Cooking with Passion

This Friday, my friend Bridget Russell is having her art show at Gallery Fifty-Six in Memphis. She is an extremely talented artist, and I especially love her oil paintings. Through her art, Bridget creates a world where our most mundane activities are glorified: flipping a switch, stirring a cup of coffee or tying your shoe laces. As she sees it, "ironically these moments are constantly happening but almost instantly forgotten. I create my oil and mixed media paintings to save these moments that are constantly being lost". Come check it out for yourself this weekend. You get out for the evening, drink wine, mingle and go to an art show! If you don't live in the Memphis area, but are interested in her work, Bridget also sells her art online. Click on her name above to visit the web site. 

The weather this weekend was less than fair. The majority of Saturday was spent listening to sirens as we encountered multiple tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms. All this rain put me in the mood for some comfort food, so I decided to make chili. I have two recipes for chili that I love. One comes from Stewart's family and requires that the soup simmer for an hour. It is really good, and I'll be sure to feature it in the near future. For today's post I chose to highlight the recipe that is a quick and healthy fix. Sometimes we don't have an hour or more to prep and prepare a meal, so this is my alternative. I knew this chili was a keeper the first time I made it. Stewart and I had his cousin Michael, a freshman basketball player, over for dinner one evening and they ate the entire pot! That spells SUCCESS in my book.  The recipe is from Cooking Light.

Beefy Corn and Black Bean Chili (makes 6 servings)

1 lb ground beef

2 tsp salt-free chili powder

1 can corn

1 can black beans

1 (14 oz) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth

1 can tomato sauce for chili (such as Hunts)

Fat-free sour cream and sliced green onions (optional)

Combine beef and chili powder blend in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cook 6 minutes over medium-high heat or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Drain and return to pan. Stir in canned vegetables, broth and tomato sauce; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle chili into bowls. Top with sour cream and chives if desired.

For today's beats I chose Passion Pit. They have been on my playlist the past two weeks, and I thought their cover art for the album "Manners" mirrors Bridget's paintings in the way she uses vibrant color and distorts shapes. I like their cover of The Cranberries song "Dreams".

Stay tuned this week for good eats and beats related to birthdays and Cinco de Mayo!

Julia