Monday, November 10, 2014
11.10.2014
Just changed the title of the blog and hope to get back to posting more. "More" meaning "at all." I recently moved from Catawba, Virginia, to Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. I'm living on a farm, and working for now as a substitute teacher in the Knox County School System. In the spring, I'll teach a course at Carson Newman University, on critical thinking and philosophy, so you'll be hearing more about that. I am now assembling materials for the course, which will become a book on critical thinking. The book I have used in the past, written by a great professor at UT, John Nolt, is now out of print and is quite old, so I am going to take some of the great things I learned from that book and add many of my ideas to it. I've written some already, and write as I get inspiration. Soon, I'll pull what I have together, think of what topics need to be covered, and in general be more systematic about it all.
In the past month and a half, I have let down on my fitness routine, and am vowing now to get back to it. When I got to Knoxville (area, I mean; Strawberry Plains to be exact), I ran a 5K and did ok. I ran some hills on the farm pretty regularly and need to get back to that. I was also biking about 20 miles on Sunday afternoons. Soon it will be too cold to bike (I admit to being a fair weather biker of the first order), but I can do it for a while longer. I am now official enough to use the gym at Carson Newman, which is small, cramped, with very old equipment, but it is free. It is about the same distance to it as it would be to a gym in Knoxville, which is nice (a Gold's Gym) but does cost. If I can avoid that for now, I will. But I DO need to get going to Carson Newman. We'll see if I can make that work. It'll be easier after the first of the year when I will have to be there 2 days a week, but until then, need to get going.
Hiking is another part of my fitness routine. There is a GREAT hike very nearby, at House Mountain. I did it recently and it took me an hour an 45 min to do the whole loop. The uphill part is quite steep, and it would do me and my heart well to do this as often as I can before it snows. As out of shape as I am, I did the steep first part with only three short breaks to catch my breath. Then I ran a good part of the way back, the more or less downhill part. Reminder: get boots fixed.
I also need to get back to playing more, musically. I've been mainly doing ukulele, teaching some people at Carson Newman to play it. I need, tonight, to study some chord melody Christmas songs I want the group to try. We've been mainly strumming, and this would be a nice advance. But I need to learn a couple tonight. I need to get new strings for Mandolin #2, which will be dedicated to an open tuning. I started a Facebook group, Exploring Blues Mandolin, which has over a couple hundred members now, and a guy recently posted some stuff, including videos, of playing the &*%$%^$% mandolin in open tuning. I say "%&^$^&%*&^&*(," because I was hoping not to "have to" complicate my life with open tunings on mandolin. You might say, well, just don't do it, but to me, this idea of open tunings is like laying heroin in front of a heroin addict. I can't not do it. If it weren't possible (or, I should say, feasible) to do it, great. If it is, and the instructions for doing so are right there in front of me, well, I'm screwed. I have to do it. Reminder: I also need to get a '2016' battery for my tuner. Mild but firm complaint: Why do they sell these batteries in packets of 2 or 3? I bought a packet of 2 sometime back, now one is used up, and (of course) I can't find the 2nd one. I remember putting it somewhere, thinking, If I put it here, I'll have it when I need it! Nope. That answers the question, why do they sell these in packets of 2 or 3?
I have some new FB friends here in town who I haven't met in person. They were recommended to me by my new friend Chris Arnold, who I have met, for a beer a couple of times. I was having a good political discussion with one of these FB friends, and was sent a friend request by a guy who said he liked my posts. I went to his FB page, and he's a musician. But not only a musician, but the owner of a music store in downtown Knoxville! And we are on the same team politically! What could be cooler? I'm going to try to get by there this afternoon to buy my strings there. He told me about a music jam that happens on Monday nights downtown, a place called Suttree's. I don't have to get up early tomorrow, so I might try to make it by there.
I stocked up recently on good food. It's easy just to be lazy and eat what my parents do, but it isn't overall good for me. I need to do more cooking, and have no excuse now. Tonight I want to make a Thai dish, with the tofu, some potatoes and sweet potatoes, coconut milk and some green curry paste I bought at an Asian market yesterday. Mmmm. I need to soak some red beans so I can also do my Indian rajma, which is on this site.
I harvested all the remaining parsley from my herb garden. I also transplanted the basil plant to a pot and moved it indoors. I don't know that it will make it, but it doesn't hurt to try. I have LOTS of parsley, more than can be used before it goes bad, so I "process" it in the following way. I learned this from a French chef when I worked one summer many years ago at a nice restaurant in Knoxville. You take the parsley and chop it very very fine. This is very labor intensive and takes time. It would make sense to do this in a food processor, but he told me that the food processor just pulverizes it, way too small. That makes sense. Then you take the chopped parsley and put it in a kitchen towel. Run cold water over it, squeezing out the excess water. At first, the water runs very green, then less so over time. You squeeze all the water out, wringing the towel very hard. I lay the tiny parsley bits out on a baking sheet to dry out. When they are very dry, you have tiny flakes of very tasty parsley, looking like but much better than dried parsley you would by in a store. I've done about half of the parsley I harvested, and have maybe enough for three or four spice jars full. That French chef would have it out in the kitchen in a big bowl, and sprinkle it liberally over everything that went out of the kitchen. He was funny guy, didn't work at the restaurant for long. He would literally scream at the top of his lungs, in French, at the waitresses and other kitchen staff, except, for some reason, at me. He would be in the middle of screaming at someone, who would be in tears, then break it off to show me how to do something. Go figure.
Just changed the title of the blog and hope to get back to posting more. "More" meaning "at all." I recently moved from Catawba, Virginia, to Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. I'm living on a farm, and working for now as a substitute teacher in the Knox County School System. In the spring, I'll teach a course at Carson Newman University, on critical thinking and philosophy, so you'll be hearing more about that. I am now assembling materials for the course, which will become a book on critical thinking. The book I have used in the past, written by a great professor at UT, John Nolt, is now out of print and is quite old, so I am going to take some of the great things I learned from that book and add many of my ideas to it. I've written some already, and write as I get inspiration. Soon, I'll pull what I have together, think of what topics need to be covered, and in general be more systematic about it all.
In the past month and a half, I have let down on my fitness routine, and am vowing now to get back to it. When I got to Knoxville (area, I mean; Strawberry Plains to be exact), I ran a 5K and did ok. I ran some hills on the farm pretty regularly and need to get back to that. I was also biking about 20 miles on Sunday afternoons. Soon it will be too cold to bike (I admit to being a fair weather biker of the first order), but I can do it for a while longer. I am now official enough to use the gym at Carson Newman, which is small, cramped, with very old equipment, but it is free. It is about the same distance to it as it would be to a gym in Knoxville, which is nice (a Gold's Gym) but does cost. If I can avoid that for now, I will. But I DO need to get going to Carson Newman. We'll see if I can make that work. It'll be easier after the first of the year when I will have to be there 2 days a week, but until then, need to get going.
Hiking is another part of my fitness routine. There is a GREAT hike very nearby, at House Mountain. I did it recently and it took me an hour an 45 min to do the whole loop. The uphill part is quite steep, and it would do me and my heart well to do this as often as I can before it snows. As out of shape as I am, I did the steep first part with only three short breaks to catch my breath. Then I ran a good part of the way back, the more or less downhill part. Reminder: get boots fixed.
I also need to get back to playing more, musically. I've been mainly doing ukulele, teaching some people at Carson Newman to play it. I need, tonight, to study some chord melody Christmas songs I want the group to try. We've been mainly strumming, and this would be a nice advance. But I need to learn a couple tonight. I need to get new strings for Mandolin #2, which will be dedicated to an open tuning. I started a Facebook group, Exploring Blues Mandolin, which has over a couple hundred members now, and a guy recently posted some stuff, including videos, of playing the &*%$%^$% mandolin in open tuning. I say "%&^$^&%*&^&*(," because I was hoping not to "have to" complicate my life with open tunings on mandolin. You might say, well, just don't do it, but to me, this idea of open tunings is like laying heroin in front of a heroin addict. I can't not do it. If it weren't possible (or, I should say, feasible) to do it, great. If it is, and the instructions for doing so are right there in front of me, well, I'm screwed. I have to do it. Reminder: I also need to get a '2016' battery for my tuner. Mild but firm complaint: Why do they sell these batteries in packets of 2 or 3? I bought a packet of 2 sometime back, now one is used up, and (of course) I can't find the 2nd one. I remember putting it somewhere, thinking, If I put it here, I'll have it when I need it! Nope. That answers the question, why do they sell these in packets of 2 or 3?
I have some new FB friends here in town who I haven't met in person. They were recommended to me by my new friend Chris Arnold, who I have met, for a beer a couple of times. I was having a good political discussion with one of these FB friends, and was sent a friend request by a guy who said he liked my posts. I went to his FB page, and he's a musician. But not only a musician, but the owner of a music store in downtown Knoxville! And we are on the same team politically! What could be cooler? I'm going to try to get by there this afternoon to buy my strings there. He told me about a music jam that happens on Monday nights downtown, a place called Suttree's. I don't have to get up early tomorrow, so I might try to make it by there.
I stocked up recently on good food. It's easy just to be lazy and eat what my parents do, but it isn't overall good for me. I need to do more cooking, and have no excuse now. Tonight I want to make a Thai dish, with the tofu, some potatoes and sweet potatoes, coconut milk and some green curry paste I bought at an Asian market yesterday. Mmmm. I need to soak some red beans so I can also do my Indian rajma, which is on this site.
I harvested all the remaining parsley from my herb garden. I also transplanted the basil plant to a pot and moved it indoors. I don't know that it will make it, but it doesn't hurt to try. I have LOTS of parsley, more than can be used before it goes bad, so I "process" it in the following way. I learned this from a French chef when I worked one summer many years ago at a nice restaurant in Knoxville. You take the parsley and chop it very very fine. This is very labor intensive and takes time. It would make sense to do this in a food processor, but he told me that the food processor just pulverizes it, way too small. That makes sense. Then you take the chopped parsley and put it in a kitchen towel. Run cold water over it, squeezing out the excess water. At first, the water runs very green, then less so over time. You squeeze all the water out, wringing the towel very hard. I lay the tiny parsley bits out on a baking sheet to dry out. When they are very dry, you have tiny flakes of very tasty parsley, looking like but much better than dried parsley you would by in a store. I've done about half of the parsley I harvested, and have maybe enough for three or four spice jars full. That French chef would have it out in the kitchen in a big bowl, and sprinkle it liberally over everything that went out of the kitchen. He was funny guy, didn't work at the restaurant for long. He would literally scream at the top of his lungs, in French, at the waitresses and other kitchen staff, except, for some reason, at me. He would be in the middle of screaming at someone, who would be in tears, then break it off to show me how to do something. Go figure.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
This one looks great. I won't use the crab. of course, but will use some marinated tofu instead. And one can get vegetarian fish sauce.
Spicy Thai Pumpkin Soup with Crab And Cilantro
In lieu of pumpkin pie, try this soup, ripe with flavors of citrus, ginger and coconut.
8 servings
Equipment: A blender or a food processor; 8 warmed, shallow soup bowls.
3 shallots, peeled and finely minced
2 tablespoons Thai yellow curry paste, preferably organic
3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 pound (500 g) pumpkin or butternut squash, cubed (or 2 cups; 500 ml canned pumpkin puree)
One 28-ounce (765 g) can peeled Italian plum tomatoes in juice
3 cups (750 ml) Homemade Vegetable Stock or Homemade Chicken Stock
1 cup (250 ml) coconut juice, preferably organic
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
1 tablespoon Vietnamese fish sauce, preferably Red Boat brand
7 ounces (200 g) fresh crabmeat
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
- In a large saucepan, combine the shallots, curry paste, and ginger and cook over low heat until the shallots are soft and the mixture is well combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the mixture for garnish.
- Add the pumpkin, tomatoes (with juices), and vegetable or chicken stock and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Transfer to the blender or food processor and puree.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and add the coconut juice. Stir to blend. Bring back to a simmer. Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce.
- Place several tablespoons of the crabmeat in the center of each soup bowl. Pour the soup all around the crabmeat. Garnish with the reserved curry-ginger mixture and a sprinkle of cilantro leaves.
Make-ahead note: Complete the recipe through step 2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Complete at serving time.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
From Beth Wellington's blog...
Leek, Potato and Spinach Soup
*
When I was growing up one of my mom's favorite soups was vichyssoise, her fancy name for canned Campbell's cream of potato, served chilled, topped maybe with a dollop of sour cream and some chopped chives from my father's garden.
The traditional vichyssoise includes leeks, cream and potatoes and Julia Child says that its origins--despite the name--are actually American (see her landmark Mastering the Art of French Cooking, page 39.)
My version is served hot and uses Yukon gold potatoes which are so creamy in texture that you will need no milk or cream if you puree part of the soup and return it to the pot. I usually use onions, but since the October 29 expected farm share from Glade Road Growing includes leeks, I thought why not fancy it up in honor of Julia Child. And, as we're also expecting spinach, I decided to add some, to brighten up the look of regular recipe. I like nutmeg with my spinach, so I added to my usual recipe. Alternatively, you could use a bit of cumin, cardamom, coriander and turmeric, if you prefer a more curried taste.
If you'd like for this recipe to serve as a main course, it's good with the addition of 3 cups of cooked white beans--navy, great northern or cannellini. Those who love meat may want to toss in some cooked sausage or chicken instead.
BTW, other expected items in this week's farm share are carrots and butternut squash: add apples, orange juice--and some prunes, if you're traditional--and that could mean tzimmes.
*
Serves 6
Coarsley chop the white and pale-green parts of leeks (you can save the dark green parts to make a veggie broth)
Smash, peel and coarsely chop 2 cloves garlic
Coarsely chop 3 stalks of celery
Cut 3/4 # of Yukon gold potatoes into 1-inch cubes
Coarsely chop one packed cup of fresh spinach
In a cast iron skill coated in extra virgin olive oil, saute leeks, celery and garlic over low heat, stirring until leaks are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer to 3 quart stainless steel pot with a heavy bottom and a steamer top. De-glaze skillet with a bit of water and add enough water to make 6 cups. Add 2 bay leaves and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Bring to boil and steam potatoes for 10 minutes. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
In a blender or food processor puree 1 cup of potatoes and 1 cup of soup mixture (without bay leaves) and add to pot, along with remaining potatoes and cook a bit more until it thickens. If you are serving this as a main course, stir in cooked beans or meat and warm through. Stir in chopped spinach and cook until wilted.
Divide the soup among bowls and dust with nutmeg or a mixture of 1/8 teaspoon each of ground cumin, cardamom, coriander and turmeric.
You can top the soup, if you'd like, with a dollop of Greek yogurt or vegan sour cream and chopped chives or green onions and cilantro.
No. 8. Thanks to Jessica Bennett--this one looks really good!
http://globaltableadventure.com/2013/05/17/recipe-syrian-lentils/
http://globaltableadventure.com/2013/05/17/recipe-syrian-lentils/
http://globaltableadventure.com/2013/05/17/recipe-syrian-lentils/
http://globaltableadventure.com/2013/05/17/recipe-syrian-lentils/
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Soup No. 2. From Gina.
3/4 cup lentils.
3 TBS oil
2 carrots -chopped
2 stalk celery - chopped
1 small onion - chopped
1 clove garlic, whole
1/2 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
1/4 head of cabbage - chopped
6 cups water
2 TBS barley
a potato for flavor
1/3 - 1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 TBS small whole wheat soup pasta (like acni de pepe or ditalini)
1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Cook carrots, celery, onion, garlic and jalapeno in oil till crisp, about 7
minutes. Crush the garlic with a fork. Add water, and the rest of the
ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.
optional - When served put a little bit of finely chopped raw onion and/or
jalapeno in the bowl. Crusty garlic bread on the side would go
well with it.
3/4 cup lentils.
3 TBS oil
2 carrots -chopped
2 stalk celery - chopped
1 small onion - chopped
1 clove garlic, whole
1/2 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
1/4 head of cabbage - chopped
6 cups water
2 TBS barley
a potato for flavor
1/3 - 1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 TBS small whole wheat soup pasta (like acni de pepe or ditalini)
1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Cook carrots, celery, onion, garlic and jalapeno in oil till crisp, about 7
minutes. Crush the garlic with a fork. Add water, and the rest of the
ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.
optional - When served put a little bit of finely chopped raw onion and/or
jalapeno in the bowl. Crusty garlic bread on the side would go
well with it.
Number 6 will be the Thai curry. here's the recipe.
Saute a block of tofu (preferably Twin Oaks tofu), cubed, in some coconut oil. Or bake it at 350 for 30 min or so. You can saute it with onions and garlic. And cubed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Take all that mixture, which could have been baked and a t this point would be added to the onion mixture. Add a half can or so of curry paste (I get it at a good Asian market, but you can find it, more expensive and in jars, at a regular supermarket). More if you want it hotter. Red or green. One is supposed to be hotter than the other but I make everything super hot (unless I have guests) so I can't really tell. Add a can of coconut milk and enjoy watching it turn red or green. Add a couple of tbs of vegetarian fish sauce and a couple of tbs of sugar/sweetener. Let taht simmer for a bit, then add some frozen peas or green beans (or fresh, just let them cook longer of course). Add fresh chopped cilantro when almost finished cooking.
Saute a block of tofu (preferably Twin Oaks tofu), cubed, in some coconut oil. Or bake it at 350 for 30 min or so. You can saute it with onions and garlic. And cubed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Take all that mixture, which could have been baked and a t this point would be added to the onion mixture. Add a half can or so of curry paste (I get it at a good Asian market, but you can find it, more expensive and in jars, at a regular supermarket). More if you want it hotter. Red or green. One is supposed to be hotter than the other but I make everything super hot (unless I have guests) so I can't really tell. Add a can of coconut milk and enjoy watching it turn red or green. Add a couple of tbs of vegetarian fish sauce and a couple of tbs of sugar/sweetener. Let taht simmer for a bit, then add some frozen peas or green beans (or fresh, just let them cook longer of course). Add fresh chopped cilantro when almost finished cooking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)