Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.

Have you ever gone to a funeral, and all of a sudden you can't resist the urge to laugh? Maybe its the sounds of the church pew squeaking under your ass,or maybe its the way Aunt Esters moles look like the constellation Orion. Once it happens, you're screwed, and all that is left is to imagine that special place in hell you will soon occupy. Once you boil the situation down to its base hilarity, there is no turning back. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is exactly what the 1960's felt like for Stanly Kubrick. At the very height of the cold war, when both sides were just waiting to give each other a thermonuclear kick in the ass, he made a film that made the whole mess seem... well, silly.

Based on the novel Red Alert, Dr.Strangelove is an amazing example of satire. Nowadays i feel like "satire" and "spoof" are interchangeable terms when it comes to comedies, but Kubrick nailed it. Take for example my favorite scene from he whole movie (and i now have many), when the American president Merkin Muffley has to call U.S.S.R president Dimitri, and inform him that all hell has broken loose and a wing of renegade bombers are about to nuke Russia. The conversation boils down to a banal exchange over how much the two leaders enjoy speaking to one and other, and who is the most sorry for the situation. meanwhile in the background we can see the US bombers displayed on a map getting closer and closer to their targets. I could feel myself getting incredibly tense as these two world leaders wasted time over trivialities, while the destruction of the world was edging ever closer. And that's in 2011! I've never had to ask myself what a nuclear bomb would do to my city, but in the 60's this was all people could think about. The whole thin is very effective, and incredibly funny.

In Honour of our first Black and White film, Mo came up with a meal to match. Black Bean Soup, with jalapeño and Cumin. As well as black olive, and Mozzarella skewers. She used a little bit of tzatziki as a garnish, and the whole meal was amazing.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 Onion, Chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño
2 15 ounce cans black beans, undrained
1 15 ounce can petit dice tomatoes in juice
1 ½ cups low-salt chicken broth

Chopped fresh cilantro, green onions, and feta cheese to garnish.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften. Mix in cumin and 1 teaspoon Jalapeno. Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer cups of soup to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer soup until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and jalapeno.