Aloo Gobi

My most recent Indian meal was Aloo Gobi a quick dinner of cauliflower and potatoes that comes together in the time it takes to make raita and toast some store-bought naan.  I used a recipe from Manjula's Kitchen, a website I recommend for all sorts of vegetarian Indian recipes.  I decided to roast the potatoes and cauliflower to intensify the flavor and I added a red bell pepper and some peas in the last few minutes of cooking for some additional color and fresh flavor.  Quick, easy, delicious, and good for you!

Sweettooth Premiere!

We took a trip to State College a few weeks ago so that Geoff could premiere the Thai Honeymoon CD, "Sweet Tooth."  The CD is fantastic and you can listen to it for free here or download the full album for just $5.  The cover art was done by Geoff's incredibly talented friend Brian Stannard.

We got in on Tuesday night and on Wednesday we climbed Mt. Nittany before Geoff headed to band practice and I went to campus to meet with some collaborators.  We reminisced about the first time we climbed Mt. Nittany together.  It was a particularly warm day in January 2007 a few months after we started dating.  Classes hadn't started for the spring semester and town was deserted.  Afterwards we caught a matinee and were the only ones in the theater.  Oh, memories.

Thai Honeymoon premiered their album on Thursday night at the Darkhorse and it was so much fun!  The set was great and everyone loved the album (seriously, go listen to it).  Lots of our friends from State College came out and we had a great time.  On Friday, a huge storm rolled through the valley which I loved.  I adore thunderstorms and we have been living through the most severe drought since the 1950s.  That night, all of our East Coast friends drove to town (plus a very special guest from Mexico City).

On Saturday morning, my friend Clara and I went to the lake (her parents came too).  We had lots of fun splashing in the water while wearing our matching swimwear.  We built a sandcastle and ate peanut butter sandwiches before both us needed a nap.  (There was a little too much celebrating the arrival of our friends the night before.)

On Saturday night, our friend Brownbird Rudy Relic and Thai Honeymoon opened for a Wilcox Hotel reunion set at the Darkhorse.  It reminded me so much of the spring of 2008 when Wilcox Hotel played at least one night a week and usually two.  Geoff rocked so hard that he ripped open a callus on his hand and sprayed blood all over his guitar.  We had to wonder what the TSA agent thought when they opened this case.

Seeing all of our friends - almost all of whom have ended up back within an 8 hour drive of each other - was a wonderful treat and made us a little homesick for our lives back in State College.  However, we also realized that we are really happy with our life in Texas and that leaving State College was part of moving forward!  Luckily, we have lots of friends all over the country to visit.

Foto Friday {22}

Saturday August 27: Triathlon!

Sunday August 28: Losing

Monday August 28: Bemused in my Glasses

{Tuesday August 29: Coming Later}

Wednesday August 30: Sytlin'

Thursday September 1: Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Sea Salt

Friday September 2: Sunset

Feeding Friendship: Creamed Corn Succotash

I chose corn for this week's secret ingredient because it is the quintessential seasonal ingredient.  So very good when it is ripe - sweet enough to eat raw (like in this Crunchy Corn Salad) - and so very dull when even slightly out of season.  I've been interested in making my own creamed corn since last summer.  It turns out that the creaminess of the corn isn't from dairy, but from the starchiness of the corn itself.

To prepare the corn, lay it on its side and shave off just the top of the kernels so that it looks like the picture on the right.  Then take the back of your knife and get all the pulp and "milk" out.  I even recommend wringing out the cob.  You would be surprised how much you can get out of a fresh ear of corn.

All that pulp and liquid came from 8 ears of corn.  When combined with the kernels you cut off, there should be equal parts kernels, pulp, and liquid.  You can add a bit of water if need be.  While you are doing this, fry up some bacon.

Caramelize one large onion, then add in the corn mixture.  Let that cook at good 15 minutes before adding the thawed lima beans (you can use fresh if you can find them).  Stir quickly and frequently while that cooks together.

These are the secret to my succotash - roasted hatch chiles.  Central Market just wrapped up their Hatch Chile Festival and I was able to get a bag of about 25 roasted hatch chiles for $5. I removed the skin and seeds, chopped them up and added them in along with halved tiny tomatoes.  I topped the succotash with bacon and served alongside some chicken sausages.

Creamed Corn Succotash
Serves 4-6

6 slices thick-cut bacon
8 ears very fresh corn
1 large onion
8 oz frozen lima beans, thawed
1 pint baby tomatoes, halved
5 roasted hatch chiles (or green chiles, or roasted red peppers), stems and seeds removed, chopped

1. Shave the tops off the kernels of corn and then collect the pulp and milk from the cobs.
2. Fry 6 slices bacon in a heavy cast iron dutch oven.  Reserve bacon and pour off all but 3 tbsp. of grease.
3. Caramelize onion in the grease, then add in corn mixture.  Cook 15 minutes over medium-low heat.
4. Thaw the lima beans in the microwave and add to the pot.  Cook 20 more minutes.
5. Add the chiles and tomatoes.  Cook 10 more minutes.
6. Crumble bacon over the top and serve hot!

August Book Report: Animal Farm

I was flipping through my Google Reader feed last week when I spotted a blog post titled "Some Ants are More Equal Than Others."  Had I come across this title a few weeks earlier, I would have smiled at the turn of phrase and moved on.  Having just finished George Orwell's Animal Farm on the plane back from State College, however, I knew where it came from and the deeper meaning implied by my very well-read colleagues.  So what I'm saying is, I'm probably constantly missing cultural references and not even realizing it. (As opposed to when I don't recognize the people on the cover of the magazines in the checkout line.  I know that I'm missing a cultural reference and I'm fine with it.)  This may be the first of several "classics" I'll be reading this year.  Many of them, along with innumerable movies and albums, are on the list of things Geoff can't believe I've never read/seen/heard.

Unfortunately, when you read the the classics after you have already heard about them for years, some just don't tend to have the same impact.  After hearing about Catcher in the Rye being banned for years in schools around the country, I was expecting something a little more salacious and mostly just wanted Holden Caulfield to quite whining (I wasn't a particularly sympathetic teenager).  When I finally read On the Road, my synopsis was "get a job, hippie." So I guess it wouldn't surprise you that my thoughts on Animal Farm were "Yep, the the ideals of communism were corrupted in the Soviet Union."  I suppose the story may have had more punch in 1945.

Are there any "classics" you were disappointed by?  What about ones that exceeded your expectations?  I found Where Angels Fear to Treat and Of Mice and Men unexpectedly moving.