Ellery Eskelin's veggie dish
Cook some rice
(basmati or some other fancy type)
Heat up some beans (anything will do, black, red.
Goya brand, seasoned with spices is cool. Butter beans work, whatever)
Steam some
leafy greens (collards, kale, spinach, broccoli, you get the idea)
Prepare a spread
made of tofu with tahini, miso, soy sauce, a grated carrot, a minced scallion and a
little pepper. Mash it all up till it's smooth.
Once the rice is ready, put some in
a bowl, throw the beans on top, put a layer of steamed greens on top of that and put a
few spoonfuls of the tofu spread on the whole thing.
Garnish with some seaweed (you
can buy it dry in a package, soak it for 10 minutes to reconstitute) and sprinkle some
pumpkin seeds (bake some raw ones in the oven for 10 or 15) on at the end.
Be creative, interpret, augment, innovate...EAT!
BOBBY LLOYD HICKS is the drummer for the much-loved
Skeletons of Springfield, MO. We are proud to include his recipe.
JOSEPH LANZA is a true original in the world of
journalism. His ELEVATOR MUSIC is thus far the definitive book about easy listening,
his THE COCKTAIL the definitve history on that subject, and his latest, GRAVITY, is
nothing short of the bomb. The outlandish thing about Lanza is his iconoclast's
approach to his subjects. His books should, by rights, not be the bibles they've
become. But his research is spotless, and I have no qualms about calling him an
original (in a field that disdains originals), and probably a genius (in a world that
has no use for that).
TELLER, for those
of you who have been in a coma for the last 10 years or so, is the silent half of PENN & TELLER.
Combine water & sugar in a saucepan, bring to boil until sugar dissolves completely. Let cool. Add lemon juice. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking pan (metal is preferred, but glass works fine) and freeze for at least two hours. During the freezing process, stir with a fork every 20 or 30 minutes to develop a grainy, "sno-cone" texture. Can be kept covered in the freezer for 3 or 4 days.
This is a basic granita recipe that can be adapted in a million different ways using other fruit juices (you'd cut down on the sugar with sweeter fruits) or coffee. I've had one made with tomatoes, but it seems kind of tricky, I never attempted this variation.
Usually thought of as a refreshing dessert or between-course palate-cleanser, a lime granita would probably go quite well with a jigger or two of gin poured over it on a hot summer day. I'll have to try that this year...
WAYNO is one of the leading music-oriented
illustrators we have. His art has graced CD covers, postcards, WFMU's beer coasters, and
many magazines. He is, as they say, the bomb. He is also a serious collector and
spotless historian on all musical things that will send your wife/girlfriend/roommate
screaming from earshot. He puts forward his Italian roots with this recipe.
Rockin' Ronny's Cowboy Cola:
Get a six pack of Sam's Cola from Walmart for 99 cents. Get a Las Vegas tourist-type
glass. Pour the cola in. Add a slice of lime. Add two ice cubes. Squirt in about 7-10
droplest of ANGOSTURA aromatic bitters. Add one drop of Tabasco. Drink it while admiring
the Nevada (Western) sunset!! Subsitute Coca Cola if Sam's not available, especially the
REAL Coke you can find in some Kosher shops made with real sugar. Must be out of glass
bottle only. Pepsi is unacceptable!!
Rockin' Ronny's and Laurie's Rollin' Rock Chicken
Pound very hard on the chicken breasts to make them real flat. Punch holes in them with
your fork. Fry them in a pan with butter (NOT margarine!!!). Add lemon, salt and pepper
while they are frying. Add CAPERS!!!!! Very tasty, indeed, and have some hearty baguette
ready to sop up the butter/lemon/capers sauce!!
Thank-you ROCKIN' RONNIE WEISER for graciously
sharing a few recipes. For those who don't know RRW, Art Fein did a fine job describing
him in the essential LA MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR "... recorded rockabilly greats such as
Ray Campi, Johnny Legend, Gene Vincent, Mac Curtis, Tony Conn, Ronnie Mack, Jack Waukeen
Cochran, Jimmy Maslon, and the Blasters (their Rollin' Rock album, AMERICAN MUSIC
[1980], is a much sought-after collector's item and has been reissued on Hightone). He
also led an impassioned band of "rockabilly rebels" on "missions" throughout L.A.,
cheering people like Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins and denouncing disco and other
forms of music he found non-rocking.
Rockin' Ronny now lives in Las Vegas, and his enthusiasm for rockabilly has not abated.
Nor has his fervor for things culinary. You either love Ronny, or you have no
heart.
Weiser's crazed ROLLIN' ROCK magazine (1971-78) was a rabid journal of fanaticism and
non-sequiturs that crusaded for rock'n'roll with near-demented fervor. His immigrant's
zeal (born in Italy, he became an American citizen in 1979) and multiple enthusiams led
him to offer free magazine subscriptions to rockabilly fans behind the Iron Curtain, and
to plant a grove of trees in Israel for Gene Vincent."
Email: Velaires@aol.com