Red Curry Lentils and Veg

I love lentils.  I love curry.  I love veggies.  I love cheap dinners.

When I saw the recipe that inspired us to make the following recipe, I thought, "I love ginger, I love garlic, I love coconut milk, I love rice, I love lentils, I love that I can add anything I want to this recipe - Let's make it!"

We made it as follows, but you can do whatever you like to it to make it something special.
The recipe that inspired us can be found by clicking here.

Photo from the original recipe found on apinchofyum.com.

1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
1/2 large onion diced (we used vidalia)
1 yellow zucchini cut into bite size pieces
bamboo shoots (this was something we added and LOVED - used just 1/2 can of them)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1/2 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sugar (I would have liked a teeny bit more of this)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (we used one clove)
1 tablespoon of minced ginger (Whenever we buy ginger, we shave the peel off and cut into inch size chunks and freeze them in a freezer bag.  It keeps well and is much easier to grate when frozen!)
1 14 oz can tomato puree
1/4 cup coconut milk or cream (we used coconut milk and I would definitely not be scared to use more than 1/4 cup next time)
Cilantro for garnishing
rice for serving

So you will want to prepare your lentils first and drain them and set to the side.
Get all of the rest of the ingredients lined up and begin to melt butter in large saucepan over medium high heat.
Add the onions and allow them to saute for a while until they just start to turn golden.
Add all the spices.  (red curry paste, garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, sugar, garlic, minced ginger)  Stir fry this together for a few minutes and then add tomato puree and coconut milk or cream.  Stir and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or more if you'd like.  I stuck to 15 minutes because I like it a little soupy so it will soak into my rice a little.
Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

A few other veggies that would be great in this would be peas or roasted red peppers. Even sauteed carrots!  Fun to experiment.  I will continue to update this entry as we make the recipe again and again.

Avocado Sorbet

A wedding gift from one of my very best friends was a beautiful cookbook that she created by asking all of the women in my life to contribute recipes to it.  It is filled with so very much love, photos, and yummy recipes.  Jack and I decided that we are now on a mission to make every single recipe in that book.  This is one of those recipes. 

Thank you Jennifer Dixon!

You will need a blender, and either a microplane or a tiny grater for zesting a lemon.

Ingredients:

1 ripe large avocado (I used 2 small ones)

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 cup almond milk or soy milk (original recipe called for 1/2 and 1/2 - but it's too fatty)

2 tsp lemon zest 

1/3 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice (which is roughly two lemons)

Throw it all in a blender and mix until smooth consistency.  You can either pour into an ice cube tray, a plastic tupperware or even popsicle molds!  

Great served with fresh raspberries, strawberries or any fruit of your choice!

This also makes a great smoothie as you can use yogurt instead of milk and drink without freezing.

Love it!

Spaghetti Squash Pizza

Spaghetti Squash Pizza

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time.  A go-to in this house.
You can use any ingredient you normally enjoy on pizza.

3 Cups of grated or raw zucchini
OR
3 Cups cooked spaghetti squash *this is what we always use
2 eggs beaten
2 1/2 Cups mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 Cups tomato sauce *we just use can of diced tomatoes sometimes -don't drain the juice!
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced black olives (we use whole black olives!)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried  (or fresh!) basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
OPTIONAL:  1 lb browned Italian Sausage or other meat you enjoy on your pizza

1.  Cook spaghetti squash:  we cut it in half lengthwise, remove the seeds etc, place meat faced up in a glass 9 x 13 pan that has 1 inch of water in the bottom.  Microwave for 6 minutes. With a hot pad, turn them over to be face down for another 5 minutes.  Scrape the spaghetti squash strands out into a bowl and let cool.

 2.  Squeeze the excess moisture out of the grated zucchini or cooked spaghetti squash with cheese cloth or paper towels.  Mix the squash, eggs, and 1 1/2 Cups mozzarella together in a large bowl and press into the bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
3.  Remove the pan from the oven and spread the tomato sauce (or canned tomatoes), vegetables or other pizza toppings and the remaining cheeses over the crust.  Sprinkle with oregano and basil and drizzle the olive oil over the top.  Bake for 25 minutes (also at 350 degrees) or until cheese is lightly browned. Let cool 5 minutes.

Original recipe that we found:  Click Here

Massaged Kale Salad

Lemon Avocado Massaged Kale Salad

This is dairy, soy, gluten free, vegan, and raw... if you're interested.

I had one bite of a salad while spending the afternoon with my friend, Aly in Boulder.  One bite.  I was hooked on this "massaged kale salad".  I don't know their recipe and haven't spent any time analyzing it myself, so I just googled it.  I found one that sounded simple enough to make so I did.  It was SOOO YUMMY!  Do it... if you like the list of ingredients!  While we enjoyed it at the dinner table we talked about all the other options we could do to twist the recipe.  I can't wait to have this again.

2 Avocados - peeled, pitted, divided
juice of 2 Lemons
2 Large bunches of Kale, stems and ribs removed

Slice avocados in half lengthwise, set one half of one avocado aside.  Remove the remaining three avocado halves from their peels, place in blender (we just used immersion blender).  Juice two lemons into blender, process until creamy smooth.
Remove stems/ribs from each kale leaf, roll tightly and chiffonade.
Place in large bowl and pour lemon avocado sauce over top, use hands to massage, coating thoroughly.  Serve with reserved avocado (sliced) and tomato.  Add sea salt to taste.

Quinoa & Black Beans

Primarily Vegan - this is my new addiction.  It's great hot or cold.  It's great with a fried egg on top.  It's great with some chopped tomatoes and mixed greens.  It's just great... and hearty!

I got this recipe by doing a google search for quinoa side dishes and then added and subtracted ingredients until I made it my own.

Before beginning to cook this dish prepare the following:
chop the garlic and onion
roast red peppers and dice (really easy in a toaster oven- For instructions click here.)
rinse 2 cans of black beans
wash and chop kale

What you will need:
3 Cloves of garlic; minced
1 Onion chopped - I used a Vidalia onion
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 Cup Quinoa
3 1/2 Cup vegetable or chicken broth (I used water since I didn't have this - and it is still great!)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper
a bunch of kale chopped and cleaned
1-2 red peppers roasted and diced (sauteed is fine too - but the peppers seem sweeter when roasted)
2 15 oz cans of black beans rinsed and drained
1/2 Cup of chopped up cilantro

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook until they are slightly browned.  While they are cooking, rinse the quinoa.  Add quinoa to the pan and stir together with garlic and onions.  Cover with vegetable broth and add cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.  Bring this to a boil.  Cover and reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.  Top with kale and put a lid on in order for the kale to wilt down.  Add rinsed black beans and diced roasted red peppers.  Stir and allow to heat up for a few minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Toss with cilantro!

I made this for dinner as a side dish to our Roasted Red Pepper Soup that you can find below as the last recipe added to the blog.  We served both of these with shrimp we grilled on skewers with a Jamaican spice blend.  A great summer dinner!  In the morning I warmed some up and served it with a fried egg on top and a dash of Chalula.  So much you can do with this.  I hope you enjoy.