Broccoli peanut curry

My husband said this was the best thing i have ever cooked. I am not sure i agree, but it was pretty tasty and super easy. So easy.

1 small onion, chopped

Handful salted peanuts (i like the Aldi brand)

Sufficient oil to saute

1 can tom kha soup*

1 c natural peanut butter (no sugar – just smooshed peanuts)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 lb broccoli, cut in bitesize chunks

Water or coconut milk as needed to thin the sauce

*Check the ingredients – some contain fish sauce, which is tasty, just not veg friendly.

Saute onion and peanuts in oil until onion is floppy. Reduce heat and stir in peanut butter. When peanut butter is melty, add the tom kha soup. If there are large hot peppers in the soup, you may consider removing them depending on your spice preference.  Stir until the sauce is smooth, and add sugar. Add broccoli, stir to coat with peanut awesomesauce, cover your pot, and cook to desired doneness over medium low heat. ~10 minutes is my preference, but check frequently. Add water or coconut milk as needed to thin sauce.

Serve with rice

 

 

Cantaloupe Chutney

We devoured this with slices of brie onblack bean burgers. It was amazing.

1/2 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and chopped smallish

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp crushed red pepper

6 cardamom pods, peeled and crushed

1/2 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ginger paste

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cashews

1/2 c lemon juice

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup yellow raisins

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped rough

Crush the cardamom and cloves in a mortar and pestle and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add red pepper flakes, cardamom, cloves and ginger. Fry for 30 seconds. Add sugar and cashews, stir to coat with spices.  Throw in cantaloupe and the rest of ingredients. Mix well and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add more red pepper flakes if you want. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until chutney is syrupy and fruit is carmelized.

Allow to cool a bit, then puree coarsely in food processor. Store in refrigerator.

Adapted from http://abcdsofcooking.com/2010/08/cantaloupe-chutney/

Can’t elope salad

My husband and I had three weddings. No eloping here! He did, however, show up with a random canteloupe yesterday.  I am reasonably sure I have never eaten anything but plain canteloupe, possibly mixed with other melons in a fruit salad type dish.  I decided to try something new, as should you.

 

Can’t Elope Salad

1/2 canteloupe, seeds removed and diced

1 small cucumber, sliced

1/2 c cashews

1/2 c feta cheese

6-8 fresh mint leaves, chopped

Spinach (as salad base)

For the dressing:

2 tbsp ginger paste

3 tbsp lemon juice

Healthy splort of Sriracha (spice to taste)

Three pinches of salt

3/4 c plain yogurt

 

Mix the dressing ingredients, then mix with the rest of the ingredients. Let it sit for 10- 15 minutes to let the cantaloupe juice mix with the dressing.

Serve over a heaping pile of fresh spinach

 

Watermelon Curry

This is a really simple recipe if you start with a seedless watermelon. Using a regular watermelon is a bit more labor intensive… but that’s what I bought before I decided to make a curry.  I was inspired by a variety of Rajasthani recipies.

Ingredients:

1/3 giant watermelon or one personal size

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper*

2 tsp oil

2 tsp fennel

1/2 tsp fenugreek

Healthy dash of chaat masala

Chop up watermelon into bitesize chunks, and de-seed if you went with a seedy melon.  Puree about 2/3 with the garlic, turmeric, paprika, and cayenne pepper.

Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add fennel and fenugreek seeds, and saute for about 30 seconds to brown.

Add watermelon puree to the pan, simmer on medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until sauce voolume has been reduced by about 50%.

Add the rest of the watermelon chunks, and stir frequently until warm.

Serve over rice. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and cucumber on the side.

*i skipped the cayenne when i was pregnant, because of heartburn.

Minty Blueberry Lemonade Popsicles

You had me at blueberry.

1 pt fresh blueberries

Handful of fresh mint leaves

enough lemonade to fill your popsicle molds when mixed with the other ingredients

Add everything food processor, blend. Pour into your popsicle molds and freeze at least 4 hours.

I did not add enough lemonade the first time around, so I divided the mixture between the molds, froze it for an hour without inserting the sticks, then added more pure lemonade to the individual popsicles. They are very pretty, but it does add a step 🙂 If you do it this way, don’t forget to add the sticks!

Edited to add: these are even better than I expected. Make them.

Cheesy upma grits

Since I am living in the south, I decided to try making southern food. However, I was lacking several ingredients for normal run of the mill grits, so I made it up as I went.

4 c milk

1 tbsp jamaican jerk sauce

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp marjoram

2 c. Roasted rava

1 tsp salt (to taste)

Large dollop sour cream

1.5 c shredded cheddar cheese

cashews

In a large pot, bring the milk, jerk, garlic, and marjoram to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Slowly add rava, stirring to avoid lumps. Continue to cook on low heat, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the pan. As the rava starts to thicken, add sour cream and cheese. Stir until melted. Add salt to taste. Continue cooking over low heat until desired consistency is reached. Add more milk if needed. Serve with a handful of cashews on top. Have seconds. It’s that good.

Leeky Tater Soup

I got an immersion blender.  This means now I can make all the soups, all the time. I love potato soup.  I love the delicate flavor of the leeks.  I love running around the house with a leek held to my head like a unicorn horn yelling “I’ve sprung a leek!”

1/2 medium size onion, diced

3 leeks, white and light green sections sliced into 1/4 in rounds

a whole lot of garlic

8 golden potatoes. cubed. you can use any variety, but red skins make the soup a strange color.

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 bay leaf

salt to taste

water of sufficient quantity to boil potaotes

oil of choice

in a soup pan, saute onions, garlic, and  2/3 of the leeks in oil until onions are transparent and leeks are floppy. Add cubed potatoes and sufficient water to cover them.  Add spices.  Bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are soft.  Use the immersion blender to homogenize your soup.  Adjust spice levels as needed.  Add remaining leeks to soup and simmer until they are floppy.

if your soup is too thick, add more water. If it is too thin, cook it longer.

Enjoy!

Easy Hummus

If I had known how easy hummus is, I would have started making it years ago. Seriously, this takes about 5 minutes and most of that is looking for the can opener. I swear it was here yesterday.

in a food processor, mix:

2 cans chickpeas, drained

1 c tahini

1 c olive oil

3 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp chopped garlic

salt to taste

blend until smooth. Adjust levels of all ingredients to preference. Add a splort or three of sri racha if you want some spice. Serve with a dash of smoked paprika if you like your food to be pretty.

Soylent* Green Beans with Pineapple

*Red headed sister: “Is it bad that when I read ginger in this recipe,  I thought it meant red heads?”

me: “mmmmm. Soylent Green beans! Sounds like a wheel of fortune answer.”

I feel silly tagging this as vegan, because as we all know, Soylent Green is people! But…

THIS RECIPE IS 100% PEOPLE FREE

1 can chunk pineapple in juice (not syrup)
1 small white onion
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
ginger paste to taste (just for clarity: the plant, not people)
soy sauce to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
~ 1 lb green beans, fresh from the garden

drain pineapple juice into a skillet, set fruit aside.
chop onion and saute with garlic and ginger paste in pineapple juice until transparent.

dump in beans, soy, and pepper, stir to coat with juice. when beans are about halfway cooked to your preference (I like them crunchy), stir in the pineapple. By the time the pineapple is warm, the beans should be done cooking.

Quick and easy BBQ sauce

1 can tomato paste

1/4 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp crushed garlic

apple cider vinegar to preferred consistency

Mix tomato paste, sugar, and spices.  Add ACV until sauce is desired thickness. I use about a cup. Mix together and slather on whatever you are BBQing.

*** if the food you choose to slather this sauce on happens to be a giant hunk of juicy animal flesh, this recipe should no longer be considered vegan.