Friday, August 6, 2010

oh holy hotness

Once again, I am not talking about me here.

Tonight's dinner was Veggie Goulash from La Dolce Vegan.  Mister and I felt that the best way to chose between the final two dinners on the menu was to evaluate which veggies were closest to becoming science experiments in the crisper - the shriveling zucchini won.



I got about the gathering and prepping of ingredients and realized that I was missing a couple of ingredients.  It isn't a very far stretch to substitute basil for marjoram, but I will admit, it took me a moment or two to figure out what to do about the vegetable bouillon cube I didn't have because I used it to recreate my Sayadia on Wednesday.  I decided to use the maximum paprika - 2 teaspoons - as well as a sprinkling of curry powder, along with 1 scant cup of water.  It came out well, even if it made my mouth into a fireball and my face began to sweat and my nose threatened to run while Mister laughed at what a weenie I am and I thanked God for how effective dry red wine is at putting out mouth-fires.

One of these days I should have Mister take a picture of what happens to my face if I eat something my Irish tastebuds perceive to be "too spicy."

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to mix up the paprika a little - 1 tsp of Spanish paprika (mild) and 1 tsp of Hot Hungarian paprika.  I really, truly did not expect it to pack that much fire.  It's a gorgeous shade of red, yes, but so is "normal" paprika - the kind that doesn't make me think the Coconut Bliss in my freezer would be a good intermezzo to my dinner. 

Remember Operation Gratitude Attitude?
1. I am grateful that I had the foresight and self-knowledge to start with just one tsp of the hot stuff.
2. I am grateful that SuperTuscans are dry enough to partially smother the fire that had dominated my mouth by the time Mister helped his Hot Greek Self to seconds.
3. I am grateful that I have a tasty pint of Coconut Bliss in my freezer (talk about intense chocolate - you need to try this!).
4. I'm grateful that it is Friday night.  That actually has nothing at all to do with dinner.  I'm just glad as heck these past two weeks finally ended.

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