Where have we BEEN? / Where are we GOING?

Archie Weekly

ONE:

We made Archestratus a safe place to be as best we saw fit at the time. We cleaned surfaces, encouraged people to wash their hands in our facilities, limited cafe seating, and eventually made all lunch items to-go only.

SECOND:

We made as much fresh food from our pantry as possible available to the community in a contactless way with all purchasing done online and all food being disseminated safely. We fed you the delicious things we had on hand and prevented an incredible and unnecessary amount of food waste from happening. 

NUMBER THREE:

We baked and sold off all of our cookies, further preventing food waste and, if we may say so ourselves, made some folks pretty happy.

FOURTHLY:

We made all of our pantry items available for local pickup and shipment online. Folks were in need of pasta, tomatoes, grains, and we enabled a simple, contactless online process for all. These items are still available for shipment and local pick-up

HERE

. 

FIVE of PENTACLES:

Some of you were asking, so we created a

Make a Donation!

button on our website. Thank you, kindly.

Gift Cards

are also available. 

SIXES:

We quickly became a CSA pickup for Martin's farm produce from California, a farmer who usually sells high-quality veggies to restaurants but who has been forced to switch from wholesale to retail.

This led to us eating the most incredible produce all week and wanting deeply to share it with you. Good food has been the bright spot in our days, with cooking a simple act of presence and pleasure. 

Last week we disseminated goods to over 110 people in three hours.

Since safety is our number one concern, we have decided to add timeslots for pick-ups. Once you put in an order you will receive an email by the end of the day about choosing a time-slot.

Pick-ups are on now Saturdays from

1 to 7p.

We have added many items to this one-stop-shop, and you can put an order in 

HERE

. We are currently stocking BodhiTree produce bags, She Wolf bread, Smoking Goose Bacon and Ham Hocks, Parmesan and Pecorino from Foster Sundry, Hidden Camp Farm eggs, and so much more. 

MOST RECENTLY:

We have made all of our books available for local pickup and shipment online. They are still being organized, but the search box works most excellently. You can find them 

HERE

. 

Starting APR 15:

Here is a virtual space for us to share on a weekly basis. We miss you and we want to know how you are. The big concept of these meetings is that we all get to be together again! 

Topics may include: What you ate for dinner, what you going to eat for dinner, what you miss, what you don't miss, what you are learning about yourself, what new skills you are learning, how greasy your hair is, whether or not you have pants on, how you are coping, and so on. 

There are three Wednesday timeslots to choose from that occur on a weekly basis. Please feel free to pick and choose, but it could be nice to stay in the same group of 20 people on a weekly basis. Make sure to provide your email address at check-out and we will send you a Zoom link prior to this community hang. 

  On APR 16 at 7:30p:  Cook through Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin during the months of MARCH + APRIL and drop by our virtual space with your favorite dish on APRIL 16th—all are welcome! It's a potluck party! It's mad civilized! It gives us a monthly dose of hope for the universe!  

  Make sure to provide your email address at check-out and we will send you a Zoom link prior to this community hang. 

Throughout her career, Toni Tipton-Martin has shed new light on the history, breadth, and depth of African American cuisine. She's introduced us to black cooks, some long forgotten, who established much of what's considered to be our national cuisine. After all, if Thomas Jefferson introduced French haute cuisine to this country, who do you think actually cooked it?

In Jubilee, Tipton-Martin brings these masters into our kitchens. Through recipes and stories, we cook along with these pioneering figures, from enslaved chefs
 to middle- and upper-class writers and entrepreneurs. With more than 100 recipes, from classics such as Sweet Potato Biscuits, Seafood Gumbo, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, and Pecan Pie with Bourbon to lesser-known but even more decadent dishes like Bourbon & Apple Hot Toddies, Spoon Bread, and Baked Ham Glazed with Champagne, Jubilee presents techniques, ingredients, and dishes that show the roots of African American cooking—deeply beautiful, culturally diverse, fit for celebration.

Starting on APR 22:Join us this spring for a 6-week intensive course on breaking into the food writing world led by veteran food writer and editor Devra Ferst.

We’ll cover matching the tone of a publication, honing the angle of a story, and pitching. Plus, writing functional yet entertaining recipe headnotes, concise and smart maps and guidebook entries, and more styles of writing that will help you get your byline out there. We also will discuss covering the restaurant world during the biggest crisis it has ever faced and how publications are pivoting their content directions to offer readers cooking assistance during this difficult time. 

Classes, which will be held online, will include reading and writing assignments, as well as individual feedback. For any questions about the class, reach out to [email protected].

  On APR 23 at 7p:  Every six-ish weeks we read a new memoir, a collection of essays, novel, or anything else we find interesting that somehow, in a big or small way, relates to food. Then we discuss. Read through CORK DORK by Bianca Bosker by  through MARCH + APRIL and join us in our virtual space on APRIL 23! 

  Make sure to provide your email address at check-out and we will send you a Zoom link prior to this community hang. 

About the book:

Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn't know much about wine—until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, she set out to uncover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a "cork dork."

With boundless curiosity, humor, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, California mass-market wine factories, and even a neuroscientist's fMRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what's the big deal about wine? What she learns will change the way you drink wine—and, perhaps, the way you live—forever.

SO MUCH MORE TO REPORT, BUT WE WILL WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK