The Delightfully Healthy Blog

Springsteen Rocks!

Awesome.  That is what I have to say about the Bruce Springsteen concert I saw this weekend.  Utterly and completely awesome in all senses of the word.

The man is 59 years old.  He played for 2 1/2, maybe 3 hours.  And by played, I mean gave every last drop of himself to everything he did onstage.  Non-stop.  He's in far better shape than I am.

More importantly, he is the embodiment of doing what you love and loving what you do.  And sharing that love in the most generous way.  In the midst of his concert, he stopped to announce that he (and we) was there to build a house.  That we were going to take all the anxiety and fear in the world, and build a house of peace and joy.  We would take all the hate and build a house of love.  That by rocking the house down, we could transform our world.  That by pouring out the madness, we could create sanity.  And that by having a incredibly good time, we would win no matter what.

I've always liked The Boss and the incredibly talented people he's spent his life playing with, but now I think I love them.  A lot.

Wha?

Apparently, the world has turned upside-down, and winter is now on its way back to the Northern Hemisphere.  It is currently in the low 60's.  Scarf and glove bitter, unless you move very quickly.  I mean, I love Fall, don't get me wrong.  But it's nice if there's been a Summer first...

ETA:  The New York Times says it's currenlty 55 degrees outside.  It's the middle of the afternoon.  Sigh.

Morrocan Chickpea Stew: the Savory Version

Last night was chilly enough still to be soup weather, so I decided to try Rose-Anne's Morrocan Chickpea Stew again, only with tomatoes and spinach instead of carrots and raisins.  It turned out very well, if I do say so myself.  My husband was pleased, too.  Here's what I did.

 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 small knob of butter (I cannot tell a lie.  But the onions carmelized beautifully, and the broth was just slightly richer.)
1/2 a medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. ground tumeric
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 14.5-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tomato, chopped
2 cups Imagine vegetable broth
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Handful of fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
A couple spoonsful of yogurt, strained through a coffee filter (ingenious...until the filter breaks.  I guess the basket kind work better than the cones, huh.)

Directions:

1.  Warm oil in a dutch oven or soup pot, add onions and stir to coat.  Cook until translucent and beginning to brown, stirring occassionally (approximately 7 minutes). 

2.  Add butter and a couple shakes of sea salt and continue until onions have carmelized (perhaps another 2 to 3 minutes).  They will be brown, but not burnt. 

3.   Add garlic, cook for 30 seconds or so, then add spices and stir in to toast for another 30 seconds or so. 

4.  Add broth, chickpeas, pepper and more salt, and tomato and simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered. 

5.   Add spinach and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. 

6.  Pour over brown rice in serving bowls, add yogurt and cilantro. 

7.  Eat up! 

8.  Put any leftovers in container to take to work for lunch tomorrow.

Cooking Again!

It's amazing what a clean kitchen can inspire.

My husband is on morning dog-walking duty this week, so it falls to me to make the oatmeal.  But since we've managed to keep the kitchen clean lately (as in dishes all washed EVERY NIGHT - I know, I know, but it's true), I've been packing lunches, too.  Last night I baked muffins and made hummus for today.  But on Sunday I got to experiment with a new recipe, thanks to Rosiecat at Life, Love, and Food.  I tried out her Morrocan Chickpea Stew (scroll to the bottom of her post for the recipe) and I gotta say, YUM.  And easy, too.  A winning combination, in my book.

I made the recipe as written, since it was my first time, but I have some thoughts on how to make it more to my husband's liking.  He doesn't like cooked carrots or cooked raisins, both of which are heavily featured.  I'm thinking, some tomatoes and spinach in the rich and fragrant broth, keeping the onions and perhaps carmelizing them a bit.  I'll be playing around with it again soon, I think.  It was that good.  I poured it over a brown rice-based, multigrain mix, but I think plain old brown basmati would be swell.

The stew was super-spicy just after cooking, thanks to the cayenne.  But, surprisingly, it mellowed nicely in the fridge overnight.  By lunchtime yesterday it was nearly perfect.

Next up, some chickpea blondies ... as soon as I can get my hands on some flax meal.  Man, I love the internet!

My New Favorite Vinaigrette

It always stuns me.  The two rules I've learned over the last several years have so many applications.  1.  Keep it simple.  2.  Small changes can have enormous effects.   (The third one, slow down, I'm still having trouble with.  I'm working on it.)  Most recently, I applied them in the kitchen.

I got tired of balsamic vinegar (shocking, I know), so the other night I reached for red wine vinegar instead.  A magical thing happened.  Here's what I did:

Mustardy Red Wine Vinaigrette*

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (maybe a 1/4 cup or so)
Half as much Red Wine Vinegar (of decent quality) as oil
1 small clove garlic
Freshly ground Black Pepper (about 6 or 7 grinds)
A pinch of Sea Salt
A dollop of honey (optional, depending on your greens)

Place all ingredients in a small bowl, a mug, a small jar or whatever you like to use to make dressing.  Whisk.  This makes enough for a large salad for two, and keeps well in the refrigerator.

I made it without the honey twice.  In the first salad I used mesculan greens and grape tomatoes, and the result was delicious.  In the second salad I used arugula and no tomatoes (I only had carrots and mushrooms on hand), and the bitterness of the greens overpowered the dressing.  The third time is the charm, so, since I had more arugula I used the honey.  Result:  magic.  As in YUM!

* Note:  I didn't precisely measure anything (I usually don't when making dressing), so all amounts are approximate, but that's what makes it fun!

Train Diaries: It's the Little Things

It's been raining for three days now.  Today was the fussy, fuzzy, steady kind of umbrella-defying drizzle.  Yesterday it just poured.  Sunday...well...more pouring, really.  So today I went and got my nails done.  I left the office, made my way through the hustle-bustle of Midtown, and landed in the oasis of the nail spa.  They aren't parlours anymore.  No, now they're all spas.  Just say the word out loud.  Say it on a breathy exhale.  Spaaaaaaaaaaah. 

Incidentally, the word parlour isn't particularly stress-inducing either, to my mind. To me it brings up images of  ladies in bustles, surrounded by ferns and mahogany, pouring tea.  It sounds nice, actually.  Exclusive even.  Or at least intimate.  Join me in my parlour.  We'll talk, we'll embroider something, we'll while away the hours.  You'll come away with buffed nails and a sense of calm and closeness.

So both spa and parlour speak to me of slowing down, communing, single-tasking, if you will.  I think I'll post those words somewhere where I can see them and take a mini-vacation in my head to a place where friends gather, where pampering happens, where I can just go aaaaaaah.  What a lovely antidote to all the rain.