Sunday, February 27, 2011

Sunday Happenings

Today was a bit of a lazy day. With the cold weather and snow we've been having, I'm finding myself cold, even indoors and not up to doing a whole lot.  I'm only just over my cold but not back to normal routines and I have a busy week ahead.

I did some relaxing and a little laundry, tried to read my book, The Girl With a Pearl Earring and watched the Oscars with one eye though I missed all the key award presentations, lol. I got busy making a lentil concoction and some bread for dinner, as well as some blueberry muffins for breakfast.

This pot is filled with about 3 cups of lentils and twice the water and some sea salt.  Once this mixture boiled and the lentils were softening, I  added: one peeled and chopped sweet potato, several leaves of chopped kale, 6 chopped roma tomatoes, one half of a large red onion (chopped) and a big spoon of aged miso (probably about 4 tbsp.) for flavouring.  I cooked this all down until the water was all evaporated and the lentils were nice and soft.  This dish was accompanied by a ground beef/red onion and soy sauce dish, a side of brown rice and some bannock bread.  This was all very tasty and filling and hit the spot on a cold day. For a change there are lots of leftover lentils and rice to eat through the week. I've also frozen some lentils.

I also made these jumbo blueberry muffins for breakfast.  I guess blueberries count as being blue ;-) I've made these before and you can find the recipe here.  Sorry there is no longer a photo on the original post. It used to be on my hard drive but that was several computers ago!

I started another cleanse. I liked the one I tried in January.  Read about it here.  But I felt I needed a slightly longer cleanse and this one is for 30 days. This will spur me on to eat better also.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend and wish you a wonderful week ahead!

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56 comments:

Bahchi said...

The blueberry muffin looks yummy! Thanks for dropping by, Joyful! :)

Joyful said...

Bahchi, you're very welcome. I hope you get to try the blueberry muffins. Do you get blueberries where you live? This recipe is not too sweet so perfect for breakfast.

Adie said...

I did watch the Oscars, too, and was blinded by that metallic blue gown of Anne Hathaway! LOL! Don't get me wrong, I do love that lovely lady :) And James Franco, too!

That lentil dish made me hungry. And that muffin as well. Delish!

Happy Monday!

P.S. Sorry about the comments section. Still tinkering with it ;)
Ode to Adrienne

Joyful said...

Adie, thanks for stopping by and leaving a great comment. It is fun to see all the fashions on the red carpet, isn't it? I missed so much of the winners that I'll have to check on line for the results, lol.

Diane said...

It is nice to have a restful day from time to time but it seems you were quite busy in the kitchen. Best to stay in though if you are not completly over your cold and if it is still cold outside. Roll on summer! Diane

Joyful said...

Hi Diane, it really wasn't a long time in cooking preparation as I made the bread and muffins while the lentils were cooking. What did take time is doing all the pots, pans and bowls afterwards! Not my favourite job. I second your motion for the summer to roll on ;-)

Gizelle said...

I love cooking lentils and I have to since my son has iron-deficiency...

the blueberry muffin looks yummy!

Joyful said...

Gizelle, I understand that lentils are great for you so good thing they can be tasty too ;-) Thanks for your visit.

Shengkay said...

thanks forcommenting on my entry post..

all looks yummy!

happy MYM and BM!

Fex said...

yummy! makes me hungry here :)

Craft n Fashion said...

looks delicious :)

http://craftnfashion.info/?p=586

SmilingSally said...

I love those blueberries!

Happy Blue Monday, Joy.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Your food looks delicious, and I really enjoyed going along on your safari. They baby zebras are adorable.

Thanks for stopping by to say hello, and Happy Blue Monday :>)

Tracy F. said...

Mmmmm.....those blueberry muffins sure would be good with my coffee!

Yoshi said...

Wow, you are very good cook. The pod photo looks so yummy.

Becky K. said...

You have inspired me to make soup and bread!
Happy Monday!!

Chubskulit Rose said...

You make me hungry!

My Blue Monday

Unknown said...

The vegie and muffins look so yummy...Thanks for the visit and comment Joyful.

Kim, USA said...

I love your lentil recipe, what is miso? Blueberry muffin is my DH favorite and he also made some yesterday. Happy Monday!
Blue Monday

Joyful said...

sHeNgKaY, thank you for your visit. Hope you can come again soon.

Joyful said...

Fe,come on over and have a muffin with me ;-)

Joyful said...

Craft n Fashion, thank you for your visit and your kind words.

Joyful said...

Smiling Sally, me too! I'll save a muffin for you ;-)

Joyful said...

Oregon Gifts, thank you for your visit. I'm so happy you took the time to join me on safari also.

Joyful said...

Tracy, yes indeed. That is how I am having mine this morning ;-)

Joyful said...

y. Ikeda, thank you, blush. Your compliment is so generous.

Joyful said...

Becky K, that's wonderful. I get inspiration from other blogs too :-) Enjoy your bread and soup.

Joyful said...

chubskulit, thank you for stopping by. Stay long enough to have some lentils and go on safari ;-)

Ann said...

The muffin looks very yummy!!! I taped the Oscars and fast forwarded to just the parts I wanted to see. I was really disappointed by the whole show. It did convince me to see "Kings Speech" although. Thanks for coming by and leaving a comment today.
Ann

Joyful said...

Kat, you are so welcome. Please come again any time. Perhaps you'd like to join me on Kenyan safari here http://snapthatpenny.blogspot.com/2011/02/nakuru-national-park.html

Joyful said...

Kim, miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning made by fermenting rice, barley or soybean and mixing it with salt and a fungus. It's rich in vitamins, minerals and protein. Thanks for stopping by. HBM

Joyful said...

Ann, thanks for your visit. I know I didn't miss much with the Oscars as there weren't a lot of movies I wanted to see this past year. I did miss the King's Speech which I did want to see and am hoping to go and view it this week if all goes well.

Dena E's Blog said...

Lookin YUMMY Sweetie,,,thanks for the note today.. Your pots is lovely btw...Prayers and Hugs Dena

Joyful said...

Dena, thank you for your visit and your sweet comment. I'm so glad you like the pots as they belonged to my mom and now I have them. I am enjoying using them.

Donnie said...

Your dish looks very filling and healthy. That muffin looks yummy.

Gattina said...

You make my mouth water with lentil soup and muffins ! It looks delicious !!

ellen b. said...

Hello Joyful! That lentil soup looks real good. And those blueberry muffins are calling to me. I'm about ready for a cleanse myself. I think I'll start it the day after my birthday dinner!
Have a great week!

Joyful said...

Donnie,aw you're so sweet. Thanks for dropping by!

Joyful said...

Gattina, thank you for your visit and your comment. The lentils were delicious but I didn't make lentil soup. Instead I made lentils with veggies and boiled all the water down. It was really good and healthy too!

Joyful said...

Ellen b, the cleanse is working really great so far. This one is for 30 days so I think that is enough time to do a good job ;-) Good luck with yours and Happy Birthday too!

Kilauea Poetry said...

First of all, I missed this and the food looks absolutetly fabulous..my mouth is watering!! I used to have a little yogurt maker years ago when my boys were growing up and would use it with a different Eastern version of lentil soup- the muffins look good too (glad you posted the recipe) Oh, I didn't read the book but I'm sure it would be better than the movie.
Hey, I left a comment on my post..just wanted to thank you! You were the only one who just simply answered my question! It was sort of difficult to frame it without coming off harsh (they are just the scriptures though)? I appreciate everyone's comments on the discipline/strength training..but that was one half. I'm sure it's a delicate issue where many would rather skip..(believe me, I fully understand that). Anyway, just wanted to express my thanks!
I give you credit and wish you strength for your fast!

Joyful said...

KP, so glad you found the post. I find that if one posts everyday the new ones don't always show up in the "readers" or the blogs where you put your fav. blogs etc. Anyway I'm glad you enjoyed the recipes. I do enjoy your posts though I admit I don't always have time or concentration to comment on the delicate issues either. But this one you're talking about I jumped in on because I've had these thoughts for most of my life ;-) Blessings and thanks for your wishes for my cleanse and my health overhaul.

Joyful said...

P.S. I'm enjoying the book. It is easy and quick to read so no doubt was easy to make into a movie. I never did see the movie. I'd like to see it sometimes to see if it sticks to the real story line, lol.

Kilauea Poetry said...

Thank you..I agree to both! Oh, the movie stood as as being good but I'm running a blank. Enjoy your book. My son is renting from a lady who moved to California. She has several lemon trees going off right now. He did it for 3 weeks which I thought 2 would be long enough? At least he was saying he was careful about coming off it and think was preparing for it well enough. I have my maple syrup and lemons..lots of cayenne (lol)- just need to do it! Well your going for the 30? Wow..I may do 2 weeks..wish me luck getting started, ha ha~

Joyful said...

KP, it's really not that hard for me to go for 30 days because everything is prepared already in a kit. You don't stop eating and you don't really change your diet. You are simply encouraged to eat better and I try to do that anyway.

So I will be eating more veggies than I usually do, more yogurts, more pulses and less milk. I do all these things anyway but this gives me the motivation to keep it up and make these steps a focus of my eating. It isn't a fast as such. Though I have fasted in the past, I don't really do that now due to the diabetes. If I do fast, I don't make it a juice fast or give up food, I just eat a lot lighter. No meat, no caffeine and perhaps just eat 2 or 3 foods so as not to overload the system. Good luck with getting started :-)

Joyful said...

Kim, miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning made by fermenting rice, barley or soybean and mixing it with salt and a fungus. It's rich in vitamins, minerals and protein. Thanks for stopping by. HBM

Joyful said...

KP, so glad you found the post. I find that if one posts everyday the new ones don't always show up in the "readers" or the blogs where you put your fav. blogs etc. Anyway I'm glad you enjoyed the recipes. I do enjoy your posts though I admit I don't always have time or concentration to comment on the delicate issues either. But this one you're talking about I jumped in on because I've had these thoughts for most of my life ;-) Blessings and thanks for your wishes for my cleanse and my health overhaul.

Joyful said...

Gattina, thank you for your visit and your comment. The lentils were delicious but I didn't make lentil soup. Instead I made lentils with veggies and boiled all the water down. It was really good and healthy too!

Joyful said...

You make my mouth water with lentil soup and muffins ! It looks delicious !!

Joyful said...

You have inspired me to make soup and bread!
Happy Monday!!

Joyful said...

Mmmmm.....those blueberry muffins sure would be good with my coffee!

Joyful said...

I love those blueberries!

Happy Blue Monday, Joy.

Joyful said...

I love cooking lentils and I have to since my son has iron-deficiency...

the blueberry muffin looks yummy!

Joyful said...

I did watch the Oscars, too, and was blinded by that metallic blue gown of Anne Hathaway! LOL! Don't get me wrong, I do love that lovely lady :) And James Franco, too!

That lentil dish made me hungry. And that muffin as well. Delish!

Happy Monday!

P.S. Sorry about the comments section. Still tinkering with it ;)
Ode to Adrienne

Joyful said...

The blueberry muffin looks yummy! Thanks for dropping by, Joyful! :)

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