I had cauliflower and golden beets without a plan, so when you've got extra veg: make soup! Roasting the veg really brings out the flavor and keeps a good texture. This is a very easy recipe. See notes for variations!
Course Soup
Cuisine American, Indian
Keyword cauliflower, Curry, golden beets
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 41 cup servings
Author misangela
Equipment
Immersion blender or counter blender
Ingredients
1headCauliflower, cut into 1" floretsabout 3 cups
4smallGolden Beets, 1" diceor two large ones
EVOO and S/P
1smallOnion, dicedabout 2/3 cup
2clovesGarlic, mincedabout 2 tsp
1TblbutterI use salted
1TblChicken bouillon skip if using chicken stock, add more salt
2tspCurry powder
1/4tspTurmeric powder
1 1/2TblFlourto thicken; optional, but it does add body, too
zest of one lemonoptional
4cupswateror chicken stock, +/- to your desired consistency
2tspsugaroptional, to taste
Instructions
Heat oven to 425ºF.
Put cauliflower and beets on a sheet pan, drizzle with EVOO and season with S/P. Put in oven for about 45 minutes, until the veg is cooked through and has a little browning. Cauliflower may get done before beets, depending on how you cut them, if that happens, just pull off the cauliflower and cook beets until soft.
While the veg cooks, put the butter, onions and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat. Sweat until soft, then add bouillon (if using), curry, and turmeric to veg and cook a couple of minutes. Then add flour and cook that for 3-4 more minutes.
Add a cup of water (or stock) and the lemon zest (if using) and bring to boil. Turn off heat. Let this stand while the veg finishes cooking.
Once the veg is done, add to saucepan with 2 more cups of water (or stock), then blend to desired consistency with immersion blender. Add water to get the consistency you like.
Check seasoning and add sugar if you want to bring out the sweetness of the beets a bit more. Serve!
Notes
To make vegan, simply drop the butter and bouillon. Adjust the seasonings. To make gluten free, drop the flour and use another thickener if desired, or reduce liquids. I used bouillon because I didn't have any stock thawed. Bouillon is a real flavor booster as long as you monitor your salt levels. I think this recipe benefits from using bouillon rather than stock.
2023 came in with lots of stress and anxiety for me.
We’ve been using QuickBooks 2019 Mac since, well, 2019 and the file was getting wonky – it was not saving all our work. This file is over a decade old and very large (over 100mb). SO, we got nervous and decided we’d go to the fucking subscription shit, since we had been told there is no more desktop software support for Mac. LIES. So we tried the online crap and it sucked. Not only would the file not import correctly, the whole online interface sucks balls. In our wisdom of trying this over the holidays, Intuit had the file for weeks and we got very behind. I was having anxiety attacks over this. FINALLY, I got a great tech, who told me there are, indeed, versions of QB for Mac available (20, 21, 22!!) and we absolutely do NOT have to go online. The exact opposite of what the sales weasel said. SO. I canceled the online, we got our fixed file back and we’re rocking on. WHEW.
It has become very apparent that Nick can not handle the POAS load that we’ve been trying to carry. So, we have pretty much shut that shit down and will concentrate on MPB, conventions and the MANY project cabinets we need to get done. Between his fibro and new job, he is just not able to do all these things. It was making me very stressed out, too. Our long distance client in Buford has finally found a specialty support company for all the redemption games, so that is off our plate now, too, which is AWESOME. We were SO relieved when the owner said she found a new support company! Redemption games (Claw, Skee Ball, etc.) were never in our wheelhouse to begin with. Now we can concentrate on fixing her logo and doing some graphics for her – IN OUR WHEELHOUSE!
I’m not impressed with the beginnings of 2023 – the Mercury Retrograde has pretty much fucked all that up, but hey, the bar is now low!
I am pretty much caught up with TEV as of today, which eases my anxiety quite a lot. I need to get the anxiety under control, it is disrupting sleep and causing Lil Tummy™ to be so restrictive I can barely eat. Oh, but no weight has been lost because my Irish peasant genes say:
“Dunna ya worry, lass, we’ll keep ya plump as a partridge to outrun those murderous English bastards!!”
Fucking genes. Sigh.
Today I’m feeling pretty much in control and the anxiety is down by, oh, 80%. But did I sleep well last night? Of course not! And I’ll bet that will continue all week. What I really love is sleeping fine the week I was off from the Prep job, and the night before my 8am shift last week, I get zero sleep. AWESOME. My body is a fucking ASSHOLE.
Today I’ll finish striking the xmess tree and packing all that away. I’ll be thinking about what else I want to change about this year while I do it. There are THINGS. Wish me luck!
As always, I’m pulling over the books I didn’t get to last year and I’m full out dropping a couple that I just could not finish. In process or finished reads are in BOLD. They are not really in any particular order.
I read 31 (and 3/4) books in 2022, a number I’m very happy with. I hope to meet and/or top that this year.
After reading the synopses of these, they are dropped for 2023:
Land of Big Numbers, Te-Ping Chen
Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden Keefe
Things We Lost to the Water, Eric Nguyen
Intimacies, Katie Kitamura
I read 39 books in 2023!
Surprise gifts: Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl. NYT food critic’s memoir. Really enjoyed it!
Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl. Another memoir. Very good, but a bit more personal that the one above. This woman hung out with the chefs that we venerate these days: Alice Waters, Jonathan Waxman, Wolfgang Puck – hell, she was even besties with Danny Kaye, who was an amazing gourmet cook!!
Making It So, Sir Patrick Stewart. YES! Got my preorder and started! SO GOOD. Of course, I read it in his voice! He starts at the beginning, in England during WWII when he was born. LOVE IT! (But I will say, it is very much geared towards theatre nerds than Trek nerds.)
Holly, Stephen King. About Holly from the Mr Mercedes books. This character will not let him go! EXCELLENT! The premise is so crazy, it is compelling! One of the best King reads since Fairy Tale.
Book Nick picked up: Gwendy’s Final Task, S King and Richard Chizmar. Final book of the Trilogy: Gwendy’s Button Box, Gwendy’s Magic Feather and this book. It’s NOT AT ALL what I expected, but good in a Stephen King kind of way.
Pulled from a donation pile: Brave New World, Aldous Huxley. Surprisingly readable, considering he’s English and the book is old. HOWEVER, the notion of children being encouraged to “play erotic games” does squick me out a bit. The whole premise is using pleasure and conditioning to control the population. Creepy, man.
Goodwill hurl! (late Aug)
On Gold Mountain, Lisa See. I always get her books.
Wake, Lisa McMann. Some creepy story about people invading your dreams.
A Cat Is Watching, Roger A. Caras. Author is a wildlife authority and this is a book about cats! It was a silly book. This guy is a little on the dotty side.
Preserving the Harvest, cookbook with tons of canning/preserving info.
Chinese Cuisine, cookbook of authentic Chinese recipes, directly translated from the Chinese. Cool!
Born Standing Up, Steve Martin. His autobiography/memoir. I’ve read some of his fiction – he’s a good writer.
The Revenant, Michael Punke. Yes, the book that the movie is based on.
Drowning Ruth, Christina Schwarz. I think I may have read this long ago? Looks interesting even if I have.
Teachings of Zen, Thomas Cleary. Just curious about Zen.
The Rules of Magic, Alice Hoffman. As I’ve said, I like her writing, so I picked this one up, too.
Ollie’s Graphic Novel HURL Aug 6!
Book: Memories of the Future, Siri Hustvedt. Sounded interesting. Started this (9/6) and while it’s called a novel, it is actually a memoir!! And a GOOD one, too! She’s got a conversational tone rather like Mary Karr and I am IN LOVE with this book!
GNs: Get Jiro!, Anthony Bourdain. I think I’ve got the comics of this? It’s Tony, I’m IN.
Fables: Farewell Last of the series, will hold on this.
Fables: Happily Ever After
Fables: Snow White
Fables: Storybook Love All Fables GNs/collections are done by various writers and artists, but ALL these are Willingham, Buckingham and Leialoha.
Books brought forward:
Fear, Bob Woodward. Yes, THAT Bob Woodward. Nick picked this one, but I’ll read it, it’s about T****.
A Country Road, A Tree, Jo Baker. WWII historical fiction set in Paris. VERY English, which to me, means rather dry and boring. I’ll probably get through it. See next!
To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf. I didn’t count this as READ in 2022, I’m about 1/4 into it… Probably won’t finish. VERY English. Blech.
Paper Son, S.J. Rozen.
Fifth Chinese Daughter, forgot about this one, it’s my treadmill book. Finished this one. It’s dry, but OK. You really have to remember it’s written in the 40s and in the Chinese way: third person – even tho it’s an autobiography. It’s odd.
Jasmine, Bharati Mukherjee. This is a short novel and a fast read. The story is pretty good, nothing special. It’s a story about an Indian girl’s journey from a poor, remote Indian village to New York, then to Iowa. The pacing is good, I’d recommend for a good summer read.
The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande.
The Good Demon, Jimmy Cajoleas.
The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls. This is NOT a memoir, unlike the two books of hers I read last year. I like her voice, I hope it carries into fiction. 8/7 Almost finished. It is a retelling of her rather terrible childhood with different characters. It reads well, but has not much new to offer as far as her stretching her writing abilities.
The Interior, Lisa See. NOT a Chinese historical fiction, more of a mystery. Just started this one Dec 20, so it won’t be finished this year. It’s pretty good. It’s a mystery within a historical setting.
Island of Sea Women, Lisa See. This historical fiction is about the island of Jeju, a Korean island where the women open dive into the sea for food and products to sell. It is a matriarchal society, which is interesting in itself. I picked this one up randomly at Ollies. It is typical See, except for being Korean rather than Chinese. This novel starts during the Japanese occupation of Korea and the island of Jeju (1930s-40s) and covers the decades into the 21st century. It’s a good read.
OLLIES HURL Jan 23!
Ollie’s Hurl!!
Fairest: Return of the Maharaja Graphic Novel, various writers and artists. This is an offshoot of the Fables series, which I LOVE for the art! The stories are usually pretty engaging, too. This one is really good! It’s a collection of the comics series for this story line. Excellent!
The World That We Knew, Alice Hoffman. Set in WWII Germany and France. A Jewish girl leaves her home in Germany with a golem her mother had created for her. History AND magic. A good read so far!
Crush, Cathy Alter and Dave Singleton. This is a collection of essays from famous people and their first crushes. It’s pretty interesting. Not a page turner, but good! Almost done with this one, I recommend it.
Burn the Place, Iliana Regan. This is a memoir by Michelin star Chef Iliana Regan. It’s about her life and how she ended up being the renowned chef she is today. It’s a good read! It is about growing up queer AND being a chef, so a great twofer.
The Road Home, Richard Paul Evans. I was hesitant to start this one when I discovered it was the third of a trilogy AND it had a whiff of religion to it, but I started it today and it’s oddly good – no religion so far. Perhaps I resonate because I am familiar with Route 66, but the author also has a conversational tone that reminds me of Stephen King a little bit. It’s my treadmill book and will be a quick read! Good read, does not require reading the first two. Skirts religion nicely. Continue reading “2023 Reading List”
This is a whiny post, feel free to skip. I always get this way this time of year. My birthday has become tiresome (old age suxxx). I still feel like THIS POST, even though some things have gotten better. But being tired of hoomans is not one of them.
Nick got a new, better job that is 15 mins from here. It will be similar to NuVision in that he’ll be doing the prepress thing AND IT for the neglected Macs and network there. It is a good fit for him and I think it will be just fine. The money will come. He is happy with it and there are no obvious problems.
I got a p/t job doing prep that I really enjoy. BUT me being me, OF COURSE it has turned sour. The restaurant steals time from employees, which I cannot abide. I have to leave there and I’ll have to report the wage theft, too. I can’t win for losing. First I get a job with EVIL management that accuses me of riding the clock, then wants to discuss how I pee and poo – and now THIS MESS.
SO, I’m foul.
I need to gtfo of here for a couple of days. Gotta get through my fucking birthday first. I foolishly got tickets to the fucking OPERA at COBB ENERGY CENTER ON A FRIDAY. WTF was I thinking? So now it’s going to be a nerve wracking who the fuck knows how long of a drive and it’s going to suck. I’m already over it. I am refusing to drive, that much I’m sure of. I’ve ruined my birthday all by myself, now at least I shouldn’t have to fucking drive to fucking Cobb county. UGH.
Shun (knives) is having a warehouse sale Wednesday, and it starts at 9am PST, which is JUST GREAT. I’ll be at fucking work. I originally thought that was good, because I ALWAYS forget that PST is BEHIND us. I was thinking, YAY, I’ll get up early and get a deal!! But no. Oh, hey, I’ll just take that break they are docking me for and shop then. Have to use the phone, which will SUCK, but I’ll try. I doubt I’ll find what I want, tho. That would require GOOD luck, of which I have NONE.
I just have to get through this week. After that, perhaps I can get out of here BY MYSELF for an overnight somewhere. I just have to keep my shit together. Which is becoming very difficult indeed. GDI And, like Hulk, I’m always like this; sometimes I get tired of pretending I’m not.
Halloween and my birthday are looming. Temps have dropped and leaves are turning. Aaaaaah!
For us, it has been a season of much change. Nick got a new job at a large format printing company and will be doing much of the same things he did at NuVision back in the day. It’s an all Mac shop (as it should be!) and he’ll get to do IT as well as prepress work. The pay is only $20 to start, but this will go to $21 in 60 days, with another evaluation at 6 months. We are confident that he’ll get towards the rate he should be making within a year or so. He’ll never make $75k like he did at NVG, but being around the $55-60k mark would be about right for what’s left of the print industry. He’ll be doing two jobs, after all, so compensation will be commensurate.
I picked up a p/t prep job at a nearby cafeteria. It’s simple work: veg and salad prep. I’m making $15/hr, which is pretty much minimum these days. The place is on autopilot – there really is no leadership at all. The line cooks run the kitchen and the food they cook is MEH on a good day. They do a few things right, but overall the food is bland and boring. One really funny thing is the “mac n cheese”. I put that in quotes because they do NOT make mac n cheese. This guy makes some sort of abomination that is egg, (YES EGGS IN MAC N CHEESE!!!) milk, cheddar cheese and elbow macaroni. It breaks when it’s cooked (no binder such as flour) and it is NAISTY. I dunno where he learned THAT recipe (yes I do, it’s from S&S cafeteria, GROSS), but that is NOT mac n cheese! Aside from nasty food, the work is fine. Since there’s no management, I come in and manage myself. PERFECT! No one bothers me, no one asks me how long it takes me to poop (YES this happened at TJX) and I enjoy observing how the kitchen works. One thing this job has also done for me is to confirm that I do, indeed, know a LOT about running a kitchen and overall restaurant ops. I work a coupla days a week, but the manager has already detected that I can work pretty much any position, so he’s asking me to pick up shifts outside the kitchen. I like being an all purpose employee. Variety suits me. :) [Unfortunately, they steal wages. I have to leave. And I have to report them. SIGH.]
We saw Weird Al on Friday night. We don’t recommend this tour AT ALL. Emo Phillips opened, and while I’m glad I can say I saw a set by him, it was overall, very sad and not funny. As for the Al part, when the band came out and SAT DOWN, I knew this was not going to be a typical Weird Al show – and it wasn’t. This tour is pretty much all B sides, so no one knows the songs. The crowd was not very engaged and we left early. Nick had been overserved, was not happy with the music and became agitated, so we bailed. The good news is that we earned enough $ this weekend to cover the cost of the Weird Al debacle.
That’s really all I got for updates. We dealt with a LOT of anxiety in the weeks before Nick was hired and now we’re getting through the last week of his MM employment on the other side of town. The new gig is about 15 minutes from here with NO INTERSTATES!! That alone will make all the difference. Well, that and his having a REAL job, not just some shitty print shop where it’s all about volume and he’s just a brain attached to a PC.
My birthday is Nov 11th and I don’t want to discuss the number. It freaks me out a little. Suffice it to say, I don’t look it, I don’t act it and I certainly do NOT feel it.
