E is for epazote (eh-paw-ZOH-tay)

Epazote is native to Mexico and the tropical region of Central and South America, where it is commonly found wild. It is also widely naturalized throughout the world and the United States, especially California. In Mexican cooking, epazote is always added to the pot when cooking black beans for its natural carminative (gas-preventing) properties and because its potent aroma cuts the heavienss of the beans. Who knew!

When we started settling into our new home, I went in search of some cacti to add to our patio collection. An ad on Craigslist led me to a cacti sale in central Tucson held by a woman who had been growing cacti and succulents on her large residential property for several decades. There were so many varieties of cacti growing in the ground and in pots all over her property. I found several I wanted; one of them, a pine cone cactus had some other plant growing in the pot with it. The woman let me know it was epazote that had reseeded from her herb garden. It's especially good when cooked with black beans, she said. I had to have it; the cactus with the herb. So sweet.

All summer the herb grew effortlessly next to the cactus and now in January it's still doing fine after several prunings. I dried some of it, but most recipes call for fresh epazote and I can understand why. It's not unlike basil which is so much better fresh than dried so if you decide to use it, fresh is the way to go. Here is my black bean recipe with epazote:

Mexican Black Beans with Epazote (serves 2-3)

1/4 pound chopped fresh chorizo sausage

½ medium diced onion

1 diced carrot

1 diced celery stalk

2 garlic cloves chopped

1.5 tsp. ancho or New Mexico chile powder

1.5 tsp. ground cumin

1 large sprig fresh epazote chopped (or 1 tablespoons dried)

1 can black beans

1 cup chicken stock

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a large, heavy skillet, brown chorizo sausage. Remove the chorizo, leaving the fat in the pan. Add onion, carrots, celery stalks, garlic and epazote to the pan and cook over medium heat until the vegetables become soft.

Add the can of black beans and the cooked chorizo to the vegetables, along with ancho or New Mexico chile powder, ground cumin, and salt to taste.

Cook on medium low heat for 15-20 minutes adding chicken stock to keep the beans moist. When ready to serve, top with chopped cilantro. Will keep for a couple of days in frig.

D is for desert

My home... specifically, the Sonoran Desert which covers over 100,000 square miles stretching from Arizona to Mexico and west to Baja California. Different areas of this desert can look desolate while others are lush with vegetation and mountains. I am most familiar with the Sonoran Desert here in Tucson with its towering saguaros, scrubby cholla and colorful prickly pear. The Catalina Mountain backdrop to the north of the city changes with the seasons; dry and rocky in the summer, then green and lush in the early fall to snow speckled in the winter. The desert really does have seasons. This is the view from my kitchen window... I never tire of it.

At all times of the year, the desert is full of life. Right now in early January, I have cultivated annuals, roses, and a flourishing vegetable garden. In February, the wildflowers will begin to bloom and from then on the many varieties of cacti and flowering shrubs will take their turns blooming throughout the warmer months of the year.

The desert is alive with wild animals too. In our little corner of the desert, we have coyote, raccoon, javelina, bobcats, and many varieties of birds, lizards and snakes. Our trail cam records some of them passing through our property at night -- rarely are the larger animals seen during daylight hours so we are delighted to be able to see their presence digitally.

There are many aspects of desert life to explore and appreciate. One I especially savor happens right after it rains when the creosote bush releases its unmistakable scent -- the smell of rain. A wonder to experience, it always reminds me of how blessed I am to live amidst the natural beauty of this desert I call home.

C is for cookbooks

Of which I have many. The count today is 444 which doesn't include pamphlets or food magazines. I've been collecting cookbooks since I can remember beginning with yard sale and church cookbooks when I was a teenager. My mother had a copy of Betty Crocker that I remember vividly; it must have been her go-to source for recipes because the pages were spotted and falling out from years of use.

My collection includes many newer titles but older ones too -- from Ottolenghi's Plenty to the 1944 edition of Elena's Famous Mexican and Spanish Recipes by Elena Zelayeta and so many more in between. I could write pages about my favorites and the things I've learned from reading and experimenting with the recipes that intrigued me. These cookbooks are like old friends that I can check in with from time to time and be happily entertained.

I especially love cookbooks that are not just collections of recipes, but cookbooks that can be read like a good novel. Food writers like Laurie Colwin, Elizabeth David and M.F.K. Fisher have entertained me and taught me so much about cooking and eating well; to them I owe a debt of gratitude.

If I had to chose favorites, they would be the binders of recipes I've assembled over the years: collected from cookbooks, magazines, cooking classes and a few I developed myself. These are the tried and true recipes that I rely on time and again.

Until tomorrow... must go check on my bread dough.

B is for behind

I'm so behind on my A-Z posts! I had planned to write everyday for 26 days but as with most things we plan, life takes a different course. Between entertaining friends and dealing with an unexpected root canal procedure, my days got away from me. I probably should have said I'd post once a week for 26 weeks! That would have been more realistic. Oh well, I'll continue to post as often as I can between life's twists and turns.

The root canal was a long uncomfortable process but I'm healing quickly with the help of antibiotics and a really good pain killer, I'm sure tomorrow will be better. C you then!

A is for activity

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon a blog about an A-Z blogging challenge (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com) that has been going on for a couple of years with bloggers all over the world. To accept the challenge you commit to posting something on your blog every day (except Sundays) for 26 days. You can follow the suggested theme or make up your own or just completely wing it with no theme at all. The challenge begins in April but I thought I’d get a head start trying out this idea on my own. Generally, I don’t post unless I have some motivation to share a specific topic or event. So, for me, the A-Z challenge is a writing prompter that requires my commitment and creativity for an entire month! I’m in. I’ll be following the “wing it” theme which seems the easiest way to start. So here’s my first post for the letter a for activity.

Activity in the plural defined my life in 2015. Between our relocation from Nebraska to Arizona that involved the downsizing of a good deal of our collective stuff to renovating our new old house in Tucson, nearly every day has been a flurry of activity. Most of it has been enjoyable especially the design decisions we made creating our new kitchen where most of our activity takes place (like how I used that word again?). We both love to cook and typically you can find one or the other of us (sometimes both) whipping something up in the kitchen. As I write, Jack is actively preparing a shrimp omelet for our lunch. :)

Since settling in Tucson most of our activity surrounds organizing our home and the remainder of our stuff that we didn’t sell or donate while in Nebraska. It’s hard to imagine after the massive garage sales we had in Nebraska that we’ve both made several trips to the Salvation Army with loads of items we can no longer justify keeping here in our new home. Since the move, so many things I thought I couldn’t live without were surrendered into cardboard boxes and hauled off to our local thrift store. The idea of downsizing stuff is a liberating activity to be sure though I have to admit I have purge regret about some items I parted with and remain conflicted about the righteousness of minimalism over clutter. Still debating that (may be a good topic for the letter m).

When it comes to “physical” activity, we’ve made a leap in that direction too by joining the local YMCA. It was Jack’s idea but I’m 100% actively onboard! Can’t wait to get back to a regular yoga practice and work on strength building. Enough activity already? Stay tuned for tomorrow and the letter b! Barcelona, blogging, bacon, butter, baking… so many to choose from!

Thanksgiving With Friends

Three days ago we shared our Thanksgiving dinner with our dear friends from Nebraska (Connie and Lee Doehring), our first official house guests here in Tucson. For the few days they were here, we had the pleasure of introducing them to the desert southwest showing off the Desert Museum and the International Wildlife Museum, dining at some of our favorite restaurants and, of course, cooking for them in our newly renovated kitchen. I spent most of Thanksgiving day putting every appliance to the test preparing my favorite meal of the year; a menu I planned days in advance to include a new first course this year, butternut squash soup. Here’s the full menu along with source credits in case you want to try any of them:

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu November 26, 2015

Appetizers: Parisian Tapenade (recipe upon request), Baked Feta with Thyme and Honey (Food52), crostini, prosciutto-wrapped cheese sticks (Trader Joe’s) with mustard mayo dip (recipe upon request)

First Course: Butternut Squash Soup (ginger, crème fraiche and spicy pumpkin seeds (Martha Stewart) and chili oil (101 Cookbooks)

Entrée: Roast Turkey (unstuffed – Food Network: Top Turkey Tips http://www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/articles/top-turkey-tips.html)

Sides: Orange Candied Sweet Potatoes (Women’s Society of Christian Service – Evelyn Goodell (recipe upon request))

Garlic-Roasted Green Beans & Shallots with Hazelnuts (Fine Cooking: Issue 70)
Bread Stuffing Casserole with Apples (Pepperidge Farms herb stuffing)
Spiced Cranberry Sauce (Epicurious: Gourmet November 1991)

Dinner rolls (purchased)         

Dessert: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie (Saveur: September 2007)  

One of the many things I'm grateful for this Thanksgiving is the interest I developed in food preparation while still a teenager in Pennsylvania. Working as a short-order cook at a truck stop during my high school years and later as a waitress when I was attending business school taught me many of the basics of cooking. And the 20+ years I lived in California gave me the opportunity to attend cooking classes with local chefs at restaurants and culinary schools expanding my knowledge base and kitchen confidence. To this day, my passion for food, cooking and menu planning have been the joys that enrich my life and fuel my appetite and creativity in the kitchen. I love sharing them with friends and family and of course, with you, dear reader! Until next post, remember... "you can be old and ugly, but as long as you can cook, you'll always have friends" James Beard. :)

Two Months In!

We've been in our house now for 2 whole months! After months and months of renovation since May, we are still working to make it our own... hanging wall art, arranging kitchen shelves and finding space in closets for things we'll deal with later. Move-in day was September 21 and it rained the whole day. The garage was filled with boxes and the house with furniture haphazardly placed wherever it would fit. Having downsized considerably, we thought we'd be fine with the amount of space we had to fill in the new house after 3 huge garage sales in Seward to unload items we knew we could live without. We thought the garage in the new house which has built-in cabinet storage could hold the rest of what might not fit inside the house, but that was not the case. In the process of unpacking loads of boxes, we've made dozens of trips to the Salvation Army and to the HabiStore here in Tucson donating many items we can no longer justify keeping. Many items from my vintage collection had to go and some that I've kept for now will eventually go on Ebay later for lack of storage/display storage space.

The most difficult items to part with for me were books. I loaded many boxes with books that I've been carrying around for several decades and took them to a used book store for credit at the store. Some, that they wouldn't take, I gave to Goodwill. I nearly lost it when the attendant at one store took a stack of my books from my car that I didn't have in a box and just threw them into a moving bin. A deep pang struck me to the core (book lovers will understand this affront). I didn't weep, but I was close.

On the brighter side, the kitchen turned out great and we've been cooking up a storm. Here are some photos of the remodel:

Meanwhile the little garden plot I've planted is going strong with tomatoes, herbs, some winter squash and cucumbers. The temperatures here in November are like late summer in Nebraska... warmer days with much cooler nights so not sure how much harvest we'll have out of this late summer crop. The herbs are loving this weather though as are the roses and other flowering plants. Being an El Nino year all the plants seem happier with the extra rain. New to me are the jojoba shrubs with their smooth olive leaves, the aloe vera popping up everywhere under the shrubs, and the dalea which attracts bees by the dozens! The grapefruit tree must be several decades old yet still produces a ton of fruit... looking forward to harvesting some later this winter.

As the holidays approach, I'm grateful for this peaceful place with late afternoon sun that warms away all the day's stress and tomorrow's demands. I know that we are blessed beyond measure to have such a secure and magical place to call home. Looking forward to Thanksgiving, our friend's visiting, the blessings of Christmas and a new year to embrace. Peace to all in these troubled times.