listening after dark

Casper by the numbers

New Casper photo album here. More photos to come.

Too perfect a morning...

...not to get out of bed at 7 and walk around town taking photos of signs and such. Good thing I like decrepit buildings; Casper is full of them. I always find interesting bits in alleys and industrial areas. And somehow I didn't notice much trash on the streets today. Maybe because I was looking through my rosy Saturday glasses.

9 p.m., 62 degrees

I think spring might have finally arrived. Yesterday it was in the 60s and today was nearly 70. We spent a while at the park yesterday, flying kites and throwing a frisbee. There were people everywhere, playing like they'd been in hibernation for months (they have). Wes broke his kite and I lost mine to some power lines, and we both have sore arms from frisbee, but it was a wonderful afternoon. (I wish I had pictures. There were also the college-age kids who had a hula hoop, a guitar, a harmonica and very white winter legs.) Then, to make the day even better, we watched the first two (original) Star Wars movies and ate jalapeño poppers and shrimp. Did you know that cocktail sauce is ridiculously easy to make and tastes way better than the stuff in a jar? See the (sort of) recipe below.

[I have public radio jazz playing in the kitchen, and I just heard "fell down the stairs and died." Who fell and died, I do not know, but there you have it.]

This weekend has also been spent catching up with friends. I've probably been on the phone close to five hours since Friday night. I forget how much I miss girl talk and reminiscing about old times. Sounds like I need to do some serious traveling/visiting soon. Good thing I have a girls weekend planned for the end of April—Boulder, here I come!

To round off the strange assortment of details in this post, here are a few...recipes.

Oh joy! Oh delight.

Eleven days ago, at the start of my flu, I left work early and, as a therapeutic measure, planted some herb seeds: basil, parsley, chives and dill. Today I was checking the moisture level under the plastic and saw the first two tiny sprouts. So I moved the tray to the sunny windowsill, and every time I go near the kitchen sink, I whisper encouragement to the two new babies and their siblings, 23 sproutless cups of dirt. C'mon, little planties, you can do it. Grow some more. Grow big, grow strong.

I much prefer plants to pets. I've somehow managed to keep nearly a dozen alive through two major moves: Washington to New Mexico; New Mexico to Wyoming. Charley, the man of the house, has been with me for five years now. I did recently kill my lipstick plant, which I had since before college (sniff), but it had never bloomed and had been ailing for some time.

Speaking of...well, nothing similar. But my new favorite breakfast/snack follows, with my modifications in brackets. These things are so much better than granola bars or cold cereal. They're not too sweet but there are lots of good flavors. Last time I made a double batch and put a bunch in the freezer. I often take one to work for breakfast, along with some fruit or a cup of yogurt, or for a midmorning snack. By the way, I don't have a mixer, unless you count my hands. They work well when combined with large spoons.

Breakfast Cookies
© 2007 Ellie Krieger

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food [and 1/4 cup grated carrots]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup raisins [or a mixture of raisins, chopped dried cherries and chopped dried apricots]
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped [and/or chopped dry roasted peanuts]
[1/4 cup mini chocolate chips]

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Happy New Year!

Snow, sushi, sake, cross-country skiing, sleeping in...it was a good holiday.

Spicy soup day

If, like me, you think that post-lunch burning lips are a sign of a good meal, then you might enjoy the following recipe, which I just invented. Goody for me. This may seem a little exotic for some, but if I can find all these ingredients in the middle of Wyoming, then so can anyone. As far as I can recall, those are the ingredients I used. As usual, I didn't measure anything, so the amounts are my best guesses. Adjust at will.

Udon Vegetable and Pork Soup
(You could easily omit the pork if you're a vegetarian.)

1/4 pound pork, cut into small chunks or strips
4 ounces udon noodles
1 can vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup carrots, thinly sliced or grated
1/4-1/2 cup firm tofu, cubed
3 green onions, chopped
5 dry shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced/chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ginger
dash sesame oil

First, broil the pork (or sauté or whatever). Cook the noodles by boiling in water, as any other pasta. Pour the vegetable broth in a pot, then add the water and carrots. As the broth starts to heat and the carrots soften a little, add the spices, sesame oil, mushrooms, green onions, tofu and pork. Finally, add the noodles. It should all be hot and ready to eat. I toyed with the idea of adding spinach at the end and letting it wilt, but the pot was already pretty full.

Amended 1/6/08

Second time around: Definitely sauté the pork. When it's almost cooked, add the tofu and some minced garlic (forget the powder), along with the soy sauce and sesame oil. (Or sauté the pork in the sesame oil—my nonstick pot could have used some of that.) Then add the carrots, then broth and water. The rest is the same as above. Try to undercook the noodles a little, because they'll soften more in the soup. Plus, if you reheat it later on (which I recommend—it's actually better the next day), the noodles will continue to soften.

Leftover rice + 10 minutes = warm dessert or breakfast

My family has been making this as long as I can remember, using leftover brown or white rice. I just made some with leftover sticky rice from Thai takeout earlier this week; it took less than 10 minutes. The amounts here are just for guidance. Adjust ingredients as desired.

2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup milk or a mixture of milk and cream
2-3 tablespoons honey (sugar also works, but honey is better)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (almonds would also be tasty)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Combine ingredients in a small pot and warm until raisins are soft and rice begins to absorb milk. (White rice will become very soft, while brown rice usually maintains its consistency.) Adjust spices. Serve warm or cold.

8:30 p.m., 24 degrees

Sunrise to sunset

We're finally having (multi-hued) sunsets. I saw very few this summer, but autumn is looking much more colorful—in the sky, at least.

I'm in the process of uploading Nebraska/Iowa photos.

Some time ago