You are
what you eat

Musician mixes tunes
with a jazzy blend of flavors

By Kekoa Catherine Enomoto
Star-Bulletin

I t's the world of eats and beats. "I cook sort of like jazz," says J.W. "Jay" Junker, a lecturer in ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. "I use a lot of improvisation -- whatever is available, whatever is fresh, and I like to consider color and design."

Junker speaks on "Red Beans & Ricely Yours -- Food in American Popular Music" June 16 at UH Krauss Hall's Yukiyoshi Room. It's one of five free Sakamaki Extraordinary Lectures during the UH Summer Session, which kicks off May 26. Early registration starts Monday.

Junker spoke last week via phone from Nashville during a break in recording with slack-key virtuoso Ledward Ka'apana. (Their CD project also features country music greats: multiple Grammy winner Alison Krauss, Chet Atkins, Jerry Douglas, Sonny Landreth, Ricky Skaggs and several members of Lyle Lovett's band. It's due out in July on the Windham Hill label.)

Special to the Star-Bulletin
Marcus Griffin, left, revisits the Agta tribe in the Philippines,
where he lived as a child. As an anthropologist he studied the
way changes in their environment had affected
their homicide rate.

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A popular UH teacher, Junker said he dresses his jazzy greens with a secret formula of light oil, flavored vinegar, good mustard with seeds, nonfat yogurt, lots of garlic, and cumin and curry power "to smell." Sometimes he adds a dash of onion and/or fresh mint.

Likewise, his lecture is a jazzy, improvisational mix of sociological concepts manifest in both cuisine and music: the melting-pot immigrant experience; the African-American influence in American pop culture; "ethnic is chic." These concepts are reflected in some of his favorite recipes -- spaghetti AnneLene and sweet potato pie.

It used to be, Junker said, that people were more connected to their songs and their foods.

In contrast, said Junker, "A lot of restaurants today, particularly fast-food restaurants, serve more and more prepared food. Also in music, it's prepared, on tape or CD; or bands are playing songs the audience has heard in other venues.

"In contemporary music there's not a whole lot of lyrics about food," he added. "So much of our music is obsessed with personal experience. Lyrics are mostly tied to relationships. It seems the relationship with food is taken more and more for granted."

Here are two of Junker's jazzy recipes, reflecting the influences of Italy and the American south:

Spaghetti AnneLene

6 sun-dried tomatoes
4 or more cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 20-ounce can unseasoned, cut tomatoes
1 chile pepper to taste
1/2 cup black olives
1/2 cup green olives
1/4 cup capers
1 pound dry spaghetti

Soak sun-dried tomatoes in warm water 20 minutes, until rehydrated and plump. Cut garlic in very thin slices and fry in oil over moderate heat until they turn golden brown (no more!). Add canned tomatoes and seeded, deveined chile pepper. Add chopped plumped tomatoes, coarsely chopped olives and capers; simmer 15 minutes, until sauce is reduced.

Cook pasta until al dente; don't rinse. In a wide, bowl toss pasta and sauce; then serve immediately. Make 4 servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 560 calories, 10 grams total fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, no cholesterol, 1,230 milligrams sodium.*

Grama Libby's sweet potato pie

2 cups cooked sweet potato
1 cup milk
3 eggs beaten
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brandy
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
9-inch crust

Boil sweet potatoes in jackets until tender. Peel and cream until smooth. Combine with remaining ingredients and pour mixture into a 9-inch crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 1 hour more. Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving with single frozen crust: 420 calories, 20 grams total fat, 10 grams saturated fat, 115 milligrams cholesterol, 330 milligrams sodium.*

Classes mix food, culture

" 'Ono Loa: Food in History and Culture," a University of Hawaii-Manoa Summer Session program, begins May 26:

Registration: April 6-May 26

For catalog: Call 956-7866, although some information is out of date

Internet: http://www.summer.hawaii.edu

Cost: Three-credit classes, $345 for residents, $390 for nonresidents

CREDIT COURSES

Food, Health and Society (Anth 427): Anthropologists Bion Griffin and Marcus Griffin, dietary behavior in different societies, 9 to 10:15 a.m. weekdays, May 26-July 2, Porteus 345. Register for FO333.

Peoples of Hawaii (Anth 486): Marcus Griffin, discussion class based on historic and contemporary perspectives, 1:30-2:45 p.m. weekdays, May 26-July 2, Porteus 345. Register for FO353.

Food and Culture -- Taste & Transformation in Asia and the Pacific (Asan 491G): Boston University professor Merry White, issues of identity, ethnicity, gender as evidenced by eating, noon-1:15 p.m. weekdays, July 6-Aug. 14, Moore 119. Register for LO544.

Ethnographic Field Methods (Anth 370): Marcus Griffin, ethnography of Honolulu with emphasis on food, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, July 6 to Aug. 14, Porteus 345. Register for LO294.

FREE TALKS

All held in Krauss Hall Yukiyoshi Room 012

History of Italian Cuisine: Casa Donaldo chef Donald Soveiro, 7:30 p.m. May 29.

Bible & Bagels -- The Evolution of Jewish Food: Rabbi Avi Magid, 7:30 p.m. June 4. With bagels and schmears.

The Human Right to Adequate Nutrition: UHM Political Science chairman George Kent, 12:30-p.m. June 10. Bring lunch.

Red Beans & Ricely Yours -- Food in American Popular Music: Ethnomusicologist Jay Junker, musical food for thought, 12:30 p.m. June 16. Bring lunch.

Good Food -- The Indian Moral Philosophy of a Meal: Delhi University chair Arindam Chakrabarti, 7:30 p.m. June 17.

Eating Beauty: Food and Aesthetics: Delhi University chair Arindam Chakrabarti, 7:30 p.m. June 18.

Confessions of a Closet Caterer -- My Secret Life in Food: Merry White, on her path from a hamburgers-only teen to food as a way of life, 7:30 p.m. July 9.

The Native Hawaiian Diet: Herbert Kealoha Hoe, 7:30 p.m. July 30.

Food in Medieval Japan -- Glimpses into the Evolution of Japanese Cuisine: H. Paul Varley, professor of traditional Japanese history/culture, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 6

The Flavors That Bind -- Filipino Food, Drink and Culture: Bion and Marcus Griffin, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 13.

LECTURES/MEALS

Cultural China -- Culinary Style, Entrepreneurial Spirit and Confucian Ideas: Harvard professor Tu Weiming, noon, June 12, Maple Garden Restaurant; $20 includes lunch.

Macrobiotic Cuisine -- The Well Bento: Chef Harris Brazina creates low-fat plate lunch free of additives, eggs, dairy products and refined sugar, 4 p.m. June 28, Kapiolani Community College O'hia Room 118; $15 includes meal.

Kaiseki Cuisine: L'Uraku restaurant chef Hiroshi Fukui, contemporary adaptation of ancient cooking style, 3:30 p.m. July 26, at the restaurant, 1341 Kapiolani Blvd.; $45 includes meal.

The Icing on the Cake: Pastry chef Chris Kahmann turns desserts into works of art, 2 p.m. Aug. 16, Kapiolani Community College 'O'hia 118; $15 includes dessert and coffee.