rain, rain, go away, come again another day...

After our nice and sunny Sunday the rain has returned with a vengeance. It’s been horribly cold and rainy all week. But I’m comforted as I write this by a piping hot bowl of spicy Mexican chorizo stew. This is one of my favorite recipes that I have invented. It is such a life saver for a cold and icky evening. When I am cold while I’m making dinner I tend to make foods way spicier. And if I’m cold when I get home from work I go straight for my standby of hot and spicy recipes. This recipe is also great because it hardly takes any time but it tastes like it’s been simmering away for hours. It also boasts one of my absolute favorite ingredients: Chorizo. I wish I had a picture to share but my camera batteries are dead and I keep forgetting to charge them.

Spicy Mexican Chorizo Stew

16 oz of Mexican Chorizo*
1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
1 4 oz can of mild green chilies
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp of cayenne or 1 TB of red Tabasco optional
2 cans black beans drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can full of water
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Rice to serve, optional

Heat olive oil in heavy dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, and peppers. Sauté until begin veggies begin to brown. While those are browning peel the casings off the chorizo and slice into bit sized pieces. Add the chorizo to pan. When the chorizo just starts to brown, add cumin, salt and pepper. Very important: at this point do not drain the fat from the pan. It isn’t a lot of fat and all that fat is coating the vegetables and infusing the soup with lots of yummy spices and flavor. Go easy on the salt because the chorizo has salt. Cook 30 seconds or so. Add the tomatoes, chilies, beans and a can full of water. Then add bay leaf, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer 15 minutes. After 15 minutes all the flavors will meld and you can taste the soup. If you want it spicier add Tabasco or cayenne. I prefer the Tabasco. You can also add more salt at this point if need be. You can serve by itself with bread or tortillas or over rice.

*You want to make sure you get a Mexican Chorizo and not a Baque Chorizo for this recipe. The Mexican Chorizo has a lot more flavor and really makes this dish. You don't have to peel the casings. It really depends on the chorizo you buy. But if you do the chorizo will break up into the stew more.

What is your favorite food on a cold and rainy day?

These boots are made for walkin'

I have meant to blog 5 days now without actually doing it. Don’t you hate that, when your "To Do" list is glaring at you for days before you get around to accomplishing anything. I blame work. The last two weeks I have had so many late nights, early mornings, and working lunches there’s been so little time. Anyway, I’m carving out a morning break between reports to blog. This is also my breakfast break (it’s one of those early mornings) and I am eating peanut butter and apple at my desk. I mentioned a while ago my new found love of peanut butter. Well, it’s still alive and kicking. I thought it would be a phase a week or two and then I’d tire of it. But no, I still want peanut butter all the time! Mr. P thinks this is very weird. He is always telling me to tell my Dr. about it and that no one should want to eat peanut butter as much as I do. However, I think I have figured out what is behind my constant craving for peanut butter, and no, I’m not pregnant. Rather, I think it’s because I gave up sugar and without sugar to snack on and crave I have turned to peanut butter. Makes sense doesn’t it? Especially when you think of all the dessert/candies associated with peanut butter: chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing, peanut butter cookies, and the extensive Reese's products. The upside is that I almost never want sugar anymore. I did have a slight pang when I they served chocolate cream pie at my meeting last night but I was able to suppress it and move on. Coffee is a whole different matter. I still really want coffee, although not everyday. Most days I'm okay without coffee especially when I wake up but mid-morning, afternoon, lazy weekend mornings (not that I have had any of those lately) and coffee with friends those are the times I really want coffee. It's lucky I have so much will power or I'm pretty sure I would fail time and time again.

Fall weather has finally arrived here. Yesterday it rained and I was in heaven. I actually love rain, which is good considering that I live in one of the rainiest places in the country. Second only to Seattle, rain is forecasted here most days from October through May. It never snows which is good because while I love rain I hate snow. The first rain of the fall is always so nice because it transforms everything. After it rains it just starts to smell clean and fresh and like autumn. Plus rain means some of my favorite wardrobe pieces can come out of hiding. Fall is full of great go to outfits for me. An array of long sleeve cardigans, scarves, black leather boots with small heel, wool skirts, and jackets. What are your fall wardrobe favorites?