It's good to be home – home style cooking

We've just returned from a week long vacation in Coeur D'Alene Idaho. Neither of us had ever been there and I've always heard how beautiful it is – it's true it is beautiful. If you recall from my last post, Dan was in a bicycle accident four days before we were to leave. I was concerned about going but the doctor assured me that he would most likely be fine – and he was.

We spent time hiking, sightseeing, trying restaurants and new foods and some general relaxing, reading and moving marathons – it was good and we had fun which was exactly what the doctor ordered!

I learned a couple things on vacation. First, I'm a city girl; we rented a carriage house, which was beautiful but remote – about 15 to 20 minutes out of the city on a winding road. I loved the space, waking up in the morning and looking out the window to see 2 – 3 deer looking back at me. To see the mountain with the tall pines neatly lined, the lake clear and calm. It was all so beautiful but I would have liked to be a bit closer to civilization (and yes I know 20 minutes is not as remote as it could be ….).

The second thing I learned is traveling as a vegetarian is hard at dinnertime. We had a full kitchen so we did our own breakfasts and a number of lunches, which really helped, but dinners were at times problematic. Many restaurants believe that removing meat and adding a slice of cheese solves the "vegetarian" problem – poof we are now vegetarian friendly – and in many cases this works; just not for me – I don't do cheese that comes from a cow; a sheep or goat is fine it's those pesky cows that get me every time.

We had a couple of outstanding meals.  One at a recommend Italian restaurant called Tony's on the Lake, I had a delicious polenta, fennel, roasted tomato, mushroom, onion and vegan cheese baked dish. It was one of my favorite dinners while on vacation. We also ate at a Greek restaurant where we started with a eggplant appetizer and then Dan had a vegetarian platter and I had a falafel sandwich – both were very tasty especially the spanakopita which Dan had – I'd say it was the best I've ever eaten.

Other dinners included veggie sandwiches (without out the cheese thanks), tofu stir-fry, and a nice vegan tomato soup with a salad. Our last dinner included techno wine tasting no sommelier required. It was an interesting place; they had 28 wines - 20 reds and 8 whites all connected to technology that would precisely pour 1, 3 or 5 ounce tastes. You purchased a card up front for a certain amount and then you put the card in the slot, selected the size pour you wanted and pressed the button, instant wine, perfectly poured. It was a fun way to try small amounts of a number of wines – which ranged from 2 to 9 dollars per 1-ounce pour.

I love to travel but I hate the traveling process – I wish Scotty and Spock could get the transporter fixed so we could use it in our time – would make things much simpler. But we are back and to celebrate I made my favorite vegan black bean soup for dinner tonight.

It's a pretty simple recipe; 1 large onion diced, 3 cans black beans, 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, vegetarian broth, 4 cloves of garlic, red pepper flakes and cumin – stuff I normally have in my kitchen.

Start by chopping the onion and cooking it in a pan with the garlic until translucent. Take one can of the beans (do not drain) put in a blender and add the onion/garlic mixture – blend until smooth. Return the pureed bean mixture to the stockpot, add 15 ounces of vegetarian broth and the can of fire roasted tomatoes.

Take the second can of black beans (again do not drain) add ½ tsp. of red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. cumin and combine in the blender – puree until smooth and add to the stock pot. Take the final can of beans (yep you got it don't drain them) and add them to the stockpot, simmer for 25 – 30 minutes. Serve with chopped avocado and sour cream (if you eat that of course) and a slice of coarse-grained bread – you'll be glad you did.

For those of you who are bean purists and feel the need to make your beans from scratch – I say you're a better man than I have at it. 

It feels good to be home.