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JOSHUA PLOEG
Touring vegan chef, Author, Noisy punk rock singer
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julia @thesoviette wrote and illustrated a graphic memoir about intergenerational soviet jewish identity and resistance! go buy it! buy a copy for all your north american jewish friends who don’t understand what russian jewish identity means! buy a copy for all your soviet jewish friends whose families are rooting for trump! buy one for your nightstand and another for your backpack and a third for your bathroom!
Soviet Daughter provides a window into the life of a rebellious, independent woman coming of age in the USSR, and the impact of her story and her spirit on her American great-granddaughter, two extraordinary women swept up in the history of their tumultuous times.
Soviet Daughter is the story of Julia Alekseyeva’s great-grandmother Lola. Born in 1910 to a poor, Jewish family outside of Kiev, Lola lived through the Bolshevik revolution, a horrifying civil war, Stalinist purges, and the Holocaust. She taught herself to read, and supported her extended family working as a secretary for the notorious NKVD (which became the KGB) and later as a lieutenant for the Red Army. Her family, including 4-year-old Julia, moved to the U.S. in the wake of Chernobyl and forged a new life. Interleaved with Lola’s history we find Julia’s own struggles of coming of age in an immigrant family and her political awakening in the midst of the radical politics of the turn of the millennium.
At times heartbreaking and at times funny, this graphic novel memoir unites two generations of strong, independent women against a sweeping backdrop of the history of the USSR. Like Sarah Glidden in How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, or Marjane Satrapi in Persepolis, Alekseyeva deftly combines compelling stories of women finding their way in the world with an examination of the ties we all have with our families, ethnicities, and the still-fresh traumas of the 20th century.
buy it at Microcosm Publishing or Amazon, or your local bookstore!
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Episode 243: The June Previews Catalog
The Two Guys with PhDs, AKA “Ben” and “Jason,” are back with another Previews episode. And for the month of June, there’s a lot that Andy and Derek want to highlight. Among the many upcoming titles they discuss are:
Dark Horse Comics - Hellboy in Hell: Library Edition, Mr. Higgins Comes Home, Michael Chabon’s The Escapists, and Rashomon: A Commissioner Heigo Kobayashi Case
DC/Vertigo - Future Quest Showcase #1 and the various Jack Kirby centennial #1 issues
IDW Publishing/Top Shelf - Michael Recycle’s Environmental Adventures, Roots, and Bottled
Image Comics -Â Redlands #1, Annual, Elsewhere #1, Savage Town, and Spy Seal #1
Aardvark-Vanaheim - Batvark #1
AdHouse - Screwed Up
AH Comics - Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Vol. 2
Amazing Ink/Slave Labor Graphics - Josephine
Big Planet/Retrofit Comics - Iceland
BOOM! Studios - Mech Cadet Yu #1
Candlewick Press - Poe: Stories and Poems
Darby Pop Publishing - Things You Shouldn’t Remember
Dynamite Entertainment - Sheena #0, The Shadow #1, James Bond: Moneypenny, and Atari Classics: Swordquest
Devil’s Due/First Comics - Lark’s Killer #1
Dover Publications - Border Worlds
Drawn and Quarterly - The Customer Is Always Wrong
Fantagraphics Books - Love and Rockets #3, Otherworld Barbara Vol. 2, Johnny Appleseed, All Time Comics: Blind Justice #2, The Bloody Cardinal, and Education
Fanfare/Ponent Mon - Venice
First Second - Science Comics: Plagues
Humanoids - Gregory and the Gargoyles
Kodansha Comics - Love and Lies, Vol. 1
Lion Forge - Ghost Money #1, Incidentals #1, and Water Memory
Mariner Books - Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home
NBM - Sartre
Microcosm Publishing - Henry and Glenn Adult Coloring Book
Nobrow Press - A Castle in England and Pantheon: The True Story of the Egyptian Deities
Oni Press - Dead of Winter #1 and the latest Square One editions
Papercutz - Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars, Vol. 2
Titan Comics - Anno Dracula
Ten Speed Press - Alexander Hamilton: The Graphic History of an American Founding Father
Uncivilized Books - The Story of Jezebel
University Press of Mississippi - Comics, Trauma, and the New Art of War, Comics Art in China, and Jim Shooter: Conversations
Check out this episode!
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Here, kitty kitty!
Oh wait.
Bad kitty!
Fun fact:
Did you know that an American possum is really an Opossum and that Possums proper
are Australian and much cuter?
Well you do now!!
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What a great way to celebrate Earth Day,
a fabulous 4 course vegan meal curated and prepared by
musician and vegan chef author Joshua Ploeg.
Please send your request for reservations,
including time and size of party, $35 per person
to: Â Â [email protected]
Available seatings:
5:30 to 7pm
7:30 to 9pm
9:30 to 11pm
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Upcoming!
I will be in the Pacific Northwest for several weeks in March and April.
March 23rd there is a popup at Cafe Pettirosso in Seattle, the menu is posted and they are taking reservations. It is probably getting close to sold out so reserve now...
https://www.facebook.com/events/379313522241297
http://www.pettirossoseattle.com/
There will also be multimedia events in:
Portland (April 1st, food, performance and pottery)
Olympia (April 8th I think, food, performance, history and fortunes)
Belingham (date TBA). Details on those being worked out still but heads up.
Sacramento stuff around Pt. Reyes retreat coming up in the April 13-16 range.
Dinner and Bikes trekking for a month through the middle of the country... more details here: http://dinnerandbikes.com/dates/
Other than this, some SoCal in June, New Hampshire and NE in July, NoDak and Minnesota/Wisconsin/Illinois in August as well as an artist's retreat in Michigan.
Busy busy.
Book something!
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New Years!
Of late I have been trying to do multimedia events that combine vegan food with historic space (and sometimes handouts or presentations on that), performance, costumes, high concept and esoteric aspects. So far so good making this work. This year the first and a very ambitious attempt was in Sacramento on New Year's Day for High Tea and High Spirits in the Colonial Cafe, which is attached to the historic Colonial Theater. It involved tea, stuffed items, cookies and sandwiches, a bar, table magic, fortune telling, 1940s music, costume and dancing and an historical presentation about the building and the neighborhood. And everyone got to take home their tea cup! Â It was a real gas.Recipe wise, let's do the biggest hit of the event...SWEET POTATO SCONES1 1/2 C. flour (yes you can do alternatives)1 1/2 C. grated sweet potatoes1/3 C. oil or margarine or whatever (coconut oil is great)2 tsp. baking powder1/4 C. dried cranberries (more if you like)a few pinches ground cinnamon and clove1 Tbsp. lemon juice1 tsp. vanillaa little grated orange zestsalt and sugar to taste (brown sugar is great in these)some liquid (such as coconut milk or water) as neededCombine the dry ingredients then stir in the wet and mix. Add water or coconut milk as needed to make a nice soft (even a bit sticky) dough.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Form the dough into rounds or triangles about 1/2" thick and place on lightly greased cookie sheet or parchment lined and bake for 20-25 minutes or until done to your liking.It is good to let the dough sit for the amount of time it takes to pre-heat your oven.Very good with pumpkin jam and coconut devonshire cream.Tea-baggin' old school...
Cookies, tea, agua fresca... check! The black currant and cacao spice teas were the favorites, we switched teas every half hour. Russian tea cakes were also a big hit.
Sandwiches, scones, coconut "devonshire cream" and jam too of course!
Author and historian William Burg wore his conductor's outfit to hobnob and present about the history of the building and the streetcar that ran down Stockton Blvd. back in the day. We were all charmed!Â
Mr. Illusion provided really cool table magic throughout the event... even on break he couldn't stop doing tricks! Here the table is suitably impressed...
Big crowd for the historical presentation... this kind of thing should happen more often.
Some fine folks from the CA State Grange & Vegetarian Society cutting a rug...
Your chef with Mr. and Mrs. Illusion- they were great, classic magic!
All kinds of exciting people came out to this soiree, including some adorable goths!
The venue has a really cool, classic bar... thank goodness for beermosas!
​Mistress Helga arrives...
She will tell you future!
She even brought a spooky altar...this is something else!
That's the spirit!
A few trinkets, photo and candle on the remembrance table...
​The entrance is cool and ghostly here at Cafe Colonial...
Even the floor in this place is interesting...
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Milwaukee!
I had an interesting time recently in Milwaukee, one of my several favorite cities to visit. At home (when I have one) I often do a takeout day, where people place orders off a short menu ahead of time and then come to pick it up. Occasionally I do these in cities when I tour although it's a bit harder to do it on the road. MKE was a great success and here's a sandwich recipe for a frequent flyer on my takeout menus.
TOFU SALAD SANDWICH (trust me more going on than the title indicates)...
4 long french rolls, split open and toasted
Tofu stuff... Mix and then cook in a pot for about 5 minutes, stirring and then chill...
1 pkg. extra firm tofu (14/16 oz. or equal amount chopped up garbanzo beans)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice or 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. grated onion
1 Tbsp. olive oil or melted margarine
1 Tbsp. chopped pickles
2-3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
sea salt and mineral salt to taste (mineral for that farty egg flavor you all love)
a little white pepper wouldn't kill it then either, would it now?
adjust seasonings to taste
There is also an olive salad added to this, which the first time I had it that way was in Rochester, NY so sometimes I call it "Rochester Style" even though that is probably a load of bull...
1/2 C. chopped black olives (or other if you prefer)
2 Tbsp. chopped red onion
1 Tbsp. minced mixed herbs (basil and sage are nice_
1 chopped scallion
1 or 2 minced garlic cloves
1/4 C. chopped red bell pepper (roasted is great)
a few capers
salt and pepper to taste
a little olive oil
a splash of balsamic
pinch chili flakes
-Mix that together and season to taste.
4 romaine leaves
8 slices fat juicy tomato (or green tomato, also nice)
mustardayonnaise (equal portions mustard and vegan mayo to mix together and spread)
We assemble in a most obvious way... spread mustardayonnaise on bread, you can also throw down a little sriracha for nice spice... then the "egg salad", and then you can either do the romaine, tomato and olive on top of that or olive on the un egg followed by the romaine and tomato. Either way, depends on what look and taste experience you are going for.
makes 4
Leave it to me to put fart in a recipe, you're welcome!
The sandwich in question... quite fabulous really...
The GBLT at last. We had decided the G was guacamole, and this one had a "bacon" and onion chutney and pesto mayo on it in addition to the tempeh bacon, tomato and lettuce and guacamole...
This don't look like much, but it was a great spicy flatbread pizza rollup with hot soy chorizo tomato sauce, sauteed mushroms, onions and greens, pepper strips, garlic and chili sauces, and herbs on garlic flatbread, pan cooked...
​An artistic interpretation of color coded assembly...
​My hosts Chris and Milo have created an amazing space in their basement where I dwelt among the QZAP zine archives, which had also been color coded...
They work on an amazing and continuing library which they are also uploading that details the history of queer zines thru... well... archiving queer zines of course! The best way to tell the history is to let the works speak for themselves...
it's called the Queer Zine Archive Project and if you aren't able to visit the physical space in Wisconsin, you can do so here...
http://archive.qzap.org/
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Minneapolis Part Deux
Of the places I visit but would not actually want to live, Minneapolis remains one of my favorites. Thus, I simply must gloat more about the fun time I had there.
We'll tell the story further in pho-tos. With a very exciting recipe of Frozen Pumpkin "Custard," and a Hot Fudge and "Cheese Curds" Sundae, which I decided would be great to sell at a booth at the Minnesota State Fair. Vegan of course!
​A collection of knives and some clever cabinet back lighting jazzes up this healthy Minnesota kitchen.Â
​So of course dinner party host, Twin Cities zine fest organizer, daguerreotype aficionado and all-around Minnesota personality Lacey Prpic has the most intriguing dishwasher of all time.
I made a fabulous pesto-stuffed, wild rice "risotto" ball with white borscht at her dinner party. But no, I shant give you the recipe
I was getting all geared up to go to the MN State Fair, so this classic vest/apron at Lacey's house was in my zone. Sort of epitomizes my plan for next year. Yes, it's gonna be that kitschy.
​Alex and Sara were my partners in crime for state fair fun, and there were indulgences in the most naughty Sweet Martha bucket o cookies. Yes, a bucket. Drunkenly (flights of local beers in one pavilion, which is one reason why it is the best state fair ever) wandering the grounds and petting the llamas (and checking out calves but not the cow kind, more the corn-fed country boys of Minnesota's muscular calves) was how we came up with the hot fudge, custard, and cheese curds sundae idea (and also hot dish on a stick). They threw cookies at the DJ booth because some butthole was yarling at women as they walked past and told us that girl rockers are a novelty! (we showed him!) "Wow! That really just happened!" he said. Yeeah, it did jerk-wad!
​Alex finds the Butter Queen! Delicious!
​Seriously! Princess Kay of the Milky Way is crowned and they're all in a giant pastry case with spackling knives getting their portrait did out of a huge slab of butter. Do ya think I pretty?
​Seed art is one of the categories to get a ribbon. This whole portrait is made out of seeds and has a bit of the ol' grrl power vibe going on, as someone's personal hero battles cancer!
​And the Trashmen played with Deke Dickerson... Surfing Bird was enjoyed, along with about a dozen songs that sounded basically just like it. At this point the cash was running out and the beer had declined in quality the farther away from the epicenter that we got, but fun is fun when you ain't too picky.
A ol' fashioned goode tyme was had by all, all in all. This old bird scared off not just the crows but just about everything else as well. Let's make this an annual trip!
AND NOW A VEGAN DELICACY... FROZEN CUSTARD HOT FUDGE SUNDAE WITH CHEEZ CURDS
(did pumpkin flavored for the devil's favorite holiday!)
Frozen Pumpkin "Custard"
Blend:
1 1/2 C. cooked pumpkin
1 C. rich, thick coconut milk or cashew milk
1/2 C. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. oil or melted margarine
salt to taste
pinch each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
a little whiskey wouldn't hurt.
And freeze, stirring occasionally. It will take several hours.
For Uncheezy Curds:
You will want a medium firm tofu (1 block, you can press the water out if you like)
2 C. veggie broth blended with
2 Tbsp. oil
extra salt to taste
2 tsp. turmeric
2-3 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. mustard
1/4 C. nutritional yeast.
Cut tofu into cubes and place in baking dish in single layer, cover in broth (more or less). Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes to an hour, turning once. (You want most of the water to cook off)
For the batter blend 1/2 C. favorite "milk", 1/2 C. beer, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. oil, 3/4 C. flour and 1/2 C. rice flour with a little garlic or curry powder.
Drain the tofu "curds", roll them in a little nutritional yeast and then coat in this batter and deep fry them until browned and crispy. Do it in batches so that they don't get super stuck together. Drain them on absorbent paper. Yes you can also bake them if you wish.
For Fudgey Sauce:
Melt 1/2 C. brown sugar in 2-3 Tbsp. oil or margarine in a saucepan or double boiler. Add 1 C. coconut milk or cashew milk and warm through. Blend in 1/4 C. cocoa powder. Stir in 1/2 C. chopped chocolate (moderately sweet is good) and incorporate until melted. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. vanilla and a little salt to taste.
Drizzle Fudge sauce over pumpkin custard in a bowl and sprinkle with your fried "curds". Adding candied pecans and preserved pumpkin pieces, ginger candy or pumpkin jam will make it crazier.
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This Ain’t No Picnic: Your Punk Rock Vegan Cookbook

Microcosm Publishing
Published by Microcosm Publishing, purveyor of DIY publications from health guides to left-leaning political zines, This Ain’t No Picnic is “Your Punk Rock Vegan Cookbook.” With pierced tongue in cheek,...
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A six course vegan dinner I made. Thanks, Heather!
8.6.2011 by zeenes on Flickr.
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Tips for storing food so that it lasts longer and gets wasted less!
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The Magic in Madison
I haven't cooked in Madison in a while... and I hadn't done a proper dinner party there ever. It was a real treat to get to go there and cook at my friend Mickey Walker's place for about 24 people, using a lot of great local and organic produce and some very, very local (like foraged by her sister) ingredients. Being a pretty accomplished chef herself, Mickey and I tag teamed the courses (she is a veteran of San Diego locals Tiger and Blind Lady as well as some bay area joints) and it was terrific! Night time backyard magic on fresh-wet from the thunderstorm ground.
We started out with my broiled peach stuffed with chile-agave quinoa with corn salad and herb relish.
Mickey made a fresh watermelon salad with chile pepitas, cucumber, arugula, herbs, lime and homemade soft almond cheeze that was to die for.
​As part of my continued efforts to make people appreciate mush properly, I contributed a tasty roasted cauliflower-pea puree with rhubarb greens and toasted sesame. Mush-a-riffic!
​Not to be outdone by some old mush, Mickey countered with a spectacular homemade tofu ravioli with fig, hazelnut, microgreens, herb pesto and balsamic reduction. Shazzam!
Got so caught up wizzarding a Tempeh-Summer Squash Phyllo Pie with Pickle Marinated Mushrooms, Seared Tomatoes, and Ground Cherries. I didn't get a proper before picture but here is someone enjoying it.
​Oh there they are!
​Mickey finished out this fine evening with a succulent peach upside down cake with cinnamon hickory nut ice creem, caramel sauce and an elderberry coulis.
And here's Mickey!
​Say yes to the mess! That's how you know it was any good!
Broiled Peaches with Quinoa, Corn and Herbs...
Let's make 4...
Halve two peaches , place them pit-free in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt. Broil on hi for 5-10 minutes, until they look good to you.
Take 1 C. cooked quinoa and mix with 2 tsp. agave, salt and pepper to taste, a little oil, 2 Tbsp. minced red onion, couple pinches of coriander, 1 Tbsp. minced parsley, a little minced sage and 2 tsp. minced roasted chile.
Toss 1/2 C. corn kernels with 1/2 C. mixed minced bell peppers, 1 minced garlic clove, salt to taste, a little minced cilantro, a sprinkle of lime juice and a pinch or two of chili powder
Mix 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. lime juice, 2 Tbsp. minced scallion, 1 Tbsp. minced cilantro, 1 Tbsp. minced parsley and salt to taste
Scoop quinoa into warm peach half, top with corn salad and then herb relish.
Variations: add tomatillos to the quinoa, drizzle at the end with chile infused agave, add chopped blackened cactus to the corn
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Bananas in the Twin Cities
A few weeks ago I got to enjoy the Twin Cities again, which I love doing a couple of times a year.
The week-long visit was bookended by Dinner and Bikes in St. Paul, which was lovely and sold out.
Hosted at Bang Brewery, which had some very interesting organic beers with some cryptic names...
Nice, Good, Minn and Neat. Lots of bikes and a pretty nifty looking building, which gave me designs
on living in a feed tower.
The other bookend was at another Josh's house, which was fun except I burned my hand super bad and
also I thought it was closer to where I was staying than it was so I wound up walking over 3 miles
in devastating heat and humidity, dragging my bag along behind. Luckily, they were super cool and
biked off to fetch me some great local organic produce, plus I got to raid the garden. Yay Josh power!
Made a delicious cajun/creole themed menu that included a variation on bananas foster where I placed
the bananas in a pie pan in a great, towering coil. Recipe follows...
BANANA SNAKE BAKE
12 bananas (the more the more fun!)
3/4 C. brown sugar
a little minced ginger
1/4 C. rum
pinch or two salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
a little lemon juice
a touch of cinnamon and clove
For this, get an 8" pie pan and grease it. Lay down bananas in a coil pattern, layering with sprinkles
of the other ingredients until tall. Pack in that brown sugar up top (use more if need be). Sprinkle
with some rum and spices and then broil the sucker until it is nice n browned. A few not too severe
blackened spots are fine. If you want to light this puppy up you're on your own.
I served it with coconut-banana ice cream that I made, which was mainly coconut and bananas with
some orange juice and brown sugar in it pureed til smooth and soft frozen (remember to stir it
a few times!).
The fabulous banana dish...
The precooked banana dish:
Hush puppies! No really... shut up!
Salad? What's that? Kale, sweet peppers, heirloom tomatoes and cinnamon vinaigrette are among the features.
​Cookin' up some mushroom-bean-pecan patties!
​Greens, eggplant jambalaya and so much more...
This burn was far worse than it looks here, thanks to the broiler...
Bikes!Bikes!Bikes!
Bang Brewery in St. Paul, site of dinner and bikes and a beer called "Nice"...
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Cacao!
Got a new book all about chocolate! Vegan dietician Matt Ruscigno breaks down the history, nutrition info, and deliciousness of cacao/chocolate while I back him up with 75 mostly savory recipes and some witty banter. A must have!
Get it here...
http://www.qbookshop.com/products/213765/9781592336104/Superfoods-for-Life-Cacao.html
Here's a quick recipe from the book:
GREEN BEANS AMANDINE WITH DARK CHOCOLATE
2 C. green beans
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
1/2 C. sliced almonds
2 Tbsp. olive oil (or other favorite oil)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar with 1 tsp. grated dark chocolate melted into it
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
2 oz. chopped dark chocolate
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Saute the green beans, salt, and almonds in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook for
5 minutes more or until the almonds are browning nicely. Remove from heat and toss with the other ingredients. Serve warm.
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Dinner + Bikes 2014, Part Two: DINNER! Starring the beer-nursing Joshua Ploeg
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"Joshua's punk rock attitude and delicious recipes helped me stay on the vegan path in my early days."
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Three weeks ago I sent out a teaser e-mail to a group of area eaters to gauge interest in a potential dinner at my house with Joshua Ploeg...
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