lines + lines

Vegan Cookie Alert

Reader, as you may know from the various...copious complaints penned on these pages, our part of South Brooklyn can be a bit skint when it comes to catering to the vegan crowd. Yes, we now have the bizarre/glorious Maimonide, the Usher-approved Sun in Bloom is near our office and awesome for lunch or weekend brunch, and—though its menu is belabored with meaty dishes—the hot new Columbia Water Front by-way-of Portland thai joint, Pok Pok, is actually great about giving up some exciting vegan options. And a DAMN good kefir lime infused gin + tonic (...more on Pok Pok later).

So you won't be surprised when I tell you that the chalkboard sign appearing to the right stopped us in our tracks on our usual studio-to-home trek down Dean Street yesterday.

The sandwich board stood in-front of none other than Cobble Hill's own One Girl Cookies—the much-loved neighborhood bake shop that just released their first cookbook and recently opened a second location in DUMBO. Though the shop hasn't previously been very vegan-centric, we've always admired them as a small, locally run business with a nice eye for design. From their site: 

"The personality of our cookies is reflected in the design of our shop. Aqua blue, vintage serving pieces. A handpainted family tree. Life size family photos. Lovely blue walls and patterned wallpaper. We like to think of it as old world charm, with a modern interpretation. Come on by for a visit..we’d love to have you."

And now—vegan cookies! Or, to be more accurate and explain the mysterious departure from our usual Friday taciturnity, a VEGAN COOKIE VOTE! One Girl just announced their Vegan Cookies Sampler—a cute little bag of tasty, animal-friendly treats created to give their customers the say in which vegan cookies they'll add to their regular offerings. But polls close at the end of the day Sunday, so we got to get our dessert on, people! 

Above, I give you your candidates, pictured clockwise from the top: the reclusive, yet sage Spiced Cranberry Hermit; the globe-trotting Sesame Anise Biscotti; Dark Chocolate Espresso Sandie, the night owl; Maple Pecan Cookies, contender from parts north; and, last but far-from-least, the feisty 'lil Gingersnap Chew.

Obviously we'd prefer to have them ALL made, and we have our own favorites, but we'll let you be the judge. Drop by the shop—located on Dean Street, between Smith + Boerum Place/Court Street—pick up a bag of cookies ($2.50 each), and cast your vote, in person or on One Girl's Facebook page. And, while you're at it, let 'em know how psyched you are that they're adding vegan items to their menu. We could use a little more of that around here.

Grimes • Nightmusic

Grimes' open-armed embrace of witch house. Directed by John Londoño/Rodeo. 

Journal of the Movement of the World

From the Nest • Vegan Chili Verde

Reader, maybe you've taken note before of our propensity to support and be excited by mainstream, non-vegan establishments that make a point to provide vegan-friendly offerings beyond, say, pasta primavera with a side of tap water. For instance, Family Recipe, the cute little modern Japanese spot in the lower east side that sports burdock root rice bowls and gluten-free vegan waffles. 

Along the same lines, we also really enjoy absorbing as much as we can from the culinary world at large, vegan or not. We may hold the view that animals are simply not food and that, as a society, we need to move towards a world where they aren't viewed as such, but we also realize that there's a rich history of cooking that spans thousands of years and just as many cultures. So we love learning about new, non-vegan dishes that offer an opportunity for a more...moralistic, healthy twist, if you will.

Enter GQ magazine, oddly enough (off-subject, but remember one of our first ever posts, when we wrote a response to Glen O'Brien on the use of leather in 2008? THAT was a long time ago.) Their writers have a rich tradition of appreciating the finer things in life, wearables, libations, and cuisine included. So when contributor, Stan Parish wrote up a piece on a one-pot family meal adapted from a traditional mexican dish that made its way into the kitchens of Osteria Stellina in Point Reyes Station, California, we sat up and took notice. As Parish explains it: 

"'Family meal' takes place every night in restaurants everywhere—from temples of molecular gastronomy to the shitty grill joint where I cooked in college. It's a pre-service ritual in which the staff eats a hearty lo-fi supper before the first seating shows up and all hell breaks loose. The dishes are usually simple to make, but they need to satisfy everyone from the pastry chef to the busboy. Put another way, family meal is exactly what you want when you have a crowd to feed. If football season means your house will occasionally be overrun with dudes, you're looking for a dish that'll keep people fed without chaining you to the stove for the first half. And by week three, everyone is sick of pizza and wings."

The original recipe calls for a ton of pork—four pounds to be exact—which you may well be able to replace with some sautéed jackfruit, like we did with our barbecue pulled jackfruit sandwiches, but that's a LOT of jackfruit, so we opted to go with a crispy sautéed eggplant instead. And we have to say, it works out very, very nicely. We've been making the stew for a little over a year now and think it's a great hearty dish that makes for a nice, easy, vegetable-heavy one-pot meal. 

Here's what you need: 

Vegan Chili Verde
• 1 Cup Olive Oil
• 4 Pounds Eggplant, un-peeled and sliced in strips roughly 1"x4"  
• 2 Heads Garlic (yes, that's two whole bulbs), smashed, peeled, and chopped into small chunks
• 1/2 Large Sweet Onion, peeled and diced
• 1 Bunch of Cilantro, washed, stemmed, and lightly chopped
• 3 Limes, sliced
• Salt and Pepper to taste 

For the Salsa
• 3 Pounds Tamatillo, husked and quartered
• 2 Fresh Jalapeños, sliced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, smashed, peeled, and chopped into small chunks
• 1/2 Large Sweet Onion, peeled and diced
• 2 Cups Water or Vegetable Broth 

In a large stockpot, add the oil, eggplant, and two heads of garlic. It's a good bit of oil, but you'll be draining most of that off in a bit, so no worries. You essentially want to crisp up the eggplant and let the oil cook it throughout. You could also do this in the oven in batches laid out on baking sheets for even more crisp and less oil...but that'd likely be more of a winter move given the residual heat. With the original pork this is replacing, you'd be cooking for over an hour, but in this case, you just want the eggplant to start to break down and have the edges and skin crisp a bit—likely cooking for about 30 minutes in total. Once it looks good to you, let it cool a bit and then carefully drain off some of the oil. How much is up to you—you don't want the meal to taste too oily in the end, but leaving in a little bit of oil around the eggplant will give the end product a nice flavor too, especially with that garlic in there. We tend to get rid of half to three-quarters. After you do that, add your your half-onion and cook for 15 minutes. 

While that's cooking, combine the ingredients for the salsa in a deep bowl and mix thoroughly with a hand mixer until chunky...like salsa. If you've never used them before, tomatillos (pictured below, right before being mixed up) are pretty fun. Most of us think of them as tiny, sticky, green little tomatoes, and, while they, like the eggplant, are also members of the nightshade family, they're actually more closely related to the cape gooseberry and will tend to give you a tangy, tart taste in cooked food and salsas. 

After your salsa's mixed, add it to the eggplant, garlic, onion mixture in the stockpot. Salt and pepper to taste and cook everything for about 90 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with warmed corn tortillas. Or, as above, throw in some pickled red cabbage, sliced radishes, and a heel of bread.

The Song

Superhumanoids • Too Young for Love

Reader, to be perfectly honest with you, we usually have to get past a few admittedly shallow mental roadblocks when getting into a band from LA. I think we always just picture LA Guns or the intro sequence from Entourage or something. But LA-based Superhumanoids seem pretty un-skeezy to us. And we hear wonderful things about Silverlake.

Superhumanoids started out as a low-key bedroom solo project but started gaining notoriety in 2008 with some much-passed around demos. Now, with a full-length, an EP, and a 7" from White Iris under their belt, the band's set to release their sophomore full-length—Exhibitionists—later this year.

With vocalist, Sarah Chernoff's smooth, dreamy delivery and the music's new new new wave (we're three 'new's these days, right?) feel, they seem to trend to the soft, breezy sounds of 90's era 4AD bands and current day electro acts, as with another new track, "Geri." But this week's Song, the just-released "Too Young for Love," pulls in more of an upbeat rhythm and slightly harsher electronic sounds that we're liking a lot. MUCH more danceable!

Check it out along with the band's seemingly ill-omened but gently caressing "Black Widow + Bad Weather," performed live below as part of the ALL SAINTS Basement Sessions. You can hear and download more new tracks from them—including the above-mentioned "Geri" and their very sedate (awesome) cover of the Ramones' "I Want to Be Sedated"—on the band's site.

Photo by Garrett Curtis.

As the Crow Flies

As we make an effort to try and kick up this blogging thing a notch or two (we hear it's the next big thing), we're also attempting to make a return to our As the Crow Flies bit, where we give you a quick run-down of things to come (see the left sidebar legend there). Thus, this. 

So, NUMERO UNO!

Who's that guy up there? That's Jasper, the moon bear. Jasper is one of the many bears in Asia who was once part of a 'bear farm,' where these gentle,  intelligent creates are locked within cages as farm workers drain their bile for traditional eastern medicinal purposes, granting farm owners a wealthy income and confining the bears to a lifetime of pain and cruelty. The non-profit, Animals Asia, is working to rescue moon bears across Asia and end the practice world-wide. Tomorrow, one of our favorite clients, MooShoes, is holding a 'MoonShoes for Moon Bears' event, donating 10% of the days sales to Animals Asia and hosting staff and volunteers who can tell you more about AA's work in person. Can't be there but want to shop for the cause? All online sales tomorrow will also contribute 10% of the proceeds to AA. Find out more on the event's Facebook page and, if you're in the area, stop by tomorrow (78 Orchard in SoHo).

Next week, partially out of fairness to the skilled artists who create them and partially out of fairness to the capacity of our server, we'll be purging ourselves of some past songs on the blog, so GET 'EM WHILE YOU CAN! Along with next Monday's The Song, we'll be getting rid of all pre-April song posts, so, Memoryhouse and before, including our crazy array of twenty-some songs from SXSW bands.

By way of a quick preview of posts next week, we'll be coming at you with a brand new band we're super-psyched about that, yes, is probably from Brooklyn or Canada; hitting you up with a lovely Find; and giving you a lovely new recipe for a killer of an eggplant-tomatillo summer stew, an adaptation of a traditional South American dish that we've been loving lately.

Finally, and sadly, we've had far too many losses in the world of the arts in recent days. First, the shocking (for us) death of Adam Yauch—AKA MCA—of the Beastie Boys, and band we both grew up with and never felt that far from in age or culture or even personally or geographically, living here in Brooklyn. And then, just days ago, award-winning author and illustrator Maurice Sendack died at 83 years of age. Not only has he moved and inspired us from very early on with Where the Wild Things Are, but, in more recent times, we've been touched by his words and life through interviews we've heard with the very interesting, very direct and bold man. We urge you to listen to Terry Gross's montage of interviews she's done on Fresh Air with Mr. Sendack. The last one, conducted just last year, is especially poignant. 

From the Nest

As Ellen DeGeneres will tell you, evidently, being vegan isn't always easy. Even once you get past the cravings—I'm the first to admit that, even after all these years, I still wake up in a cold sweat after dreaming of cheese—there are still certain nuances to the lifestyle that can prove elusive, even to us old-school vegans. 

Take kimchee, for instance, the spicy fermented vegetable dish often found in traditional Korean cuisine. I am fairly certain we consumed roughly a bathtub full of this stuff before realizing—hey, kimchee almost always has some sort fish sauce or salted shrimp at its base. Ah boy. 

Which is why we were, let's say, super-psyched—to coin a little-used scientific term—when we recently stumbled across Arirang Kimchee at the Dekalb Market. For anyone who hasn't been to the Dekalb Market, it's essentially the Brooklyn Flea. With a lot more food. And beer. On Dekalb. I know, genius, right?

Arirang doesn't exclusively produce vegan/vegetarian kimchee—they've got a traditional kimchee made with napa cabbage and one made with radishes—but they do have one that is explicitly vegan, which is a rare find. Rarer still, it's locally made...well, in New Jersey...and hand-cut, hand-jarred, and all natural. Take that, Korean robots! As they say on the site: 

"Arirang Kimchi was created after a newly wed couple decided to move to America in the hopes of an American Dream for their children. The wife comes from a background of great cooks and has extremely keen taste buds. After experimenting with a few of her own kimchi recipes and receiving compliment after compliment from friends and family, Mr. and Mrs. Oh decided to open up shop. Today, after 30 years, Arirang Kimchi still sticks to their motto "always fresh, always delicious". Our kimchi is still hand cut and hand produced which retains the fresh quality. Mrs. Oh still samples each batch for its perfect taste 'til this day."

I don't know if I want Mrs. Oh rootin' around in my kimchee before handing it over, but I'll take the rest of it. And the stuff's really great. We recently hosted a make-you-own-soba night and the contents of the jar went in a flash amongst a pretty kimchee-savy (non-vegan) crowd. 

You can pick up a jar of the kimchee at the Dekalb Market this weekend, grab it at a number of other New York area locations (right sidebar), or order it online (the postal carrier's gonna be all like 'Why your mail smell like that, girl?').  

No, I'm not sure why your postal carrier talks like that.  

More into making it yourself and not smelling up your mail? Check out Lukas Volger's blog. The author of Veggie Burgers Every Which Way recently live Tweeted (yes, that's a thing) how to make your own vegetarian kimchee. We haven't tried it yet, but, knowing the keen culinary senses of Mr. Volger and, judging by his picture below, we'd say it's likely top-notch.

The Find

Reader, living in is New York is tough. I'm talking less in the standard oh-my-god-why's-my-rent-so-high-and-why-do-all-my-friends-think-that-splitting-a-giant-birthday-dinner-bill-where-everyone-got-tequila-shots-but-me-makes-any-sense-at-all way, and more in the there's-a-lot-of-cool-ass-shit-going-on-in-this-city-and-I'm-too-old-to-keep-up-and-kind-of-want-to-stay-home-and-catch-up-on-Mad-Men way. Do you feel us? 

Lucky for us, that crotchety old man kind of mentality left us un-afflicted on the closing day of New York artist George Boorujy's recent show at the East Village gallery, P • P • O • W.

Boorujy's show, Blood Memory, was the artist's second solo exhibition at the gallery and it focused largely on confronting our relationship with the natural world, especially with sentient animals. Far from depicting animals in a sentimental manner, Boorjuy instead places them in stark, dramatic environments or positions them in strikingly confrontational poses for the viewer, imbuing them with recognizably 'human' expression. 

But, regardless of the positioning or actions in Boorujy's pieces, his mind-numbingly realistic technique—along with the impressively large format—is what grounds the work in an eerily incomprehensible realism. From the feathers of the bird in "Babble" (above) to the pollen-dusted fur in "Fugue" (below), Boorujy is somehow able to pull forth a mystical real world in ink. From the Blood Memory press release:

Boorujy challenges the viewer to confront both the animal and their preconceived notions about it. Through their gaze an interaction evolves with the wild that otherwise would have to be sought out or birthed from happenstance. However fleeting our exchanges with the wild are, an impression of their presence marks our memories. There is something mystical at play; a silent exchange that either moves us towards awareness or heightens our fear of the unknown.

So a lesson to us and you, Reader—Mad Men's totally going downhill and the real world's offers more than our imagination can even fathom, so let's get out there and paint the town.  

You can view more of Boorujy's work on the P • P • O • W site, where you can also inquire about available pieces, and on Boorujy's site, where you can read and interview George did with Frank Verpoorten. Above, "Babble" (38"x50"); below, "Initiate" (48" x 53"), "Fugue" (38" x 50"), and "Anting" (55.5" x 108").

The Song

Passion Pit • Take a Walk

Reader, if you've kept your eye on this space over the past four years (I KNOW—four years is a crazy long time to have been writing a blog...potentially too long), you likely are well-aware of our massive love for the band, Passion Pit.

We first heard Passion Pit when it was still a solo effort, sparked by the songs now-frontman, Michael Angelakos recorded for his then girlfriend as a Valentine's Day gift. Cute, right? Well, they broke up. But the songs fucking rocked—at the time, in 2008, it was unlike anything we had heard before. The closest comparison we could ever draw was a future-rock version of the Jackson Five. Which, yes, is undeniably winning. After releasing the songs as part of an EP—Chunk of Change—in 2008 on French Kiss Records, Angelakos built his out line-up and then, after tireless touring, settled down to record their debut full-length, 2009's Manners, which rocked our socks off. Since then though, things have been pretty quiet on the Boston-based indie disco-rock scene.

Cut to last month, when Passion Pit announced their sophomore release, Gossamer, on July 24. As you would guess, Reader, we were excited, but, you never know—ever hear of the sophomore slump? Well we have, and, depending on the day, we oft trend negative with our predictive imagination. 

But today, the PP, as they're understandably never called, gave us a first listen of the new album with their brand new song, "Take a Walk." Judge for yourself, but it's clearly dashed away any pessimistic clouds of musical forecasting for us. Tinged with a slightly more mature sound in the music and in Angelakos' tone, we think it bodes well for the new work.

And if there's even a small chance at all that the P.S. 22 Chorus makes a repeat appearance on this album, you can go ahead and sign us up for some premature adoration. Below, Michael walks the kids through their recordings for Manners. Oh, and, for you, Reader, we have an added bonus born of our intense crush Passion Pit and their music—a cover of their hit, "Sleepyhead," by british songstress, Ellie Goulding. And if you're REALLY in the mood for dialing it back, check out our super-old review of Passion Pit paired with...a mango-jicama salad on the Discerning Brute.

From the Nest

Reader, if you know us, you know we like our time in the kitchen. All those culinary types we see on the Today Show talking about how no one has time to cook anymore and one can only be expected to make food at home if it takes a maximum of five minutes and it can be done while watching The Voice annoy the crap out of us. That said, we're only human, and there are times that—despite our acute desire to hand-craft an exceptional vegan meal—it ain't always in the cards. 

Which is one of many reason we're psyched that The Regal Vegan—New-York-based purveyors of the über-awesome lentil-walnut based spread and vegan-friendly 'foie gras,' Faux Gras (get it?)—has just debuted a brand new product—Basilicotta—which is, as you might have guessed, a ricotta-like basil cashew spread "designed to blow your mind." It's superb on crackers, lovely on some sliced baguette or daikon, or, as you can see from our photo above, made into a pretty primo pesto-like sauce. 

We picked up a container of the stuff at the Brooklyn Flea at its 2012 outdoor re-opening in Fort Green a few weeks back and—as suggested by the regal vegan herself, Ella Nemcova—just added the spread with a little warm water to our cooked pasta. Add a few 'dress-me-ups' like some fresh basil leaves and crushed pistachios and you've got a quick, delectable, totally animal-friendly meal. That, I guess, you can make while watching The Voice. 

Or maybe Girls. We're really more of a Girls household.

The Song

Bright Moments • Travelers

We all need bright moments in our lives, be them tiny diversions from an otherwise mundane or stress-filled day or small reminders of what really matters in life. Which makes me doubly thankful for the music of one Mr. Kelly Pratt, also now known in the musical world as Bright Moments. 

Pratt—primarily a very skilled trumpet player—played most of the instruments himself  on his debut album, Natives, which he recorded in his New York apartment during the wee hours of the night when most of us were supposed to be asleep. Employing additional horns, traditional instrumentation, odd found sounds like sampled bats (vampire, not baseball), and pulling lyrics from everything from Scandinavian poetry to the story of the first person to be cured of rabies, the resulting songs sound intimate and unique, ebbing and flowing between sweetly tender and and simply jubilant.

Though this is Bright Moments' first record, Pratt himself has provided backing for bands like the Arcade Fire, War on Drugs, and Beirut, the last of whom provides the strongest parallel in terms of overall sound. 

Give Bright Moments' "Travelers" a listen and see what you think. Then you can head over to Pratt's site to stream the whole album(click Music at the top of the page).

Below, Pratt performs another album highlight, "Behind the Gun," with a full band on WNYC's Soundcheck. You can hear last week's entire performance and interview on Soundcheck's site. And you can purchase Natives over at Luaka Bop or download it from the iTunes.

The Song

Madi Diaz • Gimme a Kiss

Okay, I've been avoiding this for a while now, Reader. I've tried—I've REALLY TRIED—to NOT write this song up. Honestly, we pride ourselves on being rather cutting edge with our musical tastes, especially given the fact that we're—honestly—kinda old and not as in-the-loop as, say, the twenty-something versions of us are or would be. Man. I bet the twenty-something version of me wouldn't even listen to music. He'd listen to, like, dripping water that's been recorded and then slightly syncopated and then run over a beat that's been created by turning every other consonant in the Gettysburg Address into one's and zero's, respectively, and then run through some sort of high-end computer that's been built to replicate an original 8-bit Commodore 64. So cool.  

Lucky for you, we're not that cool. But we do tend to bend our ears, more often than not, in the direction of the less-than-mainstream and sometimes even odd. Stuff our moms wouldn't necessarily like. Which is why we feel a bit like we're letting you down with this post, Reader—our moms will all totally love this song.

BUT I CANNOT GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD! And that's not in a "I went to the Met supermarket and now I seriously cannot get that fucking Sheena Easton song out of my head" kinda way. It's in a "Damn, this is a gooooood song, even if my mom would totally love it" kinda way. 

Nashville-based, Pennsylvania-born, mom-pandering signer-songwriter Madi Diaz, it turns out, has a long and well-documented history growing up with the arts. Her Peruvian mother home-schooled her with an emphasis on development in the visual arts; her Danish father was a keyboardist for Frank Zappa; and she attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and, before that, the Paul Green School of Rock in Philly, where she was featured in the documentary, Rock School. And all that skill certainly comes through in her music. This week's Song, the blissfully poppy "Gimme a Kiss" shines at times with—yes— a little country twang, which is usually not our bag, but the sweetly crafted hooks of the music and beautifully sung lyrics reel you in in an undeniable way. There's something about this song and a few others on her 2012 album, Plastic Moon, that remind us of early solo Aimee Mann, especially in the simple, sliding little guitar guitar break of "Gimme a Kiss." And there can't be anything wrong with that. Even if our moms would totally agree...but think we should "tone down the potty talk."

You can listen to "Gimme a Kiss" here and visit Diaz's site for a couple other free downloads, including a non-album track and the superb, "Let's Go." Video for that one below.  Photo by Elizabeth Weinberg. 

The Song

Yellow Ostrich • Marathon Runner

We first caught Brooklyn's Yellow Ostrich at the end of last summer when they opened for Mates of State at a Barsuk Records label showcase. They had recently signed to the Seattle label—former home of Death Cab for Cutie in their pre-Warner Music days—and they definitely impressed us live, with their unique instrumentation, an emotive performance from frontman, Alex Schaaf, and skillfully looped live vocals.

A few months later, having caught them again, and with a sophomore full-length, Strange Land, now out, the band seems to be relying less on memorable 'schticks' or digital tricks and building more off of Schaaf and company's commendable song-writing and pop sensibilities. The first album, Mistress, seems to have been much more of a solo effort from Schaaf, drawing from an understandably limited depth of field. Now, with seemingly non-stop touring as a full band, both the live performance and new album strike us more of a collaborative effort, resulting in simpler, sweeter songs that have stripped away some of the layers that stood in the way of a more fulfilling listing experience. 

Don't get us wrong though—the band's very much still cut form a different cloth. Last time we saw them live, multi-instrumentalist, Jon Natchez, alternated from squeekingly glitchy saxophone to a bass guitar being run through an armada  of processing pedals and drummer, Michael Tapper, who plays sans foot pedal bass drum, went back and forth between providing a solid base for the other instruments and acting as more of bright, riffing percussive melody woven throughout the other sounds.

You can download "Marathon Runner," from Strange Land as this week's Song and hear another track via their Soundcloud page. The album can be downloaded or ordered on CD or vinyl from Barsuk.

Oh, and did we mention they seem to love to do covers? Below, their version of the Replacements classic, "Androgynous." Photo by Kyle Dean Reinford. 

From the Nest

Reader, summer's right around the corner, which means it's time to switch up your lunch routine. That's right, time to stick those rich winter soups and tater tot hot dish casseroles in the drawer for the season. Well, not literally, that's disgusting.

But for those of us who enjoy bringing our own lunches to work—the glee of complete control over your eating options; the economy of it; the deliciousness!—that means some creative thinking now that fresh is in and…re-appropriation of left-overs is out. Which is why we're here to save the day, reader, with the simple, nutritious, and, yes, tasty, chickpea collard wrap. Hero? Some might call us that, but we prefer to reserve that term for leaders of revolutions, visionary artists, and all those people from that one Bon Jovi video they constantly play at the gym. What you need:

Chickpea Collard Wraps

• 1 can of Chickpeas (we like the larger 19 oz. Cento cans with the yellow label, but you can use a 16 oz. one for a lower chickpea to other stuff ratio—you could also use an equal amount soaked and cooked dried chickpeas, which will really pump up the recipe)

• .5 Onion, peeled and diced finely

• 2 medium Carrots, diced finely

• 2 stalks Celery, diced finely

• 1-2 cloves Garlic, smashed, peeled, and finely diced

• 2 large Collard Green leaves per wrap, whole with stem and ribbing removed

First, the filling—place the chickpeas in a large bowl and begin mashing them with a fork you're left with no whole chickpeas and instead have a fairly cohesive,mashed-up mixture. Now add all of your diced vegetables and mix everything together thoroughly. Set aside.

After washing the collard green leaves, cut the stems and any stiff part of the ribbing in the middle of the leaf out. Now we need take some of the stiffness out of the collard green leaves. The easiest way to do this is to quickly steam them in the microwave or, if you don't have one, stovetop. In the MW, simply put a little water in a dish that'll roughly fit the leaves and put another plate over that dish, heating it for 15 seconds or so. Check the leaves and see if they've given up enough resistance to easily roll the leaves but not so much that they tear when handled. 

On to assembly! Place two collard green leaves on a clean surface with half of each leaf overlapping, so you've essentially got a longer by a half wrap. Ideally, you'll have the parts of the leaves where you cut the stem and ribbing out overlapping so you're minimizing the gaps in the wrap. Place a decent amount of the filling on one far end of the leaves keeping room to the bottom, right, and left so you can contain everything when you roll it up. Now fold the left and the right sides over the filling and them gently roll it forward, making sure not to tear the leaves but firmly keeping the filling in place. Aaaaaaand, done! Onto the next wrap. We usually make two wraps with some left-over filling, but you could probably employ some more leaves and stretch this to three or four wraps, total. 

Now bring it on, summer! Just so long as you're not as unseasonably warm as our weird winter was.