1) This was a week in the making- first I made the red lentil soup almost a week ago, which recipe I got from Sarah McColl's fabulous site: Pink of Perfection.
Only, by the time I finished with the stewing and dishwashing, I had snacked enough so that I wasn't hungry, so I put it away with the parsley to have later. The same thing happened the next night with my barley risotto with asparagus! And I had sauteed mushrooms with garlic, so I stowed those away for some unknown-as-yet purpose as well. While baking banana bread for colleagues, I had also baked up the rest of a package of bacon, so that was crisp and waiting. Thus, we arrive at the Red Lentil Stew with caramelied onions, mushrooms, and bacon garnish-- the Stew That Was-- delicious.
So that was my substantial fuel for a day of treat-myself shopping, and need it I did, what with being assailed by the produce at the farmer's market at Dupont and feeling drained by the out-of-nowhere heat in DC this weekend. Bene.
Up next is the project I undertook when I got home. Not wanting to spend more money, but not yet ready to settle in with magazine-deluttering (e.g. reading) for the night, I remembered I had bought the cocoa powder to make the Chocolate-Pumpkin Loaf that was meant to be a way to finish the half-can of pumpkin I had after making these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins. You see, I try to be economical around here, but one thing just leads to another. Anyway, the instructions for the Chocolate Pumpkin quick bread couldn't be simpler: Mix ingredients.
Okayyy... then bake for 40-45 minutes, and voila! Here is the loaf and my first slice (always a dicey endeavor to extract gracefully).
And here is the slice up close, so you can see the gorgeous melty 'pépites de chocolat'! I put in a half-cup of chocolate chips and about a third of a cup of cacao nibs just to see what happened, and I think it would probably be better with ust half a cup of chips. Ah well. Choc-tastic!
Mmmm...
So that was my substantial fuel for a day of treat-myself shopping, and need it I did, what with being assailed by the produce at the farmer's market at Dupont and feeling drained by the out-of-nowhere heat in DC this weekend. Bene.
Up next is the project I undertook when I got home. Not wanting to spend more money, but not yet ready to settle in with magazine-deluttering (e.g. reading) for the night, I remembered I had bought the cocoa powder to make the Chocolate-Pumpkin Loaf that was meant to be a way to finish the half-can of pumpkin I had after making these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins. You see, I try to be economical around here, but one thing just leads to another. Anyway, the instructions for the Chocolate Pumpkin quick bread couldn't be simpler: Mix ingredients.
Okayyy... then bake for 40-45 minutes, and voila! Here is the loaf and my first slice (always a dicey endeavor to extract gracefully).
And here is the slice up close, so you can see the gorgeous melty 'pépites de chocolat'! I put in a half-cup of chocolate chips and about a third of a cup of cacao nibs just to see what happened, and I think it would probably be better with ust half a cup of chips. Ah well. Choc-tastic!
Mmmm...
and then I had an anticlimactic chicken with mushroom-herb sauce (from a jar. A good jar), followed by a simple mesclun salad. After a dessert like this, all the rest is gravy!
Oh my that lentil soup looks fantastic! I think I'll make it for my lunches this week!
ReplyDeleteOoh, pumpkin chocolate. I like both those things. I'll have to try that, along with the chocolate peanut butter rolls I've been wanting to bake.
ReplyDelete