Blah-Blah-Blahg: Food For Nought

Life can only be understood backwards, but it has to be lived forwards.

— Søren Kierkegaard

Tossing and Turning

The spirit has infinite facets, but the body
confiningly few sides.
There is the left,
the right, the back, the belly, and tempting
in-betweens, northeasts and northwests,
that tip the heart and soon pinch circulation
in one or another arm.
Yet we turn each time
with fresh hope, believing that sleep
will visit us here, descending like an angel
down the angle our flesh's sextant sets,
tilted toward that unreachable star
hung in the night between our eyebrows, whence
dreams and good luck flow.
Uncross
your ankles. Unclench your philosophy.
This bed was invented by others; know we go
to sleep less to rest than to participate
in the twists of another world.
This churning is our journey.
It ends,
can only end, around a corner
we do not know
we are turning.

by John Updike from Collected Poems 1953-1993

Turkey Chili With Kidney Beans

Makes about 3 quarts, serving 8 to 10

You may wish to serve the chili with lime wedges, briny black olives, diced avocado, sliced scallions, sour cream, and shredded Monterey Jack or crumbled feta cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped fine (about 2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, cut into ½-inch pieces
12 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3/4 – 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds 93% lean ground turkey
2 (15 -16 ounce ) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with juice
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 cinnamon stick
table salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed nonreactive Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add half the turkey; cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add beans, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, raisins, bay leaf, espresso powder, cinnamon stick, and 2 teaspoons salt; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
3. Remove cinnamon stick. Pat remaining 1 pound turkey together into ball, then pinch off teaspoon-sized pieces of meat and stir into chili. Continue to simmer about 40 minutes longer, stirring occasionally (if chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, stir in 1/2 cup water and continue to simmer), until turkey is tender and chili is dark and slightly thickened. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and cayenne pepper. Serve with lime wedges and condiments if desired.

***There is very little that we know for certain about the origins of chili. Historians believe it was made by very poor people in the United States and that it most certainly did not originate in Mexico.
**The espresso powder gives the chili a nice depth of flavor
*Dividing the meat in half and adding one batch at the beginning of cooking and the second an hour later, insures a chunkier texture.

Recipe by Cristina Paul

Blah-Blah-Blahg: Food For Nought

This week's bone to pick: I went to one of those new-fangled ATMs that scans checks immediately - no envelope needed! I've always been quite suspicious of "time saving technology" because I waste far too much time looking at blogs on the internet and trying to figure out why my iPhone isn't syncing podcasts from my iTunes... blah blah blah. Anyhow, since banks are doing sooooo well during this total financial fuck-fest, I thought, hey, why not put just a little more trust in them? Needless to say this "time-saving" technological wonder of an ATM did exactly the opposite of save me time and worry. It ate up a check without processing it, returning it, or giving me a receipt. Now if this happened in a foreign country like Italy or Russia, I don't think I'd mind so much. These are fabulous places where people are not frowned upon when they drink (more than just one drink) midday. Unfortunately, this is AMERICA! So I could not drink at work to set my mind at ease after pressing a bazillion numbers when being prompted by a computer's voice. After being tossed around an automated system more circuitous than a talking parrot's brain, I am now twiddling my thumbs waiting for Obama to come up with a solution (just kidding). It is kind of funny though how absolutely every issue my friends, family and coworkers currently have is one that they believe Obama has direct power to change.

Everything We Do

Everything we do is for our first loves
whom we have lost irrevocably
who have married insurance salesmen
and moved to Topeka
and never think of us at all.

We fly planes & design buildings
and write poems
that all say Sally I love you
I'll never love anyone else
Why didn't you know I was going to be a poet?

The walks to school, the kisses in the snow
gather as we dream backwards, sweetness with age:
our legs are young again, our voices
strong and happy, we're not afraid.
We don't know enough to be afraid.

And now
we hold (hidden, hopeless) the hope
that some day
she may fly in our plane
enter our building read our poem

And that night, deep in her dream,
Sally, far in darkness, in Topeka,
with the salesman lying beside her,
will cry out
our unfamiliar name.

by Peter Meinke, from Liquid Paper: New and Selected Poems

Orange and Cabbage Salad

This vibrantly-colored salad can be served chilled or at room temperature. The salad can be made up to two days ahead; just omit the oranges and basil until the day you are serving the salad.

Serves 6 – 8


INGREDIENTS:
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon whole ground mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 small red cabbage (about 2 pounds), quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
2 navel oranges
1/3 cup freshly chopped basil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the onion slices in a medium bowl of cold water and let soak in the refrigerator for ten minutes. Then, drain the onion and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper; stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cabbage and onion ad toss well to coat.
3. Cut away the peel and white pith of the oranges and slice into wedges. Gently fold the oranges into the cabbage. Cover and refrigerate the salad, tossing occasionally, for at least two hours. Before serving, fold in the basil.

***Soaking the onions before adding them to the salad tempers their bite.
** Since blood oranges are in season, you could substitute them for the navel oranges and replace the red cabbage with green cabbage to present a salad with equally beautiful colors.

Recipe by Cristina Paul

Blah-Blah-Blahg: Food For Nought

An Excrement Weekend

Recently, my boyfriend and I were leaving a party in Koreatown and walking back to my car. After stepping into the vehicle and smelling a god-forsaken stench, we looked at each other with accusatory eyes. Had we indulged in too many crazy food combinations that evening? What kind of vile digestive issues was the other person having? But this stank was far too potent to have been delivered in gas form. I worried that a weekend diet of wine, cheese, dessert and more alcohol had taken its toll on someone's undies. Fortunately for us, neither of us had paid for our dietary indiscretions with a case of the squirts. Unfortunately, my carpet had paid for the neglect of a dog owner who must be feeding his pet some pretty gnarly stuff. Needless, to say I was not thrilled about the smelly ride home or the cleanup to follow. It was raining, so I left the carpet outside, sprayed it with disinfectant and washed the carpet again once the rain had subsided. Then  I left the carpet out to dry. After a day of sun, I figured it'd be good to go.  However, when I next checked on the carpet, there was a tremendous splat of bird shit smack dab in the middle of the carpet. I had to laugh out loud. Now, I am contemplating starting the process over or inventing a foolproof process to avoid all varieties of animal excrement.