I promised you beans

dinner in Toulouse

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Hi Hi-

Squeezed shoulder to elbow at tall tables, we spilled onto the sidewalk. Loads of laughter, loud opinions, and general revelry was the vibe—café society on a Saturday evening in Toulouse. About a block away a band played and the dreamy, bleary notes reached us without melody or continuity… sort of like the herky-jerky conversation we were having with the charming French couple beside us. How did we strike up a conversation? If you know us, you know that we always play cards when we travel. It is a great way to meet people as everyone wants to know, À quel jeu de cartes jouez-vous?

Gin Rummy of course! I spoke halting French, the man spoke halting English. Joel and the woman nodded and smiled. Intermittent comprehension, 💯 good feelings. Clearly the couple adores their city. They suggested a park, a museum, Le Marché Victor Hugo, and Emile’s.

oh la la, Emile’s!!

The cassoulet? Magnificent! The sommelier? A delight. The souffle grand marnier? un nuage!

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Cher Readers, I’m not delivering a recipe for cassoulet today, but instead a recipe for humble beans. At home I lean hard on brown rice, what’s wrong with me? Beans are healthy, full of fiber and minerals, and very easy to make.

Keep a pot of these lovelies in the refrigerator and serve them up with roast chicken, grilled fish, some sautéed spinach or kale and you are set.

Humble White Beans w/Frizzy Onions

• ½ c extra-virgin olive oil (or, if you are feeling adventurous, duck fat!)

• 1 lg white onion, halved and thinly sliced into half moons

• sea salt

• 1 t smoky paprika

• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 2t minced fresh rosemary, or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary

• ¼ t red-pepper flakes, more for serving

• 2-15oz cans white cannellini beans. Drain and rinse. Truth be told, I prefer Rancho Gordo dried beans but I wanted to offer you ease

• 1c chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned

• 1½ t lemon zest

• 1c chopped fresh parsley leaves more for garnish

1. In a large skillet, heat 2 T oil over med heat until it shimmers. Add onion and paprika, cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned all over, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove half of the onions to a plate.

2. Add remaining 6 T oil, the garlic, rosemary, red-pepper flakes and a pinch of salt to the onions in the skillet. Cook until garlic is pale gold at the edges. Do not let the garlic turn brown! 2 to 4 minutes.

3. Add beans, chopped tomatoes, ½ c of water and 1 t salt to skillet; stir until beans are well coated with sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until broth thickens, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

4. Stir in lemon zest and parsley, and taste, adding more salt if needed.

5. Garnish the beans with the reserved onions, more parsley, olive oil and red-pepper flakes, if you’d like. The beans will thicken as they cool, so add more water at your discretion.

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Thanks for reading. I hope your day is filled with delicious food!

If you missed the last few jewels… no fear! Here they are: cookies. melon salad.
a novel. dance. poem. cake. friendship. school shopping. drawing. coffee cups. copying art. spices.

To stay in the loop:

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Tell your people you love them, and take care of your skin!

Merci,