Tag: food

creativity

The Joy of Pizza with Rachel Josar

Christa Avampato
The Joy of Pizza with Rachel Josar

Pizza. The word alone brings an immediate smile to our faces. We can’t contain the joy it sparks, and nowhere is the joy of pizza more prevalent than in New York City. Rachel Josar, the creator and host of the They Had Fun podcast, joins the JoyProject podcast to talk about all things pizza, her weekly tradition with her husband, her passion for this incredible city, and the history and culture that is entwined with food. After 250 weeks of Friday night pizza, Rachel gives her expert opinion on where to get the best pizza in New York.

About Rachel
Rachel is the host of the podcast, They Had Fun, where she talks to real New Yorkers about the most fun they’ve ever had in the city. She’s lived in NYC for 16 years and enjoys fries at the bar, gallery walks, talking to anyone who will listen about why New York is still great, and of course, negronis and pizza on Fridays.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • The best places in New York to get pizza
  • Rachel’s weekly pizza tradition with her husband
  • The history of pizza and it’s place in New York city culture
  • The quote about pizza in the New York Times that helped Rachel and Christa connect and become friends
  • Rachel’s amazing podcast, The Had Fun
  • Why New York City is the greatest city
  • New York’s restaurant scene and supporting restaurants through the pandemic
  • Christa’s favorite childhood memory about pizza

Links to resources:

creativity

JoyProject podcast: The Joy of Baking Challah with Vicki Eastus

Christa Avampato
The Joy of Baking Challah with Vicki Eastus

What could be better than freshly baked challah? Talking about baking challah with one of my nearest and dearest friends! In this episode of the JoyProject podcast, Vicki tells us how she got started baking challah with her daughter during the COVID-19 lockdown. She shares her baking process, the traditions of challah, and the joy and memories that food provides for all of us. We also talk about the storytelling community that brought us together and the stories that connect us to our past, to history, and to one another.

About Vicki:
Vicki Eastus is a lawyer, teacher, improviser and storyteller. A native Texan, Vicki declared herself a feminist at age 10 and started her long career as an advocate for women. She has been a campus advocate on sexual harassment issues, a lawyer for the largest group of women to ever successfully sue the government for sex discrimination, and a Title IX Coordinator. Vicki earned her B.A. in Russian literature, focusing on Russian formalist criticism and the distinction between plot and story. She carried those concepts into her legal career, bending traditional legal writing rules to make her clients’ stories more compelling. Now a professor at New York Law School, she integrates storytelling and improvisational techniques into her classes on legal analysis and advocacy. She has given presentations at national and international legal conferences on using storytelling and improvisation to teach legal analysis and to help law students find their legal voices.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • How Vicki bucked her fear and started baking her own challah with her daughter
  • Some of the traditions and history around challah baking
  • The memories and joy we can all find in homemade and home baked food
  • The inspiring work of Jose Andres and his organization, World Central Kitchen
  • The Instagram account @challahbakeoff

Links to resources:

creativity

JoyProject podcast: The Joy of The Great British Bake Off with Abby Anklam

Christa Avampato
The Joy of The Great British Bake Off with Abby Anklam

If ever there was a television show founded on pure joy, it’s The Great British Bake Off. Professional writer and home baker Abby Anklam joins us on the JoyProject podcast to talk about how she started watching Bake Off and her favorite parts of the show that make it a delight to watch. Abby also shares the bakes she tried at home that were inspired by the show and the bakes she plans to try after everything she’s learned as an avid watcher and fan. We also chat about her job as a writer and illustrator of children’s books.

About Abby:
Abigail Anklam is a writer and illustrator who writes books for young readers.

Growing up, she loved reading about fantastic adventures in incredible places and longed to have adventures of her own, just like Lucy in Narnia, Mowgli in the Jungle, or White Fang in the Arctic. So it’s no wonder that she left her Virginia home to find adventure in faraway places, like Arkansas, Italy, Arizona, & China.

During her adventures, Abigail has filled many roles. She has been a student, an actor, a zookeeper, an artist, a teacher, a bookseller, an archer, and more! She loves to learn new skills, visit new places, and try new things. Along the way, she’s experienced different ways of life, met all kinds of wonderful people, and learned about all sorts of fascinating animals. Many of those experiences and interests have found their way into her writing and art.

Right now, Abigail is working on her first children’s novel. It’s a mystery story that involves a bear, an animal trainer, and an escape from the circus. To read a sample of Abigail’s published work, click here. You’ll find an excerpt from According to Their Kinds, a collection of short animal-related stories (for adults).​

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • What makes The Great British Bake Off such a joy to watch
  • How Bake Off is different (and better!) than U.S.-based competition shows
  • What fans of Bake Off learn from the show and apply to their own baking
  • Those adorable illustrations of the bakes that have become a hallmark of the show
  • Abby’s work as a writer and illustrator of children’s books
  • The Story community where I met Abby
  • Junior Bake Off — the newest show in the Bake Off franchise now on Netflix in the U.S.
  • A quote about joy from Jaiya John sent to me by my wonderful friend, artist Rachael Harms Mahlandt

Links to resources:

creativity

JoyProject podcast episode: Joyful News 5.31.22

Christa Avampato
Joyful News 5.31.22

Put some joyful news in your day!

Joyful News is a set of stories I’ve gathered from around the world that spark joy. In this episode I share these joyful news stories about books, exercise, meditation, food, and travel:

Listen here https://christaavampato.com/joyful-news-5-31-22/ and wherever you get your podcasts.

creativity

Write every day: 2 ways to give help and 2 ways to get help

Christa Avampato

Screen Shot 2020-04-04 at 8.24.43 AMThis morning here are two easy ways to give help and two ways to get help if you need it:

Give help:
1.) Buy and donate cookies from the Girl Scouts for yourself, loved ones, and our brave healthcare workers!

This year the Girl Scouts had to cancel all of their in-person cookie drives which go to fund a lot of their activities and help girls around the world. So they moved the whole operation online with delivery. Online you can buy cookies for yourself, send cookies to others, or donate them to our brave healthcare workers!

Link: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/cookie-care.html

2.) #Chalk4Joy
Share JOY on the Sidewalks of the World today! A global chalk painting celebration for you to do at home. Share what JOY looks like to YOU by:
– Doing a chalk drawing on your sidewalk outside (at a safe social distance from others) or on paper at home with anything you have.
– Share photos of your work on social media with the hashtags #ChalkTheWalk #Chalk4Joy
– Send pictures of your art to chalk4peace@gmail.com

Get help:
1.) Free food for all New Yorkers in need
If you or anyone you know in NYC needs food, 3 free meals will be available for ALL New Yorkers at more than 400 Meal Hubs, Monday – Friday: http://schools.nyc.gov/freemeals. No questions asked. Please help spread the world about this.

2.) Call your financial institutions if you need help
A lot of people are struggling financially right now and that’s causing a tremendous amount of stress. Many banks and financial institutions like Bank of America (which has been my bank for many years) have stepped up to say that they will work with customers, cancel certain fees, and offer extra assistance. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to call them to ask for help. They have the means and they want to help you get through this. Call the toll-free number on the back of your card or contact them via their website to explore your options. Please tell your neighbors, friends, and family about this.

creativity

Joy today: Research for my next novel in NYC’s Little Italy

Christa Avampato

This week I went down to Little Italy to revel in the joy and desserts of my ancestors, and to do some research for my next novel that will be set there in the early 1900s. The San Gennaro Festival runs through this weekend and it’s an absolute delight. If you’re in New York City, wonder down to Mulberry Street where you’re sure to find some characters and cannolis.

creativity

In the pause: Opining on pizza and why I love New York City in the New York Times today

Christa Avampato

I had the chance to talk about 2 of my favorite subjects in the New York Times: pizza and my love for New York City.

“I would take a New York City slice, served piping hot out of the oven onto a generic white paper plate as I walk around the city, over any other slice anywhere in the world. It’s not just the pizza, it’s the spirit of the city embedded in it that makes all the difference. We all have our preferences. And for me, New York is the place for pizza, and for life.”

Check out the full piece at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/nyregion/new-york-today-chicago-pizza-vs-the-new-york-slice.html?_r=0.

creativity

In the pause: Join Day of Dinners on June 25th to support equality and dialogue

Christa Avampato

I’m so excited to spread the word about Day of Dinners on Sunday, June 25th.

“On June 25th, thousands of people all over the U.S. will open their hearts and homes to start a new conversation about the country we want and the future we’re working for. The Women’s March network is unique because you are committed to digging deeper, having daring discussions and listening to each other in new ways. Day of Dinners is a chance for thousands of us – families, neighbors and strangers – to come together, share good food, and get real about building deeper, stronger communities. We want you to take part!

On June 25th, let’s remind ourselves that gathering around a table over food is an act of community.”

I hope you’ll visit the website and sign up to attend one of these dinners as we open hearts and minds to a brighter future.

creativity

In the pause: Food, books, and the spirit

Christa Avampato

“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture of their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered [people] have torn down, [people] other-centered can build up.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I heard this quote yesterday at the Capital Area Food Bank’s Hunger and Health Summit. The excellent panel of nonprofit leaders and doctors explained that we may be on the doorstep of realizing as a society that healthy food is the most critical social determinant of health, that food is to our health what books are to our minds, what freedom is to our spirit. In these past weeks, I have been thinking about what I can do with the Breaking Bread Podcast to bring together my passions for food (particularly in terms of providing healthy food for those who are challenged with food insecurity), books, and meaningful conversation. If I toss all of that into the blender, there’s something there. I’m not sure exactly what it is just yet, but it’s starting to become clearer. I’m open to ideas and suggestions so if you’ve got ’em, fire away.

 

creativity

In the pause: Honor your mother on Mother’s Day with a gift to the Capital Area Food Bank

Christa Avampato

This Mother’s Day, honor an amazing mom, or someone who is like a mom to you, by giving the gift of food and hope to mothers who are working hard to feed their kids with the help of the Capital Area Food Bank. It’s one of my favorite charities because they support over 700,000 D.C. area residents every year who battle food insecurity. They’ve set up a special fundraising effort for us to honor mothers by helping mothers and families who are less fortunate: https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/mothers-day/.

I honored my mom with a donation to CAFB this year and I hope you’ll join me! And if you need a first-hand account of all of the incredible work CAFB does, read this story by CAFB team member Christel Hair:

“IN HONOR OF MY STRONG SINGLE MOM

Everything is a struggle when you’re a single mom with kids. I know this first hand.

After losing my father, my mom was a single woman in the 70s with two girls to raise. It wasn’t always easy, but she was smart, hard-working, and tough. Sometimes we ate whatever was on hand – Hamburger Helper, toast, applesauce, a vegetable. But she served up everything with love, and we felt comfortable and safe.

I followed her example when, years later, my husband passed away and I was raising two little boys on my own. I was fortunate to have a job and the support of my family, but there were still times when getting dinner on the table after a long day at work was a challenge.

During my time at the food bank, I’ve met so many women who are working and raising children like I was, but doing it without enough food. And as hard as it was for me, I know it can be much harder.

This Mother’s Day, honor an amazing mom – or someone like a mom – in your own life by giving the gift of food and hope to mothers who are working hard to feed their kids. Moms make sacrifices all the time. With your help, food doesn’t have to be one of them.

And to my own mom: thank you for showing me how to lead and love my family with strength and pride.”