Wild Gravity: A David Byrne Recipe and Playlist

Welcome back to the wonderful weekly reason to be cheerful, Miss Nati’s Music Box, Episode Seven!

We are so grateful to be diving back in with one of our favorite creative humans, the indomitable David Byrne. David Byrne has the utmost curiosity for all things in life, and it shows through his books which range from architecture and music to bike-riding. It shows through his music, creative explorations that range from simple pop melodies to experimental, theatrical art-funk. And it shows through his website and lecture series, Reasons to be Cheerful , which he curates passionately, under the uncommon notion that uplifting, honest news can change the world.

Knowing that he has never lost sight of this dedication to offbeat culture and style, it comes as no surprise that Byrne favors eclectic dining experiences and foods. However due to the sheer magnitude of projects he busies himself with, he often boxes up leftovers to consume later, when he is actually able to sit down to eat.

When he is able to cook for himself, the famously small kitchens of Manhattan prove difficult to work with. Despite these culinary roadblocks, he has found an answer in the simple flavorful Latin American staple: Sofrito.

“If you can master a basic sofrito, then pretty much anything tastes amazing”

For the Renaissance man who makes the whole world a little more cheerful, here is a simple Sofrito that you can add to top stews, soups, meat dishes or salads, for them to make a little more sense.

Basic Sofrito:

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large green bell peppers

• 3 large Spanish onions

• 2 bags of aji dulce (about 10 peppers) OR 1 red bell pepper

• 1 head of garlic, peeled

• 1 large bunch of cilantro

• 1/2 bunch of recao (about 15 leaves)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Remove stems and seeds from bell peppers. Cut into quarters.

2. Peel the onion and cut into quarters.

3. Remove stems and seeds from aji dulce.

4. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until finely minced.

5. Store in airtight container in refrigerator if using within a few weeks.

6. Or, freeze in small portions (about 1-2 heaping tablespoons) for later use. Ice cube trays work well for this. After frozen, store sofrito cubes in an airtight freezer bag and use as needed. No need to thaw before cooking.

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Cup of Clouds: A Kate Bush Recipe + Playlist

Hello Dreamers!

It’s hard to fully understand the enigma that is Kate Bush, our tremendous featured artist this week. As a listener, it is arresting to hear music that is so singular, so free from convention, that you find it sounds absolutely like nothing you’ve ever heard before.

Kate Bush is such an artist, with her acrobatic melodies that soar and dive. Her inquisitive, imaginative storytelling on subjects such as war, politics, dreaming, sexuality, and loss; subjects which were often too daunting or simply not considered by many musicians of her time, especially women. Her full artistic control and exploration in the writing, production, musicality, choreography and performance aspects of her work that has mesmerized listeners for decades. 

To possess such qualities with such conviction and determination is no small feat in a world that demands women to conform, lest they be ridiculed or dismissed. And Kate had her fair share of critics, unable to reconfigure their ears to listen to such an unusual stylistic expression, or simply scornful of her inability to mold herself into one genre. Nevertheless, she has inspired decades of musicians across the world to experiment with melody and dance in ways that are true to themselves and not convention.

With the magnitude of Kate Bush’s music, the imagination soars to new heights. Yet these stories of army dreamers, hounds of love, and machines that make it rain, these stem from the vivid imagination of a girl from an ordinary upper middle class family from Kent, England. I love to imagine Kate sitting in her parents sweet smelling garden, drinking a cup of tea and daydreaming up the stories that would one day become musical scripture for admirers around the world. 

Below you will find this week’s featured recipe, an homage to the girl from Kent who was known to drink endless cups of tea, which I’d imagine helped fuel her vivid, creative imagination.

Proper Cuppa English Tea

I prefer PG Tips tea, however you can use any good black tea, in tea bags or loose leaf. 

1. Boil Water. Make sure to use fresh filtered water, as anything else will affect the taste of your cup. 

2. While you’re waiting for your water to boil, prepare the tea. If you’re using loose leaf tea, the rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon of tea per cup in addition to one extra teaspoon for the pot itself. Loose leaf tea is also often steeped from within a diffuser to maintain quality. Or, you can use one PG Tips tea bag per cup. 

3. Once the water has boiled, slowly pour it in your cup, and then give it a good stir.

4. Wait two to three minutes for the flavor to fully develop. If you remove the tea leaves too early, your tea will be weak, if you leave it in for too long, it will be too bitter. 

Meditate on how brilliant Kate Bush is. Take out the milk and sugar. Try to imitate the sound of a bird call. That’s plenty of time.

5. Add the milk and/or sugar. I have disagreed with plenty of English friends on the use of sugar in tea. I enjoy it, some find it blasphemous. Make your choice solemnly. 

6. Here is a perfectly cream tinted cup of tea:

Enjoy your cuppa while listening to this playlist:

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Viking Porridge: A Moondog Recipe + Playlist

Greetings, Vikings! 

Welcome to this week’s episode of Miss Nati’s Music Box, in which we dive into the fascinating world of Moondog, aka Louis Hardin. To some New Yorkers, Moondog was a regular sight on the corner of 6th Avenue, dressed head to toe in Viking attire, writing poetry, and begging for spare change. Yet to others, he was a prolific composer admired by the likes of Philip Glass and Igor Stravinsky. Despite receiving bountiful praise, Moondog remained modest and humble, choosing to stay on his usual street corner and compose his signature percussive pieces. The result is a beautiful rhythmic tapestry of New York City, documented with love and dedication by one of its most vibrant characters. 

I’ve listened to the percussive sounds of “ On The Streets of New York” many times this week, and I continue to be fascinated by his skillful weaving of the modern city bustle with rhythmic sounds of handmade drums and bells. 

I’ve been thinking about New York, and the fierce solidarity there right now. The clapping, noise-making, and whistle blowing from balconies, which started as a gesture to thank service workers, and has now become so common that it’s become a beacon, a moment of holiness and unity for all. I’m grateful for the residents in a Lower East Side high rise blasting Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”, and others joining together on balconies to chant the famous rhymes of Brooklyn’s own Notorious B.I.G. 

This deep love for the city is reflected by this weeks artist, who led the happy, simple life of a street performer for nearly his whole life. Who continued to make instruments out of cabinet materials even after CBS gave him a full orchestra and released an album of his work. Who left the New York Philharmonic because they requested he take off his quintessential viking outfit. Moondog was truest to himself and his city, and that showed powerfully through his music, his attire, and his way of life. To honor him this week, we have a Viking Porridge, adapted from a Danish 1994 book on Vikings. It is both a nod to Moondog, who was known to enjoy a bowl of porridge on occasion, as well as a nod to his expressive style.

The Viking family's porridge (4-6 servings)

Measurements are given in cups. One cup=1 ½ dl or about 90 g flour.

10-15 cups of water

Two cups of chopped wheat kernels. Let them soak over-night so they won't be so hard to chew.

Two cups pearl barley

A handful whole grain wheat flour

A handful crushed kernels of nuts

3-4 tablespoons of honey

A healthy portion of apple bits, hippells, pears or....

1. Put the chopped wheat kernels, wheat flour, pearl barley and crushed nuts in the kettle. Pour 10 cups of water in the kettle and place on the fire.

2. Stir the porridge evenly and turn the kettle to spread the heat. If the porridge starts to get too thick, pour more water in it.

3. After about ½ hour add the honey, nuts and fruit. The porridge should now cook until the fruit is wet and the porridge has the desired consistency. It should take 15-30 minutes.

4. It should be served warm, possibly with some cold cream.

Be sure to check out this weeks playlist below while your porridge cooks! Let this simple Viking meal revive you this week. Perhaps so that you can get to work writing your next symphony...

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Kimchi Power: A Yoko Ono Recipe + Playlist

This weeks artist asks us all to return to the pure beauty of little things. She calls for us to pull out a piece of paper and trace that ant line. Then find a friend and whisper a dream we had last night in their ear. Or maybe you could find it absolutely fascinating to cut a grapefruit in half and observe how each portion is so intricately made by nature. Then, could you make a play about it? Then, could you tear up the play, sprinkle it on the earth, and see what grows? Yoko Ono says YES.

Yes to the bizarre and impossible! To making music and art as a radical act of peace. To returning to connection among people. To the glorious simplicity of everything in this world. 

And her palette of course, reflected that: 

“I don’t eat quantity...just a little bowl of rice and kimchi will do for my lunch. Kimchi is my favorite thing...I feel the best when I am just eating good, fresh vegetables.” - Yoko Ono 

In her honor, here is my own recipe for Kimchi (adapted from this one). Kimchi is a Korean culinary staple, and very healthy, and my wish is that this will be an adequate tribute to her favorite lunch: 

Kimchi  

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs Napa or green cabbage

• 1 lb Korean or daikon radish

• 2 quarts filtered water

• 6 Tbsp fine sea salt or kosher salt

• 5 organic green onions

• 4-5 cloves organic garlic

• 1 piece organic ginger root

• ¼ to ½ cup dried kochukaru pepper powder

• 1 Tbsp fish sauce

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Soak the chopped cabbage and radish in water with the salt for two hours until it wilts.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients until they make a smooth paste. 

3. Immerse the cabbage/radish in the paste until thoroughly covered. 

4. Let sit in a dark place for five days.

5. Eat with a small bowl of jasmine rice and a glass of orange juice with grated ginger! 

“When I come home from a long trip abroad, I drink orange juice with grated ginger and garlic mixed. That just revives you.” - YOKO ONO

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Moon Stew: A Sun Ra Recipe + Playlist

In this week’s episode of Miss Nati’s Music Box we entered a new dimension. Our spacecraft drifting by the moons of Saturn, with the faint sounds of experimental jazz drifting through the portholes. Miss Nati is our fearless leader as we make strides into musical territories unheard of by our curious ears. But all good astronauts need a good meal right? Well, we’ve got you covered with this special recipe for Moon Stew and a playlist to listen to as you chop all these delicious ingredients.

“You can’t say, ‘One teaspoon of this, or one teaspoon of that.’ Like a musician, you improvise. It’s like being on a spirit plane; you put the proper things in without knowing why. It comes out wonderful when it’s done like that. If you plan it, it doesn’t work.” - SUN RA

As reported by the food blog A Slice of Earthly Delight, the unharmonized melody goes like this:

Sun Ra’s Moon Stew

Ingredients:

• Green Peppers

• Onions

• Garlic

• Okra

• Tomatoes

• Corn

• Flour

• Butter or Vegetable Oil

• Broth (chicken or vegetable)

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• Sincerity

• Love

1) Chop the vegetables.

2) Bring the broth to a simmer on the stove while making a rue. To make the rue, melt the butter or vegetable oil in a pan and add flour, stirring until it reaches the consistency of wet sand. Stir a little of the broth into the rue and then add the rue into the broth.

3) Add the vegetables, salt, pepper, sincerity, and love to the broth.

4) Cook for at least one hour and serve to family and friends!

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Thunder Bread: A Bjork Recipe + Playlist

This week, we submerge ourselves in depths of moss green, cobalt blue and icy white. Emerging from this stark landscape come cooed melodies like lullabies, intermingled with polyphonic vocal layers, growls and glitches. With these layers of ambient sound and sweeping vocals like a thunderstorm, we arrive at this week's artist: the formidable BJORK. Dive into the world of this trailblazing creator with our very own Miss Nati and special guest and expert, the robot LP3000! 

When Bjork’s not creating innovative, genre-bending music and narrating the tiny world inside her TV, we imagine she enjoys Icelandic comfort food in her home kitchen. When asked about her earliest memory, Bjork answered:

“Being driven to kindergarten by my grandfather. Helping the caretakers there hand out slices of rye bread, thinking I was one of them.”

To honor this week's artist and her affection for Iceland, below you will find a recipe for Icealandic Rye Bread from Recipe for Adventures. One of the most fascinating and unique things about this traditional bread is that it’s cooked underground in Iceland using geothermal energy, instead of in an oven. To emulate this process, the recipe requires a longer cooking time at a lower temperature. Give it a try! 

Icelandic Rye Loaf a.k.a. “Thunder Bread”

An interpretation of the Icelandic rye bread that is baked in the ground by geothermal activity.

 Prep Time 15 minutes

 Cook Time 5 hours

 Total Time 5 hours 15 minutes

 Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 320 grams rye flour

• 85 grams all-purpose flour

• 200 grams sugar

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 500 mL milk

Instructions

1. Mix together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add milk. Mix together. Dough will be very wet.

2. Heavily butter a pot and pour dough inside.

3. Bake at 120 degrees Celsius with a lid on the pot for five and a half hours, or until bread is cooked in the middle.

There you have it~ Traditional Icelandic Rye Bread! So hit play on our special Bjork playlist we made just for you, twist your hair into some marvelous buns, and let’s get baking! 

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ONE THOUSAND SUNS

A mini fete celebrating the music of Yoko Ono. Performed by students and teachers at Kalabash School of Music + the Arts in the seaside neighborhood of Bird Rock, La Jolla California. Oct 19th, 2019.

(NOTHING BUT) FLOWERS

WE LEARNT TUNES WRITTEN BY DAVID BYRNE + TALKING HEADS AND THREW A BIG PARTY! THE MOST AMBITIOUS MUSICAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN OUR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS YET! WHAT A MAGICAL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

FEATURED STUDENT: LILOU

Hello! My name is Lilou Vega. I’m 12 years of age. I’ve been learning guitar for 12 months. I love it because the sound makes me happy. My teachers name is Lexi. She’s so cool because she always makes jokes, smiles, and she is very patient. My favorite part about Kalabash is that I get to do music and that the teachers are great! One day I hope to become a singer or be in a musical. I like the sound of the guitar. I like the look of the piano. I like the taste of something sour. I like the feel of confidence and proudness. If I could teleport anywhere in the world it’d be Italy because I’ve always wanted to go there and discover everything about it. Advice to my fellow humans: never give up; follow your dreams; don’t let words bring you down; and finally, the most important one, save the planet!!! aka don’t pollute.

We are happy to announce Lilou as our Featured Student! This is what her teacher has to say about her:

“Lilou is a joy to know and work with. Since our first lesson, she has demonstrated a great respect and appreciation for guitar and singing that shines through in her lessons and performances. Lilou is open-minded and resilient with new challenges, and her deep connection with music is inspiring to witness.”

-Lexi Pulido

FEATURED STUDENT: LILY

Hello! My name is Lily. I’m 5 years of age. I’ve been learning piano, and singing for 12 months. I love it because of Miss Nancy! She’s so cool because she is special. My favorite part about Kalabash is the piano. One day I hope to be a rock star. I love the sound of the piano. I like the look of the drums. I like the taste of pistachios and goldfish. I like the feeling of my mommy’s skin. If I could teleport anywhere in the world it’d be New York because I have never been before and I want to check it out. Advice to my fellow humans: Don’t be bossy!

We are happy to announce Lily as our Featured Student! This is what her teacher has to say about her:

“Lily has such a heart for music. She allows her creativity and imagination to lead her through her singing and piano playing. She works hard in an effortless way because she always allows the hard and sometimes repetitive work to be fun and exciting! Lily steps outside of her comfort zone and does things that she may have never done before, or may initially think is silly, hard or scary because she trusts herself, and knows that with hard work, you can get better at anything! Lily is a Rock Star!!”
  -Nancy Ross

Summer Adventures

The summer is sprinting by and there is much left to do! In the midst of the summer camps, beach trips, and travels, take a moment to enjoy the wonderful city where we all live! San Diego has so much to offer, and our teachers have put together a list of their favorite gems around the city. Take a look and let us know which places you enjoyed!

Antojitos Colombianos- try arepa con queso at this Colombian restaurant in Logan Heights

Cafe Bassam- stop by for tea and baklava in Hillcrest

Marian Bear Memorial Park- escape from the city into these trails located under the 805

It’s Raw Poke Shop- try out some Hawaiian food in Ocean Beach

Pho Duyen Mai- a highly rated Vietnamese restaurant in Kearny Mesa

Friends of Cats- cat shelter where you can go and play with the cats for free and even adopt!

Liberty Public Market- hip eateries, specialty food & craft vendors hidden in Liberty Station

Sunday Family Film Nights- films shown in the Piazza della Famiglia in Little Italy

Awash Ethiopian Market + Restaurant- try traditional Ethiopian food on El Cajon Boulevard

Sea Cave Kayaking in La Jolla- no experience required! Kayak through the caves!

Little Italy Mercato Farmers’ Market- Saturdays from 8am-2pm on W. Date Street from Kettner Blvd to Front St

“if we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet…”

-Rachel wolchin

One with Yoko Ono!

With the joy and memory of our wonderful David Byrne celebration still swimming in our heads, we are thrilled to announce our next event of the same spirit! This fall we’ll be diving into the art, performance and song of Yoko Ono. Now, you might not know much about this prolific female artist, maybe you just think of her as Lennon’s wife? No judgments from us…You’ve got time and we’ve got resources to help you discover and fall in love with the one and only Yoko. For starters…take a listen to this hand picked playlist of some of our favorite jams for all ages!

These are our favorite family friendly jams for all ages from the one and ono! We love you Yoko!