Striking a blow for common sense, the former fiance of 2005’s “runaway bride” — the ultimate drama queen driven over the edge by her own impending billion-dollar princess wedding — has gotten married… to someone else. Like this:
John Mason, 35, married Shelley Martin, 34, in a quiet ceremony Saturday at his parents’ home in Duluth.
Nothing like a media circus to make you forever shun the shrill and overblown. Good for them!
For all those of us who miss our dearly departed grandparents, with their Depression-era good sense, this is kind of a sweet read. And the little dash of sarcasm at the end made me smile.
Sometimes wonderful things happen when you clean out the pantry.
Most people look for four features in their food: easy, healthy, tasty and cheap. You usually only find two or three at a time — cheese quesadillas are easy, cheap and tasty, but not too healthy; ordering sushi is easy, healthy and tasty, but not cheap — and so on. Tonight, though, I managed to score a four-fecta with a pantry- and freezer-clearing experiment I’ll call Cheapskate Curry. The best thing about this is that you don’t even need all four of the main ingredients, just some combination of them. And you could add new ones, too.
As with so many things, the spices are the key. Good ones can take you anywhere. We received a wonderful set of Penzeys spices as a wedding gift, and I’ve used them to dress up many a homely soup or bean dish into something amazing.
Cheapskate Curry
Makes about 3 servings
Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can plain diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 package of frozen spinach (or more, or less… this is just what I happened to have)
1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
1/4 cup diced onions (I keep some in the freezer — so handy!)
2 tsp. Garam Masala (and Penzeys is a-maz-ing)
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
1-2 tbs. peanut oil
Heat peanut oil in a nonstick saucepan or deep skillet. Mix all spices and salt in a little prep bowl — this just makes things easier. When the oil is hot, add onion, as well as all the spices, and stir fry for a minute or two. Then add the garbanzo beans, tomatoes and spinach. Once everything is combined, heated through and has started releasing liquid, add the lentils. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Serve with basmati rice, or couscous, or quinoa, or whatever you like. For dessert, have ice cream, because you’ve earned it.
