DESERT WINDS HAND US A DETOUR

No hike for us today.  Nope, nada…. not in this wind!  Surely you did not read in my last post that Blair Valley has less wind….Surely not.  Did I really say that?  I must have since Leigh chided me for it this morning.  

Of course I had to fuss at her for not posting a recipe on her blog as she usually does.  Because I love it when Leigh posts a recipe, I have decided to add an occasional recipe here.  Today's takes more time than I like to spend when prepping, but it was worth the time and effort of cutting, slicing and dicing. 

 BACK TO THE WIND....
Fast forward 18 hours. This morning Winds were whipping.  Tumble Weed was tumbling.  Sand was soaring through the air, much to my chagrin.  Last night, I used The Solution to clean the car and part of the motorhome had them all nice and shiny – again.  The soaring sand driven by the whipping winds left their dirty dust deposits right where I had been working.  I must add a few rain drops fell to create little mud drops all over said car and motorhome.  Not cool.  Not cool one bit!

Oliver and Olivia had no desire to go out into the wind.  I insisted and they wasted no time taking care of their business and were standing on the steps waiting for me to get there and let them in.  Another time, Oliver would just stand and look at me asking why were outside.  And Olivia, with her nose to the ground as usual was a bit distracted. 

The winds created a strange cloud effect today.  It looked as if the clouds were  surrounding us just on the far sides of the  mountains all around us.  It was as if the mountains would not let the clouds in. I felt as if we were sitting the hole in a donut and looking outward.  

Sooo, what do you do on  the day you had planned a mountain hike?  Of course! You cook.  Even RV Sue indulged in a day of cooking on her rainy, windy day.  So what was cooking in our motorhome?  I made green lentil stew.  John mixed up Jalapeno Corn Bread and I made all natural, fat free granola bars for our hikes…..if we ever get to go. 

We did run into a bit of a problem when John went to use the oven to bake his cornbread.  Overnight, a critter, we suspect a mouse moved in, got a paper towel, shredded it and had begun to make a nest.  Okay, so I am naive,  I had no clue that mice roamed the desert.  We have seen ground squirrels, lizards and other creepy crawly things that go bump in the night out there in the sandy desert, but a mouse?  Good grief. 

            Green Lentil Stew


Ingredients:
3 cups French green lentils
1 large, chopped white onion
2 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup good Extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon ground cumin
6 red potatoes, cut like French fries
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
1 tablespoon ground mustard
3 stalks medium-diced celery
4 carrots cut into rounds
2 quarts vegetable broth
2 large Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 handful of chopped parsley
2 handfuls of cilantro

Directions:
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse.

In a large pot on medium-low heat, saute the onions, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender.

Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes.

Add the vegetable broth and lentils.
Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through.

Add curry powder, ground mustard, balsamic vinegar, diced Roma tomatoes, fresh parsley and fresh cilantro  and simmer 5 to 10 minutes. 

Check the seasonings and adjust to taste
Serve

Jalapeno Pepper Cornbread:


Go to market and purchase box of cornbread mix
Add one finely diced Japalino Pepper (seeds and membrane removed!) to the mix
Follow directions on box. 

Serve hot!  

As I finish this, the winds are beginning to abate.  There is still dust and dirt in the air …… so much that the mountains look black! 

       

 THE END.....S


Until next time….

God Bless you and keep you under his mighty wing!