Hodge Podge Update and a Recipe!

I'm baaaaaaack! (Don't worry I won't judge you if you skip all this writing and go directly to the pretty pictures and recipe at the bottom of this post!) Sorry I've been missing for a couple days but I didn't want to just throw up posts just for the sake of posting.  I don't like when I feel pressured/obligated/rushed to write posts!  For me blogging is something that makes me happy, and this whole blog is somewhat of a "happy space" for me.  So I never ever want it to turn into a source of stress.  Besides I think I owe it to you to put my best effort into all my posts since your taking the time out of your day to come over to my corner of the internet and read whatever I write.

That being said I still want update WAY more frequently than I did this week.  But sometimes life just kinda takes over...but I am very proud of all I have accomplished so far this week.

Things I accomplished this past week:

-2 group presentations
-1 paper draft (that now needs some MAJOR revising :( )
-Finished throwing and trimming about 6-7 bowls.  (Doesn't sound like much but for a beginner it is!)
-Glazed I don't even know how many bowls...many left to go...
-Turned in 2 ceramics projects.
-Finished my 50 hours of student teaching for the semester!
-Started my final for drawing (foreshortened self-portrait)
-Spanish LPE Interview
-Finished arranging catering and music for my upcoming receptions/events at the gallery (side note have I ever mentioned my work as a manager of a gallery? I have a reception tomorrow night so you'll probably learn more about this amazing job when I post bout that!)

Whew! I am so relieved this week is almost over!  So how did I survive this week?  Well I have to say I did NOT plan very well for this week.  But an impromptu stop at Target on my way home from student teaching on Monday really saved me.  I nabbed some fresh veggies and hair gel to make it through the week.  Really I could have done without the hair gel...showers were sparse this week.  My homemade deodorant really proved itself though!

Anyways my eats for the week are as follows...

Scrambled eggs literally everyday for breakfast, these babies never fail me.  Add a bunch of veggies and dump truck load of salsa and your good to go.

Mega Salads took over my lunches. (Well and that family size tub of hummus in my refrigerator is getting surprisingly low...)  The salads were basically whatever fresh veg I could get my hands on tossed into a bowl.  There were some massive salads this week...and I am so sad that I realized/noticed grape tomatoes cost $2.99 for a tiny pack.  I refuse to ever buy grape tomatoes again at that price no matter how delicious I think they are.  Looks like I'll have to learn how to grow them in my apartment!

I have also been eating many many many lunches/dinners or both out of tupperware...

Cheese totellini creations.  Yum yum yum.  Whenever I get stressed my carb cravings go through the roof (and when I don't work out too) and cheesy carbs were about all I wanted to eat this week!  This is definitely NOT a low impact choice in any way shape or form.  The ingredients list on these tortelinis is atrocious, they are exensive, and heavily packaged.  Oh and the pasta sauce came out of a jar too, but it's Paul Newman...so that's about as good as it gets for food in jar.  What can I say? Sometimes I'm far from perfect.

Especially since I forgot to photograph the amazing cheese tortellini dish I made the other day. It consisted of wilted spinach, peas, broccoli, and chick peas, then it was DOUSED in pasta sauce.  It was also consumed in under 30 seconds. It was also probably twice the size of my head.  What can I say? Ohh I know, my jeans feel really tight after this week...

And of course it wouldn't be a stressful week if I didn't rely heavily on my old favorite standby to survive- tuna salad!  Really I could never be a for real vegan for two reasons, tuna salad and eggs.  They just never get old...or expensive. 

Now do you see why I didn't update the blog this week? You would have cried tears of boredom and never bothered to come back ;)

My hectic life isn't over yet though, I have lots of bowls to glaze tomorrow and on Monday and lots of paper writing and flashcard making + studying to do this weekend.  But for tonight I am going to give myself a little break to celebrate the small victories of this day.


The main victory?


I worked out today.  Yes my past 2 weeks have been so hectic that before today I had only managed to workout ONCE.  Nothing makes me crazier than not being able to work out.  I think I have posted about this before, but workouts = major stress relief for me.  I'm pretty sure this is because I grew up in the country and instead of watching t.v. I played outside and then all throughout Elementary, Middle, and High School I was always in sports.  I think I just learned to rely on sports as an outlet.  Anyways this reliance on activity means not working out = frazzled, stressed out Claire.

But today I had the best workout I've had in a really long time, taking a break from working out always makes me appreciate it about 10 times more.  So what made today's work out so effing spectacular??

It was outside.

And I ran. Outside. NO stupid treadmill.

Not only did I run. Outside. But I ran 6 miles.

You should see the rosy glow that is currently emanating from my cheeks.  I am the picture of health at this moment.  I am so surprised I could still manage a 6 miler after not running forever.  (I don't count my pitiful 2 mile jogs on the treadmill as running...I really hate the treadmill despite my efforts to make it work, but it's just nothing, actually worse than nothing, compared real running!)  Today while I was running I remembered why I have huge thighs, because they are amazing and can do anything.  Like run 6 miles out of the blue.  Thank you thighs for being large and charge. Please never change because I love being a sports nerd far too much.


Of course after that athletic feat I was starving, so I decided to make a millet recipe...I wanted to make it on Sunday to feed me for the week...but laziness is, sadly, a trait I posses.


Why millet? Well it is about the only grain I have left in my cabinet and I was inspired by this article that was in a magazine I read while I was on the elliptical at the gym this past Sunday.

 Ohh yes Millet, you are marvelous...

Coconut Curry Millet

Ingredients:
1 cup millet
2 cups water
1 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery
1 cup lentils
2 cups water
1 tsp Cinnamon and Curry Powder
1/4 tsp Ginger
Salt to taste
Raisins for topping

Coconut Vinegar Dressing
2 tbsp Vinegar
1 tbsp Coconut Oil

Directions:

Toast millet in 1 tbsp coconut oil.  While millet is toasting bring 2 cups water and curry powder to a boil.  Once millet is toasted transfer it to the boiling water, bring to a boil once again, and then let simmer until all the water is gone.  About 15 to 20 minutes.  While millet simmers add 1 tbsp coconut oil to a heated medium sauce pan and add onions and celery.  Saute until onions are translucent.  Add lentils remaining spices and 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, them turn the heat down to a simmer.  Simmer until the lentils are soft.  There shouldn't be too much water left in the pot, but if there is more than about 1/2 cup of water drain the excess.  Mix the vinegar and coconut oil to make the dressing.  Add the cooked millet to the lentil mixture and stir well, add the dressing.  Add salt to taste and top with raisins.

What an easy recipe.  Although I had some issues with it.  Overall it is not bursting with flavor and I considered not posting the recipe becasue although it is good, and I'm sure I'll make it again, I just felt like something was missing from it.  Yet that didn't stop me from going back for seconds...and then snacking on it from out of the fridge.  I couldn't stop eating this!! So I figured it was worthy of a post even though it's not completely perfect. 

For some reason I had the urge to put Maple Syrup on top of this creation...I didn't because I thought that was too weird.  I think it would probably be PERFECTION with a yogurt dressing.  But I didn't have any in the fridge...ah the hard life of a college student.  Next time I make this I will definitely test out a different dressing for it.

As is it's still a great salad to make and take to work/school for lunch!

Of course I played with aperture(focus) while I waited for the millet and lentils to simmer.  Loved this combination of spices! Definitely another winner.  I want to learn how to cook more authentic Indian food though...I'll definitely have to do some researching and cooking over Winter Break.

 Looks like I sat at a table and ate this dinner live a civilized human being, right?

Wrong I ate it sitting at my very messy desk and while running around cleaning my room and calling caterers.  Haha at least my work for the day is now all done!


I am now off to watch the Christmas Glee episode...seriously I almost skipped writing this post to watch it.  But I love this blog a little too much to leave you hanging like that.

I'm glad to be back, I missed this blog a lot!  I think it has become both a creative outlet and a stress reliever...I'll have to keep that on mind and plan posts ahead of time during my next stress filled week.

Until next time! (and by that I mean tomorrow I hope)




What have you accomplished this week?

Indian Spiced Squash and Bean Soup

Happy happy Thursday!

I love Thursdays in general and am having an extra good Thursday, and I'm not even sure why. Especially since Fall has been stolen from me and my world now looks like this:

Beleive me that's not the worst part. This week the temperature plummeted...wasn't I just talking about fall running gear? Looks like it's time to dig out the winter layers...

So of course I had a food craving today, something to soothe my cold bones...my wild rice soup was the first thing that came to my mind.  But when I got home (after planning a creamy delicious navy bean/pea/brocolli soup) I whipped open the fridge to find that I did not have enough milk to make a creamy soup, instead I had...

Lots of orange things to eat up.  I wasn't about to abandon my soup idea though. I knew with a little vegetable broth and lots of spices I would be able to create a delicious dish.

3 of the 4 essential spices used: Rosemary, Cumin, and Ginger.  The secret spice? Read on...

Indian Spiced Squash and Bean Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp EVOO
½ Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
2 cups Vegetable Broth (I made mine using bullion cubes)
1 1/2 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp ginger
1 Tbsp Curry Powder
2 cups Butternut Squash
1 cup navy beans
1 cup carrots

Directions:
1. Steam butternut squash and carrots to desired softness.  Mash/puree butternut squash. Set aside.

2. In large pot saute the garlic and onion in olive oil.  When onions are translucent and soft add the whole wheat flour to the mixture.  Stir in well, you may need to add a bit more olive oil if the flour makes it dry/clumpy.

3. Add the vegetable broth and spices.  Stir well to make sure there are no lumps of flour.  Let simmer for 10 minutes to bring out spice flavors.

4. Stir in butternut squash.  Mix well to make sure there are no huge lumps.  (My soup is slightly lumpy because I don't like perfectly smooth butternut squash, I left a couple lumps in when I was mashing!)  Add in beans and carrots.  Once the beans and carrots are heated through this soup is ready to serve!

Makes about 4-5 servings...or 2 if you're me :)

Definitely helped take the chill out of my day.

As I write this post my hands are slowly freezing...looks like I'll be making lots of soup this winter to stay warm.  I love the big windows in my apartment...during the summer.  When it was warm I never really thought of how a corner full of floor to ceiling windows might be a tad impractical in Minnesota.

Alright I'm off to edit some photos of my art work for my upcoming B.F.A. application.  I'll post a couple soon!  The ceramic studio is taking over my life lately, but I am SO excited for the pay off.  Pretty soon I will have new mugs and bowls to put my food into and take pretty pretty pictures of.  I'm getting really sick of the plain white bowls and plates we have.  Are you? Haha, ok I'm going to get to work on my portfolio and my homework so I can relax and cook all weekend long.

Stay warm!


What's the weather like where you are?

Easy Low Impact Cooking (And a recipe!)

I don't know if I've ever really explained how I justify the amount that I turn my oven on. Because, after all, cooking takes energy, and the way we get our energy hurts the environment.  If I were a true environmental queen I would eat mostly raw foods, but after all this blog is about low impact.  Not no impact.  That kind of perfection really isn't achievable in my life right now!  That being said I do usually eat about 1 salad per day, breakfast is usually oats reheated in the microwave, instead a new pot cooked on the stove for an extended period of time everyday.  And raw fruits, veggies, and nuts are my main source of snackage.  So I think it's ok to treat myself to some nice cooked dinners a couple nights a week.

But I still do a lot of cooking. But you'd better believe I make it efficient cooking.

First I cook in bulk, which means I'm only turning the oven/burners on once but I'm making a meal that will last all week. (Remember my quinoa dishes?)  Besides that I also try to combine foods that are normally cooked separate. 

For example the other day when I made Devil's Vegetarian Chili instead of boiling the pinto beans and the black beans in separate pots, like most people do, I used only one pot. Black beans take longer to cook so I put them in first. Then added the pinto beans. Did the pinto beans turn a little grayish black? Yes. Did they taste any different? No. Instead of using two burners, and double the amount of water I cut down on my water and energy consumption by boiling them together.  Low impact success!

Remember the cupcakes I made yesterday? They weren't all alone in the oven. I roasted a butternut squash as well. Whenever I roast veggies, especially ones with a long roast time like squash, I make sure to plan another dish to cook with it. This time was a great success, I cooked 3 things at once.

The squash, roasted the squash seeds, and baked the cupcake muffins.

Along with using my oven to the max I also try to use my food to the max. I could have just thrown out the seeds from the squash, but why throw them out when I can turn them into a delicious nutrient rich snack?  Now if only I could figure out how to successfully compost in my apartment, I would have created virtually no waste and used energy in the most efficient way possible.  But sadly I am still working on how to make a successful compost in my apartment (fruit flies be gone!).

Spicy Sweet Roasted Seeds

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butternut squash seeds (or pumpkin seeds)
2 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
Ginger, nutmeg, cayenne, and paprika sprinkles

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and dry seeds. Coat the seed in the coconut oil (heat the oil up in the microwave for 15-20 seconds if solid and un-spreadable). Add in cinnamon and chili powder, mix. Sprinkle layers of the rest of the spice to your taste. Bake for 15 minutes, or until desired crispness. Be careful not to urn them!! (This is the first time I didn't burn roasted seeds!)

Look at that stacked oven!  Instead of turning the oven on 3 separate times, I only turned it on once.

The other plus about cooking this way is that I get all the "annoying" prep cooking out of the way.  Right now I have some garbanzo beans and butternut squash all cooked up and waiting for me to use them.  Now all I have to do is figure out what to make with them and dinner will be ready in about 20 minutes...rather than waiting 45 minutes for a squash to roast.

Spicy sweet seeds to keep me warm on these cold snowy days that are coming up. 

Now I have a big butternut squash roasted up and ready to be made into something...for some reason I'm having a hard time deciding what to do with it.  I originally planned a millet salad for it (and I even walked in the slushy snowstorm to the corner grocery store to get a bag of VERY EXPENSIVE walnuts for the salad) but for some reason I'm just not feeling it.  Stay tuned I'm sure I'll turn the butternut squash into something more exciting that just roasted squash and be posting up a recipe within the next couple days.  (Now that I think about I'm pretty sure I'll make that millet salad- after all it was a lot of effort (ha) and money for those walnuts I better put them to good use!)

But back to the point.  Next time you fire up the stove top or the oven think about the energy you are using.  Making bread? Bake two or three loaves instead of one and freeze the extras.  That goes with any breads/muffins/sweets/soups/sauces they all freeze up remarkably well.  And just think how convenient will it be to just be able to grab one cookie from the freezer when an intense craving hits, instead of having to whip out all the ingredients and make them up.  Or be able to unfreeze some spaghetti sauce when you're too lazy to cook a dinner from scratch.  Being low impact and helping mother nature out can be surprisingly MORE convenient for you, it just takes a little more initial planning.  But I promise you the pay off is well worth it, for both your convenience and Mother Nature's health!


Do you try to stack your oven with multiple dishes when you cook in order to save energy? What low impact activities do you practice in your daily life?

Winter Wonderland Cupcake Muffins

Lately I have been hearing about a lot of decadent treats. Mainly dough balls. Then to make matters worse (or better) my friend Lee (who just started her very own blog!) brought me some delish dense Cranberry Banana Bread when we went out to coffee. I realized it was time to make myself a another sweet bread, my carb cravings were not done quite yet, but little did I know how much they would increase.

I worked an overnight shift and dreamed of cooking dough balls, sweet apple bread, and rich creamy pumpkin breads. I had it all planned out, I was going to make an emergency trip to the grocery store to refill my baking supplies.

Then this happened.

This is 6 am.   I thought by the time I woke up after a post graveyard shift nap it would have all melted into a nice slush, typical of Minnesota winter.

Was I ever wrong.   I woke up to quite the winter wonderland. I really really lied yesterday when I said I had eaten my fill of carbs for the week.  My carb cravings tripled after seeing this.

But my plans to make a trip to the grocery store were NOT going to happen. The 16 bus in this weather? No thank you. The bus is sketchy enough in good weather, I can only imagine the terror of riding the bus on slush filled streets.

So I made do.  I got up, made a huge pot of coffe, some scrambled eggs, and of course started blasting my Christmas playlist.  The first snow is definitely something to be celebrated...indoors that is.

After a peaceful breakfast surrounded by falling snowflakes (and the sounds of whipping winds, thankfully I was tucked away safely inside and my cheeks have not suffered any windburn yet) I got to work.  I opened the cupboards and decided to make some cupcakes with what I had on hand.  Like a real low impact college student.

Ohh boy am I glad that I did. Decadent results. I couldn't have done better with all the ingredients for baking in the world.

Winter Wonderland Cupcake Muffins

Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt (heaping)
1/4 c strawberry yogurt (I used Activia from the roomie but any yogurt flavor would work)
1/4 cup + 1T almond milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking powder
4 T packed brown Sugar
3 T semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg


Winter Spiced Frosting

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup powdered sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 Tbsp almond milk
1/8-1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all the Winter Wonderland Cupcake Muffin ingredients in small bowl.  Be careful not to over mix.   If mixture is too dry add almond milk 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is achieved, mine were  the consistency of a thick pancake batter.  Grease 5 muffin spots in a muffin tin or use cupcake liners.  Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full.  Should fill about 4-5 muffin cups.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cupcake muffins cool.

Mix ingredients for Winter Spiced Frosting, adding more milk if too the consistency is too thick, or more powdered sugar if too thin.  My frosting was pretty runny, which was perfect because it ran down the sides of the cupcake muffins when unwrapped.  Drizzle the frosting on top of freshly baked still warm cupcake muffins to make an ooey gooey hot delicious mess.  Gobble them up while still warm.

Pump up the volume on the Christmas music, grab a good book and a hot mug of coffee and dig in.

I made 5 cupcakes, one for each of my roommates. But this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make a more substantial amount of cupcake muffins.

These are definitely helping take the edge of the winter chill my apartment has acquired this morning. My roommates are pretty loving at the moment too, just warming up my heart.

If you're looking for a slightly sweet, but still substantial cupcake like muffin to warm you up on a chilly day get to work in your kitchen.  This recipe can easily be modified to inclue nuts or dried fruit.  Take out some of the sugar if you want a "breadier" muffin.  Or use all purpose flour if you want more of a cupcake.  Or just leave it be and have a great mix of the two!

Not going to lie I am loving the sights of this fresh snowfall.  There is something so gorgeous about the first snowfall.  The branches were getting a little bare and sad anyways.  But at the same time I am not looking forward to my walk to the ceramics studio this afternoon...I may have to skip it and make some more treats instead ;)

What's the weather like where you are at the moment? Is it still fall?  Or did fall suddenly vanish overnight like here in Minnesota? (seriously I can still see yellow and red leaves peeking out under the snow covered branches! Talk about bipolar weather!)

Better Than Chicken Noodle Soup (Tempeh and Lentil Soup)

3 weeks ago I had had the general icky cold since September
2 weeks ago the common cold stepped it up a notch and sent me home for the weekend
1 week ago I had some sort of flu bug
This week? Sore throat.

After living off of these for a bit...

I decided that cough drops, water, and juice weren't going to cut it.  Something else had to be done to get me out of the sickness rut.  I opened up the cupboards and gathered some ingredients and set out to make a healing soup.  A soup that would replace Chicken Noodle Soup.  I always dreaded being sick because well being sick is no fun.  But even worse than being sick was eating disgusting Chicken Noodle Soup.

My goal today was to make a soup that would ease the pain of getting sick, to make a soup that would almost make getting sick something to look forward to.

What started out as just a simple soup turned into a complete delicious healing lunch.  Just like the one's my mom used to make me, but minutes the icky chicken noodle soup (and steaming my face over a pot of boiling water- I always hated that too!).  You know you've really grown up when you have to make your own lunch of healing goodness when you're sick...

The healing lunch not only had the double action of veggie broth goodness from the soup and a vitamin c boost from the grapefruit.

 But I took it a step further with the patented trifecta healing approach, #1. soup, #2. tea, and last but not least #3. citrus.

The tea and the grapefruit are no brainers...but what in the world did I put in this soup to make it SO delicious?

Better Than Chicken Noodle Soup (Tempeh and Lentil Soup)


Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable broth (or use 4 cups water + 4-5 tsp vegetable bullion)
½ cup lentils
2 tbsp olive oil
8 oz. tempeh, cubed (I used wild rice tempeh but plain would work too)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ large onion, chopped
2-3 medium carrots, diced
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Add lentils, bay leaves, rosemary, and oregano to 4 cups broth. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer on high for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile in a skillet heat olive oil then add the onion, garlic and tempeh. Sauté the mixture until the tempeh has browned slightly and the onions are translucent. When the lentils have cooked for 15 minutes or are almost done, add chopped carrots to broth mixture and finish cooking lentils. (I always add the carrots to soup before the rest of the veggies because they take longer to cook) Then add the celery and the sautéed mixture to the broth and stir. Taste, and add spices to adjust.  Cover and let the soup simmer for 5-10 minutes to really bring out the flavors of the spices.  Enjoy! You should be feeling better in no time.

Of course the tea, soup and grapefruit were wonderful.  But they were even better with a hearty slice of whole wheat bread on the side :)

Really it doesn't get much more comforting than lentil and tempeh in vegetable broth.  I've only recently discovered lentils, but now I know I have really been missing out for 20 years.  And tempeh is like tofu's older brother more sophisticated, complex, and delicious!  I don't think I'll be buying much tofu anymore...

This lunch was gone before I knew it.  I probably could have eaten the entire pot of soup I made.  But since I have grown up I controlled myself, put myself down for a nap, and saved the soup for tomorrow.  I'm sure my poor sore and scratchy throat will thank me during tomorrow's leftover lunch when I don't have to eat leftover Devil's Vegetarian Chili ;)

Do you like chicken noodle soup?

Devil's Vegetarian Chili

My Devilish grocery shopping experience combined with the onset of chilly fall weather inspired this hearty dish.

I think Chili is my absolute favorite part of winter...even better than sweater socks.

I love all the colors and flavors of chili, the amount of ingredients make it look intimidating but chili is one of the easiest soups to make. Chili is basically a bunch of beans, veggies and spices tossed in some diced tomatoes and simmered, easy enough right?  Because chili is such a hearty soup it is always satisfying and it never disappoints.  

The key to a good chili is a variety of spices.

Spices I used in Devil's Chili:
Cumin
Chili Powder
Paprika
Cayenne
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Oregano
Bay Leaves

On top of the spices I added even more flavor with garlic and onions.

Although chili is hearty it is never complete without, of course, toppings.

Devil's Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
1 TBSP Olive Oil
½ Medium Onion, chopped
3-4 Bay Leaves
1 Stalk Celery, chopped
½ Bell Pepper, chopped (I used red but I prefer green)
1-3 TBSP Canned Jalapeno Peppers (depending on how spicy you like your chili)
3 Cloves garlic, chopped
1 TSP of cumin, paprika, ground black pepper, cayenne, sea salt and oregano
2 TBSP Chili Powder (or more)
1 28 Ounce can of diced tomatoes
4-6 dahses of Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked kidney beans

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onions and bay leaves and cook until onion is tender.
2. Add celery, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, garlic and spices (excluding chili powder) and cook until veggies are heated through.
3. Add diced tomatoes and juices, chili powder, and Louisiana hot sauce to the pot. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
4. Add beans, taste test. Add spices to adjust taste to your liking. (All the amounts of spices are approximate, I start with these amounts and then adjust as I go, every pot of chili is different!)
5. Cover the pot of chili and let it simmer (DO NOT boil, you will boil the taste out!) for 5-20 minutes.
6. Serve immediately with desired toppings. (Cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, and avocado are my favorite chili toppings).

Enjoyed thoroughly in front of my Oncoming Winter Display.

So far we've discussed how spices, strong flavors, and toppings make the perfect bowl of chili.  The final touch?  A big hearty chunk of whole wheat bread.

What can I say? Oh yes, perfection.

When the first signs winter start showing I immediately get excited to make the first pot of chili of the year.  While cooking it up I envision cozy nights in front of the fireplace, twinkling Christmas tree lights, and the beautiful sight of a fresh snowfall.

Don't worry, in about a month reality will hit and the cheese factor of my posts will go down.

Winter in Minnesota does include all those warm fuzzy images but only about 10%of the time.  The reality of winter while attending college consists of trudging to class through slushy snow hiding a sleek layer of black ice beneath it. While your face is being assaulted snow that has turned into ice pellets because the wind is so fierce.  This whole horrendous scene usually ends in me slipping and landing on my butt in a pile of slush.
   
Those are the days when chili is essential to my survival.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of winter?