New Kitchen Bling

I finally got one! After years of waiting for soups to cool before ladling them into our blender or food processor, and then laboriously blending in batches, I went to Target and purchased an immersion blender. It isn't the fanciest model, but it has made cooking a whole lot easier. 

Here is my tortilla soup (recipe from The Happy Herbivore) in chunky form. 

And here it is, after the immersion blender did its magic. The process literally took 30 seconds.

Best of all, the immersion blender was easy to clean. I loathe kitchen gadgets that have a lot of intricate nooks and crannies to clean.

Earlier in the week, I made the Baigan Aaloo (aka Eggplant and Potatoes) from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. Sigh. This turned out to be mediocre. I didn't think there were enough spices involved to give this dish a full-flavored taste. The directions were also mystifying. There was no mention of oil, broth or water to saute the onions and garlic in. I went ahead and used broth. 

I then had some difficulty getting to the red potatoes to become tender without having the eggplant mush down to a paste. I ended up fishing the potatoes out and cooking them separately in another pan.

Maybe it was just me having an "off" day in the kitchen, but my Baigan Aaloo didn't compare to the dozen of other recipes I've made from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.

On an entirely different subject: I am always on the quest for healthy breakfast choices. On Sundays I love to make elaborate spreads with tofu scrambles and pancakes. But for the rest of week, I try to eat conscientiously. I want to eat enough to keep me satisfied until lunch (which means that fruit or non-dairy yogurt isn't really an option), yet minimize the processed, packaged food factor. 

Last night before I went to bed, I made the Slow Cooker White Chocolate Peanut Butter Apple Oatmeal from healthyslowcooker.com. This is steel-cut oats with the Peanut Butter & Co's white chocolate pb I keep religiously in my pantry.  I cooked it on low for seven hours, but it was starting to burn on the edges, so next time I'll check it at six hours. Even slightly burnt, it was delicious. Here is the before picture; I forgot to take an after one.

 

Do you have a favorite healthy breakfast?