KOL
Kiss of Life
My first real introduction to Sade was in high school. My peers and I would goof all the time in Miss Mays’ anatomy class with song numbers, and one day we found ourselves singing in unison to Sade’s ‘Jezebel’. I had never heard the song before and besides the jokes, I found the song to be very soothing. It had a message which I feel a lot of music doesn’t nowadays. I didn’t return to Sade until over a decade later—in my late 20’s.
One random night in 2019, my friend and I were heading to DC for a party and the Uber driver had Sade’s ‘Cherish The Day’ playing ever so softly in the background. I had forgotten about the famous singer mostly; but, once again, I was moved by the sound of her soothing voice and the intoxicating instrumentation accompanying it. That’s when a little note was dropped in my head to reapproach her catalogue but I wasn’t ready just yet.
When I finally started living alone in 2021, I wanted to find some music that felt smooth and calming. I work very hard to create a peaceful environment and intended on doing just that. I searched all of my old playlists and went through 100’s of artists on Spotify until I came across Sade. “This is it!”, I thought as I started playing her best hits. After some time, I eventually came across my favorite song of hers which I think you should know as well: ‘Kiss of Life’.
“There must have been an angel by my side
Something heavenly led me to you
Look at the sky
It's the colour of love”
Sade has always been this kindred spirit searching the world for love and desire. It’s displayed profoundly through all of her music; however, the yearning here is stronger than usual. Sade seems to think the partner she’s met is divinely present—that perhaps some angel or even God brought this person into her life. I relate to it as a romantic myself. When I’m enamored by an individual, it does feel like fate brought us together. There’s a fiery love burning inside that’s hard to even conceal. Notice how Sade uses the word “led”. It’s like an invisible force brought her to this person. That’s the beauty of the color of love.
“When I was led to you
I knew you were the one for me
I swear whole world could feel my heartbeat
When I lay eyes on you
I-I-I-I-I
You wrapped me up in the colour of love”
The “color of love” is an intriguing line. Love has many colors to me, but it’s usually represented by white or pink or red. Contrarily, love is not any of those colors to me. If I could describe love as a color, I believe it would be orange. Orange is bright, warm and a bit loud. Orange is fruitful. Orange is the moon and the sun some days. You can’t escape the color of orange as it yells at you everyday. Have you ever been awestruck by an orange shirt or vehicle? They stick out compared to anything or anyone else around. My goal is to always wrap my romantic partner or romantic interest in the color of orange. Orange is love, and perhaps it’s Sade’s color of love as well.
“You gave me the kiss of life
Kiss of life
You gave me the kiss that's like
The kiss of life”
“Kiss of life” is such a special way to express your feelings. It’s dramatic yet it’s as soft as the act can be. I’ve always loved to kiss—whether it was an act of endearment or appreciation. Some kisses can really bring you back to life. They fill you with a joy hard to describe and much harder to understand. I do believe in the exchange of energy through kisses; a kiss can balance the imbalanced—your emotional psyche. I’m not sure I have ever had the pleasure of giving some the “kiss of life”. It could have happened in a moment of sheer, profound love, but I have no recollection of it. Maybe the other person does, and I’ll just never know. You’ll never know. Sometimes food reminds me of kisses. A gentle, warm and fulfilling act of eating some of your favorite food can feel like a kiss. It makes you happier than you were. It replenishes your body and soul. Food is my kiss of life to you all. And what better way to do than with a simple quesadilla with some sides.
4-ingredient quesadilla/cilantro lime rice/smashed black beans
ingredients:
4-ingredient quesadilla
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced but not halved (1)
1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, blended with 1/4 cup of water or until thinned a bit (2)
cheese of choice, shredded (I recommend cheddar, monterey jack and queso fresco; KRAFT is also fine) (3)
1 large white onion, sliced or diced (4..okay there’s other stuff but…)
1 large soft white flour tortilla
salt to taste
olive oil
cilantro lime rice
2c white rice, washed!
1-2 limes, halved
cilantro, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf (optional but trust me dear)
salt to taste
smashed black beans
2 cans of black beans, drained
1 large jalapeno, sliced or diced
1/2 large white onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
4-6 slices of bacon, roughly diced (optional)
1/4c chicken or beef or vegetable stock OR water
salt and pepper to taste
Helpful items:
dutch oven/large pot
large pan or cast iron skillet
bowls
kitchen spider/mesh strainer
wooden spoon
plastic wrap
high-speed blender
rubber gloves
potato masher
recipe (quesadilla):
In a large bowl, placed sliced chicken breasts inside. Add salt and blended chipotle peppers. Thoroughly mix with hands and cover with plastic wrap for 2-3 hours OR preferably overnight.
In a large pan/skillet or pot set to medium high, add a little olive oil and onions. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken and chipotle peppers sauce. Raise heat to high, allow sauce to boil, then turn to low and cover. Cook for 25-30 minutes OR until chicken has reached 165F and can shred.
Remove chicken and onions from skillet/pan in Step 2 into large bowl and shred chicken with forks to desired size. Add salt to taste.
Note: The sauce leftover in the pan can be cooked down a bit by uncovering the skillet/pan and setting the temperature to medium high. You can then added the sauce back to the shredded chicken in the bowl or use to mix with some sour cream. Don’t discard it!
In another large skillet/pan set to high, add a little olive oil. On a warm tortilla, place shredded cheese on one half, then shredded chicken on top and then more shredded cheese on top. Fold and place into skillet while pressing down on the top of the tortilla until desired brownness is reached and cheese is nearly melted. Flip and brown the other side. Serve with crema mexicana. Enjoy!
recipe (cilantro lime rice):
Wash the rice thoroughly, add bay leaf and cook based on the package’s instructions.
Once rice is cooked, squeeze lime juice from sliced lime halves into rice. Fluff. Add cilantro and salt to taste. Fluff again. Enjoy!
recipe (smashed black beans):
In a large pot/skillet set to medium high, add diced bacon and cook until crispy. Discard the majority of the bacon fat but leave a little. Add diced onion and cook for 1-2 minutes OR until translucent. Add chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add jalapeno. Gently pour in black beans and stock or water. Add bacon. Stir. Turn heat up to high and allow the mixture to reach a boil. Turn heat back down to medium and cook for 8-10 minutes. Gently mash the black beans with a potato masher. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
If you don’t eat bacon, you can cook the onions and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil.
