Looking for something to occupy your time in the cold weather? Here are a few things that peak our interest for the snowy season. With everything going on in and around Park Slope, narrowing the list to just a few selections was difficult. We managed to whittle our recommendations down to a list of our favorites; they are too good to keep to ourselves. If you have something you would like to share, send it along to us at office@psreader.com.
SWEET TREATS THAT SAVE LIVES
Rescue Chocolate
Sarah Gross has a knack for developing delicious chocolates. She also loves her rescued dog. When she realized that she could combine her talent with her passion, Rescue Chocolate was born. This Brooklyn-based company offers a variety of chocolates to satisfy your sweet. With fun names like “Peanut Butter Pit Bull” and “The Fix,” Rescue Chocolate brings awareness to animal issues. They also donate all of the net proceeds from your purchase to animal rescue organizations around the country. The chocolate is 100% vegan, yet tastes rich, sweet and decadent. The bright packaging for each chocolate bar includes information about the pet overpopulation problem and features the image of an adorable rescue animal. Chocolate is hard to resist on its own, but those puppy-dog eyes will melt your heart. Rescue Chocolate is available locally at Blue Apron Foods. You can also order it online to be shipped, or pick up your purchase at their Grand Army Plaza headquarters. To learn more (and order chocolate) check out the Rescue Chocolate website, www.rescuechocolate.com
A NEW TWIST ON AN OLD FAVORITE
Radio Happy Hour
I have serious nostalgic feelings about radio shows – visions of families sitting close to the radio, rapt with attention. I know I’m not alone with these feelings; Garrison Keeler has Prairie Home Companion, and in the movie A Christmas Story young Ralphie obsesses over Little Orphan Annie. Happily, modern technology is able indulge my nostalgia. This is the case with Radio Happy Hour, a monthly variety show recorded (frequently at Le Poisson Rouge in the West Village and occasionally at The Bell House in Park Slope) in front of a live audience. The show has an old-time format to it, combining music, comedy, audience participation and a murder mystery. Celebrity guests (who have included Norah Jones, Chuck Klosterman, and Jesse Eisenberg) are invited to play trivia and participate as characters in the murder mystery plot. A mix of writers, actors and musicians makes for an unpredictable, and hilarious evening. It’s smart, irreverent, and funny – a fully entertaining experience. You can listen to the podcasts of these hour-long adventures on the website radiohappyhour.com, or get in on the action by going to see a performance in person.
THE SECRETS TO YOGA AND LIFE EXPLORED
Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses by Clarie Dederer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Though set in North Seattle, this book could easily take place in Park Slope. Ten years ago Claire Dederer began taking yoga classes to ease back pains she experienced when breast-feeding her daughter. What she thought would be a physical whim turned into a spiritual practice that not only alleviated the problems with her back, but larger concerns in her life. Each chapter is devoted to a specific yoga position, which she uses as a tool to meditate on her past and present. With each pose she becomes stronger and more self-aware. While juggling the pressures of being a working mother and trying to accommodate all of the needs and expectations of her family, she finds solace in yoga. Sprinkled in is the history of yoga and spiritual background. It serves as a perfect introduction to yoga as Claire explains the origins of the poses and her experiences in finding them. We learn how yoga worked for her, and by extension can work for you. Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) by Claire Dederer is available in bookstores December 23, 2010.
A DARK SATIRE FOR THE COLD NIGHTS
John Gabriel Borkman by Henrik Ibsen in a new version by Frank McGuiness. BAM Jan 7—Feb 6, 2011
Financial greed, embez-zlement, prison, and reinvention are at the center of Henrik Ibsen’s play John Gabrield Borkman. Originally written by Ibsen in 1896, Frank McGuiness of the Abbey Theatre in Ireland brings this new adaptation to the United States for the first time. Alan Rickman plays the title character, an unrepentant banker who has spent the past five years in prison for embezzlement. Upon his return home, he finds coldness and isolation from his wife, Gunhild (played by Fiona Shaw) and family. Matters are complicated further when Borkman’s former love, who happens to be Gunhild’s twin sister, arrives. This dark satire, though written over one hundred years ago resonates with the modern times. BAM hosts John Gabriel Borkman January 7 – February 6, 2011. To learn more and order tickets visit www.bam.org.
THE COOKBOOK THAT COMBATS GLOBAL WARMING
The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman [Simon & Schuster]
In Food Matters, Mark Bittman discusses how the way we eat impacts the world. He explains how changing your diet will not only help you lose weight, but make you healthier and help combat global warming. The companion, The Food Matters Cookbook, offers recipes to “eat slow and stop global warming.” It provides the guidelines for what he calls “responsible eating.” This involves cutting back on the calories in your diet that come from animal-based products, while increasing the amount from fruits, nuts, vegetables, and whole grains. What he creates is a diet not of denying food groups and ingredients, but of balance. The recipes are complex in flavor, but simple to make. This is not a vegetarian cookbook; it includes recipes using meat, seafood, poultry and dairy. What he does is simply reduce the portion sizes of animal products, so they are represented in the meal, but not central. Anyone with a sweet tooth shouldn’t fear either; according to Bittman dessert is not a taboo. The book also contains useful information for variations, substitutions and where to find local, seasonal, sustainable foods. With The Food Matters Cookbook (Simon & Schuster), you find that responsible eating can be simple and satisfying.
RING IN THE NEW YEAR
Chinese New Year: Feb 3rd – 6th, The Year of the Rabbit
February 3rd rings in the Year of the Rabbit on the lunar calendar. If you have never been in Chinatown during the Lunar New Year celebrations, it’s only a short subway ride away. The festivities kick off on February 3rd with a flower market and culminate on Sunday, February 6th with a fireworks demonstration and the 12th Annual Lunar New Year Parade and Festival. As the streets of Chinatown fill with people popping confetti tubes (a safer alternative to fireworks) lion and dragon dancers parade along street stopping into local businesses to bring good fortune in the year ahead. Immediately following the official parade, musicians and dancers open the festival. So grab a moon cake and join in the celebrations. You can learn more about the festival details by visiting www.explorechinatown.com.
