In which I switch geekmodes without pausing for breath

[rushthatspeaks]

Disturbingly enough, the existence of a discussion on the possible plurals of the word 'Netflix' did in fact enable me to stop thinking about it and go do something useful.

So I made heres_luck's black bean and chipotle soup, with some modifications. I'm allergic to onions and lignota has a deep aversion to all bell peppers, so I wanted to substitute in something that would give me a nice blend of those flavors and textures without actually being exactly like either. Turns out that about 2 1/2 cups of jicama, chopped coarsely, worked beautifully. I treated it as an aromatic vegetable, sweating it with garlic at the beginning of the cooking process (as one would the onion if one were following this recipe exactly), instead of dealing with it as if it were a potato, and it came out very well. It was a little crunchy but not overly so, and had some of the bite of an onion without being overly obnoxious.

I'm adding the soup to my repertoire, since everyone liked it (despite several cases of unfamiliarity or outright aversion to an ingredient-- weirdquark said she ate the tomatoes, and she doesn't do that) and it made a hearty dinner for five when served over cornbread with sour cream and shredded cheddar. This indicates to me that with an entree it would feed seven normal people or Thrud, and it's always good to have something to feed Thrud (who has the kind of metabolism which means she can get up from a Thanksgiving dinner to go make a few pounds of pasta to tide her over, but nevertheless remain fairly skinny; making enough food for her can be a real issue). And it was nice, easy, simple cooking, the kind where you chop a lot of things and then go read a book in the middle, and more of those are always good to have around.

I need to try the white bean and rosemary from that soup recipe page next, because so many people have said so many good things about it.

Comments

[lesser-celery.livejournal.com]

I'd never thought to do that with jicama. I'll have to try it, because it seems intuitively right. Recipes always welcome, especially involving white or black beans.

[sovay]

a discussion on the possible plurals of the word 'Netflix'

What, it's not just "Netflices"?* What is this language coming to?

*I suppose on the pattern of nox, noctis, -ium it could be "Netflictes," but that just sounds painful.

[gwyneira.livejournal.com]

The jicama sounds excellent. I'd never have thought of doing that, but I'll have to try it in that recipe, since my husband hates bell peppers, and we both love jicama. We use it in stir-fries and fried rice instead of water chestnuts, which I don't care for.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

I tend to think that, if jicama is the moral equivalent of anything else, it's water chestnuts, but that's mainly a texture thing, and is probably most true raw or stir-fried. What kind of texture did it end up with in this case?

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Translucent and slightly crunchy/slightly not, like a half-cooked pear or apple; softer than I'd been afraid it would be. Definitely softer than water chestnuts. The tang of it mellowed some, calmed and became less assertive without actually becoming sweeter. I'm really very pleased. It did exactly what I'd hoped it would do and didn't actually expect it would manage.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

It was very right. I was the only person in the house who'd actually encountered jicama while knowing what it was (I suspect they'd all had it at various Mexican or Asian restaurants without identification provided) and everyone raved about it.

[eredien]

I occasionally find water chestnuts really bitter; the jicama had the same texture thing I like but without that.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

Cool, a new face of jicama. I'll have to remember that.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Thrud is Mary Sue in disguise, isn't she? I've long suspected it.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Heh. I occasionally have that sort of suspicion, but she is also the only person I've ever met whom I have seen injure herself repeatedly and with some severity because she fell off the floor. When she was sitting on it. Doing nothing in particular. I've also seen her walk into walls when she was thinking about something else. I suspect these traits of being enough to get her through the Mary Sue Litmus Test, as I think most Sues don't allow things to happen that might muss their hair.