Chipotle is the spice of life

I love spicy food. I'm not quite sure why - aside from my grandfather and aunt, no one in my family was fond of anything spicier than a bell pepper. Poppy and me though? Bring on the spice. Hot sauce on eggs. Wings. Sriracha. Curry. Mustard. I'm all about food so spicy it makes me sweat.

What I do not like, however, is how god-forsaken hot it has been here. One day last week, the heat index was 114. In weather like that, what exactly, are you supposed to eat? I wanted something refreshing, but not a salad. I mean, I love salad. I eat it every day for lunch. But, woman cannot live on salad alone.

So, I thought, if I can't beat the heat, why not eat it?

I wanted something spicy, but refreshing. We'd already eaten stir-fry, and I can't make a good curry to save my life. I didn't want to have to turn on the oven, nor did I want to have to stand over the stove and stir. Soup. Corn soup. Not traditional corn chowder, heavy on cream, something lighter. Chipotle corn soup.

Oh, it was good. Slightly tart from the lime, but smooth and creamy. And spicy. The kind that almost makes you welcome the heat. Almost.

This is how it goes down.

You will need:

1 onion, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 c. fresh or frozen corn

1 1/2 c. creamed corn

juice and zest of 1 lime

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely diced

1 tsp vegetable bouillon (I used a chicken flavored vegetable base)

2 c. water

1 tsp adobo seasoning, or to taste

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1 c. soy creamer

1 Tbsp. corn starch

Combine the olive oil and onions in a pot, over medium - low heat. Saute until the onions have started to brown, then add the garlic. Cook until fragrant.

Add both types of corn, the lime, pepper, bouillon, adobo seasoning, and water. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the whole kernel corn is cooked through. Whisk the corn starch into the soy creamer. Add the mixture, along with the cilantro, to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until it has thickened.

Oh, failure, the best teacher

Since the last time I posted, I lost my vegetable garden. The Boyfriend was kind enough to till a 5' x 10' patch, and we put in all kinds of vegetables - sauce tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, squash, zucchini, banana peppers, hot peppers, bell peppers, and cucumbers. I harvested exactly 1 squash, 1 cucumber, and 3 tomatoes. From what friends and neighbor told me, I'm not the only one who lost a garden this year. It's been abnormally hot and dry, and even with daily watering, it wasn't enough. So it goes.

For the most part, the shade garden on the north side of my house has stayed clear of ivy. I've had to pull up a few vines, but it seems that for the moment, I have it under control. Unfortunately, there are two other invasive vine species in my yard, one of which is wreaking havoc. It's choking out the azaleas beside our sunroom. I had planned on pulling up the azaleas anyway, as it's too shady for them to bloom on that side of the house. A friend suggested painting Roundup on the stems of the cut vines, and although don't want to resort to pesticides, it's likely I'll follow her advice. These vines are very deep-rooted, spread underground, and are difficult to pull up.

I'm continuing to investigate xeriscaping. This summer really put a beating on us. The grass I planted last fall failed, even with watering. I realize that I'm probably not watering enough, but I don't want to encourage shallow roots in the grass. So, I'm looking for an alternate ground cover that does well in shade, can be planted this fall, and won't need tons of watering.

In other news, The Boyfriend and I have decided to institute crapshoot night in our house. Between the two of us, there are a limited number of foods we will eat. As noted previously, he does not like most root vegetables, with the exception of potatoes. I find this discouraging, as I love beets, onions, and a variety of other things he will not touch with a barge pole. I won't eat dairy unless it is in something in such small quantities t that it won't cause obnoxious skin problems.

So, crapshoot night. Last week I made myself eggplant parmigiana (made with Daiya). The Boyfriend wanted mac and cheese from a box with veggies mixed in. So, that's what he got. It was glorious. I was happy, he was happy, and angel choirs could be heard singing from the heavens. This week I decided that I wanted veggie burgers with sweet potato fries. Normally, The Boyfriend shrinks at anything involving sweet potatoes, so I was surprised when he told me that he wanted that as well, and I had to find something else to have for crapshoot night this week.

Well.

Clearly, he gets his way.

Also surprising to me was how long it had been since I last updated. Five months. I need to stay on top of it. I do have a few excuses though. Involvement in community groups, family commitments, and a new job have been keeping me busy. No more. I had coffee with a good friend today and he kindly suggested that I take time to write each day. He's not the first who suggested it, and he's right. Maybe I'll aim for three times a week?

Hard on the back, good for the soul

Pulling vines up by the roots leads to sore muscles. But it feels so good to look at an area that was previously overrun with ivy, briars, and vines cleared out and almost ready for planting. I know I've posted about my struggles with vines and grass in the past. I've decided to stop fighting the grass. If it lives, so be it. If not, we're going to start looking to alternative ground coverings. I'm a little anxious about something like periwinkle, ginger, or lily-of-the-valley. I don't want to have eradicated all the vines in my yard just to have something else take over and get completely out of control.

The ivy on the other hand...oh, it's on. Full out war mode here. The ivy, vines, and briars are going down. I will win this.

I've been dedicating an hour a day to yard work. The side yard beside our kitchen is almost completely cleared of overgrowth. Next week will see that I start foxglove to put in that space. Our sunroom overlooks the area between our kitchen and our neighbor's yard, and it's perfect for a shade garden. Right now, I'm looking at a combination of hostas, foxglove, and astilbe. There were a few other plants I considered putting in that space, but aside from foxglove, I haven't made any final decisions about that flower bed.

I'm pondering whether or not I want to start a vegetable garden this year. I love fresh tomatoes and bell peppers. I think The Boyfriend would die and go to heaven if we had an abundance of yellow squash. Fresh sweet peas. Cucumbers for uborkasalata. Sauce tomatoes. It all goes off without a hitch in my head. In my life, I would be fighting the squirrels for every morsel.

Speaking of the squirrels, I'm pretty sure I angered a large portion of the neighborhood squirrel population by digging up all the vines in our side yard. I've never seen so many pecans buried in all my life. The Boyfriend and I need a trained hawk or something to control that particular population. The neighborhood cat is doing a lousy job.

Clearing out the vines has been good for my spirit. I won't go into detail, but it's given me a lot of time to think about the nature of our relationships with each other, as human beings. No profound metaphors from me, but it's been a good place for me to clear my head. It's filling the space left by running. Hopefully I'll feel well enough to start running again next week, but even if I do, I think I'll keep this habit of spending some time each day gardening.

A final comment: Earlier today, The Boyfriend tapped on the kitchen window to let me know it was time to come in and get ready for work. He caught me at the exact moment I had discovered that I was going to be able to uproot some briars. After giving him a smile and a thumbs up to let him know I was headed inside, I grabbed the briars by the root and pulled with all my might. After a couple of good tugs, it finally came out of the ground, sending me tumbling over backward. Immediately, I sprang up, smiling triumphantly, holding the mess of briars up for inspection by The Boyfriend. He looked mildly alarmed at first (it must have looked pretty bad to see me go head over heels) then smiled. Overjoyed, I dragged it to the street, tossed it on the pile, and went inside for a most satisfying lunch.

Yum, onions

Last week I made two dishes that required deeply caramelized onions. At that point, the Boyfriend (who does not care for anything in which onion is the dominant flavor) was in California for an undetermined amount of time, so I figured I'd better jump on my opportunity to take down 5 lbs of onions in one fell swoop.

After thinly slicing an entire bag of onions and putting them in the biggest dutch oven I own, I added a stick of butter, turned the stove to low heat, and let the onions and butter do their thing. I cleaned the kitchen, then stirred the onions. Vacuumed the house. Stirred the onions. Read a few chapters of a book. Stirred the onions. Spaced out for a while. Stirred the onions. Basically, my entire afternoon was dedicated to killing time while the onions did their thing. It got pretty frustrating toward the end, because they smelled AMAZING.

By the time they were ready, it was time for me to get ready for dinner with The Boyfriend's family. Dinner was amazing, but that's a story for another time. So, the onions got scooped into a container so I could deal with them when I got home.

Back to the onions. Half stayed in the container, while the other half went to make French onion soup. So, back into the dutch oven they went, along with:

• 6 c. beef flavored broth*
  
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 c. white wine**
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. thyme

I let everything simmer for 30 minutes or so while I finished cleaning the kitchen, then put it in the fridge for lunch the following day. One of my co-workers joined me for lunch the next day. I didn't have any gruyere or swiss on hand, so we just ate it with hunks of bread and a salad. So tasty. While part of me thinks it's a pity The Boyfriend hates onions, I just remind myself that there's more leftovers for me.

* I used Better than Boullion's No-Beef base because that's how we roll at this spinster's house.
**White is what I had on hand. Next time I'll probably use red.

"So, what," you ask, "happened to the rest of those caramelized onions?"

Well, I'll tell you.

I made mujadara. It was so good that I think I've sworn off chicken and rice forever. Chicken and rice is my go-to dish when I'm sick, and although we've given up meat, chicken and rice is what I crave on days I feel lousy.

Mujadara is incredibly simple to make. You will need:

• caramelized onions
• 1 c. lentils
• 1 c. basmati rice

That's it. No, really. Cook the lentils and the rice, and mix everything together. It's mindbogglingly good. So simple. So delicious. My brother was in town for the evening and between the two of us, we took down almost the entire pot of mujadara. I had a little left over for lunch the next day, but that's because we went out to have a couple of beers. I'm pretty sure if we'd stayed in, there wouldn't have been any left.

Also, neat little trick I learned: caramelized onions can be frozen. Oh, and another quick note, both of these dishes can be made vegan by switching the butter for a spread like Earth Balance.

Been a while, right?

Wow, time slips, doesn't it?

The Boyfriend is on his way to California to chase down a dream, so, I'm on my own until our house sells. With that being said, I've had a productive couple of days. The Boyfriend can be a bit of a finicky eater, so I've been making foods that I know he wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Lined up for dinner this week:
- Split pea soup
- French onion soup
- Spinach, goat cheese, and squash tart (The Boyfriend had a hissy fit when I told him I was making this. Apparently, it sounds amazing. Initially, I was told that he was uninterested.)
- Mujadara (pronounced moo-jha-dra)

Although I'm going out to dinner tonight, I'm spending the afternoon making dinner for this week. First up: split pea soup.

Let me start by saying I've never been a fan of split pea soup. My mom made it exactly one time that I remember, and I recall not eating it. Now, my mom was a phenomenal cook, but I took one bite of that soup and decided I would rather go to bed hungry. My siblings followed suit. My poor mother. At least my dad loved it.

A few weeks ago, I'd promised two of my co-workers that I'd bring soup for lunch the following day. I had split peas leftover from another recipe and decided to take the plunge. The soup almost didn't make it to work. It was so good that I considered making something else to take so I could horde the rest in my freezer. Alas, it was late, the grocery store was closed, and I didn't truly feel like making more soup. The Boyfriend wouldn't try it (he too has been scarred by bad split pea soup), but lunch the following day was completely silent.

Enough talking, onto the recipe:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot (medium/largish), diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp vegetable base (I use Better than Boullion, but you could just use vegetable broth instead of water)
• 6 - 10 c. water (depending on how thick you want the soup to be)
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Add onion, carrot, celery, and olive oil to a large, heavy bottomed pot. Cook the vegetables until they are tender.

Now, you have a choice here. You can either: Add everything else to the pot, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer until the peas are falling apart and it feels like silk in your mouth. Or, you can toss everything in your crockpot. This week, I chose the latter, but it's because I needed my stove free so I could caramelize some onions.

I'm eating this with a salad and a nice chunk of crusty bread. And yes, the leftovers are going in my freezer.

Small steps, small steps

I can't believe it's been more than a month since I last posted. I guess life gets in the way sometimes.

G and I are still trying to get grass to grow in our front yard. One side of the yard has verdant fescue, it's a couple inches high, and although there are a couple of thin spots, the grass has taken quite well. The other side, well, I'm at a bit of a loss. We have several sparse patches of grass and a couple of baby Sweet gum trees (not that we particularly wanted saplings in our front yard). I managed to procure some unwanted zoysia sod from a friend, but we won't know if it's taken for another couple of weeks.

G's mom gave me a rabbit foot fern. At the moment, it's sharing our front step with a potted cucumber plant. I'm hoping to get the cucumber plant in the ground by next weekend. G's brother has a superb vegetable garden this year. He brought us fresh salad greens as part of the meal we made for Mother's Day. Right now he's getting his first squash of the season, as well as some early cukes (my cucumber plant looks pitiful by comparison).

Even though my dreams of a vegetable garden didn't materialize, G and I found out that we have a farm in the neighborhood. City Roots is only a couple of blocks from us, and they have an ever expanding list of fruits and vegetables for sale. A few weeks ago, I picked up half a gallon of organic strawberries for $6. Delicious. Unfortunately, some of the berries had been sitting in water over the weekend and the were starting to go bad. It seems like we've gotten a fair amount of rain in the last few weeks, but NOAA is showing my part of the state as being abnormally dry. Here's hoping we don't get into drought status again this year.

Today was a marathon of cooking. I've gotten a little off track as far as cooking at home and making sure I have lunch to take to work. Some of this week's dishes are a little labor intensive, and with summer starting up at the library, I can't afford to not plan ahead. G and I would be eating out every night otherwise.

I found a really nifty website called No Meat Athlete. There are lots of fantastic recipes there, including three that made it onto this week's menu. One recent post is specifically about beans and rice, five different ways. This week we're having beans and rice, Indian style. No Meat Athlete also has a feature called Sweet Tooth Fridays. I made black bean brownies to satisfy my sweet tooth, and as a way to resist temptation at work. There is constantly food at work. Always things like cookies, cake, brownies, or ice cream. I haven't gained weight from eating crap at work, but it certainly isn't healthy. I've been a little lazy lately. I haven't had the foresight to take snacks to work, so when I get the afternoon munchies, I just eat whatever is in the break room. This week I have brownies and strawberries. It's a small step back to where I need to be.

Our last recipe from No Meat Athlete is one I'm really excited about. They're called wheatball subs. The wheatballs aren't actually so much wheat as chickpeas and mushrooms. I have high hopes for these guys. G adores meatball subs (as do I). Since G and I are trying to gradually eliminate meat from our diet, we're looking for suitable replacements for foods we already enjoy. I don't think I'll ever find a replacement for my beloved czirke paprikas, and I don't think I would have a problem with consuming the occasional piece of humanely raised meat.

Bread so good you'll think it's absurd

Yesterday, even though I was utterly exhausted, I was apparently feeling a deep need to bake. G and I decided on sandwiches for dinner, but I didn't think regular sandwich bread would satisfy. So, after mulling it over, I decided focaccia bread was the order of the day. G and I couldn't keep our hands off the bread. Before it was even cool, G called his brother to come get the other half of the loaf so we wouldn't eat it all.

This recipe is an altered version of Tyler Florence's Fabulous Focaccia.

To make delicious focaccia bread, you will need:

• 2 teaspoons rapid-rising dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

In a bowl combine the water, sugar, and yeast. Wait for the yeast to foam, then while mixing, gradually add the flour. Mix in the salt and olive oil. When the dough starts to come together, turn onto a floured surface, and knead until elastic. Place the dough in a well oiled bowl, turning to prevent a skin from forming, and let it rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Oil a 13x19" baking pan and turn the dough into the pan. Stretch and press the dough into the shape of the pan. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 15 minutes. When the dough has risen, dimple the surface with your fingertips (don't go all the way through the dough, but make sure you press most of the way through), brush the surface with olive oil, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the bread is golden.