Air travel, am I right?

I've written before about the horrors of the DMV, but air travel nowadays isn't far, if at all, behind. It seems like almost every trip one of us makes is a disaster or near-disaster. Last night Mom, Cassie, and Brad had the hopefully-once-in-a-lifetime experience of spending the night at the airport when their flight to Charlotte was so delayed that they missed the connector to Tallanastee. It was so late when they got in, and the rescheduled flight was leaving so early, that it just wasn't worth the effort to go to a hotel. So here are Brad and Cass doing the best they can to catch a few winks at the airport:

I gotta say, traveling with your own sheets for just such an eventuality is genius!

 

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I have some very reliable recipes, including Chickpea Curry, adapted from Meera Sodha's excellent 2014 cookbook Made in India. Since then, Sodha started writing a vegan column that appears every Saturday in the Guardian. A number of the recipes originally published in that column, including the yummy chipotle cashew sauce, were included in her 2020 cookbook East. But she's continued writing the column, which shows up on my UaKS "Reading List" every Saturday morning.

 

Last week, she published this good-looking recipe for a soup perfect for early summer, with late-season asparagus and zucchini just coming into season. It takes a little while to cook, but there's not too much chopping, a good bit of which you can get done while the onion is cooking to save time. The soup has great flavor despite the very light hand with the seasonings (compared to Sodha's usual recipes). Four thumbs up from the testing panel, especially when served with my new cornbread recipe (coming soon).

Zucchini, Pea, and Asparagus Soup

Adapted from Meera Sodha via the Guardian (June 19, 2021)

Time: ~45 minutes

¼ cup (53 grams) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to finish
1 large red onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
500 grams (2 medium-large) zucchini, diced
250 grams asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces, leaving the tips intact
300 grams frozen peas, preferably petit pois
750 grams (~3¼ cups) vegetable broth or stock (I used water + 18 grams Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

    1. Heat the oil in a stockpot or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and starting to caramelize, about 12 minutes.
    2. Add the garlic, cinnamon, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
    3. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.
    4. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
    5. Stir in the peas, vegetable broth, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high, then remove from the burner right away. Using a blender, immersion blender, or food processor, puree about half of the soup to thicken it up. Taste for seasoning. Serve promptly, with an extra drizzle of oil. Serves 4 with a salad and/or bread.