Curry

One of my weaknesses is Indian food. I love it. What I love most now about Indian is so much of it is or can very easily be made vegan. Last weekend I went to visit some lovely ladies, so as a big thank you to my roommates for keeping an eye on my Whitney, I made dinner. I wanted to replicate the amazing pumpkin curry I ate in San Francisco, but I couldn't find any pumpkin, so I worked with what I had.

It was great. I super super loved it. I ended up making so much that I froze some, and it thawed nicely. The coolest part to me is that I just winged it as I went. It was really nice over some rice but just as good without. I don't have a picture but trust me, it was beautiful (but I'm biased) =P

In other news, I moved to Owings Mills and I started school at UMBC on Thursday! So exciting! I feel so happy where I am in life and I hope 2011 continues being awesome. Hopefully 2012 will bring a new career as a teacher and not the end of the world in December (although looking at my school debt that might be good for my financial state).

Butternut Squash Curry

1 onion chopped

3 or 4 garlic cloves chopped

2 parsnips cleaned and chopped into bite sized pieces

2 smallish red potatoes chopped

1lb chopped butternut squash (I found it in a container already cleaned and cut up)

1/2 package extra firm tofu pressed until the liquid is mostly gone and chopped

1 can coconut milk plus 1 can almond milk (more if you like your curry a little on the runny side)

2tbs red curry

1 tbs curry powder (if you have it)

1tbs cumin

red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in a dutch oven over med heat for a few min. Add the rest of your vegetables and tofu, milks and seasonings (mix curry paste with some of the milk then pour into your pot). Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer away until the vegetables are soft, roughly 30-40 min. Serve with rice or naan.

Because you are adding potato, you might need to up your salt and spice, so really make it to taste. I know when I finished, I added hot sauce.

Quinoa Chili-esque

I. Love. Quinoa. Love it. The worst part about the whole thing is rinsing it, but other than that, it's wonderful. While on my trip I had two roasted sweet peppers stuffed with red quinoa, cranberry nuts and roasted garlic with a pepper puree on top. It was amazing. I will most definitely work on replicating that recipe once I get some red quinoa.

Yesterday was pretty lazy, so I decided to make a big pot of something so that lunches and dinners would be prepared for the next couple of days. Lo and behold, I had a large bag of quinoa that I purchased a few days before my trip. I started looking at some different quinoa recipes but found that I was missing two many ingredients from one or another, so I went with me own.

I have given birth to a super awesome quinoa chili-esque dish. It was fantastic. It's supposed to last me a few meals, but it'll be gone in like two days. The best part is it's pretty versatile. Really whatever vegetables you have on hand can be thrown in.

Quinoa Chili

2 cups uncooked quinoa

3 cups of water

1 small onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 bag frozen vegetables (mine had red peppers, broccoli and mushrooms in them)

2 cans black beans

1 can kidney beans

2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 of them drained (mine were fire roasted with oregano and garlic)

2 handfuls of spinach

1tbs chili powder

bay leaf (if you have it)

dried oregano to taste

salt, pepper to taste

First soak your quinoa in water for 10 min. Then rinse it 2 or 3 times, carefully removing any small stones that might be left behind. Cook the quinoa, covered, in the 3 cups of water until the water is mostly evaporated, roughly 20min.

In a dutch oven, saute your onion, garlic and vegetables on med low heat for 10 min. Then add your tomatoes, bay leaf and beans, reduce heat to low. By this time your quinoa should be done, so add this to your pot, add the seasonings and cover and cook for 30 min, stirring occasionally. When it has thickened up to your desire, turn the heat off, add the spinach, check for any needed spices and serve. Some vegan sour cream would be nice with this!

Back to norms

So I'm back...unfortunately. I cannot express how much I loved being there. When I got off the plane, someone shoved me to move faster and all I could think was how he should slow down, but it's all cool. DC is just too wound up and tense, it was nice to be in an area that was laid back. I'm hoping the new attitude stays for a while because it's refreshing. Really can't wait to go back though.

The last night I was there, I may or may not have sang and danced to "It's Tricky" with the beautiful Lucky.

I am badly in need of a real camera or a phone that takes pictures that aren't so grainy.

Anyways, I'm off work for a couple of days, which has been awesome to catch up on sleep. I've also been applying to jobs which I hope isn't too painful. I'm asking my former boss if I can come back as a student for a bit, and if they let me, I can.....

move out this weekend!

(it's okay mom, you can clap)

But more on that later =)

Expect a recipe post later today because I found this at the grocery store last night:

I had an organic, prepackaged curry dinner with these in them and I honestly couldn't tell they were not real noodles. And that whole package has only 40 calories. I'm thinking of doing a pasta with tomatoes, olives, cucumbers and mushrooms, so when I get it together on this lazy, snowy Tuesday, then I'll post my results!

Last Day

My team was pretty amazing.

Drinking at SF City Hall

This picture does not do the place justice. Plus I got to see the mayor and he's pretty much Hotty McHotpants.

Ah the green fairy

Day 2

Badges badges badges

Hopefully a drink is in my near future.

I miss my Whitney already

Welcome to 2011! I rang in the new year with my most favorite person and one of my favorite sisters.

Cass likes me more, I can see it

We dined in luxery with a burrito bowl from Chipotle (super yum) and had an L Word season 3 marathon. They were both with me because I had to leave my house at 3 am to catch a plane for…

San Francisco!

My job’s Annual Meeting is taking place at the Hilton in downtown San Fran this year, and I was not only fortunate to go, but because we are short staffed, I get to work this meeting from the 1-9^th. The upside of being here this long is the first couple of days we’ll be done by 5 or 6 and we don’t start until 9am plus mad overtime,. The downside is the days get longer and more exhausting, so I should only expect to see parts of the city early on in my trip.

I am terrified of flying, so I was given something to help dull the anxiety and boy did it work. I didn’t sleep much but I didn’t care about turbulence or anything. I did get to watch “Social Network” and “Big Bang Theory” though.

First observation of the city is I love it. Gays and Asians everywhere! When I first landed, I got some juice from Starbucks, and the sweetest guy with a soft voice whipped the counter before taking my money and said with a wink “I hate working with it all sticky.” The city is gorgeous. I love the layout and the different color houses and the overall feel. The people in the hotel are another story. I’m assuming it’s because it is 11am New Years Day morning, but most have been snappy, short and overall rude. I’m very excited though about doing actual local stuff with a coworker who is from this area.

Second observation? Everyone is wearing Toms, cool boots or chucks. I’m wearing my chucks now but I forgot my Toms! Very bummed about this but I was limited on shoes and had to pick more work appropriate attire versus casual shoes. There goes me blending in, ha. I’d wear super cute boots but my calves are too big to fit into boots I like. The more I workout, the bigger they get. Also, everyone has a dog. This lobby is full of dogs. Makes my miss my Whitney that much more. I haven’t been away from her for this long since I went to Montana.

Speaking of Montana, we flew over mountains that were beautiful and snow covered. As much as I’m enjoying so far being on this coast, the mountains still hold my heart.

Anyways, here I am, watching Inception and waiting for my room to be ready. I didn’t think of the 3 hr time change, so I essentially wore my junkiest outfit on the plane, so unless I want to walk around the city unshowered and looking like a girl that came from a small town screaming “HEY COME ROB ME AS I CARRY ALL MY MONEY AND MY LAPTOP WITH ME,” I’m going to stay put in the lobby until I can change and lock things up. For now though I have this cozy breakfast and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to keep me company.

Newest obsession-bold roast with a little steamed soy milk. One of these days I'll drink it black.

Happy New Year!