Creamy Cruciferous Curry with Cashews

One of my favorite foods is vegetable curry. Over the years I have compiled quite a few variations. Many vegetable curry recipes call for potatoes, which I am not fond of. I don't care for the taste and they are not very nutritious. This recipe came about in my ongoing attempt to incorporate more cruciferous veggies into my diet and includes both cauliflower and kale. If you're feeling adventurous this would probably taste good with broccoli and brussel sprouts as well.

Creamy Cruciferous Curry with Cashews
makes 4 large servings

2 onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced

3 carrots, diced

3 parsnips, diced (or carrots if parsnips are not available)

2 cups unsweetened hempnut milk (or soymilk)

1 head cauliflower cut into small florets

1 pint mushrooms, sliced

1 pound of chopped kale, stems removed if desired

1 cup frozen green peas

2 Tbs curry powder (I use Penzey's sweet curry powder)

1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews, chopped

In a large stock pot over medium heat, cook onions, garlic, carrots and parsnips until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add in curry powder and turmeric and stir until vegetables are coated. Stir in hempnut milk, cauliflower, and mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes, covered over medium low heat. Stir in kale and green peas and continue to cook, covered for another 10 minutes. Serve hot. Top each serving with 2 Tb cashews.

Don't Know How to Boil Water?

Spicy Chickpea and Spinach Curry
Even if you don't know how to boil water you can still make this amazing slow cooker Spicy Chickpea and Spinach Curry from Epicurious. This is a no-brainer recipe that I love to make when I'm having a crazy-busy week. I use Penzey's garam masala which makes this dish taste out of this world. Served over brown basmati rice, cooked in my Zoji rice cooker - I don't even feel like I'm cooking when I make this!

Hummus, Some New Twists

I can never have enough hummus recipes on hand. Now that the weather is warming up, I find myself already craving food that's served at room temperature or chilled. A recent trip over to the Everyday Dish cooking show led me to find a couple of new twists on my old favorite:

Smoky Pumpkin Hummus
adapted from Everyday Dish TV

The original recipe may be found by clicking here. I modified this recipe quite a bit to give it more flavor. I also reduced the amount of tahini by 3 Tbs and added toasted pumpkin seeds. I served this on assorted vegan mini toasts from a local bakery.

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 can pumpkin
1 Tbs tahini
2 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp Chipotle Tabasco
1 Tbs Braggs liquid aminos
5 sundried tomatoes, rehydrated
handful of pumpkin seeds, toasted

Process first eight ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Chipotle Lime Two-Bean Hummus
adapated from Everyday Dish TV
I found this recipe on a food blog search that began when I realized I had 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice in my fridge with no place to call home. Since I also had some garbonzo beans and pinto beans, I thought I would give this recipe a try. The combination of chipotle, lime, and cilantro, with the added hint of the allspice, bump this up to a gourmet hummus in my book. I omitted the 2 Tbs olive oil called for in the original recipe and substituted pinto beans for the kidney beans called for.

Since I'm not a fan of all the preservatives found in store bought tortilla chips, I simply toasted some Food for Life sprouted corn tortillas and then cut them with a pizza cutter to make my own healthy chips.

1 cup cooked pinto beans
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1 tsp lime zest
1/8 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 Tbs tahini
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp chipotle Tabasco
1 tsp agave nectar
1/8 tsp allspice
1-2 Tbs water (to thin dip as desired)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Combine all ingredients except lime zest, water, and cilantro in a food processor. Puree until smooth adding water until desired consistency is reached. Add lime zest and cilantro and puree briefly.

My Favorite Falafel Salad

When the weather gets hot, I usually just eat a large salad for dinner, with lost of greens, veggies, and beans. For a change this week, I tried out the My Favorite Falafel recipe on Epicurious, substituting the falafels for my usual beans. I made the falafels with soaked, uncooked chickpeas, as called for in the recipe, and cooked the falafels using olive oil spray in a skillet instead of frying them. I also used chickpea flour for the flour. The results were delicious. I think I ate 4 falafels before they made it to the table. Next time I will definitely make several batches at once. I used the leftovers for falafel sandwiches this week.

Roasted Egglplant Sandwich with Curried Chickpea Lentil Spread

...served on an Ezekiel sprouted grain bun.

Curried Chickpea Lentil Spread
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup cooked lentils
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbs tahini
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet curry powder *
2 Tbs fresh parsley leaves

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. If needed, add a small amount of cooking liquid from the beans, or water, until spread reaches desired consistency. This spread freezes well so I usually make about 3 batches at a time.
*I use Penzey's sweet curry powder. A dash of hot curry powder or red pepper can be added for more zing.

Roasted Eggplant, Red Peppers, and Shallots
1 medium egglplant, cut into 1" cubes
1-2 red bell peppers, seeded, cut into bite sized squares
4 shallots, peeled and sliced into 1/2" rounds
olive oil spray
Italian herbs or seasoning*

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray casserole dish with olive oil. Place vegetables in dish, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with desired seasonings. Toss to coat. Bake for 50 minutes at 400 degrees F, stirring once half way through. These vegetables also taste great cold the next day.
*I use Penzey's Pasta sprinkle or Penzey's pizza seasoning.