Eat Well!

Rice noodle pancakes with tofu and eggplant
Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"The Eat Well Cookbook," by Jan Purser and Kathy Snowball (Allen and Unwin, 2007)

From a naturopathic nutritional consultant and a food writer comes this little book on healthy eating. Purser and Snowball don't stop at providing healthy recipes. They lay out full plans of action for those who want to lose weight or change their diets for the better. To help people with food allergies, they've also made all their recipes gluten- and dairy-free. Veggie options are generous.

-- Evelyn Shih
* * *




Rice noodle pancakes with tofu and eggplant

* 1¾ ounces rice vermicelli noodles
* ½ sheet nori seaweed
* 5 fluid ounces light coconut milk
* ¼ cup rice flour
* 2 egg whites
* Grapeseed oil
* 6 baby eggplants, halved lengthwise
* Sea salt
* 6½ ounces firm tofu, drained, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
* Fresh coriander leaves
* Avocado and mango salsa (see note)

To make rice noodle pancakes, soak noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well, pat dry with paper towel and chop coarsely. Dip nori briefly in hot water, then drain and chop. Combine coconut milk and rice flour in a bowl and mix well. Stir in noodles and nori and generously season to taste. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, then fold into noodle mixture in two batches.

Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook scant ¼ cupfuls of mixture in batches until golden, then turn and cook other side. Drain on paper towel.

Brush eggplant with oil, sprinkle with sea salt, place on an oven tray and grill (broil) until golden, then turn and grill the other side, if necessary. Brush tofu with oil, sprinkle with sea salt and stir-fry in a non-stick frying pan in batches until golden.

Serve pancakes topped with eggplant, tofu, salsa and coriander leaves.

Servings: 4.

Note: To make avocado and mango salsa, combine 1 small avocado, chopped; ½ mango, finely chopped; ¼ small red onion, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander; 1 small tomato, seeded, finely chopped; 1 small fresh red chili, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon lime juice; and 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Season to taste.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Super What? Super WHY.

Taking reading to new heights
Monday, September 3, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

Starting this morning at 9, Princess Pea, Whyatt Beanstalk, Red and Littlest Pig will take to the airwaves on PBS' newest children's show, "Super Why." These four superhero tykes magically turn into Princess Presto, Super Why, Wonder Red and Alpha Pig whenever they fly into a book, finding solutions to a variety of problems.
[Picture, above, courtesy of northjersey.com. Photographer: Thomas Franklin.]

Created by Harrington Park native Angela Santomero and Hillsdale native Samantha Freeman -- the same pair who made Nickelodeon's "Blue's Clues" must-see TV among the playground set -- "Super Why" will teach basic reading skills such as spelling, letter recognition and theme comprehension to school-age children.

"Literacy is a national problem, and it's a hot topic at the moment," says Santomero. The new show was specifically designed for kids ages 3 to 6, she adds.

Many busy parents probably wonder whether their children can actually learn to read from watching a TV show. That's a tall order for a television program, and even executive producer Freeman admits that "Super Why's" mission is to "tip children in the right direction."

But if there's anything Santomero and Freeman are sure of, it's that the formula that made "Blue's Clues" a decade-plus success works. Their award-winning educational show has become one of the gold standards in children's television over the past 11 years, largely because of its dedication to research -- research that led Santomero and Freeman to create "Super Why."

Doing a test run

It's a busy day at summer camp, but at the Kew Forest School in Queens, camp counselors are taking a break in the library. Their preschool-age charges are being treated to a very special story time.

"Wands up!" says researcher Alice Walters, seated on the floor next to shelves of children's books.

Finn Latici-McAvey, Matthew Gelpi and Mia Kurta obediently sit forward on their beanbags and raise their tiny fists as if grasping thin sticks. They stare at the colorful, letter-sized printout where a princess in a purple gown points her own glowing instrument at a cluttered ballroom.

"Let's write the letter 'C,' " Walters says.

They go on to spell the word "clean." When the task is complete, Walters puts the page facedown on the ground to reveal another sheet with the same scene, tidied. The word "clean" floats above the ballroom like a physical spell.

"Ta-da!"

The graphics are less than earth-shattering. But the storyboard Finn, Matthew and Mia are seeing today is a glimpse of what many kids will eventually get to see. They can now tell their friends in pre-school and kindergarten that they saw it first.

The research process

After testing an illustrated storyboard version of an episode, researchers in Walters' team work with Santomero's writers to modify the script. The animators create a rough version, called an animatic, and another group of kids watches the episode. Writers then make minor modifications, and animators apply the final touches before the last group watches the pre-air version.

About 25 children see the episode at each of these three stages. Since PBS ordered 65 episodes (roughly three years' worth) of "Super Why" from Santomero and Freeman's Out of the Blue production company, the pair have had their hands full.

Santomero made sure that episodes of "Super Why" would be shown three times to kids in the tri-state area. Her own erstwhile elementary school in Harrington Park was one of the research sites.

When Santomero and Walters began working together on "Blue's Clues" research more than a decade ago, the only intensively researched children's show they could look up to was perennial favorite "Sesame Street," which had carried on a tradition of educational television for about 30 years.

"We carved money out of the production budget for the research," said Santomero of her work at Nickelodeon on "Blue's Clues." That dedication was a point of pride for her and the entire creative team.

Rosemarie Truglio, vice president of education and research for "Sesame Street," taught a class at Teachers College, attended by both Santomero and Walters. "Angela felt strongly that she wanted to adapt what we do at 'Sesame Street' to her creation," she remembers.

Although Santomero and Freeman are no longer working within a deep-pocketed network, they want to make sure "Super Why" has the same quality of research to back up its educational curriculum.

"This show is designed to be education, whereas some shows use research more for appeal," explains Freeman. "Appeal is also part of our goal; but it's there to help them learn."

Levels of difficulty

Back at the Kew Forest School, Santomero sits behind the children, scribbling notes on a copy of the script as they respond to the story. The plot is roughly based on Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper": A prince living in a castle and a pauper living in a cottage switch places; chaos ensues.

Santomero watches intently as Mia, Finn and Matthew choose words from a cupboard to form the prince's meager meal and find bright red "Super Letters" in the scenery. Whenever she sees a twitching leg or wandering eye, she makes a mark.

"Studies show that attention equals comprehension," she explains.

It's hard to write for kids from age 3 to 6 because of all the different reading and development levels. To accommodate a wide audience, Out of the Blue tries to layer levels of difficulty into each episode.

On the base level, kids can find the red Super Letters hidden in scenes throughout the episode as a kind of scavenger hunt. Understanding the story is an added plus that makes the show enjoyable. Kids with more reading skills can solve puzzles, read words and spell.

The hardest level to crack is thematic understanding. For this episode, the message is about finding where you truly belong. Plugged into the "Super Computer," the Super Letters spell "home."

Mia, barely 4, gets the idea first and wonders why the pauper is still in the castle, not his own home in the cottage.

"We have to change the sentence first," says Walters gently.

A magical switcheroo of the words "castle" and "cottage" -- perhaps "farm" in later versions for easier understanding -- and the characters are back where they belong.

"Should we put this story on television?" Walters asks them at the end.

"Yes!" they say in chorus.

The creators of 'Super Why'

Angela Santomero
Hometown: Harrington Park
Background: Teachers College, Columbia University

Samantha Freeman
Hometown: Hillsdale
Background: MBA, Harvard University

How they met: Santomero and Freeman met while working on Nickelodeon's hit show "Blue's Clues." Santomero came from a child-development research background, earning a master's in developmental psychology. Freeman brought her marketing and branding experience to the table. The two realized that they were both Bergen natives and found an instant connection. Together, they launched production company Out of the Blue two years ago, when their Nickelodeon contracts expired.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Top 10, baby! (7th down)

Top features stories of the summer
Sunday, September 2, 2007
STAFF REPORT

Boot Camp workout

Gary Duncan smiled when Staff Writer Mike Kerwick stepped into his Teaneck gym. Then he beat him up by sending him through a Boot Camp workout that included curls, bench presses and push-ups. After an hour, Kerwick struggled to pry his aching muscles off the blue gym mat. (June 26)

Crazy for coasters

Roller coaster nuts are like surfers – always looking for the ultimate wave. That's why a group called Thrillcoaster Tours LLC now offers to take hard-core fans on two-, three-, even four-week coaster "safaris" all over the U.S. and Canada, where they can test their nerves – and stomachs – on as many as 120 coasters in succession. Twelve-year-old Brian Pupel of Mahwah was one of a bunch of kids starting out the first leg of their tour at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson. Yaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!! (Jim Beckerman, June 28)

Moonachie's gondolier

The Meadowlands are hardly the Venetian Lagoon, but don't tell that to 69-year-old Mike Novack, a Moonachie business owner who, for the past decade, has been moonlighting as a gondolier, giving tours of the reedy Hackensack River as if it were the Grand Canal. Clifton native Novack says, "With the gondolas, there's just so much to them, you fall in love with the boats. You really do." (Virginia Rohan, July 1)

Minigolf grows up

Remember the old obstacle courses where you'd try to putt through, say, the moving arms of a windmill? Well, you won't find too many around anymore. Minigolf has grown up. Today's courses are more likely to have PGA-like greens, with undulations, water hazards, rocks -- and fountains. "They call it adventure golf," says Bob Detwiler, president of the U.S. ProMiniGolf Association, which sanctions the annual Masters National ProMiniGolf Championship. This year's event (Oct. 18 to 20) is expected to draw 80 competitors from around the world. (Virginia Rohan, July 19)

Filmed in New Jersey

"The Sopranos" may be gone, but New Jersey, the birthplace of the movies, is still a hub of production. This summer and throughout the fall, a number of film projects will hit theaters that were filmed (at least partly) or set in North Jersey. The Record may even make a cameo in one of them, "Dan in Real Life," which casts Steve Carell as a New Jersey newspaper columnist. (Virginia Rohan, July 29)

Chefs' guilty pleasures

What culinary delights do the best chefs indulge in after a long day in the kitchen? Food Editor Bill Pitcher took a peek inside some of North Jersey's top restaurants and discovered not-so-haute cravings for Ben & Jerry's and White Castle. "You're tired of looking at your own stuff all day," said Peter Angelakos of Bacari Grill in Washington Township. "It's better to eat that Big Mac in front of my TV in my pajamas than have something from my own kitchen." (July 30)

Herbal remedies

Got a cold that just won't go away? Dealing with the side effects of chemo or simply a seasonal lethargy? Maybe it's time to look for an alternative remedy. Here's the lowdown on Chinese herbal medicine, an ancient medical system that's starting to catch on in North Jersey. In "1994 when I first started, 10 percent of our business was non-Chinese," said Thomas Leung, an herbal pharmacist living in Englewood Cliffs. "Now it's the other way around." (Evelyn Shih, July 31)

'Mr. Mitzvah' to the rescue

Ivan Wilzig's grandmother was sent to the gas chamber. His grandfather was beaten to death. All told, Wilzig lost 59 relatives in the Holocaust. Earlier this summer the former Clifton resident honored their memories by playing "Mr. Mitzvah," a Jewish superhero, on the Sci-Fi Channel show "Who Wants to be a Superhero?" Alas, he was eliminated just three episodes into the season. (Mike Kerwick, Aug. 1)

The boomer gap

When "Woodstock" conjures memories of a life-altering music-and-love-fest for some and a cute little yellow bird friend of Snoopy to others, you've gotta wonder if there's a generation gap within the baby boomer ranks. Members of the generation -- traditionally defined as those born between 1946 and 1964 -- are so widely divergent that there's a secessionist movement gaining momentum that would break off younger boomers into a completely different group known as Generation Jones (from the slang term "jonesin'," which means an intense craving). If you haven't heard the term yet, stay tuned. The issue is getting more attention, thanks to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, who has positioned himself as the anti-boomer candidate -- even though he was born in 1962. (Virginia Rohan, Aug. 5)

Elvis evermore

Who knew that Elvis Presley, dead, would have a longer career than Elvis Presley, living? Not Mahwah's Tony Destro – who remembers thinking, on hearing the news of the rocker's death in August 1977, that his days as a pioneering Elvis impersonator were over. Little did he know. This August, on the 30th anniversary of Elvis' passing, he did what he has done since 1975 – put on his white jumpsuit and become the living embodiment of the King. "I've been doing Elvis longer than he did Elvis," Destro says. (Jim Beckerman, Aug. 15)

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

NYU grad explores 'gutter punk' culture, mental illness in new book Wednesday, August 29, 2007 By EVELYN SHIH STAFF WRITER Author Joshua Furst has his mind in the gutter, and he blames it on "Felicity." When the popular television show started taking over American living rooms in the late '90s, a twentysomething Furst saw a quiet revolution occur at his alma mater, New York University. The NYU he knew and loved was "a place in New York City to experience culture outside the mainstream," explained Furst. But "the television show was about NYU students: cute little kids who were trying to find themselves," he said. "I had the occasion to walk through Washington Square Park and see many more NYU sweatshirts that wouldn't have been worn while I was there." It was the curse of "Felicity" that drove Furst, then a playwright and an actor, to places like Greenwich Village and Tompkins Square Park. And it was there that he found an oasis of counterculture in the form of young bohemian drifters that he and his friends dubbed "gutter punks." IF YOU GO WHAT: Reading, Q&A, book signing with author. BOOK: "The Sabotage Cafe," by Joshua Furst. Published by Knopf. $23.95. WHERE: Bookends, 232 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood. 201-445-0726 or book-ends.com. WHEN: 7 tonight. "My interest in them was political," said Furst. "They were attempting to carry on a certain progressive tradition that goes back to the turn of the century here. They were a lot less educated in that tradition, so they were consumers of that tradition, in a certain way. And yet that tradition was in the process of dying out." Although he never joined their ranks, Furst became obsessed with the idea of writing about these frustrated non-conformists who had so much passion but nowhere to go with it -- and who were considered borderline insane by mainstream society. The material stewed in his mind until he wrote his most recent work and first novel, "The Sabotage Cafe." His main characters, mother Julia and daughter Cheryl, are two generations of gutter punks. When Cheryl runs away at the age of 16, she begins reenacting Julia's experience of being young and on the fringes of society. But if you think the story is just a heartwarming tale of a mother and a daughter, think again. Furst frames the novel as a retelling of Cheryl's experience in Julia's voice. Although the mother is physically absent from her daughter's adventures, she sees her daughter's life in startlingly realistic visions. Julia's battle with schizophrenia complicates the narrative further. "One of the things that fascinated me about writing about someone with mental illness is I've always been uncomfortable with the idea of objective truth, that there's one reality we all have to agree on," said Furst. "Having a main character like this allows me to explore subjective realities." A trained stage actor since childhood, Furst promises that he will be able to "evoke many realities" during his reading at Bookends in Ridgewood. The author hasn't worked onstage or written much for the stage since "Felicity," because of a "nasty habit of firing directors." But North Jersey fans of his fiction will get a peek into his interpretation of passages from the novel. "In this particular scene, and the punk scene in general, women have always had an uncomfortable role," he explained. "It's a subculture full of male aggression, and yet I think that rage and confusion and raw anger is not specific to men. And I thought it was interesting and valuable to explore the way that that same anger can express itself in girls. "It is very much the story of an 'angry young woman,' " he said. E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

O-ku-ra!

Spice-stuffed okra
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"Modern Indian Cooking," by Hari Nayak and Vikas Khanna (Silverback Books, 2007)
[Cover image left courtesy of amazon.com]

"Modern" means "fusion" in this new book of Indian-inflected cuisine. Hari Nayak and Vikas Khanna use materials not traditionally connected to Indian cuisine and integrate quintessential Indian spices into different dishes from around the world. But if there's anything predictable about the recipes in this book, it's that they're layered with complex flavors. Spice lists run long, but vegetarian options are plentiful.

-- Evelyn Shih
* * *

Spice-stuffed okra

* 1 tablespoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon mango powder
* 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
* ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
* ½ teaspoon garam masala
* ½ teaspoon ground paprika
* ½ teaspoon chili powder
* Salt to taste
* 1½ pounds fresh tender okra, rinsed and patted dry
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
* 1 large onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
* 1 large tomato, coarsely chopped

In a small bowl, mix together the first eight spices and salt.

Remove the ends of the okra stems and discard. Make a long slit on one side from the stem down, stopping ½-inch from the tip. Stuff ½ teaspoon of the spice mixture into each okra pocket. Reserve any leftover spice mixture.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a flat, non-stick skillet and add the cumin seeds. They should sizzle on contact with the hot oil. Quickly add the onion and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until golden. With a slotted spatula, transfer to a bowl, leaving behind any oil.

Lay the stuffed okra in the skillet in a single layer. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil on top and cook over medium-low heat, turning the pieces very carefully, until golden brown. Scatter the cooked onions over the okra and then add any leftover spices. Mix carefully and cook over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter.

Add the tomato to the skillet and cook over high heat until wilted and coated with any spices left in the skillet, about 2 minutes. Transfer to platter and serve.

Servings: 6.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

WARNING: Cheesy "Special Section" article

Now's the time to buy tech items for college freshmen
Sunday, August 26, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

Cash registers will "ka-ching" many times before youngsters are geared up for the upcoming school year. For parents of soon-to-be college freshmen, the bloodletting may be something fierce to behold.
[Photo left courtesy of educationuk.org]

Still, this is the time to buy: Any earlier, and the products in question will be out of date by midterms. Any later, and the kids are stranded in a tech desert until Thanksgiving break. In other words, things are coming to a head.

But don't let that stress you out: With some smart shopping and a bit of research, you can make sure you're getting your money's worth.

Here are some suggestions for back-to-school tech items to get you started. For each category, we've included a top-of-the-line and a budget-conscious choice. Listings feature the retail price and, occasionally, some lower prices found online.

Cellphone

They've had one since middle school, but the first year of the college is the time to start a new plan and cash in on a discounted phone. You might need to discuss the details of that plan with your teenager -- but hey, first things first. Pick the shiny new toy, and impress upon them the importance of using it to call home occasionally.

• Top of the line: iPhone ($499 or $599). Earn major cool points by snagging Apple's latest must-have gadget -- a combination phone, media player, camera and personal data assistant -- for your image-conscious teen.

• Budget: Virgin Mobile MARBL ($19.99). Virgin's new basic flip phone lets you pay as you go without the fuss of a calling plan. "Basic" in this day and age, of course, means texting, video and Internet capability.

Desktop computer

Although laptops are convenient for taking notes in class or doing work in the library, it's worth considering a desktop computer. The price point is lower, and they come packed with features that would be more expensive -- and heavier -- in a laptop. Plus, with cheap flash drives flooding the market, who needs a portable computer?

• Top of the line: 24-inch iMac from Apple ($1,999). In the cramped space of a dorm room, the iMac takes minimal desk space and doubles as an entertainment center. Luckily, Mac-PC compatibility is only getting better with time. Staunch PC users may turn up their noses, but this Apple is a sleek machine that's easy to use right out of the box.

• Budget: Dell Inspiron 530 or 531s (starts at $349; $499 with monitor). The slim design of this computer is perfect for that small dorm desk. Dell sweetens the deal with plenty of upgrade options and a rebate on several models.

External storage

Whether your child will be working on graphics-heavy projects, transferring essays between computers, or downloading -- ahem -- free files, hard-drive space is at a premium. Desktop computers may have space for upgrades, but laptop users will definitely be able to use some external help. Even those with minimal storage needs should back up important files on a regular basis: Who needs to lose a 20-page paper days before it's due?

• Top of the line: Toshiba 200GB USB 2.0 portable external hard drive ($230; found for $159.99). With an on-the-move lifestyle of a college student, this pocket-sized drive might be the best option for a large-capacity device. That's 40 movies -- er, multimedia projects -- at 5 gigabytes each, fitting snuggly in a laptop bag compartment.

• Budget: SanDisk Cruzer Micro 4GB USB 2.0 flash drive ($69.99; found for $29.99). Good for all types of files -- papers, PowerPoint presentations or even music -- these thumb-sized flash drives get cheaper by the year. Fortunately, they also seem to be gaining capacity exponentially: Last year's similarly priced item from SanDisk was at 2GB.

Noise-canceling headphones

Not everyone's an audiophile, but when your teen's roommate decides that the weekend starts on the Tuesday night before a midterm, this purchase will be a lifesaver.

• Top of the line: Sennheiser PXC 450 NoiseGard ($499.95; found for $349.99). You pay through the nose for this pair of cans, but they'll have your teen gliding through any noisy courtyard on a sonic cloud. Comes with a handy travel case.

• Budget: Creative HN505 ($39.99). Their sound isn't quite transcendent, but the price is right and they get the job done.

Wearable tech

What will your child do with all of this new back-to-school gear? With these accessories in your arsenal, you won't be leaving them in the dorm room -- that's for sure.

• Top of the line: iPod Backpack from Think Geek ($99). There'll be no digging around for the controls with this little number slung across your back. Buttons control the music player from the pack's strap.

• Budget: Kangaroo pouches from Hyper Gear ($19.95). Who said chic had to be expensive? This one-size-fits-all pouch carries cellphones and MP3 players and comes in more than 100 fabric designs.

Just because

Because it takes some technological verve to have fun in the nerdiest way possible.

• Top of the line: Lava Lamp (up to about $1,000). These kitschy stand-alone lamps from Lava World can come with a glass table attached to the midsection or smolder classic and sleek in a corner.

• Budget: iPod alarm clock from Accurian ($50; found for $19.97). This alarm doubles as a speaker system and wakes your teen for "early" classes by playing selected tunes from his iPod. It features a nine-minute snooze feature that is sure to get plenty of use.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Representin'

A multinational mix of music and poetry in N.Y.C.
Friday, August 24, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

A "casita" may be a diminutive for a small home, but the global village encompassed in Lincoln Center's "La Casita" program is anything but little. More than 25 artists will be performing Saturday and Sunday in a multicultural, multilingual stew of music and poetry.
[above: Rana Santacruz, courtesy of ranasantacruz.com]

"What they're trying to do is to re-create a little bit of the culture in different parts of the world where you have dinner outside, and then you can start singing and sharing poetry," said Rana Santacruz, a musician who will be performing. "They try to re-create the environment of that situation."

The mini-festival, part of the Lincoln Center Out of Doors series, was inspired by the Latino tradition of community gardens, brought to New York in the '50s and '60s by Caribbean and Central American immigrants.

"In this day of contested immigration in the U.S., this is a celebration of what has made the U.S. great, and that's immigrants," said Daniel Dawson, one of the curators of "La Casita."

This year there are "poets from all over the planet, representing many different types of poetic and bardic tradition," he added. "It's about talking about your heart and your life, and the importance of your life and your culture. I think everyone can relate to that."

Performers come from across the nation and internationally from India, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador and Ukraine.

"I feel blessed to have grown up here, because you find solidarity with people you wouldn't necessarily have otherwise," said performer Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, a spoken-word poet.
[left: Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai. Courtesy of yellowgurl.com]

Many artists perform in languages other than English, but translations are provided only when possible, said Dawson. Because the poems and songs mostly come from folk sources, lyrics are sometimes improvised.

But one year, when Brazilian artists did a type of rap battle, "There were little blue-haired ladies who really enjoyed it" despite the language barrier, said Dawson. "We realized that we were really doing something right."

Tsai uses words from her Chinese and Taiwanese heritage in her English poetry. "I haven't had a problem with a lot of people saying, 'I don't know what you're talking about,' " she said. "People say that it stands out for them. ... Even if people are misquoting back to me what they remember, they still remember. They still understand that it has meaning, and different meaning from what it is in English.

" 'La Casita' is very much of that understanding," she added. "A song in Spanish will not be the same in English."

Santacruz, who performs in Spanish, tries to access not only the language but the folk traditions of his native Mexico in his music. "What I'm trying to do is to capture the feeling in the most raw manner I can do," he said. "I think that happens a lot in folk music around the world."

In that pure emotion lies the most universal language: that of empathy. Listeners "resonate with that feeling of conflict, that feeling of exile" when Tsai talks about her family's background, she said. "That's what's cool about art, because you can kind of sneak into people's emotional lives."

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.