16 Bean Soup

So while in the grocery store a few days ago, I went down the international aisle and picked up some lentils, barley, green and yellow split peas, and a mixed bag called 16 bean soup. The back of the bag has a non-vegetarian recipe which included sausage, chicken bouillon, etc. But I googled 16 bean soup veggie and got a whole page of hits. I ended up using the below recipe which I found on a cool blog called Tofu and Cupcakes.

1 bag of dry 16 bean soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 vegetable bullion cubes
1 onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1-2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
salt and pepper to taste
water

1. Pick through and rinse dry beans. In a large pot cover with water ad let soak overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain in a colander and rinse (now is when you’ll see a lot of air bubbles coming off the beans, keep rinsing because you don’t want those air bubbles in your tummy, if you know what I’m sayin’).
2. Put the Beans in a large pot and cover with 4 quarts of water. Break “sausage” into bite-size pieces with your hands and add to pot. Add all other ingredients, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer stirring occasionally for 2 hours or until beans are tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.

This was delish! I have to say, I didn't put enough spices in the soup. I seem to be a bit hesitant on that side of things. Matt keeps telling me to just go for it, but I keep hearing this voice in my head say "you can always add more, but you can't take it back out" so I only put in a bit at a time.

I think I might split the recipe next time and add some turkey meatballs or sausage to half for Matt and Oliver and keep the other side veggie for me.

Warning! This soup is yummy, but beware how much you eat as it will fill you up faster and better than oatmeal!

Miso Soup

So, I want to say first off that I made this from scratch before any other big veggie soup because I figured this one would be the easier thing to do. And it was. REALLY easy. And SUPER delicious!!!
I found this particular recipe on allrecipies.com and just plugged in miso soup.

Cure-all Miso Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1 scallion, chopped
2-3 oz baked tofu, cubed
1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger root, minced
1/4 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons of white or yellow miso paste
1 lemon wedge

Directions:
Heat water as for tea. Put all ingredients except lemon into a bowl and stir until miso paste is dissolved. Squeeze lemon into soup and eat.
I use Wildwood Organics baked tofu, but you can certainly bake your own...but who wants to when sick? Also, if I don't have fresh garlic or ginger, I used powdered. Just a sprinkle of each.
Makes: 1 serving, Preparation time: 5 minutes

Now, I have to say that Matt and I tried it both with the lemon and without and we felt it was better without. Matt did mention that he missed the kale or spinach that is usually in it so next time I will add that.

Try the soup and try to tell me you don't feel happy and full and satisfied afterwards!! :-)
I want to say its my new favorite, but I'm trying so many new things right now!

Inspiration Rooms pt 2

Bedrooms. We officially have 3, but one will be used as an office for moi! I'm very excited, hence some of my inspiration pics in the last inspiration post. The other 2 are the master and the guestroom. The latter will currently be taken by our roommate for a little while; my brother who is staying with us until his fiance moves back to the area and they can get their own place!

Thus the guestroom will not be done for now, (we love having Oliver with us!) but when it is, I'm thinking a dusty grey-green on the walls, with the white trim and ceiling and neutral carpet. The curtains will also be white and the bedding will be a silver grey and white with dark grey edges which I already have. The second bathroom will also be painted a green color (I think) but lighter than the guestroom and will also retain its white doors and trim. Sort of spa themed. Relaxation. Calming thoughts. A place to stay that is neutral, fits all guests and makes everyone feel at home!

The master: I have been trying my darn-dest to find some pics online that look like the pic inside my head. But no such luck. So for now, I will describe and take pics once we move in and paint!

Our bedroom set is black and cherry colored. It's a bit of a mish-mosh but I love it. The bed was one of our first large purchases together and it a platform bed with storage drawers underneath (more organization!) and a tall slatted headboard. Our side tables are matching 4-drawers that came from my grandparents. My Papa (maternal grandfather) actually built them and they have black bodies with the drawer fronts and tops done in cherry. They are beautiful! We have my two dressers that came from my mum (lots of family furniture in our place!) and they have been or are being redone in a black semi-gloss and look fantastic!

The condo has all white everything and neutral carpet. The master bedroom walls will be painted a medium blue grey - I think the paint color is called coastal vista. Anyway, its a medium color as my first thought was to paint the master grey, however Matt thought it might look like one of my black & white photographs I love so much and he requested a bit more color. So its a blue grey and I think it will be lovely with the black furniture against it and the crisp white trim.

Holly, from In The Fun Lane, has been making me think a bit more with neutrals in mind and how they can make a single color really pop. Thus, there will be black curtains (of the truly blackout variety) and I will keep our bedding mostly white which is easy since I recently purchased a crisp white duvet from LLBean (that is softer than our sheets, I swear!).

(Picture of blackout floor to ceiling curtains. photo from overstock.com)

My Dad commented in a recent dinner visit that a blue tint would be lovely on the ceiling of the master and make the white and the black pop just a little bit more too. I've been seriously thinking about it!

The bathroom will be a lighter shade of blue from the bedroom so its not a jarring white in contrast. If we end up painting the ceiling of the master then we'll use that color as the bathroom color.

(photo from restoration hardware. I just love the blue tile!)

OH! I forgot to mention that the bathrooms have all white fixtures and cabinets and mottled granite counter tops. I know! Granite! In the bathrooms!!!! I'm so spoiled!

The first floor 1/2 bath has a pedestal sink. I'm thinking about doing wide horizontal stripes in two colors just barely a few shades apart to give it some spice. But that's still a thought process and will probably not happen until after we move in. (Actually, it sounds like a perfect weekend project in a few months!)

So the only inspiration pics I really have are for the hallway. But our hallway is fairly narrow and I'm not sure what we are going to do with the first floor. The second floor hall is large enough to put some nice pieces in it and still have room to easily walk around. But the first floor? Not so much. Sometimes when I start thinking about it too much I start to seeing it as a long skinny line with lots of doors. It does that the front door, the front coat closet, the stairs up, the downstairs 1/2 bath, the garage and the basement door before it opens up to the kitchen, dining and living room areas. What to do for storage? I'm still tryng to figure that part out.

I grew up with a mudroom. I love mudrooms. Or entryways or back halls. Whatever you like to call them, I love them. They are a separate space for coats, boots, winter garb, etc all while being a small taste of the home you're about to enter. They can be so warm and inviting you just want to take off your shoes and explore the rest of the house. That's what I would like in my dream house. Something big enough to allow for organization of 'stuff'. My husband is laughing right now. I love to put things away!

(photo from pottery barn)

Isn't that just delish! A cubby for every family member for all the day to day 'stuff' so it doesn't clog up the kitchen, dining room table, living room, bedroom, etc. I love love love love these and can't wait to have a place for them!

What are some of your favorite organizational tools?