Hearty Vegan Stew and Beautiful Music

I got home from work early on this rainy day in Jackson Heights, Queens and after pouring myself a drink (1oz gin, tonic, splash of lemon, splash of simple syrup – over ice), I put on some recently discovered folk music by a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice.

We were lucky to happen upon her playing live at our friend Jeremiah’s music space at the end of August. If you get a chance, check out Sharon Van Etten.  This video is incredible – For You.

Then!  I remembered that I offered to make some dinner for our good friend, David if he was feeling like making it out to our house.  I freaked out because we hadn’t done any grocery shopping since before the Labor Day weekend.  I had no chicken (his favorite) and there was no way in hell I was going back out in this rain to the grocery.

Knowing that my lovely boy loves beans as well, I did a quick internet search and realized I had all the ingredients to make a hearty soup already in my kitchen.  No grocery trip needed!  Well, except that I got the drummer to stop and get a baguette…

I will of course, need to step out in the rainy morning to get my ever-growing grocery list items tomorrow however. Yes, David, I will make you Purple Chicken soon enough! (You can watch us eating it for the second time here.)

David didn’t end up making it out to our house, but since I love him, I’ll probably try to keep a portion for him anyway.  

White Bean, Spinach & Barley Soup

White Bean, Spinach & Barley Soup
(serves 6-8)

-2-3 TB olive oil
-1 large white onion, chopped
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-1 serrano chile (or other chile), minced (optional)
-1/2 cup white wine
-1 cup roughly chopped carrots
-1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
-5 cups broth
-2-3 TB dried thyme and/or rosemary (I grind it to a powder, but that’s optional.)
-1 tsp. coriander powder -1 can white beans, rinsed.
-1 28oz can chopped tomatoes -1-2 cups spinach (frozen OK) black pepper

1. In large dutch oven or pot (that has a cover), saute onion, garlic and chile in the olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add dried thyme or rosemary and coriander. Saute for 5-7 minutes and then add wine. Allow to cook for a few minutes, stirring.

3. Add carrots, sprinkle a tsp or so of black pepper and mix to combine.

4. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.

5. Add barley, beans, tomatoes and broth. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.

6. When boiling, cover and set heat to very low.

7. Cook for at least 45 minutes, but up to an hour and 1/2 to really combine the flavors.  Stir from time to time to prevent sticking.

8. Add spinach, stir through, cover and cook for 10- 15 more minutes.

Serve with crusty bread, a glass of wine and enjoy with a talented poet/drummer.

(loosely based on this recipe:  http://bit.ly/sOaSk with more garlic and a much longer cooking time.)

Living on 500K

I was sitting in Family Court waiting for a case to be called (one of my seven for the day).  I forgot to bring reading material and sought out the NY Times on my Treo.  I do this often and check immediately for the “most emailed” articles to amuse me while I’m waiting to see the judge on behalf of my child clients.

Today, I read the Most Ludicrous Article Ever:

You Try to Live on 500K in This Town .  Apparently written in response to President Obama’s decree that banks shouldn’t pay folks more than $500,000 per year, this article seeks to demonstrate how “difficult” this will be for those folks in New York City.

A few under-75K /year women were sitting with me in court and I showed them the article.  They chuckled when I scrolled down to this quote:

“Few are playing sad cellos over the fate of such folk, especially since the collapse of the institutions they run has yielded untold financial pain.”

We agreed that we were not playing any string instruments for these folks.  Not lamenting about their losses and no sadness, but most of us nodded – we get it.  PEOPLE MAKE SO MUCH FUCKING MONEY IN NEW YORK!

“Sure, the solution may seem simple: move to Brooklyn or Hoboken, put the children in public schools and buy a MetroCard.”

Sadly, the writer followed up with a weak explanation about how the majority of  financial executives who have to deal with this limitation are men “whose identities are entwined with living a certain way in a certain neighborhood west of Third Avenue: a life of private schools, summer houses and charity galas that only a seven-figure income can stretch to cover. “ 

Really?  Repeat

“… move to Brooklyn [or QUEENS] or Hoboken, put the children in public schools and buy a MetroCard.”

It’s not the end of the world.