Reviving the Blog

My last entry to this blog was dated September 24, 2007. It is linked to my 43Things resolution to keep up blogging for a year, and the last entry in that blog read as follows:

---------

Now – while my energies need to go into finding a new situation – is not the time to do blogging for its own sake. Part of having priorities is knowing what to cut from the To-Do list. So I’m laying this aside.
...
I will revive this when less is weighing on me, and when more readers are there to make it worthwhile.
---------

Who would have thought it would take me so long to "find a new situation"? So much has happened since then! I went into the Peace Corps and served for 26 months in Morocco. I returned to the U.S. and looked for a job, didn't find one for a long time, and so re-entered the Peace Corps and served for 4 more months in Benin. Then I returned and looked for a job again, but by this time, the job market had thankfully improved. It still took awhile, but I did find one.

Now although I am still looking for a good place to live (ideally with a great kitchen), I am temporarily located in an efficiency apartment and am getting to know my new city: Champaign, Illinois. I haven't yet moved my things (including all my kitchen tools and equipment) here. That will have to wait for my more permanent digs.

I am finding myself in this tiny kitchen a lot, however. It's such a pleasure to have a kitchen of one's own, even a small, ill-equipped one! I did have kitchens in Morocco and Benin, but blogging from there wasn't possible (no internet or very slow internet). Food was sometimes a challenge. The availability of ingredients was far from what we have here in the U.S., but I developed some quite tasty recipes that I will share here as time goes on.

Meanwhile, I find myself drawn to blogging again, even in my basic little "kitchenette." I've always maintained that a good cook can make good food under any circumstances, so I'm certainly not going to let my kitchen be the vetoing factor in the decision to restart my food blog. Champaign has a Farmers' Market in the summer (I am headed there this morning) which, although it can't hold a candle to the Santa Monica market, at least does have fresh, overpriced produce of reasonable quality. Plus it has Meijer's supermarkets, which have a HUGE variety of fresh produce, and County Market, which has good meats and fish.

So let the blogging begin! If nothing else, I can begin by talking about kitchens, since I've recently had so many of them. Here is a picture of my little kitchen in Champaign.

This week's recipe

Is a vegetarian Entrée. Adapted from a ratatouille recipe. The blog entry will have to wait until tomorrow, however, since I have company coming for dinner tonight.

[Note: The above was written on Sunday, though this didn’t get posted until Monday.]

See more progress on: Add a new post to my food blog once a week for one year

Last week's post: Gazpacho. This week's: ?

I think the gazpacho was a big success from the food side. It disappeared quickly enough.

From the blog side; well, it didn’t garner comments. I don’t spend enough time reading other people’s blogs and commenting on them. That seems to be the best way to get readers.

That’s okay. I’m really doing the blog for myself. Staying in touch with seasonal foods and sharing recipes is just something I want to do.

See more progress on: Add a new post to my food blog once a week for one year

As I expected, bell peppers were abundantly available at the market today. So, of course, were tomatoes. I'm sticking to my plan to make gazpacho.

Herbs were also abundant, and I bought fresh thyme and lemon basil. Tomato is a wonderful canvas for the flavors of fresh herbs. The herbs you use for this dish will determine what its character will be; whether you'll want to serve it with white or red wine, or perhaps with beer; whether you'll use it to accompany a juicy hamburger or barbecued chicken; or just a platter of nice cheeses with bread. I made enough to have through the weekend, with leftovers on Monday. Gazpacho is a salad you can make ahead to add flavor and nutrition to meals, with a very low calorie count.


Gazpacho ingredients

The recipe:

Serves: 8
Late Summer Gazpacho

I used lemon basil with this batch. With this punchy herb, I may serve the cold soup with a crisp white wine and a whole-grain roll or muffin for a light lunch. Or I can serve it tomorrow with cool frothy autumn ale to accompany baked or barbecued chicken, with a side of cornbread or baby red potatoes.

A note on ingredient amounts: Calorie counts are based on 650 grams of tomato and about 280 grams of bell peppers is 3-4 peppers.

3-4 bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
2 large or 3 medium tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 tsp chopped fresh herbs
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 scallions
1 cup water

Chop all the vegetables coarsely. Throw all but half of the bell pepper and cucumber into the blender with the tomatoes, onion, garlic and fresh herbs.

Blend everything together into a smooth puree.

Add the oil and vinegar and season to taste.

Put the gazpacho in the refrigerator for 2 hours to rest and chill.

Chop the rest of the bell pepper and cucumber finely, along with the scallions.

Add the vegetables to the soup. Taste, and correct the seasonings, adding some or all of the water, as desired, to thin the soup a bit.

Nutrition Facts:

Preliminary plans

I went on a scouting expedition to Farmers’ Market yesterday. The Wednesday market, which is the famous Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, takes place on Arizona Street. I biked down there to get fresh produce for an out-of-town guest I’d be entertaining (though he later called to cancel), and to ‘suss out the lay of the land in these hot September days. It has been very dry.

Late summer tomatoes, including the marvelous heirloom varieties, are in abundance, as usual for this time of year. Also looking very good are all varieties of summer squash, eggplant and late varieties of stone fruit. Oh, and melons. Yummy, yummy, sugary melons.

Thinking about a recipe to “do” this weekend, a ratatouille variation. But it seems too warm yet, for a ratatouille. It has been not only dry but hot.

So I’m thinking perhaps a gazpacho.

We shall see, if I can find some good peppers and onions, gazpacho would be just the ticket for this September weekend.

I will try to find a creative twist to put on the subject, and of course, I will publish the nutritional stats.

See more progress on: Add a new post to my food blog once a week for one year

The new focus of this goal will be:

• to add a new entry to my food blog every week.

I will go to the Farmers’ Market on Saturday and post on Sunday.

I will do it every week, unless I am going to be out of town.

See more progress on: Add a new post to my food blog once a week for one year

Happy Valentine's Day, Fellow Foodies!

I intend to revive this blog. Let's just see if I'm able to do it!

Love you all.

Moi