How many words can be used to describe x country skiing at the Black Foot? I am tired of high praise words like heaven, paradise, nirvana, amazing etc. With deep snow, groomed tracks, boreal forest studded with balls of snow and even the occasional moose, friends to x county ski with, I keep thinking 'life does not get better than this'. Why would I vacation in Arizona or Hawaii or Vitoria BC when I have this paradise (chose a word) 45 minutes from my home?
Recently I had the opportunity to spend 4 hours x country skiing and when I came home, I had this soup/stew. Basically I began the soup with 1 tbsp of oil and slowly sauteed 1 chopped large onion in the oil, added 4 stalks of celery, 5 minced cloves of garlic and then 8 cups of chopped vegetables and water to cover. The ones I had in the fridge that day, included: carrots, squash, turnip, one half shredded cabbage, green and red peppers, 3 potatoes and one minced jalapeno pepper with just a few seeds. For protein I added 2 cups of preboiled chick peas (prepare in advance using the over night soaking method or bring to a boil and then cover and let sit for an hour then freeze in 1 or 2 cups packages) and two cups of cubed baked ham. For flavour, everything was tied together with a can of spaghetti sauce, Hunt's Thick and Rich, spicy red peppers and chilies. The pot of soup was brought to a boil, and then simmered about 30 minutes. After tasting the soup, I did not add any other seasoning. To serve the soup, I cushioned a tablespoon of pesto (see my November, 2010 post) in a dollop of yogurt. Soul satisfying soup, thick crusty peasant bread, sore muscles - heaven. One more thing, be sure to share and give some away. That too is heaven.
