Usually, the dishes shared through “Sharing Food” are relatively unknown to the majority of readers, sparking a new interest in a dish or ingredient that has not yet been explored in the average student’s kitchen. But others, like this week’s recipe of Hommous bi Tahini from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), have already made their way into American food culture.

Who doesn’t love hummus? It’s an easy snack, a savory dip and can be found in almost any grocery store under the sun, but according to Nadia Aruri, outreach coordinator of SJP, the hummus sold in American grocery stores is nothing like the hummus made in Palestine and the Middle East. To get close to the authentic taste, you’ve got to make it yourself.

Hummus’ history is a blurry one; a heavy debate surrounds where the dish was invented, according to Aruri. Whether or not the dish originated in Palestine, it’s a staple in Palestinian cuisine and the greater Middle East –– “It’s a dish that, you know, you will have at almost every meal if you were to go to Palestine, and it’s been around for thousands of years in the Middle East,” Aruri said. “A meal is not complete without it.”

She has fond memories of eating hummus: She remembers waking up to the grinding sound of her mom working the food processor, making an early morning batch of hummus for the day, eating it at every meal when she visited Palestine and sharing the dish with relatives on special occasions.

Aruri pairs her hummus with herbs, and it can be eaten with pita bread and kofta, a Middle Eastern meatball, or slathered on a sandwich. Olive trees are a major agricultural crop in Palestine, making olive oil a staple ingredient in Palestinian cooking. Aruri will drizzle some Palestinian olive oil on top of the dish to finish her plate.

Since hummus gained popularity in America, grocery stores have sold many different iterations of the dip, some traditional, others not so much. At Trader Joe’s, you can find chocolate, buffalo style or dill pickle varieties of the dip.

To stay close to the authentic version, Aruri said chickpeas and tahini, a sesame paste, need to be the two primary ingredients. Anything that strays from that, like chocolate or dill pickle, is not authentic.

“I think people are awesome when they want to get creative. But at a certain point, you know, you can’t alter a dish too much without almost being disrespectful to where it comes from,” Aruri said.

Sharing food, whether that be recipes or ingredients, is easy in a globalized world. But when you are making a food that’s significant to a specific culture, you must treat the process with respect, Aruri said.

“I think sharing food is a great way to kind of experience other cultures and diversify your palate,” she said. “But I think that it’s important to try to stay authentic to the original, or at least to recognize that this dish has a significance that comes from a certain place.”

From Mary Salloum’s “A Taste of Lebanon”: Hommous bi Tahini recipe

Ingredients

1 19 oz. can chickpeas or garbanzo beans (drain liquid and save)
¼ cup sesame seed paste (tahini)
1 clove garlic
½ tsp salt
¼ cup lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender, adding more liquid as needed for your desired consistency. The more liquid you add, the thinner the hummus will be. Blend until a smooth consistency is achieved. Serve in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs of your choice. Eat with pita bread or vegetables.

Imagine: The snow is falling, you’ve finished a stressful set of finals and you’ve survived another semester of “Zoom University.” Holiday music is playing, and your worries are as far away as the beginning of spring semester. You can finally read something you enjoy.

If you still haven’t picked your winter break novel, here are a few reading recommendations to keep you busy over the well deserved break.

“Wow, No Thank You” by Samantha Irby: This book of essays, recommended by Kesha Nash, the library services specialist at Washburn Library, is one of Nash’s favorite books of the year. “I connect with her. She’s just trying to go through life and figuring out what ‘adulting’ means,” Nash said.

Irby’s book is witty and relatable and explores her life at 40 years old. The third book of her collection, “Wow, No Thank You” is a humorous page turner.

“Dune” by Frank Herbert: Next year, “Dune,” the 1965 science fiction novel, will become a movie starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. Lacie McMillin, a library assistant for the University libraries, recommends reading the bestselling novel that explores themes of politics, colonization and mind control before watching the movie.

“The Plague” by Albert Camus: If you’re interested in a philosopher’s assessment of a previous pandemic, Christian Uwe, an assistant professor of cultural studies and comparative literature, recommends Albert Camus’ 1947 novel about the plague that swept through the city of Oran in French Algeria. Uwe said that this novel reflects on the plague as a “philosophical allegory for the human condition.”

“This Town Sleeps” by Dennis E. Staples: Staples’ novel takes place on a reservation in northern Minnesota and follows the romance between a gay Ojibwe man and a closeted white man. The novel quickly unfolds to investigate the mystery of a murdered Ojibwe basketball star and discoveries unravel. Nash, who recommended this book, said she loves the suspenseful writing Staples employs to create this page-turning story.

“Season of the Shadow” by Léonara Miano: According to Uwe, Miano’s novel details how the trans-Atlantic slave trade impacts everything in an African village and how human existence is completely upended by the presence of slavery. Miano imagines through this novel what it might have been like for African communities when slave traders came to villages and took people away. Uwe explains how the trans-Atlantic slave trade is something African writers have only recently begun to address in literature, and Miano accomplishes the feat of writing about this important topic with poetic eloquence.

“The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir” by André Leon Talley: Ever wondered what it’s really like to work at one of the most prestigious magazines in the world? McMillin recommends André Leon Talley’s memoir for those curious about the high-fashion universe. Talley, the creative director at Vogue when the fashion magazine was on the rise, details his experience working in the world of fashion and how he struggled with the issues that arise in this dog-eat-dog industry.

For many years, Glam Doll Donuts has been a mainstay in the Twin Cities food community. With bright bubblegum pink boxes holding uniquely flavored donuts inside and a website that calls itself “your happy place,” the business has built its reputation on being a quirky and inclusive shop with a late night crowd. But among its employees who uphold the business’s image, it’s another story.

In November, Demaris Johnson, Sariah Jackson and Nadirah McGill, three former Black femme employees, came forward with their experiences at Glam Doll. In a series of Instagram posts, the trio detailed how they were terminated from the shop. Several other former Glam Doll employees have since shared their own stories working at the iconic donut shop, revealing a work environment quite different from the shop’s well-crafted image of an all-around happy place.

In mid-September, Jackson’s employment was terminated by Glam Doll Donuts. Jackson said that she’d been verbally abused by management after calling to ask why she wasn’t being scheduled for work for nearly three weeks.

After Jackson spoke out on Instagram, Johnson and McGill came forward with their experiences.

In late September, the northeast Glam Doll location was exposed to a positive COVID-19 case. Johnson voiced concerns over the upper management’s decision to stay open and was terminated a day afterward for “presenting an attitude of pessimism,” according to Johnson’s Instagram post. Out of everyone who voiced concerns in the store group chat, she was the only one terminated, the post said.

Upon reflection, Teresa Fox, one of the owners of Glam Doll Donuts, said in an interview with WCCO that she should’ve been more thoughtful in her communication and that she overreacted in firing Johnson.

In response to the three former employees’ posts, Glam Doll Donuts released a statement on its Instagram acknowledging its mistakes and citing the “unclear waters of the new COVID world” that has changed business plans and expedited decision-making processes.

“We’ve experienced total failures in communication that would otherwise have been handled differently,” the shop said in its post.

Glam Doll Donuts’ leadership could not be reached for comment.

“I was so excited to be part of this club”

“They can speak on it as much as they want, but they can’t deny the fact that they fired a Black woman for an attitude problem,” Teygaen Hartman, a former Glam Doll employee said. “Try to tell anybody anywhere that a white woman firing a Black woman for an attitude problem shouldn’t be questioned. Because that’s not objective. And we as Black women are day in and day out having to prove to people that we’re not what they believe to be a stereotypical angry Black woman, and it’s things like this that make us angry.”

Hartman began working at Glam Doll Donuts in the fall of 2016 as one of the first employees at the northeast Glam Doll location. They remembered how exciting it was to begin working at such a cool shop in the Twin Cities, but as time went on, their perception of the shop began to shift.

“I realized that the culture of Glam Doll was like, be hot and party and work, like, a little bit, but at the end of the day, be hot. That’ll get you into the club, right? Like, I was so excited to be part of this club,” they said.

The culture, Hartman explained, involved a blending of personal and professional life. Hartman recalled employees partying with each other or going over to the owner’s house for drinks after a shift.

While working there, Hartman said they felt pressured by a manager who encouraged drinking on the job. “It would be very normal to work a shift at 6 a.m. and be drinking by 10 a.m., and it was encouraged by my manager,” they said. The manager Hartman is referring to no longer works there.

Several employees said they felt as though they couldn’t come forward with their concerns about the management since doing so could jeopardize their employment.

“If you do something wrong, I think there was a fear of being tapped out from this whole community of people,” Hartman said. “For a while, that was my sole group of friends, and that was how I held my personal self-worth.”

Stepping on eggshells

While many employees enjoyed their fellow staff members and the experience, several employees described the general environment of the workplace as intimidating and felt as though they were stepping on eggshells around the owners, Fox and Arwyn Birch.

“It would just be like, a couple times a month someone leaving in tears or getting chewed out and being scared to come to work,” Grace Sullivan, a former employee said.

Through her time working at the shop, Sullivan said she experienced fear and insecurity coming into work each day.

“I would have the manager pull me into the office and basically threaten to fire me if I didn’t get my shit together, but they wouldn’t really give examples on what I was doing wrong. And then it would just be me coming to work scared every day and like, fearful of when the girls show up to work,” Sullivan said.

Timothee Smith, a former employee who wished to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns, said a month after a dispute with management that he believed was cleared up, Smith found himself no longer scheduled for shifts.

“You have to treat employees with grace, even if you’re about to fire them, because you never know what situation people are in,” Smith said. “You don’t put Black people in bad situations, without any warning, just, you know, if you’re all inclusive and all that you claim that you are.”

In May, when Glam Doll began to reopen the Northeast shop, it posted on its Instagram that it was hiring baristas for the northeast and Eat Street locations. But the owners neglected to notify their former front-of-house employees at the Eat Street location, many of whom they had laid off months earlier, according to Maggie Barath-Lane, one of the workers laid off at the time.

Barath-Lane saw the post and wrote a text to one of the owners expressing her frustration for not being notified that the shop was hiring. Fox, the recipient of that text, never responded.

“I don’t think I can look at a donut the same way again,” Barath-Lane said.

Former employees said that the shop’s image did not match the employees’ reality of coming to work each day.

“I will say [Glam Doll] is probably a happy place for the owners. It’s probably a happy place for the customers who get to come in and eat donuts and drink Coke or whatever,” Smith said. “But for the employees? No. It’s not a happy place.”

It’s the holiday season, and you can’t say “Eat, drink and be merry!” without the “drink.”

A&E put together some festive drinks that are stellar to sip on throughout the most wonderful time of the year. Plus, all of these recipes are easy to make and convenient for non-alcoholic substitutes.

A more refined take on a Vodka Cranberry:

If you have a bag of leftover cranberries laying around from Thanksgiving, put them to good use by turning them into a simple syrup that’s infused with rosemary or cinnamon for a warm holiday touch.

Cranberry simple syrup recipe

1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
2 cups whole cranberries
Optional but recommended additions: a few sprigs of rosemary, a few star anises, a cinnamon stick or a few dashes of ground cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, add sugar, water and whole cranberries, stirring occasionally on medium high.

Once all the cranberries have popped and the liquid has turned a rose tint, remove from heat and chill.

Strain the mixture to remove the cranberries and store the syrup in your fridge for two to three weeks.

Vodka Cranberry ingredients

2 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Cranberry simple syrup
Soda water to fill
Ice

In a glass, add your vodka and cranberry simple syrup. Stir with ice or shake with a cocktail shaker until cold. Top with soda or tonic water and garnish with a few sugared cranberries by putting three to four cranberries on a toothpick, lightly coating with simple syrup and rolling in sugar.

Enjoy.

Apple Cider Mimosas:

If you’re anything like me, you bought a gallon of apple cider in October to celebrate the fall season. But, after it sat in your fridge for a month, you’re questioning whether you needed a whole gallon after all. To use up some of that cider, turn it into a sparkling drink!

Ingredients:
½ sparkling wine of choice
½ apple cider

It’s as simple as putting some champagne or Prosecco in a glass and adding apple cider.

Enjoy!

Optional but enjoyable additions:

Cover the rim of your glass with lemon juice. Then, mix some white sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, and coat the rim of your glass with it. Then, add your sparkling alcoholic beverage of choice and mix with apple cider.

Mezcal mule:

This drink utilizes Mezcal, a smoky liquor that tastes like a warm fireside. Paired with ingredients typically found in a Moscow Mule, you’ll end up drinking this throughout the whole season.

Ingredients:
2 oz. Mezcal
1 oz. Triple Sec Orange Liqueur
1 oz. simple syrup
1 oz. lime juice (or any citrus juice you have on hand)
Ginger beer to top

In a glass, add Mezcal, Triple Sec, simple syrup and lime juice.

Stir with ice or shake with a cocktail shaker.

Finish with a pour of ginger beer and garnish with a slice of lime.

To the Minneapolis Institute of Art, celebration, education and further exploration of Native American heritage and art is not just a month-long endeavor encapsulated in the form of a heritage month. It is a continual initiative for the museum to celebrate the various Native communities year round.

Though November is nationally recognized as Native American Heritage month, the Indigenous art that Mia showcases this month is available and can be seen throughout the year.

“We do content aggregations for certain months, but they are a reflection of the work that we’re doing year round, and the work that we do with the local Native American community is really important and a high priority for us,” Michaela Baltasar-Feyen, head of strategic communications and Converged Media at the Mia, said.

The Mia has been working to showcase different perspectives of Native American art with help of Juan Lucero (Isleta Pueblo), full-time fellow of Native American art.

“It’s my opportunity to try to share my cultural perspective, which is Pueblo from New Mexico, so that’s one thing that Mia has been working hard at is trying to share those cultural perspectives from Native people throughout the community … and it’s not something that all institutions currently do,” said Lucero.

In compliance with the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, the Mia will be temporarily closed starting Nov. 21, but patrons who are interested in learning more about Indigenous art can go through the virtual galleries and other offerings on Mia’s website.

Jill Ahlberg Yohe, the Mia’s associate curator of Native American art, recommended the Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists virtual exhibition. The exhibition features over 115 Native women’s work that spans 1,000 years. Hearts of Our People seeks to answer the question of “Why do Native women make art?” and explores the themes of legacy, relationships and power.

Visitors can also spend time in Mia’s Native American art gallery permanent collection to learn more. Ahlberg Yohe also recommended patrons check out the Frank Meyers Steiner Gallery of American Western Art, where Native art is incorporated into the narrative of Western art.

Starting Nov. 19, the Mia’s Virtual Care Package will be available for viewing. This care package explores the idea of resiliency and calls on local Native artists, teachers, elders and healers.

“A large part of resiliency is actually being generous, and thinking about generosity, and how we can create opportunities to share with one another as it helps us build our own resources to be able to have some sustainability and longevity,” Mia activation specialist Anniessa Antar explained. In the beginning of the pandemic, Antar helped to put together these care packages.

“So for this care package, we just wanted to collaborate with folks that we’ve worked with in the past, to continue developing the relationships with the Native community and the Native artists that we work with often, and reflect on what is resiliency,” Antar said.

Through the care package, viewers can listen to the Minnesota blues/rock band, Bluedog, learn more about the importance of wild rice harvest by making Robert Rice (White Earth Ojibwe) of Pow Wow Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop’s Wild Rice Quiche recipe, build Dakhota language vocabulary and pronunciation skills with Šišóka Dúta (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) and Wóokiyewiŋ (Upper Sioux) and engage in many more activities provided through the care package. These different events and learning experiences, like the rest of the art opportunities offered this month, will be available year-round.

“These months are always a challenge,” said Baltasar-Feyen. “They’re good months to celebrate, but they can also be seen as tokenizing if you are not making this a regular practice every single day or thinking about it other times of the year.”

In case you missed it, there’s a presidential election happening on Tuesday, Nov. 3. To help ease the inevitable political stress, A&E put together some pop culture recommendations for your election week.

Something to check out:
Beginning Nov. 1, the Minneapolis Institute of Art is displaying “Foot in the Door 5,” its decennial celebration of Minnesota artistry. The exhibition pays homage to the talent and diversity of the Minnesota creative scene, and this year, the celebration is going virtual. Including multiple mediums of art, virtual visitors can check out textiles, ceramics, photography and much more, all from the comfort of their home.

Something to tap your foot to to:
“positions” by Ariana Grande: Ariana Grande is back with her sixth studio album, “positions.” This new record is a mix of bops and bangers with some clever lyricism and deep cuts. On “positions,” Grande flouts the media’s expectations of her with songs like “shut up” and gets loose with sexually-charged lyricism on “34+35.” The listener sees a self-aware Grande on her new project, unapologetically singing about whatever’s on her mind – in this case, it’s sex.

“Magdalene” by FKA Twigs: FKA Twigs’ sophomore album came out this week last year. This genre-defying, critically acclaimed LP that touches on heartbreak, power dynamics and femininity is worthy of a second listen … or a third, or a fourth.

Something to try:
You might have seen Nashville Coop’s food truck around the Twin Cities this summer. Its chicken, known to be “cluckin’ hot”, has been a staple in the Twin Cities food truck scene, and now it has its own physical shop on 300 Snelling Ave. S. The shop brings the heat with chicken strips, “sammiches” and Texas toast. As the weather gets colder, warm up with some hot chicken.

Something to buy:
A house plant: Fill your space with life as the outside world begins to turn frigid. @Ninos_Verdes_, an Instagram plant shop started by two University of Minnesota grads, is constantly selling interesting houseplants to its followers. Check out the online shop and peruse a pilea or a pothos, all while supporting UMN grads!

Some new accessories:
If you love new and cool accessories to wear even when there’s nowhere to go, check out @mpls.clay, another local Instagram account that makes and sells one-of-a-kind handmade clay jewelry and donates all profits to local organizations. The next collection drop will be announced Nov. 11, so keep an eye out for new accessories and support the fight for equity in Minneapolis in style.

Lastly, something to think about:
We have endured a crazy year and will soon experience an extremely unique presidential election. As COVID-19 cases rise and election results come in, we remind you to stay safe and care for your community. This can take many forms, from opting out of a night on the town and staying home to supporting local businesses during this hectic time. Whatever avenue you choose to go down to advocate for your community, don’t forget to do your part. Oh yeah, and vote if you haven’t!

It was an early Saturday morning back in April. Owen Luterbach had been laying in bed, avoiding homework, when the coordinator of the Planters “Peanutter” program called to notify him that he had gotten the job as a peanutter, a brand ambassador for Planters.

For the next year, he would travel around the U.S. in a 26-foot long Planters peanut, also known as the NUTmobile, spreading the word about all things nuts. Luterbach was so ecstatic at the nutty news that he couldn’t keep it to himself.

“He had woken all of us roommates up with the exciting news that he’s going to be paid to essentially make nut jokes and travel around in a giant peanut,” his former roommate and recipient of the early morning peanut-related wake-up call, Jack Borneke said.

Luterbach is one of nine peanutters accepted to this year’s program. Each year, Planters recruits college graduates for the position and trains them to represent the brand on the road. The three NUTmobiles cover Central, Eastern and Western regions of the country, traveling to around 48 states per year, according to Luterbach.

“I remember, as a kid on road trips, my brother and I would always be the ones waving up to truckers and seeing if we could get them to honk their horn, and now being in the NUTmobile, looking down at those kids that I just was or still feel like. … It’s just the awe and amazement that people have because no one will ever expect to see a giant peanut driving past them,” Luterbach said.

Luterbach was a strategic communications major at the University of Minnesota when he had applied. Throughout college, he had expected to end up at an ad agency after graduation; it seemed like a clear path to him. Then, he studied abroad in Copenhagen last summer and got the travel bug. He figured he wasn’t ready for a normal job in the city just yet and applied to the Planters program.

As a peanutter for the central region of the U.S., Luterbach and his two other peanut partners travel throughout the midwestern and southern states, like Illinois, Arkansas, Georgia and many more. An avid foodie, he appreciates visiting new restaurants and breweries, tasting the local cuisine and practicing his food photography skills. On his days off, he and his peanut partners, Talya Cohen and Allyson Toolen, explore all the local attractions, whether that be the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee or markets in Minneapolis.

During a normal year, peanutters are sent to big venues, music festivals and corporate events. But since most of those experiences are nonexistent during the pandemic, peanutters are now tasked with scheduling local, intimate gatherings, like visiting nursing homes or birthday parties.

From the photo-ops at stoplights and gas stations to the attention the NUTmobile attracts on the road, Toolen referred to the NUTmobile as “the world’s greatest icebreaker.”

“You want to talk to anybody in the world? All you have to do is drive a 26-foot-long peanut. That’s your conversation starter,” said Toolan.

Luterbach recounts one memory in Tennessee where he forged a new friendship with a resident from a nursing home, all because of the NUTmobile.

While he was parking the car, a resident named Tena Baehm ran out to him to greet him, telling Luterbach that she, too, was from Minnesota. Throughout their interaction, he had learned that Baehm works in the woodshop at the nursing home, making clocks and toys that she mails to orphanages in Haiti.

“The NUTmobile giving me the opportunity to meet these humans that I never would have met before is pretty remarkable,” Luterbach said. At the end of the event, Tena was the last person out with the peanutters.

“I feel like we’re best friends now,” Luterbach said, “and she was a complete stranger.”

It feels like this election year — and this year in general — is one that we’re all trying desperately to escape from. And there’s no better way of escaping your current reality than with a little bit of nostalgia.

A&E took a look at top songs from past and current elections to give you a dose of nostalgia right as we gear up for another presidential election.

2012:

In 2012, President Obama ran for re-election against Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The year was characterized by Honey Boo Boo, “The Hunger Games,” and some pretty interesting tunes.

“Gangnam Style” by PSY blasts from the speakers at middle school dances and football stadiums alike. Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” plagues American eardrums everywhere. And to top it off, Billboard’s year-end chart puts “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye at the top of the list.

2016:

It’s 2016. Business man and television personality Donald Trump is running for president against the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton. According to polls, Clinton is a shoo-in for the election. Many are writing in “Harambe” on their presidential voting ballots. The internet has a collective crush on a man named Daniel, an internet sensation beloved for his white Vans. And as Pokémon Go expeditiously sweeps the nation, so do the songs.

This week four years ago, “Closer” by the Chainsmokers was topping the Hot 100 charts. It’s important to note that 2016 was also the last year that Rihanna released an album, and we’re all patiently waiting for a new release from the artist who gave us 2016 bops like “Needed Me” and “Work” featuring Drake.

On Billboard’s year-end top songs chart for 2016, “Love Yourself” and “Sorry” by Justin Bieber come in at #1 and #2. It’s almost as if the nation was apologizing to itself for things to come through Bieber’s catchy tune.

2020:

And now, we’re here. This year will be characterized by Tiger Kings, WAPs, and … hmm is there anything else I’m forgetting? Oh yeah, a global pandemic and an international reckoning of racial injustices.

You don’t need me to tell you that this year, and this election, is like none other in recent memory, and the charts reflect the current moment. As President Trump and former Vice President Biden are in the throes of a unique election year, these songs have been playing in the background.

“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac is back on the Billboard Charts after a TikTok of a man blissfully skateboarding and lip syncing to the song with a bottle of cranberry juice in hand went viral.

“WAP” by Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B is #3 on Hot 100, remaining high on the list for nine consecutive weeks. BTS, the Internet’s favorite K-pop group, is also #2 on this week’s Hot 100 with their song “Dynamite.”

And lastly, it only feels right to include that Billboard’s #5 song for this week’s Hot 100 Chart is “Laugh Now Cry Later” by Drake featuring Lil Durk, which feels like the appropriate way to confront the absurdity of 2020.

The Philippine Student Association (PSA) knows a thing or two about sharing food.

PSA member Kristina Paraíso said that in Filipino culture, every plate of food is meant to be shared, especially chicken adobo, this week’s featured recipe.

Chicken adobo, a dish that incorporates sweet, salty and sour elements in the marinating and cooking process, is considered a national dish of the Philippines. A fairly simple dish to cook, this meal includes kitchen staples, like garlic, vinegar and soy sauce, to create a dish that hits all the flavors your heart and tongue desire.

One thing that PSA members want readers to know is that no adobo is created equally. In every household, Filipino families customize the dish to their liking. Some add in coconut cream for a more decadent dish, and others simmer down the marinade until it’s thick and sticky. Many families don’t even follow the recipe’s measurements, PSA member Raphael Popa said.

“We don’t measure ingredients. We just put as much as we want or how much we think is necessary [into the dish],” said Popa.

But one thing that doesn’t change, no matter the household, is how adobo is served.

“Adobo is meant to be put on a big plate where we all can share as a family. In our culture, everything is on a shared plate … So every day is kind of like a Thanksgiving meal, if you will,” said Paraíso.

Thanks to PSA President Sofia Consing’s mom, Lucia Consing, for the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 head of garlic, or approximately 10 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ cup white or rice vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions:

In a large bowl, marinate the chicken in all the ingredients above (except for the vegetable oil) for as little as 30 minutes or as long as a day ahead. The longer the chicken sits in the marinade, the stronger the flavors will become. As mentioned in the article, add in the ingredients to your liking. If you want some coconut milk to be included, pour some in! You really like garlic? Add in a few extra cloves! This recipe is your oyster.

Heat vegetable oil in a pot on medium high until wisps of smoke appear to be coming from the oil. Place the chicken in the pot, and sear it until it develops a golden brown color, around five minutes. Then flip the chicken and repeat. Brown the chicken in two batches. Do not overcrowd the pan.

With all the chicken in the pot, pour in the marinade. Add enough water into the pot to cover the chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil without stirring. Once the marinade begins to boil, lower the heat and cover the pot.

Simmer until the chicken is cooked and tender, approximately one hour. Serve atop a hot bed of white rice.

It’s been a few months since we’ve hopped on a plane and traveled somewhere new, connected with locals from different countries or experienced a different culture entirely. Luckily, the MSP Film Society will continue connecting individuals with different cultures through their upcoming film festival.

Cine Latino, Minnesota’s premiere Latino film festival presenting works from U.S. Latino, Latin American and Iberian communities and regions, will go virtual this year, taking up the name “Cine Latino At Home/En Casa.”

From Oct. 15-22, attendees will have access to 24 different films from Spain, Portugal and Latin America, plus Latino films from the U.S. and Canada, according to artistic director of Cine Latino, Hebe Tabachnik.

The festival presents a wide array of stories, from documentaries to dramedies and everything in between.

“[The films] have powerful stories; They have powerful points of views and powerful cinematography,” said Tabachnik.

Tabachnik couldn’t pick a favorite film, but she did have some recommendations.

For a film that will make you want to get up and dance, she recommended “Two Beats One Soul.” If you’re looking for a moving piece of cinema, check out “Ema.” And if you want a thought-provoking documentary, try “Free Color.”

Although it’s difficult to replace the feeling of being in a packed theater, sharing the same film experience with friends and strangers alike, the virtual options for the festival lend more interactivity to filmmakers and audiences.

“In an era of COVID-19, we’ve found a couple silver linings,” said programming director Jesse Bishop. Because of the online platform, attendees of the event will have access to more filmmaker Q&As than ever before with their all-access passes or tickets.

“It’s a little bit of an opportunity for our audiences to see more of the faces behind these projects,” said Bishop.

Additionally, Cine Latino is able to reach a broader audience outside of the Twin Cities area. Festivalgoers can buy tickets or all-access passes and watch their favorite films on their own times from the comfort of their own homes, wherever that may be.

Cine Latino has built a following in the Twin Cities since its premier eight years ago. Board member of the MSP Film Society and a passionate Cine Latino fan, Paola Nunez Obetz has called this festival “a gift for the community” in the way that the films leave a lasting impact on festivalgoers.

“Every time the festival comes, either Cine Latino or the International Film Festival, it’s like Christmas for me,” said Nunez Obetz. “I am an immigrant and, although I’ve lived in the United States for half my life, I still feel like I get closer to my country and to other countries that are not necessarily mine when I am watching the films and when I am immersed in these films that take you to these stories from around the world.”