Black Magic

The Urban Naturalist hopes that a few parents in the neighborhood are handing out chocolate tonight. It's incredibly delicious, and, surprise, incredibly healthy. In fact, true dark chocolate's ability to lower cholesterol levels make it daily recommended fare. Finding a Dark Chocolate bar with 70% cocoa content or above is the important thing. While the milk in milk-chocolate bars is counteractive to the natural benefits of cocoa, dark chocolate retains the natural rewards. The Urban Naturalist can personally recommend Green and Black's Dark (70%) bar. This bar not only uses all organic ingredients, but contains Organic Chocolate Liquor as an added bonus. Chocolate itself has a pretty interesting history dating back to the Maya and Aztec.

As the weather turns a little cooler, here is a hot chocolate recipe that utilizes dark chocolate.

Spicy Hot Chocolate
Serves 2

3 oz high-quality dark chocolate, chopped [I used Scharffen Berger 70% Cacao]
2 cups milk [I used 1%]
1 t. cinnamon
¼ t. cayenne pepper
Pinch salt
1-2 t. sugar, optional [this depends on how bitter your chocolate is]

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until it’s hot but not boiling. Serve immediately.

(recipe fromWords to Eat by, a wonderful Brooklyn food and writing site.)

Funny Pages

Tony Millionaire writes and draws Maakies and Sock Monkey. For any Williamsburg historians, he played an important role in the cultural redevelopment of Williamsburg after he moved there in the early '90s. In 1998, Millionaire moved to Los Angeles, but his presence is still felt in Williamsburg. Right above the Bedford Ave. L stop is a Millionaire drawing advertising Pete's Candy Shop. The last time I checked Maakies still runs regularly in The Village Voice (though I haven't picked-up a Voice in two years), and since I wouldn't advocate any urban naturalist start reading the VV, we'll show Maakies here every week.

Secret Science Club Event this week!

The Secret Science Club (of NYC) presents...
The Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest
Friday, November 2, 2007 at 8 PM @ Union Hall

This is the kind of event underground naturalists look forward to. Oddities, drinks, curators from the Museum of Natural History, and, at the center of it all, taxidermy mingle for an educational and enjoyable evening at Union Hall in Park Slope. Patrons are encouraged to contribute or just observe the wonderful world of stuffed animals both ecological and cryptozoological.

Specifics about the event can be found at The Secret Science Club's website. here.

The Secret Science Club meets the first Wednesday of every month in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
p: 718.638.4400

DR

Victor Talking Machine Company

Yeasayer


Yeasayer are a Brooklyn band worth dropping the needle on some wax for. Or dropping your finger on your mouse for. Wow modern technology can be soulless. Good thing exciting bands like this exist to make checking out a myspace page worthwhile. Yeasayer showed up online earlier this year with the single 2080. The music blog community started the hype. The question is, was it justified? Thank God, it was. Yeasayer have created an amazingly unique and engaging debut album. All Hour Cymbals is eleven tracks of swirling middle-eastern inspired psychedelia. It's multi-instrumental without all that cutesyness. Instead it's inventive, dark, and surprisingly comforting. It's like going for a late evening walk through the woods. This album is that last twenty minutes while you're walking and you've misjudged how dark it's getting. Well, don't be scared. It's just the woods. Everything is just starting to wake-up for the night.

Yeasayer - 2080

BEL

Peter Beard: Jet-Set Naturalism

The Urban Naturalist has taken a special interest in natural photography as of late, and it has led us straight to New York born, jet-set photographer Peter Beard. Beard has made a unique career out of photography by shooting supermodels, rock stars, and African Animals. He has studied African Crocs, Black Rhinos, and Elephants, and he continues to open shows around the world. Among his friends, Beard could count Andy Warhol, who called him a "modern Tarzan" that would "jump into pits of snakes, cut himself, and paint with his own blood."

According to Beard's website:

In 1996, shortly after he was skewered and trampled by an elephant, his first major retrospective opened at the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris, followed by other exhibits in Berlin, London, Toronto, Madrid, Milan, Tokyo and Vienna. He now lives in New York City, Montauk Point, and Kenya with his wife Nejma and daughter Zara.

The Urban Cuisinier

The ability to create. The thrill of invention. Immediate satisfaction for hard work. Cooking is an enjoyable pastime. But there is something else about it too. There is something sexy about cooking. Especially when something incredible is created from scratch. There's no telling what your loved-one will do after a handmade meal and little bit of booze.

What could be more impressive than making pasta from scratch. It sounds intimidating, right? But it's pretty easy and worth the extra work. And who said you couldn't drink on the job. Crack open that bottle of Montefalco or Barolo and relax.

How to make Egg Pasta by Hand
To serve 3-4
2 eggs, salt
1 cup flour

1. Place the flour in the center of a smooth work surface. Make a well in the middle and break eggs into the well. Add a pinch of salt.
2. Beat the eggs with a fork gradually drawing the flour into the well. Mix until it forms a mass. Set the dough aside and scrap off all traces of the dough from the work surface.
3. Lightly flour the work surface, then knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
4. Flour a rolling pin, and roll the dough into a flat circle.
5. Roll out the dough until it is paper thin by rolling up onto the rolling pin and simultaneously giving a sideways stretching with the hands. Do this for 8 to 10 minutes or until the whole sheet it smooth and almost transparent.
6. place the sheet on a clean dish towel and let dry for 25-30 minutes.
7. To cut tagliatele or fettuccine fold the sheet of pasta into a flat roll. Cut across the roll to form noodles of the desired width. After cutting, open out the noodles, and let them dry for about 5 minutes before cooking. These noodles could also be stored for some weeks without refrigeration.

Narwal Whales

Canadian Paul Nicklen's aerial image of male narwhal whales feeding was the winning photo in the nature photography competition's Animals in their Environment category. This breathtaking shot is what naturalist photography is all about to the Urban Naturalist. It inspires awe and wonder the same way those old Time-Life nature books did when we where kids. It's the natural beauty and the ability to still shock the viewer with grandeur after all these years that makes photos like these so important.

Indian Summer

The Urban Naturalist had planned on a men's shopping profile today, but this striking image courtesy of Gothamist is too beautiful to believe. I would like to think there is no photo-editing involved here, beacause it looks like a perfect glimpse of New York during an Indian Summer. Clothing can wait, when there is a wonderful view of our city like that.

DR

The Urban Naturalist's Whiskey Guide

This whiskey guide is very general and meant as a quick reference. In others words, yes, I know there are other types of whiskey, and yes, I know there are exceptions to these rules.

Whiskey in its most general form is an alcoholic beverage distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks. The word whiskey comes from the Gaelic word for "water," and has been translated elsewhere as "the water of life." Not a bad reputation for a liquid usually created using the cheapest products the distiller can get their hands on. There are many types of whiskey, but we'll focus on the most popular; Scottish, Irish, and American whiskey.

Scottish Whiskey, or "Scotch"

The most basic regulations placed on types of whiskey are regarding where they are produced. As would be expected, Scotch must be distilled in Scotland. Scotch is usually distilled twice and must be aged in casks for a minimum of three years. The two most popular forms of Scotch are single malt (from a singe distillery) and blends (a mixture of malt and grain whiskey and from numerous distilleries).

Popular Single Malts: Glenlivet, Macallan, Oban, Dalmore, Bruichladdich, Laphroaig
Popular Blends: Johnnie Walker, Dewars, Chivas Regal

Irish Whiskey

Irish Whiskey must be distilled in Ireland and aged in casks for no less than three years. Unpeated malt is almost always used.

Popular Brands: Jameson, Powers, Bushmills, Black Bush

American Whiskey

The most unique types of American Whiskey are Bourbons and Rye Whiskey. Bourbon Whiskey must be made with between 51% and 79% corn, must be aged a minimum of two years, and must be distilled in Kentucky. Rye whiskey must be made with at least 51% rye and must also be aged a minimum of two years. Jack Daniel's is often confused as a Bourbon, though it is a Tennessee whiskey. Jack Daniel's is distilled in compliance with all Bourbon regulations. It's just that it is not distilled in Kentucky.

Popular Rye Whiskey: Sazerac, Rittenhouse, Michters, Old Overholt

Popular Bourbon Whiskey: Buffalo Trace, 1792, Blantons, Bulleit, Eagle Rare, Elijah Craig, Elmer T. Lee, George T. Stagg, Knob Creek, Maker's Mark, Pappy Van Winkle, Wild Turkey


If you twisted the Urban Naturalist's arm, American whiskeys are our favorites. That carmel finish, and natural corn flavors are the best. And American Rye has an even cleaner finish and crisp warm appeal. Some of the small batch American whiskeys are hard to find in New York City but try Lenell's in Red Hook. It's the best liquor store in New York.

Fantastic Man

Fantastic Man is by far the best fashion magazine on the stands. The Urban Naturalist looks to it for information about Helmut Lang, plaid, jersey sweat, mustaches. Each issue, which comes out twice a year, features profiles on interesting men with unique style and lives and cool 'anti-fashion' advise. The lastest issue has Vinoodh Matadin on the cover and a snazzy gold trim. Buy it now.

Luckily for New Yorkers, Fantastic Man is available all over the city. Try St. Mark's Bookstore or any magazine stand in SOHO.

Naturalism around the web

Moose find safety near roads.
Elephants sense "danger" clothes.
Coral "gets it on" following a full moon.
Giant Snails overrun Brazil.
Environmentalism is becoming a religious issue.
Nate Tyler wants to see more stars.
Witch Doctors are killing off the Ugandan Crane.
A new Dinosaur was unearthed in Argentina.
Schwarzenegger saving the California Condor.
Cities in the South are running out of water.

New Weathering Lands

Little Cakes Little Gallery Presents:
New Weathering Lands, by Shawn Reed
October 19th to November 11th, 2007

The show opens today at 1pm.

From the press release:

"In “New Weathering Lands” Shawn Reed transforms Little Cakes with implied religion, allegory, and symbolism. It would seem as if one had happened upon a small room of Medieval paintings were it not for his chosen style of depicting his subject matter. His woodblock prints and embroideries resemble the simple lines and bold colors in comic book and children’s book illustrations rather than the delicate attention to detail found in Illuminated Manuscripts, but still retain the mysticism and mythology. They are post apocalyptic fantasies dependent on imaginary, fabled beings."

Little Cakes Little Gallery – 625 East 6th Street #1B, NYC NY 10009
646-342-1056 / goodies@littlecakes.org / littlecakes.org

Gallery hours are Friday through Sunday, 1pm to 6pm, and also by appointment. Our gallery does not have opening receptions but welcomes you to view the entire show from 1pm on opening day. Little Cakes Little Gallery is located on East 6th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. The closest subway stations are the F/V at Second Avenue and the L at First Avenue.

Oregon Terroir

In the world of spirits, that is liquors, or to say alcohol, your everyday lush has many choices. All to often, particular drinks carry a particular stigmatism about the drinkers themselves. What is to be made of the Cosmopolitan drinker? Are they truly cosmopolitan? Do they want to be? Is the Manhattan drinker actually from Manhattan? Do they wish they were? Or are they in New York City, at a Manhattan bar, drinking an eponymous cocktail? Aside from cocktails, personality can sometimes be assumed when that special breed of alcoholic known as the straight drinker orders. No mixers here, please. Just liquor. Maybe some ice. But that only means I'm new to this, and not honest with myself yet. This drinking breed has developed a drinking personality devolved to its most simple form. A type, a label, and a style.

This Urban Naturalist's drink of choice is American whiskey. And as long as it's from Kentucky, we can call it Bourbon. But along comes modernity, and everything gets complicated. It seems that Oregon thinks it can do everything these days. Make wine, Make people think Portland is cool, and now distill whiskey. I'm all about mad-scientist alcohol production done in someone's basement or garage after work, but a few whiskey producers in Oregon are starting to discuss the Oregon style. It's even been noticed by national publications like Food and Wine. Like Ireland, Scotland, and Kentucky, Oregon is trying to get on the whiskey map. You be the judge. No better yet, I'll be the judge. One box of Oregon whiskey, please. No mixers. No ice. Just neat.


Coming later this week:
The Urban Naturalist presents:
A Quick Whiskey Guide

Silent Lucidity

"In a lucid dream, you have a sharper sense of color and lucidity than with your eyes open. I'm intersted in the point where imaginative seeing and outside seeing meet, where it becomes difficult to differentiate between seeeing from the inside and seeing from the outside." James Turrell


This past Sunday, The Urban Naturalist stopped by PS1 to see the James Turrell exhibit, Meeting. Turrell has long been an artist obsessed with light and landscape and Meeting is one of his more remarkably subtle works. The exhibit consists of a simple solitary room, closed off from the rest of the museum. There is a wooden sitting area lining the four walls and a large square hole in the ceiling open to the sky. The exhibit opens one hour before dusk, and the room slowly transforms from white into an artificially lit glow as sunlight trades space with the orange instillation lights. These orange lights make the blue sky a vibrant ever-changing canvas. The space itself is very meditative and does what many museums have a hard time pulling off, which is connecting the viewer to nature. Turrell, who has a great beard, is currently working on a massively ambitious project called Roden Crater.

Bleeker Street

"I see them looking at me. They're hiding in the trash bins and postered walls. They look at me vacantly."

Dan Rousseau

Bavarian Brew

Jack Fall finally popped into town this week. Sally Summer is gone for the year and Jack Frost won't be kicking it until at least January. Rumors of Simon Springs yearlong bender are of course exaggerated. Anyway, aside from all the fictional season deities playing Chinese fire drill, the sudden change in season made The Urban Naturalist remember those wonderful fall beers, like Brooklyn Oktoberfest. Now I've never been one to stray too far away from good old Budweiser, but a tasty seasonal brew produced by a trusty local brewery can be quite enjoyable during a good college football game or a few hours spent staring out the window as leaves slowly change hues and float down onto the cooling pavement. While you're doing these things make sure to notice the malty qualities of this amber beer. The taste starts out toasted and caramelly and becomes honey dipped as the glass warms. Brooklyn Oktoberfest is only available until October 31st, so grab them while you still can.

The Barber Showing Photographs

There haven't been many occasions when the Urban Naturalist has had to wonder aloud, "What exactly is the difference between a barbershop and a salon?" Without gathering any sort of expert information, I can offer these observations. Salons are very expensive and barbershops are not. Salons smell like flowers and barbershops smell like shaving cream. Salons are mostly filled with women or men with stylish haircuts and barbershops are normally filled with old men and sports' highlights. Barbershops give you a haircut, while salons give you a hairdo. Sounds like barbershops have the upper-hand for any urban naturalist, right? Wrong. Unless you're looking for a buzz, a fade, or a monk, the barbershop can lead to a quick, inexpensive, disaster.

Good thing our wonderful city offers a compromise. Freeman's Sporting Club not only sells impressively constructed men's suits, but also provides salon quality haircuts with a classic barbershop feel. When the Urban Naturalist stopped in recently (appointments are not excepted) and asked to , "keep the hair long, just not feminine," the barber (or is it hairstylist) didn't put any weird products in it, didn't try to chat, and cut it perfectly. The thirty-five dollar price-tag made the Urban Naturalist even happier. When you're done with the trim, take two steps down the alley, grab a rye whiskey at Freeman's Alley, and impress the single lady waiting at the bar.

Barber Services Price list
$25 Men’s Trim
$40 Men’s Haircut
$35 Straight Razor Shave
$65 Shave and a Haircut

No appointments.
All services are done on a walk in basis.


Freemans Sporting Club

8 Rivington Street
(between Bowery & Chrystie) East Store Front
New York, NY 10002
212-673-3209

Hours of Operation:
Monday – 12:00 to 8:00PM
Tuesday to Friday – 12:00 to 8:00PM
Saturday – 11:00 to 8:00PM
Sunday – 12:00 to 6:00PM

Tago Mago

This Urban Naturalist has been pilfering fresh veggies from all the farmer's markets scattered around the city, and I'm left with a few vegetables too many. This time of the season is especially wonderful for locally grown tomatoes, so why not horde a whole lot of them to can and save for the winter? I know it sounds a little old-fashioned, but canning goods for the winter does make a lot of sense. For one, you're preserving locally grow vegetables for out-of-season consumption, and there's sort of an element of survival to securing a wintertime food stash months in advance. Below is a great salsa recipe and a quick overview on canning. Also, be sure to follow our post's title to an appropriate soundtrack.

Tomato/Green Chile Salsa

Yield: 3 pints
3 cups peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes
3 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles
3/4 cup chopped onions
1 jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp oregano leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and heat, stirring frequently, until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot into pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner 15 minutes at 0-1,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes at 1,001-6,000 feet; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet (editor's note: everyone should have an altitude awareness).

Canning, or processing jars
Using the Pressure Canner: Step-by-Step

1.) Put 3 inches of hot water in the canner, place the filled, closed jars on the bottom rack.

2.) Leave the weight, the little jiggler, off the vent port, or open the petcock, depending on what type pressure canner you have.

3.) Heat on high until steam flows from the petcock or vent port, let steam flow for 10 minutes.

4.) Place the weight on the vent port, or close the petcock. During the next 3 to 5 minutes, the canner will pressurize.

5.) When the pressure reading on the dial gauge indicates that the recommended pressure has been reached, or when the weighted gauge begins to jiggle, set your time for the required processing time for your recipe.

6.) Regulate the heat to maintain the desired pressure reading on the dial gauge, if you use the jiggling weightier gauge, the desired setting is 2 or 3 jiggles per minute.

7.) When your timer goes off, cut the heat off, and remove the canner from the stove. DO NOT attempt to open the canner; it must de-pressurize slowly without any interference. This will take at least half an hour, maybe several hours depending on your canner.

8.) When de-pressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. You know the canner is de-pressurized when you can tap the weighted gauge and no hissing noise escapes, or the dial gauge reads zero pressure.

9.) Remove the jars from the canner with a jar lifter and place one inch apart on a towel or cooling rack.

Note: If you don't have a rack in the bottom of your canner, you can use a dishtowel folded in half in the bottom. This is absolutely necessary in order to keep the jars off the bottom, in direct content with the heat source.

Secret Gardens

So NYC doesn't really have any secret neighborhoods, right? Well Queen's Sunnyside Gardens is about as close to a secret as this urban naturalist has come across since coming to the city. Located just north of the 7 train, Sunnyside Gardens is a garden neighborhood and historic district that is a model of successful urban planning. According to the Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance, "the real estate developers were philanthropic idealists... and included Alexander Bing, William Sloane Coffin, Felix Adler, and Eleanor Roosevelt."

On top of all that wonderful history, Sunnyside Gardens is just damn beautiful. The streets are densely green, the buildings are no taller than two-stories and often ivy covered, and it's just "out-there" enough to avoid outright gentrification. On an afternoon walk, I noticed many residents tending to the communal courtyards or enjoying a newspaper on their green, lush terraces. Anyway, The Urban Naturalist has always been an avid supporter of utopian communities, especially when they actually work. But don't pack your bags yet. A quick search on Craigslist doesn't offer much availability. In fact, only one listing was actually located in the real Sunnyside Gardens.