Yesterday we woke to a mist hanging low among the trees and houses, and when it lifted autumn had come. Our breath rose in puffs around us as I walked the kids to school, and later in the sunshine the highest branches glowed amber and gold as if newly gilded from above.
You need some warmth in your belly on days like these, and this bean bowl is a fortifying way to start the day. It’s inspired by the menu at the Beachcomber Cafe in Trinidad, CA—a wintry place most days of the year, so they know warm-you-up food.
For a real indulgence, start with a homemade pot of beans. I know I’ve already sung the praises of the ojo de cabra beans pictured below (from Rancho Gordo), but white beans or black beans make a fine substitute. With black beans, of course, you can go the cilantro and salsa route; with white beans I love parsley and tomato jam. The only essential ingredients are beans, a soft-cooked egg, and a cold day.
One nice, small thing you can do for someone is to peel them a pomegranate. My parents have a pomegranate tree, and my dad has mastered this act of generosity after years of lovingly extracting the sweet seeds for my mom, and us, their children, and now my children. (When he left after a recent visit, my baby had learned to say “I wan’ mo’ pom-a-gran-ate.”) I’ve long relied on his expertise to avoid the task myself, but this week I had good luck scoring the fruit’s leathery exterior—without cutting into the juicy arils—and prying off the outer peel one section at a time. Releasing the seeds is slow, meditative, an act of love. J and I crunched the seeds by the handful, and my big girls happily ate them one at a time, sucking away the fruit and spitting out the tiny seed. What a luxury it is to be together, to eat a pomegranate together.
Emmy Cooks 