BRUCEBINDER.COM

J: > Your meal sounds great! I think I am going to try your > risotto next week or the week after. I have a whole bag of > aborrio rice that I've been meaning to use. The soup sounds > good too--too bad I have no pressure cooker. I've thought > about getting one, but I just don't have room right now. Good luck with the risotto. I suppose you can make the soup without a pressure cooker by just adding the stuff in the same order and cooking on a stove. I'd guess the barley would take 40 minutes and the lentils another 40. I think it's worth trying because it's such a big hit here and even without the pressure cooker, I imagine it's pretty easy to make, with such few ingredients and all. I don't know what I'm making this Sunday, but I owe you the ballot-proposition chili recipe and one for the fajitas I made last Sunday in Chicago. I may skip the chili because there's nothing fancy about it. I use Gephardts (tm) chili powder (a *lot*, like maybe a cup, I buy it by the gallon at Smart-and-Final). For the meat version, I used ground beef and cut up pieces of chuck steak. For the veggie version, I used lots of chopped red and green bell peppers, celery, onions, and carrots. I skipped the zuchinni because last year it gave the chili a funny flavor. For both I used black beans, precooked in the you-know-what. The veggie was as popular as the meat version and even the carnivores were mixing it half and half (a little annoying because I'd rather they ate the meat and left me the veggie leftovers instead of vice-versa; I keep telling them they aren't giving me much incentive to continue cooking meat). Corn is a great idea that I didn't think of but I'll try it next time. See also Ballot Night Chili 2000, added November 6, 2000. I guess I don't owe you the chili recipe anymore, and I guess I didn't really skip it. I'll still send you the fajita recipe next time. We actually ate *everything* with no leftovers so either Chicagoans eat more than San Diegans, or I'm losing my touch. Bruce