 Meet the Sunrise Betties, walk through history on Union Street, and "Mystery Stitching" with Nicholas Turcan NXNW Feb. 17/18, 2024 | Kicking off your long weekend, it's another edition of the NXNW newsletter! We've got a great show lined up for your Saturday and Sunday morning. We get a preview of a new play about a fictitious '70s "girl gang" named the Sunrise Betties, filmmaker Jamila Pomeroy is here with her new documentary Union Street about Vancouver's Black community, Nicholas Turcan introduces us to his colourful world of quilting, and Haley Landa stops by with a new recipe for chocolate mousse. (The recipe is listed below for your baking enjoyment, of course.)
Looking for something from a previous show? Stop by our CBC Listen page. | | | Coming up on the show this weekend: | | | Saturday |  | Executive Producer Dugald Maudsley gives us a preview of The Secret World of Sound, a three-part documentary series about animals and the auditory system, which is featured on CBC's The Nature of Things. | | | | | Theatre professor and actor Jerry Wasserman is set to speak at the Firehall Studio about Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen this Sunday. But before that, he joins us for another edition of Shelf Life. | | | | | NXNW baking columnist Haley Landa returns with a recipe for dark chocolate mousse, which makes for the perfect post-Valentine's Day treat. | | | | | Award-winning writer/director Jamila Pomeroy walks us through Union Street, a new documentary that explores three generations of cultural erasure and reclamation of African Canadian history in the Lower Mainland. | | | | | Sunday | | | Award-nominated, non-binary author Basil Sylvester explains what it takes to pen a great opening page, as they are the judge for CBC Books' First Page writing challenge for kids. | | | | | Author and historian Ian Kennedy documents the 40-year service of the B.C.-built vessel Princess Maquinna in his book The Best Loved Boat. | | | | | On this week's episode of our February textiles series, Nicholas Turcan gives us a tour of his colourful quilting business — Mystery Stitch Designs — operated out of his studio on Granville Island. | | | | | Playwright Cheyenne Rouleau and director Jamie King paint the tale of a gritty, all-female East Van gang in Sunrise Betties, a theatre experience premiering at the Vancouver Russian Hall (Feb. 21 - Mar. 10.) | | | | | | | | | | | Textiles - Mystery Stitch Designs | | | In the latest entry of our February textiles series, NXNW's Jeremy Ratt has a crafty chat with Nicholas Turcan, the professional quilter behind Mystery Stitch Designs on Granville Island. Nicholas has been quilting since 2012, when the hobby quickly cemented itself as a career developing quilts of all shapes and colours. | | |  | Turcan in the Mystery Stitch studio | | |  | Another slice of Mystery Stitch Designs | | | | | | | Sunrise Betties makes its premiere | | | NXNW's Margaret Gallagher visited the basement of Vancouver's Russian Hall to get a sneak peek of Sunrise Betties, a new play presented by ITSAZOO Theatre. Written by Cheyenne Rouleau and directed by Jamie King, the fictional tale follows an all-female gang and an ensuing turf war in Vancouver in 1972. The production draws from the darker elements of East Vancouver history, exploring the subjects of economic disparity, the street gang crisis, and the opioid crisis.
Sunrise Betties opens at the Russian Hall in Vancouver's Strathcona neighbourhood on Feb. 21, and runs until March 10. | | |  | The Sunrise Betties (Photo by Chelsey Stuyt) | | |  | Playwright Cheyenne Rouleau and director Jamie King | | | | | | | Jerry Wasserman's Shelf Life | | | The Firehall Arts Centre presents Chelsea Hotel:The Songs of Leonard Cohen from Feb. 3 to March 3. This Sunday at 1:30 p.m., theatre professor and actor Jerry Wasserman will be making an appearance to discuss Cohen and his music. A while back, NXNW's Margaret Gallagher connected with Wasserman for an entry of Shelf Life.
Whether you attend the discussion or check out his recommendations, there's plenty of food for thought on the stage and on the page.
A book from your childhood?
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
A book you would recommend to your younger self?
Deep Blues by Robert Palmer.
A book you like to lend to people?
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
A book that changed your life?
Masters of Modern Drama by Haskell M. Block.
And Leave It to Jane by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse.
A guilty reading pleasure?
The Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. | | | | | | | Chocolate mousse for your making | | | NXNW baking columnist Haley Landa returns with a great new recipe for chocolate mousse. While Valentine's Day has passed, it still makes for a sweet treat that you and your loved ones can enjoy.
Give it a try!
Dark Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
-130g granulated sugar
-37g water
-3 medium eggs
-165g dark chocolate (high quality, ideally around 70%)
-45g butter
-165 36% cream, whipped to medium peak
Directions
1. In a microwave safe container, melt your chocolate and butter in 30-second intervals, stirring in between intervals ensuring you not burn it, until completely melted. Set aside.
2. Whip cream to a medium peak and set aside.
*Step 3 & 4 happen at the same time*
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add in your eggs and begin to whip on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Approx. 5 minutes.
4. Add the sugar/water to a small pot (smallest pot you have) and heat over medium heat until syrup has achieved 115 C (We pull it off heat a few degrees before the desired temp of 118 C because the syrup will continue to cook a bit off heat), begin to slowly stream in the hot syrup into the whipping eggs. Ensure that you add the syrup slowly in a gentle, even stream to ensure that you do not scramble the eggs.
5. Once all the sugar syrup is in the bowl, continue to whip until you can touch your hand to the bowl of the mixer and it is warm (not hot). Then remove the bowl and gently fold in your melted chocolate/butter. Fold gently as to not deflate your eggs too much.
6. Once the mix has cooled down to 35-37 C, gently fold in the whipped cream in three parts. Fold until no white streaks are visible.
7. Now your mousse is ready to be poured into your desired vessel. Once in your vessels, place in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours or until set.
8. To enjoy: remove from fridge and top with fresh fruit of your choice and a dollop of whipped cream if desired. Cheers! | | | | | | | In case you missed it... | | | Last week on NXNW, we were joined by legendary environmentalist David Suzuki and his partner of 52 years, award-winning writer Tara Cullis. Their theatre production, What You Won't Do For Love, is having its last performance at Vancouver Civic Theatres on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Stream this interview via CBC Listen. | | | | | Thanks for listening! | Have comments or suggestions you'd like to share? Email us!
Jeremy Ratt, editor | | | | | |
