chickpea curry with cranberry almond quinoa

7 November 2012

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While I wait impatiently on Election Day, I decided to prepare my favorite Indian dish – a spicy, savory chickpea tomato based curry, and sweet delicious quinoa with cranberries and almonds. Looks pretty tasty, right? It’s not only delicious, but it’s super cheap, and super easy.

Here’s what you’ll need –

For the curry –

can of chickpeas

can of chopped tomatoes – I like the fire roasted ones with garlic

a yellow onion

garlic

fresh ginger

a little olive oil – to cook the onions, garlic and ginger

turmeric – a tsp

cumin – a tsp

coriander – a tsp

cayenne pepper – to taste (I made this batch a little too spicy)

garam masala – on top, after it’s cooked

veggie broth – two cups, maybe three depending on how long you cook

For the quinoa –

two cups veggie broth

one cup quinoa

handful of cranberries – I prefer to unsweetened ones, but they are sometimes difficult to find

1/4 cup slivered almonds

cinnamon stick

couple bay leaves

Directions–

Give yourself about 30-45 minutes to cook. First start on the curry. Chop up the onion, garlic and grate the ginger. Add all of it to a pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Cook it up til the onions soften. About 10 minutes.

 

Next, and this is the tricky part, open up the cans of tomatoes and chickpeas. Pour em in. Add the veggie broth. Then add the turmeric, coriander, cayenne pepper, and cumin. Stir it up. Ha – I told you, this is a super simple and inexpensive meal. Initially the spices cost a bit, but they last forever.

 

Cover and stir occasionally. After reaching a boil, turn down the heat, and let it simmer for about 35 minutes. In about 20 mins, start the quinoa. Add the veggie broth, quinoa, cranberries, almonds, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Reach a boil, then cover and simmer for about 15 minutes – until the broth is gone, and the quinoa has a white rind around the grain.

 

A couple notes – I didn’t have cranberries this time, so I substituted currants instead. Turned out ok, but wasn’t as sweet. In fact I added a little Raw Stevia to balance out the cayenne pepper I overdid. I think I’m trippin over the election. In addition, I totally forgot to add the veggie broth to the curry. Fail. It dried up super quick, and the chickpeas weren’t as soft as they should’ve been – it also didn’t take a lot of time for the curry to cook. Kinda gross. So I added a little broth and let it simmer a little more. Much better. I’ve seriously made this dish half a dozen times, and today I screw it up.

Hmmm anything else I forgot? Don’t think so. This dish is served nicely with naan, if you aren’t stressin’ about carbs. It’s also nicely paired with sliced pears in cinnamon and honey… again, a nice cooling taste to add while eating this spice-rich meal. And oh yah – it’s vegan, and pretty healthy in it’s fat-carb-protein ratio! Enjoy!

throw a Halloween party – on Nov. 1st.

6 November 2012

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While Hurricane Sandy did prevent my office from having our Halloween party on Tuesday, October 30th, we really can’t complain – our families and friends were safe, and our homes, unlike many in New York and New Jersey, were left in one piece.

That said – I wasn’t about to not have our Halloween party. Especially after buying decorations and makins for delightful food.

Here are a few pics for some party creation inspiration.

Make cupcakes. I prefer mini. They are cute. Little. Fun to decorate. Plus, large cupcakes go to waste and are messy to eat. This is also a decoration, so dress em up. People aren’t crazy about dessert at parties – they want something sustainable (pizza) to go with their beverage (whiskey). So make this fun, but don’t stress out!

Buy a mini cupcake tin. They also work for mini quiches, mini whoopi pies, cookies, and something bacon-wrapped – I’ll leave that to you to decide.

Next. Decorate. Mentioned in a previous post, I bought everything I needed from Amazon. com and Party City. Again – look for coupons online! You don’t need fancy noise making monsters or large cemetery displays to make your decorations rad. What I bought –

a couple bags of cob webs – make sure to spread em out!

black fall leaves

table netted cloths – black, blood-stained, and creepy

Something to hang – I chose paper lanterns and cheesy bats

This year, I found plastic wall decorations of zombies and creepy frames-these were fun and spooky

crepe paper. duh.

For food – I bought pizza and beer. Alright. I also bought a load of things to make for appetizers. Buy some apples, cheese, cured meat, and some veggies…make your own display tray. Cheaper than buying one, and this way you can decide what to include. Make sure to have veggie and vegan friendly options. Surprisingly, there are some options in the freezer aisle – spring rolls, falafel balls. Chips and guac. (a classic) Also – artichoke dip. Everyone loves it. And I know  you do, too.

**  Note – Yes. I would normally cook more items to share. But given this was a work party, after work, after the storm… time is everything. Choose your battles.

Another note – Make your spread pretty. Use bowls and plates to display everything. Bags of chips makes me think frat party. Ok for a Netflix Breaking Bad marathon. Not ok for a work event. Additionally, I always save the catering trays that places like Au Bon Pain use when catering. We work with them a lot for big meetings – wash em, reuse em. Win.

Lastly. I created a photo booth for folks to take pics in their costumes. Set the scene, and create a frame out of decorations that will be a nice backdrop. Check out what I’ve done here. Super cheap. Definitely worth it. For the photo booth – set up your laptop (I’m a MAC user), and use the photo booth app. You can change the settings to snap four pics in a row – hilarious.

That’s it! Have fun – don’t give yourself a lot of work. Set things up in advanced, and enjoy the party!

what I learned at Whole Foods…

4 November 2012

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…how to eat a pomegranate!

Silly to post about this? Perhaps. But if you’re like me, you end up eating only half the pomegranate. The other half is either juiced from being smushed by accident, has stained your clothes, was thrown away mistakenly with the rind, or thrown away purposely out of haste.

Anyway. Simply cut the fruit in half. Then in a bowl of water, peel out the fruit. The rind floats to the top, and the pieces of fruit don’t squirt everywhere. Peel all the fruit, throw about the floating pieces of rind, then pour out the water. Crazy easy, and you actually end up enjoying the fruit.

Enjoy!

mason jar bathroom organizing

30 October 2012

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I hate finding bobby pins everywhere. Or Q-tips at the bottom of your bathroom cabinets. If your bathroom is small like mine, you probably don’t have a lot of counter space to hold hair clips, tweezers, cotton balls, etc. I saw this project done on a couple other blogs, and decided to take it on… turned out pretty great. Below are step by step instructions – and photos! – for how to do this. One note: I spent exactly $25 on everything. Next time, I’m going to use recycled jars, which should reduce the cost like $8- $10.

Final product:

for the record, living alone means not caring about having tampons out in the open. boom.

What you’re going to need:

1. A drill – if you don’t have one, buy one. Mine cost $60 – it plugs into the wall, which means crappy batteries won’t be an issue. Trust me.. invest in one, and you will not only be pleased with your purchase, but damn will  you feel independent.

2. A piece of wood – pick out the size you want. I bought everything I needed at Ace Hardware, and they actually sell scrap wood for $1 a piece. Perfect.

3. Rubber fixtures – one for each mason jar. These are what attach the jars to the wood. They are found in the plumbing section.

4. Mason jars! Use an old spagetti or jam jar. I chose to use different sized jars, because I knew I wanted to hold long items (like mascara) and small short items (like bobby pins).

5. Automotive circular hose clamps – one for each mason jar. Found in the automotive or plumbing section

6. 8 screws – two for each mason jar. These will be used to screw the fixtures into the piece of wood

7. 2 big screws – to attach the piece of wood to your wall. Because I have cement walls, I needed cement screws. Check with an employee at Ace to help you figure out which screws are best.

8. Paint – I used what I had left from a previous project (see bathroom cabinet)

9. Flat head screw driver

10. A good eye, a piece of string, or a measuring tape – to make sure you drill the screw in at the right level.

Here’s how to do it –

First, paint the piece of wood. I wanted  just a lite, rubbed-on coat. I took a paper towel, and lightly painted the wood in the direction of the grain.

Drill two holes in the wood – on the outer sides. This will be where you screw the piece into the wall. If you want to get fancy, and make your piece extra sturdy, use a large bit to drill into the wood a little bit, then finish with a smaller bit, and go all the way – this will create a holder for the screw.

 

Next, organize each mason jar with a clamp and rubber fixture. Decide what order you want the jars to be placed on the piece of wood. At this time, use your screw driver to tighten the clamps around the jars. Remember: lefty loosey, righty tighty. 🙂

 

 

Stand them up, and put them in the order you want. Next, measure out the distance between each jar on the wood. You will use your drill to screw in the rubber fixtures.

 

 

Finish drilling in the fixtures. Helpful hint: It may be easier to do this with the mason jars OUT of the clamps. Simply loosen the clamps, and put the jars back in after you’ve attached the wood to your wall.

Attach the piece to your wall – mine is in the bathroom – and there you go! A pretty simple, and somewhat fast project that will create space in your bathroom, recycle jars (if you are smarter than me) and decorate your space in a unique and artistic way. Next, I’m going to make one for my kitchen to store utensils – mine are currently in jars as there is no drawer. Thanks!

squash and KEEN-WA boats!

28 October 2012

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My mother passed this along via WebMD and I was immediately excited to try it. Check out the recipe, and see the step by step instructions below. Very simple, super easy, delicious, and vegan! In an effort to buy sustainable, local food, this recipe is great to make in the fall – Squash and pears are available locally, and the summer season of fresh herbs is just ending…

perfect and festive for fall

What you’ll need –

1. 1-2  kabocha squash – if you can’t find kabocha, you can try acorn

2. Quinoa! about 1 cup

3. 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth (I cook quinoa in it, more flavorful)

4. honey

5. olive oil

6. 2 1/2 cups fresh spinach

7. 1/2 cup fresh basil

8. a pear

9. lemon juice from one lemon

10. a shallot

11. cardamom

12. salt and pepper

First, cute the squash in half, and then pull out the seeds. Make two parts honey, one part olive oil, and spread it around the open part of the squash. Lay them open-part down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 425 degs.

While the squash is baking, put two cups veg broth, and one cup quinoa in a frying pan. Cook on high til it boils, stir, and let simmer – with it covered – for about 10-15 mins. Don’t let it stick to the bottom or over cook. It will fluff when done.

veggie broth adds nice flavor when cooking quinoa

After the squash are cooked, turn em the other way, open side up, maybe add a little more honey, some pepper, and cook for another 15-20 minutes. They’ll be done when they look a little caramelized on top. 

While the squash continue to cook, cut up the spinach, pear, and basil. In a bowl, combine the quinoa, lemon juice, minced up shallots (uncooked), and cardamom – to taste. Let the quinoa cool down a bit before adding the greens.

Add the basil, spinach, and pear to the quinoa. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When the squash are done cooking, let them set for just a second – they will be soft, and could brake open a little if you handle too quickly. Lastly, put the quinoa mixture in the squash, and serve.

I think this would be paired quite nicely with a piece of salmon, or rosemary chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. Great meal if you were hosting a dinner party. Maybe pumpkin-something for dessert. For one person, or two, these alone are great, and very filling… Eat the extra quinoa mixture cold for lunch, or cook up another squash the next day.

Enjoy, and happy fall!

hurricane cleaning

28 October 2012

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While I consider myself a Type-A clean freak, I too have clutter. Messy piles. And – shudder – hidden messes. Good thing Hurricane Sandy has come, and forced me to stay inside and clean!

Living in a tiny studio, I’m very fortunate to have two – that’s right – TWO closets. The one I worked on today is the storage/coat closet. I hold coats, my way-too-many-Christmas-decorations, cleaning supplies, cat food and litter, and everything else that is ugly, but needed, when living in a house.

Here are the before and after photos. Let’s be honest, my goal wasn’t to make it pretty. And I spent NO money in this process. But here are a few helpful pointers to use when cleaning out your closet.

before

after

First off, dump out all the crap. Seriously, dump it out. And then sweep out the dust. Dust is gross. Spiders and bugs like dust. And spiders and bugs are gross. When you dump it all out, check out what you have.

1. Empty box of sparkling water from Costco – RECYCLE AND GET IT OUT.

2.The empty bag of paper towels – throw it away, and remember to buy more.

3. Tools and jars and bottles and cleaning supplies that are all over the place. Think about how to put them all together.

4. A brand new litter box that your crazy cat, Olive, never used.

4. Boxes and more boxes.

DUMP IT OUT!

it’s like showing strangers my dirty laundry

Now. Check out what you have. What I realized quick was that I wanted to build another shelf – that was reachable without a stool – to hold my cleaning and laundry supplies. I found the extra shelf I never used when building my Ikea cooking block, and rested it on top of the bar. Consolidated all of my supplies up there. No mess now on the ground.

Please. Here is a recommendation from someone who hates clutter and keeping crap for no reason. There IS a reason to keep the box from a Kitchen Aid. Or the box from your drill. Moving is a b*tch, and if you keep the boxes that hold things other boxes can’t, it will make moving a heck of a lot easier. Said boxes replaced the litter box, and are now on top.

I then cleaned and gave away the litter boxes. Consolidated all of my grocery bags and recycled bags into one, and hung it in the back corner. No one needs that many bags until you need that many bags. So put em all together, and keep the clutter out.

Think about the things you use each week. Maybe your drill. Tools. The broom. Make them available, so that you don’t have to rip everything apart to find them when you need them.

And yes! By organizing all your unwanted but necessary crap, you WILL realize you actually have not one but THREE umbrellas, and therefore need to no longer purchase them EVERY time it rains.

Cheers to that. And cheers to Hurricane Sandy. Well, not really, but you get my point.

happy halloween, y’all!

23 October 2012

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I love Halloween. Working as an office manager, I get the privilege of decorating our office… and you better believe I’m taking that opportunity. At some point I’ll blog about the space and how I’ve designed it. Until then, check out the start to decorating for our Halloween party next week. All items were purchased at either Amazon.com or Party City – all were on sale. Huge recommendation – before you EVER buy something online, Google coupons for that store. I searched for discounts for Party City and found a $30 off if you spend $100 – Plus free shipping. Discounts are out there, you just need to take a moment and look.

I love a great center piece. I  love bringing basic pieces together to create a nice, final display. Here I bought I basic black netted cloth, a couple paper lanterns, cob webs (most important), gourds,and a paper, sparkly candle piece. It’s a little cheesy – but it’s Halloween, and it’s fun. Add a few sparkly, black leaves… perfection. One tip on cob webs. A little goes a long way. The best cob webs are the spread out ones… fine strands, super creepy.

Normally, I prefer making crafts, getting creative… but let’s be honest, some years there is just no time. Instead, get creative with the cheaper Halloween decorations – no need for the $150 Vampire – and see what you can do.

I’ll soon be building a photo booth stage, layout the makings of a good pumpkin carving station, a couple recipes for amazing cider, and everything else that makes a Halloween party amazing.

succulents make a home go boom

19 October 2012

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I love succulents. They are green. They are cute. They are tiny. Most importantly, they are hard to kill. Scratch that. I’ve killed a couple. But if you plant them correctly, they can last decades.

There are several places you can buy succulents. Ace Hardware has great ones. You can buy them at the nearby plant store. In DC, there is a plant shop on 14th and R st (ish) that sells lovely succulents in great planters. Or, you can buy them in bulk online, where they ship the rooted plants to you in brown paper bags.

I’ve done all of these options. And pretty much, they all work.

If you are going to plant your own succulents, you’ll need little planters with holes at the bottom. Make sure you have a plate to hold the excess water underneath. Here’s why. Succulents are cacti – but cacti aren’t succulents. While succulents require a tad more water, they’re still desert plants. They don’t need a lot. They live in dry climates, and need to be able to release the water around them. Also, the desert is full of rocks. So it’s important that you also have rocks in your planters. You can also buy nutrient-rich cactus soil. By the way, succulents are cheap! The fancy planters and expensive plant shops are what make them costly. You can buy small plastic planters at Ace Hardware for $4. A bag of soil for $9. If you can’t find rocks – perhaps you live in the city – you can buy them in the decorating section at places like Target.

In terms of watering – you can water just a little bit every two weeks. Or month. It depends on how much sun they get. It depends on the heat. Use your judgement. If you question yourself, know that in this case, less is more.

Check out some of the succulents I’ve planted.. hope it inspires you to add green to your life.

a quick bathroom update

16 October 2012

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In the old row house, I lived on the bottom floor and shared the house bathroom with guests and my other roommates. The bathroom was smaller than my kitchen now – so just about enough room for one person to stand. The shower alone was literally 2X2 feet. Teeny! Anyway, I wanted to clean it up, add a little color, and make it feel cleaner… all on my budget, of course.

I decided – while I was at Home Depot buying paint for the front door – to also paint the medicine cabinet. I picked a grey blue. Similar to the door, I bought sandpaper. And to add a final touch, I went to the sale section at Anthropologie, and bought a knob for $3. Total price: $25. I couldn’t buy anything smaller than a quart size of paint, so I do have some leftover… maybe for a future project.

You’ll need to sandpaper down the medicine cabinet, take off the knob, and if possible, put masking tape where the cabinet meets the wall… this will prevent getting paint on the wall. Let the wall dry BEFORE adding the knob, or putting stuff in the cabinet. Again, patience is a virtue.

Check it out. Also – I added a couple more items to the wall in my new place, I’m liking it.

I need to get better at taking “before” pics.

i want fancy towels

14 October 2012

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I want Anthropologie towels. But I’m on a Target-towel budget. I think most people should. Anthro towels are fabulous. Lush, big, pretty colors. But damn. They are expensive. $48 a towel. $8 for a washcloth. Sometimes more. I would rather buy sweaters and boots and towels and Whole Foods groceries than spend over $100 for a set of towels.

But I love that look. Please check it out to understand the inspiration I’m working with.

Anyway, you can buy nice towels, a couple nicer towels, and a couple basic towels. Mix n match and  you’ll have a lovely set. Plus, until you stop using the face wash that bleaches towels (ahem, no comment), it’s probably not worth spending too much.

See what I’ve purchased. A set of basic white, Taget Home towels, a set of yellow and white floral towels from Target – they were $12 each, and then I bought a washcloth from Anthropologie for, yup the actual price, $8. For everything – four towels, two hand towels, a fancy washcloth, and a few basic white washcloths, I spent under $60. That would be the same price for just two towels at Anthropologie.. I will say I like the outcome.

Tell me what you think!