Not Quite Bill Gates

I got a new cell phone yesterday. I intended to post this blog last night, but instead I spent about 4 hours playing with my new smart phone. I researched this for months, and ended up staying with Verizon Wireless and going with the Android ERIS. It's SO COOL. I thought my BlackBerry Pearl did a lot, but it ain't got nothin' on this ERIS!

My favorite feature, thus far, is that you can use voice recognition for search. So I can select Google search, then just say (for example) "eat your kale" and it finds my blog. (Also exciting to see my blog in search results...although, can't imagine many people are searching for "eat your kale"!)

But before I opened the packaging on this exciting phone last night, I first made a delicious dinner. I found this recipe in my latest issue of "Vegetarian Times" (my fave magazine ever). I was really excited to make my own, homemade hummus - and in this recipe, it creates a hearty filling so that you might not even miss the cheese! (I think it would be esp tasty topped with some guacamole!)

Pita Quesadillas with Cilantro Hummus

Hummus

• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 15 oz can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Quesadillas

• 4 whole wheat pitas, split crosswise
• 4 jarred roasted red peppers, drained and sliced into strips
• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Make hummus: In a food processor, combine cilantro and garlic and blend until chopped. Add chickpeas, lime juice, olive oil and 1/4 cup water. Puree 3 mins, or until smooth.

Make quesadillas: Place 4 pita halves on baking sheet. Spread about 1/2 cup hummus on each. Top with red peppers, spinach and remaining pita halves.
Bake 10 minutes or until crisp. Cut into triangles and serve.

Migraines: God's Way of Reminding us He's in Charge

Oy vey! After 13 years of being migraine-free, joke's on me - they're baaa-aaaaack. I had a really rough week last week, dealing with a severe migraine. It hit me on my way home from CrossFit on Tuesday night. It started, as they typically did back in the 90's when I used to get them so often, with tunnel vision. Then before the headache even set in, I had a really weird symptom. My cognitive thinking went haywire. I couldn't comprehend/read simple things. It was scary - I called my mom to tell her I thought I was having a stroke (can you be aware of a stroke?). And some of the things she was saying were not clicking in my brain, only making me panic more.

I went to the doctor the next day, who immediately sent me to the hospital for a CT scan (in turn, scaring me to death). That came back clear, but she still referred me to a neurologist, who I saw on Friday. He basically said it was part of the migraine, although he was surprised that my comprehension was impacted so much. He gave me a painkiller prescrip for next time one starts to hit, but let's just all pray that I NEVER get another one. Ever. Never.

Anyhow, cooking was kept to a minimum last week, but I do want to share a fun secret that I learned recently. Well, "fun" and "secret" are relative terms, but do with it what you will.

Did you know that you can save the bottom of the green onion and drop it in water and it will regrow?! I've been so happy to learn this, because - let's be honest - every penny counts these days. So I haven't bought green onions (a standard in my daily lunch salads) for weeks!


PS Just beware of any cats in the house. I've come home to green onions and water all over my floor on more than one occasion.

Spicin' Things Up

I have had a hectic week. It's all I can do to get home from CrossFit, throw together some dinner and stumble to bed. But a coworker had passed along a chili recipe last week that I really wanted to try. So tonight I decided to make time for it. Even though a 9:00 dinner is not ideal, it was worth the wait for this delicious chili! I had never used the chili peppers in adobo sauce, but they use them on Food Network all the time, so I felt like a pro. :) My coworker said he put the entire can -sauce and all - in a food processor and used that in this recipe. I sort of wiped the sauce off the peppers and chopped just those up, since I can't handle too much spice. I'm a Minnesotan -- ketchup is spicy to me. :)
**Edit to the above - my coworker used 2 cans(!) of chilis in adobo sauce! He thinks the sauce doesn't really add much spice, but rather more sweet...so it was dumb of me to try and keep that out. :)

Even if you're not vegan, I would encourage you to try this recipe. It's easy - beyond chopping a couple things up, it's just opening some cans and dumping it. It's also very hearty and filling. You don't miss the animal cruelty - er, I mean meat.

Note: My favorite thing about this picture is the personalized SpaghettiOs Spoon! My mom ordered those for my brother and I off of the SpaghettiOs can when we were little. I still love it.

Spicy Vegan Chili

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 red bell pepper, minced
• 1 onion, minced
• 5 tsp minced garlic
• 2 cans black beans, drained
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (use half the can for less spice)
• 2 bottles dark beer (I used Yuengling Black & Tan)
• 1/2 - 1 tsp each: cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper (season to taste - these are adjustable)

Heat olive oil in large pot or dutch oven (4qt or larger) over medium heat, add pepper, onion and garlic and saute until soft (~5 mins). Add in everything else and bring to a simmer (over med heat). Continue to simmer and stir frequently for 45-60 minutes, until liquid reduces and it reaches a good "chili like" consistency. Top with vegan sour cream, cheese, guacamole or whatever you prefer. I like to serve - the old fashioned way - with saltines. :)

No, Not the Lettuce Wraps

I am obsessed with take-out. I don't know if it's because, growing up, take-out was only for special occasions (Mom was an amazing cook!), so I'm making up for my childhood OR if it's just because I'm a food addict (which I think I am...I watch more Food Network than any 28-year old should). But lately, I'm constantly tempted. I always want to stop and pick up something fun, even when I have a fridge full of food and don't need to spend the moolah.

Well, today I'm at the bottom of the barrel with my produce, because Sundays are my grocery shopping days, so wanted to make something take-outy with the frozen veggies I had on hand. Tough order, right? But I think I succeeded! I made my favorite dish at PF Chang's: Coconut Curry Vegetables. Yes, I'm the only person on Earth whose fave PF Chang's dish IS NOT the lettuce wraps. I love anything with coconut milk in it...I could practically drink the stuff! But this dish is sweet, hearty and has a great texture. Enjoy!

Coconut Curry Vegetables

• One block of firm tofu, drained and sliced into ~1" rectangles
• One bag of frozen veggies (or, if preferred, chop up some fresh veggies)
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
  

Sauce

• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 4 tsp soy sauce (I like low sodium)
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tsp rice vinegar
• 4 tsp cornstarch, dissolved first in 3 tsp cold water

Combine sauce ingredients in small bowl, using whisk, and set aside.

Heat the canola oil over med-high heat in wok or large pan. Add tofu and cook, turning until golden. Add veggies and heat thoroughly. Re-stir sauce and pour over veggie and tofu. Stir and continue to heat for about 5 more minutes.
Serve over brown rice. (Serves 4)

Another One Bites The Dust

I've decided that any days I take off from CrossFit, I will instead go for a run. I don't want to lose my momentum with an entire day of laziness. So this weekend, I opted to run Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'm easing back into running, so just did 3 miles on Fri and Sat. I felt really good (thanks, I believe, to CrossFit strengthening every single muscle in my body), so decided to do 5 miles today.

Everything started out lovely: it was 56-degrees, sunny and I had found a new route that was proving to make for a lovely - yet challenging - run. Then when I was about half way through, I was running on the sidewalk and looked over my shoulder to see if there were cars coming, so I could cross over to the other side of the street. OF COURSE I did this just as I was approaching a raised lip in the sidewalk and bit it like you would not believe. I hit the ground HARD, taking most of the force on my left shoulder, left hand and right knee - sort of like Twister on the sidewalk. I did a sort of tuck-and-roll military move and was back on my feet in under .4 seconds, but it didn't matter. There were witnesses. I had a minivan pull over to see if I was OK and to point out that it was "quite a tumble" I took. Yeah. I know. Thanks.

I continued on, acting fine until the minivan was out of sight, when I looked down to see flesh and blood hanging off of my left hand and dirt all over my clothes. I think I sprained three fingers, but beyond that and some scrapes and bruises, I'm fine. Really, it's my pride that's in the worst shape. None the less - I made great time on my 5 miles and will pay better attention to where I place my feet from now on! :)

Because of a solid run, I thought I deserved some carbs. I bought sweet potatoes recently, after reading about how they are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium and iron. They are also antioxidant-rich and a natural anti-inflammatory (which may help with my swollen fingers!). Anyhow, I'm not a fan of just baked or steamed sweet potatoes. They are sort of squash-like (and I like squash, but not my fave). So I decided to make some homemade sweet potato fries - which I LOVE to order when they're on the menu. Easy and healthy (because they're baked), I'll def make these again soon!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato (= about 1 serving)
~1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Use a peeler to remove the skin of the sweet potato (no need to wash, since you're taking the skin off...plus the water would add too much moisture). Slice into thick spears. Toss in bowl with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper (don't go overboard - you can always add more later!). Spread onto baking sheet or stone and bake about 20 minutes, turning them over once. Remove and serve immediately!