Moonlight and the need black men have for love

As the movie ended I realized I was unable to stand.  I didn't want to leave, but I couldn't move even if I had wanted to.  It was almost like I was afraid something would spill out of me if I tried to get up.  The last few moments of dialogue in Moonlight hit me very hard, it was personal.  When I was the same age as the character on that screen I was just as lost and lonely as he was.  I had struggled as long as he had with what to feel and who to tell I was feeling it.  No I'm not gay, and neither is Moonlight a 'gay' movie.  For me Moonlight displayed all of the hopelessness and loneliness I felt growing up as a young black man in America knowing nothing more than what white people said was reality.  Growing up in the ruins of other black peoples lives as if that was the normal.  Washed over by the broken dreams and bitter thoughts of the adults who didn't have the courage, or cruelty to tell their children that they were niggers living in a white man's world.  A white man who was a savage beast so cold that neither man, woman, or child was safe.  I can only imagine they wanted us to have what ever joy we could create out of our ignorance until it was our turn to die.

My mother died a few months after I was born and sometime later my father remarried.  My limited confused memories were not of domestic tranquility during that time and sure enough confirmation came in the form of a long ride from D.C. to Pittsburgh early one morning.  What does it mean when surviving childhood requires you to emotionally murder your father? Moonlight is not gay.  Moonlight is another black horror story.  A murder mystery where we all know who did it, but nobody wants to testify.  I have been accused of being gay.  Once while in high school I was not sufficiently lustful of the young women from our neighboring Catholic school and was challenged by a classmate.  Not only did I not really understand what he was asking me I didn't understand why I was supposed to hunt girls like rabbits.  I had no one to explain to me the male mentality of sexual conquest.  Later on after acquiring my first girlfriend I was given the only sex education I ever received from my aunt who raised me.  One night after coming home from my girlfriends house my aunt burst into my room and yelled at me that I better not get that girl pregnant.  Oddly enough with this being my only sex ed lesson, it was more than she told me about being black in Amerikkka.

I have tried to do better with my children, but I am also aware that I too have failed to tell the whole truth.  For my money Moonlight was the opportunity to see black men struggling with all of the complex feelings and desires of being human in a world that sees you as not much more than a piece of meat.  I would like to see more films where we don't have to be two dimensional cardboard cutouts waiting to exhale.

Chicken potato quick dish

Most of the cooking I do I start in my mind thinking about what I want to create and what's on hand.

This dish is a combination of what was available, needing to make something quickly, and wanting to add Hoisin sauce to the dish.

This starts off with 6 skinless bone in chicken thighs in a kinda deep frying pan.  Add some oil and start to brown the chicken.  Cut up about 3 to 4 large potatoes in large chunks and add them to the pan.  After the chicken and potatoes have browned for a minute or two add enough chicken broth to almost cover the food.  Add whatever 'no salt' seasonings you want and then add two heaping teaspoons of Hoisin sauce.   Stir hoisin sauce into mixture so it is fully incorporated and then lower heat and cover the pan.  Cook on medium low heat until chicken is done and potatoes are tender.  You can add a cornstarch slurry to thicken this at the end, or serve as is.  I didn't add green peas but I thought they might go well in this dish.  One of the no salt seasonings I used was curry powder and if you don't think it's too weird try some.  Serve this over rice with a nice green salad, and a nice Chianti.  (Just kidding about the Chianti)

Peanut sauce / gravy

Depending on whether you are making this for an "asian' dish or an 'african' dish you may want to change the nature or amount of ingredients in this recipe. As it is here; it's more 'asian' focused. I had a left over turkey thigh (quite large) and wanted to make a turkey gravy thingy to pour over rice, so I started looking up recipes for peanut sauce since I saw I had some left over peanut butter to thicken the 'gravy' I had in mind. This is what I 'distilled' from several recipes I read.

1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 tbls. grated ginger
1 tbls. molasses
1 tbls. soy sauce
1 tbls. olive oil
1 tbls. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup of water or broth of your choice
fresh chopped basil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add water or broth along with all of the remaining ingredients except basil. Stir over low to medium heat until warm and smooth and then add basil at the end. You can use this as is or add chopped cooked chicken or turkey and serve over hot rice.

Big pan of curry chicken

I made this for a fundraiser my son was having for his Capoeira group and it turned out well. It's a large recipe but can be pared down to family size. The secret to this recipe is the seasoning sauce it cooks in and the combination of veggies. I didn't have any fresh thyme at the time, but highly recommend you get some. The sauce has a base of cane syrup, chicken broth, curry powder, Walkers jerk seasoning, Ms. Dash, chopped garlic, fresh thyme ( you're right there is no salt). Rinse chicken pieces and place in a baking pan. Add potatoes, onion, coarse chopped, and a large can of chopped tomatoes. Cover everything with the seasoning sauce, add more curry powder if needed, and place in the oven (350 degrees) for an appropriate time for the amount your making. I put a cover of aluminum foil over the pan for quicker cooking. After it was done I added a jar of olives (just the olives not the juice) and some crinkle cut carrots into the dish so there would be crunch and added (salty) flavor without adding extra salt. Serve over rice.

Sister in laws 'DRY' greens

I know this sounds like the beginning of a very bad meal but it really isn't. In fact this recipe might get me some 'brownie' points with the veggie people. (MMmmmmm brownies) Anyway this is a fabulous recipe I learned from my Sister in law Burrietta in Cali. There is no meat needed and it's really quick cooking for fresh greens. If I hadn't watched her make this and then eaten the delicious results I wouldn't believe it. The way I make this is with greens that are already cleaned and cut and come in large bags, so if you use greens right out of your garden or from the farmers market be sure to cut them into small pieces. As you may have guessed the term 'dry' is relative. Compared to the traditional way Black folk cook greens this is the 'dry' version. I start off with some broth (chicken, veggie, etc.) not more than a cup. Then you can add the oil of your choice. I like some butter and olive oil and some toasted sesame oil for that smokey flavor; but use margarine or straight evoo if you like it's all good. Chop up some onion, red bell pepper, tomatoes, jalapenos and add the seasonings of your choice. All of this goes in a pot appropriate for the amount of greens you're cooking. You probably noticed I haven't turned the stove on yet. You don't turn it on until you put the first batch of greens in the pot. I start off with the heat up high and constantly stir and mix the greens so they will wilt quickly and then add more greens and continue to wilt and add. After all the greens are in the pot turn heat down to medium and continue to mix so bottom doesn't burn. Allow some time between stirring while fire is on medium so the greens create their own liquid. Once they are good and hot, turn fire down to low and add a lid to the pot. They will be tender and ready to eat in about 15 mins. No this is not your Grand mama's greens but you may still want to slap somebody when you taste them. This same recipe works for fresh string beans as well and equally as delicious. I even added fresh red skin potatoes (cut up) when I made them.

Barbecue Neck bone Sammich

Yes I eat swine. Don't hate. In fact I was just thinking about the fact that you can buy chicken broth, beef broth, Veggie broth, seafood stock in the grocery store but I have never seen pork broth!!!??? WHY? If my wife wasn't such a kind and gentle soul she might say something like: 'We were never able to get your bath water hot enough to make pork broth' Bless her heart. Anyway, here's a recipe for barbecued neck bones for all those people out there who dare not spend 12.00 dollars for a rack of ribs, but are still jonesing for the swine.

Get a large pack of meaty neck bones from SAVE A LOT or WALLY WORLD. I like to rinse them off with some vinegar and cold water (use white vinegar to clean)

marinade the neck bones in some apple cider vinegar and apple juice. You can also add crushed red pepper, minced garlic, teriyaki sauce, and some Ms. Dash. Let that marinade as long as you can stand it. I meant to say a couple hours or over night.

Before baking in the oven pour marinade off the meat and discard the marinade not the meat. I hear you, don't hate. Put neck bones in a baking pan with the bone side down. Add some chicken broth and a little more apple juice just to cover the bottom of the pan. Add dry seasonings of your choice (watch the salt though I've been told it's bad for you) and your favorite barbecue sauce. Bake in a 350 degree oven until cooked through and you can't stand the deliciousness any longer. No you really can't make a sandwich out of this, but who really cares???

Brown sugar glaze

My daughter Dele mentioned to me that she had salmon with a brown sugar glaze at a restaurant in ATL. I never got a chance to really get into the details with her but I've been looking for something that wakes up the flavor of salmon for me. This is my version, and it turned out surprisingly delicious. This recipe is for a fairly large amount of salmon, I think it was around 2 and a half pounds.

1 cup of brown sugar

2 or 3 good jiggers of teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup of jalapeno vinegar* (see recipe below)

1 tbls. dry mustard powder (I used hot mustard powder)

1/3 cup e.v.o.o. (extra virgin olive oil)

a few good shakes of salt free seasoning of your choice

combine all ingredients into a paste and apply to salmon before putting into oven.
cook to your taste. It may also be necessary to go in and baste the salmon just before it finishes cooking; the glaze kind of wanders around some.

(Jalapeno vinegar is just apple cider vinegar that has sliced jalapenos and brown sugar, with a little chopped garlic. Let this sit for at least a week. I make a large jar of this and use it on alot of different foods and recipes.)

Broccoli in black bean sauce

Take a couple of cups of the cold black bean recipe from the fridge and put it in a food processor along with one tbls of corn starch. Let that sit until you're ready for it. Saute' a couple of cups of broccoli florets along with some chopped red onion and some carrot sticks in some olive oil. Run the food processor until the beans are chopped up good and the cornstarch is mixed in well. Then pour this into the hot pan of veggies until it thickens. Veggies should be tender but crisp. Serve over hot rice.