Bowling, Banter & Bean Chili

Movement

I have a newfound respect for how much balance and coordination is required to bowl. Our nephew turned six and we went bumper bowling! My balance and coordination is off due to my MS and I walk with a stick but I wasn’t about to miss out on the black lights and blaring pop tunes. Thankfully due to the pandemic the bowling alley wasn’t renting out slippery, ill-fitting bowling shoes. I grabbed the lightest ball available, carefully walked up to the lane and used those bumpers for all they were worth.

Once upon a time I was in a social bowling league in Chicago. Our team was called The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers. We weren’t good, but it was a simpler time before I had to be so mindful of every step I take. There are quite a few moving pieces: walking forward while your arm becomes a heavy pendulum swinging back then forth, sweep your dominant foot behind as you let go of the ball.

Or, if you’re me, chuck the ball on the polished alley and watch it ricochet off the bumpers like an oversized pin ball and delight in the fact that it hit any pins at all.

Art + Culture

Demetri Martin

Demetri Martin at Northeastern University by Theresa Holley

I’m obsessed with comedian Demetri Martin. I swoon over his 1970s coif, his deadpan observational humor, and his guitar playing. But what I love the most about him are his cartoons. At first I thought it was such a strange combination of skills: drawing comics and being a standup, until I realized duh, they’re both mediums of humor. One being temporal and the other more permanently inked on a page.

Martin’s latest collaboration with The New Yorker called Punch Lines featured black felt tip drawings of simple objects transformed: a toe that with a few strokes is turned into an astronaut or a shy turtle that morphs into a jelly fish then zero-gravity spaghetti. They’re clever, clean and chuckle-worthy. He’s touring the US in February, somebody please go and report back to me, I bet it’s going to be amazing.

Oil-Free Vegan Food

Bean chili - Chili non carne

All three chillies were bought at a regular supermarket in the Netherlands by Takeaway via Wikimedia Commons

This recipe has been a staple in our house since before we went whole foods plant based. It’s hearty and delicious served over rice (something I never tried growing up in America but seems to be ubiquitous in the UK.) It freezes beautifully and lasts for months in the freezer so you can easily make a batch of ready meals to microwave on nights when you can’t be asked to cook. If you don’t have mushrooms or a pepper feel free to substitute corn, zucchini, or other vegetables. Serves 6.

Ingredients

1 TBSP Cumin seeds dry fried in a pan until toasted then ground in a mortar and pestle

1 TBSP paprika 

1 TBSP oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (if you like spice)

1 white onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped  

2 bay leaves

1 bell pepper, thinly sliced  

A handful of mushrooms sliced

1 stick of cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon ground  

3 tins of beans rinsed and drained (we like black, kidney, and borlotti but any type will do) 

1 tin crushed tomatoes 

1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional) 

3 green finger chili peppers sliced (if you like spice) 

Black pepper and salt to taste

1 c water if needed

Method

Put the cumin seeds in a pan and cook over medium heat, occasionally shaking the pan until they turn dark brown and crackle about 3-4 minutes. Grind up the toasted cumin seeds with a mortar and pestle. Mix up the ground cumin, paprika, oregano, and cayenne together in a small bowl. Soften the onions and garlic in a few spoonfuls of water, adding more as the pan dries. Once the onions start getting translucent, add 1/3 of the spice mixture and the bay leaves. Add the mushrooms and peppers and sauté in water until soft. Add the next 1/3 of the spices and the cinnamon. Add the beans and tomatoes, sliced chilies, liquid smoke and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the last 1/3 of the spices and cook covered on very low heat for 10 to 20 minutes adding extra water as needed to maintain the desired consistency and keep it from getting too thick.

This recipe can also be made in a slow cooker, just add all the ingredients at once and cook for 4-6 hours on low. 

Serve over rice, couscous, quinoa or bulgur wheat.

Suggested Toppings 

Nutritional yeast 

Chopped green onions 

A dollop of plain plant-based yogurt 

Guacamole

Homemade tortillas  

Fresh chopped coriander/ cilantro