Day 3

Today was a busy day, starting at 6 am.  Somehow I managed to not have breakfast till 1130.  It took awhile to get the oats cooked and I had some burning issues as well.  I had to keep on adding water to fully cook the oats.  They are steel cut oats, not rolled oats which many people are use to.  I got breakfast going on the stove and I decided to cook some dinner while I was at it.  I’ve gotten into a habit of cooking earlier in the day versus in the evening.  It’s so much easier when you have more energy.  When evening time rolls around, I don’t have much motivation to make dinner.  It’s much better when you have food ready.  Unless you’re one of those people who want food right off the stove (which usually results in a burned tongue for me), this is the best way to go.  I don’t have pics unfortunately since I’m having trouble finding the camera but will post some soon as they make everything prettier.

Steel Cut Oats

1/3 cup steel cut oats

2 cups water

dash of nutmeg

dash of cinnamon

1 banana

dash of flax seeds

handful of currants (any dried fruit)

Start by getting the water to boil with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Once the water is boiling, add in the oats and boil for 5 minutes.  Reduce to a simmer and let oats cook until soft.  Keep checking and stirring to make sure there’s enough water in the pot.  Add water as needed.  Once the oats are cooked, there should be a little water left, not too much.  Pour into a cereal bowl and add in your currants (or dried fruit), banana, and flax seeds.  Let it sit for 5 minutes before eating.

You can add honey to make it sweeter but my bananas were pretty ripe and lent a very sweet taste so honey wasn’t needed.

For dinner I decided to make Daal Chawwal aka Lentils and Rice.  It’s one of my favorite dishes and is such a sinch.  I’ll post up soon how to make Khaati Daal (it roughly translates to Sour Lentils but that doesn’t sound yum but it really is.  It’s a typical dish you might find at a hyderabadis house).  Khaati Daal is even easier to make, without the hassle of caramelizing onions.

I usually mix my own spices and use only a teaspoon of Shaan Masala  but I couldn’t find the one for Daal in my fridge so I had to do with out it.  It turned out the same so I guess I will just leave it out next time as well.

Daal Chawwal (Lentils and Rice)

1 1/2 cup mixed lentils (not any of the green ones)

1/2 an onion sliced thinly

1 tomato

handful of curry leaves

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp haldi

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 lemon

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp ginger

2 green peppers, quartered

In a pot, fill it half way with water.  Wash the lentils and add it to the pot to cook.  While the lentils are cooking, in a skillet, caramelize the onion (it really helps when its thinly sliced.  Makes it go faster) until it turns a red/brown but don’t let it burn.  Chop tomatoes and add it in.  Next, add in the garlic, ginger, and curry leaves and let it cook for about a minute.  Add in remaining ingredients.  Once the lentils start getting soft, add in the mixture from the skillet and let it cook until everything comes together.  Add more lemon to taste.

For the rice, rinse one cup of brown rice and add it to a pot filled with 3 cups of water.  Add a teaspoon of salt.  Boil the rice until the rice is cooked and/or there is no more water.

This is the easy way to make rice, (I hate the rice cooker) known as boiled rice.  There’s another way with adding in some spices but I wasn’t in the mood for that.  I’ll probably post it with some other dish.

The sister decided to be mean, and baked some brownies while I was at work.  I came home to a yummy smelling house only to find a tray full of brownies.  I was severly tempted, but somehow kept away.  I even stayed away from taking a sip of her tapioca the night before!  One sip can turn into two, and three and I would fall of the horse.  Suprisingly I haven’t had any crazy cravings.  I was actually quite hungry throughout the day today even though I ate decently with snacking on fruit in between.  I think a trip to Wel-Farm is due tomorrow since I’m running out of fruit. Wel-Farm has cheap produce and always has a variety of fruit which I enjoy trying out.  Sometimes I get a little too fruit happy but I will try to keep myself in check tomorrow.  Can’t wait.