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In times like these we
turn to comfort foods. We cook and bake for friends and family as
a way to show each other love and support, and that’s just as
important now as it’s ever been. Our heroes tonight are Greek
rather than Tuscan. Read about Harmodius and Aristogeiton
who brought democracy to ancient Athens |
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For
a pork with a pleasing crust, we coat the meat in a flavorful paste
of olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. For creamy (not
soupy) beans, we chose canned cannellini. No precooking! Pull out the
finished pork
and toss in some spinach to cook while the meat rests so that the
sulfur was cooked out of the greens.
Ingredients:
(2
cans drained and rinsed, 1 can left undrained)
1
onion, chopped
2
carrots, peeled and chopped
2
celery ribs, chopped
4
garlic cloves chopped
1
Tbs olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2
Tbs Italian seasoning
1
tsp each: Salt and pepper
1
(2½- to 3-pound) boneless pork butt roast, trimmed*
12
ounces spinach, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Lemon
wedges
- This calls for a nice roast. However things being what they are right now we use what we can get from our once heavy stocked markets. Here we used 2 sliced pork steaks.
Directions:
Assemble
the rub:
Combine
oil, garlic
powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Slave
took the harder way and made the Italian seasoning from:
½
tsp basil paste
1½
tsp dried oregano
½
tsp rosemary
1
tsp marjoram
½
tsp sage
1
tsp dried thyme
½
tsp fennel seeds
Only
because I wanted to use up some of these and get them out of my
cupboard.
Pat
the pork with paper towels to make sure it is dry. Take a minute to
trim off any large areas of fat.
Save
these timings in a zipper bag and freeze. They will make a wonderful
grease for cooking in.
Rub
this paste all over pork.
Yes
its messy but relax and remember times your hands were in messier
things!
This
acts as a marinade to let the flavors melt into the meat. It will
also serve the purpose of a crust so you don't have to sear the meat
before putting it on to cook. Let the meat come to room temperature
on counter while you do the prep work.
Wipe
out and spray your slow-cooker, set to low!
Do
your cutting: peel and chop ~ carrots, celery, and garlic.
NOTE:
when
you open the cans of beans, you only drain 2 of them! Keep the liquid
in 1. This is the moisture you want for creamy but not soupy beans!
Add
2 cans drained beans, 1 can beans and their liquid, onion, carrots,
celery, and sliced garlic to warmed slow cooker. Stir to combine.
Nestle
pork into the bean mixture in slow cooker. Cover and cook until pork
is tender, 8
to 9 hours on low
or 6 to 7 hours on high.
While
this is working away on the counter find the time to wash the spinach
and pull the stems off. Tear any large leaves in half.
When
your 8
hours are
up, Carefully remove the pork to a serving platter and tent with
aluminum foil. Turn the cooker to HIGH.
Stir
the spinach into bean mixture in slow cooker; Make sure it is blended
in, cover and cook on high
about 30
minutes.
Yes
the pork will be fine!
Season
vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve
pork with the bean-spinach mixture, drizzling individual portions
with a light touch of olive oil and lemon juice.
It
is up to you if you wish to have a brown and serve type of crusty
bread to sop up the beans with for a True Tuscan comfort meal.
This
can be a meal of hugs and snuggles as you reassure your faith in the
future.
For
our background music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP_dhHaYoe8
socialslave
To
satisfy and restore.
To
nourish, support and maintain.
To
gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to
nurture, assist, and sustain
…..I
cook!
Please
buy slave's cookbook:
The
Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM
via @amazon
Harmodius
and Aristogeiton
(both
died 514 BC) were two lovers from ancient Athens. They became known
as the Tyrannicides, the preeminent symbol of democracy to ancient
Athenians, after they committed an act of political assassination at
the 514 BC Panathenaic Festival.
They
assassinated Hipparchus, thought to be the last Peisistratid tyrant.
They also planned to kill the tyrant of Athens, Hippias, but were
unsuccessful.
In
528/7 BC, Hippias became tyrant of Athens, with the help of his
brother, Hipparchus, who acted as the minister of culture. Their
popularity declined after Hipparchus began to abuse the power of his
position.
Harmodius
resolved to assassinate both Hippias and Hipparchus and thus to
overthrow the tyranny. Harmodios and Aristogeiton successfully
killed Hipparchus, but Hippias survived and remained in power.
Harmodius
was killed on the spot by Hipparchus' guards, while Aristogeiton was
arrested shortly thereafter. All those with concealed weapons or
under suspicion were arrested, gaining Hippias a respite from the
uprising.
Aristogeiton
died only after being tortured in the hope that he would reveal the
names of the other conspirators.
His
brother's murder led Hippias to establish an even stricter
dictatorship, which proved very unpopular and was overthrown, with
the help of an army from Sparta. This was followed by the reforms of
Cleisthenes, who established a democracy in Athens.
Subsequent history came to
identify the figures of Harmodius and Aristogeiton as martyrs
to the cause of Athenian freedom, and they became known as "the
Liberators".
After
the establishment of democracy, Cleisthenes commissioned a bronze
statue group of Harmodius and Aristogeiton. It was the first
commission of its kind, and the very first statue to be paid for out
of public funds, as the two were the first Greeks considered by
their countrymen worthy of having statues raised to them.
The
statue was taken as war booty in 480 BC by Xerxes I during the early
Greco-Persian Wars and installed by him at Susa. When Alexander the
Great conquered the Persian empire, in 330, he discovered the statue
at Susa and had it shipped back to Athens. When the statue, on its
journey back, arrived at Rhodes it was given divine honors.
The
statue group has been seen, in modern times, as an invitation to
identify erotically and politically with the figures, and to become
oneself a slayer iof tyrants. According to Andrew Stewart, the
statue: “not only placed the homoerotic bond at the core of
Athenian political freedom, but asserted that it and the manly
virtues of courage, boldness and self-sacrifice that it generated
were the only guarantors of that freedom’s continued existence”.
Another
tribute to the two heroes was a hymn praising them for restoring
equal distribution of justice to the Athenians. Its popularity was
such that: “at every banquet, nay, in the streets and in the
meanest assembly of the common people, that convivial ode was daily
sung”,
When
sung, the singer would hold a branch of myrtle in his hand.
This
ode has been translated by many modern poets such as Edgar Allan
Poe, who composed his Hymn to Aristogeiton and Harmodius in
1827.
The
two men are described as lovers, their love affair was styled as
moderate and legitimate. Further confirming the status of the two
as paragons of ethics, a law was passed prohibiting slaves from
being named after the two heroes.
Their
story continued to be cited as an admirable example of heroism and
devotion for many years.
Orators
have cited Harmodius and Aristogeiton, as well as Achilles and
Patroclus, as examples of the beneficial effects of same-sex
relationships.
Aeschines
offers them as an example of "just love", and as proof of
the boons such love brings the lovers – who were both improved by
love beyond all praise – as well as to the city.
