One month anniversary

Today marks one month with Tess, and to say she's come a long way would be a severe understatement. I don't even remember the last glimmer I saw of the scared, skittish, underweight dog we brought home from the shelter--she is now a bounding, dancing, energetic puppy who lives for her daily walks, cuddling on the couch, interacting with people, and play time. She's also become a championship kong-devourer, a master rawhide destroyer, and is already learning commands ("Stay", "Wait", "No", "Come"). She's also abandoned her fancy dog bed and co-opted the couches and the foot of our bed--something I didn't think I'd be ok with, but she's remarkably agile when it comes to jumping and landing, and also quite compact (when she wants to be).

My favorite moment so far? We were sitting on the couch one evening, watching a show, and she groggily wandered over to us. After a moment she gently climbed onto my lap, then stretched across both of us and fell fast asleep.

You're a good girl, Tess. <3

Hearty Vegetarian Chili

It's been a little while since my last food entry, so here's a dish especially for anyone currently experiencing cold weather. It's super easy to make, and tastes absolutely fantastic.



You'll need:

-1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (we used fire roasted)
-1 6 oz can of tomato paste
-1 can of pinto beans
-1 can of Great Northern beans
-1 can of kidney beans
-1 1/2 c. vegetable broth

-1 1/2 bell peppers, chopped
-1 yellow onion, diced
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 1/2 cup potatoes, cubed
-1/2 cup carrots, diced
-handful of grape tomatoes, quartered
-handful of sun-dried tomatoes

-Cayenne red pepper
-Chili Powder
-Black pepper
-Salt


1. Sautee the potatoes, half the onion, half the chopped bell pepper, and half the diced carrots in oil (safflower or olive) until caramelized.





2. Boil the vegetable broth, tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes until the tomatoes are soft.

3. Put the crushed tomatoes, beans, and the remainder of the vegetables in a large cooking pot. When steps one and two are complete, add them to the mixture.





4. Season to taste. We like a lot of spice, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend our quantities unless you're in the same boat. We probably used a tbsp or two of chili powder, 1/2 tbsp or more of red pepper, a tsp or two of black pepper, and a 1/2 tsp or more of salt.

5. Simmer for 10-30 minutes.

6. Serve and enjoy! We had Garden of Eatin' Multi Grain chips with ours, plus apple cider. It was very tasty, and very satisfying. This recipe tends to go a long way, and even further if you periodically add more vegetable broth for "chili soup".

My store!

I've been hoping to do this for some time. I opened an etsy store two years ago, but quickly got busy and never really took the time to figure out how things worked. But with the recently updated alexremy.com, I decided it was time to give it another shot. Namely, I wanted to offer bright, cheerful prints of my art and photography, at reasonable prices.

Over the past months I started collecting my favorite images, then had some fabulous, vibrant prints made on exceptional lustre paper (seriously, I can't express how pleased I am with them, they absolutely surpassed my expectations). This weekend I finished my "photoshoot" with the prints, and yesterday I got busy relaunching by Alex Remy, my store.

You can visit the store by clicking the banner below, the new tab at the top of the page, or the goodies button at the bottom of each new post. Additionally, I've added a store browser on the left side of this blog, so you can see any recently uploaded prints and images.



Here's a sampling of what you'll see when you get there: