Confirmation Kids Chili Recipe

I have two other chili recipes on my sidebar but a lot of you were asking for the one I made this weekend for the confirmation kids, so here it is! It is a more "Italian" flavored stew and not at all spicy. We served it with rice and grated cheese to go on top.

2 T olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1/4 t tumeric

1 pound dried lentils, rinsed (I used half brown and half green lentils)
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 15 oz cans whole or chopped tomatoes and their juice
1/2 t dried savory
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried basil
1 bay leaf
a pinch of cayenne pepper
black pepper and salt to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot. Add chopped veggies, garlic and tumeric and sautee about 5 minutes til everything softens. Add all the other ingredients plus 7 cups of water, stir and bring to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, cook about 45 minutes. Season to taste and enjoy! Serves 10.

Lucky Lucky

The lunch with the kids in the confirmation group went so well! I made this huge pot of vegetarian chilli and was sure I was going to come home with at least half of it left over, but the kids - mainly the boys - were amazing - they all came back for seconds and some for thirds. Even our priest, Jef, had two helpings and was all enthusiastic because he had eaten something similar when he was in Africa last summer. There was only a bit left to take home - it really made my day that they enjoyed it so much!

The girls weren't as crazy about the chilli but everyone loved the zucchini muffins and so I finally told them what was in it and they were amazed. I had to promise to email the recipe to a couple of the parents and Jef (didn't realize he liked to cook so much)!

Then Stefaan and I were very lucky this morning - the weather report was calling for rain and wind (my least favorite weather combo for running) but when we got up it was clear and the sun was trying to peek out from the clouds. So we decided not to jinx ourselves by waiting too long, and went out for our run - 8 km and the exact same route we did two weeks ago. We finished in exactly the same time, and no rain the whole way. The wind was a bit annoying at times, but I was so happy to be able to get my run in, I didn't really care.

In a hurry as we are expected at the in-laws after lunch today. Hope my luck holds out!

Pooped

Our workshop last night went really well, the participants were having such a good time at the end chatting away that the last ones stayed til nearly 11 pm! But by the time Linda and I get things cleaned up a bit, it's much later, and then, as always, I have a hard time settling my brain down to be able to sleep. So I am kind of pooped today.

My friend Linda and I do workshops twice a year. We pick a theme we are interested in learning more about, or something suggested by our participants, and we research it and write a handout with lots of healthy vegetarian recipes that go with the topic. Then we make a short presentation of the theory, followed by having the participants make several different recipes in small groups, and then have a tasting at the end. It's a lot of fun.

I am so glad I got my run in yesterday (45 min fartlek) because today I just don't feel very energetic. And I have to prepare a lunch for the kids in my youngest son's confirmation class for Saturday, so I need to get the ingredients in and do some prep today. We are going to make a vegetarian chili with rice on the side and zucchini cupcakes for dessert. I really hope they'll like it - for a lot of them it might be the first time they ever taste a kidney bean or a lentil! And as for the zucchini in the cupcakes? That will be my secret!

Something Entirely Different

This morning we had our first workshop of the four (one more tomorrow evening and then two next week). Our topic is "Healthy Lunchboxes" and everything went well! But being busy preparing for it has kept me from blogging and keeping up with everyone else's blogs, so sorry for that.

I did do something completely out of character for me today, though. Normally, after a Wednesday morning workshop I am just so pooped from all the goings-on, that I kind of collapse in the afternoon. But today, after the kids and I had lunch, I was actually kind of itchy to get some exercise. So I asked them if they minded if I went to the gym for an hour (it was snowing outside) - of course, they're teenagers, so they definitely didn't mind!

And so I went to the gym on a Wednesday afternoon - which I have never done, because I have always been at home with my kids. The funny thing is, I didn't see anyone I knew - all the people were completely new to me. But on the up side, it was pretty dead there and I felt like I kind of had the place to myself. In a strange way, it felt like an entirely different gym - except of course that I got my favorite treadmill - creature of habit that I am!

I did my weights and interval run I was supposed to do yesterday but didn't get around to because I was so busy getting ready for the workshop and it felt so great! I am really glad I went because I know that it will make me feel more relaxed and sleep better tonight. And then tomorrow my plan is to run my fartlek outside, since it's supposed to be warmer, and then get everything ready for the next workshop.

Now it's time to go pick up the kids from badminton and swimming - they get their exercise and I got mine!

Okay, I take it back!

You guys are all so nice! You're right, I shouldn't be so negative. I think it's so easy sometimes to have certain (rigid?) expectations for ourselves and when we don't live up to our own (impossible?) standards, we get down on ourselves. At least I know I do that, for sure! Thanks so much for reminding me of this...

That said, you are going to laugh when I tell you where I went to do my long run today...I'll give you a hint: it was cold and spitting rain outside when I got up...any idea?

Ha ha, yes, the treadmill! In the nice warm gym. I needed to do 9 km so I did the first one as a warm up, took a bathroom break and then did the next 8, taking a short walk break after every 2 km. It took me 68 minutes all together, and it went okay. I will say it is definitely easier to keep myself to a slow pace on the treadmill than when running with Stefaan as I usually do on Sundays. Just punch it in!

It also worked out well since he ran yesterday and didn't want to do the whole 9 with me today anyway. So everyone is happy and now it's time to make lunch. Have a happy Sunday!

I'm a wimp!

Okay, it was cold again this morning, and grey, and generally dreary and I just didn't feel like running outdoors. Plus I had a weight workout I still needed to get in. So I went to the gym (in the car - I was too wimpy to even bike!) and did my weights and then did my 45 minute fartlek on the treadmill.

At first the running felt hard, because my legs were tired from the weights. But I told myself that it was good practice for the end of a race when your legs are tired, and so I just kept going. I ended up doing a "song fartlek", and just changing my pace according to the beat of the song that came on my Ipod, and in fact after the first third of the run, which was a struggle, the rest went pretty well. I ended up with 6.65 km in 45 minutes, and feeling great that I had gotten it done. And oh yeah - very sweaty.

Not much else to report, so I hope you all have a very happy Friday!

New World Record

This morning we woke up to a new world record here in Belgium - for 249 days since our last election seven political parties have been trying to form a government without success.

It's the longest any country has ever taken. And at the moment it doesn't look like they are any closer to forming a government than they were last summer. If anything, it seems even more hopeless, as all the politicians keep blaming the other side for the lack of progress. No one wants to step up and "be a hero" as Dr. Phil would tell them they need to do.

Aside from that, the country just keeps bumbling along with the government that was in place before the elections, everyone is sick of seeing all the same faces on the news every evening, and there will probably be elections to look forward to again this summer.