Recipe for the easiest vegan indian dish you will ever make

I stumbled upon this recipe by accident. I was hungry. I had a potato and a can of chickpeas. I had the dream of a delicious super-duper easy meal. SO IT IS WRITTEN, SO IT SHALL BE DONE:

Okay, okay. Ignore my delusions of grandeur. However, this recipe is so incredibly delectable and idiot-proof that I must share. This recipe makes enough food for two people, or one very, very hungry person.

You’ll need:

- 1 russet potato, medium sized (I’m sure yukon or redskin potatoes would be equally yummy, but I used what I had.)

- 1/2 a can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (I saved the rest of the can in the fridge to use for later, I think I’ll roast them!)

- 1 carrot, diced

- edamame (You could use peas instead, in fact it would make much more sense for an indian-style dish. All I had was part of a frozen bag of edamame left over from making sushi, and I just used the rest. I would say use about 1/2 cup or eyeball it.)

- 1/2-1 tsp. of curry powder

- a pinch of garlic powder

- 1 Tbls. olive oil

- salt to taste

How (only about 20 minutes):

Start by peeling the potato and then cut it into medium size cubes. Throw that into a medium pot and cover with water, then bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to more of a simmer and add the carrots. I added the edamame after about 7-10 minutes because mine was frozen, but if yours isn’t, add it with the chickpeas. When the potatoes are fully cooked (you’ll be able to poke them with a fork, or you could taste them to see), pour the whole thing in a colander to drain. Then put it back in the pot and add the chickpeas over low-medium heat. Add the curry powder, garlic powder, salt, and olive oil and stir to combine. If you like things spicy, add a smidge of cayenne to the mix. When everything is hot/cooked and lookin’ good, turn off the heat and serve. Beware, your kitchen will smell heavenly - well, if you like this sort of thing. Enjoy!

Making vegan sushi and longing for perfect bangs

+ I’m going to level with you, making sushi is hard. You think you’ll be able to just throw it together, but then you end up learning a lesson about why many years of discipline in the art of Japanese gourmet food is important. I used this video as a guide, and I think if I didn’t use it, I would have had a very delicious pile of shredded nori, improperly cooked and seasoned rice (not to mention unrinsed! the horror!), with a side of veggies. My sushi turned out pretty darn good for my first time if I do say so myself, but I must say that it could have turned out better. Still, though: so yummy. There is always a next time! The process and the fruits of my labor:

Links to stuff and things that made me do an awkward happy dance:

+ The Power of Letting Go. 

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+ Perfect bangs forever at Agent Lover. I think her blog and her bangs are nothing short of awesome. I really need to carry a bangs comb with me at all times!

+ Anti-Valentine Black Heart on Etsy.

+ How To Run a Business That Doesn’t Suck, by John and Hank Green.

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+ How to Not Care What Other People Think of You, by Tavi on Rookie. So perfect, so awesome. Couldn’t have said it better myself, and couldn’t have needed it more myself! Brilliant.

stuff & things: bed, bath, and a trekkie tea party

+ K-Studio in Athens, Greece via Desire to Inspire. So minimalist, yet character filled! Wow!

+ Organizing the Bookcase. Stop-motion, books, and organizing! My favorites! Found at Brainpickings.

+ Veronica Belmont talking about things that help curb cord and cable clutter! (Alliteration!)

+ I’m kind of completely in love with The Tofu Guru and all her videos. Just sayin’.

+ Always carry on, from Love & Adventure. A rule after my own heart. Seriously. My addition to that would be to rarely (if ever) use a wheeled bag. More on that idea from One Bag.

Favorite tumblrs right now:

+ Men of PBS. I’m sure Neil deGrasse Tyson would not approve of my fascination with astrology, but he would definitely approve of my nerdfighterism and Doctor Who obsession!

+ Ugly Renaissance Babies. Very funny. Contains bad words and art history - you have been warned.

+ My Daguerreotype Boyfriend.

+ Things Organized Neatly. !!! Found at Yes and Yes.

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+ I must admit: I wish I had a wood bath in my imaginary greenhouse.

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♥: big organizing sessions followed by vegan chinese food and shopping // making chocolate chip cookies at every opportunity // singing along to all the pop songs // Beauty and the Beast 3D! // catching up on Leverage // spending all day with friends and having time go by so fast // pedicure - enough said // rain! // washing my makeup brushes for the first time ever // exchanging mixtapes!

5 things that will make you feel more Virgo right now

1. Do all the dishes in the sink. 

I know, this one sucks. Not only does actually doing them suck, but it kind of sucks as a concept. Just do the dishes? What am I, an idiot? It’s so simple and mundane, and it’s just cleaning, so of course it’s virgoish, but it’s extra important. Trust me. I cannot relax when I know dishes are sitting in the sink, getting harder and harder to clean every second I don’t do them. Not only that, to me it’s the most frequent type of procrastination. Also, when finished, it feels very satisfying.

Doing the dishes doesn’t have to be tedious, though. While you’re doing them it gives you time to think. View it as therapeutic! If you start to get bored, put on some upbeat music or a podcast and who knows? You might find yourself enjoying it!

Bonus points: use a natural, biodegradable soap with a scent that makes you smile - I like geranium, citrus, and lavender.

2. Eat kale. 

Steam it, sauté it, put it in a smoothie, put it in a stew, even make kale chips. YUM.

3. Organize one drawer. 

How about the one right next to you? I’m assuming you’re at desk, but that may not be, so whatever’s closest. If you’re really up to a challenge do the drawer that’s the most insane (if I were to guess your worst, I’d say one in the kitchen). Take everything out, toss what’s trash, give what you don’t want (but is still valuable) to Goodwill, and put everything you have left back. Imagine this: you meet a new person. You like them, and want to impress them. The only thing you are allowed to show them and the basis for them to judge you on is this drawer. Would you rather look like a serial killer or someone who has their shit together? Keep this in mind when putting items back (fold, put in order, etc).

4. Create an essential oil spray.

You can find essential oils online (Amazon, Young Living) or you can probably find them at your health food store. Apartment Therapy has a method and there’s a couple blend ideas at Whole Living. Spritz (in the air or on fabric) and then breathe. Doesn’t that feel better?

5. Backup all the important files on your computer to (1) an external hard drive and/or (2) the cloud.

This one is pretty simple, but can set your mind at ease in a big way. 

Backing up to an external hard drive is easy. You can use time machine if you have a mac, and here’s a more Windows specific tutorial. If you have a small amount of things to back up then you could use a flash drive.

The Cloud. You don’t have to call it that, but it’s a good idea to use it in addition to local backups if you want to be extra safe with your files. I love Dropbox and use it all the time to sync between computers and access stuff online - plus, it’s free. Mozy and Carbonite are other options.

(Image Sources: 1 2 3 4 5)

stuff & things: that are cool, that I love, that I’m grateful for

+ The Coachella 2012 line up! I have no idea if I’m going, but boy do I want to! Feist, Childish Gambino, The Black Keys, tUnE yArDs, Arctic Monkeys, Santigold, the list obviously goes on!

+ Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Cary Grant’s Intimate Bromance. Amazing article, I just eat that old Hollywood stuff right up!

+ Remembering that Improv-a-Ganza happened! I still miss Whose Line is it Anyway?, but they all did a new thing, and until just recently I forgot about it (not having cable does that to you sometimes)! I like it a lot, in fact.

+ Who Killed Lard? Planet Money podcast. So interesting! I eat vegan, but I find this fascinating. Or maybe that’s why I find it fascinating. There’s no mention that vegetarianism might be part of why lard is even less popular today, though.

+ A very awesome girl snuck into and took photos of a Russian military rocket factory. !!!!! Reminds me, I totally need leather gloves, especially if I’m going to be stealthy and fight crime.

+ Amanda Palmer wrote about marrying Neil Gaiman. Wonderful. It made me think, and smile so wide I almost couldn’t stand it!

+ Season 2 of Sherlock started! And let me tell you, it is outstanding.

+ The fact that The Book of Mormon (the musical) is coming to Los Angeles! I am SO EXCITED, you don’t even know. I even signed up so the theater will alert me via email the second tickets go on sale. Obsessed! Hopefully the cast recording and these series of videos will hold me over:

 ♥ : really big beds // taking photos of twinkle lights at night // watching You’ve Got Mail in bed with peppermint tea and wildberry waffles // two new perfumes - B Scent from Lush and Sugar Lemon from Fresh // driving really curvy roads downhill (like a rollercoaster that you scarily control!) and blasting Lady Gaga // strawberry lemonade // really thick socks // Rihanna. Really! // new calendar from Yes and Yes! // clearing spiderwebs from all rooms of the house (poor spiders, yay clean house!) // eating veggie sushi rolls and miso soup // finally not being sick, again // solo adventures // watching a bunch of movies in the theater! I really love doing that! // The Fault in Our Stars arriving in the mail!