“I can tell you this because I know you won’t judge.”
“You’re the only person I can tell this…”
“This has to be between us…I know you get it.”
That’s only the beginning of it. I’ve heard variations of those phrases since I was 18. A college pal used to say “People just tell Lex stuff”. It’s true; they do. I’ve proven a pretty decent track record at keeping a secret; I have some doozies locked deep inside this chest. Also, I like to think of myself as a fairly nonjudgmental person. Sure, I have judgments-isn’t that what a moral code is, anyway?-but I am fully aware the world is full of nuance and tough choices. Who the hell am I to tell you how to live your life? Finally, I’ve made no secret here, and even more so with friends, that I am far from perfect. While I am not the most egregious of sinners, I would never call myself a saint. A friend once said one of the reasons she likes me is I “admit my shit”; it makes sense why my friends feel comfortable coming to me.
Of course a small part of me feels validated by people’s trust and the inner gossip whore relishes these juicy tidbits of personal shame. Yet, one thing about this always gives me pause. When someone says “I know you won’t judge” it always seems a tacit admission of prior judgment of me. It as if they are saying “We are kindred spirits in bad behavior”. Now, of course, this is not always the case, yet I cannot help but blanch when someone starts spilling their dirty little secrets to me.
So I am going to go ahead and admit something to you, but please don’t think I judge you. I just know you have been there. I am in a food rut. This is similar to a few recent recipes, but I just cannot seem to get enough Mexican food lately, namely black beans. This is a simple, easy and healthy recipe that took me 15 minutes to prepare. Also, at less than $5 for the whole thing, its a fiscally responsible meal that packs a nutritional punch. This is a rut I am completely comfortable being stuck in.
Just please don’t judge me.
Mexican Stuffed Potato
1 TBS olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, deseeded, deveined, and chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, about half of the liquid drained off
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper
1 baked sweet potato
Heat pan over medium-high heat and add oil. Let oil heat and then add onions, garlic and pepper. Sautee until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, spices, and salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 7-9 minutes. Serve atop potato.
I would never judge someone’s food choices. I’ve had oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast every day for the past six years.
Wow, thats intense. I do actually have a banana every single morning, so not much better.
I cannot judge another person. Think some crazy thoughts about them, sure. But never vocalize it. I too carry my sins like a sash of merit badges.
So, you are in a rut. May I suggest going on a pilgrimage of sorts. Experiencing the good and the bad of the Mexican culinary world. This happens when I try to cook in traditional French style. I just can’t master the butter of it all.
Just the mention of butter and I got all tingly.
I’ve proven a pretty decent track record at keeping a secret; I have some doozies locked deep inside this chest.
That’s why you have such a huge rack….right…RIGHT!? OK, so I cheated a bit back in high school AP Bio but who hasn’t. I know you won’t judge me.
Right—enough secrets to fill a DD cup.
WHat’s the point of feeling righteous if you can’t judge everyone else? And speaking of food ruts, Mexican is a good place to be in one. Or is your characterization of being in a Mexican food rut a harsh judgment of Mexicans and their eating habits? Are you saying Mexicans are in a food rut?
PS Is there a way I can send you a copy of a cartoon which I think you will enjoy? I don’t think I can reproduce it in this box (it would be ina pdf file)?
I love Mexicans and their food.
You can email me at culinarycouture (at) gmail (dot) com.
I have so many secrets, I should have been a spy. Or maybe I am one and I’m keeping it to myself.
Mexican food is not a rut. You are in a trend. That makes it sound much better. If you need a recipe or two, I’ll be glad to share.
I am trendy! I like that. And sure—email away.
Reminds me of Texas: you could get anything in a baked potato. Chili potato, meatball potato, barbeque potato, chili-meatball-barbeque potato if’n you were really hungry.
This one looks like another easy and tasty winner.
It is better than frozen pizza, my friend.
A black bean rut isn’t so bad-they’re tasty and good for you!
Unrelatedly, I’m now going to steal “admit my shit” the same way I stole “harness my chi.”
As you say, plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.
I used to make a much less healthy version of this in college-it involved refried beans, cheese singles, sour cream, and salsa.
I called it “Fiesta Potato.”
I think you should name all my recipes.
I know my doozies are safe with you, lady. And not ONLY because I’ve got just as many of yours in my vault…
What ever are you talking about?
Is that sour cream on top, or greek yogurt?
It is low fat sour cream but I wish I had some yogurt on hand when I made this.
“Fiesta potato” is my new safe word.
Much better than mine….nutter butter.
Mmm…this looks like dinner tonight.
Also, everyone needs a friend like that - where they can go and spill their guts. I’d go crazy without mine.
Agreed-it is necessary for survival.
I guess I judge. It’s the way my brain works; it categorizes. But you’re right about the nuance. It’s like, no matter what conclusion I come to, I have to remember how irrelevant it is in the grand scheme of things.
Well, sure, there are always distinctions, but basically I think people do their best to navigate the mess that is life.
BEANS! I’m totally making this later.
Perfect for the lady on a budget.
Have you ever tried to whip up some black bean salsa in one of its many forms? Quick, easy, affordable, healthy, and oh so good! The wonderful part of a rut is that it feels so damn good when you finally get clear. I suspect when you clear this hurdle you will be struck with a food epiphany resulting in many wonderful creations.
I think so…and hey, it could be a fried chicken rut and I could weight like 986 pounds. Could be worse.
Ha! One of my favorite things to do is judge people. It’s something of a talent I have, because 99% of the time, I’m right.
I am sure you are.
People do this to me, and the thing I am often surprised about is how not-insane or not-horrible a lot of these hard-to-admit secrets are. I don’t say that, of course. And now that I’m writing this, I’m realizing that maybe that’s the thing - we’re good people to tell secrets to precisely because of how we’re unlikely to react badly to them. Hmm, how a baked potato post can make one think.
I am the same way! I am like, “Oh, that is it?” I like your reasoning.
Nothing wrong with Mexican, In LA there are about 3 trillion (approximate) mexican restaraunts yet everyone goes to mother f’in Taco Bell.
Run for the border indeed.
Taco Bell!? Even Chipotle is better.
A good friend of mine, who, back in the day, played hard, drank hard, etc., and had the horrifying/fantastic stories to prove it, used to say to me, “You’re my innocent,” when she told me about her steamy indescretions. Or, sometimes, “You keep me honest.” I hated when she said this. It’s the opposite of “I know you won’t judge” (i.e., you’ve done as bad or worse)—but I always felt it was still a judgment on me, like I hadn’t lived as wild and crazy as she had and wasn’t I the poorer for it, like because I hadn’t done what she’d done, I was too pure to *really* understand.
Either way, I’m of the mindset it’s both good to judge (have your morals and standards) and not to judge (be open-minded). Everything in moderation. Maybe, just maybe, even when it comes to Mexican food…
Yes, that definitely is a touch condescending, even if she didn’t mean it. As Earth Mother as it sounds, we all have our journey…no one is right or wrong.
i have enough shit on my plate to judge myself about to spend time judging others, you know?
I hear ya woman.
Got both Taco Bell and Chipotle in quick walking distance of my office. I much prefer Jose Bernstein’s. Mmm.
Right—enough secrets to fill a DD cup.
Oh, is that where you keep them?
Like you, I’ve been Uncle Pippin, the guy to tell secrets to, for most of my life. About made me crazy in high school, when the dingbat girls would do the same stupid crap over and over with the same smug bad boys, and then weep to me about it. Hard not to judge in those cases. But we persevere. Mostly, my conclusion is like Lisa’s: these deep secrets are rarely even odd. Still, having the role of Safe Deposit Box of Secrets is honorable enough to keep keeping the secrets and harboring no judgments.
One judgment must be made, though: potatoes (of whichever variety), while truly wonderful to pile stuff onto, make the healthy choice of beans a lot less healthy, though arguably more delicious. Sweet potatoes do nothing at all for me, but I could make potato dishes daily forever if they didn’t promise to turn me into a zepplin.
If a reasonably sized sweet potato is used it really is not that bad. Lotsa vitamins, my friend.
People tend to tell me everything, but I’ve been spoiled by access to such knowledge. It’s gotten to be that , when someone won’t tell me their deep, dark secrets, I feel cheated.
Oh no-slippery slope.
So THAT’S what you did with your potato. Mine’s just a sorry old mashed up thing in a tupperware. Hrmph. Although I’m pretty sure I couldn’t help but smother yours in cheese. How do you keep yourself from doing that? How, woman?!
I have no idea…sometimes I am strong.
I’ve been in the kind of rut where I just can’t be bothered to cook.
It’s obnoxious.
It will pass, beautiful….promise.
bring on the potato recipes! i got semi chastised by my trainer on monday when he asked me why i was eating so much pasta. “because i like it?” wasn’t an acceptable answer since i don’t run all the time and don’t need all the carbs. bastard. then he informed me that a potato is a much better choice for a dinnertime starch. he’s off my shit list. for now. oh and i’ve been meaning to tell you, that roasted potato recipe with coarse mustard was fantastic and easy to add to my dinner repertoire.
as for cheese, 2% cheese saves me b/c i require cheese. and greek yogurt? i think i’ve said before that it quite possibly holds the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
You know, I can respect he at least gave you another option…instead of being all “No carbs ever again”. I am glad you liked the potatoes…they really were good.
That potato looks divine. I love me some Mexican food. Also, I will be sending you that protein bar recipe soon (I let a friend borrow the magazine that the recipe resides in).
Thanks-looking forward to it.
Hi, I’m just visiting your blog for the first time today, but I’m going ahead and linking you, because you’re funny and I fully intend on trying out some of your recipes for myself. Thanks!
Why thanks Lost Artist…and welcome.
I must have a non-judgy face too because people like to randomly tell me weird things about their sex lives. It’s actually comic at this point. No secrets, just TMI…
Hey, you can live vicariously, right?
What a wonderful way to celebrate the plain old sweet potato. I will only judge you positively for this recommendation!
Thanks Barbara…trying to keep it interesting.
my friends say the same thing about me in a lot of ways. i’m the go to advice girl and i just say it how it is. and who doesn’t enjoy a little secret gossip not and then?
Oh, we all do, for sure.
i went through a mexican phase recently as well, and i was cooking and scarfing down baja fish tacos several days a week. so i relate. sort of.
though i think it’s hard to call it rut when you’re making anything with coriander.
I guess that’s true, but it was in my pantry; it doesn’t take much effort.
Okay, I think this is now my favorite recipe of yours from forever. Can’t wait to find a potato.
So easy to please…love that.