i8tonite

Tag: Leftovers

  • Black Tepary Bean Hummus: A Sonoran Desert Recipe

    Black Tepary Bean Hummus: A Sonoran Desert Recipe

    Nick and I will have been in Tucson for a little over two months by the time I publish this post. While I often mention what I’ve done and where I’ve been, and, of course, what I eat, I try to keep things that are really important to me private. Sometimes, I leave Nick out. Not because I don’t want to share about him, but I believe I honor our life together by not sharing it with everyone. I also feel that way about my friendships. Sometimes, I post about them, but in this day and age of oversharing, I don’t want to share everything.

    Citrus growing at Mission Gardens

    But, oddly, kismet–happenstance–luck happened before Nick, and I arrived in the Sonoran Desert. Thus, I believe this warrants a blog post. 

    Unbeknownst to me, Kim, the former food editor for the now-defunct Cottage Living, which published from 2004 to 2008, and I worked together on a series of stories in Napa Valley. We became friendly as journalists and media relations people do. You spend hours – sometimes, days working beside journalists, helping keep clients on message, ensuring control over what your client may or may not say and in general, guiding both with helpful information. On one such venture, Kim stayed with me in San Francisco once, and another time, when I first got sober, she stayed with me in West Hollywood while she was on her memoir tour for Trail of Crumbs. Admittedly, I was a bit of a mess – my world imploded. I realized that those whom I thought cared about me – indeed, said they loved me – had thrown me to the wolves, in front of an oncoming train, under a bus and facing an avalanche.  

    Kim and me in her Tucson backyard

    Kim moved to Alaska with her then-new husband. When Kim said to me about moving to Anchorage, I replied, “They don’t even grow basil there!” (They do, but that’s not the point I was making. Luckily, she laughed.)  I floundered about until I met Nick and continued to be a fish out of water until – truthfully, until we decided to move to Southern Arizona.

    We didn’t stay in touch except maybe with our social media posts. In September, she posts something about moving to Tucson – and I reply, “No way! We are moving there too!” As a couple, they have been together for 15 years, almost as long as I’ve been sober. Nick and I bought a home in a developing neighborhood about 7 miles south of the entrance to Saguaro National Park. Our commutes to the grocery store and shopping pass through undulating mountain ranges and saguaros – desert sentinels, really – standing as tall as a four-story building. 

    We’ve spent time together now – the four of us eating magnificent meals cooked by Kim overlooking the Tucson Valley basin from her new home with Neil. If the desert can bring a longtime friend into the fold, perhaps it’s the Sonoran Desert telling us that this is home. 

    Tepary beans are native to the Sonoran Desert, which extends into Mexico from Arizona. It’s been cultivated by the indigenous peoples for more than 4,000 years and is drought-resistant, owing to its prevalence in the region’s foodways. When cooked, it’s sweet, if not a little sugary, a bit nutty too and stays firm.  I bought these at Mission Gardens, a four-acre agricultural museum that showcases the heirloom crops grown in the Sonoran Desert for thousands of years. 

    Black bean tepary hummus with cotija cheese

    Black Tepary Bean Hummus 

    This version keeps the ingredients minimal, so you will find a sugariness. It has a deeper, more complex flavor than chickpea hummus and a gorgeous dark color that photographs beautifully.

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ cups dried tepary beans
    • 2 tablespoons tahini
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    • 1–2 cloves garlic, minced
    • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
    • ½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
    • ¼ cup of  cold water (to thin)
    • A pinch of chiltepin or red pepper flakes
    • A drizzle of chile oil
    • A squeeze of lime instead of lemon

    Instructions

    1. To begin, soak the tepary beans for at least 24 hours. They take a very long time to cook. I have found that they need at least 10 hours on the stove at a gentle simmer. I also add salt, pepper, a garlic clove and a bay to the water. Keep testing a bean or two until soft. 
    2. In a food processor, combine the tepary beans, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and salt.
    3. Add ¼ cup of cold water at a time until the smooth texture to your liking. Tepary beans make hummus thicker, so continue adding a little water until the desired consistency is reached. Adjust seasoning as needed. 
    4. Add more salt, lemon or garlic as needed. If you’re using chiltepin or chile oil, add it now.
    5. Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with more olive oil and finish with your optional Tucson flourish.
    Paddle cactus at Mission Gardens

    LEFTOVERS

    LOCAL

    Café Maggie, according to Tucson Foodie, a popular Fourth Avenue spot known for coffee, sandwiches, and a collegial atmosphere, has closed after an equipment failure and ongoing financial strain.

    REGIONAL

    KTAR News reported that Michelin Guides will now cover the Southwest. It will include Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. 

    NATIONAL

    The James Beard Foundation announced new criteria for its 2026 Awards, placing greater emphasis on community impact, wage transparency, and equitable workplace culture. While culinary excellence remains central, nominees will now be required to show documented commitments to fair labor practices. 
    Bon Appétit did a beautiful story on Tucson. I wish I had the chance to write it. Bummed.

  • I8tonite: Turkey & Sweet Potato Hash and Becoming an Arizonian

    I8tonite: Turkey & Sweet Potato Hash and Becoming an Arizonian

    Coconino National Forest: Credit National Park Service
    Coconino National Forest: Credit National Park Service

    I’m an official resident of Arizona today. Changed over my California driver’s license, an anxiety producing event. I find anything automobile-related makes my heart feel as if it’s at an Indy 500 speed. While driving in circles trying to listen to Ms. GPS exact DMV’s location – in Arizona, it’s called MVD — it dawned on me, I learned how to drive in Texas from an ex-boyfriend’s father, Cecil, a big-hearted man with a mustache to match. Two years later, I finally passed the test in Santa Fe – because I didn’t in Big Horn — and drove to Los Angeles in my first car at the age of 27. I was just a punk, urban kid who only knew trees in city parks and my idea of wildlife were sewer rats and feral felines.

    Coconino National Park Service:
    Coconino National Park Service:

    Clearly, this area of the world has been good for me. With blue skies, mild weather and stunning other-worldly, seemingly vast landscapes that are located only in the American Southwest, it’s an ideal place for rejuvenation. This time, I’ve come looking for a respite. The first was a six-month sojourn from New York City to Santa Fe. Then it was game on in Los Angeles, where it was roller coaster life– all of my making — which didn’t stop for the next 20 years.  It’s what I thought life was supposed to be about, lots of dramas. As I get older, I find I want things to change. I know I’m not the same person I was five years ago. Or ten or twenty. Nor do I wish to be.

    It was hard to let go of that license. It’s hard to alter what you think you already know. For me that’s the key, I think I know something or someone, I find out I don’t – especially me. I think it’s why so many people don’t do it. We want to sit and complain about our misery but aren’t willing to work our ways out of it. No matter what happens, I’m glad I moved to Arizona.

    Turkey and Sweet Potato Country Hash:

    Leftover Turkey and Sweet Potato Hash
    Leftover Turkey and Sweet Potato Hash

    Hash is re-using leftovers as in turkey hash after Thanksgiving. Or roast beef, duck, or chicken. It’s such a simple thing to make, but I needed to find the right recipe.  Finally, I found one I adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine, which meant par-boiling the potatoes, either sweet or white. I liked this because it meant there wasn’t the extra step of roasting the tubers and then sautéing. I could do everything in one skillet, preferably a cast-iron one. By using a cast iron skillet, I get an excellent browning and crust that I want on the finish.

    We are going to need:

    • Your leftover meats: chicken, duck (yum!), roast beef, turkey, or sausage. Venison would be excellent as well. Picked clean, no bones and cut into bite-size pieces.
    • One large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes of about 1 inch or so.
    • One red onion
    • One green, red or yellow pepper.
    • Two cloves of minced garlic.
    • Fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary, sage, and parsley.
    • Butter, wine or stock. If you don’t have these, water is great too. It just adds a little more flavor, but never mind – this is a homey dish that can be cheffed-up, hence the wine or stock

    Cubed up all the potatoes as uniformly as possible about an inch — if you’re using a large sweet potato, peel it – and remember to make sure to keep the skins on for the white. Throw the potatoes in a large skillet, preferably cast iron. (It makes it feel Western. HA!) Fill the pan halfway with wine, stock or water, perhaps a mixture of both. Cover. Cook until al dente. You don’t want the spuds cooked all the way through.

    While the Idahos are cooking, let’s chop up the onion and the peppers.  Keeping everything at about one inch wide. By this time, the potatoes should be just about done – 10, 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes. Wipe out the pan. Place back on hot burner. Throw in a couple of tablespoons of butter. Melt. Add the potatoes and veggies. Stir. Saute. Add minced garlic, the herbs of your choosing and the leftovers. Add a little more stock, water or wine. Just a splash to help steam, reheat and moisten. Press gently down with a spatula. We want a browned crust on the bottom. Cook for about 5 minutes. Stir. Press down. Cook for another five. Stir. Is it brown enough? If not, stir some more, pressing gently again. Top with fried, scrambled or poached eggs. Awesomeness!

    The End. Go Eat.