Aaaaand I’m back. Went to Texas, passed my ordination exams, attended a friend’s ordination to the priesthood, visited my older brother and my adorable niece, ran 7 miles around Ladybird/Town Lake, and enjoyed some delicious Tex-Mex food, including a fantastic veggie chile relleno. I also failed to take a single picture. I figured that me sitting in a room all day, writing essays and taking oral exams in yoga pants and eating camp food wasn’t that photogenic. I am so glad that I’m back home where I have a little bit more control over my food. Now that I’m eating pescetarian, I need to do better planning for when I travel.
Today was momentous for several reasons: It marked the beginning of classes of my last semester. It snowed quite a bit overnight. And I started training for the Oak Barrel Half Marathon. Of course, Monday’s schedule is Stretch & Strengthen, so my first half marathon-training workout was Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred plus some extra stretching. A little anti-climactic.
But the snow had me craving something warm and comforting with just a hint of spice and a lot of vegetable protein. Much to my surprise, this meal was all of that, plus it tasted so light and fresh. I think the lemon juice and cilantro was what really tied everything together and made this special. I doubled the cayenne pepper and served the stew over whole wheat couscous. Let me just say that they don’t serve food like this at Camp Allen.
How do you deal with limited food choices when you travel?
Egyptian Edamame Stew
source: Eating Well
Yields 4 servings, about 2 cups each
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 10-ounce packages frozen shelled edamame, (about 3 cups), thawed
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large zucchini, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or mint
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Preparation
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add edamame and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook, covered, until the onions are starting to brown, about 3 minutes more. Add garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the edamame and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro (or mint) and lemon juice.
