Essential Info For Today
Recipes
Potato Soup For The Soul
Yesterday it rained and rained and rained, and I turned on the space heaters and wore thick socks and held my little girl all day long, but it felt like no matter what, I couldn't get warm. And even though the Christmas tree lights stayed on all day and my little fake fireplace did its best to keep our living room feeling cheerful, I felt…sad. I started thinking about people I wish I could see more often, and people that I can't see anymore at all. And then I started thinking about my children growing up and moving out and how desperately I'll miss them, and then poof:
--> Sadness spiral.
The holiday season can do that to you sometimes.
And so when I picked up my son from school, I decided it would be a good day to do something special together. We dragged out the little ladder that he uses when he helps me cook and pulled it over next to the stove. I chopped potatoes and carrots and celery and he poured them all into the pot, and then we snuggled up on the couch and watched Christmas cartoons while the soup bubbled and the kitchen filled up with the smell of wonderful things.
Let Me Blow Your Mind (Again!)
Remember when I blew your mind with that banana video way back when?
Well, I'ma 'bout to do it again.
You might want to sit down for this one.
Easy, Hearty Beef & Rice Stew
Here is what I think you should make this weekend:
This.
Oh my god, it's so good. It's like everything that's wonderful about winter, and is really best served in the presence of a Christmas tree. You can make it in a slow-cooker if you want, but I only remembered that I wanted to make stew for dinner around 3PM, so I used a regular stovetop pot, and it was done by six P.M. Vegetables, protein, a little carbs, a lot of deliciousness…it's all in there in that one pot.
Chicken Tikka Masala Experiment (And Suggestions, Please)
I have never tried making Indian food before, and last week's experiment taught me a little lesson:
When attempting to cook a dish from an entirely unfamiliar cuisine, follow the damn recipe.
I didn't really follow the recipe. Or I sort of did…but was so confused by the sheer volume of spices it told me to pile into my slow-cooker that I started thinking to myself "That can't be right" and going lighter than the recommended amounts of cumin and cardamom and what have you. And guess what I ended up with?
