Getting On

I was over at my neighbours house Saturday evening and boy did she put on a good spread. It was a casual late afternoon/early evening thingy and there were appetizers galore. There was guacamole, eggplant relish, crostini with an olives, anchovy, parmesan mixture, homemade pizza, lots of veggies, and lots of good drink. I brought a bean dip. It tasted better than it sounds.

There were several other women there. It was your basic chick party. Our conversation was varied and interesting. At one point we started talking about getting older and how our bodies and faces are changing. The words I heard were not all kind. This was a roomful of attractive, accomplished and intelligent women. We should all be patting ourselves on the back for how awesome we are. I'm not saying I don't have insecurities, or that I've never fretted about being the skinniest or smartest person in the room, but I have never worried about my wrinkles or getting old. I love that I look all of my 38 years, and that I've had the pleasure of living this long. I think our society has it all wrong. Why would you fight against aging when you have no chance of winning. I have no desire to look 20 or to do my twenties over again. I look forward to getting older. Every decade holds new possibilities and I'm eager to greet them even if they come with a few more wrinkles.

Here's the recipe for the dip I made. Bean dip sounds boring but it's worth the trip to beantown. It's guaranteed to make you look your age but you'll look good eating it.

Bean Dip

2 cups cooked kidney beans (1-15 oz can), rinsed and drained
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 medium sized tomato
1 to 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
a handful of parsley
a handful of cilantro
3/4 tsp of cumin
1 scallion minced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
black pepper and cayenne to taste

Peel and seed the tomato by dropping it in a pan of boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove it and peel off the skin. Cut the tomato in half and squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the remaining pulp. Put tomato and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and blend it up. Serve with veggies, chips or eat with a spoon.