green

Since the storm knocked out power and paralyzed much of the city for several days the annual Faber Cookie Extravaganza had not yet entered full swing, so we spent part of yesterday and today making up for lost time:

A fun day just hanging out with the family.  G & K prepared a wonderful dinner — carne asada with all the trimmings (including a multitude of salsas and bean dip from Big Rock), plus tres leches cake and graham cracker/frosting sandwiches for dessert.  Then Yahtzee and Wii games into the night…

In the weeks prior to the big trip, Ted begins to talk about his planning.  To me it sounds like a lot of thinking out loud, as he works through the various routing possibilities.  While I do tend to research trips to new places when we fly commercial, I have very little to do with our flights in N32169.  As the pilot in command, Ted needs to do a fair amount of planning (and contingency planning), and generally likes flying into new airports, so I usually ask about the kind of weather to expect and just show up.

This year, he kept mentioning “northward route” and “Sedona” and seemed to be very excited about the prospect of flying into SEZ, but being preoccupied with holiday activities and preparations, I confess I didn’t think much about how we were going to get to our destinations.

We started out on an unbelievably clear morning in the Los Angeles basin.  Crystal clear.  So clear, the usual area landmarks just popped.

I tend to conk out at higher altitudes and this leg was no exception, so I missed some of the more uneventful terrain, but Ted did wake me up for Beautiful Needles Airport (we love Needles Airport).

The big show came after we started our descent into Sedona Airport, however.  Located on the top of a flat mountain, the airport is surrounded by gorgeous red rock formations.  The colors of the terrain coupled with the dramatic way the rocks catch the light made for jaw-droppingly beautiful vistas.

Ted takes me to the best places.

Ted and I stayed home this Christmas, which means we hosted our traditional Christmas Eve open house. This year the forecast was for cold, wet weather so we thought chili might be a good dish to serve our guests.

Now Ted is typically the chili chef in this household, but because of scheduling he couldn’t prepare it in time for Christmas Eve this year. I’ve never made chili before, and Ted was fuzzy on details, so I went in search of a recipe I could use as a starting point. I found one touting itself as “The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World” — how could I go wrong?

Recipe Source: The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World by calead910

Notes and Substitutions: I diddled with this recipe a fair amount: omitted the celery, but added extra onion and an additional orange bell pepper; added about 3/4 of a habañero pepper for extra kick; pumped up the cumin and added an extra clove of garlic and an extra bay leaf; mis-read the recipe when shopping and bought only one package of veggie ground, so supplemented with a bit of soyrizo (soy based chorizo); even with the smaller amount of ground, it was looking a little lacking on the beans side, so I added and extra can of black beans.

We served this up with some shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onions, sour cream, and cornbread.

Verdict: I really liked the way this turned out: very hearty, and tasty, and spicy (but not sear-your-lips-off spicy; the other seasonings added complexity and depth to the heat). I think I preferred the accidental ratio of more beans/less veggie ground. Ted is dubious about the garbanzo beans. I think they add good texture and mouth feel, but Ted thinks they don’t look right (although his objection is not strong enough to stop eating it. heh).

It was really simple to prepare and seemed to be a crowd-pleaser to boot. Definitely adding it to my regular menu rotation… yum!

It’s been getting chilly lately, and a big bowl of steaming udon sounded like the perfect remedy.

Recipe Source: Me just screwing around.

Notes and Substitutions: I didn’t have any of pre-packaged udon with seasoning packets, but I did have a bunch of ingredients that might work well: soy sauce, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, kombu, scallions, spinach, and tofu. I just kind of threw things together in hopes of making something edible.

Verdict: It was… ok, but just so. Adding chili pepper really helped boost things a bit, but the broth was a bit bland. Still, it was hot a filling and the individual ingredients were pretty yummy.

I really need to learn how to make better vegetarian dashi so I can make last-minute osoba now and again without resorting the packaged stuff.

I love tortilla soup, but most restaurants and recipes use a chicken base, so I searched for a recipe online with the intent of either finding a vegetarian version or making one meatless. Part of the allure of this particular recipe was the short cooking time, and the ingredients sounded tasty, so I prepared a double batch for a Wow we hosted recently.

Recipe Source: Emeril Lagasse

Notes and Substitutions: I used the poblano pepper for this recipe. Substituted veggie broth for chicken broth, veggie chicken strips in place of real chicken. I also added a a little extra garlic, a can of corn kernels for a little more chunkiness, and used bagged tortilla chips instead of homemade (but only because I was running behind; I’d probably prefer the latter). Topped with avocado and the chipotle crema, which is so tasty and so easy to make. After having a taste after the 20-minute simmer, I confess to being a little disappointed — there was certainly something missing. But after adding the final ingredients–cilantro, lime, and a bit of the Essence seasoning–really made everything come together beautifully.

A few notes for next time:

• wear gloves when cutting the chili peppers;
• add black beans as well, and maybe pump up the spices a little to compensate;
• try baking the tortilla strips as well as frying to see if baking is an option;
• blend half the soup to make the base a little thicker.

Verdict: Quick, hearty, and flavorful. I was slightly skeptical about getting good flavor our of a 25 minute simmer, but was pleasantly surprised. It got thumbs up from all who tried it, and we’re definitely adding it to the regular soup rotation.

OK, not really Moroccan (it uses Indian spices) but it’s still a favorite of mine.

Recipe Source: Grace and Mae at allrecipes.com

Notes and Substitutions: I don’t deviate much at all from this recipe. I tend to like this with a bit of salt added, but beyond that usually prepare this as written. Sometimes cannellini (white kidney) beans are hard to find. I’ve tried Great Northern and White beans as substitutes, but both tend to lose their structure. I now think that red kidney beans or navy beans might be better substitutions.

Verdict: This is a great soup. It’s spicy, thick and hearty, and wonderfully aromatic–the house smells wonderful as it’s simmering. Yum yum yum.

Another recipe from a blogger. Although I don’t like squash, I do like squash soup and it sounded good enough to try.

Recipe Source: Becky Stern at Craftzine.com

Notes and Substitutions: Squashes are tough little buggers, and the recipe calls for the squash to be peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks. The skin is smooth and hard, and coupled with it’s rounded surfaces I felt the need to be very careful indeed while cutting it. Next time I make this, I will seriously consider using a reciprocating saw to do the cutting. I later spoke with a pal of mine and she says she asks grocery stores to cut the squash for her (at least halved to get it started).

I mis-read the recipe when I wrote out my shopping list and thought the half and half was optional. Whoops. Substituted with sour cream thinned with water to make “cream.” I used acorn squash and 8 cups of broth, 2 bay leaves (I like bay leaves), and scallions for garnish. I topped it with small cubes of browned tofu seasoned with salt and pepper.

Verdict: A very nice, aromatic soup. The flavor is savory and spicy and lightly sweet. The second night we ate this I forgot to add the browned tofu bits, at which point I realized the texture of this soup is a little odd on its own: it’s not creamy enough to be a bisque, and not quite chunky enough to suit my tastes, so the addition of the tofu was a pretty important for my enjoyment. Still, the flavor is terrific and I’d definitely make it again, just with the understanding that additional chunky bits and/or more cream/blending are essential rather than optional (for me).

I saw this recipe linked from another blog and was enticed by the short cooking time and the nice variety of vegetables it contained.

Recipe Source: Lost Button Studio, based on a Martha Stewart Vegetable Soup recipe

Notes and Substitutions: I replaced the chicken stock with veg, substituted broccoli for one of the zucchinis, and combined basil, oregano, and bay leaves for the “Italian seasoning”

Verdict: This was a little too bland for my tastes. I think the short simmering time contributes to this; certainly the veggie stock substitution changes things significantly, too. It was a nice, chunky mix of vegetables that retained much of their texture (which I did like) but I think I prefer minestrone that has stronger flavors.

This recipe is from the packaging for Trader Joe’s Green and Yellow Split Peas (sadly, they don’t offer this product anymore, but you can find the green and yellow split peas separately at your local market).

Recipe Source: I looked for this recipe on-line and could not find it reproduced anywhere. However, it’s very similar to this recipe from Bon Appétit.

Notes and Substitutions: Made with vegetable broth, veggie bacon instead of pig (chopped in small bits instead of large chunks), and fresh rosemary from the garden instead of dried.

Verdict: This is a wonderful split pea soup–simple, and really tasty. Veggie bacon is one of those products that’s pretty awful when eaten by itself, but terrific when added as a flavoring agent in a dish. It’s a delicious addition to my regular soup rotation.