Green Moong Dal

Have not been in the right sorts to cook and definitely not run lately. This past weekend was extremely hard with the passing of our dog Indy. I know that I am in my denial phase of grieving. The hardest thing for me right now is the sharp stab of sadness every time I open the front door of our house and I don't hear the pitter patter of little feet coming to greet me and trying to body block him from running out side to terrorize the neighbors cat.

This morning I managed to jump back on the horse so to speak and I went running, 3.7 miles. New shoes are still lovely but the run was terribly sad without my buddy.

That being said here is an Indian dal recipe modified from here: http://www.spicytasty.com/veggie-entrees-sides/green-moong-dal-curry/

Green Moong dal Curry

Ingredients

1 cup whole green moong dal (whole mung beans)

1 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

4 green chilies (use 1 jalapeño)

½ cup milk (coconut or soy)

1 tsp tumeric powder

1 tbs garlic chopped fine

1 tbs grated ginger

4 curry leaves

1 tbs oil

½ tsp cumin seeds

Method

Rinse the moong dal and soak the moong dal overnight (12 hours) in at least 4 cups of water.

1. Drain the moong dal and add them to a large pot of salted water (like pasta). Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 10 minutes or till soft.
2. Meanwhile heat the oil in a separate pan with the cumin seeds and curry leaves over medium low until you smell the cumin seeds (be careful not to burn them)
3. Add the onion and chilies and cook them until golden brown.
4. Drain the moong dal.
5. Add the garlic and ginger and cook them until they are lightly brown.
6. Add the moong dal, tumeric powder, 1 ½ cups of water, milk, and tomatoes.
7. Cover the pan and boil for 5 minutes over medium high.
8. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro) if desired.

Serving suggestions: serve with naan or roti heated in the oven (350 ºC for 5 minutes) or basmati rice or both.

First Post

So this is my blog that I will be attempting to use frequently to do the following:

1. Post recipes/food creations that I have made
2. Running log
3. Keep my sanity!

I hope that this will be a worth while experiment and perhaps something I can look back on and say, wow, I have grown as a person (hopefully not sideways). Yesterday I tried out my new running shoes that I bought at Runabout Sports, a local store which I highly recommend. They are the Mizuno Wave Inspire 5 and I have a few words about them: deliciously comfortable and they make running a pleasure. Here is a review for them on Running Shoes Guru: http://www.runningshoesguru.com/2009/04/mizuno-wave-inspire-5-running-shoes-review/. I highly recommend them to anyone who needs a sability shoe.

Miles run in new shoes: 3.6

My food creation of the day so far is Pumpkin Oatmeal. This recipe is a product of having left over pumpkin and a love of oatmeal. Sorry that there is no picture, I was a little late for work this morning.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Serves 1 person

Ingredients

1 Cup soy milk of choice or water

1/2 Cup rolled oats, quick cooking or old fashioned (my cooking time is with old fashioned)

3 Tbs canned pumpkin

1 Pinch of salt

1/2 Tsp cinnamon

1/4 Tsp ground ginger

1 Dash of ground nutmeg

Optional: sweetener of choice

Method

Over medium low heat in a small sauce pan heat the milk or water to a simmer. Add the oats, pumpkin, and salt while stiring. Simmer for 3-4 minutes (depending on how thick you want your oats, you may want less or more time) while stirring continuously. Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and if you like a drizzle of honey, agave, or dash of stevia (my preferred choice). Take off the heat and let rest for a minute or so.

Enjoy!