Kale soup

Here's a warming recipe to get you through to spring...

garlic (5 cloves, chopped)

onions (1, chopped)

mushrooms (I used about 8 crimini, chopped)

carrot (I used a half, cut into a rounds)

black-eyed peas (I soaked a 1/3 cup overnight)

kale (1 bunch, pulled into leeetle pieces)

peas (about 1/3 cup frozen)

2 small red potatoes, chopped into hunks

fennel seed (1/4 tsp)

6 cloves

3 bay leaves

water

salt & pepper

The key to this soup was the long simmer. I sauteed the garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Then I added the soaked black-eyed peas and enough water to cover them by about two inches. Then I simmered for about 2 hours. I added the kale, carrot, potato, fennel seed, cloves, bay leaves, and salt, then simmered for another hour. I added the peas and the pepper during the last half hour.

Jordy said this soup reminded him of one he had in the South of France called "boiled water." I was trying to do a vegan version of the Portuguese chorizo and kale soup they served at a diner in Rhode Island, but I guess that was a stretch.

This was a great recipe for replenishing after a stomach bug. It goes very well with Saltines.

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers

If you're a fan of "Miller's Crossing" and liked "The Brothers Bloom," you must read the latest Thomas Mullen novel, out recently in paperback.

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers is a very entertaining 1930s gangster book with an alluring element of magical realism.

I picked this up on total impulse, despite my HUUUUUGGGGE pile of things I had to read, and I have zero regrets.

Carpe diem! I encourage you to read your next book just because... It's very liberating and satisfying, kind of like playing hooky to go do something really educational.

Butterscotch chocolate chip oat bread

These measurements are all rough... sorry, I've been creative in the kitchen lately, which means that I say, "Oh, what if I added this? Hmm, too dry... Maybe a splash of this?"

If you do nothing else with this recipe, use it as inspiration to be bold! What's the worst that can happen when you bake with butterscotch and chocolate chips?

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 big smooshed very ripe banana

1/8 cup shredded coconut (the sweet kind)

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

vanilla almond milk and frangelico until the batter resembled cookie dough consistency (about 1/4 cup almond milk and a big glug of frangelico)

about 1/8 cup each of butterscotch* and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Mix it all up, put it in a greased loaf pan, and cook at 350 for about 45-55 minutes, until it's brown and crispy on top, not TOO smooshy inside.

*I looked closer and realized that the butterscotch chips I have (Nestle) have dairy in them. Since I'm only veganesque, this works for me. But if you have a dairy allergy, leave these out. Maybe substitute more chocolate chips or some chopped pecans?

Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt

Today's fun teen read surprise:

Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt-- and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley.

Sakes alive, this chatty, sassy first-person narrative about an Alabama teen-come-home who finds herself a part of the esteemed tradition of Magnolia Maids is a hoot! Jane escaped from the humid, close world of Bienville (and away from painful memories of her mom's death), but after she gets kicked out of the latest boarding school, it's back to the land of sweet tea, gossip, big hair, and frenemies like you wouldn't believe.

The novel will be a paperback original coming out from Egmont USA in June. It is a perfect beach/bus/hammock read.

In the meantime, if this sounds good, be sure to check out my friend Kim's hilarious blog: Stuff Southern People Like.

Mexican casserole

Vegan potluck. For omnivores. Bonus: It's gluten free, too!

~12 corn tortillas

1 bigass can of vegetarian refried beans (or two normal-sized ones)

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 anaheim pepper, chopped

1 zucchini, cut into rounds, then quarter slices

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 butternut squash, chopped (or 1 bag of frozen chunks)

1-3 cups of spinach, depending on how much you like

1 can of tomato paste

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup of your favorite salsa

1 small can of fire-roasted chopped chiles

1 tsp of vinegar

chile powder

cumin

salt

pepper

Make this in a big lasagna pan. Think of it like a Mexican lasagna comfort food, but instead of pasta you have corn tortillas. I folded mine and broke them in half to make them easier to fit (flat edges to line up).

I did one layer of tortillas, then topped with a layer of refried beans. Sprinkled the beans lightly with chile powder.

Next layer of tortillas... Top with fajita veggies. I cooked the green and anaheim peppers, the onions, and the zucchini over high heat in a pan until the onions just got a tinge of crisp brown, like a sizzlin' fajita. Spread these evenly over the tortillas.

Next layer of tortillas... First, spread a thin layer of sauce-- can of tomato paste, water, vinegar, canned chiles, chile powder, salsa-- over the tortillas. Top with squash and spinach mixture. I used a bag of frozen squash hunks from the grocery store (so easy) and about six handfuls of spinach. I put the squash and three handfuls with garlic, chile powder, and cumin in a bowl, then microwaved for a minute and half. Stirred, added the rest of the spinach. Nuked for another minute and a half. Stirred. Smooshed the squash. Added some salt and pepper. Dropped clumps of the mix onto the layer of tortillas and spread it around.

Next layer of tortillas. Now mix the remaining beans and remaining sauce together to make a nice thick tomato-y bean-y sauce. Spread over the top of the last layer of tortillas. If you're feeling exciting, add thin slivers of onion or something else vegetal to decorate. (Frozen corn could work.)

Cover your masterpiece with tin foil. You can let it sit like this for hours. (Good for make-ahead!) If you don't have enough room in your fridge because you used a giant lasagna pan and have all sorts of other crap in your fridge, don't fret-- IT'S VEGAN. You're not going to get food poisoning from leaving it out on a cool counter for a few hours. (If it's going to be more than that, make room in the fridge. You should probably clean out your fridge anyway, right?)

Before you serve, cook covered for about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

For fancy-schmanciness, you can top with slivers of avocado and a sprinkling of cilantro when you serve. If, like me, you get to the party and forget that you have an avocado in your purse, just relax, enjoy the night, and remember to take the avocado out of your purse when you get home.

I wish I'd taken a picture of this. And the "yum" faces as people tried it. Even non-vegans went back for seconds at our party.

(If you're not vegan, this would probably be awesome with the lightest sprinkle of cheddar or cojito cheese. But save yourself money and hassle-- just skip the cheese.)

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

Saturday's Book Mixer discussion was fantastic. I loved A Single Man, and I loved hearing all the other readers' different interpretations of it. There was spirited but respectful disagreement on the ending, the character's intentions, and major plot points. Most of us loved it, some were not quite as infatuated, but I think we all came away with great appreciation for the novel and the participants in the discussion.

About three quarters of the way through the book, I went to my fantastic local, indie video store (shout out to Video Isle and Alex, who makes movie magic happen!) and rented the movie. Yowzah. It was a very different story, but I thought the atmosphere and questions raised were in keeping with the spirit of the book. How does one take a very internal novel and make an Oscar-winning movie from it? Yup, you may need to add some big drama, change who's had affairs and why, substitute two adorable dogs for a garage-ful or animals, and attach geniuses like Colin Firth and Julianne Moore to the project. I have to say THANK YOU TOM FORD-- the changes added even more to my thoughts about the novel, and we had that much more to talk about! We discussed for two hours and could have kept going.

I highly recommend A Single Man for book clubs. If you can make everyone watch the movie, do that, too.

Turmeric ginger carrot and garbanzo soup

Inspired by Liz of DishingWell's recent shout out to turmeric and its healthful properties, I served a tasty bright orange soup tonight. (A jolt of color that was very welcome after a very rainy day.)

Turmeric Ginger Carrot and Garbanzo Soup

1/2 onion, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

small hunk of ginger root, peeled and cut in slivers

1 package of peeled baby carrots

water (about 4 cups)

turmeric (about 1 tsp?)

cumin (about the same)

ground cardamom (about 1/4 tsp)

a handful of frozen peas

salt

pepper

I sauteed the onions, garlic, and shallots in a pan with a touch of canola oil.

Then I added the rest of the ingredients (except the peas, salt, pepper) and simmered it up for a while. ("A while" translates to an hour plus-- I kind of lost track of time, but it was the time it took to read about 1/3 of the upcoming teen novel The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Laura Zielin-- a fun goth girl/bass master prom romp.)

I added some salt and pepper. I checked to make sure all the sweet potato and carrots were smooshy. Then I used my wonder immersion blender-- but left a few hunks in the now brilliant orange bisque-like soup.

Then I added a handful of frozen peas because I wanted the color contrast of the bright green against the intense orange.

I served it with mini-ciabatta rolls stuffed with spinach leaves (tucked in while the rolls were still hot, so it wilted nicely) and slices of avocado with just a hint of salt.

(To be honest, I also gave us each a little serving of Jordy's leftover Mexican Mac & Cheese from dinner at the 5 Spot's vegetarian Wednesday last night, too. But if you were being all vegan-strict, you wouldn't have that in the house anyway, right?)