Black Bean Soup, Dancing in the Wind, and Mad Chickens!

August 31, 2011

I thought today might be the first time ever that I was going to miss B&W Wednesday. Luckily, we did not suffer any damage from Irene, but we were without power from 11pm Saturday until 2am on Tuesday.

It was a LONG TWO DAYS.....

As Pat said, "It is kind of like camping, but not in a tent"

I quickly reminded him, that this girl DOES NOT CAMP.

It actually was not that bad. We survived with the resources we had and were able to keep the girls occupied before sheer boredom set in. Nick is on vacation with his Dad, so we were minus one this weekend.

Black Bean Soup From Above BLOG
Obviously everyone knew this storm was coming, so we spent the better part of Friday night and Saturday, trying to prepare. We had flashlights and candles ready. Everyone charged all electronics so that we would at least be able to communicate in some manner. Pat put away all outdoor items that could blow away and I spent a few hours in the kitchen cooking and making sure we would have food readily available.

We have a gas stove, so I knew that we would be able to heat things up even if we lost power. I decided to make a new black bean soup.

The recipe is courtesy of the book, Recipes From A Very Small Island by Linda and Martha Greenlaw. Great book, you may want to check it out. My Mom has the book and gave me the recipe. She tweaks it a bit, so I did too. Here is the doctored up recipe:

Blackbean Soup
4 Large Carrots Peeled and Chopped
1-2 Shallots Chopped
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
4 16 oz Cans of Black Beans (Undrained)
1 Quart of Chicken Stock(4 Cups)
1 Large Jar of Salsa (or about 2 cups)
2 Tablespoons of Chili Powder
1 Package of Frozen Corn
1 Lime


Sautee shallots and carrots until tender
Place beans with their liquid in the large saucepan.
Using a potato masher or a large fork, partially mash the beans.
Whisk in the stock, salsa, frozen corn, and chili powder.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add lime juice
Serve with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Serves 8



Black Bean Soup Reflective Stripes BLOG
You can top the soup with any number of things.
In our house we like a little cilantro, lots of cheese, salsa, and homemade tortilla chips!
They also recommend, scallions and sour cream.

Storm Chasers Collage BLOG
The storm actually hit our area late Saturday night. The rain was pouring down and the wind was howling. I could not sleep for fear that we would have a tornado touch down and have to make a mad dash to our basement. I think I managed to stay awake until about 3am and then I finally nodded off. We woke up and there was a little break in the rain about mid morning. Pat went outside to take a look around and before he knew it, the two little ones followed him onto to the deck in their pjs. He yelled for me to come with my camera as they were twirling around and trying to fight the wind and stay in the standing position.

Storm Chasers Giggling BLOG
They were having a great time and were no longer scared because it was daylight.
Just a few minutes after we were out there, the rain began again and the wind really picked up, so we came back in to find something else to do.

Sarah Coloring BLOG SIZED
We went through many arts and craft projects. The girls played in their princess tent with flashlights for a while too. By the time late afternoon rolled around we all started to hit the wall.

Teaching Collage
Thats when I decided it was time to pull out the IPad and let them have a little electronic fun. Pat spent some time playing "Angry Birds" with Sarah and then later on, Sarah began to teach Reagan how to play.

Angry Birds COLLAGE
As you can see, the IPad was a Life Saver!
I typically don't let the girls use my IPad so this was a real treat.

Not only did the little ones enjoy it, so did Pat and I.
After Reagan went to bed each night, the three of us had an Angry Birds(or Mad Chickens as Sarah calls it) competition by candlelight around the kitchen table. It really was fun and I am sure that we will one day reflect on Irene and remember all the things we did together as a family to get through.

I think we were pretty prepared for our little power hiatus, except we did make a few rookie mistakes.

The biggest one......

I was so worried about having food in the house, but I forgot to think about how to keep our food cold when the refrigerators and freezers stopped working.

We had one cooler filled with ice for the essentials(eggs, milk, juice etc)but we ended up losing the contents of our refrigerators and freezers. We had to toss everything with the exception of a few condiments and wine, cause if Mama is forced to "Camp", she needs something to help get her through.....even if it was warm wine, it was still better than nothing!

I know I should not complain about losing food, there are so many who lost much much more.

Hopefully those of you here on the East Coast weathered the storm without harm or damage.
We have family members that still do not have power and we also have friends that have suffered from the flooding and lost things that are irreplaceable. I feel so bad for them and for those that are still trying to dig out.

Be safe everyone and try to enjoy the last official week of summer.

I can hardly believe it is over.

School starts next week for Nick and the girls are about to experience their first week of what we are going to call "School" too. More on that to come.



35 comments:

Unknown said...

It looks like you weathered that storm so well. I can't believe you didn't have electricity for 3 days. SO crazy. We didn't lose it at all. I was super thankful. A big huge tree did fall down in my parents yard though. 37 feet! WOWZERS!

Alyson and Ford said...

Glad all is well at your household. Love that you took the opportunity to get such cute photos of the girls in the wind.
My Mom and Sister in Maine are still without power, so many trees down, took all the wires with them!

Alyzabeth's Mommy

Tina´s PicStory said...

I am glad all is ok after Irene for you :) Thanks for hosting!

Mimi said...

Lisa, so glad you're safe and well, pity about the food but in the scheme of things it's only a small thing.
How do you manage, even in a hurricane, to get the most gorgeous food and photos?
The one of Sarah holding reagan's finger over the keyboard is precious. And Reagan's laughing face on the deck; I see another big change in her, she grows in confidence each Wednesday.

Stefanie said...

Love these pictures! You did a great job to beautifully capture this time without power - and you made it look pretty wonderful :)
So glad your power is BACK!

redmaryjanes said...

Wonderful post. I am so glad that you all were ok. I hear that insurance will cover the loss of food in a situation like yours. We really need to get a generator. We are not prepared for a long term power loss.
Love the photos...smiles through the storm.

Shari said...

Love Sarah and Reagan playing the iPad together. Ours has gotten us through a few outages too, but none that long. My brother is still without power - yuck!

Cindy said...

So glad your family was safe. You were great at preparing for the power loss.

Cindy M said...

I was watching your status on facebook...so glad you're okay! I'm intrigued by the homemade tortilla chips. Have you posted that recipe before? Trying to remember...

Cindy M said...

p.s. After several years in the Army and four kids, I DON'T CAMP either. :)

frogglet said...

We are going to have to try that recipe, looks yummy. I think you did great with "camping" Glad it was not worse for you.

freckles & dimples said...

I stayed up late on saturday night, too...I can weather the wind & rain, but the thought of a tornado makes my anxiety go through the roof. glad your power is finally back!

Patricia said...

Glad you got your power back! We never lost any...Manhattan didn't do so badly afterall...good preparations helped.

And re: camp?! I'm with ya, my friend! MY idea of camping is black & white TV!!! lol!

Gail said...

All I can say Lisa, is...you are a trooper!!! Great attitude about it all and you managed to capture beautiful pics in the middle of it all. Love the wind pics of the girls and they were obviously having a blast playing 'Mad Chickens.' lol.

Hope your week is going well and things are settling down...

hugs,
Gail

Lesa said...

You are so lucky to have a gas stove. Our house is all electric with a well so when the power goes everything goes.

I love black beans so can't wait to try this recipe when the weather cools.

Just found your photo linky party! Beautiful photos-- thanks for hosting!

Marla said...

Hahaha, Derek just saw this and asked when I was making that soup, so I guess I know what we're having for dinner!!

Love the pics of the girls having so much fun. I'm sorry about all the food, I know that made you sick to have to toss it, but mostly I'm thankful that y'all are OK and that your house wasn't damaged.

Have a good Wednesday!

Amy H said...

Glad you're all safe! I love that second picture with the reflection of the placemat in the bowl. Very cool!

Unknown said...

I too stayed up praying against a tornado or tree falling on our home. Glad you were all safe!

GORGEOUS photos and we love black bean soup too! We make a mean black bean chili too!

It was nice to see Pat in a photo with the girls. Handsome daddy! :-)

Love you,
Jill

Gina Kleinworth said...

Oh my goodness- I am glad to hear you all are okay! I think I would go batty without power for that long. Loving that pic of the girls playing Angry Birds. I can almost hear that laughter- what a great shot!

likeschocolate said...

Glad you and your family are safe. The soup looks amazing!

Sandy said...

So glad to see that you are all safe and got through the storm so well. We were only without power for 6 hrs and we "hit the wall" long before the power came back on.
As always great pics!
Blessings!

Candace said...

I'm happy you and your family weathered the storm so well. While our neighbors in Vermont got hammered, we were blessed at our home in New Hampshire. Thanks so much for hosting! I've linked up with you this week.

Raymonde said...

Glad you are all safe. God Bless. xxx

Michelle R Photography said...

I'm so glad your power is back and you all stayed safe!! The pictures of the girls outside in the wind are hilarious! And Reagan's face playing Angry Birds - priceless!! You made some fun family memories during your blackout.

xoxo,
Michelle

Jodee Leader said...

So glad you survived camping for a couple of days and that no one was angry besides the birds! HA HA! My boys love that game too!

Hope you have a great week!

Frogmum said...

So glad you got through OK ~ I love the tones on your BW's this week and those pictures of the girls in the wind are so lovely and fun!

Number 6 and no more counting! said...

wow, Lisa, that is quite an ordeal. I am so glad you got through it ok. I was thinking of you.

lea
xo

Missy said...

Glad you guys weathered the storm!! I had some friends who had lots of flood damage. I know being without power can be such a pain, but it looks like y'all made the best of it. I love the pics of the girls playing Angry Birds! I.am.addicted!!! :) Happy Hump Day!

MiaLynn said...

I'm so glad to hear that you made it through Irene safely and a couple of extra family memories too. The girls are getting so big and look like the best of friends!

Wanda said...

Well, my friend - I think you fared pretty well on your first "camping" experience. I'm so glad things were not worse fo you. (I'm sick over what happened to Dita.)

I just photocopied your soup recipe. With Dan being a "veggie" I'm always on the lookout for yummy dishes we can all enjoy. Luckily the girls love lentils and beans. Good thing!!

Love these captures of the girls hooting it up in the wind.

Wishing you the best this week.
xoxo

Virginia said...

Glad to hear all is well AND that you have power back. Love, love, love the photos of Sarah and Reagan braving the winds out on the deck.

Gin =)

Dita said...

You never cease to amaze me....you didn't even miss BW Wednesday THIS week....no hurricane, no China trip no NOTHING can stop you!

Looks like you guys really did have a wonderful time this weekend when Mother Nature said...SLOW DOWN and enjoy one another.

Love the shots of the girls in the wind...Sarah with her loving smile and Reags well, Reags just lovin' life.

So glad you guys were safe and sound in Casa Long Road....wish I were there with you!

xoxoxoxo
Dita

Unknown said...

Oh, how fun Lisa! You guys really know how to spend your time during a power outage! I love the photos and the stories. Funny, but these are the memories we'll cherish!!

Formerly known as Frau said...

Recipes sounds delicious I'm saving that one for fall/winter. I'm glad Irene was gentle on you all....I'm not a camper either! Hope this kids have a great first week at school.

Faith, Hope, and Love said...

So sorry you lost so much food! Food is a tough thing to toss. Glad you had the wine to get you thru. :) The soup recipe looks yummy! I am definitely going to give it a try! Would love to know how you make your homemade tortilla chips. And as always...the pics of your girlies are darling!

Love and blessings to you!