Posthumous

Would it surprise you to learn

that years beyond your longest winter

you still get letters from your bank, your old

philanthropies, cold flakes drifting

through the mail-slot with your name?

Though it's been a long time since your face

interrupted the light in my door-frame,

and the last tremblings of your voice

have drained from my telephone wire,

from the lists of the likely, your name

is not missing. It circles in the shadow-world

of the machines, a wind-blown ghost. For generosity

will be exalted, and good credit

outlasts death. Caribbean cruises, recipes,

low-interest loans. For you who asked

so much of life, who lived acutely

even in duress, the brimming world

awaits your signature. Cancer and heart disease

are still counting on you for a cure.

B'nai Brith numbers you among the blessed.

They miss you. They want you back. 


by Jean Nordhaus from Innocence

Black “Bean Me Up” Soup

Serves 4





Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon finely chopped dried guajillo chile with most seeds discarded (any medium chili will do)
2 15- to 16-ounce cans organic black beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups organic chicken broth
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tsp fresh oregano or substitute ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:
1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots, carrot, pepper, and garlic. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes.
2. Mix in cumin, paprika and chili (you can reserve some of the seeds and add them later if you desire more heat). Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Transfer 2 3/4 cups of soup to blender or immersion blender cup and puree until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer the soup until thickened, about 30 minutes. Add salt and oregano. Taste and you may wish to season with remaining chili seeds or more salt.
4. Halve bell peppers and serve soup in these natural soup bowls for a beautiful presentation.

**** Queso fresco, sliced scallions, pepitas, and nasturtiums make a tasty and beautiful garnish for the soup

Brought into bean by Cristina Paul

Blah-Blah-Blahg: Food For Nought

My Two Favorite News Stories This Week:

Heavenly Flight
Attempting to raise money for a rest stop for religious truckers, 41 year old Brazilian priest, Adelir Antonio de Carli, was carried off by 1,000 helium balloons and is still lost at sea. What, precisely, would those truckers have reflected upon at this prospective rest stop? Perhaps God just did not approve of any rest for the weary truckers. Alternatively, God may be making a statement against the insensitive use of helium during a time when bright-faced birthday boys and girls in first world countries are being charged up the ying yang for this golden gas.

Bright-Faced Children in First World Countries
Just watch the video