It’s official… I was finally allowed (legally) to move to the United States to marry and apply for a green card.

Got married, on a beautiful sunny day in August surrounded by close friends and family.

Then headed off to NYC (mostly Manhattan for our honeymoon) and had some serious sensory overload. Some NYC highlights: FAO Schwartz, The Strand, NYPL, Economy Candy, Curly’s Lunch, Central Park… there were hundreds of things on my to-do list but 3 days just isn’t enough. Next time I want to check out The High Line, Brooklyn (which I haven’t gotten to explore) and Babycakes.

Now I get to begin a whole new process for my green card (which may take up to 18 months!). I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

Just made a sick pot of  vegan Veggie Chili and its something I tweaked from allrecipes.com and this was savored by vegans, vegetarians and omnivores alike. Here’s the recipe…Da Bomb Veggie Chili

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
dash red chili flakes
2 (12 ounce) packaged veggie ground round (burger crumbles)
3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes crushed
1 pack chili powder mix (mix of spices to make chili)
1 tbsp ground pepper (or to taste)
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans (drained)
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans (drained)
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (drained)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans (drained)
1 (7 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the green and red bell peppers, and garlic. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder mix and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.