Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: N. Scott Momaday, Faya Dayi, Touki Bouki & Chef Lerato's Africana!

“The aesthetic experience is a simple beholding of the object . . . you experience a radiance. You are held in aesthetic arrest.” - Joseph Campbell

Aesthetic Arrest is our weekly dip into the Epicurean pleasures we’ve been enjoying lately. Cheers to that!

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This Week’s Apéritif: A Sour Jdid & A Champagne Cocktail à la Rick's Café in Casablanca, Morocco

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Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:

Reading: The Death of Sitting Bear: New and Selected Poems by N. Scott Momaday (February 27, 1934 – January 24, 2024)

Purchase here

• Watch this great documentary: N. Scott Momaday: Words From a Bear (via PBS American Masters)

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Listening: Bubisher (new single), Mawja (upcoming new album) and Sahari (2019) by Aziza Brahim

Pre-Order Aziza Brahim’s New Album - Mawja (multiple platforms)

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

• Official Site of Aziza Brahim

• English Translations of 4 Songs from the Album: Hada Jil (This Generation); Mujayam (Camps); Leil (Night); Sahari (The Deserts) (via World Listening Post)

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Looking: The Art of Ahmed Yacoubi (1928-1985)

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• Ahmed Yacoubi on Instagram / Official Site

• The Alchemist’s Cookbook by Ahmed Yacoubi:

Purchase via Etsy

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Viewing: Touki Bouki — directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty (available via Criterion)

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Tasting: Africana: More Than 100 Recipes and Flavors Inspired by a Rich Continent by Lerato Umah-Shaylor

Purchase here.

• Official Site of Lerato / Instagram

• Check out Lerato’s Substack: Cook With Lerato - Subscribe here!

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LERATO 🍅 on Instagram: “VEGAN AFRICANA 💚 is my new series where I share spectacular plantbased recipes from across Africa including some of the 40+ plantbased recipes in my cookbook AFRICANA. Recipes that you will want to cook and eat. Sumptuous and packed full of flavour like these Slowcooked Black Eyed Beans. A West African staple that has influenced cooking in the diaspora from the US to the Caribbean, Brazil and beyond. A perfect start to the new year. 💃🏽 💚My Cook’s Tips & how to make this dish vegan 💚
- use whatever beans you have available, even chickpeas will do
- soak beans for 8-10 hours to reduce gas but not that much time will be saved
- to really save time use a pressure cooker - swap the traditional use of crayfish/dried shrimp or prawns for smoked paprika and uda/Selim pods (see Cook with Lerato for tips)
- smoked paprika & blended red peppers can also replace palm oil if you don’t have any I kindly asked my chef in Ghana to prepare this using my recipe, however it’s not very natural for us to follow recipes. 😅 So he went off piste. I also couldn’t resist joining him in the kitchen as I am such a busy body and I love cooking nourishing meals. 😂🔥 To learn more, find the recipe in your copy of my cookbook Africana and SIGN UP to become a member of the ⭐️ Cook with Lerato ⭐️ community where you will receive this and more exclusive recipes, more in-depth tips with inspiraton for you to become a fabulous cook. ⬆️ #VeganAfricana #CookwithLerato #Africanacookbook #africanvegan #veganuary #plantbasedrecipes #whattocook”

January 31, 2024

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Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:

Reading: House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday (February 27, 1934 – January 24, 2024)

Purchase here

• Celebrating N. Scott Momaday (via The Paris Review)

• Watch this great documentary: N. Scott Momaday: Words From a Bear (via PBS American Masters)

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Listening: 3 by Abdullah Ibrahim

Purchase via Bandcamp

• Official Site of Abdullah Ibrahim

• Abdullah Ibrahim brings his spell-binding Trio to Barbican (via Jazzwise)

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Looking: The Art of Julie Mehretu

• Julie Mehretu at Marian Goodman Gallery

• Julie Mehretu on Instagram / Works for Sale (via Artsy)

• Julie Mehretu: The Process is Both Granular and Galactic (via Flaunt)

• Check out Julie Mehretu's upcoming exhibition in Venice, Italy at the Palazzo Grassi: Julie Mehretu. Ensemble (on view March 17, 2024 to January 6, 2025!)

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Viewing: Faya Dayi (2021) — directed, written & produced by Jessica Beshir (available via Criterion)

• “I Wanted Viewers to Meet People Before They Become News Stories”: Jessica Beshir on Faya Dayi (via Filmmaker)

• ‘Faya Dayi’ Review: Stylish Documentary Immerses Us in the Khat Leaf’s Intoxicating Aura (via Variety)

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Tasting: Africana: More Than 100 Recipes and Flavors Inspired by a Rich Continent by Lerato Umah-Shaylor

Purchase here.

• Official Site of Lerato / Instagram

• Check out Lerato’s Substack: Cook With Lerato - Subscribe here!

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Cherrypick (previously Lollipop) on Instagram: “Get ready to up your spice game as guest chef Lerato tells us about one of her new recipes on the Cherrypick platform. This Moroccan spiced roasted veg with cod is sure to be a weeknight winner. Simple, whole ingredients cooked to perfection, just how we like it. We can’t wait for you to get ordering @leratofoods next batch of recipes 🌶 Access Lerato’s 3 new recipes on the Cherrypick app through the link in our bio. Start shopping your weekly meals and groceries in minutes with Cherrypick. #moroccanrecipes #moroccanfood #spicedveg #roastedveg #traybake #traybakerecipes #codrecipes #healthyrecipes #healthychoices #healthylifestyle #familyrecipes #delliciousfood #spices #spiceoflife”

January 31, 2024

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LERATO 🍅 on Instagram

January 31, 2024

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LERATO 🍅 on Instagram: “PEPPERSOUP! 🇳🇬 In true Nigerian style, I call you. Come and eat oh! 💃🏽🍲 Want recipe video? This enchanting soup is fed to our mothers after childbirth. The warming elixir with wondrous spices keeps us warm from childhood and until our last days on earth. Over the years I have mastered a special blend with chicken broth, grains of paradise, calabash nutmeg, cubeb peppers, lemongrass, makrut lime leaves or sometimes Thai basil to replace African blue basil also known as scent leaf, and with yams to thicken slightly. Heaven!!! Recipe in your copy of Africana 📕 #nigerianfood #peppersoup #soupseason #africansoup”

January 31, 2024

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That’s it for this week! But we want the dinner party to continue! So each week we are asking a “dinner party” question for everyone joining us here at our table. Last week, we asked: “What's one of YOUR favorite delis?” Here are some of the great responses from the comments:

• Ryan Wildstar chose Art's Delicatessen in Studio City!

• Ryan Elston chose Sabor Latino in Montreal!

• Del Mar chose Langer's Delicatessen in L.A.!

• kde chose L'As du Fallafel in Paris!

• Cheryl chose Saigon Deli in Seattle!

Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses! That was last week . . . but we don't want this week's dinner party to end either!

So here is this week's question for the table:

This week we talked about two excellent films from Africa, Touki Bouki and Faya Dayi, both of which are available in the Criterion Collection.

So, our question for the table this week is:

What's one of YOUR favorite foreign films? Or to put it another way, what’s one of your favorite examples of “world cinema”?

Tell us your choice in the comments and we’ll share some of your responses on next week’s podcast!

Also, don't forget to stop by The Epicurean Vagabonds Substack on Wednesdays, to check out our revamped Mid-Week Libations! Now with audio segments featuring Ryan & Ryan!

And thank you for joining us for Season Two of Aesthetic Arrest!

Cheers to that!