Everyone has a chili recipe, a comforting, go-to, maybe even committed to memory pot of warm, hearty goodness that emerges when the weather goes cold. A glimpse into one person’s bowl usually conveys an opinion on beans. A spoonful can tell you whether they have a taste for heat. Is it thick enough to stand on a plate or does it lend itself to a bowl and a spoon? You know yours.
This one is mine.
I was always sort of intrigued by those sausage-like tubes of prepared polenta. I walked past them in the grocery store countless times, picking one up, turning it over in my hands, sort of wanting to take it home but never quite sure what I'd do with it. I got super nerdy excited the first time I saw that they make one studded with quinoa, but then I realized I had even less of an idea of what I'd to with that. It was one of those weird things that I couldn't bring myself to purchase but also couldn't seem to ignore.
So one day I said what the hell and I tossed one in my basket.
I am always writing new recipes, so I don't often get around to making dishes from other blogs. It's a pretty special thing when I find a recipe elsewhere that I can't resist recreating in our kitchen. Below are links to a few of those such recipes. I thought you might like to have them too.
I’ve been avoiding speaking with specificity here about the changes that I’ve made in my life over the past few months. I needed time to understand them better for myself first, and, if I’m totally honest, part of me has been nervous about how some of my choices will impact things in this space. My food has changed. It’s still delicious, and in a lot of ways better really, but it has definitely changed along with me.
It was at the end of September when I finally decided I’d had enough of feeling awful. I was tired all the time, I felt uncomfortable in my skin, and, more than feeling heavy, I felt swollen. Inflamed. My fingers were like sausages and my joints resisted when I bent them. It was impossible to take my rings off to do the dishes without first sticking my hand in the freezer to reduce the swelling, and even then it was difficult to force them over my knuckles.
Something told me it was more than just the extra weight. Something in my body felt wrong.
A mightily belated Happy Thanksgiving! And Happy Holidays! Happy New Year!
I’ve been on what I began referring to as a “holiday hiatus.” It was completely unplanned, unintentional, but somewhere around Thanksgiving I just stopped checking Twitter. Before I knew it a week had gone by, and then two. It felt so good to take a break from all the noise that I just kept going. I even stopped blogging.
My focus has been elsewhere for the past month or so. I’ve been thinking about and acting a lot on my health and my self (the spacing there is intentional). Always a proponent of unapologetically owning who you are and what you believe, I’ve been working on allowing myself certain things that seemed selfish in my brain but, it turns out, make me a better person in real life.
This time has been important and I’ve learned and realized a lot that I may have missed had I spent it plugged-in. Plus, it’s been really nice not to think in witty, 140-character blurbs (those of you who tweet know what I’m talking about). I do plan to significantly limit my social media time going forward, but I’m ready to be back here.
We have a lot of catching up to do.
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I hope it was filled with great food, wonderful people, and lots of love. I’d love to hear about any highlights and any resolutions/intentions/plans you have for the coming year. 2012 is already looking pretty darn great from over here.
