Yes, we have no tomatoes

Another tomato-free soup!

This one is Coconut Hot and Sour Soup from The Urban Vegan.

I went to great pains to make this soup, as the recipe calls for tom yum paste.  When I couldn't find it at my usual haunts (Safeway, King Soopers, Whole Foods), I looked for it online.  And, I needed vegetarian tom yum paste--most of them have fish sauce as an ingredient.  I faced sticker shock when the shipping total was presented (I checked 2 sites), with the cost estimated at about 3x the cost of the paste.  Well, crap.  It's generally against my ethos to pay that kind of shipping, but I figured I could pay it and have it here with a lot less pain on my part, or I could pay the shipping amount and then some in gas and my time traipsing about town to various ethnic markets.  Less pain = good.  A little pain in my checking account, but so it goes.

Anyway, the soup was most tasty.  I think I put in a few too many noodles, so it ended up as more of a noodle bowl than soup, but no complaints here.  I'm enjoying the Asian soups, so I'll keep going on that thread.  Besides, I need to figure out how to use up a jar of tom yum paste.  I suspect you'll see it used frequently as an ingredient in the coming months.

And, for those of you interested in the recipe (the non-coconut haters out there), I can't find an online version to share.  Or, let me know and I'll try to get it to you offline.

No tomatoes in this soup!

Asian Noodle Soup from Vegan on the Cheap.

Better pic here.

I can't find the recipe online anywhere and am not sure of the protocol for providing it. No doubt someone would discover my obscure blog providing copyrighted recipe info and shut down my entire operation.  So, in the interest of keeping this fantastic public service going, you'll understand why I'm not posting the recipe.

I want to try more Asian recipes to provide a break from my usual tomato-based soups. This week's noodle soup was delicious and provided a nice antidote for the cold I picked up this weekend.  Feeling a little better now. If only someone would do the dishes...

10 years and still in love

Surly, originally uploaded by Ben B Miller.

It was 10 years ago at about this time of year (I don't have the exact date, I'm not quite that compulsive) that I took delivery of my Surly Steamroller, thus beginning a 10-year love affair with this bike and fixed gears that continues today.

I'm not quite sure how I even stumbled upon the concept of fixed gears. No doubt I visited the late, great Sheldon Brown's site at some point. My curiosity piqued, I took a test ride on a Bianchi Pista and that was all I needed. I scampered down to Cycle Analyst to inquire about some bike called a Surly. I mean, really, how could I resist a bike named Surly?

I immediately felt at home on the Surly. Joe at Cycle Analyst did a great job of picking components and fitting the bike. I loved riding fixed from the first pedal stroke. I won't wax poetic about being one with the bike, or the simplicity or that I feel transcendent or blah, blah, blah. I just like it and it brings me joy. Good enough?

The Surly has been with me through 4 Fixed Gear Symposiums, including the year that wasn't but we still showed up anyway.

2005 Symposium

Hillclimb at the Symposium - 2009

Riding with Ken and Sara along the shores of Lake Michigan

We've ridden through some beautiful places

Happiness!

This bike has ridden me to and from several jobs, to dinner, to lunch, to the store, meetings with friends and rides just because.  I've made new friends and had life-changing adventures with you at my side  So, thank you, dear Surly, for 10 years of flawless service and companionship.  I look forward to the next 10 and many more.

Soup Sunday on hiatus

Oh, goodness, just for this week. Wouldn't want to traumatize all of you that tune in weekly for my thrilling content...

That said, I opted for a change-up this week. In celebration of Valentine's Day (awwww), I did a little extra cookin' this week.

Today I made Tempeh and Wild Mushroom Fricasse.

Click the linky above for a much better and more appetizing picture.

Paired the main dish with a little 'o this:

And for dessert:

Happy Valentine's Eve to you. And the day, too.

The story of my life

Happy Birthday, Clark!

He's 9 today and acts like a pup (in a mature way, of course).

Here he is waiting to commence his birthday swim.

In anticipation of today's weather, Clark had a birthday eve swim rather than a birthday swim. I don't think he minded at all.

Super Bowl Soup Sunday

Not that the Super Bowl has any bearing on Soup Sunday. I don't watch much pro football and have no stake in the outcome. I will say that I'm pulling for the Packers, socialists that they are. The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned franchise in American professional sports major leagues (Wikipedia), which makes them much more appealing than the typical money-grubbing NFL owner-driven team.

But, I digress. This post is about soup.

Today is Tortilla Soup from The Happy Herbivore.

Is it me, or are all of my soups starting to look alike? I should try to incorporate some color into my soup repertoire. Or fewer tomato-based soups. Either way, this one was very good--I had to refrain from eating the whole pot. I'll definitely make it again. A great soup for a wintry evening. Two ladles up on this one.

Who rides a bike?

Katherine Hepburn does! Nice socks, BTW.

From Rides a Bike. Great site!

A window into my psyche

So today I read a book about procrastination instead of preparing a cover letter for a job application. I'm not quite sure what that says about my neuroses.