Macho nacho

Many (many, many) years ago, when I was very young, and extremely stupid (as opposed to today when I am no longer young), I went on a hiking trip with my boyfriend (Hubby's previous role) and his 2 best friends in the mountains of Galilee. We saw a breathtaking arch cave, we crawled inside another cave (not my favorite moment) and we finished the day in Acco, in a fish restaurant on the waterfront. As we were waiting for the food to arrive, Danny, hubby's #1 best friend, picked up a hot pepper from the little bowl in the center of the table and said "Anyone who eats this by itself is a real man". I happen to love spicy foods and during my misspent youth was able to eat really spicy stuff without a flinch so I picked up a pepper and ate the whole thing in two bites. I told you I was amazingly stupid. 

This week's parasha contains a lot of things, but modern women usually relate best to the story of the daughters of Tzelaphchad. This group of innovative girls dared do something that most women at the time wouldn't dream of doing. They questioned the law. You see, the law used to say that a man's estate goes to his sons and long and boring discussions explained how the estate is divided among the sons in a fair and legal way. Tzelphchad, however, had only daughters, and when he died the question came up of what is to be done with his stuff. Enter 5 daring women, who approached Moshe and said "Dude, our dad had no sons, now what?"

To his great credit, Moshe did not do what a lot of other men throughout history did, what some still do, what he easily could have done. He did not tell them to go back to the kitchen and not bother their pretty little heads about it. He said "Let's ask G-d" which is exactly the answer he gave men who brought legal questions before him. And G-d surprised everyone by saying that the women were right (Did you hear that, dear? The women were right.) I can just imagine the hullabaloo around the camp: "Ya give them the right to talk and next thing ya know these vixens ask for an inheritance. What next? the vote, perhaps?"

A few parashot back we had another person who claimed he was not getting his fair share and why should he be deprived of it. That person was swallowed by the very ground he was standing on. Now here are women, who, in the ancient world were not supposed to have many rights and certainly not the right to question the leader, doing exactly that. And not only aren't they punished, they get what they want. They also get validation from the Almighty Himself. What is that about?

It's about hot peppers, is what it's about. It's about being smart enough to know when to be bold and when to be gentle. It is about presenting yourself in a respectful and respectable way instead of showing off just to be pushy and prove a point that is better left alone. It's about what you say, how you say it, when you say it and who you say it to. 

Women's rights are extremely important and we should always work to correct injustice and speak up against it. But if we lose our femininity along the way or if we present our case in a rude or arrogant manner, our chances of being heard are diminished and so is everything gentle and pleasant that makes us, women, so much more civilized than men. 

Still, I really like spicy stuff.

Spicy bean salsa

1 1/2 cups dry beans (red, kidney, black eyed peas, pink, small white, whatever. Use a mixture)

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 large onions, chopped

8 large garlic cloves, sliced

4 mild peppers (these are the longish, light green ones sometimes called frying peppers), seeded ans sliced

1 or 2 fresh jalapeno peppers seeded and sliced 

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp black pepper

12 oz corn kernels (frozen)

2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) diced tomatoes, do not drain)

1/2 cup salsa (mild, medium or hot)

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (substitute parsley only if you absolutely must)

1. Cover beans with water and soak overnight. Drain. Cover again with water, add bay leaves and cook until fork tender (3-5 hours).

2. In a large pot saute onions in oil over medium high heat until light brown (stir occasionally.) Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add peppers and stir well. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until peppers start to soften. Stir occasionally.

3. Add cooked beans, tomatoes, corn, salsa and all the spices. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Cook for 1 hour, partially covered, over low heat (not super low, the pot should be a little bubbly.)

4. Add lime juice and cilantro and remove from heat.

5. Serve over rice or with tortilla chips for scooping. Also good as a filling for a burrito or enchilada (just stuff inside a tortilla, add cheese and proceed.) I also used it in a quesadilla. Yum.

This makes a lot. I can't really say how much exactly but we ate it for days. Luckily it keeps in the fridge for more than a week (I guess nothing can survive in it.) I'd say it can easily serve 8 people as a meal if you add rice.