Spicy Eyes

or, How to Throw Together A Soup When You're Poor

2 cups cooked lentils (cook them according to package directions) ($0.50)

3 cups hot water ($0.01)

3 chicken bouillon cubes ($0.05)

1 clove garlic, minced ($0.03)

1 jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped ($0.09)

1 medium carrot, cut into 1/4-inch rounds ($0.10)

Saute garlic in 1 Tbsp. olive oil ($0.12) over medium heat ($0.01) 2-3 minutes. Add chopped carrot and jalapeno, cook another 2-3 minutes or until carrot begins to soften.

Add lentils, water, and bouillon, 1/2 tsp. salt ($0.001), 1/4 tsp. pepper ($0.002), 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.09) and 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.01). Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If you've got leftover $$$ to spend, splurge on a crispy slice of bacon crumbled over the soup ($0.15) with a little bit of feta cheese ($0.25) to boot.

Makes 3 or 4 main dish servings ... not bad for 91 cents. Or $1.31, if you're a big spender.

The only advice I have in the making of this soup is this: do not rub your eyes or touch your eyelids or bring your fingers anywhere close to the eyes during the making of this soup or the following 4 hours. Jalapeno residue is long lasting.

the worst

One of the worst things about being sick, besides being sick, is that I have no appetite. I'm mourning the loss of my appetite. I miss it. I really do.

I got it from my mom. who got it from Glenna, who got it from Bea ...

Bea's Cornbread

1 10-oz. package frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

6 oz. cottage cheese

1/2 c. butter

4 beaten eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 package Jiffy cornbread/corn muffin mix

Mix first six ingredients together; add muffin mix. Mix well.

Bake in 9" x 13" pan at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

I went on a walk in my parents' neighborhood with my parents yesterday. We stopped to visit a friend who shared this recipe with Mom. The friend, Glenna, had gotten this from another friend named Bea. I just liked the history of the cornbread, and the women who have passed it along to each other. The ingredients and instructions are easy. The friendships, however, are anything but simple - they are part of a beautiful web of community - an interconnectedness that I miss but am happy to join in on whenever I can!

versatile, schmersitile pancakes

I get tired of buying baking mix because it's expensive for the amount you get, and I've been wanting to find a good made-from-scratch pancake recipe that DIDN'T use baking mix but was still fluffy and tasty ... so here goes. Pancakes are fantastically versatile, as I will get into later ...

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

4 eggs, well beaten

2 c. buttermilk (or 2 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice with enough milk added to make 2 cups)

Combine dry ingredients.

Combine wet ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

Mix but do not over-beat.

Pour by 1/4 cup-fuls onto hot, greased griddle or pan and cook for a few minutes until the edges are dry and the top is bubbly. Flip and cook for a couple more minutes.

Pancakes ... can you get any more versatile than that? Breakfast? Sure, that's expected. But what about the peanut-butter-and-jelly pancake sandwich for lunch? (I've done that, and my employee laughed at me). There's also the Pancake Burrito (ay, caramba), the Hotdog in a Pancake Bun - Complete with Mustard and Ketchup (I advise the use of fresh pancakes, as 2-day-old ones are crumbly and do not hold the hotdog well), and the PancakeSlicedIntoBreadstick Pasta Accompaniment. Do you have any others?

My quest for versatility in food is stemming from my search for the perfect summer "occasion" dress. Though thus far I have been unsuccessful, I have hope that I will either be able to find said dress, or make it.

Here are my criteria:

1. black

2. comfortable

3. versatile

4. will STILL be in style next summer

5. on sale

Should be easy, right? NOT AT ALL. I dragged my new friend Mary Katherine across town with me last Saturday in search ... all we got was wet. I just have this dream of a perfect occasion dress for the 2009 season, and I just might be losing hope of finding it.

This is how it all started ... if we were together at any event over the past two summers, you might recall my '07-'08 summer occasion dress, a lovely brown deal with large white swirls and a twirly skirt, as my friend Lauren would say. Off the top of my head, I remember wearing it to 4 weddings, 2 graduations, 3 rehearsal dinners, 2 dates with my husband, and 1 Sunday at church. Versatile? Absolutely. Comfortable? You bet. Still in style? Yes, except that I still have the same friends, and I'd like for them to know that I do indeed have more clothes than my one awesome brown swirly twirly dress. So, I'm beginning my 2009 Search For The Great Occasion Dress. I shall keep you posted as I seek my dream versatileschmersitile dress.

Lentil "stallingonthekohlrabi" Stew ... ish.

Cat, I can't figure out where to buy kohlrabi (see previous posting and comments for purpose). I shall be on the lookout, but in the meantime I thought I'd post this anyway.

Makes 4 servings.

1/2 c. dried lentils

1 can diced tomatoes with jalapenos (I used Rotel) -- drain, reserving liquid

1 can kernel corn or 1 c. frozen kernel corn

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 c. uncooked rice

2 c. water

Reserved liquid from tomatoes

Cook lentils according to package directions.

Cook rice according to package directions, adding the reserved liquid from the can of tomatoes to the cooking rice. Keep warm.

Drain excess water from the cooked lentils, but leave enough so that liquid is up to the level of the beans. In medium-sized saucepan, combine lentils, tomatoes, corn, and spices. Add other seasonings to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Serve over prepared hot rice.

"ISH" happens to be my new favorite descriptor. You can't argue with the "ish." I decided that this lentil recipe isn't so much of a stew, but it's stew-ish. It's more stewish than soupish; it's more stewish than side-dishish; and it's more stewish than entreeish.

I'm embracing the "ish" right now for personal reasons too ...

... I'm adult ... ish ...

... I'm happy ... ish ...

... I'm creative ... ish ...

... I'm lonely ... ish ...

... I'm hopeful ... ish ...

... I'm fearful ... ish ...

... I'm growing ... ish ...

... I'm Katherine ... ish ...

Furious Chocolate Cake

I dreamed last night that someone told me to update my food blog, at which point I got mad at myself for being "that girl" who starts a blog then fizzles out.

Fits in perfectly with the recipe name, "Furious Chocolate Cake." It's actually "Flourless Chocolate Cake" ... but if you look at the word "flourless" quickly like I did, it looks like "furious" ... I guess.

Serves 12-16 (depends on slice size, obviously ... but it's rich so a small slice is plenty. Or, if you're like me, start with a small slice, love it, get another small slice, comment to husband about tastiness of said small slice, share a third small slice with husband, and wash plate before eating another small slice right off out of the pan. )

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. cocoa powder

3 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease 8-inch round cake pan and dust with cocoa powder.

In top of a double boiler over lightly simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into cake pan.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Cool in pan 10 minutes; turn out and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Alright - this was my Valentine's cake I made for my husband and me. Really, I made it for myself (because yes, I love myself, and yes, I'm crazy about chocolate). I ran into a dilemma though ... I found myself out of both flour and money on that magical day. Luckily, I remembered a Sunday School teacher who was making a (now forgotten) point in a story by saying "Just like you'd never make a chocolate cake without the flour ..." and was corrected by mutterings from a number of participants. Apparently, though not many people know it, flour isn't the staple we assume it to be. Cake with flour? Bah, humbug, I say.

I'd like to now open my blog to my one faithful reader, and invite YOU, dear reader, to challenge me in my bloggership. Give me an ingredient, and I will make something up, try it out, and post it for you. If it turns out that I have more than one reader out there, I'll put all the suggestions in a hat and pick one out. I'll give you a week to suggest ..

Also, I must apologise again for being "that girl" who starts a blog then fizzles out. I have TONS of ideas, my dilemma is that I have no computer because my precious husband is in school and needs it all the time. I'll try to be better about it. Please, don't be furious with me.

Chicken + Curry + Confession

Serves 4 4 chicken thighs salt and pepper 1 Tbsp olive oil 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 2 Tbsp curry powder 2 c. chicken broth Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Once oil is hot (almost smoking), put chicken in pan and brown for 3-5 minutes on each side (it will sizzle and spatter ... you might want to have the lid handy to shield yourself). Remove chicken to a plate. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and onion to the pan; saute in the oil for 1 minute. Add curry powder; stir until well incorporated into the oil, garlic, and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes or until onion and garlic soften. Add chicken broth, and stir to loosen anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. Put chicken back in pan, cover, and return to a boil. Boil, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Uncover and cook for another 5-8 minutes for sauce to thicken up a bit. Serve over rice. So, I have some confessions. I think today I'll limit myself to 5. Confession # 1 - I made this recipe up, and tried it out last night because we had chicken and leftover rice, but not much else in our fridge. Confession # 2 - I'm afraid of heights. Confession # 3 - I hated high school and still feel awkward thinking about it. That's why I'm not sure I could ever teach high school Confession # 4 - I have to have something sweet at the end of a meal. Confession # 5 - I had my first wreck in December, after I was reading a book about traffic and driving patterns and feeling great about my car safety habits. I rear-ended a car that braked suddenly ... it was raining ... it was rush hour ... but there was no damage. Whew, now I feel better. So glad I got that out. Now I'm going to go eat my leftover chicken curry.