Lick Out The Kettle

My life feels as if it's flying apart in all directions, but I had one shining day today in the middle of it. Last night I went to Eatonville after work [I get off work about 10 PM] and arrived in time for Enayat's late dinner of fried onions and potatoes. I don't know if he knew what he was doing, but he had carmelized the onions before adding the potatoes, then cooked them until they were meltingly tender. Delicious! It gave me some ideas.

I awoke to Enayat telling me about a character in Iran that comes out today, several days before Naw-Ruz: "Haji Firuz." Naw-Ruz, New Years, is not Islamic, nor Zoroastrian, but uniquely, simply, Persian. Persian and ancient. The day of Naw-Ruz as Baha'is celebrate it, anyway, is March 21, this Sunday. It follows a period of spiritual renewal marked by fasting, and is a welcome venue for the return of spring.

I had an appointment in Tacoma at 11:00, and I also wanted to do some beading, so I quickly went to the sewing/beading room in while I was in Eatonville and selected some coordinating beads, which gave me exactly an hour to make it to my appointment. Which I did with five minutes to spare. Afterwards I stopped by Popeye's Chicken and had some red beans and rice; I've never eaten at Popeye's before. I could tell there was pork [i.e. lard] in it but it tasted good for "fast food." Then I met with my auto insurance agent to begin coverage with a more affordable policy.

At home I got into the beading. The other day I was at the Bead Factory in Tacoma and scored some exquisitely carved wooden beads in the shapes of various animals [I was looking for my totem, a camel.] I think they are all by the same artist, and he puts his initials on them. I got some camels, elephants, a rhino, etc.

For Pearl I selected a seal or sea lion mother and pup together, and strung them on silk thread with coordinating wooden and bone beads, with one or two amber-colored glass and a few metal "bright" accents. I presented it to her as a surprise and she seemed delighted. Then I napped, as I seem not to ever get more than six hours sleep a night.

That left me with about an hour and a half to do some quick cooking. Because I am so busy I said a quick prayer to "make of my effort a prayer" while I cooked. I had put some kidney beans to soak last night; I also wanted to try green beans in the pressure cooker, as well as some apples for applesauce. I decided to make some "red beans and rice," without the rice. I didn't want to take time to make the rice, but I would have made brown rice. Oh, man, those beans were so good I wanted to lick out the kettle. I swear I saw my daughter lick the plate.

I hope I can remember what I put in them, but here goes:

Lick the Kettle Red Beans

Soaked red kidney beans [two cups dry beans, soaked]
one onion, cut up
two stalks celery [there should be green peppers but I didn't have any]
several cloves of garlic, peeled
cumin, coriander, oregano, basil, cayenne pepper

In the base of the pressure cooker pot, add two tablespoons olive oil and the onions and celery. Saute on medium to low heat until onions are past the transparency stage and turning brown and sweet. Add seasonings, garlic and beans, and just enough water, about one to 1 1/2 cups, to create a nice gravy and enough liquid to steam the beans. Put on lid and cook at full pressure ten minutes. Take off heat and let pressure release naturally.

When the lid can be removed, stir in:

A dash of cider vinegar, a drizzle of agave syrup, several dashes of green Tabasco sauce, and at least half to one teaspoon liquid smoke. Salt to taste. Simmer ten minutes to combine flavors.
[In my pressure cooker cookbook they recommend to leave out salt and acidic things during the pressure cooking, because somehow they retard the cooking process.]

In the meantime I trimmed some green beans, which I pressure cooked in the smaller cooker [I only have one lid, but two pans, so I have to wait for each dish to cool before cooking the next] with sliced almonds, a tiny pinch of rosemary, dill, and some liquid smoke. After it was done I added salt to taste. I cooked the green beans ten minutes as well, as I like them very tender.

While the green beans cooked I cut up two pounds or so of Granny Smith apples for applesauce, which is now cooling down and I haven't tasted. Whenever I cut up apples, I remember cutting up apples, other fruit and vegetables with my mother. She has large, strong hands, and she moved quick as lightning with her paring knife. Nobody used french knives then. I always felt slow and awkward. She had been cutting things up her whole life. She never minded if we were slow.

Good memories, and a good day.