Written and performed by Bob Wills, the king of Western swing, "Time Changes Everything" is a song of complicated emotion, with a narrator remembering an old love but reflecting that, on balance, he's doing all right—it's been a while. Time changes everything.
Wills, born in 1905 in Texas, was one of the people who practically founded the genre of Western swing, which borrows elements of country and jazz and gives you something you can dance to; Wills was, in turn, an influence on success artists including Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. He's still being talked about: "Bob Wills Is Still the King," a song written by Waylon Jennings after Wills's death, is nowadays a country classic, covered by the Rolling Stones among others, and bands like Asleep at the Wheel have released well-received albums of Bob Wills songs. "Time Changes Everything" was one of his hits.
Wills was speaking of love and feelings, of course, but time changes food, too—sometimesfor the badbut, under controlled circumstances, often most assuredly for the good. And we are actually in the ideal season to watch time work its magic in this regard. I'm thinking about foods likesauerkraut,kimchi, anything brined or rubbed with salt and left awhile to its own devices. Earlier this fall I made a sort of sauerkraut from the leaves of a particularly bountiful collard plant in our garden; later in the season I made some kimchi; we'll be eating both all winter long. (In that sense fermentation can arrest time, or at least slow it significantly—this stuff lasts in the fridgeforever.)
Once you've fermented enough, you get comfortable with the notion of leaving a food unrefrigerated longer than otherwise feels right: one week, two weeks—you know that each day it's on the counter adds another layer of pungent flavor. But fermenting vegetables doesn't always take a matter of weeks. You could start with this classic kimchi, made with Napa cabbage, garlic, ginger, and the umami punch of fish sauce or Korean salted shrimp, available in Korean markets. It sits out for two or three days—just enough for time to change it.
