Monday's Lazy International Menu

Winter is sucking my kitchen energy dry.  It feels like spring is so deeply covered in ice, we may never see it again.  There's a mini glacier where my veggie beds are.  So, this past week was focused on easy foods from warmer climates.

Sunday - Mexico - Slow Cooker Chipotle Short Ribs with kale salad, guacamole and spicy rice.  The recipe includes instructions for a cabbage slaw - skip it.  The recipe also says boneless short ribs, which is silly, more expensive and hard to find.  Use bone-in, and by the time you're done cooking, the meat falls off the bone anyway.  Served with a light salad and guacamole, this is a wonderfully fragrant and delicious meal.  The smokey peppers will intoxicate you while it's cooking.

Monday - India - Sweet and Sour Dahl with Roasted Butternut Squash, Basmati and coconut yogurt.  This is another from the great cookbook with the irritating title.  This is a tamarind recipe, and I find that is a flavour that you either love or hate.  We love it.  The original recipe calls for roasted eggplant, but, eggplant isn't really my bag unless stewed.

Tuesday - Jamaica - Chicken Curry.  From the book above, this one doesn't quite work for me 'skinny'.  I love the allspice flavour, but broth instead of coconut milk is not inspiring.  I went full fat, not 'light', and it was delicious.

Wednesday - Italy - Sicilian Fish Stew.  Bright and spicy, this one, from that same book, is naturally skinny.  Plus, any recipe that has a healthy splash of wine is alright in my book.

Thursday - Multinational - otherwise known as leftovers.
Friday - German escapism to Ireland - otherwise known as, heading to the pub to get away from the wieners because lord knows, we all need to get out of the house sometimes!



Seems like a distant memory!

Saturday - Nova Scotian - we had our book club potluck meeting.  And since the book for this meeting took place in rural NS, we decided to go with classic recipes: Shepard's pie (lentil and sweet potato as the main ingredients), deviled eggs (filled with whipped avocado, not yolks), beet salad (with lovely quinoa), and a veggie soup.  (As always, there was way too much food!).  I made a strawberry rhubarb pie. I froze the hulled strawberries and slice rhubarb straight from my garden last summer.  I know have a recipe that makes a perfect gluten-free pie crust every time...no weird texture issues.  We were all stuffed and had plenty to say about the book (which we all loved).    

just biss

Back on December 31, Jeff and I started our gratitude journal.  The initial goal was to capture 5 things we are thankful for, everyday.  So, far, Jeff has a total of 0 entries, but honestly, he doesn't need a constant reminder about positivity.  I am the one that lives with anxiety and depression.  It turns out that 5 can be pretty darn tricky to come up with each day.  Most day look pretty similar:

Stay positive and hug your wieners.

1) cuddle time with the wieners

2) a delicious meal

3) my amazing husband.

Numbers 4&5 can vary or can be absent all together.

Not Pretty

But this week has provided a couple of opportunities for gratitude.

Pretty!

1) I am thankful that we have house insurance.  The snow/ice misery that has been Halifax has created a very pretty effect on the house.  Beautiful ice formations have created a sculpted roof line punctuated with gorgeous icicles and f#@king ice damming.

Pretty!



Not Pretty.

2) I am thankful that we have the means to enjoy a concert from time to time. And, in particular, I am thankful that we decided on Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, who absolutely rocked the Rebbecca Cohen on February 18th.  It was the first night of their tour and they were full of nerves, which translated into manic energy and an edge of your seat performance.  Strobe lights and perfect seats, dead centre and directly in front of the soundboard, holy shit.  Also, this was Dan's second time at the Cohen. The first was as part of Halifax Pop Explosion a couple of years ago, playing with the symphony.  While a great show, I felt that it was a bit tentative. I've seen him use his voice to full effect, and with the symphony, I felt he was holding back.  The Cohen is also a room specifically designed for full sound, and this time he filled it.  The band keeps getting tighter and the addition of a trumpet gave more depth to some already deep sounds. A magnificent show.

Fancy pictures by Jeff...no heads in the way courtesy of someone's friend in the row in front of us not showing up.