Now this is for the ladies....

Yesterday I went for my yearly mammogram. I had a different technologist than previous years. She was a little rough with my breasts and made the experience horrible.
BUT...
I know I have to do this.
The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for breast cancer in the United States are for 2010:
*About 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women
*About 54,010 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be found (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
*About 39,840 deaths from breast cancer (women)
*Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.

The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is a little less 1 in 8. The chance of dying from breast cancer is about 1 in 35. Breast cancer death rates have been going down. This is probably the result of finding the cancer earlier and better treatment. Right now there are more than 2½ million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/index
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=mammo
http://www.checkyourboobies.org/

So ladies, check your boobies!

it's getting hot in here.....

I love the summer even when it gets hot. I would rather walk around my house with very little on that winter when you are piling on the layers. I love my crockpot today! This will be good with brown rice or just alone if you roll like that.

Curried Chickpeas with Fresh Ginger and Cilantro
2 cups dried chickpease
6 cups water
1 red onion finely chopped
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
4 green cardamom pods
1 1/2 tsps pure chili powder
1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
salt to taste
juice of 1 lemon
plain yogurt for serving
3 fresh serrano chiles, seeded, deveined, and cut into julienne, for garnish
a few fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

rinse the chicpeas and place them in the slow cooker along with the water. cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until the chickpeas are tender
in a large saute pan, brwon the onion in the sesame oil until dark brown in color about 15 minutes.
combine the cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, chile powder, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, and cayenne in small blender or pestle and grind to a course powder.
add the coursely ground spices to the onion and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, then add the onion and spices to the cooked chicpeas. recover and continue cooking for another 30-60 minutes.

using an immersion blender puree some of the chickpeas in the crockpot to thicken the mixture.
add salt to taste, then stir in the lemon juice. ladle into bowls, add a dollop of yogurt and garnish with the chile slices and cilantro leaves.

Gotta run so I am going to publish this post with all its errors cause I got to get the kids out of the pool and dressed to get to dance class!

side note

the breakfast last night was delish. I would recommend little to no extra milk. Even my little picky eater loved it!

I think I was from India in another life

I love the smells of India. The spices and curry sauces makes me smile.
This morning I decided to try a recipe from The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley.
Tonight we are going to have breakfast for dinner....

Spiced Basmati Rice Breakfast Cereal
serves 4
1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
3 1/2 cups water or soymilk (I used water)
1 1/2 sticks cinammon
2 green cardamom pods
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup currants or raisins (raisins because we always have raisins at home)
2 cups milk, heavy cream, rice milk, or soymilk (I will be using soymilk)
3 tbsps coconut, flaked and toasted
1/2 cup walnuts or almonds coursely chopped and toasted (I am using 1/2 and 1/2)
honey, for drizzling (optional) NOT using

Place the rice and water in the slow cooker, cover and cook on low about 8 hours (or overnight if you want this first thing in the morning).
In the morning or after 8 hours grind the cinnamon, cardamom pods, and nutmeg to a powder in an electric coffee mill or a mortar and pestle or whatever you use to grind stuff.
add the currants or raisins and spices to the rice and stir in 15 minutes before serving.
divide the rice among 4 cereal bowls and pour 1/2 cup milk on top of each serving.
Sprinkle each bowl with the toasted coconut and nuts. drizzle if you like with honey.

She also suggests a cup of hot spiced chai to complete this dish.

Yes, Please!