Wednesday, December 22, 2010

ANOTHER RAINY DAY IN DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA

Flooding 1The big weather news for the last several days has been the huge, wet storms hitting California.  Here on the east side of the mountains in the Coachella Valley, we’ve been spared the brunt of the storms – but have received enough rain in the past couple of days that many streets are closed (flooded).  Our heaviest rains arrived last night and are forecast to pound us most of the day.

Mid-morning, Odel put a batch of chili into our crock pot, which reminded me that I had a new recipe to add to my recipe archive: French Split Pea Soup in the crock pot.  The recipe came from The Gourmet Slow Cooker cookbook, by Lynn Alley, given to me by my friend Becky when we were in Sacramento a few weeks ago, and it is both inexpensive and incredibly simple.  You don’t even have to hang around while it is cooking.

Odel couldn’t get enough of it – the recipe comes with his high recommendation.  I made one change to the recipe, substituting smoked turkey wings for the smoked pork chop specified.  I first discovered smoked turkey parts in Fredericksburg, Texas, a couple years ago and have substituted smoked turkey for smoked pork in all my recipes (pinto beans, lima beans, greens, and soups) every since.  Great flavor with way less fat!

Flooding 2Cabin fever set in by noon, and Odel agreed in a quick second when I suggested we go to a matinee of The Fighter.  A movie about boxing?  Laurie wants to go?  He probably couldn’t believe his ears!  It has received great reviews, though, and I’ve wanted to see it since I heard Mark Wahlberg interviewed about his role. 

It was GREAT (though I covered my eyes during some of the scenes).  The characters were complex and the dynamics of his dysfunctional family were both painful and comic.  Phenomenal acting by Melissa Leo as the mother!

Back home through the flooded streets in DRIVING rain, where the aroma of the chili made our mouths water.  Too bad, it’s not for tonight’s dinner – it’s for tomorrow (better after it sits for a day), with half destined for the freezer, socked away for our next boondocking interlude.  Now, off to make tonight’s dinner!

8 comments:

  1. Laurie,
    Your split pea soup recipe sounds delicious but when I click on the link I get an error message saying my browser can't find it. Did you hide it somewhere?

    Sorry your having bad weather but the weather everywhere seems awful. Actually here in Manitoba it is warmer than normal and we're supposed to have sunshine for Christmas Day.

    Merry Christmas to you and Odel. Hope your weather improves soon.

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  2. The song, 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' by B.J. Thomas probably takes on more meaning for you now....

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  3. Nice to be "on the road again," notwithstanding the WET weather. Sorry about all the durn things going wrong initially, but - hey! - stuff falls apart wherever we call home, right? Question about your pea soup - does it thicken up in the hours that it cooks? We love nice, thick split pea soup, esp on a cool, rainy day. You know, kinda like what you're in the midst of now! (Pass those Jiffy muffins - yum)

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  4. Gypsymom, thanks. I think both links are working now. If still have trouble, let me know whether you are clicking on the one in the blog post or the one in the recipe archive. Thanks!

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  5. I-D-T, this soup was just a little on the "soupy" side. If you like it thicker, either decrease the liquid or use more split peas (which is what I would do - better MORE soup than less)! just read your blog post about Fairhope - we sure enjoyed that little town last spring.

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  6. your recipe is the same as mine except the smoked turkey wing... will have to try that.

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  7. I hope the rain lets up, the sun comes out and you have no leaks!

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  8. We use our crockpot lots..and I have a great turkey chili recipe we make..trying to keep McGuyver's cholesterol numbers down!..I just HATE rainy days in the RV...the crossword puzzles come out, and so do old movies....but cabin fever sets in really soon!! Stay dry!

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