Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

You know that song about the cat that just keeps coming back? Well, that's what winter seems to be doing to us. Oh, how I thought that Spring was in the air. Things were warming up. No more frost. Beautiful green fields. We went away for a trip to Rome, and I had expectations that we would return home to flowers peeking through the ground. When we landed in Amsterdam, there were no flowers - just frost and ice...and snow. Guess I will have to hold off bringing my open-toed shoes out of storage a little bit longer.

In the mean time, I will make the most of the chilly weather and enjoy some Vegetarian Black Bean Chili. I love Chili. It is a perfect cold-weather-comfort-food. That said, I am quite picky about my Chili. It needs to be smooth, thick (but not too thick), deep flavor, full of good stuff and no meat. Unfortunately, I find a lot of vegetarian chili's are too....froofy. So I found one of my favorites and changed it up a bit! Unfortunately, my computer crashed so there is no photo to post, but I can assure you it looks and tastes delicious!

The original recipe, if you're interested, can be found HERE

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

¹/₂ cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 small bell pepper, seeded and finely diced (I used half red and half orange pepper)
1/4 cup tomato paste (four big spoonfuls)
 1 15-ounce can black beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, undrained (or use two cans of black beans)
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies OR  2 green chilies, finely chopped (*See note)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
optional: cocoa powder **see note

Heat the water in a large skillet or pot. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook over high heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add tomato paste, beans and their liquid, chilies, cumin and chili powder. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until flavors are blended. (Insiders tip: Chili is one of those dishes that does get better with time. The longer you let it simmer, the stronger and smoother the flavor will become. 15 minutes is the MINIMUM time, but I usually leave it about 45 minutes.)

* I buy a jar of whole green chilies, that way I can add as much or as little as I want. You have more control over the spiciness of the Chili this way
**Yes, you CAN put chocolate in Chili. This will add a very deep, slightly sweet flavor to the chili. We love it, however, not everyone is a fan. If you want to try it out:
      -add one teaspoon - stir - allow to sit for 1-2 minutes - taste - repeat if desired until you reach the amount that works for YOU.

Happy eating!
Stay warm.

-Laura

Dating Rx....prescription needed!

I have a confession to make.

Hubby and I never dated before we were married.

*gasp*

Crazy, right? Now, before you begin thinking that Hubby and I married as complete strangers, let me give our little 'Boy Meets Girl' story in 10 simple steps:

1: Boy meets girl

2: Girl and Boy become friends, then best friends (...this continues for over a year)

3: Boy leaves for an internship in Texas

4: Girl stays behind and continues University

5: Boy receives job offer to work in Germany

6: Boy realizes he is madly in love with Girl

7: Boy buys ring and hops on an airplane to visit Girl

8: Boy takes Girl to the mountains, gets on one knee and pops the question

9: Girl says "Yes!"

10: Boy and Girl get married 3 months later

Bonus Step: Boy and Girl hop on airplane and move to Germany 2 days after 

wedding (a little stressful eventful)

Somewhere between when we met and when Hubby proposed, we fell in love. Because we were best friends we knew the good, the bad and the ugly in the other person and didn't want to live without it. Perhaps it was the time apart that allowed us to realize it. Since getting married, we have had fun "dating" each other as Husband and wife, but we have run into a problem:

We are running out of fresh, fun and romantic date ideas!

So, I thought I would put it out there for you all to see, hoping that you would have some wonderful tips or tricks on dates. A dating prescription, if you will.

When pitching ideas I ask that you please keep the following symptoms in mind:

- Dates cannot begin until after 7pm (bedtime for Little Man)

- We get around by bike

- Babysitters are nearly impossible to get as we don't live near family and all of our friends have small children of their own. The few babysitters available split their time between MANY families

-Due to the previous point, we will need more suggestions for 'Home-Dates' than for 'Going-Out-Dates'

Any websites, tips or tricks that you have to share would be greatly appreciated.

To get the ball rolling, here is a site that always has a few cute ideas. It's called Love Actually. I made their Valentine's Day Countdown which I LOVE and can be found HERE.

Thanks in advance for the prescription.

Love,

-Laura

Warm Chickpea, Spinach and Bulgar Salad

Oh, how I love to bake....not cook. But, I am beginning to enjoy it more! This recipe was the brain child of trying to figure out what to do with the bits and pieces we had in the fridge before I did the grocery shopping. It is such a simple recipe, and filling! Hubby likes to take the leftovers to work the next day for lunch and eat them cold; I prefer to reheat it in a skillet. Whatever your preference, you will enjoy how easy this meal is. Be sure to let me know how it goes!

Warm Chickpea, Spinach and Bulgar Salad

1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup Bulgar
1 Can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 cups washed baby spinach (you can chop this up a bit if you would like, but I kept mine whole)
3 cloved garlic, minced
1 tsp Cumin
1-2 Tomatoes, diced (I used one, which works fine, but I love tomatoes and I think adding a second would be great!)

2 green onion, diced
pepper to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice

1: Put vegetable broth into small pot and bring to boil
2: Add Bulgar to pot, stir once, remove from heat and cover for 15 minutes.
3: Place large skillet on warm stove burner and fill with 1/4 cup water. When skillet is warm, add garlic and cumin. Cook for 5 minutes over medium high heat. Add chickpeas. Cook for 5 minutes. Add Spinach. Cook for 5 minutes. (**Note: keep an eye on your water amount, you may need to add a little bit more if your food starts sticking. You can use oil if you want, but it can make your chickpeas taste a little greasy)
4: When Bulgar is finished cooking; add Bulgar AND the broth that was not absorbed to the skillet. Mix together and remove from heat.
5: Add Green Onions, tomatoes, lemon juice and pepper before serving.

Happy eating!

-Laura

Learning to balance the little things

I have a new goal.

It will help me realize how good I am at balancing things.

It's a simple goal.

But here, in Holland, it is the difference between arriving at my destination soaking wet or stylish and dry.

My goal is......

To learn to ride a bike one handed while holding an umbrella with the other hand, and still remain balanced.

Okay, so I just made a big deal out of something that seems pretty petty. But, next time you are out riding your bike and get caught in the pouring rain (which happens more often than I care to admit), I bet you'd wish you could do it too.

I have terrible balance. Wish me luck!

-Laura

Why I {heart} Holland

Today I biked to Hubby's work with our Little Man to go for lunch. We have lived in Holland since September and everywhere we go I am continuously amazed by the people and places around me.

Here are some things that I love about living here that stood out to me particularly today:

I love passing the neighborhood school and seeing 25-30 adults lined-up outside....on bike...waiting for their child to get out of school. I love seeing moms bike their children to the grocery store in these:

{It's a Bakfiets (box bike)}

I love that we have a windmill in our neighborhood.

{yes, this is down the street from our apartment}

I love that when it snows they don't shovel the sidewalks. Instead, they clear off the canals, strap on their skates and away they go. I also love that it is January 20, the snow has melted and Spring is on it's way.

I love that I can look out our living room window and see this:

I love how friendly our neighbors are.

And I absolutely love seeing the look on our Little Man's face as he takes in all the incredible sights and sounds around him.

There is plenty more that I could list, but in the essence of time I'll just say:

I am happy to be living here with my two incredible boys; Hubby and Little Man.

(and I don't care how cheesy that sounds)

So, what do you love most about where you live?

Cheers!

-Laura

Vegan Artichoke Pizza with Cheesy Sauce

DH and I looooooooove pizza. We love it so much that we dedicate every Friday evening to homemade pizza. Since I am a foodsnob slightly picky eater, we challenged ourselves to come up with a new combination of toppings each Friday. This challenge began in September and I can happily report that we have NOT repeated a combination yet.

 There have been mighty triumphs that we cannot wait to try again and some monumental failures that we cannot wait to forget.

Our latest creation was Vegan Artichoke Pizza with Cheesy Sauce. We started with a Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza dough (recipe included; adapted from a recipe that an awesome friend passed along to me); used Vegan Alfredo Sauce for the base; and baby spinach, tomatoes, red onion and artichokes for the topping. The recipe that I used for the sauce was okay, but I think I will keep experimenting.

If you try it out, let me know what worked and what didn't for you!

Vegan Artichoke Pizza with Cheesy Sauce

1 jar marinated artichokes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 cup baby spinach, washed
1/4 cup vegan cheese sauce (I used this recipe, substituting half the water for soy milk, and adding cumin)
sprinkling of oregano
sprinkling of cayenne pepper
1 Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza (recipe below) or pizza crust of your choice

Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F). Spread sauce evenly over prepared pizza crust. Add oregano and cayenne pepper, as desired. Place layer of baby spinach, top with artichoke, tomato and  red onion. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until crust is a golden brown.

Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza (makes two crusts)

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 packet dry yeast
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1-1 1/2 cups warm water
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine all dry ingredients in bowl of electric mixer. Using dough hook attachment, set mixer on low, slowly add water until dough forms a soft ball (dough should be slightly sticky). Continue to knead for 10 minutes in mixer.  Pour 1 Tbsp of olive oil over dough and coat all surfaces. Put bowl in warm spot, covered with clean towel for one hour.

After one hour.... remove dough from bowl and place on lightly oiled pizza pan. Cut dough in half. Leave one half on the pan and spread out over pan surface using lightly oiled fingertips. Dough should be 1-1.3 cm thick. Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp Olive Oil over pizza dough surface. Place in preheated oven (200 C) for 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE! Remove and add toppings as desired.

What to do with the second half of dough:
If you don't need two pizzas then take the extra dough, wrap it tightly in a layer of plastic wrap, THEN a layer of tin foil and place it in the freezer. The dough will store in the freezer for up to 6 months. When you want to use it thaw it in the fridge the night before and then follow baking directions.
***TIP: Put your wrapped dough on the counter 1-2 hours before you intend to bake it. This will make your dough a little easier to work with.

Happy baking!...and eating.

Cheers.

-Laura

News from Haiti - Ways to Donate

Chances are, you have heard about the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti recently. Today, while reading the news I learned that somewhere between 45,000-50,000 people are estimated to have died. They are in need of aid. There have been many resources set up to donate money to humanitarian aid. Many countries have already pledged money to help:

Aid pledges to Haiti
Country	Pledge
Canada	$5 million
European Commission	$4.52 million
Spain	$4.52 million
The Netherlands	$3 million
Germany	$2.3 million
U.S.	$100 million US
China	$1.03 million

source: CBC News


If you are interested in helping there are many options. One popular choice is The Red Cross (donation form can be found HERE). There is also the LDS Humanitarian Aid Fund (more information can be found HERE). I particularly like this organization as "[o]ne hundred percent of all contributions are used to help the needy—the Church uses other funds to cover administrative expenses" (LDS Humanitarian aid website). If you would like to donate to this organization an online donation form can be found by clicking HERE.

Whichever way you chose to donate, you are helping! If you are unable to donate monetarily, you could pass along donation information to others. It is about awareness. Don't let these people be forgotten.

Love and prayers.

-Laura