We literally had record high temperatures here in Colorado on Monday … only to wake up to a snowy morning today (just a couple of days later!)
snow on our trees
early taste of winter
Unfortunately there wasn’t enough snow on the roads for the kids to have their first 2011/12 snow day from school. I actually felt sorry for the babies this morning as they bundled up and headed to their bus stops. I fortunately had to be absolutely no where this morning!
watching the snow from my couch
As an added bonus, I was prepared for today’s weather for a change! I went to Whole Foods yesterday to shop for ingredients for a nice, warm tofu chili which is simmering in the crock pot as I type and the snow continues to fall.
Tofu chili is easy and flexible – pretty much how I imagine any regular chili to be.
This morning, I started with the following veggies:
- yellow squash
- purple and white small potatoes
- white onion
- red pepper
in the past, I have added zucchini and even eggplant. Veggie-wise, anything goes with this dish!
veggies
I added a few assorted beans to the vegetables. Today, I used a short cut with canned beans but dry beans prepared in the pressure cooker work great as well!
black, kidney and pinto beans
extra firm tofu - frozen, then defrosted
I chopped up and added some extra firm tofu to the mix and spiced it up!
select a few spices
Meatless crumbles also make a nice addition to this chili. Before starting up the crock pot, I mixed in one small can of tomato paste, a can of diced tomatoes and enough broth to make the mixture into a soup/stew consistency. Plugged it in, set it to cook for 6 hours. Dinner is done!
just a few more hours
So with a workout in my home gym done and dinner simmering… I am going to enjoy this early snow day. By tomorrow, we have sun again and the temperatures warm up for what is looking to be a lovely weekend!
some of the new tunes on my iPod:
The Look - Metronomy
Chinatown – Wild Nothing
Stay Gold - The Big Pink
Poor Animal – Zola Jesus
Let me Take You Out – Class Actress
