There are some things that 

don’t necessitate recipes. Some 
things are so simple that exact 
measurements or a lengthy 
ingredients list unnecessarily 
complicate their preparation. 
As simply as they’re made, 
they’re even more satisfyingly 
enjoyed. 
Oftentimes, 
these 

things take a form of their own 
— their preparation rooting 
itself into some tucked away 
part of our imaginations, where 
they grow and change over 
time.

These 
improvisations 
— 

the spontaneous melding of 
ingredients we unexpectedly 
find at hand — serve as the basis 
for many of our most treasured 
and 
frequently 
consumed 

meals.

The 
recipe-less 
recipe 

may have been derived from 
watching 
your 
mother 
or 

grandmother cook the same 
go-to meals time and time again 
or from attempting to recreate 
the soothing ease with which 
Food Network chefs display 

their creations on screen. Or, 
you snagged a vegetable or 
ingredient of the grocery store 
shelf and an idea popped into 
mind, finding its realization 
through swift, barely thought-
out 
movements 
within 
the 

kitchen, 
culminating 
in 
a 

thrown-together masterpiece. 
No 
matter 
its 
origin, 
the 

unscripted, haphazard kitchen 
creation dispels the pressure of 
having to meticulously follow 
instructions 
and 
compile 
a 

lengthy list of resources. Often, 
it’s this austerity that inhibits 
creativity and can result in a 
lackluster dish that doesn’t 
live up to expectations. Or, you 
may find yourself thoroughly 
impressed with the results 
only to remember the gruelling 
efforts leading up to it and 
swearing off the recipe for the 
future.

Equally 
as 
impressive 
is 

making something on the fly 
that tastes like it took a lot of 
effort and preparation, but 
didn’t actually. All it takes is 

a few ingredients you already 
have on hand and the marriage 
between a few pantry staples.

Marinated 
eggplant 
has 

recently become one of my 
go-to thrown-together recipes. 
It bears the ease of utilizing 
few 
ingredients 
and 
even 

less thought, yet it packs all 
the 
flavor 
and 
heartiness 

of 
extensive 
kitchen 
work. 

The 
dish 
emerged 
after 
I 

bought eggplant on a whim 
and, unable to decide the 

fate of its consumption, was 
struck 
by 
inspiration 
from 

the transcendent memory of 
a marinated eggplant dish I 
had once been served at Mani 
Osteria. So, to the best of my 
ability, I attempted to recreate 

the flavorful dish with only 
the items at hand — eggplant, 
salt and pepper, chili flakes, 
olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and 
garlic.

As is my preferred cooking 

method with most vegetables, 
I hastily cut my eggplant into 
cubes, tossed them in olive oil 
and sprinkled them with salt, 
before throwing them in the 
oven at 375º for about 20-30 
minutes, checking frequently 
to ensure all sides got their fair 
share of roasting. Typically, 
I’d sprinkle the eggplant with 
salt and let rest for ten minutes 
prior to soaking up the excess 
moisture with paper towels, 
however I was out of paper 
towels — a repercussion to be 
expected when cooking on the 
fly (and when living with 13 
roommates in college).

After the the eggplant turned 

nice and crisp in the oven, 
almost charred on some sides, 
while perfectly tender on the 
other, I let it cool for several 
minutes. Then, I grabbed a 

tupperware 
container 
and 

tossed 
the 
cooled 
eggplant 

cubes 
in; 
I 
drizzled 
them 

generously with more olive 
oil, balsamic vinegar and the 
crushed garlic and added a 
generous pinch of salt, black 
pepper and red chili flakes 
(and about half a teaspoon of 
dried basil if you have it on 
hand), tossing well to combine. 
In order to draw out all those 
piquant 
flavors, 
I 
let 
the 

eggplant mixture refrigerate 
for a few hours to soak up the 
acidity of the vinegar and the 
sweet bite of garlic — the nutty 
olive oil binding all the rich, 
zesty flavors together.

It’s no surprise then, that 

waiting 
for 
the 
eggplant 

to marinate can be trying. 
However, once the chunks of 
eggplant have absorbed the 
marinade, they can be served 
with a thick, crusty bread that’s 
been toasted to a slightly burnt 
crisp, or they can be tossed with 
freshly sliced basil leaves and 
shaved parmesan into a salad — 

or if you’re me — eaten straight 
out of the container.

Not only is it incredibly easy to 

make, a large batch of marinated 
eggplant can carry you through 
the week. The meaty eggplant, 
enhanced by the flavors of the 
marinade, make a superb side dish 
or meal of their own. Dole out over 
pasta with plenty of cheese and 
fresh basil for a quick weeknight 
meal or over a bowl of grains and 
sautéed kale.

It’s flavors are vibrant and crisp 

enough to cool our palates on a 
summer day, while the hearty 
vegetable can satisfy on a cold, 
winter evening. If you’re not an 
eggplant-kind-of-person (it’s cool, 
not everyone is), this method works 
great with red bell peppers too. Easy 
and versatile? You heckin’ bet it is. 
Delicious? That too.

With slightly more effort than 

pouring yourself a bowl of cereal, 
marinated eggplant be an easy fix 
to an uninspired meal, without 
draining your energy or stock of 
ingredients. So, roast and refrigerate 
those tasty little cubes and enjoy.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Friday, March 31, 2017 — 5

‘Life’ is well-crafted but 
ultimately meaningless 

COURTESY OF HOTEL DALLAS

Astronauts 

find an alien. The 
astronauts 
are 

idiots. 
The 
alien 

kills the astronauts. 
With 
a 
premise 

like that, it’s hard 
to 
see 
“Life” 
as 

much more than a modern-
day, A-list “Alien” rip-off, but 
it surprisingly has more in 
common with “Gravity” than 
anything else. Aesthetically, 
the 
comparisons 
write 

themselves from the first shot 
— a “oner” that encompasses 
the 
entire 
first 
opening 

scene. While it lacks the scale 
and emotion of that earlier 
film, “Life” is nonetheless 
impressive in how handily it 
manages its tension and horror. 
The resultant film is flawed, 
but perhaps the most intense 
space thriller since Alfonso 
Cuarón’s 2013 masterpiece.

Apart 
from 
being 

just 
a 
gorgeous 
piece 
of 

cinematography and direction, 
the opening scene shows off 
the setting, the key to the 
film’s successes. The emphasis 
placed on space as we know it as 
opposed to a futuristic starship 
a la “Alien” gives the film an 
immediately scary atmosphere 
that director Daniel Espinosa 
(“Child 44”) wrings for nearly 
every drop of tension. To that 
end, “Life” never goes for the 
easy scare, instead preferring 
to ease the viewer into full-on 
terror and let the characters’ 
increasing paranoia speak for 
itself. Much of the film is made 
up of several slow-burn scenes 
followed by bursts of horror, 
and 
screenwriters 
Rhett 

Reese 
and 
Paul 
Wernick’s 

(“Deadpool”) fearlessness with 
character deaths, established 
early, makes each subsequent 

scare better than the last.

It’s impossible to go too deep 

into “Life” without discussing 
the alien at the center of it in 

some capacity. 
Without going 
into excessive 
detail, 
while 

the design of 
the 
creature 

will likely fall 
into 
“love 
it 

or hate it” territory, Espinosa 
does great work here, as well. 
From the moment its intentions 
become malicious in a sequence 
that 
is 
equal 
parts 
well-

directed and frightening, the 
alien is a singularly terrifying 
antagonist. It’s a force of pure 
evil that constantly outwits 

and outplays the scientists, 
who — in a departure from 
genre clichés — don’t act like 
complete idiots for the entirety 
of the runtime. The action 
therefore becomes that much 

more engaging.

This is not to say that the 

characters 
on 
display 
are 

paragons of complexity or 
anything of the sort. They’re 
well-sketched more than well-
written, not quite flat but 
not quite fully formed either. 
This doesn’t affect the movie 
too much, as there are some 
character traits to latch onto, 
but it does hold it back to an 
extent. Films like “Alien” and 
“Gravity” succeeded because 
of the combination of suspense 
and character. It would have 
been hard to give much depth 
to a cast of this size and caliber 
without interrupting the film’s 
pacing, but it may have also 
given “Life” the push it needed 
to move from “good” to “great.”

And on that note, the aspect 

that makes “Life” hardest to 
recommend despite its flashes 
of greatness is impossible to 
describe at all: the ending. 
Again, without going into any 
detail, the ending to “Life” is 
an unrewarding fake-out that 
relies on poor editing to get its 
point across. It’s foreshadowed 
from a mile away, but sitting 
in the theater, after two hours 
of sustained tension, it’s hard 
to believe that it was greenlit. 
It gives the entire film a 
meaningless cast in retrospect.

The ending doesn’t taint 

the entirety of “Life,” though. 
It is still well-crafted, and 
Espinosa’s handling of both 
character and mood is assured. 
Moviegoers looking for a good 
scare should look no further. 
It isn’t without its problems, 
and they keep the film from 
attaining 
the 
greatness 
it 

comes so close to, but “Life” 
is still an involving — if 
ultimately 
empty-feeling 
— 

time at the movies.

JEREMIAH VANDERHELM

Daily Arts Writer

FILM REVIEW

SHIR

AVINADAV

FOOD COLUMN

Making eggplant effortless

Mandolinist Daniel Brito 
to perform in Kerrytown

COMPLICITE

For perhaps as long as human 

society has existed, music has 
existed with it. As civilizations and 
empires rose and fell, as republics 
and autocracies collapsed and 
were reborn, music was there 
through it all. It’s one of the few 
true universals in our world, one 
of the omnipresent markers of our 
existence that cling at the very core 
of what it is to be human. It was 
present in the nomads’ tent, and 
it’s present on the phone in your 
pocket. Because of this, to come 
anywhere even remotely near 
to an understanding of a culture 
requires a knowledge of the music 
that is important to it. It helps to 
show the passions and the rituals 
of a people, the history and ethos of 
a society. And fortunately, today’s 
globalized world affords us more 
opportunities than ever to hear 
and admire those musics from 
traditions unfamiliar to our ears.

One such unfamiliar tradition 

(for most Ann Arborites, at least) 
is the choro music of Brazil. 
Originating about 150 years ago in 
Rio de Janeiro, choro marks one of 
the first fundamentally Brazilian 
genres of instrumental music, 
and in a concert Saturday night at 
Kerrytown Concert House, the 
audience will have the chance to 
experience a performance by one of 
this genre’s greatest contemporary 
musicians.

“Choro 
has 
its 
origin 
in 

European polka. It arrived in Brazil 
fast and dancing, and Brazilian 
musicians started to play it slowly 
and it became more melancholic, 
more dramatic,” said Danilo Brito, 
mandolinist and choro musician, 
who will be performing this 
Saturday in Kerrytown. “This was 
around 1860, 1870. So soon we were 
doing music to make people cry, 
because it caused this emotion to 
those who were hearing it, and 
so the name of this genre, choro, 
means ‘to cry.’ ”

Brito (who does not speak 

English, 
and 
communicated 

through 
translation 
by 
his 

manager, Maria Silvia Braga) 
went on to explain that despite the 

genre’s name, much of the music is 
in fact fast, cheerful and virtuosic 
— “but always intense.”

Choro is a type of music that is 

of great important to the culture of 
Brazil, expressing a wide range of 
sentiments, and in the view of Brito 
and others, it is the genre that best 
represents the spirit of the nation.

“Choro is the musical expression 

of 
Brazilian 
people,” 
Brito 

explained. “Brazilian people have 
very intense feelings, sometimes 
melancholic, sometimes nostalgic, 
sometimes cheerful. All these 
different 
intense 
feelings 
of 

Brazilian people are very well 
represented by all the different 

styles that choro has.”

In this assessment, Brito is in 

the company of some of the most 
famous Brazilian figures in the 
history of music.

“The Brazilian composer Heitor 

Villa-Lobos said that choro is the 
music that best represents the soul 
of Brazilian people,” Brito said. 
“The great maestro and composer 
Radamés Gnattali said that choro 
is the most perfect and last stage of 
Brazilian music.”

Brito was drawn to choro at 

a young age. His father was an 
amature musician, and played 
mandolin 
and 
Cavaquinho. 

Through him and the musical 
environment he fostered around 
him, Brito was introduced to music 
early on.

“[Some] nights [we] had hearings 

of old vinyl recordings, and very 
soon [I] started playing [my] 
father’s 
instruments, 
mandolin 

and cavaquinho,” Brito said. “And 
through hearing the old vinyls [I] 
learned to play.”

Brito never had a formal teacher, 

but his natural ability and passion 
for the music has since propelled 
him to the forefront of the choro 

scene. Saturday’s performance will 
mark but one concert on a tour that 
has already included Vancouver, 
Seattle, Portland and Oakland, 
among others. The tour has been 
an immensely positive experience 
for him.

“It’s been wonderful, my feelings 

about this, my impressions of these 
concerts have been wonderful,” 
Brito said. “ [There has been] a very 
warm reception by the audience, 
always with full houses, and a great 
energy… [I] played at Kuumbwa 
[Jazz] in Santa Cruz last night, and 
it was a memorable evening that 
[I] will keep with [me] the rest of 
[my] life. The connection with the 
audience was fantastic.”

Choro is a music that is energetic, 

involving a full range of complex 
harmonies 
and 
counterpoint, 

in addition to having a highly 
improvisatory structure. These 
qualities, in part, help address the 
question of why Brito is so drawn 
to the particular genre.

More than anything, however, 

it was the passionate spirit of the 
music that drew him in.

“This music captured me by 

feeling,” Brito said. “It’s always 
a very intense and strong feeling 
when you hear it. Either it is 
cheerful, 
or 
melancholic, 
or 

chromatic, or romantic. It’s a genre 
that gives [one] the tools to express 
[one’s] feelings in a most complete 
way, perfectly or almost perfect.”

It is this sense of emotion and 

feeling that Brito hopes to share 
with Ann Arbor Saturday night. 
When he performs, it is an act of 
passion, a passing on of the emotion 
of the music.

“The music that [I] will present 

comes directly from [my] heart,” 
Brito said. “The style of music that 
we play demands a lot of study 
and technicality, but the intention 
is that the audience does not feel 
all this work that is behind, but 
just receives music as it is, as pure 
emotion, feelings and expressions. 
Our technique is always from the 
work of music of pure heart. The 
audience, hearing it, will feel this.”

DAYTON HARE
Senior Arts Editor

Danilo Brito

Kerrytown Concert 

House

Saturday, April 1 8 

P.M.

$5 Student, $15 

General Admission

COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW

“Life”

Columbia Pictures

Rave Cinemas, 

Goodrich Quality 16

‘Life’ never goes 

for the easy 
scare, instead 

preferring to ease 

the viewer into 

full-on terror and 
let the characters’ 

increasing 

paranoia speak for 

itself

Latest Daniel Espinosa-directed movie boasts impressive 
cinematography, but has little to show for in terms of thematics

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

