I suppose you can infer by my writing this post that I did NOT in fact burn down the house… but it was a close one.
First – breakfast
Pumpkin pancakes
Yes, I jumped on the fall pumpkin bandwagon and stocked up at the grocery store the other day. After looking around the internet at various recipes, I just ended up tossing ingredients in a bowl:
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 t baking powder
- 1/2 t baking powder
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup pumpkin (maybe a bit more?)
- generous sprinkle of cinnamon
- slightly smaller sprinkle of nutmeg
- even smaller sprinkle of cloves
All mixed together and onto the griddle = very fluffy pancakes. (Made 8 sliver dollar pancakes)
To take it over the top I chopped up and microwaved a honey crisp apple (the one I packed and didn’t eat for dinner the previous night) with coconut oil and honey.
Delicious. I made pancakes with the extra batter and wrapped them up for the freezer. Should be good in the toaster oven later.
I had a free day. That’s right, until my evening concert I had nothing on my schedule – and I must admit I was pretty excited.
I had decided earlier today would be an exercise rest day (a decision that might not have been the best given the week’s schedule, but once I had made it I had a hard time changing my mind.) Of course what happens with a free day is it just seems to go by. I mean I read my book, returned e-mails, payed bills, but overall I’m not sure what happened to the whole morning.
I knew I needed to leave the house, but first I ate some lunch. On Friday I made black bean chili in the slow cooker. I roughly based this on this recipe but mostly I threw in a bunch of my own additions. It came out with great flavor but much too much liquid. I think I even used less liquid than the original recipe but might have been my error?
Anyway, as a solution, I opened the top of my slow cooker and kept cooking for hours as the water evaporated.
By lunch I was at least able to scoop some of the thicker part from the bottom.
With a side of Ezekiel english muffin with a bit of butter
And topped with some sharp cheddar cheese.
Next up I decided to use my free time for some shopping and errands. My black concert top has seen better days… Unfortunately, about 5 stores later I was frustrated, annoyed, grumpy, etc. and of course without new black top.
I was also close to where I needed to be but not close to home – and in need of dinner. I’m not sure why I was so hungry so early (for me) but I nearly just gave up for the day and went way overboard in my eating. Instead I stopped for a moment and realized that even if I indulged in a slightly bigger meal, it was still way better than throwing in the towel.
I wanted soup, but the place was closed and eventually settled on a Fresh City where I got a stir fry with tofu, vegetables, soba noodles, and peanut sauce.
Eh. Only okay. I’m always disappointed by Fresh City even though the menu appeals to me.
But at least it filled me up and I was off to my concert.
When I got home just before 11, the house smelled quite strong – I had left the chili on all day!!! And yes, the liquid certainly cooked down. The top and sides were black, but actually I think I managed to salvage the rest – we’ll see next time I try it. Most importantly I did not start a fire.
