Sweet Habanero Tofu Salad

The journey begins. She rolls forward without hesitation, a new experience lying in wait, a prowling tiger ready to pounce and capture her in the thrilling jaws of the new, the unknown. Daunting though it is, there’s definitely excitement and joy in setting up a new home in a new locality with new resources and a new pursuit. But then the cavalry arrives, charging past like a drove of raving dogs. If she looks hard enough she can see the saliva dripping from the growls of each unnecessarily raging engine. Sigh. Perhaps this is a generalization (a very loose one) but the typical San Diego driver is INSANE. These astounding people blow the speed limit out of the galaxy everywhere I go, and then come to screeching halts at the very obviously looming red lights beyond. Maybe I just like to save my gas, my sanity, my life, but I can’t understand why everyone has to fly on wheels, especially when the roads are splattered with cracks, potholes, unevenness, and just about every bane of your tires’ existence. Why torture your car? Why? tell me. Why, why do it?

Ok my rant of the day is done, I can move on now having relieved my mind of that. I’m sure there are San Diegans who will revolt to this assessment but I speak with my eyes and my nerves. I know you aren’t all bad, just … a lot of you. But I’m done.

As you can see, I’ve set up the home base now, and am actually acclimating myself to the experience of graduate school at this moment (meaning I’m sitting outside with my laptop counting down the minutes until my next class commences while looking ruefully at my Literary Theory text and worrying about when I have to decide between writing a thesis or developing a portfolio). It’s only the first day! Yikes!

So instead, I return to my beloved baby, my comfort, my responsibility and my joy and am writing up this blog post for you all. It’s been a bit of a culture shock moving here, I won’t lie, and if it weren’t for the awesome program and all its promises, and the cool breeze that juuuust hit me as a blessing amidst the sun-spitting heat, I’d high-tail it back to MD, back into my uber-sheltered cocoon. But life is unfolding in an exquisite array of colors, the myriad of which I will enjoy witnessing. And despite feeling a bit out of place and more than a little overwhelmed, the husband and I are carving out the paths (least-trafficky ones at that) which lead to good living and of course good food. Case in point, organic markets and farmers markets abound here. In fact, if I wanted to drive, I could come across at least four farmers markets every day within a 30 minute radius of my home. Naturally I’ll stick to the one closest to home but the existence of such possibilities warms me. So for the first week I scoured food sources ad nauseum, and came across gorgeous produce like the largest and softest okra I had ever seen as well as the silkiest super firm tofu my eyes and mouth ever tasted. Not to mention the freshly ground and richly aromatic spices at my fingertips. And the SPICIEST jam ever. Good stuff. I’m happy.

Chilly Day Turkey Chili

Old Man Winter came knocking on my door, my friends, and his fierce chilly breath has blown out all the colors (if there were any) of drab lifeless winter and blanketed us with the most awe-inspiring, cuddle-inducing, heart-palpitating, toe-curling flurry of snow, snow, snow!  It has snowed a few times since I moved to Maryland, but tonight is the first truly mesmerizing descent of snowflakes I have as yet seen here.  So captivating that all I have been chanting to myself is “snow snow snow snow snow” which oddly led me to the nursery rhyme about it raining and pouring which then left me pondering over the strange lyrics (how exactly does one bump his head WHILST in bed, pray tell?).  Suffice it to say, Alya was befuddled.

But she was not so bewildered over what to make for dinner, thankfully.  It was rather quick a decision, to be honest.  Shall we refer to our checklist?  Cold night? Check.  Warm food a must? Check.  Black beans in pantry? Check.  Tomatoes? Check.  Ground meat (turkey)? Check.  Cheese?  Check.  A desire for a one-pot meal? Check.  Ready to jump at the chance to make a silly pun out of food choice?  Always check!

Ah, the answer is simple, is it not?  What could be more fitting than a dish that wallops you with warmth, satisfaction, and a zillion other forms of goodliness?  And so, let us journey, you and I, through frosted trees and snow-stung skies, into the caverns of my pantry, only to emerge with Turkey Chili!  For what could be more befitting of a frostbit night, than a “chilly” feast for our famished appetites!