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Filtering by Tag: chili

lentil chili with cumin, corn and green onions

Andrea

I'm a sleepy girl again tonight, and trying my best to be in bed at 11pm.  Thanks for all of your feedback on how much sleep you all get...it sounds like none of us are getting enough!  Its sad that the things that are good for us - sleeping, working out, cooking - are typically the first things to slack on when we get busy with life.  But that is why there are food blogs out there, to show us all that it IS possible to lead a busy, HEALTHY lifestyle.  I'm still working on mine...!  :)  I skipped out on my run this morning in favor of sleeping for an extra 45 minutes...these late nights are really screwing with my exercise plans! By the time I get home from work I'm too tired for anything other than yoga, so if I want to keep my running on track I've got to modify my schedule.  See?!? Busy = slacking on my good-for-me tasks.  Did I tell you all that I'm signed up for a 5K this weekend?!?  I don't think I did!  My hubb and I are running the Amnesty Valentine's Day 5K, in the neighboring town of Crozet.  I'm super-excited...this will be my first 5k!!!  I've run the Charlottesville Women's 4-miler twice, but never a 5K before. And, this race will be with my hubb, who has NEVER run a race before!  So fun.  Don't worry, I'll be telling you guys all about it on Saturday!  :)   On to some eats...I'm going to try keep it quick. I loved my breakfast this morning, it was so simple and hearty and delicious.  And it stuck with me for a full 4 hours.  Have I mentioned how much I love the Ezekiel sprouted wheat english muffins?  Because I do, I love them SO much and could easily eat one every single day.   Breakfast:  a toasted ezekiel muffin, 1/2 with TJ's crunchy PB and 1/2 with sour cherry preserves.  Also, 1 cup of red grapes. [440 cal] 090210-b1 Lunch:  leftover potato leek soup with kale, and a hearty oat biscuit. [437 cal] 090210-l2 090210-l1 Afternoon Snack: 6oz 0% Fage and one AMAZING Murcott Mandarin Orange...it was like eating an orange creamsicle dessert! [130 cal] 090210-l3 I planned to go for a run after work, so had my a pre-run snack at my usual 5pm time.  But, I wound up staying late at the office and got home too late for a run...I was just too beat.  And THAT is why I need to get to bed earlier...so that I can get my bootie out of bed for my morning run!  Its just so hard to stay motivated to work out at the end of the day, I'd much rather come home and get dinner going so we can start winding down. Afternoon Snack #2:  Clif chocolate chip ZBar...my fave.  I love these little guys! [130 cal] 090210-s1 Dinner tonight was quick, simple and DELICIOUS.  I found a recipe for Lentil Chili with Cumin and Green Onions in the February 2008 issue of Bon Appetit.  I planned to follow it exactly, but found that we were out of a couple of key ingredients, Chili Powder and Tomato Puree.  So instead I modified it slightly, substituting Ancho Chili Pepper, tomato sauce and tomato paste.  I also added frozen corn at the last minute and am so glad that I did. The corn cut the heat of the chili with a lovely, mild sweetness, really increasing the depth of flavors.   090210-d1 090210-d2 090210-d4 Lentil Chili with Cumin, Corn and Green Onions [adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2008] made 2 dinner servings and 1 small lunch serving 362 calories, 7.6g fat, 1.4g sat fat, 58g carbs, 18g fiber, 19g protein Ingredients:
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 3/4 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp ancho chili pepper
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 4 cups water, plus extra
  • 1 cup dried green lentils
  • 8oz tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3/4 cup frozen corn
  • 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
Method:
  1. Heat oil in large sauce pan on medium.  Add onion and saute' for 2 minutes.  Add garlic, saute' for 30 seconds.  Add ancho chili pepper, cumin, cayenne, and oregano, stir for 30 seconds.
  2. Add water, lentils, tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Bring mixture to a boil and drop heat to medium-low.  Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.  Add water as necessary by 1/4 cup at a time.  [I added about 1 cup total].
  3. Add frozen corn, and continue to simmer for an additional 10 minutes, until lentils are soft.
  4. Stir in scallions, reserving a few for garnish.  Season to taste with salt + pepper.
We also had sauteed kale, prepared using my favorite method. 090210-d5 Chop kale into large bite-size pieces.  Rinse well.  Saute' 2 garlic cloves in 2 tsp olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute.  Add drained kale, with water still clinging to leaves.  Stir, allowing the kale to wilt slightly.  Cover the saucepan and let kale steam for 2-3 minutes.  Remove lid and stir, tossing kale for about a minute.  Squeeze 1/4 of one lemon on kale, and sprinkle with sea salt.  SO GOOD. Dinner:  lentil chili, sauteed kale and a hearty oat biscuit. [630 cal - eek!  a little high tonight, especially since I didn't get my planned run in...] Alrighty, I'm off to bed, with 8 minutes to spare!  WooHoo!!!  I hope you all have a great night...get some sleep!!!  :)
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1 day to go...

Andrea

Its the day before Thanksgiving!!!!!  Are you all as excited as I am?!?!  With only one work day between me and some amazing smoked turkey, I think its time for a bit of reflection about what we have to be thankful for... Its a bit of a long story, but I promise to get to a point. Last night I had a great chat with my momma.  We’re going to be apart for Thanksgiving this year, which is hard for both of us, so we were chatting about plans, menus, family etc.  I was telling her about the blogging community and how impressed I am with all of you that are participating in the Thanksgiving Challenge.  My mom and stepdad are big foodies, so they completely understand big grocery bills and mine and Brian’s unwillingness to compromise on the kinds of food that we eat.  We don’t want to compromise, but we still feel guilty about how much money we spend.  This year, my parents decided to help somebody less fortunate than all of us to have a happy Thanksgiving. My grandfather is living in a nursing facility near my parents’ home.  My mom is so grateful to the nursing staff for everything they have done for him, and she and my stepdad decided that this year they wanted to do something to give back.  She talked to the director to find out if there was anybody working at the center that was having a hard time and could maybe use a bit of help this year.  The director called her back with the name of an 18 year old woman working in the kitchen at the center for $7.50/hour.  The woman’s mother recently had a stroke and was unable to work, and her father had recently lost his job in this economic downturn.  At 18 years old, making $7.50/hour, this young woman is the only provider for she, her mother and her father.  My mom went to Publix and got a gift certificate large enough to cover everything the young woman would need to provide Thanksgiving dinner to her family.  When the director presented the young woman with the gift, she burst into tears and said “Now we can have a Thanksgiving.  The only food we have in the house is peanut butter”. After hearing this story I was reminded again of how generous and thoughtful my mother is and how lucky I am to have her as an influence in my life.  It really got me thinking about how we can make small sacrifices in our own lives and make a huge difference in someone else’s.  For me, the ultimate show of thanks is to be able to help someone less fortunate than yourself.  Brian and I are scheming about ways to do just that in December, so stay tuned... On to training: During my lunch hour yesterday I went to the running shop to talk to my 10-miler training program coach.  He is amazing, and took about 45 minutes out of his very busy day to talk with me about the issues I am having with my left foot and right knee.  He examined my shoes, took the insoles out of the shoes and examined them, examined the calluses on my feet (ew!) and had me test out several pairs of new shoes.  Because my current shoes only have about 150 miles on them and are still in good shape, he decided to have me try some inserts in them to help determine whether or not I needed more or less support in my shoe.  He wanted me to go for a test run and come back to the shop on Friday to report in.  So, after work Brian and I drove over to UVA campus to go for a run.  I love running around campus, its so pretty and well-lit and active, and the terrain is perfect.  We did almost 2 miles, and it felt fantastic!!!  My foot did hurt a bit and I made a bunch of mental notes to talk to my coach about, but other than the foot everything was great.  It was one of those fabulous runs where everything seems to click and you feel smooth and strong and like you could keep going for miles.  I loved it.   On to food: Dinner:  Brian made veggie chili!!!  Oh how I love chili. 081125-d11 He used:
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 5 carrots
  • 5 celery stalks
  • 1 onion
  • 1 can cannellini beans
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes
And his special chili seasoning (we make it all at once, and use about 1/2 per pot of chili.  the rest is stored in an airtight container in our spice cabinet).
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
  • 1 tablespoon dried, minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
We served it over brown rice curly-cue pasta.  There are many things in life that make me happy, and curly-cue pasta is definitely one of them. 081125-d2 Dessert:  One beautiful medjool date.  Yum. 081125-d3 Breakfast Today:  Oikos vanilla yogurt with fresh raspberries.  This was my first time trying the vanilla, I like that its not too sweet.  Honey is still my fave though.  I also had a slice of pumpkin cranberry bread with almond butter. 081126-b1 Lunch Today:  Trying to make room in the fridge, although this didn’t help too much.  I made a salad with broccoli slaw, cucumber, orange bell pepper and the last of my roasted red pepper hummus, about 4 tbsp.  I’m also going to heat up some Amy’s Vegetable Soup...I was bummed I didn’t have any bean soups for some protein.  :( 081126-l1 081126-l2 Snack Today:  Another piece of pumpkin cranberry bread with almond butter.  I’m pleased to announce that this bread is still wonderfully moist and yummy 4 days later! 081126-s1 Turkey Day Peek!!! I braved Whole Foods yesterday on my lunch hour (or lunch 2.5 hours as it wound up being...) to pick up the fresh ingredients we need for our meal.  On the menu...Roasted Veggies!!!  I love roasted veggies, can't get enough of them.  This is always the dish that Brian and I offer to make at holidays because it ensures that there will be plenty of veggies on our plates.  This year we will have
  • beets
  • brussels sprouts
  • carrots
  • onions
  • asparagus
  • broccoli
  • parsnips
  • grape tomatoes
turkey-day-veggies I can't wait.  What are you all making for Thanksgiving this year? Happy Wednesday!
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