Light-Box Adventures

Upon realizing I forgot my sneakers at home, which meant I wouldn’t be going to the gym as planned, I decided to finally make the light-box I was hoping to make over my vacation. I won’t show you what it looks like yet because it isn’t pretty… and it’s not quite finished. As in, I need to make some improvements before it will be a complete success… but so far, not so bad!

These pictures are taken using one lamp with a soft white bulb filtered through white tissue paper. I need to get a couple of additional lamps and some indoor light bulbs but the difference is already noticeable.

My first subject?

Vegetarian Slow-Cooker Chili (serves 4-6)

Into my crock-pot went:

• 3 small Sweet Potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup frozen Tri-Colored peppers
• 1/2 Sweet Onion, sliced
• 2 Jalapenos, seeded and chopped
• 1 TBSP Chili Powder
• 1 TSP Ground Cumin
• 1 TSP Cayenne Pepper
• 1 1/2 Cups Vegetable Broth
• Dash of salt

I turned the crock-pot on low and left going for about 7 hours. I reheated (from refrigerator) to eat the next day by simmering on the stove for about 5 minutes.

Top with Greek yogurt (or sour cream), cheese (if desired) and pair with corn-bread (with Goat Cheese and Jalapenos if that’s your thing!).

Quick Chili and Pumpkin Cornbread

Oh, hey there fall!

A brief recap of this very fallish past weekend:

• yummy Indian grub (Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo and Naan)
• Sam Adam’s Pumpkin Beer (Pumpkin, I know… it’s available as part of the multi-packs)
• Birthday cake
• A PIG Roast!
• Dogfish Head Punkin Beer
• A sluggish, sick-feeling Sunday… boo

And then last night, the rain came. I could hear it pattering down on my air conditioner all night long. It was chilly too, at least by my standards. So what does one do when there is a chill in the air?

MAKE CHILI!

And, PUMPKIN CORNBREAD!

For the chili, I started by cooking about 1 lb of 95% lean ground beef in a saute pan. I added about a half of a chopped onion, some roasted red peppers and a quarter of a green pepper (chopped)… if you couldn’t guess, those were the contents of my veggie drawer. In a larger pot, I put one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and 2 15 oz cans of beans – one of Great Northern beans and one of small red beans. I added cayenne pepper, cumin, chili pepper, chopped garlic and salt and pepper (I didn’t measure the quantities). I brought it to a simmer, added my meat/onions/peppers and let it all simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. I topped it with cheddar cheese and had a piece of pumpkin cornbread on the side.

For the Pumpkin Cornbread, I followed a recipe.

adapted from RecipeGirl

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground pumpkin pie spice
1 cup cornmeal
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup canola oil
1 Tbs honey

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Sift flours, baking powder, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in cornmeal.

3. In separate bowl, beat eggs lightly. Whisk in pumpkin, brown sugar, oil and honey.

4. Make a well in the dry mixture. Add pumpkin mixture and blend batter.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cornbread is browned and the surface has a slightly springy feel.