How to Cook Beans and Resist Dread
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- Опубліковано 9 чер 2024
- In which John harvests beans and makes chili while trying to get his head back inside of his body.
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Please drop the full recepie for the chilli
2 onions, diced
four garlic cloves, finely diced
peppers - as many and as hot as you want, diced
2 pounds of impossible plant-based burger
2 beers
2 heaping tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon oregano
2 tablespoons oil
2 pounds of beans, either canned or fresh
2-3 cans (15 oz.) of diced tomatoes (also fine to do tomato sauce or whole peeled tomatoes or whatever you like)
Oil first. Then cook the onions and garlic and peppers in a pot until the onions are translucent. Add the plant-based meat substitute and brown. Then add the other ingredients. Let simmer for at least one hour. Add salt to taste, and serve. -John
@@vlogbrothers Thank you John!
Thing of note for non-Americans- since I was confused with the p4a equivalent of this recipe - the chilli powder mentioned is not the same as cayenne marketed as chilli in some countries. If you add this amount of cayenne, you'll most likely have more pressing issues than existential dread to deal with :D
@@vlogbrothers Thank you!
I love how you default to vegan meat John ❤️
Makes my plant loving heart smile 🌱
This was lovely. I cannot wait for John's obviously forthcoming cookbook, in his tradition of turning diversions into stress: The Anthrocuisine Renewed.
JJaaaaaaaa
Ayyyyyyyyyy~
this made me genuinely laugh out loud, i’m going to be thinking about The Anthrocuisine Renewed for the rest of the day at least :D
Wow! Very very good!
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"maybe your whole life shouldn't worship at the altar of efficiency anyway."
agreed, and wonderfully said. as a young adult i've been attempting to catch little wisdoms that will help me learn how to live happily on my own, and this one is spot on. thank you, john.
Agreed! Upon reflection, a whole host of horrible things have likely been done in the service of greater efficiency throughout history - or at least enough to make me wary of the concept.
3 that have helped me: Don’t say no to a good offer. Never go anywhere empty handed. Learn to enjoy the mystery of it all.
Ironically I came from a starcraft 2 pro game video so...
How can we square this with another vlogbrothers favorite?
“How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and that one is what we are doing.”
I loved this line, as well! And it dovetails nicely with a quote from Hank several months ago: "You will always struggle with not being productive until you accept that your own joy can be something you produce."
“But unfortunately the beans must be harvested” A quote that single handedly sums up the entire human experience
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That's overly pessimistic.
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@@ProjektKlover it's all good, of course I get pessimistic, I'm basically an advanced squirrel ❤️
"You're basically an advanced squirrel" is comforting in ways that I don't have words for. Thank you for sharing this with us
Idk, it seems a little offensive to squirrels
I may get this tattooed on me.
My new favorite John Green quote.
It immediately resonated with me in a way that I think I may have to share with my therapist later this week 🤔Considering oneself as basically an advanced squirrel does give you the latitude to perhaps forgive yourself for your shortcomings!
@@debrachambers1304 Have you seen squirrels? They're not the brightest animal
"You're living with a very strange chronic disease called consciousness"
Mood
*siiiiiiiigh*
I had to scroll way to far down to find this comment.
"How to Make Potatoes While Dread Presses In from Every Direction", the sequel.
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Then surely "How to Cook Eight Peas" is the prequel? 😂
Don't forget "How to Eat 213 Tomatoes."
😂❤️+
You can always count on John for joyful thoughts heavily seasoned with existential dread.
This is my favorite type of John content
Confirmed
This!!!
I joyfully and yet in a slight panic... agree
Honestly, one of the best combinations there is.
After a few of these I feel like there’s a slim chance that you might actually do a cook book in this style one day, so I just want to make absolutely clear that this would be 1000% wanted
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That would be amazing! I will definitely be buying this if and when it comes.
I don't usually buy cookbooks, but I would excitedly buy this one
Or just more contemplative gardening/cooking videos!
I smell a P4A reward.... 😁
"John harvesting from his garden and being philosophical" is my favorite genre of VlogBrothers videos
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Same!
YES YES me too!
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yesss came here to say the same thing
I appreciate that - like Vonnegut - as he's gotten older, John has only become more and more interested in drawing attention to the simple weirdness of being an organism on planet Earth.
the "making sure your video is out of focus" joke filled me with a sudden, unexpected, but very pleasant nostalgia. I think it's just because it felt like the same little jokes from one of my favorite John videos that I haven't watched in a long time, from maybe 2012? where John filmed himself making dinner with Henry, who was maybe 3 at the time. For some reason that joke felt the same way a sense-memory feels, like when you smell something you used to love but haven't eaten in 10 years.
John: "What are you, a Communist?"
Henry: "Yes."
John: "Well, it's good to be politically active at your age."
It'll forever be one of my favorites.
I love communist asparagus :')
Somebody please link this video!
@@lindsaykat3675 ua-cam.com/video/BhkbZ0J-o88/v-deo.html
@@lindsaykat3675 Here you are! ua-cam.com/video/BhkbZ0J-o88/v-deo.html
John, you are, and always have been, the only man in the world capable of making me teary-eyed over a bean video. Thank you.
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*bæņ§*
I feel like sometimes i forget that John is also a great writer, and then an episode like this comes along. And you could almost cry while the focus is on beans and he talks about beans
I wouldn't say the focus is always on beans 😅
Berry picking is also a meditation that combines back pain with an acute awareness of how much easier all this was when I was 18. But the result is partridgeberry jam, so I'm compensated for my aches and pains.
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AND ANYTHING to have an excuse to ride my motorcycle out to the berry fields just one more time before the season's over... RIGHT?
I mean, I like Teaberries, Elder, and Huckleberries (even after learning they're just the same as blueberries only "wild") as much as the next guy or gal... BUT still... ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 Huckleberries rule supreme! Don’t let some killjoy tell you they are just a wild blueberry. There are dozens (or hundreds?) of species in the genus (vaccinium). Also if you hail from eastern North America your huckleberries may not even be vaccinium, and thus more genetically distinct than, say, a raspberry and a blackberry. You’re welcome for the unsolicited berry taxonomy lesson :)
And the bugs. Don't forget the bugs.
@@Nerding4Nature Thanks... AND that's okay... about 9 out of 10 times around here, if an old timer points you to a "huckleberry" it's better defined as a "voluntary blueberry" or maybe a "feral blueberry" which is (at least visually) indistinguishable from the cultivated variety(ies)...
Actual proper Huckleberries are a bit more distinct, at least in substance and flavor, smaller berries on average primarily... AND while we have pretty solid raspberries and blackberries, we also sport black raspberries and "black-caps" which are also somewhat distinct (if a tad dubious to the casual observer)...
I suspect that the truth is blueberries and huckleberries are somewhat related if one tracked genes far enough... BUT I'm not even pretending to be an expert...
AND goose berries (if you can deal with thorns/pruning) are another favorite, if you're interested in a different flavor profile... though of all of them, it's the unusual, almost warm sense of the tea berry that I appreciate for its uniqueness, should you have the opportunity...
AND let's not forget Paw-Paw's in the local foraging cuisine... I'll have a "bumper crop", if the year pans out as it looks... come the first good frost... AND who can neglect the infamy of Persimmons??? Almost as much fun before the frost (with a green-horn at least) as they are after... especially with a "seasoned green horn"... haha... ;o)
“But unfortunately the beans must be harvested” is giving me “We must cultivate our garden” vibes from candide and I love it
Il faut cultiver nos haricots.
Glad to see you were able to get more than 8 beans for your chili! Thanks for always being a bright light in a sometimes dark world.
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I love these existential cooking videos so much, because despite them being well… existential, they’re also chill and nice and kinda relaxing?
It’s strange, but what do I, a fleshy worm with limbs, know
As an advanced squirrel, I couldn't have said it better
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I’m in my mid twenties and a total mess lately and I have been coming back to your videos for years whenever I feel like this. I don’t know quite how to thank you two. Thank you.
These kinds of videos make me feel so at peace and at home. And also give me the feeling nostalgia. I've been a part of Nerdfighteria for so long now. You two and the entire community have a very special place in my heart. Thank you to everyone reading this.
I come to the vlogbrothers videos' comment section around 12 hrs after the release. That is the sweet spot when you have most of the nerdfighters who want to comment would have commented. This way, one can enjoy 20-30 min of pure unironic enthusiasm and empathy. Thank you for writing this one, stardust.
John you should be the audio book narrator for a book about how to cook and prepare beans. I’d Pre Order it.
The Existential Chef
@@MsWaif I hear a new pod cast in that name.
@@MsWaif when the Swedish Chef from the Muppets had his Emo phase
Harvested green beans yesterday... I was dreeeeeeeenched in sweat when I was done. I came in and immediately took a cold bath so I could be completely submerged... wondered if it was worth it the whole time because my green beans I grow always end up tasting like dirt 🤢 (yes, I do wash them lol)
*This actually inspired me to go pick some more though!*
they were grounded
@@thelastcube. 🤔 I'm confused... I'm not sure what you mean. They are pole beans so they grow out of the ground, but up a pole and across string. If you have any suggestions though I'd welcome them lol my grandmother and Mom always grew them and my Mom can't figure it out either 😜
@@emilypresleysee Check the seed source and type... there's actually quite a lot of different kinds of beans, and not all of them are meat to be eaten the same way as "Blue lake" (the traditional green beans in the can...
In the meantime, I believe you can use a needle and string to dry them in the shells, and then snap or cut and boil. A style of preparation the old timers around here (East TN) call "Leather Britches"...
It's an interesting experience... BUT if your beans have an off-putting flavor, you might just not be a fan of Pole Beans... or you may have Tender Octobers as opposed to Long Runners or Shelleys... AND experimenting with a different variety from year to year (or even two or three varieties at a time) might help..
If they do (objectively) taste like dirt... It's also possible that you have an over-abundance or a depletion in the soil... Something you can look into is sending a sample to your local Agriculture department (local government) and have it tested. That could tell what types of fertilizers would be the best for your beans on your ground... Something a lot of hobby farms and gardens don't bother with, but could be a real aid. AND it's a bit time consuming, but it wasn't as expensive as I'd expected when we did it about ten years ago, to find out things like alkaline/acidity, and some of the general mineral profile...
You might also consider talking to a greenhouse operator. Don't just assume anyone working in a greenhouse knows everything, but the super's and owners SHOULD know something useful. Certain molds in the ground can have an adverse effect on fruits and legumes, among other things... AND someone knowledgeable in your area might be a better shot at "trouble shooting" than some faceless goob you found on the internet, even hereabout with nerdfighteria...
Other than that, Good hunting! I honestly hope you can figure it out, and come to love your garden beans. You should GET to eat the fruits of your labor, not endure the chore of it. ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 thank you! We have a shared garden with my partners cousins family that lives next door. His cousin's wife said they were long runners. My mom said that's the same type she and my grandmother always grew. We had the soil tested a couple years ago before we planted trees and a few bushes to see if we needed to do anything special for them. I picked a "mess" today, blanched them and froze them. I'm going to look into some of the suggestions you made for my next batch I pick in the coming days, hopefully they turn out alright!
probably the way you are cooking it, try boiling them for a while with a little bit of vinegar and a single bay leaf, strain it and then cook it how ever you live it. might help
I can't stress enough how important menial tasks that take time and energy (that you do not or may not feel like doing) are to my daily life involvement as a disabled person, because it's always something I know I can and it's the same every time. Kudos to your growth John. You help so many of us.
The beans are just so pretty, it's making me want to grow my own and I don't even particularly enjoy them as a food item. Thanks John!
-An advanced squirrel
“You’re basically an advanced squirrel” almost made me spit my drink out. Thanks, John 😂
garden vids is top tier vlogbrothers
"If you ruminated long enough about being an organism, *and you did,,* the beans should be ready" feels similar to the like, "Wait for your ancestors to give you vibes" typw of spicing instructions, and I like it a lot. That chilli looks delicious!
this video about beans made me feel things i was not expecting to feel
Once again, I am absolutely broken by John's ability to put into words the feeling I had no words for. The feeling of mind and body drifting apart is exactly where I find myself but couldn't articulate it. So here I am, a sobbing mess over John's video about beans and chili. Thanks, John. It helps. 💜
The genuine smile John has while eating his chili and having conversation with his loved ones made my whole week
This!
After resonating with the feelings of dread in the video, seeing that he can genuinely smile, reminds me that I can too, even when it feels like I can't.
This just gave me the motivation I needed to go out to my own garden. I've been avoiding it all morning because the dread of the extreme weather has overtaken my joy of the harvest (as it's been drastically diminished). Alas, here I go.
Ok, I kinda needed that 😅
Always a good day when there’s a vlogbrothers vid
I'm loving these old-style videos just enjoying what you guys are up to and rambling, whether in airports or preparing beans. Both nostalgic but also perfectly chill and contemplative for the times we're in now.
I’m gardening for the first time this summer and while it’s a lot of work, it has its moments. Like this morning I decided to go out and photograph the bees in my pumpkin flowers with a macro lens. They came out so beautiful I actually cried a little bit. Bees are so good.
I don't know why but I cannot explain the amount of joy that I feel when I watch John eating chili and smiling at a table.
Thank you for choosing a plant-based meat substitute!! I love the garden and I appreciate you sharing this 💖
I wonder which one it was...
I've been working overtime every week for almost a month now, and the gentle reminder to step away from worshipping efficiency was just what I needed to hear.
Thank you, John. The chili looks delicious.
I never thought someone telling me I'm basically an advanced squirrel would be reassuring
But honestly
I needed today
John’s cooking videos are some of my faves - from this bean video, to cooking 8 peas, to communist celery and grapefruit juice, I’m always here for them! Keep on cooking, John!❤️🍽
Watched this while eating my cherry tomato harvest! It was a bountiful one today (you know, from forgetting the past few days) but so rewarding and tasty. I'm savoring a second summer of sharing our cherry tomato plants with my son. At two, he picks and eats then independently (last year, I picked them and handed them to him to eat). The other day, he picked a green one, took a bite, and tried to affix it back on the vine. Priceless. Happy gardening!
I keep coming back to this video every month or so. It has it all: Life, dread and good food. Thanks John!
Your description of your mind and body being separated but brought back together by the beans...
you've done a roundabout rediscovery of mindfulness practice. A+ I love it, as always. Thank you for sharing your bean philosophy with us all, John.
The thing I love most about these sorts of videos is 1. They give voice to my mental illness, 2. Just as he has shared all his nihilistic world views he summons up that other half, the one that drives us all onward.
The privilege of his position is he can speak to all these things, the curse is he will never truly know their reach and impact. I'll see you Friday.
As one of the people who commented on your chopping skills last time, I wanted to say I was not poking fun! Cutting properly is VERY important and only takes 5 minutes to learn. All the best to you and your fingertips John!
Thank you, John. I've been having a really really really hard time lately...far too much thinking and ruminating and other...this brought me to tears because it reminds me just how much I'm NOT alone.
💜
I was once asked which vlogbrother I related to more. The conclusion was "Hank in the streets, John in the sheets," as I act socially more like Hank but ruminate a lot more like John.
It's videos like this that really remind me of this fact and I could not appreciate them more.
For large amounts of time I will just skip John's videos, because I'll feel like watching them won't do me any good, they won't miraculously make me feel better. But then sometimes I watch them anyway, and I'll feel so soothed and understood that I have to wonder why I don't watch them more often. Thank you for making my day a little brighter John.
I love that this is narrated in second person's POV. I have bern watching too much Dimension 20 and so used to that type of narration
As evidenced by the semi-ominous tweet that proceeded this, making videos every Tuesday is hard. John, sometimes it's worth the struggle. This video came at a time when I certainly needed to be reminded of several things, including how to keep my head and my body connected to each other. Thank you, as always, for being precisely what you are supposed to be.
I find it fun how videos like this are basically just essays. Like this script could’ve just as easily been a written work submitted to a magazine if John were a different kind of writer/person.
I am so thankful I could take 4 minutes of my increasingly busy day to listen to this meditative introspection. Thank you, as always, John. See you next Tuesday.
I'm gonna come back here after I get through, what I anticipate will be, a rough day.
Thanks in advance!
Wish me luck y'all.
Good luck!! You got this
He's come so far with these yearly bean harvests :')
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I am once again recommending Joe Pera Talks With you for anybody who needs a comedy about a quiet man in Michigan who loves growing and harvesting his beans.
"If this was your first bean harvest, you'd make some warm bean salad or something that really celebrates the bean-ness of the beans" omg, this gave me words I didn't know I was lacking - now I can finally articulate why I'm only ever interested in raw tomatoes with salt and pepper when they've come from my own garden lol. I LOVE Gardening with John videos ❤
While listening to this video I went and picked the first tomato from our volunteer tomato plant, which somehow has survived when the ones we planted intentionally did not and we only watered it once. It was a delicious tomato!
Love it! As a kid I spent many hours, once a year, with my grandparents and extended family snapping green beans. It is meditative in a way...
Also, I think we should change the discourse around plant based meat. It's not "fake" hamburger, as hamburger is the final form of a process for beef, so it's just plant based hamburger. There's nothing fake about it. It's not fake beef, it's plant based beef. Maybe I've though too much about it, but "fake" has a pejorative feeling about it, and (at least for hamburger) there's nothing negative about it.
Needed this as someone transitioning to adulthood, living far away from home for the first time and applying for jobs all at the same time.
John's overheated-and-humid face is one of my favorite things and I think the last time I saw it he was visiting his old high school in Alabama. Truly a blessing
John should start a new youtube channel called Cooking with John. I'd totally be down for it
I never realize when I need a john cooking video
"You're a mammal; of course you get scared" was the perfect thing to hear on a day when I struggled with anxiety that felt baseless. Thank you, John.
John, I think this is my favorite vlogbrothers video so far. Just an advanced squirrel making chili while experimenting dread and coming to terms with in. That's truly beautiful.
I wasn‘t ready for another chapter of the anthropocene reviewed. Loved it, John ❤️
lovin the thumbnail John
chosen by the algorithm not me! :) -John
😛
John, your bean videos are one of the things in my life that help me feel the joyful smallness of my humanity. They remind me to be forgiving toward myself for having a body, and that by simply being (or beaning... sorry not sorry), I am enough. Thanks for that.
This is just what I needed today. I’ve been worshiping at the altar of efficiency far too often lately. Today I think I’m going to dance instead. Thank you for being here through good times and bad.
Giving me excellent 'You suck at cooking' vibes John.
I love a side of mild existential crisis with my chili
Honestly, it's the little things. As a Romanian, I'm very proud of the culture I grew up with and the small essentials that make us who we are as people and bring family/friends closer together. Not long ago, I had a friend tell me "You're so lucky. You have this entire entity of society that you can relate to with regards to specific aspects of your life. You smile when you hear someone speaking your language. You hear an accordion and start swaying. Certain smells make your eyes brighten and you get so excited explaining how it reminds you of childhood. It's lovely. You have a niche of comfort." It made me teary and very happy because yes. It will always be the little things. Forever.
I spent the day worrying about everything I felt responsible for, and panicking about things that haven't happened yet. I needed this video, and here it is, posted on the same day. How nice!
It’s like recipe blogs, but the commentary is both unskippable and actually interesting
I hope beanie sandfurbs makes an appearance
Hence the term, labor of love. Great times I remember were garden time and hanging out with my Grandparents in the kitchen enjoying the season's harvest and shucking peas, beans, and corn. Just hanging out together telling stories and gossip, enjoying our time together. Great post!
I feel like you just narrated my life. Gardening that i'm never caught up on, mixed with some existential dread, and then a strange peace of preparing and sharing the garden spoils
As a vegetarian, I totally appreciate how the recipe is plant based!!❤️
Covered my eyes at the cooking body parts, and then John said, "plant-based fake hamburger." Whew, what a relief. For me and the cow and the planet. Thanks, John.
yep, hopefully he is completely plant based.
3:25 cheeze?
@@janremoto4849 typo " hopefully he will become completely plant based"
As an anxious and compulsive person, this video is deeply soothing. Everything from the keen, crucial observations about the human existence to the reminders of the simple joys of life which we are often made to think aren't worth the time it takes to do them. Thanks John.
Hi, thanks for having me, longtime viewer, first time having to pull over while listening to the new Vlogbrothers video because I started to openly cry. There are so many stresses and I am so endlessly hard on myself, and to what end? Thank you John. I’ve thought some of these things (advanced worm with arms, etcetc) prior and as always hearing you echo a sentiment I’ve already rattled around in my own brain is comforting in ways that are hard to describe. Have a lovely evening. Enjoy the chili :)
resisting dread is an exercise, a practice we take up each day. it's easy to choose disappointment and heartbreak and discouragement. i know i have on plenty of occasions. but when we do look for the positive, when we do find moments of light soaked joy and sit in them, no matter the effort or the time exerted, we always feel better. im not suggesting we ignore present realities of real suffering and pain and just find cheap silver linings (that's a different kind of easy out) but rather urging us to do both...acknowledge the bad and look for the good....choose the long, effortful path of resistance and work and joy cultivating...because it's only then that we'll unlock something truly meaningful..something worth having and worth sharing. thank you john for your video and for reminding me to find those moments of light soaked joy, and to not simply find them but to sit in them, dwell in them, and work for them. until friday i guess...
I always thought it would be nice to write a coffee table book about all the things that go through my head while gardening. Nice to know I'm not alone in having strangely philosophical thoughts while pulling weeds, harvesting, and generally meandering around the garden!
The value is derived through the non alienating experience of enjoying the fruits of your own labor to its fullest. Sharing that surplus with others in need and in turn nurturing a sense of community and belonging in doing so. I too enjoy picking beans.
A surprisingly deep and philosophical video about a man and his beans, I love it
I watched this video yesterday in between naps that I took in order to ignore the dread pressing in, and today I find myself unexpectedly alone and the dread has burst open. I needed this video yesterday, and I need this video now. Maybe tomorrow I will make chili. I will need the video then. thanks, john :)
Now I watch this video every time I make chili, and it feels like a warm hug. from one fleshy worm to another, thank you :)
That last shot made me cry. And I'm not sure why, but I wanted to share that.
I love the way this is written in second person despite CLEARLY being about your own personal experience. It feels like I know a little more what it's like to be John Green than I would from a standard first-person script.
John's garden/cooking videos always deliver a sense of peace, for which I'm continuously grateful
Oh my dear John. You have had my devotion ever since I watched the first Crash Course but now you have my absolutely undying devotion because while I pride myself in soaking and cooking dried beans (the only beans I have ever harvested and cooked were green beans - so easy) I have never harvested and shelled those hard to cook jobberdoos. You do rock!
This is not the first philosophical slightly existential cooking video you've made and I love it
I lost my dog in a car crash that thankfully my mother survived a couple of months ago. It's the first death close to me in a long time that feels like it changed me permanently. I'll notice that I'm sad more often now for no reason, and than after I examine that feeling discover the underlying cause. I'm trying to be patient with myself and remind myself that grief isn't something to just get over, there's no timeline or goal to beat. The reminder that I'm basically just an advanced squirrel helped today🤣
Regardless of what people say about your knife skills, as long as the food gets cut, and the fingers don't, they are perfect.
Sure, one could perhaps cut faster and more precisely, but in the home kitchen, as long as the job gets done before you starve, it's a success, and really tastiness matters much more than efficiency.
The number of genres in this piece, and the frequency and abruptness of their arrivals and departures, is staggering
This is one of the best things I’ve seen in a while, I hope you two never stop making these videos
I always love it when you take us to the garden or your kitchen with you, it feels very wholesome and lovely
This video is saying its okay to be lost for a while in the kindest and gentlest way while bestowing bean knowledge. Thank you.
Rewatched in winter, and realized what bugged me about this video when it came out: chili in summer. I make a pretty good chili, but would never dream of doing it in hot weather! Still a great video, and very relatable.
These videos give me great comfort.
Thank you for making them.
I've been having some high anxiety and this video brought me a lot of comfort. I keep returning to it. Thanks, John.
Oh my, I love this on so many levels. The lovely meditation it is, the humour of it all, the fun "art cooking" aspect of it, and its luminous heart that beats and shines throughout. Thank you John.