Southwestern Bean Soup

Yesterday was a cold and windy day so I thought a pot of chili would be good for dinner. I put on some beans in the morning and let them cook most of the day. In the past I've let the water cook out of the beans and was left with a big burned mess. So, yesterday I made sure to add water to the pot from time to time to prevent that from happening.  I browned some ground beef in a skillet along with some chopped onions and garlic. After pouring off the grease I added a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1/3 cup of coffee, 1 tsp of beef base, 3 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp cumin, 3 Tbs chili powder, 1/4 tsp cocoa powder, and 1 tsp oregano. I stirred all that together then added it to the pot of beans. I learned that in my effort to make sure the beans didn't boil dry I had added too much water and the result was a very soupy chili.  So when Dorothy came home I told her that I had made some Southwestern Bean Soup.  She loved it.

So now I have two recipes: one for chili (with a tightly controlled amount of water in the beans), and one for Southwestern Bean Soup ( water added with abandon).

quote of the day

Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.

From her graduation commencement address to Berkeley."
— Anne Lamott

What I'm Reading Now

It seems like I've been laughing at Bill Cosby all my life. I've laughed at his TV shows, his stand-up comedy routine, his LP records, and his books.  This latest offering by Mr. Cosby deals with everything from his childhood, the book of Genesis, teenage dating, husband and wife relationships, to grand parenthood. I laughed out loud on every page. That's as good a review as any funny writer can receive.

quote of the day

Poverty is not wholly a personal failure.  It also represent the failure of an economic system. And the remedy is not wholly one of charity, but of political and economic action.  Poverty is a reflection also on those who are not poor.

--Brooks Atkinson

What I'm reading now

It’s an age old theme, the hero against the villains, good vs. evil, but with a twist. In the literature of the Western world the protagonist (hero) has mostly been male. The role played by females was generally the damsel in distress who depended upon a male hero to slay the dragon for her. In modern American culture men are no longer heroes to women and now we have this story that has as the protagonist a young female who is competent and possesses the skills to slay her own dragons. I always wanted my own daughters to grow up as independent women and I think this is a good story for young girls. After all, boys have always had their own stories with strong male heroes to set an example for them. John Wayne movies always filled the bill for me. So, I think the modern young woman will find that this story strikes a chord within her psyche that feels right to her.

fire in the sky

Dorothy and I were sitting at the table this evening looking out across the pasture. The clouds in the west were dark grey as the sun was setting. Within a few minutes the underside of the clouds turned pink and then this fiery orange.

Christmas Pajamas

Every year everyone gets pajamas for Christmas.  We take an annual photo. Here is the one for 2011.

Party Animals

It's been years since Dorothy and I stayed up until midnight on New Year's Eve. We were having over for the weekend three of the most party loving people we know so we thought we would go for it. Our guests were Hunter (9yrs old), Jenna (5yrs old), and Gracen (10mos). We made pizza, drank lots of root beer and ate plenty of Little Debby snacks.  Those kids consumed enough sugar to put a grown man into a diabetic coma. We watched "Home Alone", and "A Day at the Races" starring the Marx Bros. and also a few Larry and Hardy shorts (as Jenna calls them).

Gracen got the evening off to a good start by eating some red licorice.

Jenna was helping me roll out the pizza dough when Gracen decided she wanted in on the deal.

We couldn't allow that baby to fall off the stool and bump her noggin.....

So I scooped her up while Jenna continued to roll out the dough.

Pizzas all done. Jenna even made a little one for Gracen.

Dorothy, Jenna, and Gracen fell by the wayside and had to go to bed by nine o'clock. Hunter and I pressed on toward Midnight.  Actually, I nodded off a few times in my recliner and Hunter was the only one to make it to the New Year wide awake. After we watched the ball drop in Times Square we went to bed and fell asleep as the neighbor's celebratory gun shots echoed through the hills.

This morning we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Gracen was on Dorothy's lap then slipped over into Hunter's chair to sit with him.

Now she's ready for breakfast.

She likes to do what the big kids do.



With nine you get eggroll

Last night we had the family over and Dorothy made egg rolls. Lots of good food and laughter.

Gracen and Santa

Hunter's turn

It was Hunter's turn for a birthday dinner.

Here is Hunter's first appearance on the blog along with Tara, Marley and Sam.

Marley's Party

Last night we were at Marley's 12th birthday party.  Her mom did a great job organizing and putting this thing together.  It had a cake decorating theme and the girls enjoyed it.

Here's the cake Dorothy made.

Marley begins to design.

They all get busy with their cakes

Even Hunter tries his hand.

Jenna gets some assistance.

I took this picture before the girls posed.

Here's the first picture of Marley to ever appear on this blog. She was four years old.

quote of the day

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had  not lived.

--Henry David Thoreau

Recipes

Since my retirement I've been doing most of the cooking. I'm always searching for new recipes and every once in awhile I find an exceptional one.  I've decided to feature the good ones on the blog.
This recipe is very simple to make and is very tasty.

Boudin Stuffed Peppers

Simple ingredients make this an easy project. I used red bell peppers but any color will do. Pickled banana peppers, Boudin sausage, a tomato and two slices of cheese round out the main fixings.

Cut the tops off two bell peppers, remove the seeds  and boil in water for at least three minutes. Warm two links of Boudin sausage in the microwave for two minutes, then remove the casings and crumble into a bowl. Remove the peppers from the boiling water, shake black pepper into the interior of the peppers (you'll be glad you did).  Spoon the Boudin into the peppers pressing down with the spoon to compact. Fill only half way. Add a layer of the sliced banana peppers then continue to add the Boudin pressing it down to fill the peppers. Top off with another layer of banana pepper some of that tomato you see in the photo (chopped) and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, place a slice of cheese on the top of each pepper and return to oven for another five minutes. I served mine with leftover pinto beans and dinner rolls:

Marley's Birthday

It's hard to believe but our Marley Kate is going to be 12 years old. We had her dinner at our house yesterday.

The rest of the kids are singing "Happy Birthday" to her.