Kitchen Minute with Joshua Rutherford

Joshua Rutherford, Riverwest neighborhood, Milwaukee WI

When asked if he has fond memories of childhood foods, he responds, “I do!  My personal favorite, which was in the weekly rotation in my house, was my mom’s meatloaf! While I’ve had a lot of different meatloaves in my time, this is the only one that really speaks to my soul.”

Joshua Rutherford is an art historian, information technologist, educator and father. His interest in information technology and digital libraries is used to produce art, archives, and open educational resources. He is driven by a passion for collective representation and the human condition. He has researched subjects ranging from modern painting to monuments and performance art. Rutherford also creates art; having written and performed Fluxus scores, created zines, and participated in the global mail art community. Joshua spends a lot of his time in the kitchen: “Generally, my day starts in the kitchen.  I wake up, make coffee, and make food for my son almost every day.  I cook dinner almost every evening as well, which is generally a more involved process.  I usually give myself an hour and a half to prepare dinner.  Put on some Tom Waits (my kitchen music of choice), make myself a cocktail, and start preparing ingredients.” For dinner, he was making a seasonal dish, composed of tomatoes from his garden.

“Tonight, I’m making what I call “Margherita Spaghetti.”  I start by boiling water and chopping a tomato up into small pieces.  While the noodles cook, I throw the tomatoes in my cast iron skillet with a bit of salt and olive oil, stirring only occasionally to get a bit of char on the edges and reduce the liquid.  While this is going on, I run to the backyard and grab a handful of herbs - basil, parsley, and chives - then finely chop them.  Once the spaghetti is ready, I strain it and throw it into the skillet with the tomatoes, and top it off with the fresh herbs and a bit of romano cheese before starting to incorporate everything.” Sounds delicious!

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