Giada/Chicken and White Bean Chili

Goodness, I love Giada DeLaurentiis. I don't think I have ever come across a recipe I didn't like in my Giada cookbooks. She makes light, delicious, healthy foods that I just can't get enough of. There's my favorite lemon risotto recipe, several pasta dishes that cook up light and healthy, decadent desserts, and now a chicken and white bean chili that manages to include a very large portion of kale and still be awesome.

For Christmas I received my third Giada cookbook and promptly cooked chicken cacciatore for my parents. They decided it was a good meal but too much work for them (although there was so much extra sauce that I made them freeze it so they could whip up a new batch at their leisure). She tends to remove super fatty ingredients and add in large portions of veggies, thus remaking foods that could be dastardly into dishes that are light and yummy.

Tonight's chili is no different, with lean ground chicken used as the protein and combined with cannellini beans, one of my go-to vegetarian proteins. Lots of spice is used (cumin, oregano and chili powder) and she adds in some corn and kale. You end up with a rich chili that manages to get you all the nutrition you need! The real test was my neighbor, Jerry. He is your basic Ron Swanson, desiring nothing more than a giant serving of steak or a plate full of spaghetti and meatballs. I figured if he liked the chili, than everyone would! His official answer was, "I like it", said with a moderate level of enthusiasm. The chili gets an official "like" all around.

The bonus part of my evening was using my roommate's fancy Dutch oven to cook the chili. It's a very heavy, cast iron pot with a similarly heavy lid. One of the more widely known brands is Le Creuset, although my roommate's happens to be a Staub. It cooks very evenly and is a wonderful way to make soup. Thanks Lena!

Fresh Pasta

I just want to write a quick shout-out to Dave's Fresh Pasta in Davis Square. What an incredible place! I'm not a frequent flier at Dave's because, quite honestly, I can't afford it, but I do truly enjoy every experience I have at this place.

For those readers not in the Somerville/Boston area, Dave's Fresh Pasta is an amazing store offering freshly made pastas, sauces, sandwiches, breads, and interesting artisinal/specialty foods. They also have weekly events like wine tastings and cooking lessons with the chef. The fresh pasta and sandwiches are probably the best part - everything I've tried has been absolutely delicious.

Most recently a friend came to visit and we got the butternut squash ravioli and artichoke and ricotta ravioli. Once you remove the pasta from the box you have to shake off the flour and cut them into their squares. Then simply boil and serve! Nellie and I stirred in some olive oil and spinach leaves and chowed down (with a simply cooked chicken breast, served with reduced balsamic vinegar and dried cranberries).

I wish I had a decent income so that I could frequent Dave's more often!

Bradley Palmer State Park

I visited Bradley Palmer State Park today, as promised! Even though it was supposed to be windy and gray, I left the house and made the short trip north to the park (a trip I used to make daily while working at Crane Beach, except a good 15-20 minutes shorter).

It's a beautiful place, with miles of trails that include wide paths through open fields and thin trails climbing up hills and over roots. Many people were out and about - which is not necessarily a good thing - but clearly it is a well-loved place. There were runners, walkers, people with kids and dogs, bikers, and horseback riders. It was hard to find a place to sit in peace with no human interaction. I was constantly passing or being passed by other park users.

This experience is a double edged sword for me. I want people to get out and see the world, to explore what's beyond their own back yards and take a walk somewhere a little bit wilder. But at the same time being outside can be such a wonderful solitary experience that when my walk is punctuated by passing people I get annoyed. Sometimes I just want it to be me and the trees, not me + trees + someone's giant dog sniffing my pant leg.

My walk was very pleasant. I liked being able to explore different trails in such a short span of time (1.5 hrs). I started out walking through fields edged with trees, then took a much smaller trail through some deciduous forest, then ended up walking along the Ipswich River surrounded by evergreens and picking my way over stones and roots. The day got brighter as I walked, and the river sparkled to my right as I returned to the main parking area. I even found some great fungi growing on a log!

I'd definitely like to return and explore the other sections of Bradley Palmer, maybe even make the trip up for a trail run (lots of people were out running and it actually looked pretty fun!). This weekend take a walk outside and get yourself some fresh air - it'll revitalize you, I promise!

Welcome, 2012!

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope the holidays flew by in a rush of excitement and happy feelings. I, for one, got to fly back to Michigan and spend about a week with family and friends. The big downer was getting a fierce sore throat and having to visit the doctor. But the plus side was squeezing in some reunion time with friends before really falling ill.

And now it is 2012 and what do I have to say for myself? I've got a few more gift bags and sheets of tissue paper in my cabinet, to use next year. I've got some goodies stored away for future use (a tent! a sleeping bag! a new cookbook!) and a little extra cash I can invest in my rent for the month. There is one more can of pumpkin pie in the cabinet I must use. Otherwise, it's another fresh start!

My First Day Hike planned for this morning didn't work out as I was both a) still a sickie and b) parked into my driveway. But tomorrow I will complete my First Hike and report back, I pinkie swear! I'm going to drive up to Bradley Palmer State Park and do a short little walk among the trees and river (as much as my sickly little body can handle, although to be honest I am almost 100% at this point). So check back soon for some lovely photos!

Saving the Earth This Holiday Season

First, a disclaimer: this is by no means an exhaustive blog post on how to stay "green" this holiday season. It is simply my own personal ideas and methods for saving not only energy and resources but also money. This post will hopefully inspire you to make one little change to your holiday season that will lighten your load on the planet.

Now, on to the post! The winter holiday season (and I'm primarily speaking of Christmas because it probably involves the most waste) is particularly rough on the planet. Tons of people travel, wrapping paper gets tossed in the trash, giant amount of (delicious) food is prepared, and gifts are passed around to no end. This is all super fun stuff, don't get me wrong!  Who doesn't love ripping a giant sheet of bright paper off a brand new iPad, then sitting down to a great dinner with family and friends? But, there are a few ways that I reduce-reuse-recycle and each year I try to incorporate some new little trick.

First and foremost, I save gifts bags, tissue paper, ribbons, bows, and any other wrapping materials. I accumulate this stuff every year from other people and through saving it all I can wrap pretty much every single gift I give free of charge and free of materials! I keep a box in my cabinet filled with this stuff and simply pull it out whenever I need to give a gift. Assuming you have the space, this is the easiest way to reduce the amount of stuff that gets thrown away. I even go so far as to rescue wrapping stuff from other people who are just going to throw it away. And there is the classic Sunday-comics-as-wrapping-paper trick too.

Second, I do not feel bad about re-gifting. There is nothing wrong with taking something you don't really want (that is unopened/unused) and giving it to someone who will actually use the thing. I don't suggest re-gifting stuff just to get rid of it - the item does need to be a thoughtful gift. But really, there is no shame in giving something you don't want to someone who does! And in the event that you get something truly unusable, just donate it to Goodwill and hopefully some stranger will get some enjoyment from the thing.

Another way to reduce the amount of stuff in this world is to give the gift of homemade foods. I for one really enjoy receiving some delicious treats from friends/family, especially if it's something I can't or won't make myself. This is a super awesome way to save money, too! There are so many great recipes out there for chocolate dipped pretzels and truffles and cookies that I can always find some semi-unique little food item to give to people. Going to Goodwill and getting kitschy decorative plates tops off a nice plate of brownies and turns it into a cute gift.

Continuing with the topic of gifts, I try to shop at local stores. Sometimes this limits me monetarily because they do tend to have higher prices, but I really try to support my local economy when gift shopping. There are often items that I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else, especially those inspired by the local region (Boston, Somerville, the northeast in general). This can make for really thoughtful and unique gifts for friends and family. And seeking out the best local shops is a fun activity in and of itself, and even better if you do your shopping with a friend!

There are many ways in which I don't reduce/reuse/recycle. I still put out lights on the front steps, still have a small Christmas tree in the house (fake), still send cards and presents in the mail, and will always be traveling somewhere for the holidays. But these are things that are important to me! Lights are so pretty and fun, but to offset them a bit I made sure to buy my lights at Goodwill and they are on a timer. I try to get my cards from local artists/crafters at a craft fair each winter. When I travel I bring my water bottle and some snacks in tupperware so I don't have to buy stuff in the terminal. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying! And I hope you will too :).

Ants In My Pants

In the past week I've learned what it's like to sit, day after day, staring at a computer screen, like so many workers out there.  I decided to take a week long temp position with a financial company - it pays better than substitute teaching and I needed a break from the kiddies.  The job sounded boring but I figured, how bad could it be?

Well, pretty bad.  I take an investment statement from a box, check the client address and return address with an Excel file for accuracy, then turn to the next page and make sure the information is correct on that page too.  Then I set it aside and take the next statement.  This is what I do for eight hours every day.  There is no change at all.  It is the most boring and repetitive thing I have ever done.  Each box can have anywhere from 15 to 225 statements in it, and there are about 8,000 statements to go through (with four other temps).

I have never had more "ants in my pants" than the last five work days.  By the time 3pm rolls around I start fidgeting, and get up to go to the bathroom or get a drink or even just walk out of the room for a few minutes.  As soon as 5:30pm hits I'm outta there but then have to sit in my car for 30-40 minutes.  When I get home all I want to do is get outside and run, which is great health-wise but the cause of my newfound desire to run is not my favorite.  I just have so much freakin' energy after not doing a damn thing all day except exercise my eyeballs.

The one great thing is that the company has a lot of extras that I don't get when I'm working for a nonprofit.  There is a ridiculous free bagel spread every Friday (every flavor, crazy amounts of spread, giant blocks of fancy cheese, nutella, and juices galore), every bathroom has hair spray, lint rollers, de-static spray, and lifesavers, and there is free coffee, tea and hot chocolate.  Nice perks!

There is only one more day (two at the very most) before I go back to subbing.  I guess it's a nice break from working with kids all day, but the work is so mind-numbing that I really don't know if I could have done it very much longer.

Epic Dinner Party

Last night I, probably mistakenly, invited 21 people over to dinner. And by "over" I mean I invaded my upstair's neighbor's apartment for their dining room (kind of without asking). Thankfully I have really awesome upstairs neighbors. The following is my photo "travelogue" of the event...(I didn't take the time to edit anything, sorry for the kinda bad lighting).

 

 

And Flora was sad because she got left out of the fun...