The black-eyed pea isn't an ingredient you usually find in a lot of northwest cuisine, even in our famed "fusion" dishes. But if you're looking for variety in your protein sources, these guys are tasty and can be prepared in hundreds of ways: stews, fritters, pancakes, with corn, with pumpkin, with chard, with watercress, the list goes on and on. Black-eyed peas came to the western hemisphere when slaves carried them to the Carribean from their origins in western and central Africa. Here's a tasty Trinidad-style recipe Judy and I recently tried out from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. Once you have the spices, it's easy to have the vegetables in your weekly grocery run, and the only thing special you have to remember is soak the dried beans the night before.

• 1½ cups dried black-eyed peas
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 scallions, cut into fine rounds
• 1 celery stalk, cut into small dice
• ½ green pepper, cored and seeded, cut into small dice

Spices:

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme (or 1½ teaspoons fresh)
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground mustard powder
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried red chilis or cayenne (¼ to ½ teaspoon depending on how spicy you like it)

Rinse and drain the black-eyed peas, then soak them overnight with about 5 inches of water covering them. Drain them the next day.

Put the oil into a large pot on medium-high heat. When hot, add the scallions, celery, carrot, and green pepper. Stir and saute for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables just start to brown. Add the drained peas, 4½ cups of water, all the spices except salt, and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer gently for 40 minutes, or until the peas are tender. Add the salt, stir, and cook another 20 minutes on low heat.

The other day I met a new friend at the Anzen market here in Portland. His name is Corn Man. Well, that's not exactly true. He tried to tell me his name, but I couldn't understand it for I do not speak Japanese. He gave me a wonderful corn puffy style treat that tasted so rich and more like corn than any treat I had ever tried. Corn Man prepares his treat on a barbeque. Many people wait for him to prepare his lovely treats. Some of his biggest fans are a nice fox and a lovely raccoon. The nice fox is such a fan of Corn Man that he even wears a hat of Corn Man's pleasant face. The nice fox and lovely raccoon wait somewhat impatiently for the snack to be ready. I understand their impatience, the snack is very good. If I knew where to find the Corn Man barbecuing his wonderful snack treats I would go there and wait impatiently as well.

The nice fox, the lovely raccoon, the hungry frog (in the upper right hand corner), and I all wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful snack. I also think these dudes on the right, who are on the back of the snack package also recommend the wonderful snack, but again, I cannot be sure because I am unfamiliar with their language. You should be able to find Corn Man's wonderful snack at Japanese markets. CORN MAN.

I don't know what got into me, but I just invented two great recipes tonight.

Garlic Bread

I know, who needs a recipe for garlic bread? But I didn't feel confident about all the different variables: heat, preaparing the garlic, etc. So I made my best guess, and to my complete surprise, it turned out perfectly: brown, toasty, and delicious.

• 3 medium cloves garlic
• 4 Tb butter, at room temperature
• 2 Tb minced Italian parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• splash of good olive oil

Press the garlic and mix it together with all the other ingredients. Spread it on 2 thick slices of dense-crumbed italian bread. Put the bread on a tray in a 400-degree toaster oven. Let toast until brown and cooked through.

...and then I wanted a drink, so I made up this one. It needs a name; do you have a proposal?

• 2 oz amaretto
• Juice of 1 orange
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 port-soaked cherries
• Cherry juice to taste

Serve in a lowball glass over ice.

Try them, and let me know what you think!

Got an impromptu tour of Veganopolis when a friend and I walked by on Saturday. We had just eaten, but wanted to see the prices and menu and while checking the place out we were invited inside.

(click for more photos)

The place looks really nice inside and they are serving everything cafeteria style! You pick up your tray and slide it along while choosing what you want, just like in junior high. They are going to serve breakfast and then have grilled sandwiches and stuff for lunch. Plus they are serving Stumptown coffee (yay!). They have an upstairs balcony seating area and some better people watching spots on the ground floor. I'm super excited to check out the food when they open on Monday.

Veganopolis
412 SW Fourth Street
(503) 226-3400
lunch@veganopolis.com

For all you dudes out there who say things like, "i don't know how to cook" or "i wish i could cook something but i don't know what a 'whisk' is" or "oh god what's 'mustard seed'?"

Ms. Marisa Meltzer told me a recipe, and I added a couple minor things to it, and I swear to you it is the easiest, yet most inexplicably delicious thing I have ever made. It is also healthy. Let us start a "cooking for non-cooks" section!:

Sautee a chopped onion in olive oil for a few minutes
add 3 or 5 cloves of chopped or squished garlic
add one whole bunch of chopped chard (this is a delightful bitter green similar to kale)
get the chard all gooshy and coated in the onion/garlic/oil, and let it cook on medium heat for a minute or two.
Then, add one big can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
salt/pepper
spices like oregano or basil. Or fresh basil, if you are fancy-pants.
Let it simmer for 15 or 30 minutes on low heat

put on noodles

top with pine nuts and chopped kalamata olives

HOLY LORD DID YOU EVER TASTE ANYTHING LIKE IT?

Answer: NO!!!!!!!

(posted in the excitement of knowing there are leftovers at home)

Okay dudes...get jealous now. While you were probably enjoying your Saturday night with friends, probably out on the town, what was I doing? I was enjoying an amazing new beverage by myself, a novelty beverage at that. I jokingly titled this B to the E, but just now while looking up some information on this new beverage brought to the market by the good people at Anheuser Busch, I found that this beverage is literally called B to the E. What a brilliant name, right? To quote a late 80s SNL skit starring Tom Hanks "Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?" It is a new beerish beverage that also has caffeine, ginseng, and guarana in it. Whoa, right?
Now this might sound depressing to most people...drinking alone on a Saturday night. Deriving great joy in all new food products this evening, actually, was quite enjoyable. B to the E is sorta goofy. The taste is surprisingly fruity, and a bit shocking, but once you get over the shock it's actually pretty good. It comes in a 10 oz. can has more alcohol than most other beers (6.6%) so it's not a drink you would want a six pack of or something, but I can see me getting it again when I want something different, or like I'm studying for a killer test or just waking up. Uhhhh...yeah...B to the E, BOY!!!! TO THE EXTREME.

While in the city of brotherly love last week I decided I needed to sample a legendary cheesesteak from Jim's on South Street. Luckily my good friend John B. Anderson knows how to select the perfect place, as shown in this video.

Unfortunately on the plane ride home from the east coast, I was left with few options and consumed this highly forgettable and barely edible thing. Since I need to erase this experience from memory, anyone up for a trip to Philadelphia's in Sellwood?