Centre for Suburban Research Residency

Paul Stapleton’s CSR Residency Blog

I’m currently in Belfast on a residency at the Centre for Suburban Research, which is run by Justin McKeown, Meabh McDonnell and Luke McDonnell. They have two lovely rabbits, and two fish:

Bean:

Parsnip:

Tic and Tac:

about csr

about my residency

The residency officially begins on Monday, however today (Sunday) I took photos of animals on food packaging:

Monday 22nd of April 2007

Today I walked around Belfast in search of the following ingredients to complete the option 1 menu selected by Luke and family: monterey jack cheese, flour tortillas, long grain rice, tomato puree, onions, black olives, vegetable shortening, pinto beans, chili peppers, red bell pepper, tomatoes, cilantro (coriander), limes, sour cream and avocados. Also, Justin and Meabh asked me to pick up honey and large rubber gloves. I departed from CSR dressed for a rainy yet warm day with my backpack, hiking boots, compass, pen, map (which I wrote notes and landmarks on while walking), key to CSR (with spart keychain!), camera, sunglasses, wallet, phone and shopping list. After walking across Befast for most of the day, buying items on my list from 8 different shops, I learned that most (if not all) of the ingredients I was looking for could be purchased cheapest at the very large Sainsbury’s located 5-10 minutes (on foot) from CSR. Such is the logic of 21st century capitalist suburbia. However, my goal was not simply to find these ingredients through the quickest/cheapest method, but rather to begin a relationship with Belfast… to haphazardly search for traces (and distortions) of the familiar, to stumble upon the reality of my foreignness… and to go for a long walk in a place I had never before set foot.

It appears that all limes in Belfast come from Brazil. I purchased limes in 5 different shops and they all came from Brazil. Here are a few of the labels:

Limes are expensive in Belfast… I found this advertisement in a shop window amusing.

I was surprised to find Cholula hot sauce (a happy addition to many Mexican meals) in a small grocery store called Sawers, although it was not cheap at £5.99 (or $12 by the current exchange rate) for a small bottle.

In a different shop I found brambles (blackberries) that had been shipped all the way from Mexico. Strange, I though, as brambles grow wild and in abundance locally.

Parts of Belfast look like any other city that I have been to in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. I spent time in a Waterstones bookstore (I bought a Mexican Spanish phrasebook and the only Belfast guidebook they sold), passed by large shopping centres with the familiar retail and food giants (KFC, Asda aka Walmart, Tescos, HomeBase, JJB Sports, Virgin Megastore, HMV, Boots, ad nauseam), walked through student areas with family run cafes and second hand record shops. Belfast’s suburbs are also in many ways like most other suburbs I have visited. Yet overall Belfast feels different from anywhere else I have been. The streets here have many murals which seem to testify to my ignorance of the social history of this place:

I am more than a little intrigued by Belfast.

Tonight Meabh made a delicious tuna dish, which she said was from a Greek recipe. Luke intentionally covered his shirt in strawberries. Justin leant me a book called The Dirty War by Martin Dillon, which I now plan to read in bed before I fall asleep.

Tuesday 23rd of April 2007

I spent today cooking at leisurely pace, and reading my new favorite literary genre which I am currently calling food packaging discourse:

Sadly, the Mexican blackberries I purchased yesterday went moldy:

Other than that, today’s meal went quite well:

The bunnies ate with us:

We are wondering if Bean is pregnant, as she has spent much of today burrowing and making nests.

Following dinner we had a jam session. Luke plays a mean harmonica.

After consulting Justin and Meabh, I have just decided to change the format of the remaining days of my residency… more info tomorrow.

Click here for today’s recommended reading.

Wednesday 24th of April 2007

Today was spent devising a score card (in collaboration with Luke)

Justin, Meabh and myself will each be entering 2 dishes and 1 beverage.

In preparation for this event, which will take place tomorrow evening, I spent some time researching Luke’s food interests. I also asked my friend Shannon from Arizona what 7 year olds like to eat.

Sight Seeing: 1 / 2 / 3

Thursday 25th of April 2007

Today was the much awaited cooking showdown, with Luke as the Judge.

The food entries in the order in which they were served, with Luke’s completed score card for each entry:

Pizza Surprise by Paul Stapleton (uncooked version, as I did not manage to take a photo of the cooked version prior to its consumption)

score card

Cauliflour Love and Tomato Poppers by Meabh McDonnell

score card – additional photo

Carrot Jenga with Camembert, Sun Glasses and the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Justin McKeown

score card
video – a portrait of a family

Pumpkin Pie by Paul Stapleton

score card – additional photo – I ended up making this dish after being shocked by the presence of a small pumpkin for sale in Sainsbury’s (which traveled all the way from Argentina). I normally only make pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

Hippy Crispy Nonsense with Pinapple Fluff! by Meabh McDonnell

score card

Sweetie Sushi on a Bed of Sweetie Seaweed and Sea Urchins

score card

The drinks:

Mint and Honey Tea by Paul Stapleton – score card – the mint packaging

Bloody Mary with Intoxication Removed by Meabh McDonnell – score card – the downfall of this entry was caused by the quantity of tabasco sause.

Root Ginger Beer by Justin McKeown – score card – Although this entry scored the highest overall score average, evidence is mounting which testifies to the fact that the Judge was mislead.

Friday 26th of April 2007

A portrait of Ireland:

guinness / shamrock / potato

This evening I had my farewell Irish dinner, beautifully prepaired by Meabh.

and it ended with a song