Carrot soup with miso

Being single usually isn’t all that bad.  You can watch whatever programs you like; nobody hogs the remote, reprograms your car radio buttons, snores, eats the slice of cake you were saving for later, or requires you to go to really boring work parties because “I went to yours.”

But being sick when you’re single really sucks.  I know “sucks” is an inelegant way to put it, but “unpleasant” just doesn’t catch the depth of feeling.  It sucks, and there is no way around it.  One can’t arrange to have a suitably sympathetic boyfriend on call to insist that you sleep in, go to the drugstore when you’re so dizzy with flu you can’t see straight, or to make you soup. 

Soup, of course, is key.

Much as I like soup, when I’m sick, I want simple.  Sopa Azteca, tortilla soup, gumbo, etc. are all wonderful, but too complicated.  A good chicken soup is therapeutic, but it takes time to make, and I haven’t found a canned chicken soup I like. (Being a foodie can be hazardous.)  Campbell’s canned tomato soup (made with water, please) is almost perfect, but I didn’t have any on hand.

I could have gone to the store, but I was in that mid-level range of illness. The point where you’re mind says you should be up and doing, because lying in bed has become unutterably boring, but your body is just not cooperating. (Case in point, Sunday I got winded making the bed and had to sit down and rest afterwards.)

This soup was one I bookmarked because I’m trying to use up miso I bought for my Japanese cooking experiment*. And other than the miso, all the ingredients are things I usually have on hand, so no going to the grocery store and infecting the neighborhood.

True, this recipe does involve chopping 1 onion and 2 pounds of carrots, but you can do that sitting down.  I did.  Deb Perleman of Smitten Kitchen finishes this soup with a drizzle of sesame oil and and some scallions.  Oil makes me feel slightly nauseated at the moment, so I pureed a seeded ancho chili into it, because I like a soup with a bit of bite. The soup was both hot and sweet.  And all the beta carotene, vitamin C or whatever it is you get from all those carrots has got to be good for you.

Carrot soup with miso

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 regular or 6 small garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped or grated ginger, or more to taste
• 4 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken)
• 1/4 cup white miso paste, or more to taste

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, onion and garlic sauté until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add broth and ginger. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Puree soup in batches in blender, or all at once with an immersion blender. In a small bowl, whisk together the miso and a half-cup of the soup. Stir the mixture back into the pot of soup. Taste the soup and season with salt, pepper or additional miso to taste. ( I found the miso contained enough salt to make any extra salt unnecessary.)

This soup is a good basic. It's good plain, as a ginger carrot soup, or you can finish it with sesame oil and scallions, or red pepper flake. You can do what I did and puree a seeded chili into it. Coriander might be nice. 

*if you’ve been following the blog, you know the Japanese cooking experiment was over a year ago.  But I’ve found that miso, refrigerated in a sealed container, has a shelf life of approximately forever.

6 Days in Mexico City

Temple of the Sun - Teotihuacan
I got halfway up. The people who built this (nobody's really sure who) had really good legs.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Mexico City for a week. This is not the relaxed Mexico of white-sand beaches and tequila and all-inclusive resort hotels.  It’s more like New York than Miami.



Mexico City is big.  I read the guidebook and knew (intellectually) that Mexico City was a sprawling urban area of 22 million people, but the sheer size does not really register until you see it. It’s huge.  And the locals seem to like building big as well. If they can make something taller, wider, grander, more monumental, they do it.

Palacio de Bellas Artes - Pure Beaux Arts on the outside, pure Art Deco on the inside

A lot of Mexican architecture seems to intentionally dwarf its inhabitants. It’s impressive, not particularly friendly, but very impressive.

University of Mexico

Of course, I didn’t get to see the whole town. Who could see this place in only a week? It would take a month just to get your bearings.  My paltry 6 days barely scratched the surface; all I have is a quick impression. 

Painted storefront - Avenue of the 20th of November

Mexico City is a fascinating, culturally diverse, intriguing, and totally overwhelming destination.  I learned about pre-Columbian food, Aztec theology, the Virgin of the Guadalupe, earthquakes and subsidence (erecting monumental stone buildings on swampy ground is not a good idea).

Aztec goddess in the Archeological Museum - This carving is about twice the size of my car.

I came back impressed and exhausted.  I also caught a cold that flattened me for a week when I got home. 





The main cathedral in the Centro Historico. The altar is solid onyx.

Michael Jackson Day of the Dead figurine

Answered prayers

Mariachis in Xochimilco

Temple of the Sun - Teotihuacan 
When I took this picture, I had agreed to climb the pyramid, and was beginning to think I had lost my mind.

I don't know if I understand this

My head hurts

Bear with me. I'm trying to hash this out in my own mind.

There is a continuing trickle of women (some well known, others less so) posting naked or near naked pictures of themselves online. It's not the nudity that bothers me. If you want to display your assets to the world, that's your business. What I have difficulty parsing is how this is "empowering".

Hiliaria Baldwin shares underwear selfie

Kim Kardashian naked selfie

It seems to taken as gospel that if you are comfortable with yourself, then you are okay with standing naked (or nearly so) in front of the world. That's why I keep seeing variations on the "less than a perfect size two wears bikini to the beach!" non-story.

Woman wears bikini to the beach for the first time ever
Woman buys first bikini at 31

I was under the impression that feminism was about women being seen as more than their bodies. That women could and should be appreciated for their talents and abilities. But apparently, even women who can compete on an Olympic level are not sufficiently liberated if they aren't willing to pose naked.

Amanda Bingson - 200 lbs and kicking ass

I'm not saying that women shouldn't wear, or not wear, whatever they like. And I realize that it's simple biological truth that people (men and women) like looking at naked women. Otherwise there would be no market for bikini pics. But why should displaying my naked body be a requirement for being a confident woman? 

Kim Kardashian "I am empowered by my body"

I don't understand how these pictures are supposed to "empower" anybody except Kim Kardashian, and she's empowered because she gets paid serious money for appearing in public nearly nude.  And it did not escape my notice that when her stepmother, Caitlyn Jenner appeared in Vanity Fair, she did it in underwear. If one is coming out as a woman, celebrating becoming a woman, why does that involve appearing in public wearing an outfit that belongs in the bedroom? Is that not equating women with their sexuality, which is something feminism has been fighting for decades?

Call me Caitlyn

If I like a more covered up look, does that make me less empowered? Does a preference for skirts long enough to sit down in mean I am not confident in my abilities? Am I giving in to the patriarchy and body shaming if I'd rather wear a tank suit, or long sleeves?

To quote Bloom County: "I am full blown, gonzo, confused."

Labor Day Weekend

 

Labor Day is one of those holidays that I forget about until it's too late. I typically go to the movies or clean the house. And this labor day I swept and vacuumed, washed and dried, folded and dusted, and generally did all the chores I've been putting off doing. So it's been a very productive weekend.

 

But don't feel sorry for me. Last July, long before I remembered about Labor Day, I booked a Houston Street Art Tour with Destination English. It was fascinating.  I knew there were quite a few murals popping up around town, but since I now live in the suburbs, I've only caught the occasional glimpse of them. The tour was lead by two Houston women who, like many of us who live here, got irritated by people telling them "but there's nothing in Houston but freeways and office buildings."  So they've started leading tours of Houston's cultural offerings.

 

I took about a hundred pictures, experimenting with a different lens (my regular lens is in the shop).  In addition to having fun taking pictures, I picked up some new lingo:

• "slaps" are art stickers (I have one from the tour - it says "Don't harsh my mellow")
• "blowies" are those really round letters that look like they've been inflated

We also got to speak with Mr. D (Sebastian Boileau) of Eyeful Art Murals and Custom Designs, who painted many of the murals we saw.  He is from Paris, and bounced around from California to Dallas before settling in Houston. He spoke about the "Biscuit Paint Wall" (he's surprised it's as popular as it is) some of the process behind "Mars" and asked us why we all decided to spend our Saturday looking at murals. 

And did you know Houston has a museum dedicated to street art? The Graffiti and Street Art Museum of Texas (The GASAM Texas).  They are still settling on a building location, but they do have a temporary spot and they have their own artist-led tours. Check them out.

I won't bore you with all 100 photos, but here's a selection.

This was one of a series of murals commissioned by the Houston Zoo to advertise its new ape enclosure.

The largest mural in Houston  (notice God is holding Mr. D's logo?) - 2850 Fannin 

 

One side of the Mars building - Leeland and Caroline (three sides of the building are painted) I know, the power cables are in the way, but what can you do?

HueFest 2015 logo - Leeland and St. Emanuel. I'm kind of irritated by the sunspot on his hat. I'll have to go back at another time and retake it.

Some slaps (on the right)

across the street from the Huefest 2015 site - It's a tattoo parlor

I love the cartoonish style this guy has

Going from left to right I think it's: Maya Angelou, Princess Diana, Selena, Frida Kahlo and Cleopatra.

Don't you just love the way the artist has integrated the building into the mural? - also at the HueFest site

A visit to Seiwa Market

Interesting sake labels

Going to grocery stores may seem an odd hobby, but few things make me happier than finding new ingredients to play with.

Seiwa Market is Houston's newest Japanese grocery store (bringing the total to 2). Japanese grocery stores are a bit like gambling. I'm never quite sure what I'm buying since I can’t read most of the package labels. There is a label in English on the back, but as I have found out, it's not always accurate. If you really need something specific, either have a friend that reads Japanese, or be willing to ask a lot of questions of strangers.

I like that the package sizes were smaller. Most American grocery stores seem to assume that you are buying for a family of four. I browsed through chopstick rests and sake, marveled at the entire section of curry (one of these days, I've got to try Japanese curry), thought about buying fresh bamboo shoots, and decided that I really didn't need Hello Kitty Soy Sauce.



Yes, it is a thing

In the end, I settled on a fairly limited selection.

Pickles! Daikon (yellow) and cucumber & eggplant (purple). I haven’t opened them yet, but there are very few forms of pickle I don’t like.

I love pickles.

Dango. I have to admit I bought these because I saw them in a manga. They are a sweet: mochi wrapped around sweetened red bean paste. I like mochi a lot more than I like red bean paste. I'd give these a C+. (All three colors are the same flavor.)

Dango

Lunch. There is an section for eating in the store, though I took these home. I bought three kinds of onigiri (rice balls), partly because I was amazed at how neatly put together they were. (My attempts at onigiri resulted in misshapen golf-balls of rice.) They obviously used a mold, but I was fascinated to find that the nori (seaweed) was actually enclosed within the wrapper, not touching the rice. It makes sense, because then you can use the (dry) nori as a kind of edible napkin while you eat. They are more filling than you’d think; two of these were plenty for lunch.


Filled rice ball (this one was mustard greens) with nori sheet

Hello Kitty Matcha Marshmallows, because I just had to buy something with Hello Kitty on it. I was not expecting much from these, but they are actually really good.

Dango and marshmallows

If you're interested, (or you really want Hello Kitty Marshmallows) Seiwa Market is on 1801 S. Dairy Ashford. http://www.seiwamarket.com/

White Linen Night

It is a constant battle to keep from becoming a recluse. I always have wonderful excuses to stay home. For example, this weekend, when I attended White Linen Night.

White Linen Night is a street fair in Houston's Heights neighborhood. There are bands and food trucks, lots of booths selling the work of local artists, and everyone is supposed to wear white linen. (it's supposed to be cooler.)

The excuse making voices in my head said, "It's going to be crowded, hot, sweaty and expensive. Stay home and watch Netflix."

And it was hot, crowded, sweaty and expensive. Dinner (at Shade) was approximately $70. I won't even go into the art prices.  But it was a lot more interesting than staying home and watching Netflix.

Korean-Mexican food truck - I didn't eat here, but I loved the decoration.

I have no idea

My favorite part - I heard arias from Little Women, La Fille du Regiment, and the bolero Besame Mucho.



Meet Jack!

This is my parent's new puppy, Jack. Isn't he cute?

We are still discovering his personality, but for the moment I can tell you is that he's bright, chews everything is sight, loves to cuddle, and really doesn't like limes.

Please forgive the sound, HGTV was on in the background.