Tag Archive for: stew

Do Something Different

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2020 is a year like no other. (How’s that for an understatement?)

Except maybe 2021. We don’t know yet what 2021 will look like because nobody knows what the future holds. And since it seems nobody has ever really lived through a pandemic like this before and we don’t have a proven protocol to follow, we’re left shooting from the hip and doing our best to surf the current tidal wave.

Life sure is topsy-turvy.

Lately I hear a lot of people wondering and worrying about when things will “get back to normal.” Understandably, they want to get back to their normal social activities, travel plans, work and school schedules, etc. I am not immune to these thoughts. Holy cow do I miss traveling. It actually leaves me with a deep, physical longing in my belly when I allow myself to think about it. Same goes for not being able to dine out with friends. But at the same time, I wholeheartedly believe that waiting for life to be “normal again” and dreaming of life as it once was is counter-productive to achieving a state of well-being now.

The pandemic has brought fear and forced change into our lives. And with fear and change comes uncertainty, which is unappealing and unfriendly to the majority of people. Human beings, in general, are not designed to cope well with uncertainty. COVID-19 is giving us an opportunity to rise to the challenge.

What if, instead of spending our energy resisting reality, we fully ground ourselves in the present and  treat this timeframe as an opportunity? Ask yourself the following questions:

  • What can I do differently immediately to bring more joy into my life?
  • What small thing can I do immediately to positively enhance my health?
  • What have I always wanted to learn and how soon can I get started learning this skill/topic/sport/etc.?
  • Since life is upside down anyway, what innovative new thing can I try that I wouldn’t do if life were “normal?”

This is our opportunity to show up differently in life.

So today I learned how to play a C-chord on the guitar. A single chord! I’ve wanted to learn to play the guitar for fifteen years. Finally, I played one single, stinking chord. So fun.

P.S. There are no guarantees that life will ever return to normal. So take a deep breath, open your mind, and start getting curious.

xo,

Claudine

Early Autumn Moroccan Stew by Andrea Bemis

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Though I’ve raved about the cookbook Dishing up the Dirt by Andrea Beamis before, it’s so dang good it’s worth mentioning again. This gem hasn’t let me down yet, and therefore I highly recommend you add it to your kitchen library. As winter nears and cooler temperatures (along with the pandemic) drive many of us back inside, I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one who’s devoting more time to home cooking again. ‘Tis the season for more warming soups and stews, which is why this recipe caught my eye. So good. So, so good. Just what a pandemic winter calls for.

Since it’s late autumn at the time of this writing, I omitted the eggplant and used canned tomatoes instead of fresh. I also subbed wild rice for the quinoa since wild rice is local to Minnesota.

Early Autumn Moroccan Stew by Andrea Bemis

Yields: 6-8 servings

1 cup dry quinoa

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2 medium-sized carrots, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium-sized sweet potato, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium-sized eggplant, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

2 medium-small zucchini (or summer squash) chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

2 large tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

3 1/2 cups vegetable stock (homemade or store-bought)

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained if from a can)

1/2 cup dried currants

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

full-fat yogurt for serving (use plant-based for a vegan option)

fresh lemon juice for serving

minced parsley for serving

1/2 cup toasted almonds for serving

 

Prepare quinoa (or wild rice, if following my lead) according to package instructions.

In a stew pot, heat the oil over medium-high and saute the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, and allspice. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the carrots, sweet potato, eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Add stock and bring the stew to a simmer. Cook on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the chickpeas and currants, and season to taste with plenty of salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the chickpeas are warmed through.

Ladle the stew over the quinoa (or other grain) and top with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of lemon juice, parsley, and toasted almonds.

xo,

Claudine