Chutney Chickpeas (and TEDDIE!)

I finally got the chance to play with my favorite little furry four-legged today!

…just a shame Vermont can’t plow roads this winter. I could have made it there much faster? Even in this picture you can see where someone started swerving!

With all the fashion blogs out there today, I thought I’d join in on the trend. Here I am modeling my gloriously fab boots, snow-pant breeches and Carhartt knock-off.

This is why I’m hot.

Naturally, being so bundled up didn’t make for optimum riding gear. So why not just hop on bareback (er…blanket-back…) and go for a snow ride?

That was Teddie’s thought as he took great joy in making me get an additional workout trying to climb atop him.

He may be short, but damn, when you’re wearing bulky clothing, you’re sinking up to your butt in snow, and you have an excited pony walking in circles around you because he wants to visit with everyone, it’s a lot easier to say “hop on” than it is to actually hop on.

When I finally got halfway on he was at least patient enough to stand still while I made like a seal as I flopped the rest of myself up and over.

We had fun. Maybe we’ll just become snow riders for the rest of the winter. Or pick up skijoring.

And in case you thought I was too hot to handle before, it got even better when I put my helmet on:

I realize I look like dorkus maximus, but look at Ted!

daaaaaaaamn! Oughta have put a warning sign on this blog.

See all that snow on his bridle? He took great pride in trudging along with his nose buried in the snow while I thought he was going to roll on me. Luckily, the only time I had to bail was when I accidentally steered him into a drift that was up to his belly. It was probably deeper than that, but his belly kept him from sinking further, luckily.

Sorry, Ted.

Oh,yeah…anyways. About that food thing.

Truth be told, when it came to dinner tonight, I almost just sauteed up some spinach, garlic and barbecue sauce with barbecue tempeh and called it a night. And if I didn’t have to work tomorrow, I totally would have.

Sauteeing spinach in olive oil with garlic and BBQ sauce is way better than it sounds, fyi.

But, I kind of like making enough dinner the night before working to be able to pack an easy lunch to bring the next day. Sauteed spinach wasn’t going to cut it.

Especially sauteed in garlic. I can still smell my breath from having it for lunch, and that was 5 snacks and a dinner ago.

I might as well just dedicate this post to Rachael Ray, what with using her bench scrape, knife and recipe.

They were Christmas presents! (…but I still love Rachael Ray.)

I’ve made this “Chutney Chicken One Pot” and posted about it before – well, raved about it before – but just linked to the recipe with all of my swaps written separately.

Well, usually I don’t break my “link-back” rule, but since this is one of my favorite meals (I’ve gotta go there) and I’ve made some substitutions over the couple times I’ve made it, I’m just going to go ahead and post how I make it.

Chutney Chickpea One-Pot

serves 2 as a side, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Chutney Chicken One-Pot

This dish is easily customizable to your likes and dislikes. Check out my notes after the recipe! Not only that, but once you’ve got everything chopped it comes together in a handful of minutes! And I know I just talked about a fear of long ingredients lists – and this one is…but it’s SO easy and you’ve probably got it all on hand.

• 2 t. olive oil
• 1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 c. diced celery
• 1/4 c. diced green or red peppers
• 1/4 c. diced dried apricots
• 2-3 dried Turkish figs, chopped
• 1 c. chickpeas
• 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1/8 t. curry powder
• 1/2 t. allspice
• 1/8 t. ground ginger
• 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 T. dijon or whole-grain mustard
• 2 1/2 T. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 c. vegetable broth
• 2-3 handfuls baby spinach

Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add in the apple, onion, celery and peppers. Saute until slightly soft. Add in the spices, dried fruit and chickpeas. Stir and then add in the broth, applesauce, vinegar and mustard. Reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer about five minutes, until sauce thickens slightly. Add in the spinach, stir and cover. Remove from heat, leaving covered until spinach wilts.

Serve with some crusty bread or a grain!

Last time, I made it with tofu instead of chickpeas, and mixed in cooked bulgur instead of serving it with bread. There were other differences, but I also didn’t add the spinach. I much prefer it with spinach! I also think I preferred it with bread instead of a grain.

I love dishes that mix a sweet element with savory, and this one hits the nail on the head. Change it to your tastebuds, though. I chose to use applesauce instead of jam because I figured jam would be pushing the envelope on too sweet. You can also easily use a bit less dried fruit, and use what dried fruit you have on hand. I love apricots and figs, but raisins are good, too!

Recollections

Weekend’s over already, back to work tomorrow 😦 Fast weekend. Seems like they always are lately.

I spent the rest of my afternoon going through old photos, remembering “the good old days”.

yep. I was an avid horseback rider from just about the time I could walk up until a couple of years ago, when life got in the way.

I would spend my summers working all day in order to get a ride in, or to help pay off board for my horse. There’s no better feeling than bringing a young or green horse along, and successfully competing in their first show. The bond is an amazing feeling, but then of course the time comes to start over with a new one, yet rather than feel sadness at selling your old friend, it’s just pride as you watch your “baby” show a new rider the ropes, and watch a new bond form.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s also those horses that you keep with you forever, both of you learning together rather than one educating the other. I was fortunate enough to be able to partake in both of these roles.

I got so busy senior year of highschool, with school, working whenever I wasn’t in school, and college stuff. Then I worked 9-5:30 all summer, and then started school. 

Whenever I wasn’t busy, I would try to divide my time between “me” time, family time, friend time, and horse time, but it just got to be too much, and horse time ended up taking the backburner.

My horse at the time, Burly, the first horse in this post, ended up sitting in a pasture for the better part of the summer. Of course he was still fed and cared for – he was at a boarding barn – but it killed me that he wasn’t getting the love and attention he deserved, from one person (me) rather than the usual come-and-go of other boarders and lesson students passing through the barn. Burly was the horse I had finally settled on, who I had purchased using the money I had saved up from prior resale projects. He had the best personality, and every time I stopped to see him he would still give me just as much love as a family member would, regardless of the fact that it didn’t seem like I was giving it back. You could tell how proud and happy he was after each successful ride we’d squeeze in, and it seemed like the more time off he’d get, the more heart he’d give me. Usually, it’s the opposite.

I couldn’t sell him, but I knew I needed to find someone for him.

Luckily, I am able to lease him out to a place where he is getting all the love and attention he truly deserves. Hopefully, within the next couple of years, I’ll be able to dedicate a larger portion of my time to horses, and possibly bring him home. But who knows if I’ll have the heart to take him back from where he is now?

Burly – Summer 2008

Lately, I really miss it, and am hoping to find time to ride for at least one day a week.

But, enough babbling. Just thought I’d offer a small peak into my life. I feel like you guys hardly know me!

Back to food. And stuff. haha.

It’s no secret that I love polenta. And it seems like lately, polenta is sweeping the food-blogger world! After seeing so many recipes pop up for polenta casseroles, I couldn’t hold off any longer and had to make one myself. Strangely, I started off with the inkling for a Mexican Polenta Casserole, but like most everything I do, changed my mind last minute to incorporate scallops. 

No, I don’t all of a sudden have a scallop obsession – see last night’s meal – in fact, I could take or leave scallops, really. But these scallops have followed me from my last apartment, and they need to be consumed. That’s a couple months. I mean, they’re fine in the freezer and everything, but really now.

Sorry for the poor photos. I wanted to leave it in that cute little personal casserole dish – kept it nice and warm! – rather than plop it all out onto a plate. It’s fitting because I coincidentally, accidentally stole that mini casserole dish from my last roomates. It’s the perfect size for one! anyways, you can’t really see the layers, but here’s how it went down:

For the scallop layer: Sautee ~10-15 Bay Scallops in minced garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, chopped onion, and chopped red pepper. Season with paprika, salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and chili powder. Set aside once done.

For the Veggie Layer: Sautee veggies of choice (I used broccoli, red pepper, tomato, onion, and carrot) in minced garlic. Season with same as above, or just some salt and pepper.

For the Polenta: Bring 1 cup water to a boil, and slowly whisk in 1/4 c. yellow cornmeal. Season with salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and garlic.

Layer in casserole dish – I went veggies, polenta, scallops, and then topped with tomato slices, parmesan cheese, real bacon bits, and red peppers. Bake for about 20m. at 400 degrees.

If you’re in a hurry, baking isn’t totally necessary since everything is cooked – but it’s definitely worth it. Gives the polenta a nice crust!

The scallops actually went really nicely with the polenta. Get a bit of everything! I liked the lemony flavor carrying through everything, but the chili powder gave it just the right mild kick.

Finish with:

a lime poppyseed oatmeal cookie and banana-raspberry-vanilla greek yogurt with dates, crystallized ginger, and total!

mmmm 🙂

Have you had to force a favorite pastime to the backburner in order to make room for other responsibilities?