So I decided to whip up a little combo of things for dinner (more on that later) and remembered I had recorded a performance by Carole King and James Taylor (reunited at the Troubador) 40 years (OMG 40yrs!!) after they first performed there in 1971. Wow. What a fabulous show. Right off the bat, "So Far Away", Gone to Carolina in My Mind" "Its too Late" "Walk on Down a Country Road". I am absolutely just LOVING This! They sound so great, exactly like they always did. Carole is on the piano, James on his guitar. And it is so neat, after some of the songs, he gets up and goes over and hugs her or takes her hand and it is so sweet to see the love and respect between them.
I sure do remember my sister having CK's Tapestry Album. Even as a kid I loved that album. Ahhh. Good stuff.
Speaking of Good Stuff...
I have been wanting to fix some Fava beans I had in the cabinet. Usually you buy them fresh from the produce dept., but I found some dried ones at the healthfood store and they have been in the cupboard. ( I like that word, 'cupboard') I also had some yellow squash and wanted to fix that so I decided to combine the two.
Fava beans come with a very tough skin on them. Before you can even think about cooking them, you have to give them a quick boil, then a quick ice bath just to peel them. Then when they are peeld you can decide how you want to cook them. I like a nice saute on them. Once cooked they have a lovely creaminess and a flavor, that could almost make you feel like it has taken all its flavor from the other ingredients, but it has contributed its own taste.
I cooked a clove of garlic in some olive oil, added a little onion and then added the squash and beans. I was tasting a bit as I went, and it seemed to need something to brighten it up. So I chopped up a couple of 'ugly' tomatoes and added them. Just for fun I threw in about a tablespoon of coriander seeds. They didn't cook long enough to add any even flavor, but when you bight one, the perfume of it is just an exotic blast.
The dish came out very nice. A couple of things I would do different: I would put the beans in first, let them cook a bit more; then I would add the onions in AFTER the tomatoes, so they didn't cook down so much. What I ended up doing was adding some raw onion to the plate and a bit of butter on top, those last two touches really elevated it.
Between my healthy, veggie dinner and haveing dinner with Carole & James, I have really had a lovely evening.
Now if you excuse me, I need to go to iTunes and buy Tapestry. :)
My sister turned me onto Carole King when I was in High school. she had that album and we wore it out. I have the Tapestry CD in my car. I love "Smackwater Jack".
ReplyDeleteoh and ps.
ReplyDeleteI don't like those beans, but I bet it tasted good to those that do. :)