There’s nothing like coming home to a warm cooked meal at the end of a long work-day. Here at the LB place, however, being the chef of the family means I’m left to prepare that meal myself. Most days it’s a pleasure, after all, I prefer my cooking to anything I can afford and I adore putting something delicious on the table for my loved one. Except for Tuesdays…. It’s a late start day which means it’s a late end day, making the kitchen the last place I want to be when I return from the grind. Enter slow-cooker. I wish to kiss the inventor of this incredible appliance. Therefore, I would like to officially announce Crock Pot Tuesdays! Yay!

Knowing that I am a set-it-and-forget-it gal, a wonderful colleague of mine gifted me with Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, by Robin Robertson. It’s filled with all kinds of amazing recipes, from stews and soups to breads and cake (who knew you could bake in a crock pot.) This morning I got ready the No Hurry Vegetable Curry on p. 124. It was so good. Normally I don’t go for seconds but this dish deserved an encore. The only bad thing about it was The Art Student wasn’t home to enjoy it with me. He’s off learning or something ridiculous like that.  ☺

Here’s the recipe as it’s printed in the book. I made some slight modifications but only minor ones and mostly because I didn’t have the exact ingredients.

No Hurry Vegetable Curry

• 1 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 large carrots, sliced on a diagonal
• 1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 large yukon potatoes, peeled and diced
• 8 oz green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups chick peas, soaked over-night and drained or one 15.5 oz can, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups veggie stock
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• salt

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over meduim heat. Add the carrots and onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, curry powder, coriander, and cayenne, stirring to coat.

2. Transfer the vegetable mixture to your slow cooker. Add the potatoes, green beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, and stock; cover, and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.

3. Just before serving, stir in the peas and coconut milk and season with salt. Taste to adjust the seasonings.

And voila! A curry sensation that fills your home with a delicious aroma that will welcome you at the door.

And to all you carnivores out there…give this one a try. I’m tellin’ ya, you won’t even miss the meat!

Well, Super Bowl Sunday turned out to be a lot more eventful then the actually Superbowl.  I’m sorry, but did anyone else think that game was a little boring?  For me the highlight of those four hours was The Who’s performance. Great light show!

Anyway. In the morning I made Irish Soda Bread.  Not exactly a healthy-as-can-be choice but what’s a little bit of bread now and again?  (Oh, I feel like I’m going to health-nut hell for that one)  If you dare, check out my recipe page for the recipe.  And if anyone out there has a gluten-free/vegan/healthy variation of your choice,  please share with the class.  Here’s what my baking mess looked like.

I am such a messy baker.  They even look messy baking in the oven.

This bread is so good though.  It’s worth the clean-up.

After the bread-making extravaganza, we were off to another museum.  This time it was the Bowers Museum in Orange.  The Art-Student, as I am now calling him, needed to go there for an assignment and I was happy to tag along.  I believe part of my path to wellness is being cultured and looking at art is a great way to do it. Bowers is a small museum exhibiting mostly early Californian art.  At present, however, they are exhibiting the ancient arts of China. Very cool.  They are also showcasing Chris Rainer who documented through photography the culture of New Guinea.  Very intense.

This was my favorite piece…I really love paintings of market places.

The Art-Student fancied this piece done in pastels…He tried to do his own pastel piece tonight but realized he had no fixer.  Anyway know what to use to fix pastels?

We both agreed that this chess set was amazing.  The carving detail was incredible…

So that was our culture for the day.  We then went on to watch the Colts give it up to the Saints, who deserved to win anyway, in my opinion.

And now it’s Monday.  I felt kinda sickly this morning and cruddy all day.  I feel better now and just completed another baking escapade.  I’ve been baking a lot lately and I’ll tell you why…I’m terrible at it and this bothers me greatly so I need the practice.  I like to think of myself as a pretty good cook but baking is just not my forte.  Those who are good at it, hats off to you.  Perhaps next time you can bestow on me some your magic touch or whatever it is.  Regardless, tonight I made vegetable muffins.  I know it sounds weird, but they are actually pretty good. Think of it more as bread with veggies in it.  I figure they will be good for an on-the-go breakfast.  Maybe with a hummus spread.  This recipe can also be found on the recipe page.

I’m excited for tomorrow.  I’m making a Chicken and Cauliflower Curry in the crock-pot, with a few of my own modifications, of course. Stay tuned to see how it turns out.