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So, I made some pasta for lunch in roughly the same way that I always make it; chunky, thick, spicy and meaty. I actually know a wide range of people that make it in a similar fashion. Today I was thinking about it and pasta prima vera and the word “puttanesca” popped into my head. I think because I may have heard someone somewhere down the line call it that. Also I have this problem where certain words with a really excellent ring to them occasionally pop into my head. An example of this is ” Karen Neckyfarow”who is a girl I knew in high school who’s name has SUCH A FUCKING GOOD ring to it.
Karen, with her grama?
At any rate, this is besides the point, except to describe my wholehearted surprise in discovering that the pasta that I thought might be called “pasta alla puttanesca” was indeed called just that. Thank god for wikipedia, honestly. The name means ” pasta the way a whore would make it.” And apparently there is a bunch of debate over whether or not the name comes from the fact that it is spicy and sexy like a lady of ill repute or that is it fast and easy to make, muck like a whore, or that it is fast and easy to make between johns. Who can say. All I know is I make pasta like a whore.
Puttanesca
Hey Hey Hey, I’m not dead, as it may have seemed. I am just in Chicago, working for the weekend. As a matter of fact LAST weekend I was really working it… chili style.
As I mentioned so many months ago, I am friends with a group of humble upwardly mobile neo-hippies living on Chicago’s near south-west side. They live in collective bliss in a house called “The Grand Manor” and this past weekend I entered a Home brew contest/ Chili cook-off called “Brew Not Bombs”, whichwas a fundraiser for you guessed it.. Food Not Bombs.
It was organized by my new pal Taylor and by this gentleman, whose name I have sadly forgotten.
Obviously, as with all Food Not Bombs activities, it wasn’t all these guys doing, but they are who I went to for info and stuff. AS you can see taylor is standing next to a ballot box clearly marked CHili and Beer. Which can mean only one thing CHALLENGE!!!!
There were lots of entries including some “professional” chilies that were donated by nice vegetarian restaurants from around town. Including a very tasty place I have not yet visited called “Veggie Bites”.
Veggie bites is pretty great BTW, its all about a fast food McD’s style food stuffs, but completely vegan!!
But thats besides the point. CHILI! I entered a lovely chili that in an attempt to make white, because I was feeling caucasian, I simply made as lightly colored as possible instead. Here is the ingredients list…
5 diced banana peppers, Butternut S*uash, 10 tomatoes,1 lb white beans, 2 lbs pink beans,3 diced white onions, vinegar, brown sugar, chili powder, black pepper, … and my secret ingredient… ADOBO with SAFFRON!!! that shit is powerful good brothers and sisters.
Served with a pile of sour cream I died Hot Pink..I couldn’t miss, right? WRONG!!!
Guess who won??
Team Food Not Bombs. *SUCK* NowI’m not saying that I had the best chili there, but I am saying that over the chili smell and the smell of ripe ass vegetarian farting, there was the smell of nepotism. I mean, their shit was all pasty and burnt on the bottom. Plus I went the extra mile to not include this AMAZING chorizo i had bought. They have no idea the willpower I exerted to not drop that shit in there. At any rate… I’m not bitter,they worked hard on their chili,and they worked even harder putting together the contest, so I guess.. no, you know what.. fuck that! That shit was burnt! They probably forgot all about the chili cause they were playing hacky sack or complaining about american apparel or something.
anyway, it was a fun time.. support food not bombs folks. They do Nice thing like feed the homless and take care of wasted food, or making sure it dosen’t get wasted.
