Category Archives: chana masala

by | October 22, 2010 · 6:45 am

Swollen-Faced Puppy!

     I got some good news last night: I booked that audition I had on Monday! I’m still waiting on all the info, but what I know as of now is that it’s b-roll footage (the footage of what goes on while the spokesperson is talking) for a commercial. That’s all I’ll share for now until I know that I’m not crossing any lines! I film on Sunday :-D.

     Today I woke up bright and early and went to the gym! I spent 35 minutes doing cardio on the elliptical (HR at 170 or above the whole time! Not sure if that’s healthy or maybe the reader was broken?) and then did some pull-ups and core weights. I finished up with a foam roller on my IT bands which hurt so bad I teared up! Foam roller is no longer my best friend – it’s more of a necessary evil.

I refueled with a mug of unsweetened jasmine green tea and a Halloween Monsta!
     I was about to head out the door for work when I saw this:
Swollen-faced Buddha!
     The entire right side of her face was swollen to high heaven and I, the spazz that I am, freaked out and thought that she’d been bitten by an evil deadly poisonous spider and that after her face had finished swelling, her throat would close up and she would die. I called into work telling them I’d be late and kept an eye on the pooch waiting for the telltale signs of her imminent death so I could take her to the vet. She promptly went over to her food bowl and devoured its contents, then brought her bone over to me to play. I went to work.
     Work was work. Boring and long and long and boring. I came home at lunch to make sure that the Buddha was still alive (she was), had some leftover chana masala and forced myself back to finish the final hours at work. When I got home, I realized that I had a leftover sweet potato that needed to be used up, so I made more fries!
I peeled and chopped up a small sweet potato then tossed it with olive oil and garlic salt and baked it at 450 degrees for about fifteen minutes, flipping halfway though.
I also finished up the leftover lettuce, lentils and egg white salad that was in the fridge. Kitchen Sink Salads make me happy!
     I have tomorrey off so I’ll be making some butternut squash and apple soup and grilling some salmon while reading “The Girl Who Played with Fire” (book number two in the “Dragon Tattoo” series) and sipping tea. My life is hard!
Any recipes you’ve wanted to try but haven’t had the time to? Maybe I can test a recipe tomorrow or Friday for you 🙂 I need a challenge!
(Preferably not a SUPER expensive challenge!)

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Filed under audition, booked, Buddha, chana masala, gym, Halloween Monster, jasmine green tea, kitchen sink salad, sweet potato fries, The Girl who Played with Fire

by | October 20, 2010 · 7:38 am

Recipe Overload!

My kitchen smells like heaven right now and there’s a burning underneath my fingernails. I’ll explain later.

I had my free fitness evaluation at the gym this morning and learned some great exercises to build core strength in preparation for the heavy lifting I need to do with my new job, and got an injury/body-fat reading. Foam rollers are my new best friend! I have incredibly tight quads, hamstrings and IT bands from the mass amounts of hiking I do, and I will be devoting a good amount of time at the gym to stretch them out and release all the knots. This morning’s rollout goes up on the list as one of the most painful things I’ve experienced.

I finished up my workout, ran over to Trader Joe’s to pick up some necessities for my day off and sprinted through a downpour to get to my car. Lunchtime!

First I caramelized some onions…
Next up, I chopped up a jalapeno (hence the burning under my fingernails that is STILL lingering, hours after chopping), a clove of garlic and grated some frozen ginger.
Hint: Using a zester and a knob of frozen ginger is the easiest way to “chop” ginger!
I threw above ingredients, plus a lot more into a pan…
I halved Jenna’s recipe since the roommates are out of town, and still have about four servings leftover!
     After lunch I ran to the library to pick up some books I had on hold and, since I was out, decided to stop by the grocery store for even MORE ingredients. Once I start cooking, I can’t stop!
Butternut squash, chocolate chips and “Leaves of Grass“. Not to be used together!
I had a butternut squash from TJ’s and after lots of deliberation, decided to make Megan’s butternut squash fries.
I sliced up half of the squash, tossed it with olive oil and sprinkled garlic salt on top, then baked it at 450 degrees for an hour.
These were enjoyed with ketchup and another thunderstorm 🙂
     I sat down to watch “Leaves of Grass” which stars Edward Norton as twin brothers. I really liked this movie and Ed Norton is AMAZING – however… The disc was scratched and the most pivotal moment was skipped over. I tried to clean the disc to no avail, and called Redbox to tell them. The good thing that came of this is that I got promo codes for two free movies! I’m slightly less bummed about not knowing what the heck happened in the climax of the movie…
     I was so distressed that I had to put my anxiety into the beating of some butter and sugar. It was time for Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins!
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins – Printable version available HERE.
(adapted from my Great Grandma Max’s recipe <3)
1/3 cup Nucoa
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup whole rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 banana mashed
1 banana roughly chopped
A crapload of chocolate chips
     1. Cream the Nucoa (or butter or butter substitute you prefer) and the brown sugar together.
     2. Add eggs and wisk together.
     3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well.
     4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and combine.
     5. Stir in bananas and chocolate chips (I used almost half a bag in mine! Oops!)
     6. Pour batter into muffin tins.
     7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
     8. Grab a muffin immediately and dive in!
YUM!
      I wish I could claim that the muffins are healthy, but whole wheat flour and rolled oats are the best I can do while still keeping it delicious! It’s a good thing I have a gym membership – I’ll be working off the extra muffin I inhaled after eating the first one. Oops again!
What’s your favorite recipe to make on a rainy day?

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Filed under butternut squash fries, chana masala, Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, HealthyHoggin, Jenna Weber, Leaves of Grass, Redbox