When is a yard sale not a yard sale? When there’s no yard? When it’s indoors? It is curious that a storefront with many booths inside (aka indoor swapmeet) would start using the term yard sale for their method of selling consumer goods. Maybe its because in Lincoln Heights the daily yard sale reigns supreme, for both those looking to score some deals and those hoping to unload some stuff while they make some cash.
A man on a go-cart waves to a man in a car. A parade of one for an interesting October afternoon.
And so the re-purposing of that initial pot of beans continues. This variation is easily the one that gives me the most satisfaction, a legume experience that is pure gustatory pleasure and reminds me of better days.
This recipe might not mean as much to you as it does me, but this is one of the few dishes that I both enjoy making and eating. Plus it brings me back to an earlier era, a comfort food from a time when the family life wasn’t the mess it has now become. I’m not going to bore you with the details, just trust me when I tell you that not all Mexican families adhere to that Advertisment version of the harmonious family. Sometimes, you just have to say “no mas.”
This recipe comes via my grandmother, aka Carmen, aka Carmela, aka Abue. She made these all the time for special occasions, usually for something like the Navidad gatherings, or El Dia del Pavo. But they seemed to be present at any sort of special event, anything that seemed worthy of an extra effort. They do take a bit of extra work, not much, but just a small amount of attention. And it’s crazy to think how nowadays that little bit of effort can make such a difference. And how it can mean so much more.
Mexicans have taken the art of graphic novels to a level which has yet to be surpassed. Sure there’s all those stories of wandering lust, as you can imagine, but I think this series known as “Libro Sentimental” rules this comic art form. They present some impossible but plausible human story in the most sentimental way. Which inevitably makes it hilarious.
Click ahead for a synopsis of a typical graphic melodrama!
I was driving by the Loft area on Ave 26 and saw this amazing mountain of couches. In Lincoln Heights you get used to the occasional couch or two on the sidewalk, but this was special. I had to pull over for a pic. I wonder if a bunch of people got evicted from that Senior housing? Or did they just, uh, move on to a different place? Hmm, I can’t get a good look from this window, maybe I should park and check out this lil’ mound.
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