Digging out

Well, after yesterday's storm, we've once again managed to get dug out. Our next-door neighbour kindly came over and helped us with his snowblower. We ended up with about 6 more inches of snow. Hopefully this will be one of the last storm of the season.

It was a good day, yesterday, though. I made a new dish (Thai Black Rice Soup) that was very tasty. Had a yummy beer (Fisher, from Alsace in France - it's $5 per bottle, but worth it) while cooking and listened to k d lang's new CD (Watershed) and Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on CBC 2 (Othello from the Met). Brad practiced his piano for a while in the evening and then we watched David Lynch's Inland Empire. Oy. A 3-hour mind fuck. I won't pretend I understood any of it. Suffice to say that it's about time and space (I think) and cranky Polish people and talking rabbits. Brad went to bed after about 2 and a half hours. I watched it till the very end, don't know why...

Here's the recipe and some pics. The recipe is adapted from Jay Solomon's Vegetarian Soup Cusine. Brad and I are basically vegetarian, though we do eat fish and seafood. I occasionally eat chicken or turkey (Thanksgiving & Chritsmas, etc.)

Thai Black Rice Soup

1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

12 button mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced fresh lemon grass (I used the zest of 1 lemon instead)

1 Thai chile, seeded and minced (I use a jalapeno)

4 cups of water
2 medium carrots, peeled & diced

1/3 cup black rice
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce (I used ketjap manis, which is a sweet Indonesian soy sauce)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 can coconut milk

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil or opal basil (I omitted this as I had none on hand)

Juice of one lime

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, lemon grass (or zest), and chile and sauté for 6 minutes. Stir in the water, carrots, rice, soy sauce and seasonings and coook for 45 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the coconut milk, cilantro, basil (if using), and lime juice and return to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

I had this last night with baked potatoes stuffed with tuna salad and topped with cheddar cheese and a slice of rye bread. Just right for a snowy March the first.