chili; it's not just for dinner anymore

I know we're not quite a full month into "official" winter, but I have to say something:  I am really getting tired of the bitter cold.  I can't remember a winter being this consistently painfully cold.  I am truly fearing February, especially since it seems to rain a lot, too.  Rain and cold are quite possibly the worst combination, aside from rain + cold + wind.  Yup.  That one's definitely the worst.

Anyway, the great thing about winter is that it snows!  I love snow and it never stops making me happy.  I love snow so much that I chose to walk home, a mile, through it last night.  I feel like I should make some smarmy comment about going up hills with no shoes on, too, but I'll stick with walking a mile in the falling snow.  By the time I got home, I was covered - my hat, my hair, my coat, even my purse - covered with "snowflakes that cling to my nose and eyelashes."  Yes, they did that, too, as well as stealthily flying up my nose.  I could have done without that.

I stopped for a couple of pictures because it just looked so beautiful.

freezing at the train station.
it always seems colder there.

 

walking home through Washington Square

After I shook off the coating of snow that had accumulated on me during my traipse through the city, I changed into my Cozy Clothes - yoga pants, slippers, and a hoodie.  The problem with changing into Cozy Clothes, though, is that frequently I lose my motivation to cook once I'm comfy and warm.

So last night, we heated up the Potato-Spinach Curry and basmati rice that had been hanging out in the fridge for one day short of Too Long.  Having given it time to let the flavors thoroughly meld, I have come to the conclusion that it needs a lot more salt, maybe 1.5 tsp, but we'll see what happens next time I make it - I think a little improv is in order.

Tonight, I returned to dear Isa for our dinner:  Classic Black Bean and Veggie Chili from Appetite for Reduction

this is what dried out limes with no juice look like:
fuzzy flowers, like lime asters

I don't know what went wrong with the lime, but I cut it open, massaged it a little, but when I tried to squeeze out the juice, I might possibly have gotten ten drops from then whole lime (both halves).  Instead, the insides just turned out and created a dry little fringe around the edge.  Despite my dismay that my lime was dried out, I thought it looked pretty neat, so I took a picture to share, in case you've never seen this before (I know I haven't!).

Mister and I agreed that there was too much broth.  Very, very good chili, but we both prefer it to be less soupy because according to Mister, if utensils are involved in chili at all, they must be forks.  But normally, we just use tortilla chips to help the chunky chili to our mouths.

It was a little hotter than I might like to make it in the future - I keep forgetting that Isa is one of those people who likes things spicier than me.  Next time, I'll use 33% less chili powder and 100% less broth.  I don't think it was necessary at all - the juice from the tomatoes should be sufficient.  It was a great way to defrost from tonight's walk home, though.  Since my Spicy Threshold is pretty low, despite years of training, when I eat food like this it really warms me up, making it a perfect meal to repeat often between now and the Great Thaw (aka late Springtime).

chilly = chili

I could tell you how cold it is in Philadelphia, but you wouldn't believe me and you're probably tired of reading about it anyway. I'm way too tired to waste your time or mine, so I'll skip right to the solution:

Tonight, we dined on Chili and Polenta Casserole from Vegetarian Times: Fast and Easy.  I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've made this.  I did manage to escape injury this time around and though I don't have such an amazing memory that I can recall a dish last made in the first week of this year we're about to kiss goodbye, I am pretty sure it was very different from the first time I made it.  It sure looks different!

I haven't made it sans deviation yet.  This time around, I did not include any pepper - neither jalapeno nor red bell pepper colored this dish, to its detriment, I believe.  It was also very hot, which is certainly helpful on the coldest day of the season so far, but I wasn't expecting it and could have done with a nice glass of Riesling to chase it.  At the last minute before putting it in the oven, I was incredibly disappointed by the bland appearance of the polenta, and I knew nothing much would change during the brief bake, so I sprinkled some extra chili powder over them.  Finally, for reasons I may never know, Whole Foods was 100% out of Yves meatless ground and it's the only brand of soy crumbles my stomach tolerates.  I didn't have it in me to check Essene and it's been too cold last night and tonight to detour past Whole Foods on my way home.  Fortunately, I had two Tofurky Italian sausages left over from last night's rice and beans, so I used them instead.  They worked in a pinch, but I won't do it again [on purpose].

Mister was pretty darn happy with dinner - apparently the polenta was an acceptable substitute for the usually mandatory tortilla chips we didn't have.

Time for a bedtime snack and then I'm taking my exhausted self to bed!  We were kept awake past 2am last night thanks to our less-than-considerate downstairs neighbors, but that's another rant for a more energetic time.  Sweet dreams, sweethearts.

spicy joes meet Mister's belly

Let's play a game of pretend.  You be the cook, I'll be the storyteller.  Here's the set up:  Your spouse has been sick to the stomach for three days, unable to eat without experiencing pain and nausea.  When you return from work tonight, your spouse's condition appears to have improved and you find that he/she even had lunch today!  You set yourself to making dinner for the first time in days.  Do you make:

A. Tunisian Soup with Grilled Cheese, omitting the harissa in order to be gentle on Spouse's tender belly
B. Pasta e Fagioli, due to it's mild flavor and your spouse's affinity for pasta
C. Snobby Joes with all three Tbsps of chili powder + spicy mustard

If you chose C, you think like me!

Why go gentle?  I wanted to make sure that Mister was sure his belly was better, so I figured something spicy would be an adequate test.  I got a few bites in before I started to wonder if Snobby Joes from Veganomicon usually came out this hot.  Glancing over, I saw Mister was eating a little more slowly and gingerly than his usual gustatory gusto, so I asked, "Are they usually this spicy?"  Mister laughed at me and then confirmed my suspicions - No, they are not normally this spicy and Yes, Mister was finished after his first and only serving.  So was I. 

They are really very good, so I'm trying to figure out what I did differently this time.  Here is what I've come up with: I bought Dijon mustard a while ago, intended for use solely in recipes.  Along the way, I discovered that Mister likes all kinds of mustard and is an Equal Opportunity Sandwich Builder.  What I'm trying to say is, the only mustard I had to put in my lentil mixture was Spicy Brown mustard.

I asked Mister if he thought that could be it and he looked at me like a second head was getting ready to sprout out of my neck.

"You didn't do anything else differently?"

Well, I used all three tablespoons of chili powder.  It is possible I've never done that in the past, because even as I was sprinkling it over the lentils, I thought it looked sufficiently coated after the second tablespoon.  It is likely that in the past, I haven't used all of the chili powder and that might be the difference.

It's funny - whenever I eat a really spicy dinner, I have a strong urge to end the meal with dark, bittersweet chocolate.  It seems like that is the most efficient (and tastiest) way to quench the burning (aside from Banana Daiquiris).  Coincidentally, as I was cooking dinner, I was teasing Angst about how he didn't get me any chocolate today...so much so that Mister was getting ready to go out and get me chocolate while I cooked.  I assured them both (because if you know Angst, you know he was concerned...) that I was fine and would not require chocolate until tomorrow, but halfway through my Snobby Spicy Joe, I was wishing I'd let one of them fetch me just a little piece of dark chocolate...

rice reincarnated

Today was so much fun! In the end, the farmer's market was a bust, I gave up on the Italian Market (I wasn't de-stressed enough yet to deal with the crowds and chaos), and the ultimate in self-pampering became the only thing I accomplished today. Aside from my deep desire to spend some quiet time at Cafe Fulya, I really don't feel bad about the three hours I spent in Salon Sugar today, letting Candi KaBoom do amazing things to my hair.

The salon itself is painted in shades of pale and hot pink, and there are pink and black vinyl curlicues reaching out along the walls from behind the ornate gold mirrors. There aren't words to describe how awesome this place is or how happy I am with my hair!
Also, I have finally fixed the Red Rice and Beans recipe. Also, that's a crappy name for dinner, so I gave it a spiffier title. Without further ado, I give you...

Risotto Mexicano (pronounced meh-hee-KAHN-oh)
serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups V8 Hot & Spicy
2 Tbsp canola oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed/minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2-3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
5 oz baby spinach

Bring water to a boil in medium saucepan. Stir in rice, then cover and reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer 10-15 minutes. When almost all the water has been absorbed, stir in the V8 juice. Cover and simmer 10-15 more minutes.
Meanwhile, dice the pepper and tomatoes, but keep separate Heat oil on medium heat in a deep pot. Add garlic and pepper; cover and saute 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chili powder, tomatoes, and black beans. Simmer, uncovered, 1-2 more minutes. Pour in rice and V8 - it should not have been completely absorbed by the rice yet. Simmer, uncovered, about 10 minutes, until rice is tender and most liquid is absorbed. Stir in spinach until wilted. Remove from heat and serve.