Wednesday: Swiss Chard Tamales, Homemade Lime Tortilla Chips, and Yoga Class

On Tuesday Stephen had sent me a link to a blog he reads called Everyday Cookin'. The creator of the blog is Darius Williams, a self taught cook, who usually centers his recipes heavily around meat. This week he featured a tamale recipe that is VEGAN! Darius lives in Chicago and owns Cupcake Gallery, which recently opened in the Uptown neighborhood. They are some of the most amazing cupcakes I've ever tasted!! I definitely recommend checking it out.

Stephen was quite excited about the tamale recipe; we LOVE Mexican food! I decided Wednesday was the day to test it out ...

Swiss Chard Tamales
makes 7-9 tamales

1 cup masa flour
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup minced onion
2 Tbs. minced garlic
1 tsp. corriander
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili poweder
1 cup corn
4 cups of swiss chard, cleaned and chopped
1 Tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper
corn husks (soaked in water)
(I also added some leftover soy chorizo)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill casserole dish with water and soak corn husks. Set aside. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add corn and seasonings. When fragrant add chard – it will wilt down. Once this happens, remove from pan and allow to cool. In a separate bowl combine 1 cup of masa with about 1 cup of vegetable stock. Add in reserved mixture of chard and corn and combine well. Add about a third or half cup of mixture in each corn husk. Seal well and place in a baking dish. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.



Corn Tortilla Chips with Lime
serves 2-3

10 corn tortillas
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked pepper
zest from 1 lime

Cut tortillas into triangles and toss with oil, salt, pepper, and lime zest. Layer on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 15 minutes or until crispy. Allow to cool and enjoy.



It all turned out SOOOO delicious. We were in heaven. This is one of the best (and easiest) recipes I have tried in a long time. And its healthy and vegan! We garnished it with slices of lime, pico de gallo, and guacamole.


After we ate dinner, I went to my first formal yoga class with my friend Sarah. I have decided Sarah is my PIHF (partner in health and fitness). She dorks out over health and fitness as much as I do (thats not easy to find). I was excited and nervous about yoga. I have done at home DVDs for years, but never in a class or in front of other people. The room was dimly light which was nice because I didn't feel like anyone was watching me. There were lots of different levels in class and another newbie just like me! I was surpised how well I did. I'm more flexible than I realized! After class I was so relaxed. More relaxed than I've been in a long time since I moved to Chicago. I think its safe to say I'm addicted already. I was only a little sore on Thursday. Not bad! I can't wait to go to my next class. Yoga is a great way to tone and stretch your muscles and the relaxation is a great benefit. Everyone needs to try it once!

Love,
Steph