Tara Betts

Miso Soup

Tara — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:07:22 +0000

I made this raw soup that required miso a little while ago, riii? The thing is when you buy miso, it comes in containers slightly larger than a box of tofu, but you might not use more than 3-5 spoonfuls of it to make a meal, and that’s generous! So, I said, how can I make the miso soup that’s in the restaurants and use up this miso in the house.

Miso: Goes further than we ever imagined.

Serves 3-4 people

Here’s my recipe:
6 tbsps of organic white miso paste
6 cups of water
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small pack of shiitake mushrooms
1 package of cubed tofu
4-6 scallions chopped
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
baby spinach leaves (optional)

Drain water from tofu. Don’t smash.
Add miso and water to a big soup pot.
Put on low heat. Stir to disburse miso. Don’t let it boil!

Wash and chop the mushrooms and scallions.
Peel and pop the garlic cloves into a garlic press.
Release the pressed garlic into the miso broth.

Add garlic powder, pepper, mushrooms, and scallions to broth.
Increase heat a little bit and let it simmer. Turn off before it boils.

Add baby spinach leaves that melt into the soup
if it’s hot enough or soba noodles, it’s up to you.

Bowl of Miso soup w. fresh baby spinach leaves melting into the broth. Yummm...

Enjoy,
Tara

Raw Mushroom Soup & At the Brecht

Tara — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:20:28 +0000

I made a double batch of what this Latino brother makes on his youtube channel called RawFoodMuscle.

Raw Creamy Spicy Mushroom Soup episode #11

Many of his recipes are fast, full of flavor, vegan, and raw. I’m also enjoying this show because it’s a person of color cooking, much in the spirit of Bryant Terry, Nwenna Kai, or Angela Shelf Medearis. In short, if you can’t afford the fancy cookbooks, check out some recipes on youtube or online. You don’t have to be obsessed with vegan cookbooks like me!

Since my fiance is recuperating from bronchitis, I cross-referenced with Gillian McKeith’s “Food Bible” and substituted his ingredient of baby portobello mushrooms with shiitake mushrooms.

Apparently, shiitake mushrooms are good for bronchitis. Other sources say that shiitake mushrooms stimulate the immune system, are anti-viral, prevent platelet aggregation (good to avoid heart attacks, but not for hemophiliacs), and increase resistance to pathogens (such as the flu virus).

In terms of flavor, the shiitake mushrooms complement the miso used in the recipe much better. I would share a pic, but my fiance threw down on the soup before I could snap one. If you prefer warm food, you can heat this soup as well, and the flavor is still there. He mentioned that heating the soup made the elements come together and thicken into a heartier soup. It’s also a satisfying soup for a cold day or when you’re feeling congested.

My take:
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of raw, unsalted cashews
4 cups of water
12-16 shiitake mushrooms (Some are big. Others are smaller.)
A little bit of olive oil
1 whole jalapeño chopped (with seeds)
1/2 cup of cilantro
3 tbsps of white miso (available at an Asian grocery if not a mainstream grocery)
2 tsps chili powder
1 tbsp of onion powder
1 1/2 tsps of garlic powder
2 tsps of sea salt
a little black pepper
a little red pepper

DIRECTIONS
Wash and chop the mushrooms. You can massage the mushrooms gently with some olive oil. You won’t need much oil at all. The original recipe called for a food dehydrator, but it’s not necessary.

Chop the jalapeño and leave in the seeds. If you are sensitive to peppers, wear the cooking gloves so the pepper does not burn your hands.

Put 4 cups of water, then the cashews in your blender.
Add the miso, some of the cilantro, and all the seasonings, then puree.
Add some of the chopped mushrooms and the whole jalapeño to the mix.
The mix should look like a creamy, beigey mustard when it’s completely blended.

Pour servings into bowls, add more chopped mushrooms for texture and a little of the leftover cilantro for garnish. I’d also recommend a good green tea and some rice crackers on the side, but it’s up to you.

I’ll be writing about poetry and children’s books soon and catching up on other long overdue blog topics soon. I’m reading at NYC’s Brecht Forum on Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 7 p.m. for Women On Wednesdays: “K’uychi Ñayñaykuna del/My sisters of the rainbow”. Features include The Mimi Jones Band, curator Latasha N. Diggs, Tonya Foster, dancer/choreographer Paloma McGregor, and “Rhyme Like a Girl” with Toni Blackman.

The Road to Raw Food

Tara — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:11:39 +0000

Over the past month, I’ve managed to cook more at home. In part, because a lot of the food I’d eat on the run was too expensive and not nearly as healthy as anything I could prepare from the grocery store.

I’ve been vegetarian for several years, but I’ve decided to make more vegan meals, raw food dishes, and do more juicing. I just got a new juicer to replace the one that got stolen in one of my many moves and a brand new peeler, and reading new books to help me supplement my new lease on eating. My fiance is a confirmed meat eater, but is open to trying new things. He is also hooked on fresh, frothy orange juice from oranges juiced with the seeds, pith, and pulp. We’ve been taking shifts with the cooking and juicing, and I’m hoping to plot some results here. I’ve also noticed that I feel better over the past two weeks. My stomach is more settled. I’m hoping to share some more changes here.

I also wanted to include some links to books and a recipe that I tried. Please feel free to write and let me know if you’ve tried making this:

Black-Eyed Pea & Collard Green wraps & BBQ sauce
An adapted recipe from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

BBQ sauce
4 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/3 cup of white vinegar
1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup molasses
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. of dijon mustard (”Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?”)
2 tsp. of Liquid Smoke

Brown onions and minced garlic (or fresh from the garlic press) in oil. Saute for about 8 minutes. Then add all other ingredients except mustard and Liquid Smoke. Cook for about 30 minutes-1 hour. Then add mustard and Liquid Smoke. Adjust flavors. Puree is optional for a smoother sauce.

Wrap Ingredients
collard leaves (about two healthy looking bunches)
vegetable oil
4-8 oz. of cremini mushrooms (I used shitake mushrooms.), thick slices
1 15-oz. can of black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed
2 cups of BBQ made above

First, wash the collard greens carefully, then cut off extra stems, including if the stems are thick a couple of inches into the leaf. Pick the biggest, most-together looking greens. You’ll need about 12 of ‘em. Chop up the rest of the greens.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Carefully put your collards in the water and cover for 6 minutes. Then carefully remove with tongs. You don’t want to tear the collards! Let them cool.
Saute mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add chopped collards, and let it cook for about 7 minutes, then add black-eyed peas. When these veggies have cooked, add 2 cups of BBQ sauce and stir thoroughly. When the veggie mixture is done, put one or two tablespoons of the mixture on the base of a cooled collard leaf, and roll carefully from the bottom up. If filling comes out, take some out and start over. It’s easier to do it with bigger leaves, but it can be done with smaller ones. After making your rolls, dress with the BBQ sauce. They’re not really wraps you can pick up and eat, so use a knife and fork. I’d suggest quinoa as a grain, but they’re pretty filling on their own. SIDENOTE: If you still have BBQ sauce left when you’re done, you can cut some cubes of firm tofu (after you’ve drained it and pressed the water out) and gently stir them into the sauce and let them soak for 30 minutes-1 hour. This is great with broccoli, carrots, and other stir-fry-friendly veggies.

I’d also like to suggest three cookbooks:
Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry

The Goddess of Raw Foods by Nwenna Kai

a birthday/new year post

Tara — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:46:07 +0000

Today is my birthday. Since it’s so close to the beginning of a new year, every year I find myself reflecting on what I’ve accomplished and what has change in the world and with myself after Christmas and up to January 7th. I don’t typically do resolutions, but I do find myself wanting to purge all the extra junk from my house. I started doing this in 2009, but I finally see an end in sight.

I’m just curious what some people are setting out to do for their own goals in 2010. In the short term, I’m getting ready for another semester at Rutgers teaching creative writing and poetry, a 10-week poetry intensive with the Acentos Foundation at Hostos College in the Bronx, and a workshop on revision for young writers at Urban Word NYC. For my own writing and sanity, I find myself wanting to break down the goals here:

WRITING GOALS

-Complete the 32 Day Writing Challenge that I’ve started doing with inspiration from novelist Carleen Brice. If you want to peek in on some of the cool links or join, visit the facebook group.
-Extend this goal to continue writing daily throughout 2010.
-Finish my second poetry manuscript. It’s about halfway done, so I don’t want to jinx it and go into too much detail.
-Finish the YA novel. If you’re wondering what it might be, I mention it in an interview that I did with Diamond Sharp for GirlSpeak.
-Start working on a nonfiction manuscript that I want to start.
-Apply for several workshops and residencies for Summer and Fall 2010.
-Submit at least 3-4 times/month.

PERSONAL GOALS

-Finish planning my wedding and honeymoon! EEK!
-Continue walking and exercising and do so daily.
-Cook my own meals more often. (You’d be surprised how much better you feel if you do this).
-Expand my financial education. (You can have good credit and save, but what do we do to spend and invest money responsibly and ethically?)

2009 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

On a lighter note, some of the accomplishments in 2009 that got me started with the list above.
What I did in 2009 was a crazy mishmash of activity. It looked like this:
1. I spent the summer reviewing edits and plans for Arc & Hue.
2. I published Arc & Hue in September 2009, which was followed by a schedule of 30 readings in several cities, such as Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and D.C.
3. Taught two semesters at Rutgers and one class at Middlesex County College
4. I went through my closet with help from my good girlfriend Alexa. (It was like my own “Sex in the City” moment. YAY!)
5. I made progress on several poems that are part of the new manuscript.
6. Focused on feeling better with rest, exercise, better food, and vitamins.
7. Submitted to 15 anthologies and journals. (Much fewer than I usually do.)

I’d like to hope that I can accomplish more in 2010 than I did last year, but also enjoy this year more. Hopefully, you’ll share some goals for 2010 or some of your successes from 2009.

Happy New Year!
Tara

Arc & Hue book trailer

Tara — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:32:16 +0000

Tara Betts and friends at Cornelia Street Cafe

Tara — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:15:02 +0000

December 17, 2009
6:00 PM	to	8:00 PM

E.j. Antonio, Tara Betts, Randall Horton and David Mills at Golda Solomon’s PoJazz series.
at PoJazz at Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street, New York, New York 10014. Cover: $15 (includes one house drink).

Tara Betts at Cantab (Cambridge, MA)

Tara — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:05:26 +0000

December 16, 2009
8:00 PM	to	11:00 PM

Tara Betts will be the feature at Boston’s popular poetry slam venue, The Cantab, 738 Massachusetts Ave., near Harvard Yard.

Staying Up through Cold Weather Blues

Tara — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:44:31 +0000

Today was filled with puffy, wet snowflakes making me want to go back indoors as soon as possible. I ran some errands and came home with lentil rice soup, a falafel sandwich in a whole wheat pita, and hot chocolate. I’ve been meaning to sit down and read from the growing piles of books, finish grading, and start putting a bunch of writing in the mail, but I find myself more interested in napping. The snow (any sort of precipitation, actually) is like an instant sedative for me. I’ve heard it’s the changes in the barometric pressure that sometimes get to people, but it may just be the end of a long semester full of classes, readings, and constant correspondence that is wiping me out.

Some of the things that help, let’s see: a good facial, lots of water and tea, vitamins, a good smelling oil or incense (like sandalwood), getting some exercise (even though my resistance is greater than my stamina), going to bed at a reasonable time, getting up early, eating breakfast (sacrilege to some, but I feel better when I do), not going immediately to the internet when I first get going in the morning, good stretches, turning off all the electronic devices before bed, which most times includes the phone.

I just cannot imagine not being a little easier on yourself during the holidays. It can be a hard time for a lot of people, so check in on your friends, and don’t run yourself ragged.

Pete’s Candy Shop

Tara — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:06:49 +0000

December 4, 2009
7:00 PM	to	9:00 PM

Pete’s Candy Shop, 709 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn, New York 11211
Tara Betts, Crystal Williams, Tyrone Williams, and Jackie Clark feature.

Crystal Williams, author of Kin, Lunatic, and Tangled Tongues

Putting Burdens Down

Tara — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:42:08 +0000

There were many days when I thought the first book might not ever happen. Now, that it’s here, I find myself wanting to write the next one, but better, stronger, with less apprehension. I’m just realizing that the people that I held back for are no longer alive.

My grandmother, Charmaine Betts, worked every weekend in my grandparents’ tavern on Harrison Avenue when I was small, and often took me home with her after closing. She taught me how to shell peas, shuck corn, and clean greens. She always had cans of mandarin oranges and wheat bread stocked in the kitchen so I could make my own breakfast. I loved her burgundy Buick Regal and playing in her closets stocked with clothes and shoes in every color you could imagine. She was funny at times and a sharp-tongued gossip. I was too young to realize it then, but I realize that I inherited some of my venom from her. She passed away after a long battle with the aftermath of a stroke in April 2005.

Her brother, my great uncle Dr. Lem D. Callahan, passed away almost one month to the day after my grandmother. I still believe he was holding on to make sure she would be okay. He had arranged for a home attendant to take care of her needs until she passed in a hospital bed in her own home.

Months before all this, in September 2008, I was wondering why I hadn’t heard from my Uncle L.D. I was so excited about my upcoming debut on HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam” episode airing. I had graduated from college and was pursuing my MFA in creative writing, but I knew this was something that he would be proud of. If any single member of my family understood, what this opportunity would mean to me, it was Uncle L.D. I sent him one of the postcards announcing that the show would be airing soon, and that I’d be performing at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, a theater that I heard mentioned on the radio throughout my teen years growing up in Kankakee. Days after the postcard should have arrived, no response.

I called my brother to see what was going on. Then Marcel told me. Uncle L.D. had been hospitalized for a stroke as well. He lived alone so he was on the floor of his home for 3 days before someone discovered what had happened. No one had called to tell me. I did go to visit him as soon as I learned this.

He was still intact, able to speak, smile, make jokes, and run through his various, unending to-do lists. (I am told that I get this from him as well.) I brought him his last Thanksgiving meal: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole from my mother’s kitchen. He ate every bit of it, even though he wasn’t supposed to have pepper. We had a few more conversations in the months before his death, but no one was as understanding of school or my goal to be a writer as he was. He was one of two family members who had worked his way through college to become Dr. Callahan. My other college-bound relative was my cousin Heidi, who lived with us for a short time, earned her bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree. She now teaches middle school in Kankakee.

I never wanted to hurt their feelings, embarrass them, or air family secrets. I’ve kept the door closed on so many things that kept me angry, embarrassed, and even depressed. Over the past few months, I’ve been reading a range of memoir titles and thinking of the kids who grew up in circumstances similar to mine. Now, I’m feeling that I might be a little bit free to talk about these two elders who offered me kindness, love, guidance, and encouragement in their own ways, but also to unpack the ugly I’m unwilling to carry, the kinds that many of try to tamp down into our bones and pretend they don’t happen. There is a time to bear witness and put burdens down.