You know when you’re looking for a recipe online and you click on it and there’s a whole novel you have to scroll through before getting to the ingredients? I hate being left out so I decided to try it. Is that annoying? I don’t care! From time to time I like to do whatever I want, regardless of how others may receive it. Like President Donald J. Trump.
Whenever a plane hits turbulence, I think it’s going down. I think about how much I have yet to accomplish in my life, I think about my family and friends, and I get sad. I look around at the people on the flight and quickly suss out who I should form an alliance with, Survivor style. I think about when they smashed Piggy’s glasses in Lord of the Flies. I think about when my high school did an all female production of Lord of the Flies that was ultimately unrealistic because if a bunch of girls were stranded on an island we would not resort to violence, we would create a sort of tropical sorority and have theme parties. Then I think about how I’m usually flying domestically and there are no desert islands on that path, so all of this is unhelpful. Then I read the safety manual and decide which way is best to go down the slide. I think I would do the classic waterslide pose.
Alison Roman put out her newsletter today and talked about how hard it is to create stuff right now. I disagree, I find it really easy to create in a pandemic insurrection. All jokes aside, she usually has a recipe in her newsletter but said she couldn’t get around to it this week. As a fellow content creator and internet-famous Brooklyn sweetheart, I decided to pick up the slack that Ms. Roman dropped. For the first time in Pillow Town history, I’m teaching you all how to make veggie chili. If you’ve gotten to this point and you’re wondering what the theme is today, I want to let you know there is none. I don’t have a clear POV right now because I’m busy focusing on just surviving day to day. Walking to work this morning I almost got hit by an orthodox school bus. An orthodox schoolbus is a regular schoolbus but some of the kids have measles.
There is a lot going on right now- an indigestible amount. If you feel like you can’t do anything this week, I promise you can at least make this soup. It’s warming, filling, and easy to digest.
Ingredients:
3 stalks celery, diced
4 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tube tomato paste
A lot of cumin, chili powder and chipotle powder (Freestyle, whatever you like)
Salt and pepper
A good amount of olive oil (again, not a scientist)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4-ish cups of water
Cilantro, lime juice, Cholula and sour cream to serve
Heat a the olive oil in large pot on medium high heat.
Sauté the carrots, celery, onion and garlic until everything softens a bit, about 5-7 minutes.
Add in your spices and stir to coat all the vegetables.
Add in the whole tube of tomato paste and stir, cook for another 4-5 minutes.
Add in the chopped sweet potato and 4 cups of water, or enough to cover the vegetables.
Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes can be stabbed with a fork. They should be soft enough that a baby with a few teeth could eat them, but not so soft that they’re mushy. They should be the goldilocks of potato.
Pause here. Taste the soup. Maybe add some salt and pepper. Maybe not! You have to live with the soup, just like you have to live with the consequences of your actions. Like Rudy Giuliani.
Then, add in the 2 cans of black beans and a little more water as needed to keep everything covered.
Close the lid and simmer again for about 25 minutes, which is enough time to watch the episode of Girls where Marnie goes on a bender in central park and ends up barefoot in a red dress on the lower east side contemplating her existence. It’s season 5 episode 6.
When the chili is done, serve it with some fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and a dollop of daisy. It’s also good for breakfast with a fried egg on top.
This made a little over 2 quarts, so be prepared to either like this a lot or put half in the freezer. Bon Appetit!
Another wonderful story, Rachel and a recipe too!! We look forward to reading them ❤️