IAP Independent Activities Period
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IAP 2012 Activities by Category

Food and Beverages

Dine Like Darwin
Rebecca Woods, Myrna Perez
Tue Jan 24, 02-07:00pm, E51-095

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 16-Jan-2012
Limited to 15 participants.
Single session event

Have you ever wondered about Charles Darwin's daily life? Everyone is familiar with him as a revolutionary thinker, but just like everyone else, he needed to eat! And for Darwin, a famous invalid who suffered from numerous digestive complaints all his life, diet was a highly significant aspect of his wellbeing, and his ability to work. In this single session activity, we'll explore this other side of Darwin—his domestic life and his digestion. Over the course of an afternoon, we will read and discuss a selection of Darwin's correspondence—letters he wrote and received, and letters exchanged among his family members—that shed light on what he was like as a father, husband, and invalid. We will recreate some of the very food that Darwin ate, using authentic recipes from his wife Emma's cookbook—delicious menu items like chicken curry, potato rissoles, and gingerbread made with treacle. Come learn about Victorian science, cookery, and the domestic life of one of the greatest figures in the history of modern science. Be prepared to have fun and get messy cooking à la the 1860s!
Co-sponsored by the Darwin Correspondence Project.
Web: http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/
Contact: Rebecca Woods, E51-098, (802) 881-7653, rjwoods@mit.edu
Sponsor: Science, Technology, and Society

EVENT FULL -- Knife Skills at the Clover truck
Rolando Robledo
Thu Jan 19, 03:30-04:30pm, Clover Truck

No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Single session event

Event full

Use link below to be added to the wait-list.

Come learn knife skills from Rolando (chef) and the crew of the Clover truck. We'll teach knife safety, basic cuts, and how to change your cuts depending on what you want to make. We'll tackle onions, garlic, tomatoes, and how to break down something really large. Free. Open to all. At the truck.
Web: https://alum.mit.edu/smarTrans/register-login.vm?eventID=63421&groupID=194
Contact: Elena Byrne, ebyrne@mit.edu
Sponsor: Alumni Association

EVENT FULL: Knife Skills at the Clover truck
Rolando Robledo, Ayr Muir '00, SM'01
Thu Jan 26, 03:30-04:30pm, Clover Truck

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Single session event

EVENT FULL -- Use link below to be added to the WAIT LIST
Come learn knife skills from Rolando (chef) and the crew of the Clover truck. We'll teach knife safety, basic cuts, and how to change your cuts depending on what you want to make. We'll tackle onions, garlic, tomatoes, and how to break down something really large. Free. Open to all. At the truck.
Web: https://alum.mit.edu/smarTrans/register-login.vm?eventID=63921&groupID=194
Contact: Elena Byrne, W98-200, (617) 252-1143, ebyrne@mit.edu
Sponsor: Alumni Association

In Vino Veritas 2012
Professor Linn W. Hobbs
Mon Jan 9, Tue Jan 10, Thu Jan 12, Mon Jan 16, Wed Jan 18, 05-08:00pm, 6-104

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 60 participants.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Prereq: Participants must be age 21 or older on 1/9/12. ID required.
Fee: 185.00 for wines, crackers and extensive tasting notes

Harvard cannot lay claim to all verities! This high quality introductory class in wine appreciation, long an IAP classic now in its 31st year, with 2300 enthusiastic alumnae/i, will acquaint participants with the truth about wines from around the world through comparative tastings of about 55 fine wines. The offering is perennially oversubscribed, so immediate registration is advised. Payment of fee with registration.
Contact: Gabrielle Joseph, 13-4062, x3-6970, gaj@mit.edu
Sponsor: Materials Science and Engineering
Cosponsor: Nuclear Science and Engineering

MIT Hummus Experience
Eliad Shmuel
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)

The MIT Hummus Experience began in 2008. In 2009 and 2010, it was the highlight of MIT's IAP (Independent Activities Period). It might be the health trend or just pure curiosity which brings hundreds of people to the “Hummus Taste Off,” a competition where professors and students have to rank different hummus brands and student creations by aroma, taste and texture.

The “Hummus Taste Off” is only the first shot for a month of “hummus experiences”; we have two hummus classes and a tour to a local hummus factory.

During IAP, we will again have a number of hummus-based events, as the Hummus Experience reflects the fun and exploratory spirit of MIT’s intersession. We did very well last year, and this year we want to do even better!

All we are saying is "give chickpeas a chance."
Web: http://hummus.mit.edu/
Contact: Eliad Shmuel, (617) 253-2982, hummus@mit.edu
Sponsor: Hillel
Cosponsor: MIT - Israel

Hummus 101
Ethan Sokol
Workshop participants will learn the secrets of making hummus from George Kirby '79, who is well-known in greater Boston for his delicious homemade dips. This is a hands-on workshop with take-away results. Bonus - Spice it up by preparing an exotic Yemenite hot sauce (Zhug).
Tue Jan 10, 07-09:00pm, W11

Make Your Own Hummus
Eliad Shmuel
Put together a team with an idea of what flavor you would like to make. We will provide you with the basic recipe, which you can adapt to your liking using both traditional and funky ingredients (please include any specific ingredients with your rsvp). All entries will be held for the Taste Off the next day and will be judged by the entire MIT Community!
Great prize for the winning recipe!
RSVP required.
Wed Jan 18, 07-09:00pm, TBD

The Annual Hummus Taste Off
Eliad Shmuel
Vote for the best home-made hummus at MIT. Help choose the best hummus at MIT's annual "made from scratch" hummus taste-off! Participate in a blind tasting of hummus made by fellow students. Be dazzled by the variations in flavor and texture. We promise free hummus and pita, give aways, and much more.
Thu Jan 19, 12-01:30pm, Lobby 10, More hummus in the Bush Room

Hummus Tour
Molly Schneider
Touring a hummus factory is like walking into a Mediterranean "wonderland": oceans of chickpeas, mountains of hummus, rivers of olive oil, and warm pita for dipping... The MIT community also experiences the engineering feats behind production. RSVP is required using our the following form:
http://bit.ly/uhsOtt
Space is limited!
Wed Jan 25, 01-05:30pm, Upon rsvp

Old Food: Ancient and Medieval Cooking
Anne McCants
Mon Jan 9, 12-06:00pm, Country Kitchen, Next House, Basement

No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 05-Jan-2012
Single session event
Prereq: Stomach and sense of humor

Interested in gnawing on greasy lamb shanks? Perhaps you prefer vetches, oats and spelt-cakes? How about fermented fish sauce? Come join us for an afternoon of good old--and we mean REALLY old--fashioned ancient & medieval cookery. We will prepare, cook, and eat medieval foods from both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. Preparations will involve the use of authentic period recipe-books. You are invited to join us for this afternoon of fun and feasting. For those with more academic interests we will have sources available for your reading pleasure--or horror. If you plan to arrive later than the start time, please indicate this when registering.
Contact: Anne McCants, E51-293, x8-6669, amccants@mit.edu
Sponsor: History


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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Last update: 7 Sept. 2011