Tuesday, October 27, 2009

28.0 Black Bean/White Album


Starring Erin, Mike & Sarah
Filmed on Location in Beautiful Downtown Sellwood
Soundtrack: The Beatles by the Beatles

“Half of what I say is meaningless…”

So, Erin was supposed to be baking cookies for this month’s article (the announcement of which emptied my salivary glands) but apparently something happened to the dough, and we had a TOTAL #&$%! DISASTER on our hands! Well, not on my hands – I was halfway across the room flipping through a TV Guide from November 1976. I was conjuring the autumns of my youth for this first article of the fall.

When I was a kid, in the 1970s, the fall was the best of times and the worst of times (I just made that up). School restarted, and while I always enjoyed the first few days (what with the fresh notebooks and new dungarees), the seeming endlessness of it, the unbearable distance from the next summer, marked my biological calendar for life. Even today, at September’s cusp, a strange twinge in my gut triggers a phantom panic.

Tonight it’s raining. We still have the windows open, but the telepathy of fall has sent a cool transmission. It is faint, and in the rain. The train passes through and the wind carries the call-and-response of the mournful whistle and the canine baying. I’m reminded of the outro of the Beatles’ “Good Morning, Good Morning.” You know, with the barking…

You do own Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, right? So maybe it’s not the masterpiece it’s held up to be (for my money, there weren’t enough oboes), but it’s certainly influential. Though my brother Jim vehemently disagrees, I’m more impressed with their follow-up, popularly known as the White Album. I’ve owned the LP for years (jeez, I bet I bought it around ‘86?). But I’d never owned the CD until I purchased the new re-mastered version last week.

The Beatles White Album doesn’t have much to do with soup, although the word is uttered once during “Revolution 9”. My cursory research yields this is the only reference to soup in all of the Beatles lyrics. But the White Album holds no shortage of food: “Glass Onion”, “Wild Honey Pie”, and “Savoy Truffle”. “Piggies” sets the protagonists at the dinner table; “Cry Baby Cry” tackles a royal breakfast.

Ah, my thoughts are all a’swirl! You see, with fall approaching, my nostalgia grows a thicker coat, a bit ragged and ursine with each turned page of the calendar. The Fall TV Lineup of 1982, bare trees trembling outside a library window, shopping for Halloween costumes at Richie’s Variety, and the Beatles: these are loose bits in the pockets of my autumns. Especially the Beatles. Especially the White Album.

I close my eyes and see myself crunching through the oranged maple leaves while “Rocky Raccoon” tumbles through my ears. I feel like “Mother Nature’s Son” hiking up the mountain for blackberries. I saw a “Blackbird” fly! It’s such a “Long, Long, Long” walk that when I return home, “I’m So Tired.” “’Good Night’,” I mumble as I slog to the bedroom. But I’ve forgotten something – I’m hungry! The house is a bit chilly; rain and its dark clouds banished a fair piece of heat today. I’m starving! It’s fall!

“It’s black bean soup. You want any?” asks Sarah.

“Nah, I don’t like black beans,” I reply.

“He really doesn’t,” says Erin, “but I’ll have a bowl.”

Later, I’m on the couch eating macaroni & cheese, when my eyes start burning. But in the good way; in the grilling onion way. I peer into Erin’s bowl. A dollop of pure white sour cream floats on the surface of the black bean soup. Erin takes a picture. She swirls the sour cream into the soup. For a moment, the yin and the yang appear. Then yang swallows yin. Or the other way around. Is yang the spicy one?

I try a spoonful. That’s a pretty nice soup, nice and spicy! Then a flash, like a pulse of disco and it’s fall again. The evening sky is pumpkin red. There’s a cold anticipation to the air, as if cooling its jets for the winter. The steam climbs like ivy into the high dark corners of the house. The soup at once is exquisite and comforting.

Soon, the new Fall TV season, Halloween, stuffing & gravy, Time-Life Music Christmas album commercials…

Soon the butter cookies, the apple cider, the leftover bag of Midnight Milky Ways and Snickers Dark…

For now, keep the soup simmering, and I’ll tell you about the walrus & me…


BLACK BEAN SOUP

2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
Oil
Salt & pepper
1 can beef broth
3 cans black beans, rinsed
1 ½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp ginger
½ tsp coriander
Cayenne pepper
Cilantro & sour cream to top

Ina large pot on medium heat, add oil. Sautee diced onions, peppers, and crushed garlic. When softened, add beef broth, rinsed black beans, and spices. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Partially mash mixture. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, to thicken. Garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream and parsley. Salt & pepper to taste.
The “In the Sellwood Kitchen” cast and crew can be contacted at: erinandmike@sellwoodkitchen.com

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

[url=http://viagranowdirect.com/#gluqg]viagra without prescription[/url] - viagra online without prescription , http://viagranowdirect.com/#gbwmi buy cheap viagra

Anonymous said...

[url=http://levitranowdirect.com/#orfig]levitra online[/url] - levitra 10 mg , http://levitranowdirect.com/#ufqwf levitra online

Anonymous said...

[url=http://viagraboutiqueone.com/#ebkkg]viagra online[/url] - cheap generic viagra , http://viagraboutiqueone.com/#mvhht generic viagra

Unknown said...

Discount Louis Vuitton, Bags Louis Vuitton, christian louboutin shoes, Discount LV Handbags, wholesale jordan shoes, Cheap Louis Vuitton Handbags, ugg boots, cheap christian louboutin, cheap nike jordan shoes, Christian Louboutin Daffodile, ugg, uggs outlet, uggs on sale, discount nike jordans, christian louboutin, christian louboutin remise 50%, cheap jordans , ugg pas cher, Christian Louboutin Bois Dore, Air Jordan 11 Gamma Blue, ugg soldes, ugg australia, Cheap LV Handbags, discount christian louboutin

Unknown said...

toms promo code
ugg boots
canada goose sale
polo ralph lauren online
concord 11
true religion outlet
louis vuitton handbags
true religion
coach outlet store online
coach factory outlet
tory burch handbags
abercrombie & fitch
ugg outlet
louis vuitton outlet
michael kors canada
hollister clothing store
cheap uggs
coach outlet store
toms wedges
fitflop shoes
abercrombie
timberland uk
ray ban aviator
ray-ban sunglasses
hollister clothing store
michael kors outlet online
abercrombie and fitch
coach outlet
cheap nfl jerseys
abercrombie
coach factory outlet
coach outlet stores online
michael kors uk
cheap jerseys wholesale
ray ban outlet
ray ban outlet
timberland canada
discount oakley sunglasses
rayban sunglasses
2015.03.04maoqiuyun

chenlina said...

chenlina20151217
coach outlet
air jordans
ugg boots for women
jordan retro 11
uggs outlet
hollister
ugg slippers
the north face outlet
coach outlet
hollister co
ugg sale
cheap jordans
cheap oakley sunglasses
uggs clearance
pandora jewelry
tod's shoes
cheap ray ban sunglasses
cheap uggs for sale
north face outlet
michael kors handbags
christian louboutin outlet
louis vuitton outlet
toms shoes
uggs on sale
louis vuitton handbags
ugg boots
ugg boots outlet
canada goose outlet
uggs boots for women
michael kors outlet
ugg australia
polo ralph lauren
hollister uk
nike air max
christian louboutin
coach factory outlet
mont blanc pens
fake oakley sunglasses
the north face uk
oakley sunglasses
as

Unknown said...

zhengjx20160423
hollister clothing
true religion outlet store
michael kors outlet
cheap oakleys
abercrombie and fitch
montblanc pen
adidas uk
coach outlet
toms
true religion outlet
michael kors outlet online
michael kors outlet
true religion jeans
michael kors
coach outlet
retro 11
fitflop clearance
burberry sale
coach factory outlet
true religion outlet
jordan 3s
michael kors outlet online sale
asics shoes for men
louis vuitton handbags
toms wedges
tods sale
louis vuitton outlet
cheap toms
nike sb dunks
ralph lauren
ray bans
instyler
nike store
coach outlet online
jordan 3 retro
abercrombie outlet
louis vuitton outlet
louis vuitton outlet online
coach outlet
burberry outlet online

Unknown said...

uggs outlet
tory burch outlet
longchamp handbags
true religion jeans
burberry outlet store
ugg boots
ferragamo outlet
nba jerseys
tiffany jewelry
babyliss pro
cheap ugg boots
mcm outlet
hollister shirts
timberland boots
michael kors handbags clearance
ugg boots sale
michael kors outlet
hollister
chicago blackhawks
hollister uk
coach outlet clearance
yeezy boost 350
air jordan shoes for sale
ray ban sunglasses
coach handbags outlet
omega watches
hollister clothing
fitflops sale clearance
hermes outlet
ray ban sunglasses
louis vuitton handbags
nike air max 90
ray ban sunglasses
louis vuitton outlet store
true religion outlet
prada sunglasses
mizuno running shoes
michael kors handbags clearance
0810jianxiang

Unknown said...

adidas outlet store
louis vuitton handbags
michael kors handbags
gucci handbags
ralph lauren
canada goose sale
stivali ugg
michael kors outlet
coach outlet store online
coach factory outlet
tommy hilfiger outlet
minnesota vikings jerseys
christian louboutin outlet
sac longchamp
coach factory outlet
uggs for men
rolex watches
ray ban wayfarer
ray ban glasses
oklahoma city thunder jerseys
oakley sunglasses
kate spade outlet
louboutin femme
cheap jordans
louis vuitton handbags
seattle seahawks jerseys
kate spade handbags
toms shoes
canada goose outlet
cheap ray ban sunglasses
canada goose sale
christian louboutin outlet
ugg sale
gucci outlet online
discount ugg boots
michael kors handbags
canada goose sale
chicago bulls jerseys
cheap rolex watches
coach outlet store online
2016.11.4chenlixiang

xumeiqing said...

kate spade
raybans
christian louboutin
louboutin uk
coach factory outlet
true religion
ralph lauren pas cher
christian louboutin outlet
coach outlet
ralph lauren outlet online

raybanoutlet001 said...

cowboys jerseys
michael kors handbags outlet
toms outlet
michael kors handbags
redskins jerseys
ecco
carolina jerseys
new york knicks
the north face
tennessee titans jersey

Unknown said...

mont blanc pens
nike roshe run
polo ralph lauren
polo ralph lauren outlet
fitflops uk
christian louboutin uk
new balance sneakers
ralph lauren outlet
cheap oakley sunglasses
hermes bags
20173.14wengdongdong

chenlili said...

longchamp
ray ban sunglasses wholesale
jordan xx9
fingerlings monkey
adidas ultra boost
jordans
coach outlet
alexander mcqueen shoes
polo outlet
puma fenty sandals
20184.20chenjinyan

cara menggugurkan hamil said...

now present in your city