Recipe: Mushroom Miso Soup 15 April 2008 11:10 am
Posted by Tracy in : cooking,recipes,soup,vegan,vegetarian , 4 commentsTrue story: this recipe helped me get a job. I’ll explain in a bit. 
First, I should say that I originally published this recipe on Everything2 back in the day, so it’s an oldie but a goodie. Second, I’m posting it here in newly updated form in honor of the April No Croutons Required challenge (originally described here) from Lisa’s Kitchen and Tinned Tomatoes, which I learned about here at Is My Blog Burning? Finally, the story about that job. It was during my year in Laguna Beach, when I was finishing the very last requirements on my undergraduate degree, and applied for a job tutoring high school kids on the SAT. After turning a practice test inside out, I was invited for a group interview, for which all the candidates were asked to prepare a short instructional lecture of some kind. Mine was this recipe. (You think maybe I was in the wrong line of work and didn’t know it yet? Um…) Anyway, without further ado, here’s: (more…)
Monkey Monday: public service announcement edition. 10 March 2008 5:55 pm
Posted by Tracy in : advice,cooking,health,kitchen mishaps,meat,monkeys,news,nutrition,soup,whoops , add a commentHappy Daylight Savings Hangover Monday to all my U.S. readers, and happy feeling our envy to everyone else. While I’m mentioning the bad news first: I’m not revealing travel plans for any international adventures today, and there are sadly still no guitars. Instead, I want to share a few useful morsels of information brought to me by my friendly local Internet (also yours!)
First, the post that gave me the idea for this entry’s theme: A Public Service Announcement From Your Body by Peggy Nature, brought to my attention by the ever-awesome Kate Harding’s Shapely Prose. (more…)
Winter Squash 102: enough prepping, let’s roast (and eat)! 8 February 2008 6:31 pm
Posted by Tracy in : advice,cooking,eating,ingredients,soup,vegan,vegetarian,winter squash , 6 commentsIn Winter Squash 101, I described the process of cutting a winter squash into bite-size pieces suitable for a recipe like Gladys’s Rice and Bean Stew, and even illustrated the process with pictures of my wrangling an acorn squash for similar purposes. But that’s not all you can do with winter squash, oh no, and many of the alternatives are even more fun and easy. Take roasting, for example. (more…)
Odds and ends: rice, snobbery, and procrastination. 6 February 2008 11:57 am
Posted by Tracy in : anthropology,cooking,food snobbery,friends,pictures,politics,recipes,school,soup , add a commentIntrigued by a comment from Liz on my curried pea soup recipe, I made a version with 2 cups of brown rice instead of potatoes last Saturday. Results: as Liz also mentioned in her comment, I had to cook it for a lot longer to get the rice done (for once the peas weren’t the slow part of the cooking process) and then it turned my blending equipment was no match for the task of getting the soup all nice and smooth. Dangit! The soup is still tasty, don’t get me wrong, but as far as I’m concerned the texture leaves something to be desired. Something smooth and creamy, like blended potatoes. Gah. I’m such a snob sometimes.
But speaking of rice, if you haven’t seen Free Rice already, it’s a fun game for a good cause, and an excellent procrastination tool (sort of like updating a food blog when I’m supposed to be finishing today’s assigned readings for my anthropology class, but I digress.) (more…)
Foto Friday: Where did this week go? 25 January 2008 5:44 pm
Posted by Tracy in : baking,books,cooking,eating,friends,meta,Morning Glory,pictures,soup , 1 comment so farOof, kids. I don’t seem to have a lot of words this week, but I have lots of pictures. First, Peter and I made chocolate chip cookies on Saturday (these pictures are from an earlier batch that really deserves a writeup all its own):
