G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X // F A L L 2 0 1 4
CONTENTS 6
24
Marshmallow Empire
Scandinavian Summer
s u e s ta at s
ILLUSTRATED B Y EILEEN TJAN
PHOTOGRAPHS B Y EMELIE JOHANSSON
12
30
Teddy and Teddy
Sound Bites
l i ly g o r d o n
ILLUSTRATED B Y ELAIN CHEN
ILLUSTRATED B Y JARDLE Y JEAN - LOUIS
14
32
Hot/Cold
Good for the Soul
liz grossman
ILLUSTRATED B Y SEAN DOVE
17
36 Top Shelf
steve trumpeter
erin bealmear
ILLUSTRATED B Y CHLO Ë F ELDMAN EMISON
18
44
Citrus Mafia G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
m at t h e w w i l s o n
ILLUSTRATED B Y K ENTON Q UATMAN
Beans and Rice
4
m a r g a r e t l i v i n g s to n
The Automat
erin bealmear
bea epstein
ILLUSTRATED B Y NATALIA K OWALECZ K O
ILLUSTRATED B Y NICOLE BELCHER
20
46
Lording Lard
How Taco (Almost) Ate Grampa’s Finger
joe baumann
j o s e lu i s b e n av i d e s
ILLUSTRATED B Y CLARE ROSEAN
ILLUSTRATED B Y MI K E Y HELLER
49 The Last Tomato
barbara ellen baldwin
70 Not Brand X
terry barr
ILLUSTRATED B Y JULIE MARTIN
PHOTOGRAPHS B Y K ELLY PRATT
50
76
Golden Delicious
diane d. gillette
To Potatoes
m at t h e w b u r n s
ILLUSTRATED B Y THEORA K VIT K A
ILLUSTRATED B Y K AILY N DOWNEN
58
78
Spirit!โ ข
eliza tudor
Just Forget About the Camembert
pat r i c k m c k ay
ILLUSTRATED B Y JUSTIN AARON
ILLUSTRATED B Y JA K E ALLEN
61
81
Estranged Fruit
An Ode to Oats
m a r y pat ly n c h
PHOTOGRAPHS B Y SCOTT K REIDER
ILLUSTRATED B Y ANDREA GUINN
65
82
Fertility on Ferragosto, Prunes, Great Aunt Dora To You (Before You)
Tea with Proust
sonia greenfield
ILLUSTRATED B Y ALLIE ARMSTRONG
c h lo e y e l e n a m i l l e r
84
ILLUSTRATED B Y ADDIE PRICE
Food Fraud A Brief History of the Mango, in All Tenses seรกnan forbes ILLUSTRATED B Y J E S S E S Z E W C Z Y K
ILLUSTRATED B Y MALLOR Y HERMAN
88 My First Food Dare
chandra ram
PHOTORAPHS B Y K RISTOPHER SCHMELZER
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
68
d a n i b r ya n t
5
I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y E I L E E N TJ A N
Marshmallow Empire sue staats
The crinkly cellophane bag flies toward me, and Nicole, laughing
a promotion, change my hair color, start a new business—I’ll try
like she always does, is expecting my usual clumsy juggle-and-
it. The evidence is crammed in our spare bedroom, a veritable
drop, but this time, I catch it one-handed and wave it at her. She’s
museum of can’t-miss, could-be-the-next-hula-hoop ideas. It’s
thrown me a bag of marshmallows—pink, yellow, and green—soft,
absolutely Pavlovian. And it always starts with Nicole and me.
like Easter Peeps. They’re piled near the cash register at Collected
We’ve dreamed up potholder kits in school colors, a hands-
Ideas gift shop, tied daintily at the top with satin baby ribbon. The
free umbrella you can Velcro to your collar, an edible rice-paper
hand-written label says Mandy’s Candy’s.
lunchbox. Marshmallows aren’t much of a stretch. Nicole never
“Please. Candy’s?” I’m a substitute junior high school English
does the work, never pays for ingredients or supplies, never helps
teacher and I see more than enough egregious errors like this.
test or market the product. But she’s the one who says the magic
“Mandy could at least learn the correct spelling of the plural.”
words, and now it’s gourmet marshmallows shining like a rainbow
in the rosy distance and I’m chasing the pot of gold. Again.
Nicole’s checking the label on another bag. “Sure, she
could do that—but Lise, look at the price.” Nicole’s a substitute
teacher too, same junior high, in math and social studies.
marshmallows, textured marshmallows, marshmallows rolled
in crunchy nuts and crushed candy canes, marshmallows with
Mandy is charging six dollars and fifty cents for a dozen
I
become
obsessed
with
marshmallows — flavored
marshmallows. They’re selling well, says the cashier.
liquid centers. I’m way beyond a couple of bags. I’m planning an
Six fifty a dozen! I buy them anyway.
international food conglomerate, and it won’t be called Mandy’s
“Six fifty for flavored air,” Nicole says. I bite into a yellow one,
Candy’s, either. I’ll need distribution channels, and packaging
she chooses green. Mine’s faintly lemon, with a delicate, foamy
that says delicious and unique and marshmallows in one beautiful
texture. Nicole’s has the chemical aftertaste of a lime Lifesaver.
design. I look up the addresses of commercial kitchens. I
bookmark the website of the health department for research into
“You could make these a lot better,” Nicole says, in a gluey,
the regulatory requirements of mass production. I sketch out a
The label lists gelatin, sugar, corn syrup, egg whites,
business plan. I’ll need financing. Partners. A website. A blog
flavoring. I stuff the bag into my purse. Nicole nudges me and says
with luscious photographs. A name. Annalise’s Sweet Dreams. Or
what she always says.
maybe, Sweet Dreams by Annalise.
“Could be your ticket to the Big Time, Lise.”
I hear the capital letters and feel a little ping in my brain.
them to. It has a light, dreamlike sound, perfect for marshmallows.
Annalise is my full name. No one ever uses it, even when I ask
This is not the first, or even the fifth time that Nicole has said this.
It happens so often that my boyfriend Jonathan said to me once,
gelatin in a little water, toss in sugar and corn syrup, boil it up,
over a bottle of wine, “Lise, you’re like a dog. Throw you a ball—
add vanilla and fold the mixture into stiffly beaten egg whites.
you’ll chase it.”
Pour the whole mess into a shallow dish and leave it overnight.
The next morning, plop it out onto a counter top dusted with
He’s got a point. Tell me I should learn Italian, apply for
Which, as it turns out, are incredibly easy to make. Dissolve
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
marshmallow voice.
7
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
I L L U S T R A T I O N S B Y K E N T O N Q U A T M A N 15
S C A N D I N AV I A N S U M M E R by emelie johansson
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
25
The Last Tomato barbara ellen baldwin Botanically a berry, this slightly shriveled quarter-sized fruit rolls in my father’s palm. Picked in late October, this stunted morsel remains edible even on Christmas night, when carving begins, when dark meat falls from the bone. I want to hang this one-bite marvel on the Catholic blue spruce, as Germany’s 1921 stars circle my hand-made clothespin-reindeer. This last bit of summer seems lit from within. this red reminder would still keep color in the dark.
ILLUSTRATION BY JULIE MARTIN
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
If we unplugged the room,
49
ESTRANGED FRUIT by scott krieder
human existence is getting stranger every day. If our connection to food and its production becomes more remote—more tenuous— what happens to our sense of identity? What happens to our environment and our relationship with it? The following photos are an exploration of these questions.
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
As the systems to produce, process, and market our food become more and more complex, our relationship to a fundamental aspect of
61
NOT BRAND X
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
terry barr
70
P H O T O S B Y K E L L Y P R APT H T OTO G R A P H S B Y K E L LY P R AT T
My family displayed loyalty in a variety of ways: to each other,
You could try to engage with him in this argument, but you
to weekly TV series like Combat! or Perry Mason, and perhaps,
wouldn’t win. Just as Woody Allen lamented that his fictional
most importantly, to food. And when I say “food,” I don’t mean
parents in Annie Hall would argue over which was the greater
choosing ground chuck over regular ground beef or using strictly
ocean, the Atlantic or Pacific, my dad would willingly engage in
white corn for creaming and yellow for gnawing off the cob,
any argument over, and always have the last word about, ketchup.
though none of us would have chosen or dared to do differently.
He wouldn’t eat Chinese food largely because he couldn’t decide
I mean brands: brand loyalty.
where the Heinz should go. So whether I use it or not, whether I
For instance, my dad swore that only a simpleton would
need it or not, in my pantry right now is a bottle of Heinz. If, two
choose Keebler or Sunshine cookies over Nabisco. His one
or three years from now, I run out, I’ll buy another at our local
exception to this rule was Sunshine’s Vienna Fingers.
grocer’s.
“They’re much better than Cameos,” he’d say, referring to
Another bottle of Heinz.
Nabisco’s brand of cylindrical, vanilla sandwich cookie. But if you
In fact, just last week I made a meat loaf for my Persian
offered him a Hydrox instead of an Oreo, or if my brother and I
mother-in-law. I added a local barbecue sauce to the insides, but
talked our mom into buying Keebler’s feeble substitute for Chips
at the end, I topped it with Heinz. She and everybody else loved
Ahoy, then we’d all get a twenty-minute dissertation on quality,
the meat loaf. And somewhere, I knew Dad was smiling.
freshness, and flavor, and most energetically, loyalty.
“We’re a Nabisco family. Don’t forget it!”
Of course, none of us could forget it, and though I don’t eat
***
store-bought cookies today (except for the gluten-free oatmeal-
My dad, however, was just the first ingredient in our family’s
raisin variety produced by Whole Foods), if I were to violate my
brand-loyalty layer cake. He never cooked—except the occasional
code of digestion, I’d buy Nabisco. I wouldn’t think of straying
French toast for breakfast—so he had no idea of the proper
even though Dad has been dead for fourteen years.
ingredients for sauces, for desserts, for baking. That was Mom’s
It’s not just cookies; it’s everything food-related.
province, and as a southern cook with ties to several generations
I’ve long passed the point where I smear ketchup on meat.
of home chefs, she served up meals that are still talked about
Okay, sometimes I sneak it on a few French fries, for nothing
among her peers and mine.
weds deep-saturated potatoes and oil better than a sugary
red concoction that drips from an iconic bottle. Today, instead
was mayonnaise. According to Mom, you’re just a fool if you use
of ketchup, I prefer hot sauce on burgers and hot mustard on
any mayonnaise other than Hellman’s or Kraft. And even with
kosher dogs. And I’d definitely never pour ketchup over fresh
Kraft, she’ll sigh and wonder just a bit about the universe your
fried shrimp or fish, for I remember watching my brother be
ancestors abandoned to get here. Every now and then (and I
severely scolded by the manager of one of Birmingham’s finest
believe he did it just to make her blood pressure rise) Dad would
Greek eateries when he foolishly spread his ketchup over a piece
claim that Blue Plate or Bama tasted better. It’s funny that he
of fried red snapper. You might wonder why this culinary palace
would brook no dissent on ketchup, yet he egged mayonnaise on
served ketchup at all. I don’t know. Why does my dentist offer
her.
coffee to his patients?
“Blue Plate? Echhh. You just don’t know what’s good!”
But if I were to use ketchup, the only ketchup I’d consider
And he’d just laugh and walk away.
buying—and if you know the distinction in the terms ketchup and
Remember, we’re talking about mayonnaise, not Miracle
catsup, you’ll know where I’m heading—is Heinz.
Whip or Smart Balance. But before you ask, “Who really cares,”
All because of Dad.
query your friends and in-laws. I bet most have an opinion, and
“Stokely’s is too runny, and Hunt’s just doesn’t taste as
many will go to war over their favorite. For years, my in-laws bought Kroger brand. But then, they weren’t from here.
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
good. Besides, who wants something called catsup?”
The only brand food that Dad ever questioned her about
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CONTRIBUTORS j us t i n a a ro n is a passive artist who has drawn and painted
Cortland Review, and Main Street Rag, among others. She was also
off and on his whole life. Having collected hundreds of half-finished
awarded a South Carolina Review poetry award and was a finalist for the
drawings, he is lucky to have friends with creative projects he
New Issues Poetry Prize.
can contribute to as motivation. Currently he is a wish coordinator at Make-A-Wish Foundation.
n i co l e b elch er is a multi-disciplinary art director and designer,
with a background in fine art photography and advertising from the j a ke a l l en is a 3D Generalist/Motion Graphic Artist who resides
Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. In her free
in the same city where they filmed 1991 action-thriller Backdraft
time, she loves working on personal illustrations and constantly refining
(Chicago). He also enjoys bread baking, beat making, and other
her artistry through all facets of the creative industry. (hellondb.com)
hobbies that start with the letter B, except for beekeeping, which is too expensive.
j os e lu is b en av i d e s was born and raised in Chicago. He
was the founding music section editor of the Latino online magazine a l l i e a r m s t ro n g earned her BFA from the School of Art and
Gozamos.com and a freelance music journalist for Remezcla.com. He
Design at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 2007. She
has written for the Chilean site Big Fenómeno and his lyric work was
is currently enjoying working as a designer at Leo Burnett Chicago.
featured in Mexico City’s Estrella Cercana.
(alliearmstrong.com) da n i b rya n t is a devised method playwright, director, storyteller t er ry b a r r ’s essays have appeared in such journals as Blue Lyra
and founder of Knife & Fork. Bryant’s projects begin by using social
Review, Sport Literate, Edwin E. Smith Quarterly, and Turk’s Head Review.
practice as an entry point—letting collaborative discussion shape each
He is a regular music contributor to culturemass.com, teaches Creative
piece. She is passionate about creating work on the topic of body
Nonfiction at Presbyterian College, and lives in Greenville, South
politics and the role food plays in our lives. (danibryant.com)
Carolina, with his wife and two daughters.
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
m at t h e w b u r n s teaches writing and literature at SUNY
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j o e b a u m a n n ’s fiction and essays have appeared in Tulane
Cobleskill in upstate New York. His poem “Rhubarb” won the 2010
Review, Willow Review, Hawai’i Review, SNReview, Lindenwood Review,
James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and his other
and many others. He is the author of Ivory Children, published in 2013
poems and essays have appeared in Quiddity, Folk Art, Ragazine, Spoon
by Red Bird Chapbooks, and teaches composition, creative writing,
River Poetry Review, Memoir (and), Camas, and others.
and literature at St. Charles Community College. el a i n e ch en is an illustrator and artist based in Los Angeles, er i n b e a l m e a r ’s poetry has been published in The New York
specializing in watercolor, ink, and mixed media illustration. In her
Quarterly, Clackamas Literary Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, The
artwork, she has demonstrated a penchant for imaginative scenarios,
often involving a fantastical approach to food. She received her BFA
s e á n a n f o r b e s is a writer, poet, artist and storyteller. She
in illustration from California College of the Arts. (elainechenart.com)
recently joined the editorial staff of Under the Basho, a digital haiku journal. Seánan earns her keep with photography and with writing
angelina diana is graduating from Northern Illinois University
about food, beverages, travel, and artisans. She lives, works and
this year with a bachelors of fine arts degree. As a young aspiring
studies in London and New York City.
artist with an interest in helping and teaching the community, she will next pursue a masters degree in art therapy. One can often find her
diane d . gille t te lives in Chicago with the love of her life.
observing her surroundings or reading a new book or exploring new
She teaches by day, writes by night, and constantly tries to meet the
materials in her projects.
demands of her cats. To read more of her work, visit digillette.com.
sean dove lives and works in Chicago, where he runs his one-man
l i ly g o r d o n is a senior at the University of Chicago majoring
design studio And Thank You For Flying. His love of screen printing,
in Environmental Studies. Cooking, writing, weeding, fermenting, and
comics and film have influenced his multidisciplinary approach to making
hiking are what she most enjoys. Last year she explored the tastes of
things, be it posters or short films. He enjoys walking to work, the middle
the wild mushrooms of Madrid and the hummus of Jerusalem while
seat at the theater, and plaid shirts. (AndThankYouForFlying.com)
studying there.
k a i ly n d own en is a South Carolinian living in Chicago. She
s o n i a g r e e n f i e l d was born in Peekskill, New York and now
studied graphic design at the University of South Carolina (go
calls Los Angeles home, where she lives with her family and two
cocks!) and is currently a production designer at Leo Burnett.
chubby dogs. Her work has appeared in a variety of places including
(kailyndownen.com)
The Massachusetts Review, Role Reboot, Rattle, and the 2010 Best American Poetry. She teaches writing at USC.
chloë feldm an emison has shown widely in the United
States and England. She studied art at Williams College and the
l iz
Ruskin School and animation at Forkbeard Fantasy in Devon. Her
winning trade publication for professional chefs. She been covering
illustrations for a new book of fairy tales will be published soon.
the local dining scene for ten years for a variety of print and online
g ros s m a n is the managing editor of Plate, an award-
publications. (lizgrossman.com) b e a ep s t ei n is a writer and psychotherapist. She is writing a a n d r e a g u i n n is a book cover designer and sometimes–
immigrants from Eastern Europe. Bea’s stories have been published
illustrator struggling to bake the perfect chess pie. She lives in a
in The Connecticut Review, Potomac Review, Rosebud, Passager, Poetica,
borough of New York.
Pegasus Review, Epiphany-epiphmag, Long Story Short, and other literary magazines. Bea was a finalist for the Brooklyn Nonfiction Literary Prize,
m i k e y h e l l e r is a cartoonist and comedian living in New York
2013. Her work won Honorable Mention in the National League of
City. He is the author of the webcomic Time Trabble (timetrabble.com).
American Pen Women Literary Competition, 2012.
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
collection of stories about her childhood, growing up the daughter of
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m a l lo ry h er m a n , originally from Alabama, works as an Art
s c o t t k r e i d e r is a photographer, artist, and community reporter
Director at Leo Burnett Chicago. She enjoys doodling, football, and
based in Lancaster, PA. An ardent traveler, and formerly an English
throwing Chicken Finger parties. Roll tide. (malloryherman.com)
teacher in South Korea, his body of work covers locations across the U.S. and Asia. Scott has shown his work at galleries in Lancaster, Los Angeles,
j a r d l e y j e a n - lo u is is an artist from Queens, New York
and most recently at the Susquehanna Art Museum in Harrisburg.
City.She loves drawing dudes, details, clothing, and clutter. View
More of his work can be found at kscottkreider.crevado.com or
more of her
work at jardleyjean-louis.com and follow her at
kscottkreider.tumblr.com.
junkieexpress.tumblr.com. t h eo r a k v i t k a is an illustrator, cartoonist and urbanist living e m el i e j o h a n s s o n is an artist and photographer from Sweden.
in Chicago. Her work as the Assistant Manager of the Logan Square
She received her bachelor degree in communication and studio art
Farmers Market has led to some crushes on farmers, much like
from DePauw University in 2012. Her recent work utilizes the language
the protagonist of “Golden Delicious”. See more of her work at
and tools of mapping and the process of walking in order to explore the
theorakvitka.com.
relationships between culture, self, and sense of place. Follow her work at emeliejohansson.se.
j u l i e m a r t i n is a junior at Tulane University in New Orleans
studying art history and art studio. She is most recognizable by her j e ff k a u c k ’s photography has been gracing the pages of
ultra-high-pitched voice and has been told many times to go into
magazines and cookbooks for decades. His original training as a water
the voiceover industry but instead plans to continue her college years
colorist is reflected in his lighting style and sense of composition. Jeff
exploring and eating her way through the Big Easy.
has won numerous awards, including a James Beard nomination for the Spiaggia Cookbook.
pat r i c k m c k ay has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency,
Defenestration Magazine, and Kugelmass. He once created a super bowl n ata l i a kowa l ec zko is a Design Director at the Leo Burnett
commercial that won an Emmy. Who knew a commercial could even do
Dept. of Design. She loves creative thinking and spirited, smart,
that? Pat and his family now live in Seattle where he’s trying to edit his
conceptual design. Apart from all-things-art she enjoys cooking,
first novel. It’s taking awhile.
G R A Z E // I S S U E F I V E
riding her bicycle, playing piano, a good book, far-away travels and
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gelato-a-day in the summertime.
c h lo e y e l e n a m i l l e r is the author of Unrest, a poetry
chapbook published by Finishing Line Press (2013). Chloe teaches m a r y pat ly n c h writes poetry, essays and fiction exploring
writing privately and online at Fairleigh Dickinson University and leads
various realities. Her work has appeared in Parabola, PanGaia,
writing workshops at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C.
Sagewoman, Rocky Mountain Dream Journal, and various Llewellyn
(chloeyelenamiller.blogspot.com)
annuals, and online in Earthsongs and Mytholog.
k e l ly p r at t
is a designer at Onion, Inc. She often eats
su e
s ta at s ’ fiction and poetry have been published or are
sandwiches, and since 2012 has been eating a sandwich for every
forthcoming in Los Angeles Review, Farallon Review, and Alimentum,
state as part of a personal project she calls Stately Sandwiches.
A Journal of Food, among others. She was a recent finalist for the Gulf
She recently ate the fiftieth sandwich and is excited to announce what’s
Coast Prize in Fiction. She earned her MFA from Pacific University and
next. (kellypratt.com)
is working on a collection of short stories.
a d d i e p r i ce is a painter, illustrator, art historian and educator
jesse
working and teaching in Chicago. Her work ranges from large-scale oil
stylist based in Chicago. His food is often abstract and influenced
paintings to intimate etchings, focusing on the nuances of the human
by his love of contemporary art. His work can be seen at
body, the malleability of memories, and the importance of people and
culinaryconceptsbyjessescott.com.
s ze wc z yk is a professional Chef and freelance food
places in our everyday lives. (addieroseprice.com) e i l e e n t j a n is an award-winning, DC-based graphic designer ken to n q uatm a n is a regular guy, drawing pictures in Brooklyn,
and art director. Visit eileentjan.com to view more of her design and
New York. Keep up with Kenton’s work and find out what he had for
illustration work.
lunch by following @kentonquatman on Twitter and Instagram. s t e v e t r um p e t er enjoys the locavore lifestyle, both culinary ch a n d r a r a m is the editor of Plate magazine, and serves as
and literary. His first published story was a winner of Chicago Reader’s
president of the board for Meals on Wheels Chicago. She holds a BA
2012 Pure Fiction contest, and his work has since appeared in locally-
in journalism from Loyola University Chicago, an AOS in culinary arts
sourced lit mags such as Chicago Quarterly Review and Sycamore
from The Culinary Institute of America, and has passed the certificate
Review in addition to farther flung publications. He teaches fiction at
level of the Court of Master Sommeliers exam. She has won several
StoryStudio Chicago and, on occasion, even manages to update his
Jesse H. Neal journalism awards and the McAllister Editorial Fellowship
website at stevetrumpeter.com.
and is the co-author of The Eiffel Tower Restaurant Cookbook. el iz a t u d o r is a recent transplant from Silicon Valley to the south cl a r e ros e a n is a Chicago artist; her drawings are illustrations of
coast of England. Her work has appeared in Hobart, PANK, Annalemma,
unsettling dream scenarios. She received her BFA from the School of
specs, Weave, Punchnel’s, Paper Darts, The Flyover Review, and the
the Art Institute in 2010, and her MFA from the University of Chicago
anthology, Mythic Indy. You can find her through elizatudor.com. m at t h e w wi l s o n , 30, has had over one hundred appearances
kr is to p h er s ch m el zer majored in Photography at DePauw
in such places as Horror Zine, Star*Line, Spellbound, Illumen,
University. His work showcases people and the intimate interactions
Apokrupha Press, Hazardous Press, Gaslight Press, Sorcerers Signal
they share that are often overlooked. Currently he is a Digital Solutions
and many more. He is currently editing his first novel and can be
Specialist at The Chicago Tribune.
contacted on twitter @matthew94544267.
G R A Z E // I S S U E S I X
in 2012.
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