Zoom Links for the Listening Party

Comments

• Daniel

  July 2020

  Very much looking forward to this.
  
• MarianCall

  August 2020

  RECIPES
  
  Hangout 1: Egg Tacos
  
  Homemade refried beans:

  • 1 lb. pinto or black beans
    
  • 6 cups water
    
  • 1 cube boullion (chicken or vegetarian chicken flavored)
    
  • 1/4 chopped onion or generous sprinkling onion powder
    
  • 1 clove garlic or a pinch of garlic powder
    
  • pinch of cumin
    
  • pinch of cayenne
    
  • 1 teaspoon salt to start plus extra (to taste) at the very end
    
  • 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick, or a couple tablespoons) -- add at the very end
    

  Add all ingredients except butter to a slow cooker/crock pot and cook on high for about 6 hours. Add butter, and once it melts, blend with an immersion blender. Add salt to taste. They may be a bit watery when first cooked but will solidify as they cool.
  
  Tortillas: add Maseca tortilla mix to water, pat into balls, flatten with a rolling pin or tortilla press between sheets of wax paper, and cook dry on a nonstick pan for about 1-2 minutes per side, turning often.
  
  Homemade salsa:

  • 1 can diced tomatoes (or fresh if you live somewhere with better tomatoes than Alaska)
    
  • 1/4 onion
    
  • Jalapeños, pickled or fresh, to taste
    
  • splash of lime juice (to taste)
    
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
    
  • 1 clove garlic or a pinch of garlic powder
    
  • chili powder to taste (I like ancho or chile del arbol but others work too)
    
  • salt and pepper to taste
    
  • other fresh stuff your instincts pick out -- cilantro if you must, I use fresh oregano and scallions and chives
    

  Blend and enjoy.
  
  Tacos: Cook an egg, any way you like, and put it on beans on a tortilla with some salsa. Add avocado or sour cream if you're lucky enough to have some about. Top with hot sauce (I love the Bullwhip kelp piri piri sauce by Barnacle Foods here in Alaska). Enjoy.
  
  Hangout 2: Chocolate Chip Cookies with stuff
  
  First, make some bourbon/whisky cherries: put dried cherries (or cranberries, or raisins) in a little cup or jar with some decent liquor, and allow them to plump up. An hour is sufficient, but a few days is even better. The cherry-flavored alcohol is amazing for caramelizing onions, just add a tablespoon to have your onions turn out PERFECT. (See the recipe from hangout 3.) It's also a great cocktail ingredient.
  
  Chocolate Chip Cookies
  This recipe halves nicely if you don't want a full batch.
  Preheat oven to 375F. Blend wet ingredients together until creamed/smooth:

  • 1 Cup butter (2 sticks), softened
    
  • 1 Cup light brown sugar
    
  • 0.5 Cups white sugar
    
  • generous splash of vanilla extract
    
  • 2 eggs
    

  Add dry ingredients and then blend in stages until incorporated:

  • 1 Cup all-purpose flour
    
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    
  • 1 teaspoon salt
    

  After those are smooth, add, in a few stages:

  • 1.75 Cups all-purpose flour
    
  • an extra pinch of sea salt, to taste
    
  • semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, to taste
    
  • bourbon cherries, to taste
    
  • nuts if you like those -- I recommend pecans with this recipe
    

  The dough should be fairly firm and a nearly dry to touch, about the consistency of play-doh. Place cookies in generous spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet, leaving plenty of room in between. Bake for 9-11 minutes -- I recommend checking on them at 9. Remove once the edges look fully cooked and put the cookies on a rack or plate to cool; remember they will keep cooking internally for a bit, so you want them out of the oven before the centers look done.
  
  Or be like me and just live dangerously and eat the dough. Who needs an oven?
  
  
  Hangout 3: Sweet potato stuff and rice
  
  First, make some hearty rice: I make a blend of brown, red, and black rice with some quinoa and lentils in for protein. In the water before cooking I toss some salt, some vegan chicken boullion, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried chives.
  
  Sweet potato stuff:
  You will need handy:

  • 1-2 large yams/sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (diced meaning chopped about the size of dice)
    
  • 1/2 onion, yellow or white, or large shallot
    
  • the bourbon created by soaking cherries in bourbon, or another clear fruity infused alcohol/liqueur (optional, see substitutes below)
    
  • oil or butter
    
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
    
  • 1 can corn (drained & rinsed)
    
  • 1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)
    
  • generous amount of curry powder
    
  • pinch of cumin
    
  • pinch of chili powder or cayenne
    
  • pinch of cinnamon
    
  • salt & pepper to taste
    
  • Slivered almonds (optional)
    
  • Fresh green onions, spinach leaves, basil leaves, thin-sliced kale/chard/collard greens, or thin-sliced cabbage (optional)
    

  Caramelize your onions. This should take a while. Cook them in butter until soft and translucent, then add some salt and a splash of cherry bourbon/sweet liqueur and sugar. (Cola, root beer, a darker beer, white wine, or apple cider vinegar all work too, the point is alcohol or acid + sugar.)
  As the onions start to turn yellow & brown, turn your heat down a little and add the yams, along with curry powder. Put in a little more butter or oil if necessary to keep them from sticking. Stir occasionally til they're cooked through. If they look like they're getting dry, add just a splash of water to the bottom of the pan and cover them for a couple minutes to steam them a bit.
  Once the yams are cooked, add fresh greens, corn, black beans, cinnamon, cumin, and curry powder. Once these are heated through, taste and adjust spices as necessary. Add the heat (chili powder / cayenne) and extra salt last. I always wind up adding lots of curry to this dish.
  Spoon this onto your rice -- or onto a tortilla if you have leftovers -- and top with cojita, queso fresco, avocado, a squeeze of lime, and/or sour cream, or any combo of the above.
  
  Bon appetit!
  
  Marian