Pumpkin Black Bean Chili and Some Musings

I laughed so hard on Sunday.

So hard that I feel the need to share the source of my laughter with all of you.

Have you guys heard of the book 50 Shades of Grey? Yes? No? Have you been living under a rock..?

Anyway, I haven't read it, but I have heard enough about it that I feel that I can summarize the general idea. It's erotic literature. Literotica. Something I had to explain to my younger sister yesterday when she asked why I was weirded out by our mother reading it.

....it was awkward.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because Sunday night at house dinner, one of my residents showed us a video of Gilbert Gottfried reading excerpts of 50 Shades of Grey. If you don't know, Gilbert Gottfried is the voice of Iago (Jafar's parrot) in Aladdin (which our house coincidentally watched on Thursday). Needless to say, it was absolutely hilarious. I was crying from laughter by the end of it. You can find the video here. Watch it. Now.

It's basically Iago reading you Fifty Shades.

Some other really funny 50 Shades videos are the SNL parody and a video of Ellen DeGeneres attempting to do a reading.

Okay. Now, wipe the tears of hilarity from your eyes--I've got other things to tell you.

1. I'm almost done with the series Daria and it makes me sad.
2. My dad never ceases to unintentionally say hilarious things.
3. It's my birthday tomorrow (the 26th)! I'm turning 20. Mark your calendars.
4. My family came down to CT to celebrate with me on Sunday. My dad (note: he's a dentist) promptly handed me a paper bag and said "Don't say I never get you anything." I opened it. It was an old electric toothbrush. MY old electric toothbrush. Thanks baba!
5. It was my Gram's birthday Sunday--she would've been 82! I got her pearl necklace as an early birthday present. I'm wearing it right now! It's beautiful.
6. I really want to delete some people from my Facebook, but then I realize that their lives are better than reality TV, so I keep them on my friends' list.
7. I'm not down with this chilly weather. Although in actuality, I don't know why I care so much; I drive everywhere anyway. (Well, I walk to psych. But I walk there from Arabic...to where I drive. The only reason for this walking being the lack of parking spaces for students near Allbritton).
8. However, there is one thing about fall that I am down for: pumpkin. I love pumpkin. It's delicious. It's versatile. It's healthy. Fall is also chili season (in my mind, anyway), so why not combine the two? I actually haven't made this yet at school; I just made it a couple times this summer. It's quite delicious though, so I'll share the recipe now. Yay!

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili
slightly adapted from That's So Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 15oz. can black beans, including liquid
• 2 c crushed tomatoes (use diced if you prefer the texture)
• 1 15oz. can pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 c water
• olive oil

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onions. Sauté until the onion becomes translucent, then add the garlic.
2. Add the black beans, tomatoes, pumpkin, and spices. Stir for about 2 minutes, then pour in the water.
3. Let the soup simmer for 40-60 minutes. Feel free to game in the meantime.
4. Das it!

I really like this picture. It makes me feel better about the colder weather.

Also, shout-out to my good friend and freshman year roommate, Marissa! Happy birthday!!

Song of the Day-- Nocturne in C# Minor by Chopin (played by Ashkenazy). This is the song I'm learning on the piano right now. It's absolutely gorgeous; and Ashkenazy plays it beautifully.

Recovery Link of the Day-- an excerpt from Marya Hornbachers book Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (pg. 6).

Anyway, that's all I have for today. I'm excited for my birthday tomorrow! Turning 20 is gonna be so anticlimactic but I'm excited nonetheless :p

Excitedly,

Carina

Wedding photos came out yesterday. I like this one.