Post House Concert Odds and Ends

1. Not too bad for the morning after, huh? I can assure you it has often looked MUCH worse!

2. Several people asked about my red beans and rice recipe---which was delightful as I wasn't sure about them. Since the jambalaya was far from vegan, I wanted to make sure the red beans were a vegan option. I poked around online looking for recipes and then kinda winged it. We soaked two pounds of red beans (two different kinds which I think is kinda nice as you get a bit of difference in flavor and texture but it was really because that's just what was to be had at the store). Then from the safe confines of my office I emailed Ernie directions. I know, I know....but he is SO much better at chopping and cutting vegetables than I am......

So I sent him this:

Creole seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika (we used smoked paprika)
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

For red beans:

 

Chop two green peppers, two lgish onions, 4 celery stalks rather finely

2-3 tablespoons of chopped garlic

 

saute all in peanut oil until softened--use the creuset pot

 

then add in the red beans, a teaspoon or two of salt, a teaspoon or two of the creole seasoning and cover with an inch and a half of water. Bring to a boil and then put in 250 degree oven for an hour and start checking....

 

love you!!

I had him cover the pot but then we realized we should have used less water....so I drained the cooked beans and then simmered down the liquid and added it back in. It tasted great but later when we had some for dinner with rice it tasted totally bland....the rice sucked all the seasoning out of it. So we took a tablespoon or two of the seasoning and toasted it in a bit of oil, added a chopped chipotle, a couple of dashes of soy sauce (because I didn't have vegan Worcestershire) and some hot sauce and salt. Threw that in and let it sit a day. Then when I heated it up I added a dash of cidar vinegar just cause. I ended up being pretty pleased with it.

3. Although our Dulce de Lece bars weren't as pretty as the ones Stacy had made, they were pretty damn good. The recipe is here. We used 'homemade' dulce de lece, i.e. a can of condensed milk opened a little bit and left in a slow cooker (with water around it) overnight.

4. If you didn't buy Rod's new album last night (or any of his previous ones), it will be WELL worth your money. Highly, highly recommended! You can get him from his website or the other usual suspects. As much as I loved the new album already, after having heard some of it live it hits even harder.

5. We were delighted to have Stacie Huckeba here filming Rod last night! If you are not familiar with her work (such as the picture on the poster or some of Rod's videos) go check out her website. She does wonderful stuff!

6. And yet again I like another of Jonathan Hall's comments (apart from Rod Picott being "thunderlingly awesome") as he said last night: The Picott Nation showed up tonight, in matching t-shirts.

7. The cats were surprisingly retiring last night. Hmmmm.

8. As my friend Bob mentioned last night, the Sola Gratia CSA is getting ready to start up. I am a big supporter of this CSA. We are not members of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church but we are admirers of their programs. Sola Gratia is a 4 acre community farm maintained by the church and 10% of their produce automatically goes to Eastern Illinois Foodbanks, with some people purchasing additional shares to donate. It's a pretty great thing. They have extended the earlybird cost of shares until April 1! A full share (3-4 people) is $525 and a half share (1-2 people) is $285...mind you this goes from early spring to late fall! We get a half share as we like to also grow some of our own things and go the farmers' market, but we also like having a regular box from them and to support what they are doing. You can find more info at their website, or Download 2014 Sola Gratia Shareholder Agreement. If you're interested in just finding out more about it, please  join them for  Soon-To-Be-Spring Open House on Saturday, March 15th at 6 p.m at St. Matthew's on Philo Road in Urbana. This will be an opportunity to learn more about Sola Gratia Farm and it’s mission, meet their new Farmer, Clay  Yapp. There will be dinner, friends, and plenty of spring anticipation....and Bob tells me I'll be cooking as well. I love that Bob.  This event is free and open to the public so be sure to bring any friends and/or neighbors who might be interested in learning more about becoming a part of the Sola Gratia community. Bring a dish to share if you'd like or just come and enjoy.

O.k....I think that's it!

I adore his song Milkweed but couldn't find a video of it....lots of other choices though....let's go with this one...