It’s no secret in my family that I am NOT a morning person.  Seeing me pre-coffee would truly give Scott Baio something to Tweet about, and thankfully, I’m not the only one reluctantly embracing the dawn.

Princess nightgown in full effect, Gigi set up a grocery store in the breakfast nook this morning, carefully laying out her inventory.  She announced that she was starting a store “where everything costs TWO DOLLARS.”

I reminded her that she might have some stiff competition from the Dollar Store and she turned to me stone-faced and said, “But our stuff is just better.”

Even if we are talking about the plastic, made in China, misspelled packaging encased “food,” she is right.

My other Little Miss Sunshine is just fine, despite her Roethlisberger concussion-worthy head blow.  As I tended to her juice needs with a little fresh OJ this morning, she chucked her full sippy cup straight at me and said, “I WANT CRANBERRY JUICE!!!”

Gigi chimed in, “You can buy it at my store…for TWO DOLLARS!!!”

Since I had nothing but time on my hands, and I’d been feeling inspired by Susan‘s slow cooker adventures, I got to fixin’ a slow cookin’ vegan dinner at an ungodly hour.

Spicy African Peanut Stew

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 sweet potato, cubed (about 1 c. total)
  • 1 1/2 t. curry powder
  • 1/2-3/4 t. garam masala (depending on how spicy you like it)
  • 1 t. cumin
  • 1 T. minced ginger
  • 2 t. minced garlic
  • stevia to taste (I used almost 2 packets of NuNaturals)
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, in juice
  • 1 can light coconut milk
  • 2 c. vegetable stock
  • 2 T. natural peanut butter
  • 1/2 c. red lentils, drained and rinsed (can substitute quinoa, if desired)
  • Optional garnishes: cilantro, chopped peanuts, sour cream or plain yogurt (vegan, if desired)

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and turn to high for about an hour.  This gets your crock pot good and going, then switch it to low for the next several hours.

I felt the need to leave the house since that kind of is the purpose of the slow-cooker, so I packed up Rainbow Brite,

and Madonna,

and we ran to Costco to replenish our organic produce/frozen yogurt stores.

These two attracted more attention than a Taylor Swift/John Mayer dinner date (run Taylor, RUN!).  I was a little unnerved when complete strangers asked their names, and got some peculiar looks when I answered, “Gigi and Lulu.”

We came home to a hungry family and an amazing smelling house.  For once.  It was divine intervention that I nixed the thought to add broccoli to the stew.

Oh. My. Peas.  This stew was off the charts delicious, but how could it not be, chock full of my favorite things?  You might as well fill a hot tub with Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Reynolds, Joel McHale and Pea Daddy and see if it’d pass my muster.

Speaking of Pea Daddy, tomorrow is monumental in that we are having our first full night without the girls in the last four years, while they have a sleepover at Mimi and Poppy’s.  While there could be a million reasons to be excited about this particular Date Night (not wolfing down dinner while checking our watches, shoving movie patrons out of the exits, carrying sleepy girls up to their beds when we get home, etc.), my anticipation lies in two glorious words: SLEEPING IN.

Tomorrow can’t get here soon enough.