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Eric had a dream that he was eating corn, kidney beans, and cilantro by the spoonful. I told him he was eating chili. Then he continued, maybe it's something my body needs, so I said, okay, let's make chili. [We live on the edge, people, on... the... edge.]
Now, you might be thinking 'Ohhh, so if Eric dreams he's flying close to the sun, are you going to be Icarus's daddy and make him wings?' No, of course not, that would be stupid.
We decided to splash out [the Brits say the darnedest things, don't they?] and buy canned beans since this chili needed to be made pronto. There wasn't time to soak the pulses. I more or less used this recipe for the spices and it was perfect.
I have been feeling kitchen uninspired lately, so mock as you may, I'm glad Eric told me his dream. Chili's such a tasty, filling, inexpensive meal, and I had forgotten about its winning ways.
Speaking of food dreams, when I was teaching 5-8 year olds back in Oregon, I remember my athlete Christopher telling me his dream of eating duck, mouth drooling, the smells, everything -- and when some parent brought in chicken soup, watching him gobbling bowl and after bowl, even though his mom had him on a strict macrobiotic diet. I wonder if Chris turned out to be a hunter or cattle rancher, maybe both.
In the teachers' room, my colleague Barry was sharing his favorite childhood treat - chip butties - french fry sandwiches slathered in ketchup. [The Brits eat the darnedest things, don't they?] I think this arose out of my confession of trying baked beans on toast with tomato from when I lived in Siem Reap. We had a great restaurant at the school where I taught, and my buddy from Scotland would order this all the time. Naturally, my curiosity got the best of me.
It's pretty tasty, actually. I love how quick and easy and satisfying it is. I'm 99% certain, I've shared this before, but just in case you've underestimated the power of a simple can of baked beans, here's some recipes you can try. I liked the curry one.
Damn. I forgot the cilantro.
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