Log Jamming & Water Sucking With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Thinking About The Paradise Center Scandal & Jalapeno Cilantro Soup

In the picture you are looking at the litter log jam that Village Creek has pushed up against the southernmost bridge/dam in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Methinks it might be a good idea to un-jam this log litter jam before the next flash flood flashes.

I would not want to be the person or persons un-jamming this litter log jam. A week or so ago I saw one of the biggest snakes I've ever seen snaking around on that litter log jam.

Before I forget, I must mention I got an interesting blog comment to the Paradise Center Scandal blog this morning from someone named Jocelyn Kay. The comment was on a blog post from well over a year ago, titled Anonymous Research Into the MHMR-TC Relationship With BRAVO Health. This comment from Ms. Kay seemed blog worthy, so I turned it into a new Paradise Center Scandal post titled An Update on the Health of Bravo Health.

Now, let's leave the Paradise Center Scandal and go back to the Indian Ghosts who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Today I hiked to the end of a sort of peninsula that has Village Creek on one side, with the other side being a  waterway the name of which I do not know, but I do know it eventually becomes an Interlochen canal.

Today when I got to the dam that holds back the water in the creek without a name, and turns it into an Interlochen canal, I saw a strange thing on the far side of the dam. It appeared water was being sucked out of the canal, with a frenzy of activity surrounding the water sucking. The water sucker is that orange tube you see below. The orange to was attached to the boxy device on wheels you see on the right. I heard a motor noise which I assumed was a pump pumping. But where was the water going that was being pumped?

I really could not figure out what was going on above. I saw no water tubes except for the one that led from the water to what I assume was a pump. There is no gas drilling operation in this zone that would explain the apparent water suckage.

Very perplexing.

Now let's chain subject to something else. Like lunch.

I mentioned yesterday that I was making Jalapeno Cilantro Soup. The construction process took place yester evening. That went well with no jalapeno problems.

The Jalapeno Cilantro Soup was lunch today. This may be the tastiest soup I've ever made.

I altered the Reata Restaurant's version a bit. No way was I going to make soup with 8 cups of heavy cream. I used 3 cups of sour cream and 5 cups of skim milk instead. That was the only change I made except for using a few more Roma tomatoes than the Reata recipe called for and about twice as much garlic.

Below is the Reata's Jalapeno Cilantro Soup recipe in its un-altered state....

1⁄2 tbsp. unsalted butter
5 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
3⁄4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, peeled and diced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
8 cups heavy cream (use the highest fat content available)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped

In a large stockpot, heat the butter over medium heat.  Saute the jalapenos, onions, and garlic for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the peppers turn soft.

Remove from the heat and add the avocado, tomatoes and cream. Lower the heat, then return the pot to heat, stirring constantly so the cream doesn't separate. Slowly bring the soup back to a simmer, cooking until liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir often to prevent scorching or sticking.

Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, add the cilantro, reserving about 1 t. per serving for garnish. Sprinkle with the reserved chopped cilantro and tortilla chips.

A Slightly Smoggy Tandy Hills Hike With Jalapeno Cilantro Soup

In the picture we are looking west at the Tandy Wagon Train Trail, heading towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, a couple miles in the distance.

As you can see there is a slight smoggy haze above the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

This morning when I checked the air quality, something I have been doing for a couple months now, ever since I had myself a really bad bout of allergy woes, the Ozone Level was Good. That was before the sun arrived this morning. Now, at a few minutes past two in the afternoon, the Ozone Level is no longer Good.

The Ozone Level is now Moderate. I guess that explains the smog that hovers above the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

I have also been monitoring the Pollen Index. Until this morning, since I have been monitoring it, the Pollen Index has been either Extreme, Very High or High. But, this morning the Pollen Index was Moderate for the first time. And now, at the current point in time, the Pollen Index has changed to Low.

I do not know if Low is better or worse than Moderate.

What I do know is currently it is warm in the outer world at my location. As in 84 degrees. Today was a shirtless hiking day on the Tandy Hills, with a return to the summer-like steambath sauna effect that I find so salubrious when I am getting my endorphin induction via aerobic stimulation.

Due to yesterday also getting warmed into the 80s and it being above 50 when the sun came up, this morning I had myself a long and pleasantly refreshing swim for the first time in a couple days, with the pool not being so cool as to cause a quick exit.

Changing the subject from the Tandy Hills and the quality of the air that I breathe to something else.

This morning I was looking through a book I recently acquired, that being Texas from Moon Handbooks. In the section about Big Bend Country I came upon the section about the town of Alpine where the Reata Restaurant was mentioned with the suggestion that one start off ones cowboy gourmet experience with the Jalapeno Cilantro Soup.

Jalapeno Cilantro Soup sounded good to me, so I Googled "Reata Jalapeno Cilantro Soup" and found the recipe from the Reata on a lot of websites.

I already have all of the ingredients, except for the jalapenos. The recipe calls for finely chopping 5 jalapenos.

The fumes from jalapenos can chase me from the kitchen when first gutted.

After the chopping process I have to be real careful to thoroughly wash the capsaicin from my hands. I have had a painful incident, or two, where I touch a delicate area without sufficient capsaicin removal, resulting in an extreme burning sensation.

I'll keep you posted as to how the Jalapeno Cilantro Soup project goes.