Saturday, 25 February 2012-Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Saturday morning coming down in Bishkek. It looks like we will have bright sunshine today with temps just above freezing. Looking forward to the ExPat English speakers table this morning at FatBoys at 10 am.
Sunday, 26 February 2012-Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan I went today to the market located at Moskova and Shopokov to pickup a few things, including some celery, spinach and green onions. I was also looking for some jalapeno peppers, but had to settle for some of the local long green peppers that are only mildly hot. I also stopped and picked up some of the favorite oatmeal raisin cookies and chocolate biscotti from my favorite bakery store. They also have some nice cheeses, so I bought some blue cheese so I could have blue cheese on the spinach salad that was forming in my visual cortex. Then, it was a walk back to the apartment on the icy walkways. And the rest of the day was given over to reading and writing, and, of course, some online time.
In the evening Marat and I joined Lars and Vibeka for dinner at L'Azzuro, a Lebanese restaurant. Lars, Vibeka and I feasted on falafel, hummus, and tabouli. Marat had some grilled chicken. It was a nice meal. Afterward, we shared a taxi. I got dropped off first. I went into the apartment watched a little television and then was off to bed.
Monday, 27 February 2012-Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Up early this morning to watch the live broadcast of the Academy Awards ceremonies from California. My cable television provider's Star Movie channel carried the event. The 15 hour shift in time means my watch party took place at 7 am. I have to say that I am pleased with some of the results and disappointed with others. My favorite movies this year all featured outstanding women actors and I was pleased to see some of them honored for great performances.
The rest of the day was pretty calm and no real activity.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012-Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan It was another slow day today.
Wednesday, 29 February 2012-Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Because I am trying to be a bit more frugal these days, I decided to make some vegetable stock. Then later created a pot of white Bean Raja Soup. It is one of my favorite cold weather dishes. Here is the recipe.
White Bean Raja Soup
Ingredients: 1/4 cup olive or other vegetable oil 1 cup chopped white onion 1/2 cup of chopped celery 1 cup chopped and seeded poblano chiles 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper 2 minced garlic cloves; saute for 5 minutes 14-ounces of vegetable broth 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 15oz can of any white bean (or about one cup of soaked dried white beans, I like larger ones) 1 teaspoon of ground cumin 2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Place oil in a medium size pot and heat to medium Place onions, chilies, red pepper in the oil and saute until softened and flavors are released Add the garlic for a few minutes Add the vegetable broth Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Stir in the rinsed and drained can of beans, tomato paste, the fresh-squeezed lime or lemon juice and ground cumin. If using the prepared dry beans the cooking time will be about one hour or until beans mash easily with a fork. Add in the cumin at the end and allow the soup to stand about 5 minutes before serving.
Because there are no poblano peppers in Bishkek, I used the fresh green and red peppers that were available. They are rather mild and always available. So be open to using what is available and in season.
Thursday, 1 March 2012-Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan I was having another slow day today. I found I needed more sleep. I rested and read most of the day.
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