McMartin Preschool Ritual Satanic Abuse Trial Tacos

On March 22, 1984, teachers and administrators at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach, CA were charged with sexual abuse of children, as well as various bizarre things like "flying through the air." Well, that probably wasn't a formal charge, but it was nonetheless claimed by a mother of one of the kids that one of the teachers, Ray Buckey, could fly. Incredible, yet not incredible, that the most expensive criminal trial in US history began with the unbelievable allegations of one woman, Judy Johnson, who suffered from acute paranoid schizophrenia and who died from complications of chronic alcoholism before the preliminary hearing concluded. The whole thing is really confusing and sad. Ray Buckey spent five years in prison without ever being convicted. Hard to imagine how angry and mangled I'd be if that happened to me. Imagine too, how hard it must be for young black men in this country to resist the inheritance of rage due them after years trapped in a racist, oppressive judicial system. Not sure why that turn happened. I intended to stay on track and make a couple of quips about Satanism.

The taco on the left is by far superior to the taco on the right. I had no idea how to cook cactus; I still have no idea.

INGREDIENTS

tortillas

6 oz. Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 bundle watercress, chopped

1 cactus "leaf," scraped and chopped

cumin

coriander

1/2 green cabbage, sliced

4 red potatoes, peeled and cubed

nutritional yeast

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil potatoes and cabbage in a pot until tender.

2. Saute mushrooms, watercress, and cactus until the cactus is no longer slimy. Season with cumin and coriander and salt.

3. Serve with salsa or hot sauce.

Operation Pull-Out Tacos

 

Three days ago, the US military officially fully withdrew from Iraq. The occupation has ended after nine years. The whole thing has been almost too stupid, too nightmarish to believe, and most Americans withdrew their emotional forces a long time ago. And I don't think we learned anything. I don't even have the sense we could, as a people, prevent our government from a repeat offense, if you'll allow me that understatement. I propose a national New Year's resolution: renounce cynical reason.

makes: approx. 10 tacos

prep. time: approx. 30 min.

INGREDIENTS:

tortillas

1 lb. firm tofu

few collard leaves, torn into pieces

1 poblano pepper, diced

1 sweet potato, skinned and cubed

2 avocados

juice of 1/2 lemon

cumin

coriander

salt

chili powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Boil water for the potato. Cook until soft, drain.

2. Saute the tofu over medium-high heat. After it starts to stick, add the poblano pepper and shuffle with a spatula every couple of minutes. Season. When the tofu begins to brown, add the collards and cook until sort of wilted.

3. Fry tortillas in a pan over high heat.

4. Mash two avocados with lemon juice and salt.

5. Serve with salsa!

Dad Dinner: Death of Charles Dickens Tacos

Charles Dickens died 141 years ago to the day. He wanted a no-frills burial at Rochester Cathedral but was instead interred at Westminster Abbey. Oops. Confession: I have never read anything Charles Dickens wrote. Oops.

Tonight's dinner was prepared by my father, but I lurked in the kitchen so I know what went down. My mom likes hard shell tacos, and the kind we used have flattened bottoms. "Stand 'em up" tacos, or something. Pretty neat, actually, and they tend to collapse less frequently and sloppily than their round-bottomed cousins.

makes approx. 8-10 tacos

INGREDIENTS:

<1 c. short-grain brown rice

2 zucchini, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 large jalapeño, diced

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 14.5-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic

4 green onions, chopped (used these because they were getting old)

2 cloves garlic, minced

cumin

chili powder

chipotle chili pepper powder

dried parsely

oregano

celery salt

ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put on the rice.

2. Sauté the onions with oil in a pot over medium-high heat. After a few minutes, add the garlic, can of tomatoes, black beans, garlic, and seasoning (some of everything, with tons of chili powder). Reduce heat to low and let simmer until the rice is done.

3. Sauté the zucchini with seasoning in oil in a pan over medium-high heat for seven minutes.

4. Pop the taco shells in the oven (325F for several minutes).

5. Assemble the tacos. Besides the rice, bean and tomato stuff, and zucchini, there's raw red pepper and jalapeño, as well as lettuce or other leafy greens and salsa. Some corn would be nice, too, although we didn't have any. And mushrooms! Next time.

After I finished filling my first stand-up taco, it promptly fell over. Poor thing couldn't hold its weight.