I haven't eaten meat in the last two weeks. In large part my reasons center on the spiritual, and I've made a commitment not to eat meat during the entirety of the lenten season. Generally I don't give things up for lent and this isn't so much a matter of giving something up as much as it is an attempt to eat better things. Beef in particular, by most accounts, typifies non-sustainable foods and I've ignored that reality for years and years.
Beyond lent (which ends in about a month), I'm not sure. I don't have a firm commitment and obviously it depends on how I feel, both physically and spiritually. But I'd like to make a longer commitment. Yet when my new passport arrived the other day, one of the first things that I thought of was crossing the border into Ontario for a Harvey's hamburger. Never had Harvey's? I suppose praising the place would be sort of hypocritical after making reference to the ethics of beef, but let's just say those Canadians know from burgers. And I live five minutes from Woodward Avenue's own Redcoat Tavern, home of the finest bar burger in metro Detroit (sorry, Miller's in Dearborn, you come in second!).
STOP. Listing the best hamburgers in Detroit is not the best way to make this spiritual journey. And neither is thinking about shawarma sandwiches from Dearborn or tacos from that trailer that parks on the southwest side of Detroit.
Instead, let me share a recipe for the garbanzo bean soup we made yesterday. Soak 1# dry garbanzos over night and then bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. Sautee a diced onion and 5-6 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil. Add 1 teaspoon allspice and 1.5 tablespoons each cumin and coriander to the onions and then add mixture to the beans and let simmer another thirty minutes. Toss another sliced onion into a 350-degree oven with a little olive oil and let slices roast for about thirty minutes. Chop up a few handfuls of fresh parsley. Puree the beans and enjoy, garnishing bowls of the soup with the roasted onions and parsley.
Better than a burger.
1 comment:
My colleague pointed out a hamburger place in Dearborn the other day when we were at Green Brain. It's across the street...but I forget the name...he liked it.
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