Soup, Beautiful Soup

Last night I found myself at Emo's watching PJ & The Bear. I was happy to see my dear friend Pat there too. Like it happens with friends as you get older you see less and less of eachother. People get busy, move further away, blah blah. Pat is generally on tour which is pretty exciting. At least I don't see him because he is doing something interesting.
So, we get to visiting, catching up & what not. Pat informs me that he's been cooking a lot! This is very exciting because he once was a typical bachelor, consuming only things made out of potatoes, or worse - coffee, beer & cigarettes. He tells me that he's into soups. Says he's makes a killer tortilla soup. I don't think he knew this, but I am a "Soupie" & as such I challenged him to a "Soup Off". Heck Yes!
Today I was thinking about it & I dug through my recipes to see which soup I was going to put in the ring & I decided on this awesome Indian bean soup.
It's really tasty & pretty unique I think. So I wanted to share the recipe with you.
For a split second I thought that I should not post the recipe until after the soup off, I don't want show my cards ya know? But I'm pretty sure Pat doesn't read my blog, so here we go.

Indian Bean Soup
serves 6

Ingredients:
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups potatoes cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups chopped parsnips
1 1/2 cups chopped turnips aka rutabaga
2 sticks celery chopped
2 medium zucchini sliced
1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp mild curry paste
5 cups veggie stock
1 14 oz can black eyed peas (drain and rinsed of course)
handful chopped cilantro to garnish

here's what you gotta do:
Heat up the oil add all the prepped veggies except for the zucchini & the bell pepper.
Stir it up for 5 or so minutes then add the garlic, coriander, paprika, & curry paste
cook & stir for another minute

then ya gotta:
Stir in the stock, season w/ salt & pepper to your liking. Bring to a boil
cover & simmer over low heat for 25 minutes

after that:
ya gotta stir in your pea's, zucchini & green bell peppers. Cover & cook for
another 15 minutes.

this next step I feel is optional, but it does make for a thicker texture (if you are into that sort of thing):
transfer a little over a cup of the soup to a blender, puree that shit &
then put it back in the pot with the rest of your delish soup.

now you are done. Grab a ladle - serve it up, top it off with some
cilantro & TAH DAH!
Dinner :)

if you decide to make this soup please let me know what ya think.
I made it a week ago & Austin ate it all up so fast that I didn't get a chance to take pictures... there will be Soup Off pictures though. You can be sure of that!

If it's life you tend to like...

Better get yourself a bike!

Truer words have never been spoken! I dare you to say you don't love a good bike ride, or to tell me that you have never experienced bike lust. I "triple dog dare you"!
Being on a bike lets you experience the world around you in a totally different way. Driving down your street day after day, you miss all the little things that made you want to live there in the first place. But on a bike, it's all right there. You just cruise by and take it all in. I am guilty of not riding my bike enough. This is mostly because my bike is heavy & rusty. I can make it through a 90 minute bikram yoga class, but could I ride my bike to work & back? I am not so sure. With only 1 working gear the odds aren't looking so good. I do have my eye out for a new ride though. Something Danish & covered in baskets! I was shopping around on the web the other day for something with two wheels that I couldn't say NO to when I found the most amazing thing! Eric Stallers Conference Bike! Maybe it's old news but it wasn't to me! This contraption seats 7 people, everyone peddles & one person steers! Can you say Neato?! It wasn't what I was looking for but wow, I'm glad to know that it exists! See what I mean?


Geez, those people look happy. I see lot's of happy people on bikes here in Austin, TX. I want to be one of them. A big YES to joining their ranks & starting a gang :)
The other afternoon while I was day dreaming about this imagined gang I made these heart shaped bicycle rings. Because that's what I do, I make stuff.


I know a lot of people who make stuff, but I should note that part of the inspiration for said gang & the rings that followed came from my friend Eli. She has decked out her schwinn, in a totally kitschy & classy way. Jealous much?! I know I am! High 5 Eli! Keep the rhinestones comin'!

I guess that's all for now on the bike front. Maybe I'll go take my beast for a spin around the hood.

tah tah!