stranger in a strange land
So I’ve not been too lucky riding the bus recently. I’m standing all the time, and today the express bus I usually take went AWOL so we all had to wait for the next one. Of course it was as full as heck when it arrived and the muni operator shook his head when I waited by the front door, and signaled for us to enter via the back.
Now I cant understand what it is about most riders that they either (1) dont move back, or when they do (2) they congregate at the rear door and dont move further to the rear. So what happens is you can’t enter because the bus it too full at the front, and you have a hell of a time getting off.
Damned if I didn’t end up on the rear stairs because the people wouldn’t move back. It was like we weren’t there, me and 2 other women who were trying to squeeze into about 6″ square of footspace each. They didn’t even look, grrr.
In despair and annoyance I sort of hurled myself into the bunch of people crowded in the aisle in front of me. Hee, I thought, what the fuck, I can do a dive…they’ll move.
And they did, hehe. I got dirty looks, but did the same thing they were doing, and pretended not to see 
We bought another one of the mystery boxes from Mariquita and got a fridgeload of goodies that included about 2 to 3 lbs of carrots (and 2 baskets of the yummiest strawberries!). Now carrots, I like them in theory, but they’re not my favorite. I braised the little chantenay ones together with some tokyo turnips in a little water and butter and they did come out yummy, but it wasn’t something I could do with the huge bag of carrots I got.
So when our friends asked us over for dinner I decided to use them and I found this great recipe for a carrot soup. I like it because it is creamy but not deadly since it’s a potato and not cream that thickens the soup. Sorry no photos, I can’t make myself take photos of my dirty stovetop it makes me feel guilty, and since I bought my camera for looks and not for performance it takes bad night pictures. Anyhoo…
Carrot Soup with Almonds
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 cup shallots, sliced thinly
3/4 tsp. curry powder
1 1/2″ ginger, sliced big enough so you can pick it out later
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp fresh thyme,stems removed and leaves chopped
1 medium potato about 3 to 4 oz., diced into 1/4″ pieces
1 1/2 lbs. very fresh and sweet carrots, sliced 1/4″ thick crosswise
1 c apple cider or 1 1/2 c apple juice
1 1/2 c chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 c water
1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 c toasted almond slivers
Directions:
In a saucepan, saute the shallots, curry powder, ginger, bay leaf and thyme in butter/oil until the shallots are soft and golden, about 8-10min.
Add the potato and brown a bit. Add the carrots, cider, stock ,water, salt and pepper and boil till carrots are soft, about 25min.
Remove the bay leaf and ginger, puree everything using a blender (or an immersion thingamajig if you have one). Return to pan, heat and thin to the consistency you want. Season.
Fry or toast the slivered almonds, and top the soup with some before you serve it.
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