrant, and set aside to cool before handling.

Step 3: Mix all the ingredients together in a small pot, along with the roasted garlic cloves, and heat slowly on LOW until it’s bubbling. Lower to the barest SIMMER, stirring often, and let the flavors blend together a bit before serving.

Can be served over rice (I added about 20 threads of saffron and a little extra olive oil before cooking to ours), with tortillas/garlic toast/flatbread, or just as it is.

TIPS!

• Roasted garlic can be made ahead to save time.
• Use no-salt beans whenever possible. Canned beans are LOADED with salt and you can always add yourself as you like instead.
  

Chili-roasted corn

(You can start these before the roasted garlic if you, like me, dig you corn a bit more done with caramelized edges)
Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 400º. Mix together olive oil, garlic powder, ground chili, and kosher salt in a small bowl.

Step 2: Using a BBQ or basting brush, cover the corn with your spiked oil and cook in 1/2 hour increments, turning the corn and re-brushing until it is done to your liking. I usually let it go for about 2 hours, but you can pull it out after 1 if you don’t want to wait that long.

Step 3: Serve with fresh lemon or lime wedges.

TIPS!

• Corn can be made ahead and either quickly reheated on the stovetop or served cool.
• Leftover roasted corn makes a badass addition to salsas or salads.

Well, that’s it for this Meatless Monday.

See you next week with another vegetarian or vegan meal!

I had this really great salad at a catered event once … not sure where the original recipe is from, but it’s more like a list of ingredients since it’s just a salad. ;)

Spinach
Raspberry Vinagrette
Dried Cranberries
Almonds (plain, no salt or anything on them. both sliced and unsliced work)

I hate salad and spinach but I ended up really liking this.. it’s just that tasty! No preparation too!

Do you sometimes really want to smash the living hell out of your computer with a badass 20 lb sledgehammer? Would love to stomp your printer until it’s nothing but chards on the floor? Feel like throwing plates and glass as hard as you can at the wall, just to hear them shatter to bits?

 

Crash and Jane at Studio Servitù figured as much and devised a delightfully angst-purging night of mass destruction, Je M’en Fous (which I will now assume means “breaking stuff rocks!”).

 

Being a huge fan of breaking stuff, I was ALL IN, baby! I mean *ahem* it’s always nice to go out and support Lip Service sponsored events, so The Boss and I thought we’d give this whole “breaking things” a try. *haha*

 

We arrived and were ushered into the huge freight elevator and through the hall toward the signature striped entry of Servitù. Immediately, our ears were greeted with the glorious din of a killer DJ set, accented with the buzz of conversation, punctuated by increasingly rapid smashing and shattering followed by whoops and shouts from the crowd. What a great way to kick off a night out!

 

It wasn’t long before we were right in the midst of the action. Crash pulled Jimi behind the layers of chicken wire into the smash zone, toward a PC tower all teed up and ready. Now, those of you who know my lovely partner in crime know what a chill, low-key sort of guy he is. Well, ha ha and ha! Not with a big ol’ sledgehammer in his hands, he’s not! With his long hair flying, my otherwise gentle husband laid waste to that damned thing, slamming away and dragging it back into place to beat on it some more.

 

When he was done, his ear-to-ear grin was all I needed to see. It was time to make some breakables pay!

 

Waved into the zone, I donned some safety goggles and was given some plates. Fastball pitch, straight at the wall! SMASH! Oh yes! More smash and crash! Glorious! I can tell you, the sound of porcelain hitting brick at high speeds … seriously satisfying! Practically the moment I was done, I wanted MORE!

 

Everyone, please meet my Inner Berserker.

 

One by one, everyone in the crowd got to take a turn getting their rage on. New faces were steered by friends toward the table of breakables, shown the impressive array of bigger, badder targets. They, in turn, brought more friends to the wire.  It became the standard greeting of the night. “Have you broken anything yet? … Oh, it’s soooo goooood!” You could tell, even if you were in the lounge area or bar, who had just made the most recent smashing noises by the relaxed, blissed-out expression on their face. Some people came in a bit dubious, thinking, “I don’t know. It seems a bit violent.” but, before long, they reappeared with the same post-smashy grin.

 

My hero of the night had to be Chopper Dave, a fellow photographer and all-around great cat. It was his birthday and he wanted an epic weapon to swing. So, he crafted The Thor Hammer, a solid steel, twenty pound sledgehammer which packed quite a wallop. I know this because I got to wield this badass tool of berserkerdom, hefting it over my head again and again to utterly demolish a temperamental printer.

 

Take that, paper jam!

 

Apparently, I seemed to be having too good of a time to quit yet, so Crash handed me a PC laptop, informing me and the crowd that the provider had (and I paraphrase) “a shitload of porn in there and wants the whole machine utterly destroyed.” Starting with the beast called Thor, I made short work of the bulk of it. But, there was detailed demolition called for here. I was doing a solid, right? Had to be thorough. *heh heh* So I was provided with a claw hammer to go batshit on every last bit of the thing.

 

I guess I really got into the breaking, because I managed to slam the laptop so hard, I also broke the bloody hammer. Umm, oops sorry? *heh heh* That’s right, suckahs, don’t mess with this degenerate camera jockey!

 

As I mentioned, there were quite a lot of big items one could select, stacked up high against the wall. These were easily the most fun smashing sessions to watch and, by far, the most impressive-sounding. Every time a computer monitor or TV received its first strike, the boom was resounding, almost shaking your insides, the shattering screens bursting like a miniature preview of the fireworks to come later in the weekend. Superb!

 

Beside the obvious, the ladies of Servitù added some rather ingenious touches of wit in the targets and arsenal.

 

My favorite weapon? Easy. It would have to be the guitar Jane used to massacre a TV that needed killin’. Hell yes! If Elvis didn’t have that gun, that’s how he’d have done it. “Uh, Red? Man, gimme that guitar. Thank you very much!” Check out some video of the lovely Ms Jane getting down with her bad self!

 

Favorite beat-down of the night? Eat this, Easy-Bake Oven! That’s what you get for making shitty cakes that taste like paste!

 

All in all, it was a crazy, fun night beating the hell out of pesky bits of technology, along with some of our favorite freaks of the LA underground. I hope they have another one really soon because our TV decided to stop working and, damnit, I’m pretty pissed off to have missed True Blood. I think it needs a dose of Thor Hammer, don’t you?

 

Thank you to Jane and Crash of Studio Servitù for being such remarkable hosts (as always). Thanks, too, to Michael Vegas for providing great photos (to see all Michael’s photos from Je M’en Fous, check out his FB albums here and here).

And, of course, thank you Lip Service for sponsoring such a fun and unique event.

When you hear the phrase “pirate metal,” you immediately conjure up images of Lars Ulrich’s reddened face, the veins in his forehead standing to attention, as he flings expletives and a not insignificant amount of Dutch spittle at anyone downloading from the now defunct Napster. But pirate metal – now a seemingly legitimate metal sub-genre including at least a dozen bands – embrace the high seas with gusto. And at the forefront of this scurvy movement are Scotland’s Alestorm.

These Scottish lads have been penning metal chanteys about drinking and sailing and wenches since 2006 under the name Battleheart. After signing with Napalm Records, they’ve been sailing from strength to strength. Their unique blend of folk and power metal with a unique piratical twist appeals to fans of Korpiklaani and Turisas, but they’ve made their own unique mark on the international metal scene.

I got the chance to talk to lead vocalist / keytarist Chris recently about their latest album, Back through Time, which released in the US and Europe on June 10.

“Our new album is called “Back Through Time”. It comes out at the start of June, and it’s the most ridiculously stupid metal album of all time,” says Chris. “You think the last ones are ridiculous? I think this one’s completely silly. One song is 2 seconds long. The first track starts with blast beats and black metal screams. There’s xylophone solos, there’s all sorts.”

Back through Time is not the only ridiculous thing about Alestorm. Their latest video for the single “Shipwrecked” features a drunken midget and some seriously wobbly blue screen effects. They look like they’re having a blast.

I asked how the band keep dreaming up new material about pirates, Chris laughed. “It used to be really easy, because we had no songs, so everything we wrote was new. But gradually … it gets harder and harder, so this time around we’ve gone completely silly just to get around it. So there are songs on this album about time-travelling pirates who go back through time to kill all the Vikings.”

Their fans manage to ramp the silliness factor up even higher, by showing up at shows in full pirate garb. Even Chris, a self-confessed pirate nut, refuses to dress up on stage. But that doesn’t stop metalheads the world over donning pirate garb and swapping beer for some mead.

Their New Zealand show, the last stop on their recent tour, was no exception. Here’s the crowd I showed up with:

The band didn’t mind the abundance of wenches, and Chris even invited us up on stage for the Alestorm anthem “Wenches and Mead”.

Alestorm played a stormin’ set, ripping through old favorites as well as a couple of new songs with an unprecedented energy. At some point, the barrier broke down and we crowded the stage. It was an insane night.

What is it about this band and their ridiculous music that appeals to so many fans all over the world? I think Alestorm simply exemplify the fact that metal is supposed to be fun. Life doesn’t have to be serious all the time – you can dress like a pirate, drink mead and sing a long at a concert, and as long as you’re not actually keelhauling anyone, it’s all good.

What concerts are you excited about in 2011?

Who am I? I’m Steff. Born in New Zealand, raised on a steady diet of metal and out-of-print archaeology books, I’m now a freelance writer, accessible formats producer, and full-time iron maiden.

You can keep up to date with all the metal madness at my Steff Metal blog. I update 4 times a week with reviews, articles, advice and silliness about living the metal lifestyle. And, for alternative biz owners, I run a creative business community for the dark side at Grymm & Epic.

Keep it brutal \m/
Steff

Hey fashion freaks! This is Mich, your webmistress and editor of the Lip Service webzine (as well as a dedicated omnivore who took the Meatless Monday pledge a few years back). I wanted to take a few moments out to introduce you to our newest section, one near and dear to the hearts of many of the folks on the Lippy team, Meatless Mondays.

You are already familiar with our great vegi leather clothes, but did you know one of the main reasons behind Lippy’s great selection of alternatives to animal-based materials? Drew and many members of the Lippy team are committed vegetarians and vegans. So, of course, supporting Meatless Mondays is kind of a no-brainer. But, we all wanted to really put our money where our mouths are with a bigger commitment and ways to help all who want to join in make skipping meat one day a week easy, tasty, and healthy.

The new Meatless Monday section will include recipes and tips from members of the Lip Service staff, Blacklist writers, special guests, and … YOU! Every Monday, we’ll have great ideas for making your Meatless Mondays more delicious, as well as some stunning foodporn for your viewing pleasure. We would love to share your info, recipes, tips, and that drool-worthy photo of your Meatless Monday feast. Please, if submitting a recipe you did not write yourself, make sure to note your source and include the link so we can give credit where it’s due.

How can you share your Meatless Monday? Just email the editor or submit directly through the webzine!

I know some of you out there on the inter-webs can be a bit dubious about this whole Meatless Monday idea and think it might be (choose one): a pain in the ass, unsatisfying, boring, whatever. Even as a pretty advanced home cook and veteran food blogger and recipe writer, the raging omnivore in me wasn’t sure whether I could sustain regular vegetarian and vegan days.

I was totally wrong!

Hopefully, in sharing our experiences and experiments in food alchemy, we can help a few more dedicated omnivores over the initial doubts because it really does make a difference. Without taking into account the bigger-picture stuff, committing to going meatless can be a great way to get healthier and even help fit into that next size down.

If you do want to learn more about the bigger picture and what Meatless Mondays can do for your overall health and well being, check out the official Meatless Mondays website.

How do you do YOUR Meatless Monday? Tell us about it!