What a fulfilling few days its been. Paper finished. Test over. Assignment finished early. On the home front too. Matt spent his day off brewing beer with some friends, cooking chickpeas, mowing the first lawn of spring and cooking a fabulous dinner! (And he’s in the process of mopping the post-brewing dirty kitchen floor too 
)
I decided it was a good night to enjoy a glass of wine 
(but the big push was that we have an open bottle left from our party that has to be used up soon!). I actually only drank a few sips because I was so busy before dinner, so I’m saving the rest to savor with a movie!
The newly mowed lawn
We had a particularly fulfilling mail day too! Some AgavePlus Granola from Nature’s Path (seeing my new love for it over the past few weeks) and BARNEY BUTTER from Amy C.!!!! THANK YOU AMY!!!!!!!
And a letter from my grandmother. She writes of tea:
“The tea plantation looked gorgeous, well run. I am so happy since we always drink tea. Whenever there was a lull my grandmother would say “Let’s have a cup of tea.” It turned into many fun festive times. And to have one of the family actually pick a leaf!”
And here’s the delicious dinner!
An Indian-inspired feast!
He cooked eggplant and zucchini (two of my very favorite veggies!!!) in some canola oil. In the meantime, he made a tomato sauce with:
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp yellow curry (or turmeric)
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- Salt + pepper
= simmer until hot and combined.
Layer with veggies, cooked chickpeas (~1/2 cup) and cooked quinoa (or rice or naan) (~1/2 cup) and top with yogurt and cilantro.
The cilantro was the best part! This was my kinda dinner – a huge bowl of a variety of flavors.
I am off to enjoy the evening with The Red Violin and my wine. See you bright and early for another charged day!
WEEKLY BITE says
Congrats on having a great day!! It’s such a good feeling to get things accomplished!
I checked out your Current TV Clip – very cool!
Enjoy your movie!!
Alicia says
Mmmm… that sounds like a great tomato sauce!
Just wanted to let you know that I love reading your blog every day… you truly inspire me to eat healthier and exercise more. I just recently graduated college and after having knee problems my senior year I am getting back into the swing of eating fresh, healthy meals and incorporating yoga, running and spinning classes into my week.
Down 7 pounds… 12 more to go… Thank you for your great blogging!
zestycook says
That tomato sauce looks killer good! Enjoy the move.
zest!
Elizabeth says
Mail = exciting day in my book too 🙂 How sweet of your gram to write.
Dinner looks divine! Enjoy movie night…
Susan says
Dinner looks AMAZING!
Jen says
I loved The Red Violin!! And your Indian-inspired dinner looks fantastic!
adrianna says
dinner looks ridiculously awesome! cant wait to try it…
btw, just watched the video from this morning–loved it! it was nice to hear your voice. adds even more ‘kath’ to the blog. and your skin is lovely and glowing 🙂
Lisa says
Dangit, eggplants were a dollar each at the store the other day and I forgot to grab them. That looks tasty!
Emily W. says
What a refreshing meal! And that card is so cute! 😀
Sharon says
Scrumptious eats!
VeggieGirl says
Lovely card from your grandmother; and HELL YES FOR INDIAN-INSPIRED CUISINE!!
Amanda says
mmm that looks so delicious! enjoy Red Violin, it’s a great movie!
Bec says
that card from your grandma is so pretty 🙂
Marisa (trim the fat) says
Mmmmm…eggplant and chickpeas. My kinda dinner, too!
Lisa D says
yum! i would never have thought to make a tomato sauce with indian inspired flavors/spices. Good job Matt! and Kath for posting/eating/reviewing as usual!
Sarah (Tales of Expansion) says
yay for productivity!!
your indian feast looks like the perfect summery dinner, mmmm. bookmarking this recipe!
NAOmni says
Dinner looks awesome!
NAOmni
Michelle Hisae says
That looks like the perfect end to a busy day. What a colorful dinner!
Amy C. says
Nice! I’m so glad it came quick. The post office must have known you needed a BB fix! 🙂
Kara says
Ah that lawn makes me want summer even more!
Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats says
ooooooo I am SOOOO jealous of your warm weather and GREEN lawn!!! Ours is still dead and brown 🙁
Casey says
Tht dinner looked delish!!! Minus the red sauce – I don’t eat red sauce. And Yay for Barney Butter!!!!
Adi (oatonomy.com - repaired!) says
Looks like a party in a bowl. I love chickpeas, so that looks especially yummy.
Have a great Tuesday.
Mara @ What's For Dinner? says
Great day and great dinner!
Red Head, Yellow Dog says
I really can’t tell you the number of times you make dinner with something I JUST got at the store! It’s always very helpful 🙂
Tonight I found a gorgeous looking eggplant at Harris Teeter on the discount produce shelf for 75 cents!! what a steal!
Shannon (The Daily Balance) says
That dinner looks fantastic! I’m so jealous of your lush lawn! My was dusted with snow this morning ;(
thepinkpeppercorn says
Love the dinner! But I LOVE Red Violin!!!!! I hope you liked it too 🙂 Corigliano did a great job on the score, and Josh Bell is a stellar player, I could listen to it all day !
Ally says
Just got to watch your video Kath! I loved it, it came out great and you look awesome. I love the accent, haha.
You are inspiring me to try indian food again. I think my food tastes have developed a little since last time I had it. Suggestions for dishes?
Jessica says
Your yard is so beautiful!! I am so jealous because I have no yard right now 🙁 I guess that’s what I should expect from living in the city!
I love garam masala, it is such a great seasoning- what a flavorful meal!
Heather says
Awww, what a sweet hubby!!! Congrats on getting so much accomplished today!
[email protected] says
I’ve never had Barney Butter… Apparently I need to look into this stuff!
Leng says
That’s so great that Matt is really helpful around the house. I love it how he cleans without being told.
I have been waiting to watch that Current Video for the looOongest time! I was wondering when they’d post it up. I even went online to search for it. I think the editors did a really good job of editing. Although, I have to admit, I wish it was longer. haha.
LK- Healthy Delcious says
your yard is beautiful! and now I’m craving Indian food.
Meg says
Sounds like a lovely night! Love all your mail goodies!
Courtney (The Hungry Yogini) says
Glad you had a great day! What a sweet hubby you have =) Din looks delish…simple and tasty!
Biz319 says
The lawn looks great! I’ll have to wait for our snow to melt to do ours! 😀
EatingRD says
Love the ethnic-inspired menu! I don’t envy the lawn mowing. My mom has about 1/2 acre in NC and they have to mow theirs at least every 3 days in the summer. Is that how it is with you guys? At least it’s a good workout 🙂
Melissa says
Cute card from your grandmother!
Love the indian dish! Your so lucky to have matt(and vice versa!)
Laura says
That looks pretty similar to what I eat for dinner several times a week! 🙂 Except that I’m way lazier than Matt. I just combine a tin of Indian spiced crushed tomatoes, an extra tsp of curry powder, 1/2 tin chick peas and diced courgette (zucchini), eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, and celery in a pot, bring it to the boil and then simmer on low heat for about half an hour. Served with quinoa, rice or wholemeal couscous if I feel like making some extra effort, heh, and getting in some extra grains.
Your oats with the nut butters always look really good and are daily making a bit sorry that I’m allergic! I’ll continue to eat and enjoy my 1/2 cup oats with soy milk, raisins, sultanas, pumpkin seeds, goji berries and blackcurrent flakes, though, and not know what I’m missing!
I liked the video this morning, too; you have a great accent! And sound nothing like what I’d have imagined you to sound like, if I’d been in the habit of imagining you speaking. Or something that actually makes sense. I live in New Zealand and one of the other post-grads at my university is an international student from Oregon; the two of you sound very similar. She says, hoping that I’m not unintentionally grouping you with an entirely different accent.
Rose says
Evening, Kath!
I must say – I am in awe of that perfectly-mowed lawn. Can you remind me what it’s like to have a yard? (Apt. living here, boo!) What do you and Matt like to do for fun in your own backyard?
Aubrey says
Hi Kath…LOVE your blog. I have a question. I watched your video and saw that you started on CalorieKing. I am thinking about joining because I need to lose weight and eat healthier (your blog is inspiring me tons!) I noticed in some of your entries that include recipes that you use measurements like oz…do you use a scale to measure your food…as opposed to measuring cups. And would your recommend buying one?
Foodie (Fab and Delicious Food) says
Great dinner!
Wine Lover says
The place and food both looks terrific!
Sarah (lovINmytummy) says
I think Matt cooks up awesome meals so you will overlook the frequency of his beer brewing. Good strategy! I need my hubs to start reading this blog…
erin says
Canola oil turns into trans fats when cooked.
Leah @ Simply Fabulous Now says
Wonderful dinner Kath!
I noticed you haven’t had oat filled pancakes lately! I made them this morning and thought of you! hehe.
sue says
your dinner looks gorgeous! what a treat to be able to be able to enjoy it outside! the weather here (in MA) is being such a tease!
coco says
indian style dinner looks fantastic! and eating in your yard with your hub.. even better! 🙂
Lauren says
I enjoyed a glass of white wine last night as well – nothin’ wrong with a Monday evening drink 😉
Eggplant & zucchini are two of my faves as well, so this dinner looks yummy. Yay for a husband who likes to cook!
Kath says
I forgot to mention that my grandmother painted the card herself!
Alicia ,
Thanks! Way to go on the weight loss goal.
EatingRD ,
We cut ours once a week in the summer, but it does get pretty long!
Laura ,
Dish sounds great!
Are you allergic to seeds? If not, maybe you could try sunflower seed butter?
Oregon and NC have very different accents, but then again, I don’t have a classic southern accent so maybe it’s closer to Oregon with southern twang!?
Rose ,
We don’t do enough in our yard!! We really just mow it, look at it over dinner on the patio, and plant a garden around the edges. Guess we need a dog. Or a swingset.
Aubrey ,
We do own a food scale, and I used to use it for portioning out foods. Most bakers (like matt) insist on weighing ingredients. So the recipes with OZ are probably leftover from when I was keeping a much closer eye on portions. I still use it for bread and meats on occasion or if I need to measure something and don’t want to use a measuring cup (that gets dirty).
erin ,
Says who?
Leah,
That’s so funny you mention pancakes – I was just thinking about them yesterday!
Kath
RK says
Kath,
Thanks for your dedication to this blog. I loved seeing you “live” and hearing your voice. I visit this site multiple times a day and really enjoy getting food ideas. You are amazing!
Beadie @ What I Ate Yesterday says
Aw, I was going to say that the card from your grandmother was so cute! So precious that she painted it herself!!
elizabeth says
This looks like an amazing dinner. Were the vegetables sauted or grilled?
Kath says
elizabeth ,
I guess seared? Pan-grilled? Basically put in a pan and allowed to get a crust.
Kath
JENNA says
Wow that dinner looks awesome! I love sauteed veggies! Your lawned looks so green and spring-like! I can’t wait for it to warm up.
Jaime says
Dinner looks fantastic! Quite the chef you have there. 🙂
I’m so jealous of your mowed lawn. We are in the midst of a freaking snowstorm in Halifax. Boo to that.
Jess says
What a cute card from your grandmother! Did she make it?
Rachel says
MMM that dinner looks so good!!! Oh and the Barney Butter!!! They’re giving away free samples on their website!