Soups and Stews

“Hue-Gah”

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Hygge (pronounced hue-gah or hoo-gah)

I’m a little slow catching onto trendy things. If it hadn’t been for David in Albuquerque, I’d still be uninformed as to the au courant meaning of “woke.” Our daughter recently explained to me that “sex positivity” was neither a nasty nor embarrassing thing to mention. And – though “hygge” was all over the U.S. news in 2017 – thanks to our son’s input, I’ve just now learned to pronounce it and appreciate it.

For those of you who share with me unawokeness, let me summarize hygge. This Danish word possibly comes from an old Norse word meaning “protected from the outside world.” The Danes, known for being some of the happiest people in the world, believe hygge to be all about emphasizing coziness and comfort.

The official website of Denmark has this to say: Hygge is often about informal time together with family or close friends. Typically, the setting is at home or another quiet location, or perhaps a picnic during the summer months. It usually involves sharing a meal and wine or beer, or hot chocolate and a bowl of candy if children are included. There is no agenda. You celebrate the small joys of life, or maybe discuss deeper topics. It is an opportunity to unwind and take things slow. 

A Hot Toddy might be perfect for your cozy evening by the fireplace – or outside in the freezing cold!

Another few recommendations for this Danish life style are that we should avoid multi-tasking, ride our bikes a lot, and wear comfortable clothing. Andy likes the bike thing; he’d also recommend fishing (see today’s Andy’s Corner). While I’m totally into comfortable clothing, I’m really, really working on the multi-tasking issue. Board games are also encouraged.

I think I’m safe to say we all need a little hygge time right now. Unfortunately, unless you have a safe and secure “pod” (and here’s a good article on forming a pod – and protecting it) to gather with around your fireplace, gatherings this holiday season may need to be outdoors. A great New Yorker article – “The Year of Hygge” from 2016 – concludes, “The hard-earned lesson of frigid Scandinavian winters is that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothes—that all you really need to get through difficult times is shelter and sustenance, kith and kin.”

Nice warm blanket, kith and kin together, snuggling close – a good example of hygge? HA!

To get into this hygge-during-a-pandemic thing I suggest that some evening soon you don some comfortable, toasty-warm clothes, invite a couple of non-pod friends or family over (of course, be sure to wear your masks except when eating and do the social distancing thing), light some outdoor-friendly candles (preferably non-scented), bring out wool throw blankets for everyone if you don’t have an outdoor heater, and serve some chicken soup. Since what gives you comfort food-wise may vary as to where you grew up, maybe you’ll want to serve our Pho, or Gumbo, or Pozole. Or try one of our two new recipes, Danish (spot-on!) Hen’s Soup or Indonesian Soto Ayam. They are oh SO good!

BUT – should you be unable to find hearty friends who are willing to share a chilly night out – you might have to resort to the Finnish concept of “kalsarikannit“ (pronounced cal-sar-y-cuhn-eet), defined as “the feeling when you are going to get drunk home alone in your underwear with no intention of going out.” Sounds like fun to me. It’s time for that Hot Toddy! 🙂

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Forecast: Cloudy and Cold – Followed by Sun and Warmth

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The irony of her holding a “Health Insurance” card is not lost on us.  Maybe they should have stayed in Mexico?

Ahhh to be a bird in flight to somewhere else at this moment.  Except we’re not sure where that somewhere would be.  Definitely to a sunny, warm (healthy) spot!

March is always such a bittersweet month – and even more so this crazy March of 2020.  The Snowbirds who winter in Mexico will soon start flying north, at least if they’re allowed to cross the Mexican border!  Speaking of Mexico, our Brooklyn kids just returned from a week split between Mérida in the Yucatan and Campeche on the Gulf Coast.  They highly recommend both.  And, fortunately, their flights home were without issue – but very very empty.  Speaking of kids and warmth, our daughter, Sara, just posted a touching blog about how the warmth of one customer helped ease the pain, as their Tacolicious restaurants were forced to close.

And speaking of flights, this interactive website from The National Geographic about birds’ migratory patterns is both lovely and fascinating.  Western Tanagers should be heading our Northern California direction about now.

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The Western Tanager

Our non-flying pet dogs and cats – who are currently cuddled up on warm wool blankets by toasty fireplaces – will soon be sprawled out in the summer sun.  And Andy, who is happily spending copious amounts of time in our warm basement – see today’s Andy’s Corner – will soon be happily gardening and fixing our drip systems (if you believe that, I have another funny story).

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OnoMoore and ChocoLatte are hanging out near each other ONLY because there’s a fire in our wood stove.

But for now, there’s still time to put another log on the fire and curl up next to it…or, if you’re a dog, take a romp through the snow.  Hope that seeing Rosie – a Bernedoodle who happens to live in Boulder, CO, with our friends – enjoying her wintry life might bring a smile!  Be sure to watch the very short video.

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Rosie and friend in the hills outside Boulder, Colorado

Our chilly weather last week here in Northern California inspired us to enjoy a bowl of chili.  Being wild and crazy and adventurous (and largely stuck in our house), we tried out a pound of Beyond Beef – which we found in a cooler near the fresh vegetables at Whole Foods and also frozen at our local Sonoma/Nugget market.  The resulting chili, quite frankly, was delicious…probably better than the burgers which we fixed with Beyond Burgers.

That cold spell was quickly followed by a 75 degree day.

Even in Colorado – some days this March have reached the high 60’s.  That’s warm enough for asparagus to start growing.  What could be more symbolic of spring for us food fanatics.  Andy and I have vivid memories of “stalking the wild asparagus” back on the Colorado farm where we lived when our kids were born.

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Stalking the wild asparagus – in Colorado!

So whether it’s chilly where you are – or warming up, we’ve got you covered.  For those frigid days, try today’s Beyond Beef chili recipe or one of our other super-duper chili recipes: MountainWestBob’s, Lamb and White Bean, Vegetarian Black Bean, and Not Your Mother’s.

In addition to today’s d-lish chili recipe, we suggest you to make a quick, hand-sanitizer-activated run to your market and pick up a bunch or two of asparagus.  And, believe me, after years of steaming or boiling asparagus, I can assure you the best possible way to fix it is neither of those.  Instead do this!  And once you’ve got a double-batch cooked (we KNOW you’re hoarding a little), make this salad.  If you want something more substantial, try one of these pasta or noodle recipes, which make great use of spring’s asparagus. …

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Lagniappe: We’re “Bowled” Over

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We tried out a soup recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi last night – which fits right into yesterday’s blog.   Admittedly, it’s not often we’re wild about something that’s vegan, so this is obviously pretty special.  Should I say we were “bowled over” by it? 🙂

And be sure to check out Andy’s own mini Super Bowl game in yesterday’s Andy’s Corner (originally I had the link wrong, so you may have assumed you couldn’t see it).

Have a fun Super Bowl Sunday – even if you’re out riding your bike, as our 83-year-old friend in SF plans to do.   The streets are apparently very quiet then.

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Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup from Ottolenghi – made with Chana Dal instead of red lentils (and cooked way longer because of that)

Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup

This recipe is in Yotam Ottolenghi’s Simple cookbook; we modified the recipe very slightly.  If you use chana dal – which are split chickpeas – you’ll need to cook this considerably longer, but it will be equally delicious.  FYI – the recipe is vegan!

  • 2 T olive oil or sunflower oil or coconut oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 c)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled, finely grated
  • 1 T curry powder – or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 c red lentils, rinsed and drained (you can substitute chana dal, if you have more time to cook)
  • 1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 c finely chopped cilantro
  • Diamond kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
  • 1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk, shaken well (reserve about 1/4 c for swirling on the top when you serve, if you want to be fancy)
  • Lime wedges and cilantro leaves for serving
  • Coconut milk – or yogurt if you don’t need vegan – swirled on the top for serving (optional)

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and fry, stirring often, until softened and golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add lentils and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, cilantro, 1 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper, and 2½ cups water. Add coconut milk to saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft but not mushy, 20–25 minutes (note: if you’re using chana dal it may need to cook for as long as an hour…and maybe require a bit more water).

Season soup with more salt and pepper if needed.

Serve the soup with lime wedges and a topping of cilantro leaves.  And we love the addition of a bit of yogurt on top.

Note: the soup can be made up to 3 days ahead.

Recipe brought to you by BigLittleMeals.com and Andy and Ann.

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