It is the end of August and the entire spring and summer have passed. It is a cliche that time passes more quickly as you age, but it is a universal truth. Time has passed yet nothing has changed. Nothing has changed yet 180,000 Americans have died from Covid. We are still in the midst of the pandemic. We are still witnessing the convulsive throes of the emergence of totalitarianism in our country. All of it has escalated. All of it is worse. There was a Trump rally called the Republican National Convention on the White House lawn. There have been weekly murders by the police of Black Americans, and continuous protests since the murder of George Floyd at the end of May. At each of these protests, white supremacists showed up to threaten and escalate. The fascist who occupies the White House threw gasoline on the fires of the protests by sending unidentified federal agents to cities that never asked for them and didn’t want them. He encouraged the white counter-protestors, and then finally, in Kenosha, a place that no one ever thinks of, in a state known for cheese and beer, a pudgy white boy, driven from Illinois by his white supremacist mother, so that she could make him a hero, with the tacit approval and non-intervention of the police to whom he spoke, murdered two protestors, was driven back home by mommy – NOT ARRESTED – and later was extradited back to Wisconsin.
So. The police have revealed themselves. Is all lost? I don’t know. We are all pretending that we can vote this away. But Trump has a platform forever. He used the RNC to tear the Constitution up into tiny pieces and set it on fire on national TV with the approval of his party, which is now not the Republican party at all but some deformed monster birthed by the worst family in America who are trying to set themselves up as a dynastic regime.
This is where we stand, and I don’t see how it ends.
I stopped drinking after I gained 7 pounds in 8 weeks, so I’m not drinking my way through this thing any more. I spent my summer gardening. We had ten days at the cabin in the mountains in June. We came home and adopted a family of cats, and I spent 8 weeks raising the kittens, finding them a home. and wrangling my four other cats. It turns out that when you have foster cats, it’s the work equivalent of having a toddler. I love them though and was very happy to have the experience of newborn kittens.
I closed my midwifery practice and joined a group practice.
I live every day with the fears of Covid and fascism, just like you do. I am baffled, still.
Shame on the Republican party enablers. Shame on you if you voted for Trump.
I am writing a collection of recipes that are designed to help people eat well in times of scarcity. I’m going to start with some basics here. Most of these recipes will be plant-based and gluten free because that’s how we roll here. But they will be variable. You’ll see.
Bean Soup
You’ll need at least two cups of cooked beans for this. You can use canned beans, any variety, or you can cook them yourself. They need to be rinsed and soaked the night before, or hot soaked by covering them with about two inches extra of water, bringing to a boil ad letting sit for one hour. Then bring them back to a boil and cook for about two hours, or until tender. This can be done in a pressure cooker, in which case you would cook them at 15 pounds for 25-30 minutes. Let the pressure go down naturally.
In a large pot saute a large, diced onion in whatever oil you have until it’s golden brown. Add diced carrots and celery and saute for about five minutes, Add minced garlic and cook for another two minutes, stirring. You can throw in a bay leaf and some black pepper here, if you like. Pour in the cooked beans and their liquid. Add water or broth to your desired consistency. Simmer for thirty minutes until the flavors have melded and it tastes good. This is the most basic soup you can make. You can add any of the following:
After the garlic has sauteed:
Tomato product
Shredded cabbage
Green beans
Cubed potatoes
Any type of canned green chiles
After the beans have been added, close to the end of cooking time:
Any leafy greens
Frozen or fresh corn
Frozen or fresh peas
Diced zucchini
Cubed or shredded cooked meat or chicken
Cooked grains or pasta
Serve it hot, with whatever bread you have. Shredded cheese on top is nice. Salt to taste at the table.
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