Curry Asparagus/Mushroom Risotto

I've been doing a 3 week vegan thing and so tonight I had some cooked rice and some veggies laying around. Threw this together - and then added the curry as it needed some extra flavor. This isn't *really* a risotto, as I made it with cooked rice, but it kind of has the feel. And it could be made as a risotto. Anyway, turned out pretty good and Tif asked for the "recipe", so here it is.

---

• 1/3 bunch of asparagus, cut into 3rds - about 2 inches long
  
• 8 mushrooms sliced into about 4 slices (fairly thick)
  
• 1 stalk of celery minced
  
• 2 green onions sliced thin
  
• 2 cups cooked rice
  
• 2 cups vegetable stock
  
• 1 tbs curry powder
  
• kosher salt and pepper to taste
  
• 2 tbs olive oil
  

---

Saute the veggies in the olive oil for a few minutes along with salt and pepper. You want them to start to cook but not get to well done; just enough to let the flavors blend. Add enough stock to cover and let them cook a few minutes more. Add in the rice and some of the stock. At this point cook it like a risotto... Add some stock, let it cook off, then add some more. Do this until it gets "right". :) - You want it like a risotto. Not too soupy, but don't let all the stock reduce and the rice start to fry. I think I did this about 3 times. The 3rd time I added the curry powder, let it simmer for about 5 more minutes and then served it.

I know - like most of my recipes, pretty vague. Basically I sauteed some veggies, simmered some rice in it and threw in some curry powder. Had a nice flavor. The onion and celery were minced; with the asparagus and mushrooms being thicker because they were the "stars" of the dish. Also - given the amount of veggies and rice; this wasn't so much a rice with some veggies for accent; but really a dish with quite a bit of veggies and some rice. But simmering it like I did (probably about 15 to 20 minutes total), let it all blend together and still be very much a rice dish.

As always - if interested, give it a try and then adjust over time till it gets to be what you like! :)

---

As an aside... The way I picture being a big chef and working for say foodtv or something... is that you get to come up with cool stuff like this; without really measuring or anything. You just make some really cool food and then your staff says "OK... we need to figure out the measurements, cooking times, etc. to get it to turn out like that." You just get to make cool stuff and someone else has to figure out how to put it into a cookbook. Would be sweet. LOL

Garlic/Green Onion Roasted Potatoes and Pork Chops

Recipe adapted from Ashleigh Bennett's FB post of "is making baked pork chops with green onions and garlic and roasted potatoes".

Home sick, not feeling well, nothing to eat. Read the above post and decided it sounded good. OMG it was very good. :)

I turned the oven on to 350, peeled and cut up (about 1 in thick) 2 potatoes, spritz them with olive oil and added sprinkled on some savory salt and pepper, through them in the oven and head to the store...

---

• 2 Medium Potatoes, cubed about 1 inch thick
  
• Olive Oil
  
• Savory Salt
  
• Pepper
  
• Rosemary
  
• 2 Pork Chops - about medium thickness
  
• 2 Green Onions, sliced
  
• 2 Clovers Garlic, sliced
  
• 2 Tbs butter

---

Start the potatoes:

• Set oven at 350
  
• Put tinfoil on a bake pan
  
• Spread potatoes evenly
  
• Spray with olive oil (if you have a mister, or baste, etc.)
  
• Sprinkle with Savory Salt, Rosemary and Pepper

Bake for 30 minutes and then start the pork chops:

• Turn potatoes (they make stick) and group together, misting with some more olive oil
  
• Add pork chops, sprinkle with savory salt and pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes then turn:

• Slice garlic and onions. Do the onions in 2 batches, lower parts and upper parts.
  
• Turn the potatoes again and spritz with olive oil
  
• Turn the pork chops
  
• Spread the garlic and the bottoms slices of green onion over the potatoes and chops

Bake for 30 minutes then turn again. At this point the chops had been cooking for an hour.

• Turn the potatoes again.
  
• Remove the garlic and onion from the chops (just push it onto the pan) and flip them.
  
• Put the onions and garlic back on the top of the chops.
  
• Cut a few tablespoons of butter into little chunks and sprinkle around on the potatoes.
  
• Sprinkle the potatoes with the rest of the onion

Cook for another 15 minutes or so.

At this point the chops were done, the potatoes were nicely golden with a crunchy outside but tender inside and the garlic and onions were cooked into everything. I plated them and then added a tablespoon or two of sour cream to the top of the potatoes.

The green onion / garlic added a great flavor to everything; and the rosemary on the potatoes along with the sour cream really finished it off nicely. Not sure if it was just because I was sick or what, but wow - the first bite was awesome. :)

Italian Rustic Chicken Dinner

I made the following in 25 minutes; from the first slice of the tomato until I plated it. Fast, easy and very good. This does not have too much in the way of subtle flavors - its just a great tomato, garlic, olive oil and basil flavored dish. This makes a large serving for one of a Sauteed Chicken Breast, Fresh Tomato Sauce, Sauteed Italian Vegetables and Pasta.

---

• 1 Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast, pounded to about 1/4 an inch (buy at WholeFoods or make yourself)
  
• 4 Medium ripe Tomatoes, cut in half
  
• 1/2 a White Onion, julienned
  
• 1 small Italian Eggplant, sliced thin
  
• 1 small Zucchini, sliced thin
  
• 1/2 a Red Bell Pepper, julienned and cut in thirds
  
• 3 cloves of Garlic
  
• 5 Basil leaves, chopped
  
• Kosher Salt
  
• Black Pepper
  
• Fresh Pasta
  
• Parmesan Cheese - 1/4 cup or so

---

There are four separate dishes that are all cooked at the same time.

• Preheat the oven to 325
  
• Melt 1 tbs of butter in a skillet and saute the Chicken Breast on both sides, just until it is golden brown.
  
• Cut the Tomatoes in half, top half and bottom half and place in a french chef pan or another skillet and start cooking on medium high heat.
  
• Prep the Vegetables
  
• By this time the Chicken should be done; move it to a pan and place in the oven to finish cooking
  
• Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet the chicken was cooked in and start sauteing the Onion.
  
• By now the Tomatoes should be starting to break down; mash a bit with a potato masher right in the pan, turn them down to medium and let them continue to cook.
  
• Add the Eggplant to the skillet with the Onion and let them saute
  
• Add a few pinches of salt to the Tomatoes and two or three tablespoons of olive oil.
  
• Stir the Vegetables and let them saute until the onions start to caramelize. You should flip the eggplant so it cooks on both sides.
  
• Smash the garlic to remove the skins and throw the broken garlic into the Tomatoes.
  
• Add the zucchini and red bell pepper to the Vegetable mixture and continue to saute. Sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of kosher salt and some fresh black pepper.
  
• Stir the Tomatoes and add more olive oil if needed - if too much liquid has cooked out.
  
• Start a pan of boiling water for the Pasta. The pasta I had only took 1 1/2 minutes to cook. So I added it near the end.
  
• Add the chopped basil to the Tomatoes.
  
• Basically you are now stirring both the Tomato Sauce and the Vegetables - breaking down the tomatoes and forming a nice sauce, and sauteing the vegetables until they are done.
  
• At the end (this was about 20 minutes from start); put a few spoonfuls of the tomato sauce into the Vegetables and stir them around a bit to get some tomato and garlic flavor on them.

At this point everything should be done and you just have to plate.

• Pour the pasta into a strainer
  
• Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce onto a plate
  
• Place the chicken on the sauce and add some pasta next to it.
  
• Spoon sauce on top of the pasta and chicken
  
• Add vegetables to the plate
  
• If there is any sauce left spoon some on top of the vegetables
  
• Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and serve!

Savory Butternut Squash Soup

I made this for a Thanksgiving Potluck at work last week. I've made it a few times; but this time it turned out really well. Turns out this is vegan, without really trying. I used olive oil instead of butter (because I frequently do) and I used vegetable stock rather than a chicken stock because I didn't want the squash to get overshadowed by a meat stock. Not that vegan matters to me; but if you have vegan friends over for dinner; just another good reason to make this soup!

---

• 3 medium butternut squash
  
• 4 stalks of celery
  
• 4 shallots
  
• 1 carrot
  
• 1 gala apple
  
• 1 box of vegetable stock. I forget the size... its the box :) - maybe a quart or so? And I forget the brand - but the ingredients were vegetables, seasonings and water. That was it. No MSG, etc.
  
• olive oil
  
• kosher salt
  
• white pepper
  

Salt and pepper are to taste... I never measure (just sprinkle some around) - but I *probably* used about a tablespoon of salt and maybe a few teaspoons of pepper. Its good to use white pepper both because of the flavor; but also that way you don't have any black flecks of pepper in the soup.

---

Make a Mirepoix by dicing the celery, shallots (or onion) and carrots very small and the sweating in a few table spoons of olive oil in a soup pot. Basically you are sauteing them until they become translucent, but not browned. Add in the apple (skin removed and diced small) and saute it as well. Stir occasionally and once it starts getting a little soft add in the salt and pepper.

Cut several slits in the squash - just stab them with a knife a 3 or 4 times, cut the steam off and microwave them for about 15 minutes. Cut them in half and the flesh should be fairly soft. If it isn't; microwave them some more. All 3 may not fit at once so you may have to do one or two at a time. Remove the seeds and discard, and then scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash with a potato masher. This is just to break it up some. Mashing with a fork or whatever would work as well.

While the squash is microwaving the Mirepoix/apple should have cooked enough. You don't want it to brown or stick, so once it is translucent/soft; you'll add in some of the vegetable stock. Just enough so its not quite covered. You then use an immersion blender to blend up the mixture and let it continue to simmer, adding stock once in a while to keep it a liquid and not drying out, sticking, etc.

As the squash gets down, mash it up and then add it into the soup base, blending it up and adding vegetable stock as needed. Once all the squash is added you'll have blended it several times and you'll also have used up all of the stock and need to add some water to get the right consistency.

I made the soup the night before, let it cool and refrigerated it. The next morning I put it back on the stove; warmed it up (blending it one final time) and then put it in a crock pot on low for several hours before the potluck. You don't want it in the crock pot all day or over night; because it will dry out around the edges, which will turn brown, and that will darken the soup.

---

A few final comments.

• As noted, you don't have to use shallots, you can use a large onion
  
• Better to under season in the beginning; taste after its cooked for a bit and season some more if needed. I probably cooked this 2 hours before putting in the fridge, then another hour in the morning. Plenty of time to adjust the seasoning.
  
• I made this the night before, but I've also made it the same day and served it. This is the best its ever turned out; but I think that is probably more the marepoix (I didn't use carrot in the past I don't think) then letting sit over night
  
• You don't *have* to use an immersion blender if you don't have one. Using a blender or a food processor would work as well. I just do it in multiple stages, so an immersion blender works better. But you could make the marepoix, food process it; then food processor the squash as it is done and add it as well. Which might make it all "smooth" enough w/o having to do it multiple times. I just like to play while I cook. :)
  
• The texture is a personal choice thing. The immersion blender doesn't make it a total liquid. There is a bit of texture left. I blend it numerous times to get it very soft; but I've also made it with a little more texture, etc. So blend it, or food processor it; until it gets to the consistency that you think is right.
  

While it does take some amount of time to make this soup, it really isn't technically hard; and it has a very good flavor. Well worth the effort; plus the color is very cool at the Halloweeen/Thanksgiving time of year.

Backroad Pizza - Day 1 - Labor Day Trip to Tif's

Earlier this week I was watching Diners, Drive-In's and Dives and they covered Backroad Pizza in Santa Fe, NM. Since I knew I was coming down to Tif's this weekend, I decided to see if I could make it to Santa Fe (since I was leaving in the afternoon) and try it out. An adventure!

Trip south was pretty good, until I came up over the pass. Its always exciting to see what Northern NM has to offer. Sometimes the mountains stop the weather and you top the pass and its all clear blue skies. No such luck! I could see big storms in the south. The kind where you can see the rain falling to the ground in big black strips! But there was blue spots too and the road is all curvy, so you never know. I'd be heading for the storm, then head towards the blue, then back again. This kept up for about 30 or 40 minutes - and then I could see lightning and it was pretty obvious, by the cars heading towards me with their wipers going; that I was going to hit it. So when the first few drops hit; I pulled over and put my gear on...


OK... had to give those folks that know me a minute to recover. Yes - even though it wasn't *pouring* yet; I actually pulled over and suited up. Everything... helmet, pants and the jacket! Good thing too because in another mile or so it started raining. Not hard. Not the kind that makes you want to pull over and hide; but the kind that makes you glad you have a helmet on (so you can see) and a suit (so you are dry). The drops weren't too hard, and then the rain started hitting a little harder... That was when I noticed it was actually striking the ground and bouncing - and that it was little white balls. Yup - it was hailing. But not the golf-ball size stuff, more like peas. Not too bad really. Just enough to make you know you are alive! This lasted for 30 or 40 minutes... probably Springer down to north of Las Vegas. And from there it was clear all the way into Santa Fe.

As I got close to Santa Fe I toyed with the idea of heading into Albq.... but given I really wanted to try this place out, I decided better to stop while it was light out and I could actually rest up and stuff, rather than just pushing on.

So - I looked the place up online (yes laptops come in handy on the road) and it was about 10 minutes from my hotel. Woo hoo! I went there and it was pretty busy. I was standing in line with this family (grandparents, parents, little kids) and the dad says "I saw this place on food network so we decided to try it out!" and I said, "Me too!" and we talked a bit about Harleys and stuff. Then I ordered (walk up, not at your table) and went to sit outside and wait for them to bring me my food. I had my gear on and figured it would be warmer outside. Well... there was no place to sit. All 8 tables or so were full! I'm standing there looking around and this woman sitting at a table for four with her husband said, "Good luck!" and I said, "Yeah, looks like they are all full." The man then said, "You can sit with us if you want." And so I did!



Yes... more waiting for Kristi to recover from falling off her chair! ;)

So I sat with them and I asked them if they had ever eaten here before. "No, we say it this week on the food network!" Wow! :) The wait was probably 30 minutes or so at least; just because the place was so busy. So we just sat there are drank beer and talked. Their food came about 15 minutes before mine. They said the meatballs were very good - worth coming back for! I had a small pizza with homemade sausage (which has green chilies in it) and black olives. Plus a dinner salad and a Nut Brown Ale. It was all very good. And while the small was only 12 inches, and I hadn't eaten much since breakfast (other than some dill pickle sunflower seeds while I was driving down the road), it was hanging off the plate and so I brought 3 slices back to the hotel for breakfast! :) So - all in all I would definitely recommend this place. And because we had so much time to talk, they told me about 3 other good places:

• Horseman's Haven Cafe - little dive cafe with good breakfast in Santa Fe (just down the road from my hotel) if you like hot green chili. I'll probably pass since I'll be having pizza for breakfast!
  
• Buckhorn Tavern, San Antonio, NM - another little dive, with probably the best green chili burgers around - and they have good homemade fries too. Not on my trip on the way down to Tif's (since I'm taking 40), but definitely on the way on the trip back. And being south of Socorro... I might hold out and go there for lunch!
  
• Gabriel's - north of Santa Fe. Great Fajitas and they make the guac at the table.

So... I'm all set for Road Food in this area! Woo hoo!

And since Kristi gave me homework when I'm out on the road... info to prove I actually *talked* to these people and not just about food!

• Leroy and Melanie
  
• He is from this area (grew up here his entire life) and she is from South Africa
  
• They are going to their family cabin for the week
  
• He worked at Pizza Hut when he was in college
  
• He is a liquor salesman
  
• They go skiing at Wolk Creek and stay in Pagosa Springs
  
• They want to do a cruise to Alaska (not a motorcycle trip!)
  

There - I'm such the extrovert! ;)

Steak Diane - of a sorts

I was feeling like a steak dish - having just watched Alton Brown do an episode of Good Eats on sauces. I remembered a steak dish that Tina's brother Tony used to make. Basically sauteed steak with mushrooms and bell peppers. He called it Steak Diane. So I looked the dish up and found a version by Emril Lagasse. Totally different. This is a dish made with filet mignon medallions, quick seared on each side and then served with a sauce quickly made. This is many times cooked to order table side in good restaurants. Well I didn't want to use filet, I wanted to use the much cheaper (and tougher) eye of round steaks which were on sale. And to use that I figured I'd need to let it simmer for a bit to get it a bit more tender. Following is what I came up with - quite a bit different; but probably similar taste. I made extra sauce, so that I could let it simmer for a while and also because I served it with angel hair pasta and wanted some sauce to put on the pasta. As always - all amounts are approximations.

---

• 6 eye of round steaks - 2.5 lbs in the family pack
  
• salt and fresh *coarse* ground pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 stick butter
  
• 1/2 a Leek - some from both ends
  
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
  
• about 8 mushrooms slice
  
• 1/4 C brandy
  
• 1/2 C heavy cream
  
• 3 tsp deli mustard (Batampte from the Broadway Deli here in the Springs rocks!)
  
• 3 or 4 "dashes" of Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1 C beef broth
  
• 1/4 stick butter
  

---

We have a pepper grinder that is really coarse. This is great, if you like pepper, because the sauce ends up with chunks and almost has a peppercorn sauce type feel to it.

Melt the butter and saute the steaks until they are slightly browned. Move them to the edge and saute the leeks until wilted then add the garlic for a minute or two then the mushrooms until they are cooked.

Remove the meat and veggies and deglaze the pan with the brandy. (I tried to burn it off like Emril said; but I think the pan was hot enough and there was enough butter left that it didn't light. It was fine). Add in the cream, mustard and Worcestershire and whisk until smooth - let simmer for a minute or so. Add in the beef stock, whisk and reduce for maybe 10 minutes. This is similar to doing a Marsala sauce - just letting it thicken a bit.

Add the meat back in; cover with the veggies and let cook for 15 minutes or so. The idea here is to let the meat tenderize a bit and for the sauce to thicken even more.

Right before serving take the meat and veggies out; add the rest of the butter and whisk till melted. Serve the steaks with veggies on the top and side and then spoon some of the sauce on the top and across the pasta (if you serve it with pasta).

To me it didn't have a *strong* mustard or brandy taste; just a really nice rich cream sauce. All in all a pretty simple dish that was very tasty.

As I walk back up and down the stairs for the 2nd time in one minute...

While some are very irritated with the fact that as they get older they tend to forget things and have to keep walking back and forth between rooms for things they forgot... I tend to think of it as God's way of making sure we get *some* exercise as we get older.

Beartooth Pass

The accident show in this article happened a little before we passed by. There was a second truck there and it had about half the load cleaned up and reloaded. By the time we got there it wasn't slowing anything down too much; although we heard the road was closed for a few hours.

Twisties, great on a bike, not so much on a semi...

Clam Chowder

Snow storm yesterday; so good day for a cream soup and I decided on Clam Chowder.

I make all of my cream soups with the same base; a roux. While a roux is usually made with equal amounts of butter and flour; I usually use more flour as it makes it thicker. As the link above states; it is cooked till it no longer has a flour taste. Once I have the roux I can add broccoli, or potatoes and cheese, or corn and bacon for a corn chowder; or in this case potatoes, celery and clams for clam chowder.

---

• 1 stick butter (1/4 cup)
  
• 1/3 cup flour
  
• 1 quart mile
  
• 1 small potato diced small
  
• 2 ribs celery diced small
  
• 2 cans minced clams
  
• savory salt and pepper to taste

---

• Melt the butter and then add the flour, stiring into a paste and simmer until the flour taste is gone.
  
• Slowly add the milk. At first it will thicken quite a bit, and then as you add more milk and continue to stir it will get thinner. It will slowly thicken back up as it reduces.
  
• At the same time boil the potatoes and celery until the potatoes are cooked. Pour off the excess liquid; but you don't have to strain it as having a little extra liquid as fine.
  
• Once the roux is a little thicker than you want the soup, add the clams including the juice; and then add the potatoes and celery with a little of the liquid. This should get it to about the consistency you want for soup. It will thicken a little as it cooks.
  
• Let it simmer over low heat until it thickens and to allow time for the flavors to mix. This can cook in a slow cooker for a few hours; or on the stove over low for 15 to 30 minutes

You can pretty much adjust any part of this for own taste. And once you have this; you can use it for many other cream soups.

Crock Pot Pork Roast w/ Cabbage

This took me 5 minutes to make and turned out really well.

---

• 1.5# Pork Loin - don't trim the fat
  
• Savory Salt
  
• Pepper
  
• 1/2 Head of cabbage cut into 4 wedges
  
• 1 Can Green Beans
  
• 1 Onion Chopped in about 1 inch pieces
  
• 1 Family Size can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

---

• Put Pork Loin in bottom of the crock pot, fat side up, and season with savory salt and pepper.
  
• Add cabbage wedges around the pork
  
• Put onion and green beans on top
  
• Cover with soup straight from the can, i.e, don't add any water/milk. In our crock pot I am able to cover the ingredients and have the soup form sort of a seal. This traps in the heat and keeps everything moist.
  
• Cook "all day" - This is usually about 10 hours for us

---

This turned out really well. The fat all "melted off" and because none of the veggies put off that much liquid, the soup/sauce was actually still pretty creamy. The pork was very tender.

Italian Stir Fry w/ Whole Wheat Cheese Tortellini

As usual - amounts are approximate as I just throw stuff together. This is one of Jaime's favorite things, except we usually put it on spaghetti; but based on something Tif said to me the other day I decided to go with a different pasta. I was looking for something whole wheat and saw fresh whole wheat three cheese tortellini and it worked out great.

---

• 1/2 white onion, julienne
  
• 1/2 green bell pepper and 1/2 red bell pepper, julienne
  
• one stalk celery sliced thin
  
• Small "stalk" of broccoli, flowers chopped a few time snd stalk sliced thin
  
• 5 cloves of garlic sliced thin
  
• 1/2 cup snap peas diced
  
• 5 mushrooms sliced - each one about 4 slices
  
• 2 boneless/skinless chicken breast; sliced thin and about 1 inch long
  
• olive oil
  
• 1/2 tomato diced
  
• 1 small can tomato paste
  
• 2 tsp oregano
  
• 1 tbs basil
  
• 1 package tortellini

---

• Boil water for the tortellini and add the pasta once the water is boiling, cooking according to directions while cooking the veggies - then drain until ready to add to sauce.
  
• Turn electric skillet onto 350, add a few tablespoons of oil and heat.
  
• Start preping veggies and add them as you prep them; stirring them in the oil as you add each one.
  
• Add herbs and garlic
  
• Add the chicken and stir-fry with the tomatoes until the chicken is browned and cooked through.
  
• Just before done add in the tomato paste and thoroughly mix until combined.
  
• When ready to server add in the pasta, combine and put into a large pasta dish for family style serving.

What are you?

I took the Harley to the grocery store the other day. Coming out there was a family in front of me and the mom was talking to another family who was in front of us. I loaded up the bike with the bags, put the cart away and was putting on my gloves and goggles when the 6 year old little boy turned and saw me.

"WHAT ARE YOU???" he asked with this excited voice.

Before I could say anything his mom responded with, "He's a super hero!"

The boy looked at me in awe and said, "oh..." and then climbed into his van.

The mom turned to me and said "He meant that in a good way" a little nervous. I just laughed and said, "I know."

So there... I'm a super hero. Brightened my day! :)

Mr. Gore: Apology Accepted

From an article in The Huffington Post:

Mr. Gore has stated, regarding climate change, that "the science is in." Well, he is absolutely right about that, except for one tiny thing. It is the biggest whopper ever sold to the public in the history of humankind.

Papa == Good Food

Tif & Kian are back from Korea, with tons of stories. One of them being that when Tif or Brian tell Kian, "Say Hello!" in Korean he waves at them. Yeah... my 18 month old grandson knows Korean. :)

Anyway - the point of this post. Tif said that they ate out quite a bit while they were there; and a number of times in some pretty good places. They were in an Italian place eating pasta and Kian took a bite, then looked around and said "Papa?". Brian said, "What did he say?", and Tif said "He's looking for my dad." Apparently this wasn't the only time that happened.

Yup... that's my grandkid. "Hey... this is pretty good food... Papa must have made it." Or maybe it was "Hey this is good, I bet Papa would like it." Whatever it was, when he eats good food he thinks of me. AWESOME :)

Wasabi and Dynamite

A great afternoon/evening in Denver yesterday.

Jesse Black invited me to the Denver Dynamite Soccer teams home opener. Game was at 7:15.

Seeing as I'd be heading to Denver, I called TommyT to see if him and Jennifer wanted to do sushi. Its almost always a yes.

We went to a new place that Tom had found with some guys from work. I don't know the name of it... but it was awesome. The thing that made it so great was good sushi and two new things I had never tried:

1. Seared pepper encrusted Tuna, and
2. Fresh Wasabi!

The tuna was awesome. Its just a very different taste. The pepper and tuna combination is almost sweet, but of course a bit hot at the same time. Just an excellent "different" taste.
The fresh wasabi was also a new taste. Almost like a picked pepper or something, in look and texture; but had the kick of wasabi. I'd pop a piece of sushi, chew it for a minute, and then throw a few wasabi morsels into my mouth and chew them up. Crisp/crunch and then the wasabi kick. Excellent! Something I am going to have to ask for every time I get sushi from now on!

After that it was up to the Dynamite home opener. It was so fun because I saw so many people I hadn't seen for so long - and all of the "kids" with their new babies. And then the game itself was great. First time I've ever gone to a soccer game! The first half was pretty much even (I think it was 3 to 3 at half) and then the Dynamite came out the 2nd half and dominated; with the score ending 11 to 6. They had some nice runs of 3 scores, and Jesse had 2 goals - which was very sweet. Everyone around me were either his friends or family, and the crowd would go wild when he scored - so it was very cool. And while most of it looked like targets of opportunity to me (but I don't know much about soccer); there were also some very finely executed plays with some great passes, feigns, and then score. Very cool.

And on the way home I stopped and got a Triple Venti Spiced Pumpkin Latte.

So all in all, a great afternoon/evening!

Chicken and Dumplings

It was a cold day, Melissa posted on Facebook that she was making pumpkin bread - and I decided on comfort food for dinner. This uses premixed ingredients - which makes if fast but still homemade.

---

• 2 Chicken Breasts, cut in 1" pieces
  
• 1/2 Orange Bell Pepper, diced
  
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper, diced
  
• 1 Leek, sliced thin
  
• 2 Stalks celery, diced
  
• 2 14oz cans of chicken broth
  
• 1 "small size" can Cream of Chicken Soup
  
• Bisquick

---

I made this in a French cook pan, but it could also be made in a skillet.

Put broth in pan and turn on high, add vegetables and chicken and bring to a boil, then turn down on low and simmer. I let this cook for 30 minutes or more until we were almost ready to eat. Meanwhile make a serving of biscuits according to the Bisquick recipe.

When almost ready to eat, remove the chicken and veggies and set aside. Bring broth to a boil and spoon drop biscuits into the broth, cooking for 6 minutes on medium, covered. The broth will thicken because some of the dumplings will dissolve into the broth.

Remove dumplings and scrape the bottom of the pan if it got thick enough to start sticking. Stir in soup and add chicken/veggie mixture. Cover and immer for a few minutes until the soup is bubbling.

Serve!

Pictures are on this Facebook Album.

Tostada with Pumpkin Seed Honey

Based on recipe by Mission Foods

---

• Corn Tortillas Oil for frying
  
• 2/3 cup toasted Pumpkin Seeds (pepitas)
  
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  
• 1/4 cup Orange Juice

---

Fry the tortillas in oil until golden brown, drain excess oil on a paper towel.

Separately, melt the brown sugar in the orange juice in a pan and add the pumpkin seeds. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

Let cool for 15 - 30 minutes... if you have the time. This will let it thicken a bit. Its best if its a bit like honey or syrup.

Lastly, drizzle the tostada with the mixture.

---

I made these for a potluck so cut the tortillas in 1/4s like chips; with one whole one in the center. I let them sit out for 30 minutes on wire racks before plating them so that they syrup would soak in a bit - but it wasn't soggy at all.

Pictures can be found on this Facebook Album.

Stuffed Italian Vegetables

Jaime watched Dinner Impossible with Michael Symon and thought the Stuffed Baby Eggplant looked really good, so sent emailed me the link with "Dad - I think you'd really like this. You should make this for dinner on Thursday while we watch the season premier of Grey's. :)"

I read it and agreed! Then decided to do something "based" on that. :)

So the initial thought was eggplant, but then decided to extend it to multiple veggies - the taste would be good and it would be colorful: purple eggplant, green zucchini, yellow squash and red bell pepper. I figured I would just use mild Italian sausage, but then thinking about the Turkey Sausage Meatball recipe, I decided to mix in ricotta and parmesan. Then bake it in sauce, with mozzarella on top. The original recipe called for making a sauce for 8 hours. I had some left over spaghetti sauce I had made a few days before - and it was enough of a base to just add in some diced tomatoes and let that slow cook for the day until I got home to put it all together. Cooking the sauce "all day" when it has diced veggies in it; lets them all pretty much "melt" into the sauce and gives it a nice deep rich flavor.

So like all my recipes, here is the basic idea - experiment and adjust based on your tastes!

---

Sauce:
1 jar spaghetti sauce to start as a base,
or you can use some good tomato sauce. Probably about 3 cups
or a couple cups of sauce and some diced tomatoes
1/2 onion minced
1/2 green pepper minced
2 Tbl olive oil - gotta add that flavor
3 to 5 cloves garlic minced - depends on how much you want to "kick it up" :)

Add in some Italian seasoning - a few tbl of basil and maybe one of oregano

Let it cook all day on low in a crock pot

Veggies:
Cut 1 eggplant, 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash in half length-wise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon, being careful not to go too deep and puncture the outside of the veggie. Sprinkle kosher salt on the exposed flesh and let sit for about an hour (I did this for about 15 minutes because we were hungry). The idea is that the salt will pull the moisture out and so you won't end up with so much liquid when you cook it. You can put these upside down on a rack over your sink so that they "drain" as the moisture is pulled. Pat them dry when done.

Cut one bell pepper in 1/2 length-wise and remove the seeds.

Filling:
1 lb mild (or hot if you prefer) Italian sausage
1/2 cup of ricotta
1/4 cup parmasen
mix together

Cover the bottom of a 9x13x2 baking dish with sauce; stuff each veggie with the filling, and place in the dish. Given there were 8 halves, it was a pretty tight fit. So you made need another dish, depending on how many veggies you use and how big they are. Cover the veggies with shredded mozzarella and bake at 350 for an hour; or until the cheese is all melted and the filling looks done.

Plate and drizzle some of the sauce over the top!

---

I initially cooked it for 45 minutes - but it didn't look quite done enough. And at one hour the sauce had gotten quite a bit more thin - because more liquid cooked out of the veggies. So an hour seemed about right.

It was really good - but there is always room for improvement. :) - Next time I'll probably add a 1/2 cup of bread crumbs in to the filling as well; as I think it would have made a little bit better consistency.

Or another thing we might try, rather than the Italian mild sausage; is to use the Turkey Sausage Meatball recipe rather than the filling I posted above. It has a great taste and is probably more healthy.

Pics of this can be seen this Facebook Photo Album of mine. The first 3 pictures are for this dish.

105 Update & ABC Rally Tally

I'm in Billings at Marv's house! Wet ride in. The west was driving down a back road to met Marv and I went through a deep spot of water on the road and filled my boots. :( Oh well - they'll dry.

Getting less and less ABCs in a day, as I end up with less and less new stuff to get! Picked up ND, SD, and MT. Yeah, I forgot I was dipping into SD for about 20 miles or so. Stopped in Lemmon SD and called Marv - turns out Dave Newman (who I knew in Big Timber and is Marv's ex-brother-in-law) lives here. In too much of a hurry to get through the wet and cold to call him or anything - but interesting none the less. :). I'm now at 66! So everything else is "gravy" :). Change in plans, not going into Yellowstone and ID. Would make the drive down to Casper too long I think - and I don't want to push it. So I'm going to Big Timber, then back to Columbus and down across the Beartooth Highway to Cody, or Thermopolis or however far south I make it before calling it a day. That will give me a long day home on Tuesday - but that won't be bad as its pretty much country I've been through a ton of times and I'll be focused on getting home.

ABCs still possible:

1. WY
   
2. Colorado Springs
   
3. Douglas County
   
4. Yoder

So that puts me at 70! 4 over.

Funny thing on Yoder. I only need a 'Y' and I'll have all 26 letters for cities. Pretty cool! I only need the 'Y' and I was looking in ND, SD, Montana - and couldn't find anything except one city and it was quite a bit out of the way and didn't even look like it might be real. Drag. So I check Colorado and Yoder pops up... I'm like "Duh!" and then I figure maybe it doesn't really have a spot to snap a pic or something, but I checked last year's ABCs that I sent in, and sure enough I had gotten Yoder. So cool - just need to head out there some time after I get back and snap a pic.

Well enough for now - if I get in early tonight I made do some more pic updates, etc. - but then again the plan is to be home all day Wed before heading back out for a few days - so I might just do updates from home.

105 Trip: (Fri 05-Sep) Day 13 - Bemidji MN - 3707 miles

Not that many miles today - but they were cold and somewhat wet miles.

Left Thunder Bay later in the morning. Must have been 9:15 or so. I got up a little late - I think it was 7:00 or so! Then did some work, checked email, facebook, etc. Finally grabbed a few hard boiled eggs and a cup of coffee and headed out. It was cold, but for the most part sunny - just a few puffy blue clouds. So the hope was I'd beat the storm out of Canada and get to Bemidji before it rained.

Made it to the border, its not that far, and took a quick shot of the Canada sign and then some more shots of "Welcome to the US" while waiting in line. The line was moving pretty slow - but just sat there taking pics and enjoying the warm.

[Side note - if you are on facebook you've already seen all these pictures that are linked - but for those that aren't on facebook I'm including the links.]

Entered Minnesota, the North Shore of Superior and No Helmet Law!

As I was heading south I could see clouds building to the west "inland." I kept hoping they'd disappear the further south I got... but they didn't.

Got to Silver Bay and stopped for Gas at a little store. Waited to pay and ask the cashier about best routes, while she finished up a phone conversation.

No. I don't know if A won or not. The B squad lost though. I'm not sure about the A squad. I think they lost but we left before the game was over. 38 Special was playing in front of the casino. They were awesome! Awesome! They should play winterfest!

All in a MN accent of course. I love listening to "local" chatter. :)

Anyway - I asked her the best way to get to Bemidji (after asking her how to pronouce it... its Ba-mid-gee) and she told me that my map didn't have a new road they just built. "11,15,16 They are all the same thing!". Well its really Forest 11, County 15 and another County 16. "It will cut 45 minutes off your trip vs going to Duluth."

Well the sun south was calling - but I decided to make the shorter trip, turn away from the lake and head inland. The forest road was awesome: brand new, wide, and nobody but me on it. Curvy but not twisting - keeping the speed up the entire time so making good progress. Then I hit a detour, then the "Detour End" sign - and I'm on the little back road. Still paved - and still Hwy 16 - but not that great of a road and out in the middle of nowhere. At first I just had on the dew rag, then I added the beanie, then finally put a bandanna over my face. Yeah, it was getting colder all the time! And then it starts to rain and my goggles are fogging up and I can't see - so I push them up and I'm glancing over the top of them. I have NO idea where I am - other than I'm heading west - hopefully towards Hibbing. I finally see a sign "Welcome to Hibbing"... but there is nothing here. I'm on a country road with a few houses here and there. Great.

So this old guy is pulling his trash can in and I stop and ask him:

M: How do I get to the town?
OG: What town?
M: Hibbing
OG: Oh - just turn around and turn left and its right there!
M: Is there a gas station?
OG: No - for that you should go straight, then turn for a mile then go two miles and you'll hit 167 and Walmart is right there!

So I try and wipe the goggles off and head on my way - and all of a sudden there is this big Walmart and I pull in and gas up... and put on the full face.

This other older guy says "Kind of cold day for a ride!" and we talk and he asks where I'm coming from. "Silver Bay" - "Oh... you must have drove right by my place on 37." I tell him I was trying for 37, but ended up on the 16 detour and he's just grinning and nodding the whole time - like 'yeah, everyone does that.' He then tells me how to get to Grand Rapids and then Bemidji and I head out.

But its not raining *that hard* so I don't put the suit on - just the helmet.

Well I end up not making it to the "little patch of blue" and the rain is getting more steady, so I pull into this little Used car lot / gas station with the Open sign flashing but a sign on the door saying "Went to tow a car. Back later." But they have the pumps under a roof (like most stations) and I pull under there and start getting the rain suit out and situating everything.

Now I'm wearing 2 pairs of pants, chaps and rain pants; plus 3 shirts, leather jacket and rain jacket. I'm not cold. :)

Rain isn't coming down too hard and I'm pretty used to driving in it, so I just head on my way.

Finally make it into Bemidji and its no longer raining - although it looks like it could at any point. I end up driving around and getting a few more pics - one of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox! and then going for dinner.

Ate at the Peppercorn. Had salad, the Peppercorn NY Steak (best peppercorn sauce I ever had), a Honey Weiss beer (good), and bread pudding for dessert. Yeah... probably the last dessert I should get. It was great, but I'm not supposed to be eating that much sugar and I was pretty stuffed after. It just looked really good. Thumbs up on the restaurant... if you are ever in Bemidji!

Got to bed at a decent hour.

And now its 7:00 AM - I've updated facebook with pics and this blog - so time to get around and hit the road!

Today its off to Bismarck ND! I'm going to stop in Hazleton on the way. Well its not "on the way" but its not far out of my way. We lived there for several years. The town was 400 when we were there, and as of the 2000 census it was down to 207 with a wikipedia note of "To combat population loss, city leaders of Hazelton have offered free land and start up money for people to move there."

They also have a note in the discussion that says, "It is requested that a photograph or photographs be included in this article to improve its quality, if possible."

So hey... I'll be uploading some pics to wikipedia later tonight! :)

Well.. really should get around - looking out the window it is cloudy but not raining. Forecast calls for rain - but later in the day all the way to Bismark. Its another short day - only 325 miles or so - about 6 hours. So plenty of time to hit Hazleton and still get into a hotel early. And its supposed to be sunny which would be very nice!

Later...