Cooking
Vegetarian Chili
You have to love this recipe for Vegetarian Chili. It tastes just like chili without meat. Vegetarian Chili can be made with all kinds of ingredient. This recipe for Vegetarian Chili is rich, hearty, and immensely flavorful. It is great served in a bowl, in a flour or corn tortilla, in an omelet, on corn chips baked in the oven, as a dip, etc., etc. Give this Vegetarian Chili a try.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 peppers, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 large can (28 ounces) tomatoes, undrained, chopped
- 1 cup water
- 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 ounce)can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups fresh or frozen corn
- salt and pepper, to taste
- cilantro, scallions, shredded cheese, sour crearm for garnish, optional
Directions
- In a large pan, saute the onions and spices with oil. Add peppers and garlic for 1 minute.
- Add cocoa, tomatoes, and water; bring to a boil. Add kidney and black beans,and corn.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste. To serve, sprinkle with cilantro and scallions, shredded cheese, and one scoop of sour cream.
Family Aprons
With the holidays approaching we find ourselves in the kitchen cooking up some wonderful things. Baking is back in full swing as the weather turns cooler, and often cooking and baking are family activities.
Last year at Thanksgiving I bought two new matching aprons so that my kitchen helper and I could arrive at the dinner table in clean clothes. Recently I came across Flirty Aprons and was delighted to see the vast array of apron choices available. Aprons are not that easy to find in the stores but they certainly do serve a real purpose, especially when you are dressed for a holiday gathering but you are the chief cook and bottle washer.
$5 off purchase of $60 at FlirtyAprons.com
Live to eat or eat to live?
Some people "live to eat" while others "eat to live." Often you'll find that those people who claim that they "eat to live" are very trim and those who "live to eat" struggle with their weight.
I am definitely one of those who lives to eat. Food is fun! There is no other way to say it. I am one of those people that needs to eat what I crave. I never eat simply to feed hunger. I eat to feed my hunger, but it needs to satisfy a desire. For me the things I crave are almost always "food" versus snack. Also, sweet things never call my name.
As you can tell by looking at the recipes I've posted on this site, I really like food. The more high impact and flavorful, the better. My recipes pretty much fall into the high impact category…like Piri Piri, or Shrimp Fra Diavolo.
I firmly believe that your body is smart enough to tell you when to feed it and it's just a matter of paying attention to your body's clues. When your body tells you it's time to eat, eat something. Never eat without thinking. Think long and hard before grabbing something and putting it into your mouth. What are you in the mood for? How hungry are you? When did you last eat and when do you plan to eat again. All of these things cross my mind when my body tells me it's hungry. Why? Good question. It is important to know when you last ate so that you can monitor how much food goes into you. If you just ate an omelet for breakfast an hour and a half ago, it isn't really all that likely that you are "hungry." You might have a craving for something, but hungry? Probably not. In this case, what you choose to put into your body should be light and satisfying, not another meal. When will you be eating again? Do you have plans to meet a friend for lunch in two hours? If so, even though you are hungry, you must be careful to eat only enough to satisfy that hunger but not so much that when you meet your friend for lunch, you can't eat.
You're probably saying to yourself, "Does she really go to the trouble of thinking that much about food?" The answer is yes! Everyday – all the time. I don't believe in fad diets, starving yourself, or eating mindlessly. I think that weight control and a healthy diet will come naturally when you listen to what your body is telling you.