Cedar Fever

I have had horrible allergies my whole life, which have surprisingly subsided in the past 5 years or so since we've moved to Austin. This is unusual because most people have it the other way around - people without allergies suddenly develop them when arriving in Austin, especially during tree pollen season. This is commonly known as "Cedar Fever".

Well, it is tree pollen season, and it appears as if my luck has run out. Coinciding with the spike in Oak pollen recently, which is high due to a wet winter, I have started to develop a consistent sore throat, and other unpleasant allergy symptoms. Spending more time outside exercising exposes me to more pollen to be sure, and since I basically spent all day Sunday outdoors, my allergies were rough yesterday. Unsure whether they were allergies or the onset of a cold, and having business travel on tap this week, I took no chances and gave myself an extra day of rest.

For dinner, I made an eggplant and garbanzo chili that was, well, spicy. I used the normal tried-and-true Texas beef chili technique, and added the eggplant and garbanzos (at the risk of offending the local chili police). Recipe as follows:

1 lb beef stew meat (1000 calories)
1/2 small onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced chipotles in adobo (may be a lot of heat, consider scaling back)
1 can peeled tomatoes (300 calories)
3 tbsp chili powder (consider scaling this back too, substituting cumin)
2 tbsp cumin
1 dark beer (150 calories)
1 can garbanzo beans (350 calories)
1 Japanese eggplant, diced (100 calories)
2 tbsp cilantro, roughly torn.

Season the meat with salt and pepper, and sear until brown on all sides, and add onion and garlic, cooking until translucent. Add chipotles, tomatoes, beer, and 1 tbsp of chili powder, and let simmer (stirring occaisonally) for an hour. Add 1 tbsp chili powder and 1 tbsp cumin, stir, and let simmer another hour, and then add the final tsp chili powder and cumin, stir, and add the garbanzos. Let simmer for 30 minutes, and then add the eggplant and cilantro. Add salt to taste. Makes 2 650 calorie servings with one bowl for leftovers.