Sunday, September 5, 2010

39.0 Wrap Music

Starring Erin & Mike
Filmed on Location in Beautiful Downtown Sellwood
Soundtrack: “Rock Box” by Run DMC

“Witty as can be and not for sale”

Back in my day, rap was the sound of hip-hop, which was the culture whose other two primary forces were b-boying (breaking) and graffiti (tagging). Expanding deeper, rap was DJ’ing and MC’ing. I’ve been a fan of hip-hop since the early ‘80s, when Run DMC exploded on the scene. Even earlier, I’d roller-skated around the rink to “Rapper’s Delight.” In a high school music class, our teacher played us Kurtis Blow’s “8 Million Stories.” Although these artists were early builders of rap music, the architects of years earlier would remain in relative obscurity until hip-hop became a cultural movement with a history that could now be taught. Kool Herc, Love Bug Starski, Sha-Rock, Busy Bee…

So what does this have to do with the September recipe (although I imagine that line of questioning has long since been abandoned)? Erin’s created a wrap! There you go. This episode is brought to you by homonyms.

So, how’s your summer been? Not too hot? By which I mean in the literal, non-colloquial sense. I’ve always been proud that I can both spell and pronounce that word correctly: Colloquial. Also, it always reminds me of “El Coqui, the Singing Frog of Puerto Rico.” I used to have an “El Coqui” t-shirt my father had brought back from a business trip. Even with the infinitely-lengthy tendrils of the internets I can locate nary a .jpg or .gif of that shirt. Some things truly are lost to the ages (or were).

I’ve been off this week (whaddya mean this week?) which has been a pleasure. Work. Ugh. Something doesn’t seem right about it. It’s like playing The Game of Life (Milton Bradley) without any instructions, on a grander scale. On a narrow relatively interesting note, I did indeed used to play that board game without instructions. My friend Harry "Do I like cheese? You bet yer little Pecorino!" Carbohydrate and I turned it into a role-playing game by virtue of continuing each session with the jobs, money, wives and children we’d acquired from the our last game. Our wives were always celebrities. If Harry picked Meg Ryan as a wife, I’d be sure to choose Melanie Griffith when I had the chance, and barter her for Megsy. This was the 80s when those two were commodities not oddities.

I spend a lot of time daydreaming in hues of nostalgia. And that’s my own darn business! Especially when I’m on vacation! You know, I don’t remember ever eating wraps back then (and let’s frame this parcel of memory as 1984-1987). We just ate sandwiches. All the time. And why not? What’s better than a sandwich? Bread, cold cuts, mayo – it’s glorious! And you can eat it while walking. My favorite sandwich? That’s a toughie. I’d say a chicken cutlet sandwich on a roll with a slice of American cheese.

And then I got older and moved to the west.

What can I say about this wrap Erin’s made? Only that in a million years I’d never thought I’d eat and enjoy such a thing (harkening back to my younger self). There’s not even any meat in it! And the filling’s so delicious that, sans wrap, it’s delightful gluten-free fare!

On a non-rap/wrap note, the cast of “In the Sellwood Kitchen” will be participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk starting at Pioneer Courthouse Square on September 26 from 9:00am – 12:00pm. I promise not to rap but will not rule out b-boying.


Erin’s Intro: This is a vegetarian meal. Yeah, no chicken this time! Don’t worry, it’s still full of protein, super fresh, and easy to make. Lately I’ve been obsessed with spinach wraps from New Season’s. They’re not those green ones you get at the regular store, you can actually see the spinach, and they are delicious. This recipe is easy to take for lunches if you pack the mix, the dressing, and the wrap separately. When you get to work, toss the mix with the dressing and wrap it up fresh. I prefer to only dress the salad I’m going to eat at the time, so it doesn’t get soggy.

Two Bean or not Two Bean

The Mix:
Toss the following ingredients in a large bowl:
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ package frozen corn, rinsed and thawed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (combination of red, yellow and orange if available)
½ red onion, diced
½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Kosher salt to taste
Dash of Allee (optional)

The Dressing:
In a salad dressing container, or a jar with a lid, combine the following ingredients, shake well:
½ Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup mayonnaise or veganaise
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp black pepper 

Wrap it up:
Lay out one spinach wrap, place one leaf of romaine lettuce in center of wrap. Spoon about 1 cup of the bean mixture over the lettuce. Wrap tightly like a burrito.

Gluten Free Option: Serve the bean mixture over a bed of romaine lettuce and eat as a salad.


The “In the Sellwood Kitchen” cast and crew can be contacted at: erinandmike@sellwoodkitchen.com