Fennel Franks and White Bean Stew Prescribed by The Connects and Secret Music

It 6:53 on Saturday morning and I am awake, eating soup, writing and listening to music. It is taking a lot of effort to hold my head up as it is swimming, probably somewhere out in the Arctic Region by this time. This is my yearly ritual as we close in to my birthday: head colds, congestion, sometimes writing on the floor of an airport unable to keep any type of food down. Maybe it is the stress of the job leading into the Christmas break, maybe it is the immune systems of the kids I teach. Whatever the cause, I’m hoping that sometime in the near future I can celebrate a birthday without running through a box of tissues.

My combative approach this year has been drinking lots of orange juice and eating a ton of soup/stew. One of those stews is a fennel frank and white bean stew that is chock full of vegan sausage, beans, tomatoes, leeks and garlic. I figure one of those vegetables has to help.

Fennel Franks and White Bean Stew
(printable version)

-15 ounces of Cannellini Beans, rinsed
-3 plum tomatoes, chopped
-12 ounces diced tomatoes
-1 Leek, chopped
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-1 Tbs. thyme
-1/2 cup veggie stock
-3 veggie sausages
-parsley

1. Make the sausages according to directions. Brown for three minutes in a pan. Allow to cool then slice into small pieces.

2. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the beans, tomatoes, leeks, garlic, thyme, sausage and vegetable stock in an oven safe plate. Cover with foil and cook for an hour.

3. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

This week has seen the amount of holiday inspired music on my computer increase. These aren’t your mom and dad’s traditional holiday songs however. The Connects’ “Christmas in the Club”  is a club-style dance song that wound up in my inbox along with some writing about coke stuffed animals and post op tranny breasts. Mr. Dan had my attention. The song itself drops lines about blow jobs, Casey Anthony, cherry poppin’ and much much worse. It is the type of thing that would offend hard core traditionalists and moderates alike. As hard as I’ve tried to look away though, I just can’t.

Christmas in the Club by The Connects

The video:

Slightly less offensive, though no less rowdy, is “T.O.Y.S” by Secret Music (Chase Nicholl and Daniel Fry). While not specifically a holiday song, when I think of toys I think of Christmas. The song starts with a wondrous blend of synths and guitar before the synths fall away leaving a jangly metallic solo in its wake. Around the time of the chorus, both instruments come back to join hands in matrimony.  Throw in catchy, telephone style lyrics and you’ve got yourself a stocking stuffer worthy of the center of the mantle piece. “T.O.Y.S” is the first track from the band’s self-titled debut album which is due out on March 6th via Black Bell Records.

Secret Music-T.O.Y.S via Insomnia Radio

The band’s brilliant video:

Secret Music – T.O.Y.S. from Cluster 1 on Vimeo.