ITALIAN SUPPER!

escarole and beans!
y'know about this old timey classic?
probably not, if you're a regular ol' person-
but if you had a grandma who spoke insistent gibberish pidgin sicilian,
and F*ed around like a sorceress in the kitchen,
then you for sure had some of this italian classic.
i mean, i had that, and i had that, if you get my drift.
now, normally, i would have escarole and white bean soup.
that's how my ma always makes it, after her ma.
but,
i'm up not an old italian lady.
i'm an old italian manly man, man.
and up here, buried under a two-day-long buffeting of snowy woodsly goodsly weather,
i wanted something more hearty, and less wet.
yeah.
so, i made the o.g. dish the way i read about one time,
except i think i added too many things (which actually made it super-F*ing expert)
mmmhmmm.
MORE notes for my savory symphony meant MORE flavor for my face!
i like that.
check the teleport:

'SCAROLE!!
have y'all ever seen escarole? it looks like lettuce, but it's way burlier.
and it tastes great cooked.
hot lettuce is a bummer, but hot escarole is dreamy when it's steamy.
it takes two pots to make it, or a high-walled skillet and a pot, i guess.
one has the leaves, and the other has the beans (obvi),
and you're gonna absolutely need some dippin' bread.
that's no joke.
good bread is the key to a good life, and when it's my own custom homemade sourdough?
well, the flavors exxxplode a little louder and fresher when you've got it like that, neighbors.
mmm.
so, what did i do to make this my own?
i'll gladly write all about it:
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*
ESCAROLE AND BEANS!
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in a non-stick skillet, with a glug of olive oil, saute:
1/3 cup sliced onion;
3 cloves sliced garlic;
1 cup baby grape tomatoes;
22 coarse craxx of black pepper;
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.
sizzle that on high heat for a few minutes,
then toss in 1 coarsely chopped head of escarole,
and hit it with some pink salt.
roll it all around to coat it in oil,
and let it simmer on medium heat for about 11 minutes.
add in a punch of chopped parsley, stir and let it sit a second.
ha.
-
in a little one quart pot, with a glug of olive oil, on high heat,
combine:
2 T minced onion;
1/4 cup crumbled tempeh;
1/2 tsp ea GPOP;
1 tsp nootch;
1 rinsed 15 oz can white beans;
( i used great northern, because i'm prety far north, and it's pretty freakin' great)
sizzle that to a softened oniony state, then add:
1 cup vegetable stock;
1/4 tsp smoked paprika;
3-4 shakes of liquid smoke;
1 cup baby kale;
simmer that until it gets thickened up and add a lil fresh parsley-
NOW you've got parts one and two of a two part epic excellent edible experience.
yup.
add a fat scoop of beans to the greens, and stir it all up-
plate it however you'd like,
and then add a second scoop of beans to that bed of tastiness.
did i hit it with a pinch more parsley, and MORE red pepper flakes??
i did.
i like a sprankle, friends. MORE little cutie fancies is just how i express myself.
-
the tomatoes burst over the high heat-
the garlic simmered down to a fiery flavor,
but without the breath-blastin' raw fury i don't need at night.
the beans are firm, but soft, and that little bit of dark leafy greenery,
and the freshie-fresh parsley together make it especially rewarding.
i think the old country version is like, beans, bacon, and leaves?
i dunno.
i'm never ever effin' with smoed pig parts,
but i'm also never gonna keep it overly simplified.
that ain't me, bruh.
i need allllll the exxxtras.
always.
too much is the right amount.
and that's a fact.
***********
snow days.
man, the weather outside is non-cooperative.
and that's cool and all-
a winter-white snowy wonderland of silenced woodsliness is pretty neat-
but i'm tucked up and away on a hill that becomes a bobsled flume
at the first drip of rain over fresh powder-
and while that's exciting, it's also dangerous.
so,
on my way to anywhere, i'm drifting fast and furiously into the future,
first and foremost, before i ever hit a thoroughfare.
i'm looking forward to slippin' sideways at the start of my day.
it's all really happening, and that's just how it goes;
never quiet, never soft.....