B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M
THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME
AUGUST 27, 2015
38
The Week
John Shiekman, Jessica’s father, sardonically asked, “What’s a proposal without quinoa?”
The Solidarity Fridge
Have leftovers? You may want to head to Galdakao, a small town in Spain. There a lone refrigerator sits on a sidewalk and operates by the goodness of strangers. When the hungry opens its door, there’s fresh, wholesome food for them to enjoy—all for free. And when they return the next day, the fridge is restocked, almost by magic, with delicious dishes. Residents call the fridge the “Solidarity Fridge,” but it’s not little elves filling it; strangers quietly leave their extra food for others to enjoy. Everyone is welcome to give and to take—no strings attached. Alvaro Saiz, the creative thinker behind Spain’s first community fridge, was inspired to find a way to cut down on food waste after seeing footage of his country’s poor—their situations exacerbated by the recent economic crisis—having to dumpster dive for sustenance. He was also inspired by a German food-sharing website and, leaning on his experience running a local food bank, he made a proposal to Galdakao Mayor Ibon Uribe that the politician called “both crazy and brilliant.” The town deliberated for a month before approving an initial budget of 5000 euros (approximately $5,700) to purchase a fridge and keep it running in a public space, as well as wisely
granting the fridge “a special independent legal status” to avoid liability for any potential food-borne illnesses. To make sure the food is safe for consumption, there are a few rules: no raw meat, fish, or eggs; no expired goods; and all homemade items must be labeled with dates and thrown away after four days. Beyond that, anything goes. Saiz is adamant that his goal is to prevent waste. In fact, just a mere seven weeks after the fridge’s debut, he estimates that the city may have saved over 600 lbs. of good food from going to waste. Both pop star and pauper are free to partake in the goods. Think these Spaniards would enjoy some good, heimish cholent?
1,000 Dinner Companions
Some things are different overseas. Kim Sung-jin, who lives south of Seoul, needed a dinner companion. He was living with his grandparents and since they ate early, the 14-yearold found himself hungry late at night. So he’d order fried chicken, or pizza, or Chinese food. But who to eat it with? Well, now he has thousands of people with whom to dine: he gorges on his dinner every night in front of a live camera. Believe it or not, hundreds vie to watch him chomp on his chopsticks. Kim, better known to his viewers by the nickname Patoo, is one
In News
of the youngest broadcasters on Afreeca TV, an app for live-broadcasting video online launched in 2006. And Kim likes his audience. In his most successful episode, he earned 2 million won ($1,700). Interestingly, Kim is still slim despite his late-night forays into the kitchen. He has been broadcasting himself eating almost every night since he was 11. Usually he eats alone—with his audience—sometimes he invites over friends. In South Korea, Afreeca TV has become a big player in the Internet subculture and a crucial part of social life for teens. Shows like Kim’s are known as “Meok Bang,” a mash-up Korean word of broadcast and eating. They are the most popular and often most profitable among some 5,000 live shows that are aired live at any given moment on Afreeca TV. “I do what I want. That’s the perk of a personal broadcast,” Kim says. He has no problem leaving his audience to take a bathroom break and doesn’t necessarily have the best table manners. “Even if it is online, when someone talks while eating, the same words feel much more intimate,” said Ahn Joon-soo, an executive at Afreeca TV. He noted South Koreans’ common habit of bidding farewell to friends by saying, “Let’s eat together next time,” even when they don’t literally mean it. Ahn Won-jun, a 17-year-old high school student, said he prefers to eat dinner in his room to watch Kim’s Meok Bang, rather than dining with his parents. I wonder what’s for dinner tonight.
The Secret to a Good Marriage: A Bite of Cake What’s the secret to a long, wonderful marriage? Well, maybe the secret is in the
recipe—of the wedding cake, that is. Ann and Ken Fredericks of Satellite Beach, Florida, celebrated 60 years together last week and revealed an anniversary tradition: eating a bite from their wedding cake every year, which is kept covered in plastic wrap inside a metal coffee can. And no, the cake is not stored in the fridge or freezer—it’s just sitting there inside a closet awaiting its turn every year. Ann, 81, said their children are “appalled” they’re still eating the decades-old dessert, but said the dark fruitcake will keep indefinitely. They pour brandy over the cake to moisten it before digging in and usually break open a bottle of champagne to go with it.
“Believe me, it’s quite tasty, as long as it’s got enough brandy on it. And it’s never made us sick,” she said. She admit, though, that “it’s a little dry.” Hence the deluge of brandy and the giant swigs of champagne. “We just never thought of this as being unusual,” she added. Ann is a former nurse and retired nursing supervisor and Ken is a retired music teacher. They met while attending Syracuse University in New York. Both are originally from The Big Apple, but they’ve called The Sunshine State home since 1968. I like their secret for keeping their marriage from getting old: eating cake that’s almost as old as they are.