ArtSwap

PRAXIS
2015

While my friend Laura and I were on a walk around the Silver Lake Reservoir, we saw a portrait of a boy and a drawing of a dog in a window of a house. I’d seen other artwork there before so I’d always assumed it was a gallery. The door was open so we walked in. Seeing a man behind a computer looking very startled, Laura and I realized that maybe it wasn’t a gallery after all. We discovered that the man was an artist named Nolan Lemos and the space was a home office but with a window display. Nolan shared that he had an ongoing project called the ArtSwap where he creates a portrait for anyone who willing to do something creative in return. I was immediately intrigued and our simple swap (I make tacos and ice cream for Nolan and he makes a portrait of me) grew organically into a lovely ode to my parents.

Part 1: Tacos and Ice Cream

BBQ PULLED PORK

For tacos, sloppy joe’s and whatever else your heart desires. Feeds about six people, I’m guessing.

INGREDIENTS

3.5 pound pork shoulder
3-4 tablespoon Vietnamese chili garlic sauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 small onion, roughly chopped

For the dry rub:

1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Optional: 1 tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning (I make my own but you can also find it in the spice section)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 300°F.
Clean and trim fat from meat.
Mix dry rub ingredients and rub on all sides of meat.
Mix chili garlic sauce, BBQ sauce and onion.
Pour some of BBQ sauce mix to cover bottom of Dutch oven or covered roaster. Place meat on top of sauce mix, fatty side down.
Cover meat with remaining sauce mix and place in oven.
Leave to slow roast for 3.5 to 5.5 hours. The longer the better.
Take out of oven, uncover lid and pull meat apart with a pair of forks. Meat should easily fall apart. Mix sauce (it will look like there’s a lot of it, and liquid-y) into pulled meat and place back into oven with lid closed. Leave for 30 more minutes.

I recommend serving this with warm tortilla and whatever fixings you like on your tacos, including elotes (search “Mexican street corn” for lots of reliable recipes). Fresh vegetables and herbs such as cabbage and cilantro cut through the richness of the pork. I used to make the extra effort of making a slaw but I’ve decided that undressed cabbage works just fine. There’s a lot going on flavor-wise already. I’m not knocking slaw, though. Slaw on BBQ pork—that is magic.

*Doesn’t look amazing but tasted amazing.*

NO-CHURN COFFEE-HAZELNUT ICE CREAM

This is my variation on Nigella Lawson’s recipe but it’s not all that different. Makes one pint.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup condensed milk
2 tablespoons coffee powder
2 tablespoons Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
Extra liqueur for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Whip all ingredients until whisk leaves trails. Do not whip until soft peaks form, although it’s not a big deal if you do.
Pour into container and place in freezer for about 4 hours or more.
Drizzle additional Frangelico liqueur over each serving before, er, serving.

You can try other flavor variations. Bitter, tart and sour tastes are recommended to cut through the sweetness of the condensed milk.

Nolan took 4,000 photos of the making, waiting and eating, which was a span of six hours. Just a few of them here: