© Vincenzo Aiosa
December, 2014:
Pumpkins Are Freakin’ Amazin’ Fruits
© Frank H. Jump
Over 41 days ago, Vincenzo brought home this beautiful large pumpkin for the porch as our annual fall decoration. I shot it with my iPhone and posted it on Instagram. We don’t carve them or mar them. We took it in before the first major frost and finally yesterday we said, “We have to do something with this freakin’ pumpkin.” What we usually do is hack it up and boil it and put it in freezer bags. This time we cut it in half, removed all the seeds and washed, dried and salted them. We baked the seeds at 350ºF for twenty minutes as we continued to prepare the pumpkin flesh which we cut into large two inch wide wedges without peeling, laid them in rows in a baking sheet and baked them at 350ºF for just a bit over an hour after the seeds were done. We dumped them into a large clear plastic bag and covered it in a towel and let it steam in its own heat. Later after they were still hot but not too hot to handle, I cut off the skin and cut the wedges into inch thick chunks into a glass bowl and let them cool. Most of them we put into freezer bags and froze. The pumpkin is still under-cooked but excellent for throwing into soups and stews.
© Frank H. Jump
Peasant food is one of the cuisines Vincenzo has long savored, bringing back memories when his mother would stretch a meal for five and yet fulfill a dietary and nutritional standard. Polenta is one of those foods that has since become elevated to high cost sides in Italian restaurants. Pumpkin or zucca is another one of those peasant meals Enzo’s mom would make for her hungry brood. This stew is very easy. Just coarsely chop two large red onions, some Yukon potatoes and chopped whole tomatoes, salt pepper to taste and some water. Bring to a boil and throw in the pumpkin that has been cut into inch cubes. You need just enough water to cover and after it has boiled long enough for the potatoes to start to fall apart a bit, shut if off and let it sit. Mmm mmm mmm- so freakin’ good. What’s so freakin’ great is how economical and highly nutritious these meals are. OK, fried anything tastes good but this is just yummy.
© Frank H. Jump
Enzo suggested I cut the inch thick slices in half and flour them with salt and pepper. Then I soaked them in egg and fried them gently on medium flame with crushed red pepper and chopped garlic in olive oil. I turned them on both sides and even stood them up on their sides to get the edges nice and brown. They still seemed a bit hard so I drained them in brown paper towels and put them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for another twenty minutes at 350ºF and drained them on brown paper again. So freakin’ yummy. I could imagine that you can skip the garlic and red pepper and put some sugar and cinnamon in the flour before frying and then after they were finally done, sprinkle them with more sugar and cinnamon for a sweet fried pumpkin treat.
Chris Rock & Rosario Dawson @ Top Five Premiere – Ziegfeld Theatre & Terminal 5, NYC
Slideshow includes images of: Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson, Cedric the Entertainer, Ben Vereen, Lorne Michaels, J.B. Smoove, Tracie Thoms & members of the Dawson Family taken on December 3, 2014 @ Top Five Premiere & After Party and presented in chronological order by © Frank H. Jump (except one promotional shot).
LILYWHITE LIES (1987) – DON’T WANNA BE ANOTHER NUMBER – WORLD AIDS DAY – Twenty-seven years later
Lilywhite Lies
Hey yo yo, How ya go?
I hear you don’t like me ‘cause I’m a homo
Heard rumours ‘round you don’t wish me well
Say I’m a devil child and goin’ to hell
You preach to crowds I’m bad and wild
Spread disease and rape your child
Say if I don’t repent it’s God’s punishment
A case of AIDS I’ll get
I say, “You wanna bet?”
You hate me, berate me
But you forget God did create me
You say it’s true, you hands’ll heal
But let me tell you preacher
You ain’t the real deal
So listen minister, hear my story reverend
Until you love me you ain’t goin’ to heaven
Ho ho
CHORUS: It’s just another case of lilywhite lies, Lilywhite holy white
Hey yo yo, what you know?
Havin’ some trouble just sayin’ no?
You read the papers? Hear what they say?
“You’ll only catch AIDS if you’re black or you’re gay.”
So don’t worry America, you’ll live a long life
Keep your eyes shut to the pain and the strife
There are millions out there that’ll die in a year
But don’t get excited, Don’t shed a tear
Just keep livin’ your lives like it doesn’t exist
‘Til it hits you, then you’ll be pissed
Maybe too late just to pick up and run
With your daughter, your wife, your husband or son
‘Cause it’s over in Europe, it’s big in Japan
Africa’s got it and even Iran
So come on home, open your eyes,
Everyone knows a young person who dies
CHORUS: It’s just another case of lilywhite lies, Lilywhite holy white
Now if everyone you know is either scared to death or dyin’
It’s time to ACT UP, ‘cause they all killin’ you with lyin’
Like they care about your lover, they wanna find a cure
But all the money’s spent on weapons to fight a secret war
They love to watch the numbers mount
‘Cause people of color and faggots and women don’t count
When they round us up and jail us, it won’t be new news
Remember fifty years ago, Hitler did it to the Jews
So take it to the streets and write the President a letter
Denying there’s a crisis won’t make anyone better
HELP ME!
CHORUS: It’s just another case of lilywhite lies, Lilywhite holy white
They love to watch the numbers mount
Don’t wanna be a number
Don’t wanna be what they want me to be
Another number
Frank H. Jump ©1987 RoughGift Productions/BMI
written, performed & produced by Frank H. Jump
Isabel Celeste Dawson – backup vocals
Francis Grant – guitar & backup vocals
Glenn Berger – sound engineer/production
