Bad to the bone, George

Under the heading of neglecting your educations, we finally got around to sharing The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day with Brad and Cass. (Never, ever, watch any other installments, which destroyed the franchise. David Foster Wallace thought the movies should have been Terminated after T1, but I love T2 anyway, "heavy cheese" and all.) T2 gets into gear in the famous scene towards the beginning when the Terminator takes a big, tough biker dude's clothes and boots, then leaves the biker bar to the strains of "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers while the camera pans up from the Terminator's new boots. 

The scene always reminds of the fifth, and final, game of the 1983 World Series, which your Uncle Bob and I attended in Philadelphia. We figured the fickle Philly fans wouldn't show up with the Phillies down 3 games to 1 to the Baltimore Orioles, and sure enough we were able to score some cut-rate tickets from a scalper just by waiting until the game had already gotten underway. The seats were way out in center field, but that worked out okay. Because there sitting a row or two in front of us was George Thorogood himself. For some reason, he was wearing a New York Mets helmet, which probably isn't a good idea in Philadelphia, but maybe he wanted to keep some boneheaded Philly fan from accidentally beaning him in the noggin with a D cell aimed at Al Bumbry playing center field for the O's, which Philadelphia sports fans are wont to do. Every inning or so, some wag in the stands around us would recognize Thorogood and bellow at him, "Bad to the bone, George, bad to the bone!" Poor George would just smile and nod his helmeted head, like he'd never heard that one before.

An easy recipe for doctoring up a can or two of black beans is always useful. Here's one I like.

Black Beans with Chipotle en Adobo and Tomatoes

Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (1997) by Deborah Madison

1 tablespoon sunflower or olive oil
½ onion, finely diced
1 28-ounce can, or two 15.5 ounce cans, black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon chipotle chile en adobo, or to taste (a little goes a long way)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
4 cilantro sprigs
¼ cup water, more as needed
salt
3 ears corn, boiled and kernels removed (optional)
crumbled feta cheese, chopped cilantro, diced serrano or jalapeño chile, for garnish (optional)

    1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes to soften.
    2. Stir in the beans, chile, tomatoes, cilantro, and water. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and the flavors are melded, 15 to 30 minutes. Add a few tablespoons more of water at a time if the beans are dry.
    3. When the beans are done to your liking, taste for salt; it will need some. Stir in the corn, if using. Scrape into a serving dish, and top with whatever garnishes you are using. Serves 4 to 6.