When I went to Goodwill over the weekend with my mom and Hannah, while they immediately gravitate to the clothes, I always head right to housewares. Sometimes I find unusual bowls, plates, etc. My two favorite colors are blue and yellow. In my old house, my kitchen was this exact yellow and my dining room was this color blue, with white baseboards and crown molding.
I actually bought it because its also the perfect cappuccino size for my work’s deluxe coffee maker. When I brought it to work yesterday, I saw that there was a mark on the bottom and it said it was hand painted in Hungary. I looked it up and sure enough, this cup is from a famous china maker in Hungary! I bought this cup for .99 cents and the replacement cost for this one cup is $21 – not too bad! Check out the prices of the other stuff in this pattern!
Have you ever heard of eggs in purgatory? Sometimes on Tastespotting I’ll just hit random just to get some ideas. When I saw the idea of that breakfast, I thought, why not? First I cooked up 2 ounces of Italian sausage. I put 1/2 cup of broccoli in the microwave to cook.
When I got to work I heated up 3/4 cup of my marinara sauce while I Pam fried two eggs. Then I put the reheated sausage and broccoli on the bottom, but the fried eggs on top of that and had 1 ounce of my rosemary flax bread as a dipper.
Holy cow, was this good. It was savory – I actually ended up just cutting up the eggs really fine so I could get a piece of egg, sausage, broccoli and sauce in each bite 😀
I went to the gym at lunch. The bike machines were taken, so I decided to do a walk/jog/sprint on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I usually warm up for 5 minutes. Then for 3 minutes I’ll run at 3.5 mph, then 1 minute at 4.5 mph, then a sprint (for me!) starting at 5.0 mph, then each minute of the next 5 minutes I sprint at a faster pace. My last sprint I held for 2 minutes at 6.5 mph, which is a 9:14 mile pace – not too bad for an old lady! 😀
I have Jen to thank for the idea of running – she just had two of her best runs and she did them both without stopping – way to go Jen! 😀 Jen’s also hosting BSI Bacon – your submissions are due on Sunday!
So my idea for my soup came from Kaylyn’s Kitchen, although I adapted it a bit. I of course left out the onions, and I didn’t have tumeric or cardamom.
Spicy Red Lentil and Chickpea Stew (printer friendly version)
Makes 8 servings (344 calories, 5.7 fat, 55 carbs, 20 fiber and 20 protein)
Ingredients
1 | tablespoon olive oil |
1 | teaspoon grated ginger, fresh |
1 | tablespoon garlic, minced |
3/4 | cup celery, finely diced |
1 | teaspoon Garam Masala |
1/2 | teaspoon cayenne pepper (reduce to 1/4 if you don’t want too spicy) |
1 | teaspoon ground cumin |
6 | cups chicken stock |
1 1/2 | cups red lentils |
2 | cups chickpeas (1 15 oz. can) |
2 | cups diced tomatoes (1 15 oz. can tomato puree) |
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a dutch oven. Add ginger and garlic and gently saute for a few minutes. Add diced celery, garam masala, cayenne pepper, ground cumin and cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
- Add the stock, red lentils, canned tomatoes, and rinsed chickpeas and bring mixture to a gentle boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Serve hot, over brown rice and top with sour cream.
Served with 3/4 cup cooked brown rice.
The verdict? I hated it. The broth was delicious, but I guess I am just not a chickpea and lentil fan – this is really going to mess up my menu this week because I had two other lentil dishes I was going to make, but I think those are getting kicked to the curb! But, I posted this because maybe some of you like lentils and chickpeas! I know my friend Jamie does so that’s why I posted it too! 😀
While a bit on the chilly side yesterday, it was a pretty day – too bad our sunsets are at 4:30 now though!
I had stuffed peppers on our menu last night. I don’t have a real recipe for this. Tony had a good idea though to blanch the peppers in beef broth instead of just water to give them more flavor. While I still like a bite to my peppers, Tony likes them cooked really well. I just blanched mine for about 4 minutes, and Tony’s for about 7 or 8 minutes.
The filling was a mixture of cooked ground beef, cooked brown rice and my homemade meat marinara. I stuffed each pepper, topped each with fresh mozzarella, baked them for 15 minutes at 375 and then finished them off under the broiler.
My plate – 1/2 of a red pepper with 1 slice of bread.
Stats for Monday:
- 1405 calories, 150 carbs, 69 protein, 59 fat and 31 fiber
- 45 minute treadmill walk/jog/sprint
- the dog would not go on a walk with me 🙁
Here is hoping my cauliflower mac and cheese is better for lunch today!
Make it a Great Day!
I think you really needed to add the tumeric and cardamon, they may have made the difference in you liking it! I think it sounds great, and the rest of your food looks amazing as always. Love your Goodwill treasure!
I love thrift shop houseware departments, I can always find the coolest things in there. Haven’t gone for a while now. Great job on the weight loss, sound like the SB diet is working.
Looks and sounds delicious! And I love those Provencal colors, too.
I love blue and yellow together too! Such cute finds! Food looks yummy too 😉
aw, sorry you didn’t like the meal! i’m planning on making something similiar this thursday – hope my guests don’t hate it!!!
Those stuffed peppers look awesome! Nice job on the running – very cool!
I hate that you hated it – total boo when that happens!!
sorry about the lentil fail! i want to experiment with them but i remember not liking them in the past…not sure if they deserve another chance! doesn’t it stink that the sun sets so early now?? i hate driving home in the dark…feels like it came out of nowhere. my office lights are finally getting put to use 🙁
I’m not a lentil fan myself but I just made something with them that I really loved, so you might check it out: http://jennaseverythingblog.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/dhal-makhani/
Thanks for posting this Biz….I printed it out…and so plan on making it… 🙂
Let me know what you think Jamie! 😀
Bummer you didn’t like the lentil soup! I (relatively) recently discovered I really like them… but really i’d rather have eggs in purgatory 🙂 delicious!!
This is SO refreshing. I kind of love that you don’t like chickpeas, because I don’t really like it either, and it’s almost like a requirement to like it if you’re a food blogger in certain blogger communities. Hah!
You’re making me crave eggs though. They’re so expensive here in CA.
Everything looks so yummy! What a shame you didn’t like the soup. I hate it when I waste ingredients and my time on something we don’t like but most of the time you have winning meals!
I just posted a recipe today that has bacon how do I enter my recipe? Stop by my blog Biz as I have a giveaway for free feta and ricotta cheese and I know you would do something awesome with them!
All your fault! I am sooo ready to go thrifting again… just as soon as I stop staring at your breakfast.
My dog won’t walk with me anymore. He has friends all around our yard. He literally stops in the middle of the road, sits his booty down, and looks at me as if he’s saying “Bitch, please”. What a gem.
great job on the workout. i know, the darkness bums me out a bit too. i feel like i should be going to bed at 7:00, sometimes i do! i love the eggs in purgatory, i’ve heard of it, but haven’t tried it yet, it looks delicious!
I just heard of that egg dish not too long ago, that looks totally deluxe!!
I love lentils and chickpeas and their texture, so I may take a stab at that soup.
Great eats again Biz!
Hey Biz… I just recently discovered poached eggs in a marinara sauce. With meatballs… incredibly good!
And BTW, I just did my first video. Your daughter (at least her comment) made my director’s cut. Posted it today
Dave
I’ll have to let my daughter know – thanks Dave!
I get so jealous when I hear of these “steals” people get at the Goodwill…I am going to have to start scouring those thrift stores!
I’m glad to hear that you are meh on the lentils – I am, too. Not that I hate them, but there are a lot of other things I’ve decided I’d rather eat before I have to eat lentils.
Very sweet find on the Herend cup! I sold that stuff a long time ago (not that pattern) and yes, that was pricey back then. Love the colors, too. And it wasn’t a snowman!!! 😉
My mom used to put lentils and barley in pot roast and beef stew! YUCK!!! I hate them. Even now if I try something that has it in it I am instantly turned off by the lentils and barley! Never had chickpeas, just dont sound appetizing.
Good job on the run!
Way to go on the run, Biz! I’m still so proud of myself for getting out there again. Planning another run today! I have a hot dress to fit into! 🙂
I’m a sucker for a blue and white pattern so I LOVE your little pots with the handles.
Sorry your dish didn’t turn out! I’m indifferent about lentils. I have a 1/2 bag of lentils in my pantry and I’m not sure what I used the other half for!
Cute cup! Always feels good to get a deal! That is an awesome breakfast. I saw someone else do eggs and marinara sauce- I need to give it a try! Bummer about the soup. And how amazing do those stuffed peppers look with that browned up cheese.
I like lentil soup but I puree most of it with the immersion blender – maybe try that.
Great finds at Goodwill, I never go there but should – not that I need more ‘stuff’ in the house – maybe I should just drop some of mine there first 🙂
Had I not thrown out the leftovers, I may try that next time! 😀
I love Goodwill! Some people think its weird that I go in there, but I find some great stuff! I’m like you and tend to head straight for the housewares!
I love the cup! There’s nothing like a day browsing through thrift stores in my book. That soup looks “souper” and your new mug would make a great soup bowl, too!
I don’t like lentils either!!
Everything looks yummy as always. And see…someone else thinks you should write a cookbook. (And come to my house to cook for my fam.)
Nice score on the Goodwill items. I got a like-new old fashioned revere ware pot a couple of years ago for $2.00. Nothing better than a find.
What a find! I need to do more thrift shopping actually. Believe it or not we live right around the corner from a Goodwill, and I’ve never been inside! I guess I never think about buying things for my home, I only think of their clothes. I should definitely check it out.
I agree with you about lentils and chickpeas. They are definitely NOT my thing. I do like chickpeas as hummus though. And sometimes in salads, but that’s about it.
Run to your Goodwill! I’ve bought two coach purses there and an Anne Taylor business suit! 😀
I’m not a fan of lentils either. Not sure why?? But chickpeas are a whole other story………..LOVE!!! 🙂
Great job on the run, Lady!
I love chickpeas – in fact I have a pasta salad with chickpeas for my lunch today. And of course I LOVE hummus which is chickpeas too!
But lentils, not so much. Although there is a fabulous little French deli in St. Martin where they make a cold lentil salad that even my bean hating husband loves. I’ve tried to recreate it with no luck. I think it might be that they use a different variety of lentils than what I’m getting here.
Congrats on the run! Awesome.
Thanks for the stuffed peppers idea for dinner. I was just wondering what I should cook tonight.
Not a huge chickpea fan either. Plus that is a very carb heavy dish!
I don’t think those numbers are right 🙁 I need to double check them.
So disappointed that you didn’t like the lentils! I think they are great and I LOVE chickpeas.
Breakfast looks amazing. I seriously need to go to your house for breakfast in the morning. You need to do a Biz Breakfast cookbook!
Ha – thanks Debbi! Maybe you’ll like this stew?