things i ate this week
hollywood, florida edition
i’m in florida right now. hollywood to be exact. i’m here with jeremy, helping care for his mom who was rushed to the hospital earlier last week. it’s been a week of feeding her ice chips, washing her hair with no-rinse shampoo, gently applying vaseline on her chapped and cracked lips and quietly playing candy crush on my phone, becoming very addicted to the frantic vibrating whenever i wipe out all the technicolor candies on the screen with a single move. after spending ten or twelve hours in the hospital room with her, we leave for the day and try to find some levity by going out to dinner.
i know florida gets a bad rap but i love the city of hollywood. it’s balmy at night, it’s humid as hell during the day and the sun feels like it could kill you but it feels so good. it reminds me a little bit of los angeles except dressier in a way and definitely beachy-er. women go out to dinner in their slinky dresses, their hair is blown out, their tanned skin tinged with a sunburn, big heavy earrings weighing down their earlobes, their heels spiky and tall. i love it. the food in hollywood is also surprisingly really good. the shrimp cocktail we had here is in the top 5 best things i’ve ever had in my life. yes, i’m dead serious. also, the hospital cafeteria makes a very good turkey sandwich…..
before i flew out to florida, i wanted to clear my fridge of some things and just use what i had in my pantry. i have never made a two portion batch of beans before (i feel like most times, beans are something you make a pot of to enjoy for the week! but i didn’t want leftovers) and somehow, i managed it. these rancho gordo beans are the most beautiful black bean i have ever seen in my life.
they look like little pieces of obsidian. they glisten and shine like jewels and when cooked, their texture is toothsome and creamy. they are a perfect bean. i think it’s become one of my favorites of theirs. i simmered these with a half wilted jalapeño, a small red onion and a head of garlic along with a few heavy glugs of olive oil.
i had some frozen corn in my freezer, half bunch of cilantro on the verge of going rotten, a watermelon radish i bought at least two weeks ago but managed to stay alive in the bottom of my crisper, a perfectly ripe avocado, and two limes. i made a quick ‘corn salsa’ and made some rice cooked in chicken broth. i forget how good rice and beans are! it’s literally a perfect meal and one that didn’t require a lot of effort or clean up which i hate right before a trip. (teacloth is from baggu, bowl is eastfork pottery, candle holder is from anthropologie, vase is from h&m home)