Did you know, Beautiful People, that Jack, the cute little protagonist of the old English fairy tale, was a shameless opportunist? Rather than retelling the story, I’ll invite you to enjoy this little old-fashioned musical number:
There are many variations of the classic story, where the adorable, lovable little boy outsmarts and eventually kills the evil giant who practices cannibalism. However, all of them agree on several details: first of all, the lovable kid is a lazy, no-good loafer who is no help to his poor widowed mother; secondly, instead of selling their last resource – the cow, he swaps it for some dubious “magic” beans offered by a very suspicious character, without even clarifying what exactly he is supposed to do with them – just grabbing at the first ephemeral opportunity that comes his way. No wonder the poor suffering mom fetches him a couple of good ones with her handy cast iron pan and tosses the f*** beans out the window! But wait, when the beans grow overnight into a monstrously tall beanstalk, he starts climbing it for no reasonable purpose – just because it’s there, and to top it all off, he robs the giant of all his treasured possessions: the bag of gold, the hen (or goose) that lays golden eggs, and the family heirloom – the golden harp. At least he could’ve left the latter, to console the cannibal and Mrs Cannibal pining for their losses!
And this is the story we still read to our children, Beautiful People? This is the lesson we are teaching them? “You don’t have to work hard, children; all you have to do is grab any opportunity that comes along, no matter how fantastic, inane, or even criminal,” – says little lovable Jack to generations of kiddies entranced by his adventures.
With all the variations of this story, I took the liberty of re-branding Jack’s image at least a little. In my version, having received the magic beans, on his way home Jack spotted some weird-looking mushrooms. Being in the magic mood already, he picked them, but, met with mommy’s cast iron pan, forgot all about them. In the morning, he felt strange buzzing in his pockets. Lo and behold, the mushrooms were growing without the benefit of soil. Pay attention now, children! Before starting his record-breaking climb, our hero has dumped the magic mushrooms into that same pan with which he was intimately acquainted and told mother to cook a nice nutritious dinner for herself. The transformation of Jack-opportunist into Jack, the loving and caring son, is complete, and following mother’s example, we can also start cooking.
As I’ve mentioned in the video, you can add any hot peppers of your preference, or simply increase the amount of Garam Masala, if you like it hot. As we all know, “Some Like It Hot”:
Inimitable, wasn’t she? She couldn’t sing, but of course, she didn’t have to. She reminds me of a famous Russian folk singer, Lyudmila Zykina, a big beautiful Russian woman who, fortunately, did sing very well:
Once, when she was touring Georgia (a country, not a state), she was forced to do almost two hours of encores, something unheard of. Georgians, who are reputed to love big beautiful Russian women, kept calling her back on stage with thunderous applause, until she finally staggered to the microphone and croaked, “Esteemed audience, I am sincerely grateful, but I can’t sing any more.” And a male voice from the audience responded, “Don’t sing, gorgeous, just keep walking back and forth, back and forth…”
I hope you forgive me this irreverent little tangent, Beautiful People, and appreciate the new politically correct image of little Jack-caregiver who gave me the idea of mushrooms and beans.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 white button or baby portabella mushrooms, sliced thin
- 1/2 lb string beans
- 1/2 medium size onion, cut in rough chunks
- 3 – 4 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp agave syrup (more, if not using wine)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp light sweet red wine (optional)
- 1 cup Beefless Ground, or any meat substitute of your choice (alternatively, diced extra firm tofu)
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
PROCEDURE
- Preheat wok, Dutch oven, or deep frying pan on High. Spray with vegetable oil.
- Sauté onions for 1 minute, until soft and translucent, stirring constantly.
- Add garlic and ginger, sauté together for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add mushrooms, stir, cover. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add sesame oil, add string beans, add agave, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, wine, stir, cover. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add Beefless Ground or any meat substitute / tofu, add cilantro, add sesame seeds, stir, cover. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Serve hot, garnished with cilantro sprig.
Enjoy!
About the guest author: Dolly Aizenman is the brainchild behind Kool Kosher Kitchen (Which her blog and her book are named after).
This charismatic Russian blogger is fond of cooking and writing.
She has a BA in Art and Music Education, MA in English, MS in Education and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership.
🙂 A recipe worthy of being prepared by a master chef.
I happen to love string beans.
Fantastic guest post, Dolly!
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I than you , dear Renard, for your kind words, and for hosting my funky irreverent post once again.
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Sorry, typos happen – thank you!
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Reblogged this on koolkosherkitchen and commented:
Once again, the great and wonderful Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com/ graciously hosted my funky post. Enjoy, Beautiful People, and please do not take me seriously! I am from Odessa, after all.
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🙂 Thank you for reblogging your own guest post!
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My pleasure, darling.
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I don’t know if I will get around to making the recipe, lazybones that I am.
But I throughly enjoyed the post including the old fairy tale.
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Thank you so much, dear Dr Tanya! I am so pleased you liked it.
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My pleasure.
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It’s 2am and I should be in bed but I couldn’t resist watching your ‘live’ video. Such a charming presentation. Delicious looking meal. I may watch the big beautiful Russian singer too. After all, I don’t have to get up early tomorrow. Stay safe, my friend.
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The Russian singer anecdote sounds much better when retold in Russian with a heavy Georgian accent, but I think everybody got the joke anyway.
I thank you so much, dear friend. I am not satisfied with the video for several reasons, but strangely, you are the second person who has complimented me on it. Obviously, I could not retake it, as the meal was finished already, but I used to produce TV shows in Russia, and I am looking at it professionally, and it is quite flawed. The only reason I started doing videos is that dear Renard only accepts one image for guest posts, and I believe in showing step-by-step cooking procedures.
Be well and stay safe, dear friend!
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Tasty tasty Mushroom !! love the recipe Dolly especially the way you explained in the video clip.Love the word ‘Garam Masala’ an authentic Indian formula used in most of the Indian cuisines.Thank you
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And I love Garam Masala and use it in many recipes, not only the Indian ones. Thank you so much for your kind comment, dear Dr Sridhar!
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Glad you like Garam Masala.I was under the impression that Westerners generally avoid spicy stuff.
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First of all, I am not a Westerner, although geographically with relation to you, I probably am. I was brought up on a combination of Jewish and Mediterranean cuisine, and both of them are spicy. Unfortunately, I can no longer have very hot foods, but spicy does not necessarily mean hot. I love Indian food and, for lack of Indian restaurants, had to learn some recipes myself. I’ve posted some of them.
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Great Dolly.You are the example of dedication and passion.Glad to know that you have mastered Indian recipes.Thank you
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I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I’ve mastered them, but we are happy with what I produce, dear Pluto.
I thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments.
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Such a delight from start to finish. I’d never seen that historic cartoon, and it is always good to see Dolly creating her masterpieces.
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Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Derrick. I am glad you have enjoyed the cartoon.
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Your posts are always a delight, Dolly. Excellent writing and good recipes! Funky fun, my dear!
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Thank you so much, dear Eugenia; I am pleased that you have enjoyed the funky fun!
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You’re welcome, Dolly!
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I love the Russian song, does it make you feel homesick?
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Interesting you should say that, dear Janet. She is singing about the Volga river, and that’s what you see in the visual. I am from the Black Sea and has never visited the Volga region. When I see and/or hear something about my city, Odessa, or the Black Sea in general, I do wax nostalgic. However, I do love folk songs of all cultures, and she is a great singer.
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And of course ‘The Song of the Volga Boatmen’ is one of the best known Russian songs! Russia is so large not many could know it all.
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Very true. This is not “The Song of the Volga Boatmen” but just as famous.
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Your postings always definitely a journey into a wonderful world, Dolly! You should make a own TV-show too. 😉 So entertaining, and high informative. Thank you so much.Stay save and be well.Michael
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Thank you so much, dear friend – I am blushing all over the internet! My days of TV shows are long gone, and believe me, I looked much better than I do now.
Stay safe and be well, Michael.
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I like this. We really need to review the fairytales we tell our kids from time to time. And great recipe by the way.
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Thank you so much, dear friend; I am so glad you like it!
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You’re welcome!
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A delightful video dear Dolly and so lovely to see you in your kitchen it makes the recipe come alive…Worchester Sauce I use in my cooking quite regularly… it is not like fish sauce at all… they both have their own unique flavour…different in many ways but equally enjoyable…Hugs 🙂 xx
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Thank you so much, dear Carol! Since I have never tasted the real fish sauce and not likely to do so as there is no kosher one at this time, I have convinced myself that Worcestershire sauce is a decent substitution. We make do with what we have, darling!
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Of course you do dear Dolly.. One day maybe you will get the pleasure of tasting fish sauce… Hugs x
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Hugs right back to you, darling.
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nice share
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Thank you so much, dear friend.
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You pack so much fun into one blog post! This is no exception.
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Thank you so much, dear Linda. I am simply having so much fun doing it.
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That is a fantastic recipe
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Thank you so much, dear Nisha; I am so glad you like it!
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
I’M NOT REALLY INTO ‘SHROOMS, BUT INTERESTING STORIES AND BEAUTY OF HUMANITY (ESPECIALLY FEMALES) ARE EASY TO APPRECIATE!
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Thank you so much for reblogging, dear Jonathan.
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YUPPERS!
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A friend of mine years ago said he’d be willing to eat mushrooms off the lawn. Like him, I’ll eat them any way at all. Thank you for the fresh take, Dolly :p
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Thank you so much, dear Anna. I also love mushrooms any which way.
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