The dud parent: episode I reboot

No one will ever forget the genesis of "The Dud Parent" series, in episode I of which Mom and I took Brad and Cassie to the oral surgeon to have their wisdom teeth extracted. Mom accompanied Cass into the operating room, leaving me to take Brad in, with the specific instruction not to leave Brad until he had been put under. The surgeon who was doing Brad's procedure wasn't going for that, so when Mom got back to the waiting room, she was horrified to see me already there engrossed in a Bon Appétit magazine. In my defense, it was a fettuccine Alfredo recipe that looked promising enough that I tore it out of the magazine and brought it home (together with Brad and Cass once their procedures were over). Even though the recipe has, in fact, become a family favorite, the incident has forevermore earned me the "dud parent" moniker.

Fast forward a little over two years. Last month, Mom drove me to Northridge to get an epidural steroid injection to try and relieve the pain I've had in my arse for about 18 months now (no such luck). While I was getting prepped for the procedure, Mom thumbed through a Real Simple magazine, where a recipe for black bean posole caught her eye. Sure enough, she tore it out of the magazine and brought it home (along with me once my procedure was over). 

Last weekend, Mom made the posole, which substitutes black beans for the usual pork, and it was really pretty good—good enough, in fact, that Mom is thinking about adding it to her list of "specialities." Oh, the irony.

Black Bean Posole

Adapted from Real Simple (December 2018)

8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
3 poblano chiles, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
53 grams (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
15 grams (1 tablespoon) tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound/454 grams dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
1 (28-ounce) can white or golden hominy, drained
60 grams (¼ cup) fresh lime juice from 2 limes
1½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

For serving

Choose among:

minced fresh cilantro

sour cream (or plain whole-milk yogurt)

sliced plain or pickled avocado

thinly sliced radishes

crumbled cotija

tortilla chips

    1. Combine the vegetable broth, poblano, onion, garlic, oil, chili powder, tomato paste, oregano, and black beans in a 6- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cook on high until the beans are tender, about 5 hours.
    2. Stir in the hominy, lime juice, salt, and cayenne. Cook on low for another hour or two, until you're ready to eat. Taste for seasoning. Serve with your choice of toppings, with tortilla chips on the side. Makes 8 servings.