fashion dailymotion

I've been wanting to make a veggie chilli for a while now but didn't come across a recipe that really jumped out at me. This one did. It's from a great food blog called Honest Fare. Check it out.



Check out the part that says MAPLE SYRUP. That's what intrigued me. Except I couldn't use it because I bought the maple syrup today on my grocery run, and lo and behold, I pick the one that had the broken safety seal. Forget that song and dance...so just to let you know, it still tastes awesome without it. I also didn't have the oregano or cloves, and I only had 3.5 cups of tomato juice. I also added mushrooms and a dash of cumin.



VEGETARIAN CHILI

You need:

5 cups tomato juice

1 ½ cup chick peas

1 ½ cup red beans (I used kidney beans?)

1 cup chopped zucchini

1 cup chopped yellow squash

1 ½ cup chopped yellow+red peppers

1 cup chopped carrot

¾ cup chopped white onion

½ teaspoon chopped jalapeño

Olive oil

1 large clove diced garlic

Handful of fresh oregano diced

Salt, blk or Cayenne pepper to taste

½ teaspoon cinnamon powder

¼ teaspoon ground clove

1 Tablespoon paprika

1½ Tablespoon chili powder

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Parsley

Directions:

1. Chop veggies. Sauté garlic, onion, peppers, squash and zuc in a
large pot with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil on med high heat for a
couple minutes. Add a teaspoon of salt, the beans, the paprika, chili
powder, clove, cinnamon, oregano and some black pepper. Saute uncovered
(mixing occasionally) until veggies become tender but not soft.



2. Add tomato juice, carrots and maple syrup. Bring to a simmer and
reduce heat to low. Stir in about 1/6 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and
another dash of salt. Cover and continue cooking on low until carrots
are soft. Taste and add more salt and/or cayenne pepper if needed.



3. Partially uncover and continue cooking until chili thickens. The
longer you cook it the better it’ll be. Serve topped with sour cream,
cheddar cheese and chives.

Chris and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary on March 10. It was a great day - Chris slept (he worked a nightshift the evening before), I made a trip to H&M and got a couple sweet clothing items, dropped by the Cupcakes store to get a treat for us and back. We enjoyed our cupcakes while Finn napped, then later Jenna came over to babysit while we enjoyed a dinner at Joey's and even caught a MOVIE. (I have not stepped in a theatre since before Finn was born, so it was an event) It was Alice in Wonderland, if you were wondering.



Then we came home and Jenna and Koby left. Finn wakes up. Finn does not go back to sleep until 12:45am. The bottle of wine is still sitting unopened on the counter.



So goes life when you have children - predictability goes out the window. Such is life...we're learning to adapt!

We're just firing off all six cylinders here with the milestones this week. We discovered Finn's first two teeth! At first we assumed it was one but discovered that he does, in fact, have two. See the scary diagram below (I Googled "baby teeth chart" and this was the best, most awesomest photo I cam across - although I might have nightmares of this child eating me) I will post a photo of Finn's actual teeth when you can actually see them with a camera lens, and when he will sit still long enough for someone to take a photo.

Two weeks shy of turning half a year, we started Finn on his first 'solids', which as you know typically look like white mush. Or, what looks like a thicker version of milk. The results were so adorably cute, and it is safe to say it was a success! He's hooked. I don't think he knew what to think - no smiles, just a face of pure concentration. The next day he was a bit more ravenous - really leaning in to get that spoon in his mouth when I wasn't going fast enough. It occurred to me that there is no turning back now...that from now on I will be feeding this hungry boy FOOD. Real food. Crazy. Life just got a whole lot messier.