Soggy Saturday

Pizza Follow-Up

I wanted to do a follow-up on the pizza dough. Last night I substituted 1/2 a cup of spelt flour for 1/2 a cup of all-purpose flour. Normally the crust ends up thick and chewy. Last night, however, it was thin and crispy. The dough seemed a lot less glutenous so it rolled out super easy and super thin. My assumption is that it was the addition of the spelt. Now, that's not to say it was bad by any means. In fact, Jason seemed much happier with this crust. I was unaware that he was wanting thin crust. So, now I know that when I want a good thin crust pizza, substitute some all-purpose with spelt. I am afraid that if I used all spelt, it'd fall completely flat though.

Saturday Workout

I almost opted out of my workouts today. Still feeling stuffy and out of sorts. Once I got going with the weights, though, I did start to feel better. There's a lot said for workout endorphins!! I also tried Shock Cardio Step Moves finally. It was a fun step workout, super dancy. The intensity level was about medium, mostly because it was dancy and not high impact. Today was the last workout for week 2 of the Total-Body Training Rotation. It was another superset of 2 sets at 15 reps:

SS #1

Triceps - Weighted Tricep Dips

Calves - Calf Raises

SS #2

Quads - Elevated Lunges 

Shoulders - Lateral Raise

SS #3

Back - Bent-Over Flyes

Chest - Decline Flyes

Saturday Dinner

It was sort of a busy day for us. We had lots of errands to run, including groceries. We did make a stop by Whole Foods to stock up on some special goodies for new recipes. Very excited - snagged the last two cans of pumpkin. I felt like I had hit the jackpot! Oh and I got an immersion blender today too. Can't wait to try it out on some soups this coming week. I have a few in mind that I've been wanting to try out. Now I have the ingredients and better equipment. I am prepared.

It's rainy and dreary now. To me, perfect chili weather (especially with the added stuffy, sniffles). So dinner was Spicy Vegetarian Chili. This will be the first time I have ever written down my chili recipe in any way, shape, or form. Each time I make it, Ido something just a bit different, but here are the basics (aside: I really wanted to make with chipotle, but was out).

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:

1 tsp canola oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced (or whole if small)

1/2 - whole green bell pepper, diced (depends on size)

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can no-salt diced tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste (approximate)

1/2 cup TVP (I use a "beef" flavored brand I find at a local health store)

1 habanero, seeded, de-veined, minced (please wear gloves) or jalapeno peppers

1 12 oz. beer (optional)

1 cup vegetable broth or water

Spices to taste: sea salt, black pepper, red pepper, chipotle flakes, cumin, chili powder

Directions:

In large pot, heat oil and saute onions, bell peppers, and garlic until they begin to soften (approximately 5 minutes). Add in tomatoes, broth or water, beans, habanero, and spices. Let simmer over low heat approximately 30 minutes. Stir in TVP and paste, let chili continue to simmer and thicken approximately 30 minutes. The longer it cooks, the more the flavors will meld.