Stuff in jars…

This past week has been something of an emotional roller coaster.

I don’t like roller coasters.

They scare the poops out of me.

Why?

I don’t like not being in control.

I like to know what’s coming.

I like being organized.

I like weeks with minimal negative surprises and maximal calm, cool, and collected Amy.

This week was not that week.

This week has consisted of altogether too many mini-crises, too many mega-crises, too many nights crying myself to sleep, too many naps taken for the wrong reasons, too much time spent in the fetal position, and way too many carbs.

But now the crises have been un-crisised, my body has finally un-curled itself, and the fall leaves are freakin’ beautiful.

So let’s make some fall comfort food.  BUT!  Not so many carbs, okay?

Let’s make some one-crust pot pies.

(ps, is this cute?  the whole putting words on pictures thing?  I feel like every other blogger in the world is doing this…)

POT PIES

• 1 large yam or sweet potato
• 2 medium onions
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 can green peas
• about 1 c. broccoli
• 1 c. soy curls, if you want some meatiness
• 1 package Pepperidge Farms puff pastry
• a couple tablespoons margarine
• about 3 c. vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Chop all the veggies to about the same size – I did mine a little smaller because I was baking the pot pies in little jars.  Heat oil in a large pan and cook the yam for a few minutes, until just barely cooked, adding in the onions and carrots at the very end.  Put all the veggies in a bowl, and start the gravy base in the pan.

Melt three or four tablespoons of margarine and about that same amount of flour in a pan, whisking until smooth.  Then add in the stock and whisk until it’s thickened and smooth.  Add the veggies back in and toss to coat.

Spoon the mixture into 1 cup (1/2 pint) jars.  Cut circles out of the pastry with a cookie cutter or glass to fit inside of the jars, and put the circles on top of the veggie mixture.

Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, until the puff pastry is cooked through.

November and chick peas

November.  Also known as No-school-vember, no-shave-November.

November brings up some awesome memories for me.

Crunchy leaves.

Rainy days and hot chocolate.

Going to my grandparents’ house in Florida for Thanksgiving and eating key lime pie.

That layer of fuzz I get on my legs because pants and tights allow me to skip shaving.

Pumpkin pie.

Driving home from college after two days of snow.

Wearing your pj’s inside out hoping for snow.  Even though it’s November.  And in the Pacific Northwest, it rains in November.

Tons of days off of school due to holidays and parent teacher conferences.

Surprisingly, spinach and chick peas don’t really give me warm fuzzies when I think about November.

Or didn’t.

Now, this is one of my favorite recipes.

Probably because my mom made it for me first.

LEMON PAN-FRIED CHICK PEAS

• 1 to 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 cans chick peas
• 1 8 oz. bag of spinach (any kind of greens would work, though)
• 1 small lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• about a half a box of spinach linguine

Get some water going for pasta, and cook the pasta to your liking. Heat the oil in a large pan.  Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until translucent and yummy-smelling.  Add the chick peas and saute for about 10 minutes, until they’re nice and browned.  Stir in the spinach, the zest of the lemon, half of the lemon, juiced, salt and pepper.