At Least It's Not Another Emergency Cat Picture...

It's the only picture I took today--dinner: black beans, kabocha squash, collards, rice. Years ago a woman named Joan had an interesting gig at our local health food store--she would prepare meals at a card table set up near the cash register, using an electric fry pan, maybe a hot plate, and featuring seasonal produce and a few exotic ingredients. The beans, for instance, are flavored with umeboshi paste, not something you would probably have in your pantry, but readily available on the shelves in the store. Win/win. The food was always delicious, the recipes were free, and in this way I tried many things I wouldnt otherwise have known about. In time I found out that Joan was a good friend of a good friend, and that she was from my home town back east. She managed to make a living around her passion: healthy food. I always hoped she would publish a cook book, but she did not, and she has since passed away. I have a battered manila recipe folder labelled Joan, and we still use her ideas, which are always wonderful.