We are an old married couple who enjoys traveling, cooking and having adventures. We enjoy sharing all the wonderful things life has to offer. We’re here to share our travels and adventures, our cooking and fun home projects, and our thoughts and insights on what it’s like to be an old married couple.
Making a Signature Recipe, Split Pea Soup
I love split pea soup. My favorite is the thick, Dutch version they serve on Holland America Line’s Alaskan cruises. But their version is complicated and it’s not vegetarian. I really like Anderson’s as well. Anderson’s recipe is the polar opposite of Holland’s it’s very simple, focusing on the basics and it’s vegan.
But, I want to make a recipe that’s Charles’ Signature Pea Soup.
The best way to make a recipe your own is to start with the most basic version and modify it to your liking. That what I’m doing with my pea soup. I studied dozens of split pea soup recipes and they all have the basics in common – three cups of mirepoix, a tablespoon of herbs and seasonings, a pound of split peas and water. What makes each version different is what they add to the basic recipe.
Once you make the basic recipe, taste it, make notes and write a new recipe with some changes. Then do it again, and again. Repeat until you have your signature recipe.
Basic Split Pea Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrot
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 lbs split peas
- 6 cups water
- Set Multicooker to high sauté and add olive oil
- Once hot, add onions, celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Cook until softened
- Add curry, stir until well mixed
- Add peas, stir until they’re coated
- Add water, give it all a good stir
- Put on the lid and set the Multicooker to pressure cook for 15 minutes
- After the 15 minutes, allow it to naturally depressurize for at least 15 minutes
- Stir and taste. Add salt as necessary
- Enjoy!
A Hop Across the Pond
This year we joined the Cygnet Theater for their Transatlantic Theater Tour. We spent four days in London, crossed the Atlantic in style aboard the Queen Mary 2, and two days in New York City. The focus of the trip was to see a number of productions in two cities well known for their theater. Inasmuch as I had never been to London, I was far more interested in exploring all the weird and wonderful things for which the two-thousand year old city is known.
Labor Day Vegan
Karalee was out of town, so I decided to challenge myself and live the vegan lifestyle for the Labor Day weekend.
Being vegan is quite a bit different than being vegetarian. Vegetarian is a diet, you eat plant-based foods and avoid meat. There’s no ethical restriction to keep you from eating butter and eggs, or even the occasional hot dog. Vegan, on the other hand, is a lifestyle.
Vegans choose to eliminate all animal-based products from their lives, including products that aren’t made of animals, but might exploit animals in their production. No meat, no leather, no gelatin-capsule medicines and no Elmer’s Glue.
It’s a strict lifestyle, stricter than I care to live, but for three day I gave it a try. Eating vegan wasn’t difficult for me, we prefer a plant-forward diet anyway, but there are certain elements of the diet that would have tasted better with butter instead of oil. The bigger problem was eliminating animal-based products from my life. I stopped carrying my wallet, but I wasn’t about to sit on the floor to avoid my leather couch. There are medicines I take in gelatin capsules, so I couldn’t avoid animal products, but I did my best.
2024 Trip to the Philippines
Karalee and I work for the same company, and it just so happens that a large part of our teams live and work in the Republic of the Philippines. We have been fortunate over the years to visit many times. Each time our friends take us to different locations and to enjoy different experiences.
This year we got to see some old friends and with them we journeyed south to the countryside of Quezon Province and the plantation/resort at Villa Escudero.
When we made our first trip in 2015 the only special experience I wanted was to ride on a Jeepney. Jeepneys are the eclectic public transit vehicles that owners personalize to suit their varied tastes by painting them with murals and decorating them with various bits and bobs so that each one is a unique work of art.
With the passing years we’ve seen fewer and fewer jeepneys on the road. Air quality restrictions and safety concerns, along with consumer demand for comforts like air conditioning and Wi-Fi, are sending the jeepney the way of the dodo. On this trip we took some time to visit the Sarao Jeepney factory, just a short drive from our office, to see how these beauties are built.
Dry July is over! let’s have a Hot Toddy
Hot Toddy
- 16 oz hot tea
- 4 oz cheap whisky
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Lemon wedge
Reserve half the tea in a separate vessel.
Stir in the honey and squeeze the lemon directly into the mug. Pour in the whisky and top with as much of the reserved tea as will fit.
Grab a good book. Drink and enjoy.
Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of ground meat. I usually use 1 pound of lean ground turkey and 1-pound lean ground beef.
- 2 Tbsp (1 lid full) Onion Onion (Tastefully Simple)
- 2 Tbsp (1 lid full) Garlic Garlic (Tastefully Simple)
- ½ jar Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam (Tastefully Simple)
- 1 egg
- Heaping 1/3 cup bread crumbs
Directions
Mix all together in a big bowl with a potato masher. Put in a greased loaf pan, Smooth flat (better cuts for sandwiches)
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50-60 minutes, drain any fat off and enjoy.
If you like our content and want to support the channel, stop by Karalee’s Tastefully Simple store: https://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/kjohnson
Mother’s Day Cream Puffs
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
Directions
Melt butter in 1 cup boiling water.
Add flour and salt all at once; stir vigorously until a stiff dough forms
Roll the ball around the inside of the pan until it becomes a smooth ball.
Remove from heat; cool.
Form a well in the dough and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough, 3 inches apart, onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown and puffy, about 30 minutes.
Cool on a rack before splitting and filling.
Avocados Galore
As the video says, we eat a lot of avocados and we’ve documented a lot about that fact.
Kahlua Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Kahlua
- ½ cup chili sauce
- 3 tbs pineapple juice
- 2 tbs cornstarch
Directions
Combine first three ingredients in a sauce, mix well.
Dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of cold water to make a thin paste.
Warm ingredients in saucepan, slowly add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly.
Taco Mac & Cheese Caserole
Ingredients
- 12 ounces elbow macaroni
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups 2% milk, warmed (I did room tempature)
- 4 cups shredded four cheese Mexican blend, divided (any cheese you have on hand)
- 1½ cups prepared Make & Freeze Taco Meat, thawed if frozen
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
- Optional fillings such as diced onion or green onion, sliced black olives, jalapeño slices
- 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. In large saucepan, prepare pasta according to package directions until just al dente; drain. Set pasta aside.
In same pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour; whisking constantly. Whisk in milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Slowly whisk in 3 cups cheese, cooking and whisking until melted and smooth. Salt and pepper as desired.
Stir pasta into cheese sauce. Transfer half to a greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Top with Make & Freeze Taco Meat, drained tomatoes and desired fillings. Top with remaining macaroni and cheese. (I mixed all together at once)
Sprinkle with crushed tortillas and remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.