B-b-b-bad to the bone

The spicy coconut lentil soup is complete, dinner is done, and both Josh and I gave the soup a surprised thumbs-up.  See, right off the bat, I was sure I had burned it.  Then, while it was simmering, I was convinced that the Anaheim pepper, ginger, garlic, red onion, cumin, coriander, paprika, coconut milk and coconut oil combination would prove to be too complicated. 

Why did I doubt Marcus Samuelsson?  It was good and warm and the coconut oil made for a fresh flavor - and good smells.

Once I got over the hurdle of encountering oil in solid form, I was fascinated by its texture.  That stuff is like candle wax!  I scooped out my heaped teaspoon and kind of just looked at it for awhile. 

 Later in the culinary process, coriander was inadvertently flung.  Oops.

I call this recipe a success.  It's probably not something that I'd make more than once every six weeks or so - but on second thought, now that I have this massive stash of coconut oil, the rest of the ingredients are pretty economical.  Maybe I will invite this soup back more often.  I'm glad I tried it.

This weekend was a full one.  My Tennessee football team fought very hard and finished the first half tied with Alabama, a very good team, before getting absolutely obliterated in the second half.  Josh and I prowled the Mall of America along with at least five million other shoppers.  I found a very nice sale at JCrew.  I ran six miles.  I went to a baby shower to celebrate Natalie, my friend and former colleague and soon-to-be fabulous mama.  Get this: Stef, the shower's host, moved into the house a week ago and not only had everything in sight unpacked, painted and looking home-like but also threw a beautiful party for Natalie and made it look effortless!  (Also notable: Stef made the full-blown huevos rancheros recipe from Hell's Kitchen, a legendary Twin Cities brunch spot.  Yum.)

After the baby shower, Josh, Mom, Brother, Sister and I met at the Cinema Ballroom to cash in the first of four group dance classes we wrangled this summer through Groupon.  (Seriously!  Four classes for $15!)  It should be noted that this isn't a typical family gathering for us and also that we aren't particularly known for our dancing skills.  This class is an hour-long introduction to two different styles, and each week it's something different.  This week was Viennese Waltz and East Coast Swing. 

My recap of this hour is probably not complete without paragraphs from the perspective of each member of our group, because we all had different reactions at different times, which was kind of neat.  I could be floundering through a series of steps, for example, and look over and see my sister tapping away happy as a clam - and five minutes later, it might be the reverse.  (Well, to be fair, I think she consistently fared better than I did.  But that's beside the point.) 

I was nervous at the start.  I wish I could've taken a photo of my mom, sister and I after the first round of instruction, because we were all wearing identical expressions of trepidation.  But we settled into the lesson and had various highs and lows of catching on and then falling off.  The Viennese Waltz is a faster version of a traditional waltz, and most of my party got more out of that half-hour than the East Coast Swing section.  East Coast Swing is really hard!  I think we each culled helpful pieces we can take forward, which indicates a successful lesson, right? 

By the end of the hour - especially after hopping around trying to East Coast Swing - we were hot and thirsty.  We traipsed across the street to the St. Clair Broiler for malts.  We are fortunate to have three more dance lessons in our Groupon package, because my mom dubbed the afternoon Malts and Waltz, which we all obviously loved.  I am excited for more Malts and Waltz.

 

   

I will leave you on this Sunday night with my favorite find this weekend: a kid-size sweatshirt that I procured for five dollars.  I really wanted to wear it to dance class, but for now, it's relegated to cooking duty.  (Maybe next week.) I'm not normally a holiday clothing kind of gal, but this seemed just right. 

Bad to the bone, yeah?