I HAVE A NEW WEBSITE!

Thanks to the help and input of some excellent friends, (BIG Shout out to the awesome & amazing Kelani Nichole, who pointed me in the direction of the Rockin’ new theme you see here) and a few Little Berlin Open Web Studios I started to rebuild my website and consider my content in a new, multidimensional light. I’m slowly realizing that my theme for 2011 might just be Content Strategy, what I already know is that I’m poised for some big changes; I’ll let you know how that goes.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Right now, it’s a full-on renovation, as I gut my old site & re-purpose what I can, sloughing off what I can’t & creating some from scratch, I’m realizing that this project is even bigger than I had previously thought. And like any renovation, I change my mind almost daily. I am constantly going back and tweaking sections that I thought were already finished, often very late into the night (it’s when I do my best work). Ultimately it’s a work in progress, and I encourage you to follow my ongoing Arts & Social Change story as it unfolds.

Galleries are up go check them out!

Please be sure to redirect any of your feed readers, etc to http://KaraLaFleur.com.

This fall was insanely busy & I’m looking forward to exciting new projects on the horizon! I’m also looking forward to some amazing community driven events coming up in Philadelphia this week:

Open Web Studio
LITTLE BERLIN
Thursday, November 11| 6-8PM
119 West Montgomery Street
Philadelphia, PA 19125

Organized by the incredibly awesome & amazing Kelani Nichole (she’s actually super involved with all of the events mentioned here). I went expecting to share my area of experience, and instead got totally schooled on something I’ve been playing around with for the past few weeks. I’m excited to explore something new, and now I have more confidence and better tools to move forward with an ongoing project – I can’t wait for the next  Open Web Studio at Little Berlin (stay tuned, TBD)!

Barcamp Philly Weekend!
KICKOFF PARTY @IndyHall
Friday, November 12th | 6-9PM
20 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
RSVP Required!

This Kick off party sounds like it is going to be sick! Science, Magic, a Mural, Gaming, Food & Drink, ??? Anything can happen (and with this crowd probably will). Registration is required for this event!

BARCAMP PHILLY @ UArts
Saturday, November 13th 2010
Registration Opens at 8am
Sessions from 10am – 6pm
The University of the Arts
211 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Registration is currently closed, but you can sign up for the wait list here.

I can’t say it any better than what they have on the website, but here’s a time lapse video of the schedule board from last year, which I thought was pretty cool:

AFTERPARTY @NatMechanics
Saturday, November 13th | 6-10PM
22 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

After a day of absorbing everything around you, get a beer and play some rock band or enjoy an impromptu dance party. This party generally ends around ??? And of course there is generally the annual post-barcamp-recovery  brunch on Sunday!

TEDxPhilly
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Perelman Theater
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
260 South Broad Street
(Avenue of the Arts)
Philadelphia, PA

From the TEDxPhilly website:

“TEDxPhilly celebrates what’s happening right here, right now in our city. The event’s goal is to showcase practitioners, makers, and thinkers who are contemporary and thought-provoking; who are pushing the boundaries of their own disciplines; and who are working towards a more purposeful, socially responsible future.

TEDxPhilly is also a framework where Philadelphians will converge to share ideas that matter, and hopefully, turn those ideas into actionable outcomes after the event.”

Opening Reception:
Friday, August 13th 5:30-7:30

University City Arts League Gallery:
4226 Spruce Street, Philadelphia 19104

Show Dates:
August 13th – September 3rd, 2010
This exhibition was made possible by an Art & Social Change Grant from the Leeway Foundation

Work To Ride (a work in progress) Artist Statement

After weeks of anticipation and years of hard work, my UCAL exhibition is about to become a reality! The exhibition will run from August 13th-September 3rd. This project has been a long time in the making, and I couldn’t have done it without the love and support of the community. The Opening Reception on Friday, August 13th will be a great way to celebrate the project as well as the program. There will be drinks and food at this shindig, including several cases of beer and some delicious treats by the fabulously awesome Open Source Cupcakes. You and all of your friends are invited, I hope to see you there!

From the UCAL Press Release:

Kara LaFleur’s exhibition, Work To Ride (a work in progress) runs August 13 – September 3. An Opening Reception will be held on Friday, August 13th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, at the University City Arts League, 4226 Spruce Street, Philadelphia PA. All events associated with this exhibition are free and open to the public.

LaFleur’s Work to Ride (a work in progress) documentary project is named for the program founded by Lezlie Hiner for disadvantaged youth at Chamounix Equestrian Center in West Philly. The urban youths ranging from 7-19 are responsible for barn chores in exchange for the opportunity to participate in equestrian sports and activities throughout the country and abroad. LaFleur began photographing students informally in 2006 while volunteering for the program; her unique approach to documentation developed into a multi-year project partially funded by a 2008 Leeway Foundation Art and Social Change Grant.

The exhibit will feature 12 x 12 inch color holga photographs depicting scenes around the barn as well as at events such as horse shows, polo games and pony races. As Kara puts it, “The images contained within Work To Ride (a work in progress) seek to explore the very heart and soul of this program over a period of several years.” She accomplishes this with a series of photos that reveal the day-to-day activities of the program in a beautiful narrative format. A portion of all sales will be donated to the Work To Ride program.

LaFleur received her BFA in Photography from the University of the Arts in 2005 with a concentrated thesis on the 8×10 camera and non-silver processes. After graduation, her involvement with the Center for Emerging Visual Artists allowed her to gain experience in the non-profit arts and culture sector. In 2006, she began volunteering with the Work to Ride program where she held a position as the director of summer programming in 2007. Kara has continued to pursue a career in Social Marketing through leadership roles in open source style tech events and ongoing participation in the Arts and Culture community. Locally, LaFleur has exhibited at Project Basho, Reverie, Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, Freeman’s Auction House, The Center for Emerging Visual Artists and University of the Arts.

I discovered fairly quickly that I wasn’t the only one out there vying for jobs that were few and far between. One organization admitted that they had received over 400 applications, and another sort of gave up, and only interviewed one person whom they didn’t end up hiring in any event. Some places took months to get back to me, while others didn’t follow up at all. There was a lot of heartbreak in that year, the effects of which I described in my recent post, I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. I learned to not take rejection personally, for as perfect as I may have seemed for an opportunity, I knew that there were at least a dozen other people just as awesome in the running. As a result, I became really good at rolling with the punches graciously and gracefully. I refined my own personal mission statement and learned the importance of seeking out the kind of people who will help me flourish and the type of environments in which I will thrive. I’ve been really fortunate to have an amazing support system to help me get through the good times & the bad, and in hindsight, I dodged a lot of bullets, for which I am equally thankful, mostly because it made what I’m about to say next possible.

The Big Announcement:
Last week Megan Wendell offered me a position at Canary, a local arts & cultural marketing firm. I’ve been a huge fan of them for a while now, and their impressive client list attests to the amazing quality of their work. I was surprised and honored when they reached out to me, and jumped at the chance to work with, as well as learn from, an organization which so closely aligns with my own personal interests and professional efforts. In short, this is my dream job! So after a tumultuous year, I am totally stoked about what lies ahead, this year is going to be a good one, just wait and see.

On Monday everything really seemed to come together thanks to the extensive help and support from UCAL, volunteers and local businesses who were able to work with my limited budget & turn around time. Yesterday I designed a card to be printed at Fireball Printing today; Photo Lounge is amazing, getting the work  produced next week in enough time to be framed and hung in short order with some help from Sean Matorana; and the girls at Open Source Cupcakes offered to create some delicious treats for the opening on August 13th. It’s going to involve a lot of hustle, but thanks to some truly amazing people, I think we may just pull this off fabulously. It’s not that I like leaving things to the last minute, but the pressure is acting as a good motivator in this case. More details will be posted as soon as I have them, mostly as I get them myself. Looking forward to the crazy busy weeks ahead, and of course to the Work To Ride (a work in progress) show August 13th – September 3 at University City Arts League!

After some extensive Googling I discovered that the majority of Barbecue sauces that appealed to me use ketchup as a base with a delicate balance of acid, heat, sugar, and a small part “other stuff”. Last year I just went to town squeezing bottles, pouring liquid and throwing spices in much the same way I make everything else. My cooking method generally looks a lot like this (complete with sound effects):

Ingredients in that first attempt included, but were not limited too: ketchup, mustard, apple juice, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, apple cider, lime juice, paprika, chipotle powder, onion powder, garlic salt, mustard powder, cumin, coriander, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. It turned out sweet and tangy with a bit of a kick at the end and much better than anything I’ve ever bought at the store. So if you’re feeling adventurous, please feel free to translate that into some sort of recipe. However, like mixing paint, this is an addition only process and after fine tuning to get the perfect balance, I ended up with literally buckets of the stuff. So this year I thought I would actually write down measurements and proportions so that I could recreate it in the future. This is more of a Kansas style BBQ sauce with a bit of a nod to Texas style which generally involves more spices. I really like cooking with spices, and would highly recommend keeping most of these around for everyday use. But don’t worry if you’re missing anything on the list, work with what you’ve got and feel free to make it your own.

Ingredients:
2 cups ketchup (16 oz)
1 can tomato paste (which I apparently didn’t have this time around, and was not the end of the world I had anticipated.)
1/2 cup Bourbon or apple cider (or flavor modifier of choice, more on that later)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (ditto)
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (ditto)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground mace
1 tablespoon ground mustard
4 tablespoon ground onion
4 tablespoon ground garlic
2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon wet mustard
3 tablespoon maple syrup (or Honey)
6 tablespoons Dry Rub (from Adventures in HAM part I)
(or meat seasoning) or:
-    2 teaspoon chili powder                    -     2 teaspoon paprika
-    2 teaspoon onion powder                  -     2 teaspoon garlic powder
-    2 teaspoon ground cumin                  -     2 teaspoon ground cardamom
-    2 teaspoon ground coriander             -      2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
-    1 teaspoon ground black pepper        -     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-    1 teaspoon ground mustard               –      1 teaspoon ginger
-    1/2 teaspoon ground cloves              -     1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Mix everything in a large pot and bring to a boil. (A whisk really helps to fully incorporate all of the components.)
2. If you really want to develop the flavors, you could simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.
3. If you don’t have that kind of time, it’s not the end of the world, and it will still be delicious.

A note on Flavor Modifiers:
It’s nice to echo whatever spices you’ve used to flavor your Grilled or BBQ’d meat (or meat substitute) By mixing your spices before cooking, you can make a little extra for this purpose and substitute that for the Rub. Additionally, the Bourbon/Apple Cider and vinegar are good places to play around with the flavor profile. There’s a lot of options for flavor creativity here: wine, beer, pineapple juice, terriyaki, hoisin sauce, plum wine with tamarind paste and maybe dash of fish sauce; lime juice, red or white wine vinegar, can also be used in place of the vinegar. Have fun with it, experiment a little, and go with your gut, it generally knows what it wants.

1. I have no idea how to BBQ or slow cook anything
2. I have neither a grill nor a smoker
3. Apparently people generally don’t BBQ Hams
4. There are about 17,987,983,897 recipes for any kind of BBQ/Slow cooked/Pulled meat, and all of them claim to be the end-all be-all of BBQ.

So I decided to make it up as I went along, combing what I thought were the best & yummiest sounding pieces from several recipes, and created what I like to refer to as Pulled Ham. And let me tell you – it was amazingly delicious. I dry rubbed it the day before, and at about 8am on the fourth of July, I put it in my oven, and proceeded to check on it every hour until 4pm when I shredded it, drenched it in Homemade BBQ Sauce and headed out the door. It was a huge success spawning a new line of HAMINTHEFACE jokes and became an instant tradition that I decided I could improve upon for this year’s Second Annual 4th of July Geeknik Peeknik: The Peekniking.

This year I bought two 8 lb pork shoulders and decided to Brine them before roasting (I also use this method for my thanksgiving turkey, so it seemed like a pretty good plan).  Following Kevin & Amanda’s Perfect Pulled Pork Recipe I started the Brine the day before, and took their advice to leave the oven going over night, rather than rushing to get everything done the day of, in a hot kitchen during a heat wave. I made some additions to the Rub, and used the extra to flavor my homemade BBQ Sauce. It took about 10 hours, and turned out perfectly. Next year I might try setting the roasts to rest with the dry rub for 24 hours instead of brining, just to compare, shoulder to shoulder as it were. In any event, here’s the recipe (modified for 1 shoulder) with my additions, but I also highly recommend Kevin & Amanda’s post, as it was highly entertaining, and had some great step-by-step pictures.

Dry Rub:                       Brine Solution:               Equipment:

1 tbsp ground cumin       1/2 cup kosher salt          Plastic Bag (for the Brine)
1 tbsp garlic powder        1/2 cup brown sugar        Roasting Pan
1 tbsp onion powder        2 qts cold water               Probe Thermometer
1 tbsp coriander              3 tbsp dry rub mix           Aluminum Foil (Roasting Tent)
1 tbsp chili powder           2 bay leaves                   1 Pork Shoulder, 8 lbs
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp ground allspice
1 tbsp cloves
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp ground mustard powder
1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

The morning of the big day:

1. Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the brown sugar and dry rub and stir well to combine.
2. Rinse the pork shoulder in cold water and place in a water tight plastic bag (or a container big enough so the shoulder is completely covered in brine solution).
3. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours (or up to 12, if possible). (The fridge door makes a good place to keep the shoulder upright & thus completely covered in brine.)

Later that night… (After the Brining):

1. Preheat oven to 225, oven rack in the middle position.
2. Remove the pork shoulder from the brine solution and place in the roasting pan. Pat the skin dry with paper towels.
3. Generously cover the WHOLE thing in your dry rub mix. mmmmm… Massage it into the meat. Be sure and get it all up in there. (Save some of the rub mix to be used later.)
4. Cover the roasting pan in aluminum foil (this keeps the roast from getting dry and contributes to the concept of a slow moist heat. It will also lessen the cooking time somewhat).
5. With fat layer facing UP, stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone.
6. Set the alarm on the probe thermometer for 200 degrees. Yes. 200 degrees. This is the point at which all of the connective tissue breaks down, rendering the roast form over cooked to fall apart in your mouth perfection. (note: this shoulder will take between 1.5 to 2 hours per pound to cook. And so, an 8 lb shoulder should take around 13 hours.)
7. When the alarm goes off and the shoulder has reached 200 degrees, turn off the oven and let the roast cool for about 2 hours before removing from the oven (If the bottom of the pan is dry, cover the pan with foil to retain internal moisture of the meat during the cooling period.)
8. After a couple hours, (when the meat is 170 degrees or less) remove the shoulder from the oven & remove the large sheet of crusted fat on top (it’s work is done here, don’t worry, there is more than enough fat marbled in the meat. It is after all, still pork). I suggest reserving the liquid gold at the bottom of the pan for other ham related cooking adventures, like say, collard greens.
9. Using two large forks, begin pulling the meat apart. It will fall apart very easily and it shouldn’t take long at all to pull apart the whole roast. Pour some of the reserved liquid back in to help keep shreeded meat moist, not that it really needs it, but it will definitely increase deliciocity
10. Do a taste test, if more seasoning seems in order, sprinkle some of the dry rub mix or drench in Homemade BBQ Sauce to taste.

Disclaimers & Suggestions:

• Good in sandwich form or straight up, generally better when shared with friends and/or complete strangers. May result in a HAM Coma and/or incessant HAM Jokes. Goes well with beer (or sweet tea, vodka’d or otherwise).

Coming Soon: Adventures in HAM part II: Hittin’ The Sauce

I’m not going to lie, it’s been a rough year, in more ways than one. The whole experience shook me a little,  leaving me more than a little unsure of where I fit in the world. While I initially hit the ground running, writing about my unexpected liberation in a post titled Declaring My Independence, I hadn’t yet come to terms with the full extent of thoughts, feelings and experiences associated with that life changing event. I didn’t want to publicize what I was going through, and besides, I had a steady stream of interviews (both good and bad) that I was sure were going to lead me to the next chapter in my life. But the competition is fierce (and crowded) with dozens, and even hundreds of equally over-qualified candidates competing for the same handful of opportunities over and over. Send Resume, rinse, repeat.

The experience effected my life in unexpected ways, but the biggest change was at the core of who I am: instead of being actionary, I slowly became re-actionary, and then for a little while, I was somewhat inert. Meanwhile, there was a whole city flying around me that I had once taken so much pride in being an integral part, which I had somehow removed myself from, not by choice, but by inaction, by avoiding choices, by not trusting my gut, by not standing up for what I believe in, by not being heard because I had stopped participating. And again, that’s just not who I am, nor is it someone I want to be.

I’m lucky to have so many awesome people in my life to tell me not only when I’m doing great things, but also when I’m being an idiot. I pride myself on the contributions I’ve made to the communities around me, and continue to be surprised at the unexpected ways in which it pays off: the constant reminders that losing a job isn’t the end of the world, as well as the ongoing encouragement I need to look forward to what’s coming next, and knowing that whatever it is, whenever it shows up, it will be awesome. Because that’s just how I roll.

So with all of that out of my system and on the table, I hope to move forward with a renewed dedication to the community and to my life, with blog posts, status updates and (fingers crossed) a new job on the horizon!

My favorite Curly Girl Designs Print

I’ve been a fan of Curly Girl Design for awhile now, and was excited to check out this little shop outside of Boston on a recent trip up north. Marmalade in Belmont MA, did not disappoint. Carrying a full coterie of Curly Girl Designs (from cards and Prints to iPhone Decals and Coffee Mugs) There were plenty of other objet d’art to browse through – soaps, home decor, toys for children and adults, even honeys and preserves and seed kits. Overall, it was an explosion of beautiful things – talk about Sensory Overload, there was so much to look at I ended up circling this small shop several times, and I’m sure I could easily spend hours going through the wonderful wares inside this Inspiration Emporium.

Simply put: this place was a-mazing! I highly recommend stopping in this lovely shop that almost feels more like a studio. Like taking a sneak peak into the artist’s imagination, and being able to take some of the treasures to enjoy at home! My only complaint, I wish it were even bigger, and that we had one in Philadelphia! Can’t wait to visit again next time I’m in the area. Or better yet, I can’t wait until their online shop is up an running, so I can stop by for a visit any time!

Marmalade: Truth & Beauty for the Heart & Home
695 Belmont Street, Belmont MA 02479

Philadelphia’s Italian Market is located on 9th street, roughly starting at Fitzwater Street and heading South from there, blending effortlessly into the Passyunk Square neighborhood, which is full of South Philly restaurants and shops. (There are also some shops off the main strip, which still totally count.) The area was originally named for the Italian Immigrants that moved into the area towards the end of the 19th & beginning of the 20th centuries; and as the cultural landscape has evolved over the years, the market is often referred to as The 9th Street Market. Of course there are the Cheese Rivals (DiBruno’s v Claudio’s) or the Butcher Battles (Espositio’s v. Canulli), Handmade Pasta Campaigns (Talluto’s v. Superior) and Cannoli Conflict (Termini’s v. Isgro’s). But where the market really shines is the vast cultural diversity available; incredible variety in produce and various Tortillerias, not to mention all of the great places for Pho, Korean BBQ, and a gigantic Asian Supermarket all along Washington. In the latest evolutionary advancements of the 21st century, the Italian Market has made the foray into Twitter and Facebook, to help you navigate the storefronts & food stalls that line this little piece of living history.

The Italian Market isn’t just for food – Fante’s Kitchen Wares has just about every kitchen gadget imaginable, including a coffee and tea section, extensive baking supplies, and a serious selection of professional grade kitchen knives (they will even sharpen them while you wait for $2 a blade). Most people are friendly and nice, though it wouldn’t be Philly without a few curmudgeons; everyone’s a distinct character, and I pretty much love them all. One of my favorite things to do is walk up and down the market, sensing out the best deals, the freshest produce, getting to know my neighbors, and enjoying the Philly-ist of Philly communities.  There are a few tips I’d like to share with the uninitiated, and hopefully get more converts to this heart of Philadelphia experience.

Pro tips:

• The majority of the Italian Market is closed on Mondays, and by far their busiest days are Saturday & Sunday (when the prices also seem to magically inflate). Fridays are a little bit crowded, but manageable. Pretty much any day  if you go closer to closing time, there might be a line at the butchers or cheese shops, but if you have time to wait, it’s worth it. Some people say stuff is fresher on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I haven’t really noticed a difference.
• Pick your own produce, to be sure you get what you want, I’ve had several experiences where the good stuff is out front, and the bag you get home with is gnarly and questionable, so avoid the concern all together and do your own picking, that way you have no one to blame but yourself.
• Buying in bulk is the best deal (and for the price, some waste is to be expected) but if you don’t want 10 lbs of potatoes for $5, you can easily ask for 2 lbs for $1, sometimes you just need a small piece of ginger for a quarter (or sometimes for free if you’re getting other stuff & the vendor is feeling generous).
• During the week, the vendors start clearing out around 3ish (earlier if weather is bad) later if it’s nice out – it’s kind of up for grabs. Though the store fronts are generally open til 5-6
• There’s plenty of parking in the area (including a municipal lot on 8th, before Washington) but if you decide to drive through, or on any of the streets surrounding, don’t be surprised if you get stuck behind an unloading truck, or waiting for a crowd of pedestrians crossing the street, or inexplicable traffic, which will later turn out to be a forklift driving between the various warehouses in the district.
• The market is fairly walkable from most of the city, but if you tend to shop big – invest in a granny cart, and always be sure to bring your reusable tote, regardless :D
• If you don’t know, ask, if someone makes you feel dumb, ask someone else (there are plenty of vendors competing for business, if you’re not digging the vibe from one, move on, there are enough options for you to be choosy about where you take your business). A good attitude & sense of humor take you a long way in this area.

Most importantly: ** Don’t let it intimidate you – the Italian Market is fun and delicious! ** It’s a great area to explore for the culinary-ily curious.