Pay No Attention

September 09, 2008

And that didn't seem like a bad way to have the matter end. "S is for Silence" by Sue Grafton

Okay. Let me start out by saying that this will never aspire to be a Food Blog. (Oh, those who know me well are already rolling their eyes) We won't talk about the fact that my Photobucket account has an album named "Food". But.

Last week, Mr. W. had a craving for split pea soup. Well, since it's about the easiest thing on the planet to make, I certainly didn't argue. I wanted to try the Smitten Kitchen Rosemary Flatbread, so there ya go. Probably not all that appetizing a picture, but it was mighty good.


What did I do differently from the (flatbread) recipe? Not a lot. I sprinkled some salt on the top of the "bread" before baking it. It was a tad salty, so I figured that next time I just wouldn't salt the top. (Rosemary from my garden)

Well, quite soon-ly there was a next time, because the flatbreads really are dead-easy to make. The second time, when I was gathering ingredients, I realized that instead of using baking powder, I'd used baking soda. Well, duh. No wonder it was salty! The second time I made it with baking powder. I didn't like it as well! So, next time it will be back to the baking soda - I'll try using BOTH, maybe 3:1 soda to powder. No salt on the top. Hmmm... Maybe I'd better get out Alton Brown's book and remind myself of the properties of soda vs. powder...

Oh, and by the way, the recipe says it keeps well for a short time. Nut-uh. Eat it fresh. It won't be hard to 'force yourself' to do.

Okay. So then a few days later, I had some round steak (or other hunk o'beef that wasn't fit for just eating plain). I found Deb's Three-Bean Chili. Now, before I talk about it, can I just say? It was 89 degrees here today. It's not like it's chili and chowder weather. I don't know what's going on.


Okay. #1, Deb doesn't put meat in hers. I did. #2, I realized that three cans of beans was overkill for us, so I just used one can of black beans. #3, I grabbed a 14 oz (ish) can of roasted-garlic diced (stewed) tomatoes. By the time I had those ingredients together (with only half an onion and all of the seasonings called for), it looked right to me. I didn't open a can of adobo chiles, because it only called for one (for three cans of beans and lots more tomatoes), so I used cayenne. It was rich and dark, and the cocoa powder, while not all that great to smell while it was cooking, really did something for the flavor - and whatever it did tasted nothing like chocolate. (I didn't tell Mr. W. what the secret ingredient was)

Jiffy corn muffins. It ain't broke. The cheese on the chili did nothing for it. Didn't detract, just didn't zing in the least.

Now, for some fiber content:



A cardigan for my granddaughter. Bubble gum pink, a free pattern from the Lion Brand site (and I'm too lazy to go look it up. There will be another opportunity). I'm over halfway finished with it.

The food and fiber is to distract those readers who are anxiously awaiting a picture of both an apron and a finished SNuBS quilt top. I'm still working on both, but when I realized I was finding all kinds of reasons NOT to work on them (oh, look! Let's dust the top of the bookcases!), I decided to give myself permission to back off. I think it had to do with how many people I told that I was working on those projects. Performance Anxiety.

Now, to finish out the semi-random post... it's puppy-butt on my lap!

Labels: babble, knitting

permalink 3 Comments:

At 9/09/2008 3:20 AM,  Brenda Babbled Back:  

OK, I'm thinking that must be one cute puppy so in the next post let's see the top half! And I just wanted to tell you that even if I lived next door i would not come over for a Chili dinner when it's 89 degrees. Can you Hot Flash? Hello! Cold cucumber soup is about the only soup I can have these days...GP LOVES chili though. His has a top layer of cheese, LOL!

At 9/10/2008 1:27 PM,  Kyla Nicole Babbled Back:  

I have ham hocks in the freezer, and split peas in the cupboard. I remember when you used to cook, and your split pea soup was always one of my favorites...but I haven't yet gotten up the nerve to make my own. (recipe, pretty please! =)

On that note, Charles and I were at the mall recently, and I ordered a chicken noodle soup from the korean place in the food court. He mentioned that he has never met anyone before that loves soup the way I do. Funny, I had never noticed. But then, you post this, and I start thinking about your awesome split pea soup, and OMGYUM french onion soup, tomato soup with grilled cheese...I started to realize that you set me up from the beginning! lol It's okay though. Soup is good. Even when it's 89deg out (it was in the 100's here last week O_o).

(I may have mentioned this before. Cold meds, yanno. But I am feeling MUCH better, just a little weak still =)

At 9/15/2008 8:12 AM,  Anonymous Babbled Back:  

LOL Tracy! I think you made Irish Soda Bread by mistake? I started growing rosemary so I could use it in cooking, but now I don't want to chop up my plant so I buy it at the market when I want to use it. DOH!

I've put chocolate in my chili before and thought it was an original idea? The Mayans..(or was it the Inca?) used
cocoa in their cooking... It seemed like every time I made chili I craved chocolate after eating it.Hmmm.. I made a batch with fresh tomatoes and it seemed like it needed a "little" sugar to counteract the acidity..the thought to try chocolate came to mind..and voila! I invented something that other people had already invented.LOL
I love the SNuBs quilt top!

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