While mowing the lawn, hubby found a new friend. Isn’t he cute?
Thank goodness he wasn’t mowed! I think he’s a variety of garter snake? Just as long as he’s not a rattlesnake again, hubby innocently picked up one of those a few months ago not realizing what it was. Thankfully no ER trip was needed. After a few pics of this little guy, he sent him on his way to do whatever snake things he needed to do.
And I threw together a stupidly simple dinner since our kitchen is seriously lacking in fresh veggies after a stressful and long week month. Trader Joe’s has simple and cheap little pouches of Cumin & Chili Chickpeas and Spiced Soybeans that have a basic ingredient list of beans and spices, no preservatives or chemicals I can’t pronounce. And they’re vegan and heat-and-eat, perfect for this week! I paired the chickpeas with quinoa and some carrots for a fast dinner.
Cheese grater? No, carrot grater!
I cooked 1/2 cup of the quinoa stove top and threw in a tablespoon of black quinoa to change up the texture and color a bit.
Then stirred in the carrots and pouch of chickpeas and simmered low for 10 minutes.
The chickpeas had plenty of spices for the added quinoa and carrots, I didn’t need to add more.
It was like a light, summer chili with a little kick that wasn’t too heavy.
And it proved to be a great pre-run meal that wasn’t stomach lead or bloating.
On my next Trader Joe’s trip, I need to load up on these pouches before they’re gone – excellent fast vegan food to stock the pantry with!
It must be said: that snake is gorgeous. (no matter how much it might have scared me!)
Fabulous dinner — I love those TJ pouches! And everything is great with quinoa, right?! LOL
Whoa I honestly just scrolled thru the whole post super fast b/c i am deathly afraid of snakes!
I bet the food is great but i didnt read any of it…i just got rid of the top portion of the screen, i.e. away from the snake!
Ha, no worries, he can’t jump out of the screen! :-)
Haha…”cute” is not what I thought of when I saw that snake. Beautiful picture though :-)
Wow a nice quick simple tasty Robyn kinda meal. I am yet to try quinoa as a breakfast sweet dish yet but I think how you have made it is perfect. And I wish we had something like Trader Joes here as those pouches would see a lot of use in our household.
You and hubs seem so calm about the snake. I am in two minds about them, they do freak me a little, but when I first moved here to Saudi, I remember having my front door open and looking over and seeing a small snake slithering OUT the door. I wondered how long it had been inside but was also amazed at how calm I was.
I have been wanting to try black quinoa! That meal looks great.