Culture and Education in Modern Art at the Broad Museum

Angry Because its Plaster Not Milk, 1965, Edward Ruscha

What do you do at a museum when you know you've only got an hour to cover the whole facility?  Take lots of pictures and read the signs at home in your photos....What do you do when the subject is one you're not entirely familiar with?  Take selfies for your facebook profile. 

The Broad Museum downtown Los Angeles is one of the newest cultural establishments that are free and open to the public.  It's been around long enough to gnaw at me that I haven't been, so I finally went online for tickets, thinking I would go in six or eight weeks.  To my surprise, I got a four pack of tickets for the following Saturday at 7pm!  Less than a week to wait.  Later I realized the museum closed at eight, so I might rather have waited a month or so for available tickets that were earlier in the day.  But we had the tickets, so my friends and I went, thinking we'd get an overview and learn how to schedule a repeat trip. 

To my surprise, I did make it around to all the exhibits, though I probably would have lingered longer if I were not concerned about the closing time.  My favorite, of course, was the Jeff Koons, both the Balloon Dog and the Tulips, but there were so many great installations.  Most of what spoke to me came from their permanent collection.  The lower floor was a temporary exhibit called "Oracle," about the complexity of the systems that underlie our world.  The middle floor of the Broad is composed of their vault, where they store the collections not on view.  Interestingly, this area is exposed through a glass elevator and portals in the wall of the stairwell, so that the public can see how their operations work.  The upper 3rd level houses the permanent collection on view.

Oracle Exhibit Summary

Review, 2016, Andreas Gursky, part of "Oracle" exhibit

Untitled (You are a Very Special Person), 1995, Barbara Kruger

Why?, 1990, Christopher Wool

Untitled (Men in the Cities Ellen), 1981, Robert Longo

Balloon Dog Blue, 1994-2000, Jeff Koons

Balloon Dog Blue, 1994-2000, Jeff Koons

Jeff Koons Artist Statement

Tulips, 1995-2004, Jeff Koons

Black Flowers, 1961, Roy Lichtenstein

Mirror No. 1, 1969, Roy Lichtenstein

Green Blue Red, 1963, Ellsworth Kelly

Hustle n Punch by Kaikai and Kiki, 2009, Takashi Murakami

Untitled (Your Body is A Battleground), 1989, Barbara Kruger

Campbell's Soup Can (Clam Chowder Manhattan Style), 1962, Andy Warhol

Two Marilyns, 1962, Andy Warhol

Under the Table, 1994, Robert Therrien

Artist Statement of Under the Table, 1994, Robert Therrien

Angry Because its Plaster Not Milk, 1965, Edward Ruscha

Broad Museum Vault, portal in staircase

Lemon Curd & Nutmeg Acorn Squash

Last week, the temperatures were in the high seventies and low eighties.  Today, we topped 108 degrees, according to the thermostat in my car.  I could taste fall last week, and imagined all the wonderful flavors coming so soon.  So I picked up an acorn squash at the grocery.  

Easy to make and lovely in presentation, this dish is so aromatic it will catch your attention long before it reaches the table.  It's a great side for a special occasion like Thanksgiving, but need not be saved for company. 

Lemon Curd & Nutmeg Acorn Squash

Cook the squash as you normally would - I typically slice lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, then invert into an 8x10 inch pyrex pan with about a quarter inch of water in the bottom.  I then bake at 325 degrees for about forty minutes. 

Once cooked, take the squash halves out of the water bath, turning them right-side up.  Add a pat or two of butter, a generous tablespoon of lemon curd, and a sprinkling of nutmeg.  Broil for 5 minutes until bubbly.  Top with toasted hazelnuts or pine nuts for extra decadence.

{Vegan} Bacon-Roasted Chickpea Snacks

Confession:  I don't love popcorn.  It gets stuck in my teeth.  It has little flavor, unless doused in butter.  I'd prefer to eat my butter straight, by the stick.  So I've been looking for a healthy movie snack.  And I think I might have found it:  Bacon-Roasted Chickpeas. 

I adapted a recipe from CoinnisseurusVeg.  Which is to say, I added Trader Joe's "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning because, Why not?  Seriously, don't you like your weekend breakfast bacon on an everything bagel?  The flavors are naturally complementary.  Although I don't eat meat, I've been growing accustomed to the umami flavoring of smoke.  This recipe utilizes it to its best effect.  I can absolutely see serving these as an appetizer on the back patio alongside a good Merlot and the traditional cheese and dried apricot tray. 

Another thing I love about this homemade snack is the scale.  One can of chickpeas makes just enough for one person to graze upon.  If you're making this for a family movie night, I definitely suggest tripling the recipe.  Or quadrupling it.  Or even just for yourself.  The original recipe suggested using a 9x13 baking pan or jelly roll sheet pan, but I found my small plate and toaster oven perfectly sized.  I first made the marinade/brine in a bowl large enough hold the beans.  As I rinsed the canned chickpeas and removed the coating, I dropped them into the brine, whisking every once in a while.  It took ten or fifteen minutes to de-hull the entire can, so by the time I'd finished, most of the chickpeas had been marinating for a while.  I think this "soaking time" made the snack extra flavorful.  My addition of bagel seasoning was mildly successful -- the sesames and chunky herbs didn't stick to the beans, but I do think they flavored them.  And the seasonings will be in the handful at the bottom of the bowl.  Next time I may add the bagel seasoning after the chickpeas are roasted so that they don't get burned. 

One final note:  I think this is the type of recipe that takes repeat practice to know your own oven and the level of crunchiness you like in your snack.  I don't like overly dry, hard nuts, so I tended towards under-baking these for the first time around.  Also, I thought they might (air) dry out a little more in the few days before I take them to the movie theater.  Having experimented, I think I'll roast them a little longer next time around.  But you may feel differently.  And you may be working with a regular oven, rather than my toaster version. 

Bacon-Roasted Chickpeas

1 Can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained 

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Liquid Smoke

1 Tsp Maple Syrup

1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbsp TJ's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

Mix all liquids in a bowl big enough to hold the beans.  Remove the hulls from the chickpeas after rinsing them, placing the beans in the marinade, and whisk occasionally.  Lastly, add the bagel seasoning.  Mix all to coat.  Dump the beans in a pan or plate with a lip.  Pour any remaining liquid over the beans.  Spread flat as possible.  Roast at 350 for about 40 minutes, stirring every ten minutes for the first half hour.  After 30 minutes stir at five minute intervals.  Let cool before storing in tupperware or glass jar. 

Cooking with Teens from The Fitness Gourmet and Melissa's Produce

Patricia Greenberg, known as The Fitness Gourmet, has co-authored a new cookbook with her daughter, Gabriella Grunfeld, that reminds us how easy it is for teens to navigate the kitchen in a healthy and scrumptious way.  Patricia came to present her cookbook, "Scrumptious Sandwiches, Salads, and Snacks," with a food demo at Melissa's Produce that included a sampling of the recipes, a signing, and talk of nutrition and of self-publishing.  The fifty recipes in the book stress using ingredients you already have in your kitchen.

Our tasting prepared by the wonderful Melissa's staff included a Mustard Egg Salad served on toast.  It was later demonstrated by Patrica and a couple of tween/teens from the audience.  The Sauteed Corn and Blueberry Salad featured a combination of bursting flavors that I would never have thought to pair.  It was a delicious surprise!  But my favorite recipe in the cookbook is by far the Chocolate Carrot Truffle.  Filled with cocoa, the hidden nutrition of the carrot is completely sublimated.  

Sauteed Corn and Blueberry Salad

Patricia was gracious and transparently open with her audience, sharing the story of the book's family publication, with a brother designing the graphics.  Her multi-generational home is kosher and often used for entertaining; spanning such a wide variety of situations has provided Patricia with a wealth of ideas.  As a nutritionist, Patricia stressed the flexibility of her recipes, which often re-used ingredients in new flavor profiles. 

Vegetable Quinoa Salad

Chocolate Carrot Truffle

One great feature of "Scrumptious Sandwiches..." is the nutrition profiles of each recipe.  Patricia explained that the FDA is revising food label requirements as of 2018.  The changes are meant to bring to the forefront the serving size for each portion, as well as the calorie count.  Patricia worked with a company to formulate labels for each of her recipes in accordance with the new standards far in advance of the requirement. 

This cookbook is one that will encourage a teen who might already be comfortable in the kitchen to widen their scope and hold healthy eating standards.  It's also a great going away gift for a college student moving into their first apartment.