Decay States

Great news!! Peter Gizzi has come through and the new collected Spicer is slated to be published on Sept. 30th by Wesleyan Press. Pre-order here.

From ‘Love Poems’ (1964)

Do the flowers change as I touch your skin?
They are merely buttercups. No sign of death in them. They die
and you know by their death that it is no longer summer.
Baseball season.
Actually
I don’t remember ever touching your back when there were
flowers (buttercups and dandelions there) waiting to die.
The end of summer
The baseball season finished. The
Bumble-bee there cruising over a few poor flowers.
They have cut the ground from under us. The touch
Of your hands on my back. The Giants
Winning 93 games
Is as impossible
In spirit
As the grass we might walk on.

This curry takes a little while to prepare, but it’s worth it! Definitely one of my favorites and totally a hit for when you’re having company. I’ve tweaked it quite a bit since I came up with the original recipe a few months back. It’s got a great, complex spiciness which is nicely offset by the fresh cilantro and sourness of the amchur. Enjoy!!

Begin by combining 1 cup masoor dal (red lentils) with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 mins, until very soft. Begin preparing the other ingredients at this time.

Combine in a deep, non-stick saucepan:
1 t ajwain seeds
1 t cumin seeds
1/2 t nigella seeds
1/2 t fenugreek seeds
1/2 t coriander seeds
1 T oil

Heat seeds and oil over medium-high heat until they begin to sizzle. Then add 1/2 t amchur, 1 t sambar which has been mixed with a little water to make a paste. Let paste simmer for 10 seconds then add 2 C chopped eggplant, stir thoroughly, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook eggplant covered until it releases its water and begins to soften and break down. Dust eggplant with coriander and cayenne powders and set aside.

In the same saucepan, combine:
1 t cumin seeds
1/2 t ajwain seeds
pinch fenugreek seeds
pinch nigella seeds
pinch coriander seeds
1 t black mustard seeds
3 green cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
pinch hing
1 T oil

Heat seeds until they begin to pop then quickly add a pinch of sanchal combined with 1 t coriander and 1/2 t cayenne powders mixed with water to form a paste. When the paste begins to sputter add 1 medium chopped onion and stir. Saute the onion for 7 mins adding a little water if necessary. When onion is softened add 2 chopped red chilies (preferrably Gaujillo). Saute for 3 minutes then add 2 T ginger/garlic paste (recipe for this versatile paste can be found here). By now the lentils should be cooked. Add them along with their water to the onion/pepper mixture + 1 cup water. With and immersion blender, liquefy all ingredients in the pan then bring to a boil. While heating, puree 2 medium tomatoes and 1 red chile in a food processor or blender. Add this mixture to the pot along with 3 T tomato paste.. Stir well and lower heat. Next, add:

1 t coriander powder
1 t cumin powder
1 t garam masala
1 t cayenne
1 t fenugreek powder
1/2 t coriander powder
1/2 t amchur
1/2 t ground black pepper
1 t salt
1/2 t sanchal
2 t castor sugar

Add reserved eggplant and 1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro at this time and stir well. Cover and heat on low heat for 7 minutes until heated through. Garnish with more fresh chopped cilantro. This goes especially great with saffron rice and bhatura or naan.

“Ottoman Black” is my first sustained exposure to the meticulously refined soundworlds of Jason Crumer, having heard from him just once before via his appearance on last year’s “L.O.D.” compilation released by Jeff Witscher’s Callow God imprint. I must say, I’m thoroughly impressed, not to mention a bit baffled. The compositions on “Ottoman” range from bracingly direct, clear harsh electronics, to ringing bell tone drones and disorienting field recordings. The album is, as a whole, remarkably cohesive, with dense, extraordinarily loud harsh noise workouts expertly juxtaposed alongside silences which are made to seem almost louder. Elsewhere, snippets of rapidly panning voice and found sound clatter rub up against simply gorgeous, choral drone works. I really can’t recommend this one enough.

Clip: “After Betrayal”

Dalcha is a tangy, rich curry made by the people of Hyderabad. Usually it is prepared with lamb, my vegan version uses spicy, mace-laced boiled tempeh. Tempeh is great here because it breaks down a bit with the dal and makes the curry extra creamy.

Seasoned Tempeh
8-12oz tempeh
2x red chilies
1 t ground mace
1 T olive oil
1/3 C tamari
1 cinnamon stick
1 whole peeled garlic clove

Boil the tempeh and above-listed ingredients in a medium sized pot, strain, remove cinnamon stick, garlic and chilies. Season tempeh with cayenne (optional) and set aside.

Dalcha
1 C chana dal
1 C toor dal
1 t turmeric
3x green chilies, chopped
2 T chopped cilantro

Wash the dal (soak the chana for an hour or two beforehand if possible) and combine with the turmeric, chilies, cilantro and 8 C water and bring to a boil in a large pot, simmer for about an hour and a half. When the dal is soft, liquefy with an immersion blender until thick and creamy. While the dal is cooking, in another large, nonstick pot, prepare the vegetables.

3 T cold pressed canola oil
1 large onion
1 T cumin seed
1 T coriander seed
pinch of hing
3 green chilies, chopped
1 T tamarind paste
2 T cilantro, chopped
6 cloves
6 green cardamom pods
1 t garam masala
2 t ground cayenne
3 t ginger-garlic paste (see note)
3 medium tomatoes coursely chopped

Heat the oil, hing and seeds and add onions when seeds begin to sizzle. Saute the onions for 5-7 minutes before adding the chilies, cilantro, cloves, cardamom, garam masala, cayenne and ginger-garlic paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes then add tomatoes and tamarind. Cook for 5 minutes then add the reserved seasoned tempeh. Stir well and simmer for 1 minute. Next, add the onion/tomato/tempeh mixture to the dalcha and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve with plenty of rice. This is great with a nice biryani.

*Note: Ginger garlic paste is a versatile mixture which imparts a great, tangy flavor and will keep for up to 5 days. To make, simply puree 4 peeled garlic cloves together with 1 2″ piece of peeled ginger, adding water as needed.*

I FINALLY managed to get my hands on a copy of Mirror’s “Nights” LP, which is, far and away, my favorite Mirror record and certainly one of my absolute favorite releases featuring the inimitable Mr. Andrew Chalk. Check the clip and you’re sure to see why.

Side A (excerpt)

I threw this vegan yogurt curry together the other night, came out quite well.

Spiced Seitan

9 oz seitan, minced finely
1 peeled whole garlic clove
2x dried red chilies
1/2 t sanchal
1/3 C tamari or soy sauce
1 T olive oil
1 cinnamon stick

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring to boil and cook for 5 mins, then drain, remove the chilies and garlic, dust with coriander powder and cayenne and set aside.

The Curry

1 lg onion, finely chopped
1 or 2 green chilies (such as serranos)
3/4″ piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped1 t cumin seed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 t coriander seed
1/2 t black peppercorns
pinch of hing
2 T canola or vegetable oil

Heat the oil, seeds and hing and saute the vegetables until the onions are translucent. Then add:

2x large tomatoes, pureed
4 T tomato paste
1 t ground cumin
1 t garam masala
3/4 t fenugreek powder
1/2 t ground cardamom
1/2-1 t cayenne
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t turmeric
1.5-2 t salt (to taste)
2 t castor (or regular) sugar

Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-5 mins, then add

spiced seitan
3/4 C plain soy yogurt
1/2 C fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Heat through and cook on medium-low heat for 5 mins to allow spices to blend.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with plenty of basmati rice and chapati or naan.

Coming soon!!

“The Sporting Life”

The trouble with comparing a poet with a radio is that radios
don’t develop scar tissue. The tubes burn out, or with a
transistor, which most souls are, the battery or diagram
burns out replaceable or not replaceable, but not like that
punchdrunk fighter in a bar. The poet

Takes too many messages. The right to the ear that floored him
in New Jersey. The right to say that he stood six rounds with
a champion.

Then they sell beer or go on sporting commissions, or, if the
scar tissue is too heavy, demonstrate in a bar where the
invisible champions might not have hit him. Too many of
them.

The poet is a radio. The poet is a liar. The poet is a
counterpunching radio.

And those messages (God would not damn them) do not even
know they are champions.

(from Language, 1964)