On 9/11, a recipe for making "new" memories (2024)

From Daryl aka Avery:

9/11 will never evoke goodmemories for most of America. It was a time of tragedy for our country. Now, twelve years later, itserves as a day of reflection.

My heart goes out to thosewho suffered and those that lost loved ones. To all the heroes. To all those that heroes left behind.

May we continue to move forward and continue to heal.

I visited the memorial site, soon after the attack. I will never forget all the letters posted to walls around the devastation.I have experienced much loss in my life, but I have never felt anything so massively poignant as seeing this kind of devastation.I visited the site again, with the reflecting pools in place. It is a truly beautiful and awesome tribute.

FYI: [from the website]The Memorial’s twin reflecting poolsare each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls inthe North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towersonce stood.The names of every person who died inthe 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorialpools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreignattack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel inAmerican history.

However, on a good note for me and my family, 9/11 is also a day of joyous memories. My son, Jack, andhis wife, Rebecca, decided to make a "new" memory on a tragic day.They married on 9/11 four years ago at Walt Disney World in Orlando. They didn't wantto spend the rest of their lives thinking horrible things on this date. Theylive in New York.

With Rebecca in our lives,we are learning new lessons about mixing cultures. She is Cuban. The culture ofher food is spectacular!

Whenever Jack and Rebecca come to visit in LosAngeles, we taste new flavors, most of the recipes passed down from her family.

Most recently, we had a roastpork, beans (frijoles), and rice dinner that was delicious. Jack has always beena cook. A month or so ago, I showed you pictures of him making Easter eggs at the age of 3. His love of cooking started then; it never stopped. He is fearless in the kitchen. At one pointwhen he was 14, he considered becoming a chef. We went to a number ofrestaurant cooking courses. Fun! Ofcourse, after those experiences, Jack wanted to become an Iron Chef (instantnotoriety). Life intervened; possibly a little reality, too.

He is now pursuing patent law.Rebecca is pursing a career in preserving film.

I hopeyou’ll enjoy the meal Jack and Rebecca made for us. It was full of flavor andlots of fun to put together. [I was a sous chef.]

Remember, whatever the trauma in your life, make new memories. Do your best to movebeyond. Believe in the future. Change is possible.

CUBAN RICE

Ingredients:

2 cups long grain rice

4-5 cups water

3-4 garlic cloves, sliced or minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Place the rice, water, garlic, and olive oil into a saucepan.

Bring to a boil and keep on high until craters form and the waterlooks to be mostly evaporated. (10-15 minutes)

Cover and turn the heat to the lowest setting for 8-10 minutes.

Serve soon.

Note: Frijoles negros is a signature dish of Cuban cuisine. It's black beans cooked to perfection in a thick aromatic stew.
 We served this over the Cuban rice.

CUBAN FRIJOLES

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups black beans, dried

9 cups water

1 1/2 cups onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 tablespoons olive oil for sautéing

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin, ground

1 bay leaf

3 tablepoons vinegar

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil (to drizzle over beans in final step)

Directions:

Cover dry beans withwater and let stand covered overnight. [You may do a quick soak by bringingbeans to boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rainse. Then soak for an hour.]

Drain and discardwater.

Place the cleaned blackbeans in a large 6-quart saucepan. Add 9 cups of water and olive oil. Addingthe oil helps prevent the beans from foaming.

Bring the beans to aboil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the beans are tender, about 1hour to 1 ½ hours.

Do not add salt yet.Salt can make beans tough.

Whichever method youuse, do not drain the water from the cooked beans…yet.

Meanwhile, chop onion.Mash the garlic with salt and peppercorns.

Sauté the onions inolive oil until the onions are translucent. Add mashed garlic and sauté anotherminute.

Add the cooked beans,oregano, cumin, bay leaf, vinegar, and wine to the beans. Cover and simmer overlow heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Anddrain the water off the beans.

Now, take about 1-2cups of the cooked beans and mash them to make a paste. Add the mashed beansback to the pot.

Add additional salt andpepper to taste.

Stir in the sugar; thendrizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the beans. Immediately coverthe pot, remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Serve over white Cubanrice.

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The 4th inA Cheese Shop Mystery series is out, too!

TO BRIE OR NOT TO BRIE
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Next up: DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT, coming Feb 2013. Click here to preorder. INHERIT THE WORD, coming March 2013. Click here to preorder.