back in the saddle (apron)

After a harrowing 24 hours, I am back in Philadelphia, safe and sound!  As a kind of fortunate twist to an otherwise non-ideal situation, my rearranged travel itinerary gave me an extra day off from work (it was kind of stupid of me to think I would get back to Philadelphia after midnight and be ready to go to work the next day anyway, but that's the name of the game, right?).  Several hours in an airport, two flights, two trains, one bus, and a few blocks later, I finally walked through my front door and joined Mister in bed for a nice 5-hour nap.

See, I figured my circadian rhythm is all off anyway between the time changes and the red eye flights, so I don't think I'll have much trouble getting back to sleep tonight.  After being more or less awake for 24 hours, I didn't really care about sabotaging "bedtime."  After a long wake-up, I took a shower and put together a short menu from The Vegan Table (and one bonus from The Urban Vegan):

1. Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew, although there will be a spicy twist this time around, since we discovered the first time that we aren't big fans of crocus stamen.  Also because of a neat souvenir I brought home from San Francisco... I could tell you, but I'd rather make you come back to find out!

2. Red Lentil Artichoke Stew - I did, at this point in my shortened menu-planning, wonder if I was going a little stew-heavy for the end of July, but then I realized they were the middle-eastern version of stew, not the Irish version.

3. Aloo Gobi because it's not a stew and because the only things that make Mister happier than a curry of potatoes and cauliflower is a giant pot of pasta.

4. Sloppy Joes from The Urban Vegan. Except that I forgot to get TVP, so it looks like that one will wait until I can drop into Whole Foods on my way home from work.  Considering Angst hasn't quite decided whether he believes I'm the lady who lives here, I figured I couldn't go wrong making one of his favorites to remind him who is mommy is.  It's amazing what a long weekend away will do - he hid from me when I came in the door!

Anyway, after a refreshing shower and a fresh coat of paint, I headed out to Whole Foods and Superfresh (who have apparently learned that people will find alternatives, since they dropped the price on chickpeas from $1.19 to $0.59!), with a quick stop into the wine store for my Apothic Red (still love it, though I had some very nice wines, ummm, an hour from wine country....imagine that!).

Tonight, I made Red Lentil Artichoke Stew as my inaugural dish back home.  It felt so much like home to see this:

Red lentils, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and a bay leaf just spending a little time together in a hot pot, simmering and allowing their flavors to meld.  Looks like home to me!

It was a delightfully tasty way to remember I know how to cook!  It's been a little while, you know.