H.A. Larson's Blog, page 40

What's Cookin'? Chickpea Noodle Soup & Rustic Country Bread

Ahh, it's that time of the year when I love making big pots of warm soup and homemade, rustic breads. I've done a few of them recently, so I thought I'd share one of them: Chickpea Noodle Soup and Rustic Country Bread. Back in my meat-eating days I loved the homemade chicken noodle soup and rye bread my grandma would make. The rye bread would always be fresh-baked and butter would just melt into the warm deliciousness of it. Now that I follow a vegan diet, I have no desire to eat boring or forego all the old favorites, so I've learned to "veganize" them over the years. 
I made the bread - because I was out of yeast - using this recipe. It was delicious and a good complement to the soup, fresh from the oven. Here's how I made the soup.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced1 medium onion, diced3 cloves roasted garlic, mashed*1 tablespoon coconut oil**8 cups vegetable stock*** 1 small fistfull of spaghetti noodles****1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas1 tablespoon Italian seasoning1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, paprika1/2 teaspoon cayenne*****1 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions:
1. Heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat in a dutch oven (or any large, deep pan good for making a batch of soup).2. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic, and sautee until softened, about 5-7 minutes.3. Add the seasonings and sautee for another minute.4. Add the vegetable stock, chickpeas, and noodles. Bring to boil, and turn down to simmer.5. Simmer until the noodles are tender, then remove from heat.6. Serve with bread. Enjoy!
Notes:
*You can use regular garlic here, chopped small. You can even use granulated garlic if you want. If so, use a teaspoon of it. I roast my own garlic, and it really imparts a depth of flavor that makes this soup stand out. It's easy to roast, so if you want to, follow this recipe.**Olive oil or canola oil works fine as well. Any oil with a high heat-point will work.***I use Better than Bouillion Vegetable stock. It's the best tasting stock, hands down, but your preference is fine.****I break the spaghetti noodles down into equal fourths. It should equal around 2 cups after broken down, but it's not exact. Add as much or as little as you want.*****You can add less cayenne, or omit it altogether. I like a little heat! You could add red pepper flake too, and it would be tasty.
Last, I get my soup going while the oven is warming up, then make and bake the bread. They're usually done close to the same time and are nice and warm on a cold day/evening.



Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter in the upper right-hand corner of this site. I'm going to release a short story, in four parts, exclusively for my email subscribers. You do not want to miss this opportunity!

A Saturday at Waubonsie

Last Saturday, the weather was in the high 60s, so I packed up a picnic lunch and forced everyone out of the house. We headed South for about an hour until we reached Waubonsie State Park. Located on the Southern end of the Iowa Mountains, it's a beautiful place to hike. It's more beautiful in the Fall/Winter when the foliage is down and you can see across the landscape (Waubonsie has a lot of foliage along the trails that obstruct views).



It has a few scenic overlooks and we hiked around/near a couple of them. We started at the first one and hiked a ways down the hills. We then came back up, passed the overlook, and followed my favorite trail. You wind up and around the hills until you make it to this spot in the picture: another scenic overlook. This one is my favorite though, as I'm sure you can gather from the photo itself. That view is everything.




If you turn to the left from that bench, this is the view you see. Everywhere you look is miles and miles of landscape, and you feel like you're on top of the world.




Look at that view!




There was a little "nook" off of the path where you could look out over the valley, and we stopped here to do just that.




The Teen and Nature Girl, conquering the old, fallen tree.

We ended up hiking around 4 miles that day, and really got a good workout. I remember a moment when all four of us just quietly admired the view of that top overlook point. It's almost a cathartic experience to hike and be one with nature. We finished our hike, ate the lunch I had packed, and then we headed towards home. Luckily, Sugar Clay Winery is on the way, so we stopped and got some of their fantastic wine to bring home. It was a really great day.

Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter in the upper right-hand corner of this site. I'm going to release a short story, in four parts, exclusively for my email subscribers. You do not want to miss this opportunity!

A Frightful Tale...for You!

I've decided to do something special for you. Yes...you! Well, you do have to do one thing: sign up for my newsletter. How do you do that? Easy enough - it's right there in the upper right-hand corner of this website. I put out a newsletter once every month, usually right around the end of the month. I used to try and put a new one out every two or three weeks, but once a month works much better. At any rate, I've decided to do something special for my email subscribers.
Once a month, like I usually do, I will send out my email newsletter with the same tidbits, musings, and information, but for a few extra months, I'm going to give you more: a short story. I'm not sure how many parts I'm going to do the short story in, but I anticipate it to be at least a serial of four. 
Now, if you're unfamiliar with my writing, I tend to write gritty stories or creepy thrillers of one kind or another, so, if this sounds interesting to you, sign up! As you read and absorb this story, I'd like to get your feedback. It's going to be a whole new kind of experience between you and I, and I'm looking forward to it. I hope you are too!
The next newsletter will go out at the end of the month, not long after Christmas. Again, to sign up, just go to the upper right-hand side of this website, and you'll see it right there. If you do, you'll start getting a frightful tale from me. Do it...you know you want to. *winkwink*
-H.A. 

Late Fall in the Forest

Neale Woods: Where Settler's Path and Deer Trail meet.
I love the Thanksgiving holiday for a few reasons, but my favorite is that it gives me a nice, long, four-day weekend in which to enjoy life a bit more. This Thanksgiving was much warmer than usual, so I took full advantage of it by getting out and about a few times. Friday, it was t-shirt weather here in the Midwest, so I grabbed my gear, left my family at home, and headed out to Neale Woods for a solo hike.


Another shot of the same, just a bit further down the hillside.
Neale Woods is my favorite place to hike. It's the most serene of all the places I go to get away from it all, and even if I see other cars there....I rarely see another person. In fact, most of the time, I am the only person there. It's a nice feeling to think that you have an entire place such as this to yourself. You can truly think and reflect here.


After climbing down into the valley, I connected from Deer Trail to Raccoon Hollow.
A gentle breeze was blowing, and I hiked along my favorite trail, which makes a good circle up and down and back up the hills.


Getting towards the end of Raccoon Hollow. From there I hit up the Jonas Trail, cut through Bittersweet, and ended up adjacent to the old Nature Center.


The old machine shed at the end of the first leg of the Jonas trail leading away from the old Nature Center.
These last two pictures should technically come first in the sequence, as I always start my hike walking past this one second, and the next picture first, but this time, I came back around to here when I was done to snap these photos. Sequentially then, they are in the right order.



There's an old observatory here that is no longer in use, and these old lights used to light the way to it. It's very close to the old Nature Center on the first leg of the Jonas Trail. I don't know if the lights still work, but it's doubtful that they light them up anymore as there's no reason to. I wish I had gone to the Observatory before it fell into disuse. 



Where the end and beginning Jonas Trails meet sits a bench. I sit here and rest after coming back up from the valley. From here, you can see the Omaha skyline off into the distance.
It was so peaceful and soul-mending to take that solo hike. I came out feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Afterwards, I stopped by one of my closet friend's house as it's between Neale Woods and my house, and we chatted for a few hours over some nice beers. All in all, it was a perfect day. 
If you live in Omaha, or are ever in the area, and would like to visit Neale Woods, here is a link to their trail map brochure. Happy hiking!

Giving Thanks

For those of us stateside, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. We indulged in the same tradition that we've carried out for the past decade: the four of us (maybe an occasional friend) and NO traveling. For us, it's a time to relax and indulge. I make enough food to feed a family of ten, we stuff ourselves, have plenty of drinks and desserts, and generally enjoy a nice, long, set of days off. I get things done that I don't have time for generally, I get out and hike a few times, relax plenty, and visit with friends that time doesn't allow for me to see as often. For these reasons, I look forward to this holiday every year.
This year, I started thinking about the holiday and the idea of giving thanks. Giving thanks is how the holiday got it's name in the first place, but where did the idea come from? Thanksgiving has it's roots in the Harvest Festival - a festival that occurs every year around the harvest season in any given region, which can vary with crops & climate. People would celebrate - both with family and the community - the plentifulness of food and a time to relax from working in the fields.
The holiday is also rooted in the ancient practice of giving thanks for one's blessings. Early settlers in America were already practicing both traditions and, over the years, it evolved into the holiday that we celebrate now. Indeed, this is why the feast is so large and the reason we see all those "I'm thankful for..." posts on social media.
Do we need to wait for Thanksgiving to realize what we should be thankful for? The answer to that is: no. We definitely don't need to (and shouldn't) wait for the Thanksgiving holiday to give thanks. I'm thankful for all the good things in my life all the time. However, there's also nothing wrong with setting a time aside every year to be especially thankful for what we have. It's a nice way to ensure that we, indeed, do take a moment to realize our good fortune, no matter how large or small that might be. 
I hope you have something to be thankful for. I know I sure do. 

The Latest from the Write Life

Not too long ago, I talked about how my ebook publisher, Pronoun, was shutting down. It was a real blow, to say the least, and it put me in a funk for a week.

Having all my books in one place for distribution to numerous places was pretty great, and my author/book pages there were pretty cool. Alas, it was not meant to be.

After letting me feel sorry for me for a minute, I decided that that was enough of that, and that I needed to start figuring out my next moves. So, after much careful thought, I've decided to publish directly through the major ebook publishing sites - and not just Amazon exclusively like last time.

There are some pros to this. For example, I get to keep more of the profit, and that's never a bad thing, and even though I don't have that nifty author page anymore, I have this whole website to showcase who I am. I've got this, right? At any rate, I've updated the "My Body of Work" and "Who is H.A. Larson?" sections to reflect the changes.

Where can you find my ebooks now? You can purchase directly for download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords where you can purchase directly or through other retailers. If you haven't read any of my books yet, now is the perfect time! And, if you have read one of my books, but haven't yet reviewed it, please do! Even a short one-sentence review helps my book...I'm serious, so go show them some love now. I'd appreciate it more than you'll ever know.

I hope you have a good rest of your week, and if you live stateside, Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I hope you have a great holiday.

Much love,

H.A.

Latest Libations: Breweries of Lincoln

Last month, I had to go to the Lincoln, NE, area - about an hour from my home - for business. Two of the people I was there with just happened to be the two ladies that I took the Central Nebraska Brewery Tour with. With three beer aficionados around such as ourselves, there was no way we weren't going to end the day on a frothy note.
There are a few breweries in the Lincoln area, but the two we decided to visit that day were Zipline Brewing Co. and The Boiler Brewing Co. I've had, enjoyed, and reviewed here, plenty of Zipline brews in the past, but had never had the chance to visit their brewery. 



First beer of the day was Zipline's Coconut Stout. A true, heady stout with notes of coconut, this brew is not to be missed. For those of you who think you hate coconut, try this. The flavors of toasted coconut really complement the chocolateness of the stout.



Instead of going for a second beer, I decided that I really ought to have a flight. From left to right:
1. Calaveras Stout: an impressive Imperial Stout that was strong, delicious, and a cut above. If you are unfamiliar with an Imperial Stout, they are typically barrel-aged, this one in bourbon barrels, and are often brewed with a variety of flavors. This one is chocolate, vanilla, chilis, and cinnamon.2. Green Phantom: This is a Farmhouse Ale that is brewed with a new kind of hop. While hoppy beers aren't typically my favorite, this one was light and sharp, making for a nice contrast to the headiness of the Calaveras.3. Tangerine Sour: Ahh, these kinds of beers are my favorite drinking beers. Fruity, sweet, and sour, it's very lovely.4. Neapolitan Brown: a standard brown ale, only brewed with chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. It's like a neapolitan cake in a glass! Delicious.



After some fantastic brews at Zipline, we headed over to The Boiler Brewing Company on the suggestion of our Lincoln friend. It's housed in the basement of The Grand Manse, an old building that was once the U.S. Court House and Post Office of yesteryear. You have to go through the main floor to get to the brewery, and it's like walking back in time. 



The building has retained much of it's original decor and design, and it has pictures on the walls to help share it's history.



Just walking down the hallway to The Boiler Room was interesting. I really admired this neat sign they had, made with old newspaper clippings.



As we had already had a good amount of beer - and needed to drive an hour home - we only ordered one beer (well, at least those of us driving the distance home). I settled on something that seemed fruity and mild: Orange Whip Mimosa Gose. Oh, this is heaven in a glass! It was so delicious that I actually brought home a crowler of it. A crowler is their version of a growler, which is really just a 32-ounce can that they fill and seal. This gose is full of orange juice pulp, and it's perfectly balanced in sweet and sour. I could drink this all day, officially making it the most dangerous (and delicious) beer I've ever had.

-----------------------------------------
I hope your Saturday is excellent. I'm set for a busy weekend, working in my other endeavors. I'll be back soon for something fun. Stay tuned!

A Sunday Hike

Yesterday, I really needed to get outside. Last week was really busy & stressful, and ended on both a low and high note. While I've been doing cardio during the week before work, hiking is still my favorite way to get my blood flowing. Even when the weather is cold & icky, I will still manage to get a hike in on the weekends. Unfortunately, I hadn't been out hiking since our trip to Missouri, so I made a point of getting outside this weekend. 



Sunday, then, we headed out to one of our usual haunts: Schramm State Recreation Area. The weather was decent for this time of the year at a pleasant 50 degrees F, and the forest wasn't completely barren of Fall foliage.
Hints of green, yellow, red, gold, and brown were still evident here and there. It was gorgeous and really stood out amongst the burgeoning Winter landscape.



One of my favorite parts of the park is the fish pond that sits at the end of the trail we always hike. The green of the water gave everything a spring feel, while we could see the beautiful reflections of  Autumn-adorned trees. 
The three-mile hike was just what I needed to reset my batteries after a long, busy, stressful, and emotional week. There's nothing better, emotionally & physically, than a beautiful walk through the forest. 

Coffee Talk: My Newsletter, Pronoun, and other Tidbits.

There's nothing like a good cup of coffee to get your day going. If you're new here, let me just say that every few weeks I have a kaffeeklatsch, or coffee klatsch. Kaffeeklatsch is German for coffee gossip, but it's more like a chat. Today is one of those days, so let's get this kaffeeklatsch going.

-----------------------------------------



Did you know that I have a newsletter, or that you can sign up for it right in the upper right-hand corner of this website ? I put one out once every (approximately) three weeks. My newsletters are neat. I will give you a personal glimpse into my world; give you a closer look at some of my recent posts by sharing stories and pictures not shown on my website; or give you a taste of my work in progress. If you enjoy my postings here, you'll definitely want to sign up for my newsletter. It only takes a minute of your time! 

-----------------------------------------



I publish my work through Pronoun, a move I made earlier this year when I was over and done with Amazon's restrictive and unfriendly self-publishing platform. I was completely taken aback then yesterday when I received an email from Pronoun informing me that they are shutting down. Apparently their parent company Macmillan, can no longer support them in their current form, or any other form they've suggested. It's a kick in the gut, and, while I have until January of 2018, I'm understandably upset. I know they did the best they could, but now I have to find a new home (i.e. publisher) for my work. If you know of a good online publisher, comment below. I'm open to any suggestions and would appreciate them all.

-----------------------------------------

My road to health is still kicking along. The weather has grown colder, so walking back and forth to work isn't an option much at this point. I spent about a week not really getting any exercise and I could feel myself slipping into my old, unhealthy routine. Last week, then, I started doing cardio exercises. I load up 15 minutes cardio videos right here at home, and do them in my living room before I head out to work. I definitely burn more calories than walking, and my upper legs were killing me this weekend! 
I took The Teen out to an arboretum this weekend and took some photos of him for Senior Pictures. You all know that I'm an amateur photographer, and I've gotten really good at editing, so I thought I'd give it a go. I don't have all the equipment a pro would have, so we chose the day we did as it was supposed to be overcast all day. It was...until we got out to the place, then the sun started to shine! Go figure! We did the best we could anyway, and out of the many photos we took, I got a handful that turned out quite well.
I'm really starting to get a bit of cabin fever (already!). You all know how I love getting out in nature, and it hasn't been since our trip to Lake of the Ozarks that I've gotten out for a reset hike. I'm determined then, to get out there this weekend, especially now that we've set the clocks back and it's mostly dark when I get off work.

-----------------------------------------
Okay dear readers, that's it for this kaffeeklatsch. Have a good week, and I'll be back with a new post soon. Leave me a comment if you'd like, I'd love to hear from you!
-H.A.

The Autumnal Shift

It is now November, and I'm scrambling to figure out where the time has gone. Remember recently when I was excited about how August - and therefore Autumn - was right around the corner? Well, that was a little over three months ago already! One minute, I'm looking forward to the gloriousness that is Fall, and the next, I'm staring down the barrel of Winter.

Don't get me wrong, I love Winter. There's a tranquil beauty that comes from the stark white against the landscape; the ability to see far, far into the forest; and the glint of light that shines through icicles that hang like stalactites from the precipices of overhangs. I love bundling up and taking forest walks if the ground isn't sloppy. I love putting on comfy tights, mukluk slippers, and fuzzy sweaters then curling up in a chair with a blanket. Beside me will sit a mug of something warm & comforting (think mulled cider, hot cocoa, or herbal tea), and either a good book or a movie will be cued up.

However, I always mourn the passing of Autumn...it is my favorite season after all. This year has been very busy, so busy in fact that I've missed a few of my never-miss things, one of those being our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. This makes me forlorn a bit, as I feel a trip to the pumpkin patch is a nice bridge between Fall and Winter for me. As I see the leaves falling more rapidly from the trees and hear the breeze howling low through the empty spaces in buildings, I feel a twinge of repose as I reflect on life.

For most people, Spring signals the beginning of the new year, but for me, it's Winter. Why? Well, I see the foliage dying off as a sign of the end, and when the landscape is bare, that just means nature is starting over from the beginning again. As Autumn winds down, and the trees start to become skeletons, the grass is starting to turn shades of brown & gold, and the temperature drops, it signals a rebirth. That first stage, that rebirth, is signaled by the starkness of Winter.
While we're not fully into Winter yet, I can see it lurking in the shadows, waiting to take hold and begin life anew. I reflect then, on what life has been like this past year, and I can certainly say that - while it's had its ups and downs - it's probably been one of the best years of my life so far. Many interesting things have happened, many adventures were had, and opportunity grandly presented itself. Life for me, much like nature, will begin again - fresh and new - and while I miss the year I've had and long for the things that were missed, I look forward to the birth of another year. May she be filled with grander and exciting things.