Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry

In Chicago summer has ended and it is well into Fall.  If you didn't know Dad, a Chicago Fall is like the worst Winter in San Diego.  Like, San Diegans would have to drive for hours to somewhere that sells jackets.  It is windy and 47 degrees out now, which isn't as bad as it's been this week and certainly not as bad as it's going to get!

With that in mind, I made a curry dish because my nose and toes are cold and I need to turn off the heat before my roommates get home.  My sometimes vegan friend K let me into her treasure chest of a google doc when she saw I was doing this blog for you.  This Potato Chickpea Curry recipe is from there.  See, even strangers are out there supporting you!

This here is all you need:

I'm not trying to convince you to buy all your stuff at Trader Joe's, but really it is what puts shelter over your youngest child's head.  Just sayin'.

Add yea amounts of spices:

After dumping it all in my big pot (um, ignore the word choice there) I almost set it to simmer and turned on a scary movie:

Looks good right?  But wait!  The potatoes!!!  I peeled and diced them in record time, then also dumped it in the pot.

Whoa that's a lot of potatoes.  Maybe use less than this.  Also maybe dice it smaller than this too.  That way it will maybe take you 45 minutes to simmer it instead of 1.5 hours, which was my experience.

This is super good!  If you want it more saucy (which I kind of did), you might add more coconut milk and spices.

Here's to (me) staying warm!!!.

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Sweet Potato & Chickpea Curry

1 Onion, diced
1Tb minced garlic
1Tb curry powder
Cumin to taste*
Ginger to taste**
1 can Coconut Milk (I used full fat, but you could use a light one)
1 can chickpeas (aka garbanzo), drained and rinsed
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled & diced (you can use russet instead)
1 cup frozen veggie blend

In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until soft.  (I used my last drizzle of EVOO and then some Canola because my roommate likes to suddenly use a ton of it without asking and without replacing it.  But it was her canola oil!  Ha!)  Add curry, cumin and ginger, sauteing for 3 more minutes.  Then add the coconut milk, beans, potatoes and frozen veggies, stirring to combine.  Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the potatoes are soft.  Adjust seasoning with more cumin & ginger if needed.  I added two pinches of salt and a few dashes of cayenne, then served it over brown rice!

*I used roughly half a tablespoon of cumin
*The recipe just said "ginger", so I grated a couple of teaspoons of fresh ginger.  You could shake a little powdered ginger in there, but you really would have to do it "to taste".

Vanilla Maple Walnuts

So I was watching a "Face Off" marathon on TV yesterday after work and was also indulging in a favorite pastime, looking at Punchfork- a quick look at new recipes from top food blogs.  I came across these walnuts on Elana's Pantry and was thinking I had a lot of the stuff I needed to make them!  I also had a Girls Night with my Bible study ladies that was rapidly approaching and needed to bring something.  With 30 minutes before I had to leave, I finally got up (leaving in the middle of an animatronic eye disaster) and threw this together.

It's so easy!

Here's what you need:

2 cups raw walnuts
1Tb olive oil
2 Tb pure maple syrup (agave or honey work too-though technically, honey isn't vegan)
1/4 tsp salt
1 vanilla bean
dash of ground cinnamon

Put the walnuts and oil in a pan over high heat.  Once the nuts start sizzling, turn the flame down to medium low and toast for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, split your vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the delicious, fragrant, holy paste that resides in there with a knife.

Add the maple syrup and cook 1-2 minutes more, then add the salt, vanilla and cinnamon, tossing to distribute the vanilla.  All ready for snacking!  Store in an air tight container.  Or in a bowl under two donuts that you also got at girls night.

The ladies were blown away!  I was impressed too!  I love the little flecks of vanilla bean and the light sweetness of the maple syrup.  They just started selling vanilla beans at Trader Joe's and they are pretty affordable!  I bet you could use some vanilla extract in it's place if you didn't want to buy these beautiful, sainted beans.

I'm kind of new to the vanilla bean thing.  But they are worth it and more.

Big Brother Broccoli

Our second post is a link found from our first contributor, the illustrious, the eldest, the tropical-dwelling Brian!  He has shared with us his own (growing) family favorite... Spicy Cashew Broccoli Stir-No-Fry, found in Gone Raw.

What you need:

1cup broccoli florets, chopped
1 cup raw cashews, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms (any kind) sliced
1Tb teriyaki sauce
2 tsp chili sauce
4 tsp grated fresh ginger or 2tsp ginger powder

Simply add all of the nuts and veggies to a bowl, then add the sauces and ginger, stirring until everything is coated.  Let sit for at least 20 minutes for all of the flavors to marry.  This makes two servings!

Since this was a link and I didn't make it myself, here's some original artwork to give you an idea of what you're getting yourself into:

Hey Dad

Welcome to your very own blog!

I thought it would be fun to make a food blog to support you in your effort to transition to a vegan diet.  I hope we (me and maybe other family members) can use this to post recipes of things we make ourselves or maybe just some links to things that you might like to cook!

If you're just coming across this blog randomly- welcome to you too!  My dad is trying to address his recurring heart and health problems by making the bold and exciting move to a vegan diet for the first time in his life.  As one of his children wanting him to live forever (forever!!!), I am trying to inspire him to try new things and get new ideas.  All vegan all the time on this blog people!

To start things off, I'm making something with this Bulgur Wheat that I've had sitting in my cupboard for months...

Try to ignore the terribly unhealthy items that I didn't have the foresight to hide on another shelf.

This recipe is kind of like Tabbouleh if you've ever had that.  Bulgur is really good for you too!  With one cup you get 25.6g of fiber, 17.21g of protein (tough to get in vegan diets!), and only 0.2g of saturated fat.

Bulgur with tons of cucumber, tomato, onion and a lemon olive oil dressing.

Here's what you need:

1/2 cup bulgur wheat
1 cup boiling water
1/2 of an English cucumber, chopped
about 1cup of chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped red onion
Zest and juice of one lemon
3 Tb Olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste

To start off, you need to soak your bulgur in boiling water for about a half an hour in a covered bowl.  In the meantime, put the zest and juice in a medium bowl and whisk in the olive oil, then add all the spices.  Put the soaked grains in a fine mesh sieve and drain the excess water, pressing into the sieve to get more of the water out.  Then add the grains to the dressing and toss with the veggies.  Adjust salt & pepper to taste.  All done!

The bottom photo is your daughter eating fancy-style.  Wine is vegan too!  Hurrah!

The recipe was inspired by kalyn's kitchen .