Last night was the first time I perceived the sun going down earlier than it was at summer's height. I know, I am a little slow on the uptake here, just been busy and not out at sundown much, I suppose. This past weekend, there was oyster stew and football, and nothing says fall to me like soup, sundown, and screaming at the TV. Our buddy Jenni Finlay posted an autumn recipe on Facebook:
All Saints Soup
1 pound ground beef
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 pkg hidden valley ranch dressing (envelope)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix (envelope)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can pinto beans
1 can hominy (white or yellow - I use yellow to make the soup more colorful)
Brown ground beef and chopped onion in a big pot. Add green chilies. Add envelopes of seasonings. Stir to mix completely. Add cans of veggies and beans (just dump them in with water and all). You can add two cans of any one of these if you want to make it go further. This is especially good served with cornbread and garnished with fresh chopped cilantro, grated cheddar cheese, and a squeeze of lime.
Now, mind you, it's still 90 degrees in Austin, but that feels like a marvelous cooling off from the 100's of a few weeks back. Everything is relative.
Jenni has a fine roster of folks she works with, among them, is James Hyland. For 10 years, he was the lead singer and principle songwriter for the acclaimed South Austin Jug Band. Back in March, he and Kim Deschamps took part in our video shoot at Threadgill's during SXSW. This song, "Come to Me," was originally featured on the SAJB release Strange Invitation. The song is reborn now, as a much slower and intimate version, on James Hyland & The Joint Chiefs' new CD, Celestial Navigation, which just came out last week. There is a cool video of some of the recording process here. He describes his music as "the love child of Beck and Bob Dylan’s band at a Tom Waits party, while Willie Nelson's "Sad Songs and Waltzes" plays on the jukebox.” Waits and Beck, huh...now I am not sure if it's major lust, or forever unattainable. Nonetheless, it is delicious. Pass the spoon.
- Jessie Scott