By Elizabeth Johnson
Where does the time go? To me, there never seems to be enough of it during the workday, on weekends, and especially when I am on vacation. As I sat down to write this, a social media post informed me that Chanukah is only 87 days away!
The endless race against the clock aside, I eagerly welcome the shift from summer to fall. October is my birthday month, for one. But I also relish the first evenings that call for a cardigan, the scent of wood smoke drifting from my next-door neighbor’s outdoor fireplace as well as the slow progression of leaves from green to red, orange and yellow. The very best marker that my favorite season of the year has finally arrived.
Since leaving Germany many moons ago, I’ve made an annual tradition of traveling to New York City at this time of year to celebrate my birthday with anyone who wishes to partake. My sister is always there. Typically, my brother. From time to time, one or both of my parents make a cameo, along with whichever friends are still living in the city or breezing through town on business or pleasure for a few days.
When people ask me when they should visit The Big Apple, my answer is unequivocal: October. The summer migration to the Hamptons is over, and New Yorkers are back in their hurried grooves. The days grow shorter, allowing the city’s lights to begin their nightly sparkling earlier in the day. The air has an inviting snap to it. And always, the city feels spectacularly and unmistakably alive.
So, this year again, the tradition continues with our departure in a week’s time. Now that Lucy is my travel companion, our city escapes look rather different from the long weekends (and late nights) marking my 20s and 30s.
She has two nonnegotiable playgrounds, one in Madison Square Park and the other at the northern edge of Little Italy, and we are expected to visit both. There are approximately four prized ice cream parlors, three in the West Village and one in Gramercy Park, where, upon exiting the apartment front door, she says stopping for a cone is a nonnegotiable.
We get her nails done for $10 at a salon around the corner from my parents’ Chelsea apartment and enjoy pepperoni pies alongside mozzarella sticks at a Breyer institution, John’s of Bleecker Street. We enjoy impromptu lunches two blocks west to S & P, where we sit on barstools, order hot, crispy potato latkes and wash them down with ice-cold, homemade fountain drinks.
We wind our way through Chinatown, pausing to peer into fish stalls as well as inspecting fruits and vegetables unfamiliar to us. On Canal Street, Lucy inevitably points to the faux Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton handbags, already demonstrating her taste and asking whether she can have one. Eventually, we land at Uncle Lou’s, our favorite Chinatown haunt, for lunch. The owner, Uncle Lou himself, recognizes Lucy and welcomes her by name, always inquiring if she is planning to order her beloved crispy noodle dish.
She accompanies my mother on grocery runs to Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Citarella’s and Union Square Market on Saturday mornings. On our last visit there, she befriended a bearded dragon whose name escaped me.
She is always first in line when my father announces he is walking to Veniero’s Pasticceria & Caffè, an East Village landmark since 1897. Her excitement is palpable because she knows Grandpa will make sure she leaves with not one but probably two cannoli to enjoy on the way home.
Between our daily gallivants, she happily joins us to pick up my nephews from school on the West Side of lower Manhattan. We zigzag through the streets on the way home, with frequent detours to parks and, just as frequently, doughnut shops.
These are small rituals but perhaps this is how we make peace with time moving as quickly as it does. We return to places. We repeat traditions. We also make new ones. We notice what has changed and, if we are lucky, pause long enough to savor what has not.
October also marks my return to the kitchen in earnest. As the weather finally breaks, I begin craving soups, chili and my favorite stews. Right now is the time when cooking authorities suddenly pitch recipes destined for a Dutch oven. And this is precisely my kind of cooking. One-pot meals rule the roost in our house.
There are fewer dishes to wash, certainly, but the appeal goes well beyond convenience. You add the ingredients building flavor step by step, put on the lid and, quite often, leave the whole thing alone. An occasional peek. A stir here and there. Otherwise, no babysitting required. Do your thing while a meal does its.
When it is ready, spoon it into shallow bowls, squeeze something acidic over the top, grate a little hard cheese, add a drizzle of good olive oil and serve it alongside some crusty bread or a bowl of chips. Keep the pot warm and let people return, ladle in hand, as the day unfolds. The recipe below is a keeper and doesn’t require hours on the stove. Fresh garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika and vinegar give this stew tremendous flavor, while ground chicken, greens, beans and tomatoes make it hearty without becoming heavy.
Perhaps that is yet another reason I love this kind of cooking. In a life that perpetually seems to move too quickly, there is something reassuring about a pot of food that cannot be rushed. It asks for time. And then, for several days afterward, it gives a little of that very precious time back to you. Happy October, friends.
Chicken and White Bean Guisado
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole white onion, diced
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus Maldon salt to finish
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 (15-ounce) cans white beans, such as butter beans, Cannellini beans or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups chicken broth (I make my own by heating 2 cups of water on the stove until boiling, then stir in 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon soup base)
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 5 ounces baby spinach or baby arugula
Preparation
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and nearly translucent, about 3 minutes.
• Add the ground chicken and 1 teaspoon kosher salt, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the chopped garlic, white vinegar, cumin, paprika, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and cook for about 2 minutes, until the garlic and spices are wonderfully fragrant.
• Add the beans, diced tomatoes, and prepared broth to the Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to breakdown and the broth has taken on the flavors of the stew.
• Stir in your greens and cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
• Ladle the guisado into shallow bowls and serve hot with your favorite accompaniments.
Make It Your Own
I can happily eat this for three or four days without becoming bored. One day, I serve it with cilantro rice; the next, with corn tortillas or crunchy chips. It is equally splendiferous topped with grated cheddar, diced avocado or pickled jalapeños.
