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Photo: Rachel Marek, Holly Dreesman (food styling)
Active Time:1 hr 45 minsChill Time:6 hrsTotal Time:7 hrs 45 minsServings:12Jump to Nutrition Facts
Active Time:1 hr 45 minsChill Time:6 hrsTotal Time:7 hrs 45 minsServings:12
Active Time:1 hr 45 mins
Active Time:
1 hr 45 mins
Chill Time:6 hrs
Chill Time:
6 hrs
Total Time:7 hrs 45 mins
Total Time:
7 hrs 45 mins
Servings:12
Servings:
12
Jump to Nutrition Facts
Jump to recipe
I have been through it, so I can attest, it is a creative and evolutionary act to discover who you are and to embrace yourself. It’s not only life-altering; it can change the world. It did for my generation, and has for generations since. I suppose that’s why some people are afraid of us. To the tradition-bound, change is terrifying. If they could only bring themselves to understand the good in our honesty, we’d all take a giant step out of the woods.
All of us were members of ACT UP, the activist organization we all joined to push the government to fight AIDS. At the famous hall in Cooper Union where, 130 years prior, Abraham Lincoln delivered the speech that would ensure his presidency, Ryan sometimes launched Monday night meetings with an uproarious puppet show. Some activists hated that. “Talk about AIDS!” they’d scream, enraged in their urgency to find a cure instead of dying.
Liz, Tom and I all worked in restaurants. Food was as much a part of our lives as was our queerness, and we served a lot of dishes at our parties: Tom’s bacon-wrapped chicken livers; Liz’s chili cheese log. For one party, I pressed roasted vegetables into a terrine that resembled the Pride flag.
In those days, the flag was a simple rainbow. It’s morphed over the years into something more complex. The Philly Pride flag (More Color, More Pride), that incorporates black and brown for queers of color; the Two-Spirit flag, with its Native American feathers overlaying the rainbow—there are many varieties of Pride flag now, symbolizing the proliferation of identities that make up an intersectional, eclectic community.
That diversity is our strength. Our community shares misogyny, racism and other inequities with the wider society. But go to any Pride celebration, and you’ll see that we are also a big, welcoming tent. I believe that if everyone tells the truth about who they are, and we tolerate that, then we can confront our inequities and collaborate on dismantling them.
My current partner and I have raised her son together. A 23-year-old gay man who is 10 years out, he’s benefited from the activism of our generation, and so have his friends, all of whom define themselves in their own way. Transgender, cisgender, nonbinary; asexual, bisexual, pansexual, heterosexual—in a sign of the times, Facebook lists 58 gender categories you can choose from, and there are just as many ways to define your sexuality.
In my mind, that’s freedom. Live and let live in all our diversity, and together we experience joy. But there are people for whom traditional categories are so essential that they vehemently disagree with me.Over 400anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in the U.S. in 2023 alone. They’re going after gay library books, gender-affirming health care, drag brunch.
Such is the history of social movements. We think we’ve done the work, then the gains slip away. It’s one step forward, and two steps back into the woods. Sure, it still drives me to march in the streets. But in the face of all this hatred, this Pride Month, I also want to speak about love and joy, and the magic I felt three decades ago when the myriad parts of me—my activism, my love for food and hospitality, my sexual identity—all came together.
Download a PDFof the flag template.
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Prop stylist: Holly Dreesman
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients2teaspoonscanola oil2(20-ounce) canscrushed pineapple, drained and squeezed dry1 ½cupsseedless small red grapes, divided1cupfresh raspberries¾cupdried apricots¾cuppitted prunes2smallbananas, sliced lengthwise 1/2-inch thick1mediumGranny Smith apple, cored and cut into 2-inch wedges3tablespoonslemon juice, preferably Meyer lemon, divided½cupfresh blueberries¾cuppitted dates1 ½cupscoconut chips, divided6dropsnatural blue food coloring2tablespoonswater10small strawberries, stemmed and halved2 ¾cupsunsweetened coconut water, divided4packetsunflavored gelatin (about 4 Tbsp.)½cupplus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
2teaspoonscanola oil
2(20-ounce) canscrushed pineapple, drained and squeezed dry
1 ½cupsseedless small red grapes, divided
1cupfresh raspberries
¾cupdried apricots
¾cuppitted prunes
2smallbananas, sliced lengthwise 1/2-inch thick
1mediumGranny Smith apple, cored and cut into 2-inch wedges
3tablespoonslemon juice, preferably Meyer lemon, divided
½cupfresh blueberries
¾cuppitted dates
1 ½cupscoconut chips, divided
6dropsnatural blue food coloring
2tablespoonswater
10small strawberries, stemmed and halved
2 ¾cupsunsweetened coconut water, divided
4packetsunflavored gelatin (about 4 Tbsp.)
½cupplus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Directions
It helps to write the names of the fruits into their respective sections, so you can place the casserole dish on top of the diagram and follow it. For the stripes, from bottom to top (so that they will appear top to bottom once you turn out the terrine), write Raspberry, Apricots, Bananas, Apples, Blueberries and Grapes. For the triangles, from outside to inside, write Prunes, Dates, Blue Coconut, Strawberries, Coconut and Pineapple, and for the space between the concentric circles, write Grapes.
Brush the dish with oil. Arrange the fruit: Place the casserole dish atop your diagram. Mold the crushed pineapple into the shape of the smallest triangle, about 2 inches deep. Using a cookie cutter or jar lid as a guide, dig a circular hole out of the center of the triangle. Quarter about 10 grapes vertically, and line the hole with them, skin-side down, leaving the center of the hole empty. Make a tube shape out of more crushed pineapple, and tuck it inside the ring of grape halves, forming the inside circle. Pick up the casserole and look beneath to check and adjust your work as you go. Since you will turn the terrine upside down to serve it, the bottom should look as perfect as possible.
Fill the bottom horizontal stripe with raspberries in 2 layers, placing them right-side up within the stripe. Arrange apricots within the second stripe from the bottom and arrange bananas horizontally within the third stripe, each to about 2 inches deep. Toss apple pieces with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and arrange in the fourth stripe to 2 inches deep. Skipping the blueberries (because they tend to roll) and keeping the remaining grapes whole, tuck the grapes into the top stripe in 2 layers. To hold the fruit in, stack prunes 2 deep in the outer triangle to create a border. Then fill in the remaining stripe with the blueberries. Fill in the triangle next to the prunes with dates in 2 layers.
Place ¾ cup coconut chips in a small bowl. Add food coloring and 2 tablespoons water. Mix to coat the coconut with color; drain well. Arrange the blue coconut 2 inches deep in the triangle next to the dates. Arrange strawberry halves upside down in the next triangle, filling in gaps between them with right-side-up strawberry halves. Fill in the remaining triangle with the remaining ¾ cup untinted coconut.
Prepare an ice bath that will hold a heatproof bowl; set aside. Place ¾ cup coconut water in a medium bowl. Stir in gelatin, and allow it to set. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 cups coconut water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is hot to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat; add the gelatin mixture and the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Pour into the heatproof bowl; place the bowl in the ice bath and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Evenly pour the mixture over the fruit terrine, pressing down on the fruit slightly. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or up to 3 days.
When ready to serve, run a sharp thin knife around the edge of the terrine. Place the casserole dish in a sink or large roasting pan filled with 1 inch of warm water for 1 minute. Set the casserole dish on the counter and place a platter (or cutting board) on top. Flip the terrine over onto the platter (or cutting board), using an offset spatula to budge it out if necessary.
To make ahead
Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, June 2023
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Nutrition Facts(per serving)313Calories8gFat62gCarbs4gProtein
Nutrition Facts(per serving)
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.
