I’m not dead

So sorry for the lack of, well, life around here. I’m just being a bum. A beach bum, that is.

That’s our view from the condo. Hollllla!

My days have been filled with intense death walks on the beach (AKA walking 4 miles in the blazing heat with my father – he does this for FUN.), adding to my immense sunburn collection, reading Jodi Picoult, and watching stupid movies every single night. Seriously, the movie Seven is dumb. I think Brad Pitt is repulsive. We also took a trip to a local botanical garden. It was hot.

The week has also been filled with delicious eats! We’ve been out to sushi and Thai, and silly me forgot to bring my camera. I had the most amazing Tofu Asparagus (and the most beastly asparagus scented pee) and tofu rolls. We’re searching for a new sushi place to terrorize nosh at tonight, so I’ll be sure to bring my camera.

I’ve also been coming up with concoctions for my very hungry father every night. Last night’s meal included one of my favorite healthy fats – coconut milk! It was more of less a hodge podge of various veggies and not really a curry, but I’m calling it a curry because I can.

Bathing Suit Curry

(Appropriately named because I was in my swimsuit whilst cooking and eating)

1 cup lentils*

2 onions, chopped

1 potato, cubed

1 head of cauliflower

2 carrots, chopped

2 peppers of your choice (I used a red and green bell pepper)

a crap ton of tomatoes

1/2 can of coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/3 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon basil

*A quick note about lentils: you’ll want to soak them for a few hours beforehand, preferably overnight. Then boil them for about a half hour or until they’re tender. You could probably just soak them and then put them in the curry as it boils, but I didn’t know if they’d be cooked by then so I just boiled them ahead and added them in near the end.

1.) Heat up some olive oil in a large pot, and then add in your onions. Let them sweat for about ten minutes, or until they’re somewhat tender and translucent. Then add in your potato and carrots. Again, let them sweat like they’re in a sauna.

2.) Chop up the rest of your veggies and set them aside. Realize you should have used a bigger cutting board.

3.) (Optional) After spending far too much time chopping, find a brand new SlapChop and moan about not using it and losing an opportunity to “slap all your troubles away.”

4.) Once the onion, potato, and carrots have been cooking for about ten minutes, throw in the rest of your veggies. Don’t worry your pretty little head if your potato isn’t cooked just yet.

5.) Add in your coconut milk, lentils, tomatoes, spices, and any other veggies. Let that come up to a boil, and then have it simmer for about an hour. You basically just want the potatoes to cook through and the flavors to merge, like Time Warner and AOL.

After about 45 minutes, I plated it up. You could probably let it simmer for as little or long as you want. I went for a walk on the beach, and let it cook while I was gone.

I served it over Jasmine rice that was also cooked in coconut milk. (GASP! White rice!)

So. Good.

SURPRISE! I have another lazy vacay recipe for you. Seriously, it’s probably the simplest thing and I’m willing to bet a monkey could do it. Just make sure he has clean hands… you know where they’ve been.

Lazy Pizza

Get yourself a whole wheat crust.Smother it in tomato sauce. In my case, I was too cheap to buy three packs of sauce seeing as I’d only use one. So I used tomato paste mixed with dried basil, oregano, and a bit of chives.

Top the awesome (AKA vegan) side with whole grape tomatoes, peppers, and then realize you forgot to buy spinach and fresh basil.

Slap yourself on the forehead.

Then realize you have the ultimate topping/meal/deliciousness… hummus. Yes, on a pizza. I put it on in globs and just hoped it would turn out tasting alright. The pizza crust said to bake for 20 minutes, so I put it in for 18, cause I’m a rebel.

3 pieces wasn’t enough.

So for now, I’m off to eat leftover curry and drag my lazy self to the oceanside and then the pool. Oh, what a tough life I lead. Hope your day is going swimmingly. Pun intended.

Where’s your favorite vacay spot?