Poco-Cocoa – Page 231 – Things & Stuff

Pantry Soup
We’re in between grocery trips, so we’re a bit low on produce. In an effort not to eat out AGAIN, I searched through the pantry for possible meals. I was inspired by a recipe I found in Passionate Vegetarian, and came up with this soup…it was simple, yummy, and really cleaned out my pantry! I would change a few things next time…for one thing, I’d use canned diced tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce. The consistency was reminiscient of Campbell’s tomato soup, and I prefer my soups to be a bit more brothy. I think any veggies you have on hand would be good in this soup…the flavors are so simple that anything goes. If you are going to use the tomato sauce, I’d opt for no-salt-added, so you have more control over the saltiness of the finished dish.

In other news, I stayed up into the wee hours of the night reading Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders by Alicia Gaspar de Alba. This was the chosen book for a new book club I’ve joined, and it was such a page-turner that I couldn’t put it down. It’s not really my favorite type of book…I generally avoid murder mysteries and other such non-happy books, but it was still a very good read. It’s eye-opening and uncomfortable, and it brings attention to a subject that has been avoided for too long. I usually opt for light reading, because I tend to become so engrossed in what I read that my emotions won’t settle down, even when I take a break from it. I do the same thing with movies, and with dreams. My dreams are so vivid that I will often carry those emotions with me throughout the day. Needless to say, light reading and comedies are my favorite forms of entertainment.

On to the soup!

Bean and Sweet Potato Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cans vegetable broth
- 1 can cannelini beans, undrained
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce, or 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 2 bay leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, and saute until translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Makes 4 servings.

Adapted from Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon.
January 12, 2006

Recipes
Just a post

One of the benefits of working at a bed and breakfast is the leftovers. After all the guests have had their fill (and if there’s any left), I get to taste and nibble. Mondays are always nice, because Adam, our other breakfast chef, preps the dishes for me, and he is just amazing with eggs. His frittatas just have so much more flavor than mine…I don’t think I use enough salt. This Monday, I had these wonderful things to try: a tomato frittata and a strawberry-cream cheese turnover. Delectable. (I have to say that this photo was taken with my BRAND NEW digital camera! It’s an Olympus Stylus 800, and it’s fabulous.)

Leftovers of course can also be a bad thing. Eating B&B food every day is not the healthiest way to go. Especially when I’m in charge of baking cookies, too…and I always have to taste one. So that means one serving of egg-cheese-cream (the savory dish), one of pastry-fruit-sugar-cream (the sweet dish), and one of butter-sugar-eggs (the cookie). Hmmm. Maybe I should start bringing my own mid-morning snack.

Last night we had a crafty-girl gathering, which was so much fun. I didn’t get much stitching done…there was too much to talk about and too much to eat! One of the girls, Nicole, has this amazing boyfriend named Raymond who volunteered to cook for all of us…vegetable steamed buns, veggie dim sum, veggie sushi, unagi, edamame…I think we all decided we’d take him home for a few days to teach our husbands his sushi-skills. We’re trying to come up with a name for our group…Justin thought Girly-Made might be fun. Any suggestions?

As today is International Thank-You Day, I’d like to thank all of you out there who stop by to read my silly thoughts. I don’t know how many of you there are, but I thank each one of you! Thanks for commenting, for blogrolling, and for visiting. And one more thank you…to my wonderful husband, who set up this whole blog thing for me. Happy Wednesday!

January 11, 2006

Random Thoughts
Veggies!

Well, we’re about to begin a new way of eating. We just signed up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription with Bikkurim Farm, an organic farm about an hour away from us. The farmers, Miguel and Sylvia, will bring a bushel of their best produce, picked the day before, to the farmer’s market for us to pick up every week. I’m so excited!

On Saturday we walked to the downtown farmer’s market to check things out, and I was drawn to Bikkurim Farm’s stand because their broccoli looked so amazing…huge heads of tightly packed florets, green and luscious. I noticed they had some bushels of mixed produce set out, and we talked for a while about their subscriptions and their farm. Sylvia talked about greens, and how she likes to eat them raw. I’ve tried this with spinach and arugula, but kale? Collards? Miguel tore off a leaf of kale and handed it to us to try. It was marvelous! I don’t think it hurt that it was super-fresh and organic to boot. Justin even liked it, and he’s not a big fan of greens. I’m going to have to get creative with them, though, because we’ll be receiving a lot of them!

Sylvia was so excited about the produce, telling me that her favorite green was beet greens (which I would have just thrown away), and that in the spring, there’s nothing like the taste of their organic, pesticide-free strawberries straight from the vine. They’ll be having an open house in March for all their subscribers to come check out the farm. I’m anxious to see how the chickens are treated, since we’ll be getting eggs each week as well.

I can’t believe that starting next week, most of the produce we eat will be less than one week old, organic, and local. I’ve already seen the difference…I made this pasta dish with Bikkurim’s broccoli and some farmer’s market cherry tomatoes, and the flavor was just fabulous. I’ll keep you all updated on what veggies we get, and what I end up doing with them!

Note: The other fantastic parts of this meal were a wedge of Manchego cheese and a glass of Saint Gregory pinot muniere…a cheaper alternative to the only other red wine I like, Domain Chandon pinot muniere. I can still only drink half a glass, but it’s a first step toward the world of wine!

Broccoli Pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large head of broccoli, separated into florets, stems cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (about 1/4 cup)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and saute for 1 minute or until golden. Add broccoli, tomatoes, broth, and wine; cover and simmer for 4 to 6 minutes, or until broccoli is tender. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes uncovered, and sprinkle with Parmesan; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over whole wheat pasta.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: poco-cocoa.

January 10, 2006

Uncategorized
The seven thing

Michelle tagged me for a meme a while back, and I’m just getting around to doing it. Since I’m still on this eating out jag, I don’t have recipes to post anyway…so feast on this!

7 things I’d like to do before I die:
1. Travel to other countries.
2. Learn to speak French.
3. Eat at the French Laundry.
4. Write letters at a cafe.
5. Write something…a short story, a novel, a memoir…
6. Figure out all the thoughts in my head.
7. Be satisfied with what I have.

7 things I (currently) cannot do:
1. Eat olives.
2. Play a musical instrument.
3. Run a marathon.
4. Establish regular sleep and wake times.
5. A backbend.
6. See a bug without cringing.
7. Operate a forklift.

7 things that attract me to blogging:
1. Being able to write every day.
2. Sharing my experiences with family and friends.
3. Organizing my recipes online.
4. Getting feedback and comments.
5. Having something that’s all mine.
6. I communicate much better through writing than through speaking.
7. Being able to read other people’s blogs.

7 things I say most often:
1. Kitty!
2. Ohymga.
3. Ay, chihuahua.
4. I love you.
5. Sure.
6. What the f*@#?!
7. Numerous movie quotes.

7 books I love
1. Earth’s Chidren series by Jean Auel
2. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
3. His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
4. Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber
5. The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber
6. Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Van Breathnach
7. Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

7 movies I watch over and over again:
1. Amelie
2. Notting Hill
3. French Kiss
4. You’ve Got Mail
5. Steel Magnolias
6. Pretty Woman
7. The Incredibles

7 people I’d like to pass this on to:
1. Michelle
2. Kickpleat
3. Isil
4. Pearl
5. Lisa
6. Bearette24
7. Blackbird

January 8, 2006

Uncategorized
Me and knitting

I think I’ve mentioned that I’ve learned to knit. And purl. I can knit and purl. In a rectangle. Which means that I’ve made a lot of scarves. At first I was a bit bummed about this. The perfectionist in me said, “Accomplish this skill! Be a great knitter! Knit something amazing!”

I bought the Stich N’ Bitch book, excited about learning some new skills. I was one step closer to a hat, or wrist warmers, or a sweater. I actually love the book…it all makes sense, until I get past the knit and the purl and the rectangle bit. Then everything sort of gets fuzzy.

I realized, though, that I was getting really frustrated with knitting. I just didn’t have the patience to learn increase and decrease, patterns and textures. I do plan on asking my friend Shara, who is an amazing knitter, for some help in those areas, but for the moment, I’m happy with my little scarves. Knitting is something I started for creativity, for relaxation, for something to keep my hands busy. And when I’m knitting a scarf, I’m pretty happy.

I tend to do this with so many things in my life. I try something, and immediately want to “accomplish” it, to be the best at it. Some examples:
1. Hey, this yoga stuff is fun! I should be a teacher! Right now!
2. Sewing? I can sew. I should sew my entire wardrobe!
3. I like my handwriting. I should be a calligrapher!
4. I like to read. I should read every book in the library, in alphabetical order!
5. I love to cook. I should have gourmet meals, every night! Yes!

I overdo it to the point where it is no longer fun. I excel at this. But this year, I’m taking a step back, looking a little deeper, and figuring things out. I like to knit. And purl. I like to knit and purl scarves. And that’s okay.

From top to bottom:
**Pink scarf, my first ever, done with cheap acrylic yarn. Kinda long but very warm.
**Purple scarf, my second ever, done with two yarns from the Target dollar bin, held together while knitting.
**Beige scarf, for my love, warm and snuggly from another Target yarn.
**My favorite, my monster scarf, made with a super-soft and way cute yarn from Michael’s. Justin doesn’t like to look at it because he says it reminds him of monster skin, and it scares him a little.
**My current project, an incredibly soft scarf from an awesome bulky yarn I found at Michael’s, for my grandma.
**Not pictured: One purple/pink belt for my niece, four small scarves for my sisters-in-law.

January 6, 2006

Uncategorized

Pantry Soup

Just a post

Veggies!

The seven thing

Me and knitting