Yesterday morning, I made one my favorite new dishes: Tortilla Soup. I think I first had tortilla soup at La Parilla Suiza in Phoenix. It made a big impression on me. Sometime last summer, I had the idea that I could probably make some, so I made up a recipe. I browned some chicken with some chilis, added a can of broth and a can of diced tomatoes, brought to a boil, and then added a bunch of lime juice with a handful of fresh cilantro crushed into a each bowl. Poured over tortillas and sprinkled with Mexican cheese, it's become a favorite in our house. I'm now making giant batches with a huge can of broth and two large cans of diced tomatoes.

The first week of the semester was something else. I've started teaching twice a week for 50 minutes, rather than once for two hours. So far, I like it better -- its hard to keep the students productively engaged for two hours straight. But it does mean getting ready and teaching twice, rather than once in the week. By Thursday, things were a bit quieter, but there have been almost constant demands on my time.

On Friday, we had icky weather, but took Lucy out for her birthday dinner celebration at the Indian restaurant. I've been careful with my diet since the start of the new year, but I took at day off and splurged. It was wonderful to have rice and papadum and pakora (as well as tandoori chicken and aloo gobi).

I've been reading In Defense of Food which resonates strongly with me in most ways: food is a lot more than just something to keep you healthy. It's nice to get together with people for a meal and food can be a comfort and a pleasure. I think his thesis that "food" is necessarily better than food products is silly, though. Some kinds of plant products (like apples) evolved to be food and are undoubtedly good for you. Lots of plants have created all kinds of secondary plant compounds, however, that are intended to keep animals from consuming them. We use a lot of these in food as seasonings (or as drugs!) but to say that eating plants is good for you, overlooks eating all the plants that aren't, like Deadly Nightshade or Jimpson Weed.

The real case against food products is not a prima_facie one, but one based on capitalism. The real problem with food products is that they are engineered, not to be good or good for the consumer, but to make the maximum profit for the corporation. By organizing our society around what people who can are willing to pay for, results in a wasteland of cheap crap that ruins our lives and the environment.

This evening, the boys and I tried to make the "Curry of Life". In a recent Naruto episode, the team goes to a curry house which Lee says makes a life-saving curry. In his flashback, it shows how Lee has collapsed after running a three-day marathon in his sleep and how the people in the curry shop repeatedly try feeding him curry, making it spicier each time, but without success -- until they make it really, super spicy (and add a bunch of weird things, like a turtle, salamander, mouse, and who-can-tell-what-else). They then serve Curry of Life to everyone in the team, which is black and bubbly -- everyone eyes it very suspiciously. After Lee tries it, pronounces it perfect, and is gobbling it franticly, everyone else tries it. Unfortunately for them, it's so spicy they are all knocked out -- Naruto is knocked flat on his back. So that's what I was asked to reproduce.

I googled a few recipes and then went to the store. My first effort, tonight, was edible, but not spicy enough (even if I'm only aiming for normal spiciness) and too sweet. I'm actually aiming for gang ped, which is one of my favorite Thai dishes. The boys were disappointed that it didn't knock them out, but agreed that it was quite tasty with rice and are eager for me to try again next time.

This morning, Lucy and I took Penny for our regular Saturday outing downtown to visit the farmer's market and library. It's a beautiful, breezy day.

Last night, we went out to get Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at midnight. Alisa had pre-ordered a copy for us from our local bookseller. We arrived around 11:30 and stood in line with the dozens of other people who'd come to get their copies. Once we got home, I read the book from cover to cover, finishing around 6:30am. I enjoyed it -- probably as much as I've enjoyed any of the others.

For lunch, I wanted something fresh and flavorful, so I decided to improvise some Tortilla Soup -- although without the tortillas, as I'm trying to be low-carb these days. I used a can of chicken broth, some roasted chicken, 6 tomatoes, fresh cilantro, garlic powder, a handful of jalapeño slices and lime juice. I heated the broth, skinned, chopped, and added the tomatoes with garlic powder, threw in the chicken, and brought it to a strong boil for a few minutes. I threw in some cilantro and the lime juice at the end, as well as a bit of salt and pepper. As I made each bowl, I would put some fresh cilantro in the bowl and then fill with soup. It was heavenly -- it really hit the spot on a breezy summer day.

Now I think I'm ready for a nap.

I was supposed to go the fitness club this morning with Lucy, but overslept. To make it up to her, I fixed omelets for each of us. I fixed Lucy what she requested -- a cheese omelet -- but I made a special omelet for myself.

When Alisa and I lived in Kalamazoo, there was a great little restaurant named Maggie's near campus that made a couple of great, unique breakfast dishes. My favorite was always the Mexican Omelet. Here is my omage to it:

Ekde mia juneco, mi kaj mia frato esploris prepari italan pasteĉon. Mi ŝatas pensi ke mi nun estas spertulo: mi povas komenci kun faruno kaj tomata pasto, kaj post horo kaj duono, jen bongustan italan pasteĉon. Kiam mi estis junulo, mi studis en Hispanio. Mi loĝis kun maljuna virino kiu preparis por ni ĉiujn manĝojn. Mi decidis danki ŝin per preparo de italan pasteĉon. Ŝi iom dubis ĉu ŝi lasu nin fari tion (iufoje, usona knabino kiu restis ĉe ŝi preparis ovaĵon, kiu estis bruligita "kiel karbono", ŝi diris). Sed finfine ni konvinkis ŝin. Mi kaj mia amiko vojaĝis al magazeno kaj aĉetis ĉion necesan. Estis tre malfacila trovi ĉion: oni vokas aferojn malsame en malsamaj landoj. Mozarela fromaĝo oni ne havas: ni devis uzi "francan fromaĝon". "Pepperoni" oni ne havis: ni devis uzi ĉorizon. Sed ni trovis ĉion necesan, preparis la pasteĉon kaj montri ĝin al ŝi. Ŝi miris kiom bona ĝi aspektis: "Que presentación!" ŝi diris. Kaj ĝi ja estis tre bongusta.