First Parking Meter Soup

[Photo by A.]

The first parking meter was developed over two years by two engineering professors at Oklahoma State University and installed in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935. The meter was called "Black Maria." I want to know why and I don't want to know why.

A. requested this soup, based on a version I made a couple months ago but didn't post about (apparently). It's thick and nutritious and delicious. Nuff said, here's the deets.

prep. time: approx. 1 hr

servings: approx. 8-10

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. vegetable broth

6 c. water

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 large yellow zucchini (or summer squash), chopped

1 large yellow bell pepper, sliced

2 small jalapeños, diced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. quinoa
1 lb. firm silken tofu, cubed

4 stalks kale, leaves torn

1 c. frozen corn

1 15-oz. can black beans

1 package Daiya pepper jack

5 spoonfuls Tofutti sour cream

juice of 1/2 lime

juice of 1/4 lemon

1 bunch cilantro

cayenne

coriander

ground sea salt

ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Sauté onion with oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once slightly caramelized, add vegetable broth and water.
2. Meanwhile, sauté zucchini, bell pepper, and jalapeños in a pan. Once browned toss in garlic for a couple minutes, then add pan contents to the pot. Bring to a simmer.
3. Add lime and lemon juice, cilantro, and seasonings. Stir in quinoa.
4. After 5 minutes, add tofu. After another 5 minutes, add kale. After another couple minutes, add corn and black beans.
5. Once quinoa is cooked (should only take 15 minutes) and soup is desired viscosity, turn off the heat and stir in Daiya cheese and Tofutti sour cream. Let cool and thicken, serve with tortilla chips, Cholula hot sauce, and apple lime cider.

$100 Soup

Three days ago my parents made this soup. The recipe's from Bon Appetit. I might come back and jot it down at some point.

It didn't cost $100! But that is how much Susan B. Anthony was fined in 1873 when she tried to vote in the 1872 presidential election. I wonder who she would have voted for if they'd let her. Ulysses S. Grant pretty much kicked everyone's ass in that election.

Steve Lambert's $100 Drawing.

Douglas Hofstadter Beet Soup

Douglas Hofstadter turned 66 today! Gödel, Escher, Bach is a great book, but so is the much more concise, political, freely accessible "A Person Paper on Purity in Language." Check it out.

There's maybe a little too much going on in this soup, but at least it's hearty and flavorful. And there's lots of it. My first time cooking with beets. Beets are delicious. For the broth I used 3 c. water I'd frozen after cooking black beans, plus 2 c. water from making kidney beans on Saturday.

makes approx. 5-8 servings (I really have no idea)

INGREDIENTS:
1 c. green lentils
2/3 c. quinoa
5 small sweet potatoes, cubed
1 beet, skinned and cubed
1 medium white onion, diced
~1/2 c. tofu, crumbled
1/4 c. cilantro
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp. chili powder
5 c. vegetable broth
3 c. water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Fill a large stock pot with broth and lentils. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Add the sweet potatoes and the beet.
2. After 25 min., toss in the onion, tofu, cilantro, and spices. Start simmering the quinoa in a separate pot.
3. After another 20 min., turn off the heat. Stir in the quinoa and the water, which will instantly bring down the temperature to a comfortable hotness. Serve immediately!

I can't figure out how to embed audio, so if you want to listen to this funny little piece I recorded March 10, 2006 on a warped half-size acoustic guitar and contact mic, you'll have to download it here.

Bonanza Curry Soup

I came up with this recipe while on the bus back from NYC. It was a Bonanza bus, hence the name. My memory of what was in my kitchen was accurate except that there turned out not to be a can of corn. Oh well.

I might suggest using a little less curry powder than I did, but I'm keeping the recipe as is to reflect what I actually ate for dinner. Discretion is always advised when taking my culinary advice.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 acorn squash
1/2 c. cashews
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. tofu, cubed
1 1/2 c. edamame, shelled
1 c. broth
2 c. water
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp. chile powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5 sun-dried tomatoes, julienned (sort of)
oil
Earth Balance


DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Fill the center of half an acorn squash with cashews. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Heat a pad of Earth Balance margarine with some canola oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and tofu. Let the tofu brown on the bottom, then scrape with a spatula.
3. Remove the squash from the oven. Empty the cashews into a blender. Cut off the rind of the squash and slice into chunks. Place in the blender along with broth and water. Puree until relatively smooth.
4. Add the edamame to the soup pot and cook for a few minutes. Pour the pureed cashews and squash into the pot, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
5. Add the seasoning and let the soup cook for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with sun-dried tomatoes.


"I don't think of love as — in this context — as emotion bosh. I don't think of it as a weak force, but I think of love as something strong, and that organizes itself into powerful direct action."
Martin Luther King, Jr.