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Food

Culinary Pursuits: White Bean Chicken Chili Soup

November 15, 2014

You may want to grab your iPad or a pen and paper and take notes because you’ll want to make this soup. It was so incredibly good, that I can’t wait until I have people over so I can make it for them.

Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, diced
32 oz of Thai ginger chicken broth
1 15 oz can of fresh cut corn
1 15 oz can of cannelini beans
1 10 oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
3 cups of shredded Rotisserrie lemon pepper chicken
1 medium sized red bell pepper, diced

Spices (1 healthy sized teaspoon of each):
Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
Rosemary Garlic
Cilantro
Sea salt
Curry
Cumin
Crushed red pepper flakes
McCormick Fiery 5 red pepper
1. Chop all your veggies.
2. Saute your onions until translucent (about 2-3 minutes on medium heat) with a tablespoon of olive oil, sea salt, and cilantro in a big pot.
3. Add your bell peppers and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Add in the Thai ginger chicken broth.
5. Add in the shredded chicken, turn the heat down to a low to medium heat and cover for 5 minutes
6. Add the spices and cover for another 5 minutes.
7. Add the Rotel diced tomatoes, the corn, and the cannellini beans.
8. Cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
9. Let cool and then serve.

 

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Food

Healthy Sweet Treat: Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

October 20, 2014

Yesterday one of my cohort members had a small birthday get together at her place. As I was trying to decide what to make, three quickly ripening bananas were staring me in the face. Decision made. Now I just had to find a good recipe. Fortunately, I found a great one online (check it out here) and ventured into the very unfamiliar territory of baking banana bread.
It came out wonderfully. It smelled amazing, it looked great, and most importantly it tasted delicious. I was so pleased with the results that I thought I’d share. You should definitely give this one a try if you’re looking for a healthier banana bread. The recipe calls for white whole wheat flour and no oil (used vanilla greek yogurt instead).

P.S. I had a slice today with some maple almond butter and it was amazing. Hope your week is equally amazing!

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Food

Culinary Pursuits: Spicy Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

October 12, 2014

It’s officially chili season! I don’t know about you but chili and soup are about all I want to eat in the fall. They’re just warm, feel good meals. I wanted to make a black bean chili but with sweet potatoes so I decided to wing it and create my own recipe. I loved the end result, so I had to share. Check it out below!

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 15oz can of reduced sodium black beans
1 15 oz can of corn
1 10 oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes with cilantro and lime juice
1 10 oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 large onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
goat cheese

Seasonings:
Sea salt
cumin
Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
curry powder
Fiery 5 red pepper
chili powder
cilantro
crushed red pepper flakes

I had initially planned to add chick peas but later decided against it.

Instructions:
1. Spray a baking pan with canola oil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Chop your sweet potatoes into 1/2 in cubes, spread them across your pan evenly, spray them with olive oil, and sprinkle on some sea salt.
3. Put them in the oven and let them cook for about 40 minutes.
4. Turn the stove on to medium heat and spray some olive oil on the bottom.
5. Sauté your onions for 2-3 minutes, then add the diced bell pepper along with some sea salt and cumin.
6. Let them sauté for another 3 minutes.
7. Add your cans of Rotel diced tomatoes and add one teaspoon of Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning.
8. Add the corn (don’t drain the liquid!) and let that cook for about 5 minutes.
9. Next, add the black beans (again, don’t drain the liquid), and let that cook for another 5 minutes.
10. Continue to stir your chili and add crushed red pepper flakes, cilantro, curry powder, and sea salt.
11. Bring to a simmer for about ten minutes. If it’s still too thick for you, add one cup of water at a time, until desired consistency.
12. Once they’re done, add your sweet potatoes to the chili.
13. Let it cool.
14. Spoon out some chili and sprinkle with goat cheese (or plain greek yogurt).
15. Enjoy!

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Food

Culinary Pursuits: Coconut Curry Kale Chips

October 6, 2014

What to do when you have a half of bag of kale in your fridge that you don’t want to go to waste? You make kale chips. I’ve wanted to try making my own kale chips for a while especially since it seemed so simple. Well it was! Check out the recipe below:

Ingredients:
5 cups of kale
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 cup of Coconut Milk
Olive oil spray
Red Pepper Flakes

Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with canola oil.
Mix together the coconut milk and curry powder.
Toss the kale in the coconut curry mix.
Lay pieces of kale flat on the baking sheet.
Spray some olive oil over the kale, and then sprinkle on some sea salt and red pepper flakes.
Put them in the oven and cook for 10 minutes or until crispy.

Enjoy!

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Food

Culinary Pursuits: Warm Kale Quinoa Salad

September 16, 2014

I’ve officially been a PhD student for a month now and so far, so good. Balancing a full course load with my research assistantship and taking time to just breathe has been a challenge, but I’m hanging in there. No rest for the weary! Fortunately, I’m surrounded by good people and that has made all the difference. It also helps that I have a great space to come back to after a long day. I love my apartment (especially my kitchen). It’s so nice and spacious so I feel like I have to put it to good use. One of the first dishes I made in it was this warm kale quinoa salad. It was too yummy not to share the recipe so check it out below!
Ingredients:
1/3 cup of coconut milk
1 cup of quinoa
Kale (6 cups)
4 cups of sweet potatoes
15 oz can of black beans
15 oz can of garbanzo beans
curry powder
sea salt
Olive oil spray

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Dice two medium sized sweet potatoes, spray them with olive oil and sprinkle on some sea salt.
Pop them in the oven for 35-40 minutes
Follow package instructions for cooking quinoa. I like to add sea salt and curry to the water I use to cook the quinoa so it’s more flavorful.
While quinoa is cooking, cook the beans (adding curry powder and sea salt to taste) on medium to high heat for 3-4 minutes (Don’t drain the sauce from the beans. You’ll use that for the kale).
Once the beans are done stir in the kale one cup at a time until it shrinks in volume.
Once quinoa is done add coconut milk and stir.
Add the sweet potatoes and the kale-bean mix to the quinoa and stir.
Optional: Garnish with goat cheese and sliced honey roasted almonds.

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Style

Work Wear Inspiration

August 7, 2014

For the final week of my fellowship I wanted to kick my work looks up a notch. Check them out below and let me know which one’s your fave!

Blazer and Top: Forever 21, Skirt: Modcloth, Shoes: Aldo, Necklace: Target
Top: JcPenney, Trousers & Bracelet: J Crew, Shoes: Aldo, Necklace: Versona
Top: Ralph Lauren (thrifted), Skirt: Madewell, Shoes: Aldo

While one fellowship has officially ended, another has begun. I’ll be sure to post my outfits and style inspiration as a PhD student for going to class, attending research meetings, or when meeting with advisors.

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Food Style

Peace Out Atlanta

July 28, 2014
I went to dinner last night with some friends at a restaurant called Terra Terroir. I had such a great time. You should check them out if you’re in the Atlanta area. In case you’re interested the cami and the shoes are from Forever 21 and the skirt is from Asos:)

You may have noticed it from some of my previous posts, but I’ll be leaving Atlanta soon. Yes, I know I just got here! Things have been a little hectic these past six months but I’m so grateful for all of the opportunities I’ve received. I had flirted with the idea of doing a PhD program for a while but I wasn’t sure exactly which programs to apply to (public health or communication) or where I wanted to go. As it turns out, not landing a full time position right after graduation was a huge blessing. It gave me time to think about exactly what should come next. When I finally applied to programs, I tried not to have any expectations about the outcomes. I could not have imagined, however, that things would turn out as incredibly as they did. It just provided extra confirmation that I was staying the course.

As a bit of an aside, I want to stress the importance of taking a chance on yourself. Personally, I have to be willing to try things even if I think my efforts will be unsuccessful. This isn’t because I’m supremely confident that things will work out, it’s because I don’t want to be tormented by the unknown. I have to be willing to see things through even if the odds are stacked against me, which they certainly were. These programs say no far more than they say yes. From the very beginning I prepared myself for the reality of a “no,” but I still forged ahead.  I felt like I would be cheating myself if I did not at least try. No risk, no reward.

Here’s to a fabulous week!
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