in the kitchen // october part II

As any mama knows, getting a healthy, delicious meal on the table is a real challenge after a day of dealing with mountains of laundry, crying babies, and the other stresses of life. It seems that some women have won the domestic lottery and their husbands or partners do the cooking. My husband does occasionally cook, and when he does it always turns out amazing, but after working all day, he doesn’t have much left to give to the evening meal. So, the day-to-day cooking is generally my responsibility. There’s an ebb and flow to my interest in the culinary arts, so there are weeks when we eat a lot of pasta, and then there are weeks when I really put my heart and soul into it and we get to try a lot of new things.

As I mentioned before, I am a vegetarian (my husband and daughter are not, and the baby…well, he’s a milkivore!), so almost always I am preparing a vegetarian meal. I have a lot of cookbooks, but I also like to browse online to find new and interesting recipes. I really like the Vegetarian Times magazine web site. Their recipes are always top-notch, and there are many that are easy enough to prepare on a weeknight, even with a newborn strapped to your chest.

Last night, I tried a new one from the VT site, called “Chickpea Tagine with Cinnamon, Cumin, and Carrots.” Tagines are Moroccan dishes, similar to stews, that are slow-cooked in a special earthenware pot. They are typically meat-intensive but, of course, this recipe is adapted to be meatless. The aroma of all the spices made my kitchen smell yummy for hours afterward, and the tagine was delicious! I chose to serve it over couscous to make it more of a meal, but you could certainly serve it alone (like soup).

Ingredients
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
2 14.5-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
¼ cup dried currants
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. honey
½ cup plain Greek-style yogurt
3 Tbs. finely chopped parsley

Preparation
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, or until onion slices are soft. Stir in chickpeas, carrots, currants, spices, honey, and 2 cups water. Cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Divide tagine among 4 bowls (or serve over couscous, like I did). Garnish each serving with dollop of yogurt, and sprinkle with parsley.

From Vegetarian Times, October 2008.

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual, inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

{this moment} 10/21/2011

at the hospital

My husband had surgery over a week ago, but I am just now getting around to finishing this post. He is home now, doing well, and already back at work. Still, I have reflected, and I am still reflecting, on the experience, and want to share it.

For me, hospitals always have such an air of sadness around them. Even though most people are there to get well, and many of them do, I can’t ignore the solemn faces, the hushed voices, and the seemingly endless maze of corridors. The minutes pass slowly, and I see the same anxious expression over and over as I pass people in the halls. Their faces are a mirror to my own. My mother, who is a nurse, sees things differently. She says hospitals are a place of healing. She says that surgeries, like my husband’s, give people a chance to live better, and longer, than they would without them. I think that is a wonderful perspective.


Baby Z and I did a lot of laps, a lot of worrying, and a lot of nursing. He did amazingly well for a baby that isn’t even two months old, and he charmed the heck out of just about everyone we met. They all marveled at his full head of hair, his breastfed chubbiness, his big, alert eyes, and his adorable smile. My husband’s wedding ring felt very foreign on my finger, though it seemed that was the best place for it, if it couldn’t be on his.


I drank peach iced tea in the café, while I waited for the restaurant-style buzzer to signal that my husband’s surgeon was ready to give me the news – good or bad. When it went off after less than half the time allotted for the surgery, irrationally I thought that something terrible must have happened. But, the truth is that the surgery went quickly because it went well. We are all so grateful for that.

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual, inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

birthday

Happy Birthday to my mom, who is a wonderful mother, and a much-loved grandmother. May you have many more.

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

~ Denise Levertov

2011 600 edit