Life Lately #2

Please forgive my long absense. My blogging motivation has been lacking these days I'm afraid to say :-((  But I'm trying to get back into the swing of things - unbegrudgingly.

That being said, I wanted to share a few things that I'm excited and happy about - enjoy!

A nite shot of a flowering Dogwood tree (totally guessing on the kind)

Love springtime!

Spices for Chana

More ingredients - turned out yummy!

SP - I know i shouldn't but it's too dang funny :-p

Love Butters!

My friend's persnickity kitty

My Pakistani style earrings - watch for an upcoming post featuring the adorable shop i purchased from

            And these ridiculous but hilarious clips from Seinfeld - one of my all time favorite shows

Keepin' Busy

Or, I should say, "TRYING TO" keep busy. It's amazing what work can do for a person, whether it's postive or negative. I'm 'on call' at my present job and did not get called this week. I totally love working for there and the team of people are complete dolls, however, when there is a lack of employment, it certainly can take a toll on the pocketbook, as well as, the spirits.

So, in the midst of finding myself wondering if and when this week would ever end, I decided to not give in to self-pity (lol, try, anyway) and keep myself busy with little projects. Of course, this was at about the half-way point of the week when my daily jaunts to the gym and Target were just not cutting it. I decided to make lists of things that needed to get done and mark things off one by one upon completion. This simple act can give a person the most amazing sense of accomplishment despite how menial the tasks may be.

What I feel like sometime :-p
Image from here



Well, McCracken certainly hit on something, lol
Image from here

 I also embarked on a cleaning spree yesterday that will spill over into today I'm sure. Not to be forgotten is a bit of online shopping that needed to be done. I've been without camera for the past few months and am finally feeling the effects of having to scour the internet for photos for most of my blog posts. So I'm impatiently awaiting my little new Nikon. And since time cannot usually be found for cooking, today I'll make my special chickpea curry for a good friend.

 Totally love Amazon.com

My curry or 'chana masala' ;-)

And, of course, I've been trying to devote more time to my blog, devise goals, and plan for Along the Way's future. So thank you to all of my lovely readers for dropping by! You certainly help brighten my day!! :-)

Would love to hear how you all keep motivated and goal-oriented...

Going Veggie - Chickpea Curry aka Chana Masala

I've been making this curry for about 3 years now. The recipe comes adopted way of 'The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook' from Bay Books.

It's spicy (but not too hot), low-fat, and has protein from the lovely chickpeas (or garbanzo beans - whatever ya wanna call them).

Note: a half cup of chickpeas has 170 calories and 10 grams of protein - not too shabby!

Anyway, I made this last night for a good friend and there were compliments galore :-) Try for yourself - it's super easy!

You'll need:

2 onions
4 cloves garlic
1 TBSP oil
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 TBSP ground coriander
2 14 oz cans of chickpeas, drained
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp garam masala

•  Slice onions finely.
• Crush garlic.
• Saute with oil over medium heat til soft.
• Add chili powder, salt, turmeric, paprika, cumin, and coriander - stir for 1 minute.
• Add chickpeas and undrained tomatoes. Stir until combined.
• Simmer, covered, over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in garam masala.
• Simmer, covered for 10 more minutes.

Serve naan, pita, (sometimes I'll use tortillas in a pinch), or brown rice.

Another note: garam masala is a blend of Indian spices and can be found in large supermarkets and specialty food stores.

On with the photos! (My favorite part :-)

Enjoy!