Glenda's Curry

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil
• 1tbsp cumin
• 1tbsp coriander
• 1 tsp ginger finely chopped
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 onions sliced
• 4 carrots sliced
• 2 fresh green chiles finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
• 2/3 cup vegetable broth or water
• 2-4 potatoes chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. heat 4 tbsp oil in pan
2. add onions, carrots and potatoes
3.  cook until onions are golden
4. reduce heat, add spices, chiles, and cilantro leaves
5. stir-fry for 2 minutes
6. add broth or water
7. add chick peas
8. simmer, stirring occasionally, 7 min
9. make sure potatoes are to your liking.
10. taste to adjust spices
11. sprinkle lemon juice over curry
12. SERVE HOT!

Potato and Spinach Curry

Ingredients:
2 (14.5-oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions medium size
1 inch piece fresh ginger
1 garlic clove chopped
2 tbsp ground coriander
4 potatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
1tbsp red thai curry paste
8 oz spinach leaves
salt

Directions:

1. cut onions into thick wedges
2. chop ginger
3. chop garlic clove
4. heat vegetable oil in large wok
5. add onions, garlic, and ginger
6. cook 2-3 minutes
7. chop potatoes into chunks
8. add potatoes and coriander to wok
9. stir-fry for 2-3 minutes
10. add stock and curry paste
11. simmer gently 10-15 minutes until potatoes are soft
12. add spinach leaves and stir for one minute
13. SERVE IMMEDIATELY!

Cuban Style Black Beans

Ingredients:

• 2tbsp olive oil
• a medium red onion, finely chopped
• a small carrot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1.5 cups of cooked black beans
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1.5 tbsp chili powder
• salt

Directions:

1. heat olive oil in large skillet
2. add onion, carrot, garlic
3. simmer for 7 minutes, covered
4. in a pot, mix veggies, beans, water and tomatoes
5. add cayenne pepper, chili powder and salt
6. let cook for 10 minutes
7. check spices, serve over rice or alone

Potato Leek Soup

 This soup is ridiculously good. And simple.

INGREDIENTS:

 8 small white potatoes (or any equivalent color), washed but not peeled, and diced

2 large leeks, both white and green parts

4-6  carrots

1 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 tsp thyme (fresh would be better)

1/2 tsp rosemary (fresh would be better)

2 cubes bouillon

5 cups water

1 tsp sea salt, or to taste

fresh black pepper to taste

1 cup plain almond milk

INSTRUCTIONS: 

• Rinse the leeks and slice them thinly. 
• Dice the potatoes. 
• Heat the oil in your large stockpot, saute the leeks for a few minutes. 
• Saute the potatoes (take care they don’t stick) and onion.
• Add the bouillon, water, salt and herbs. 
• Simmer until the potatoes are very soft, about 20 minutes. 
• Add the pepper.
• In a blender, blend all or part of the soup depending on how smooth you want it.
• Stir in the milk.
• Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• 2 cubes bouillon 
• 5-6 cups water
• 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
• fresh black pepper to taste
• 1 cup plain almond milk (or any other kind of milk- eg. soy, cow, rice)

Garbanzo and Green Bean Tagine

I made this for the Naw Ruz celebration last week. It was gone by the end of the night.
It's a Moroccan stew that's sweet but full of spice.
Note, this isn't a quick recipe by any means, but it's quite worth the time.
Another note, I ate it while it was very hot and burnt my tongue. :(

Someone else made it and it looked like this.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups mixed dried fruit. (I used 1/2 cup each of cranberries, prunes, and raisins)
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 8 oz or 1/2 lb green beans (trim ends and cut into 1'' pieces)
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1.5 cups vegetable stock
• 1tsp brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 15 oz can garbanzos (chickpeas)
• 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds
• 2tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:

1.  add fruit to boiling water and soak for 20 min. 
2. heat olive oil in large saucepan on medium heat
3. add onion, cover, cook for 5 min or until soft
4. stir in garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, and allspice for 30 seconds
5. add green beans, tomatoes (including juice), stock, brown sugar, salt and pepper
6. reduce heat to low
7. simmer for 20 min or until green beans are tender
8. coarsely chop fruit and add after green beans are tender
9. add chickpeas and cook for 5-10 min 
10. stir in almonds, parsley and lemon zest
11. taste and adjust seasonings.
12. Serve hot, but not hot enough to burn everyone's poor tongue.
13. Try serving it over rice, couscous, or quinoa.

Kidney bean "burgers"

My cookbook says you can serve these burgers in a bun like a usual burger or served with gravy and vegetables.

This is a terrible picture of the final product.
Imagine it with some gravy and carrots.
That's better.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans cooked, drained kidney beans
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

• drain beans and mash in bowl (use a potato masher if you have one)

• add oats and soy sauce

• knead well with hands
• form into 4 large burgers

• saute in oil- start with high heat to brown on both sides

• lower heat and cook until hot throughout

Mushroom Stroganoff

Made this Saturday night with Mona. It was unbelievably creamy and good.

Ingredients:

• 1lb mushrooms sliced
• 4tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup wholewheat flour
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 12 oz or 1 1/2 cups tofu (I used firm, but you could probably use silken too...)
• sea salt
• black pepper
• mustard powder
• pasta (I used linguine)

Directions:

1. begin heating water for pasta
2. saute mushrooms in oil until tender
3. add garlic and onions, saute for 5 min
4. meanwhile, put tofu in blender add tofu and about 1/2 cup water. Blend thoroughly.
5. add flour, stirring well
6. add vegetable stock slowly, stir to avoid lumps
7. cook for 2 min
8. Add tofu cream to mushroom mix, stir well
9. add spices to taste
10. cook until well heated
11. serve over pasta

Refried Beans with Cinnamon and Cloves

My mama had been begging me for weeks to make these beans.
She made them and loved them. She insisted that once I found and executed this recipe I would never have to buy refried beans out of a can again.
Mama told me, "Just google 'cinnamon refried beans' and it's right there in the results."
I tried it, and couldn't find the right page.
She wanted me to make them so bad that finally she just sent me the link.
She even bought me the ingredients and left them at my apartment when she came to visit so that I would have no excuse but to make them (I love my Mama).
Here's the the original recipe.


These beans would be best if made from scratch, but honestly I struggle with planning; so remembering to soak the dried beans long enough before dinner is hard for me.
These beans are delicious. I ate them for breakfast and dinner for at least 3 days while I was fasting. They're pretty easy to make, so try them!

Ingredients:

• extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced into 1/4'' pieces
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 fresh chilli pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• two 15-oz cans red kidney beans (or other beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions:

1. Generously film bottom of 10-inch skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. 
2. Saute the onions with salt and pepper to taste until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. 
3. You want to hear a sizzle as they cook.
4. Add Garlic, jalapeno, cinnamon, and cloves
5. cook the mix until fragrant (about 1 minute)
6. take care not to burn the spices
7. add tomatoes
8. saute for 1 minute.
9. Stir in the beans and water.
10. bring to a fast simmer while crushing the beans with a potato masher (or back of large spoon) as they cook
11. scrape the bottom of the pan as the beans begin to thicken
12. simmer until the beans are thick (about 10 minutes)
13. just before serving blend in the butter or margarine 
14. taste and adjust seasonings

*The beans hold in the refrigerator for 5 days; add liquid as needed when reheating.

Sorry I don't have any pictures... I ate them all!

Omygoshsogood Curry

Last night my study circle had a curry cooking adventure. Our friend Bill brought all the ingredients for this masterpiece. Erica and Marzi were the head chefs. I cannot take credit for the deliciousness that ensued for all I did was chop a few potatoes. The original recipe can be found here- but honestly I have no idea how closely it was followed by my dear collaborators.

I didn't happen to snap a picture of the curry, but if I had, this is what it would look like...

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon hot curry powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 1/4 cups frozen peas
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 (8 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 cup water (or more as needed)

Directions:

1.  In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. 
2. When hot, add the hot curry powder and stir it around for 30 seconds. 
3. Add the onions to the pan and saute until they are tender and a bit golden. 
4. add the carrots, potatoes, and minced garlic. 
5. add about a half cup each of water and coconut milk
6. stir in the turmeric, salt, and coriander. 
7. reduce the heat to low and cover 
8. intermittently stir the pot and check the moisture level. 
9. when the milk is almost all absorbed add more coconut milk and water (in equal parts)
10. continue to cook, stir, and add liquid until the vegetables are very tender and the curry is thick
11. check spice levels, adjust to taste 
12. stir in the peas and the rest of the coconut milk (and water if necessary)
13. cook until done

Thanks to Sepideh and Alec and Emily who did a lot of chopping and peeling. Love y'all.

VEGGIE SOUP

This soup recipe feeds an army. Make it at the beginning of the week and eat it for lunch the rest of the week!

My medium size pot is just a little too
 small for all the soupy goodness.

Make sure you use a big pot so that it can simmer without boiling over the edges.
This soup is easily made vegan by using vegetable bouillon and margarine.
It can easily be made for meat-eaters by adding in chunks of cooked chicken breast. I would guess it would be best if you added the meat right after you added the water.


ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 sticks celery chopped
• 2 potatoes chopped
• 1 tbsp butter or margarine
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cube vegetable or chicken bouillon 
• 6oz can tomato paste
• 4 cups water 
• handful of spaghetti 
• 1/2 cup french cut green beans (can be frozen or canned or fresh)
• 2 heaping tbsp flour 



This is about how much pasta I used.

directions: 

1. In a medium-large pot, melt butter. 
2. add chopped onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes. 
3. sautee for 4 min, don't brown the veggies.
4. stir in bouillon cube, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and water.
5. bring to boil and simmer for 10 min.
6. break spaghetti in thirds, add to soup and simmer for 10 min.
7. add beans and simmer for 5 minutes more.
8. Mix flour with a little cold water in a cup. Add this to soup, stirring well. 
9. Cook for 1 more minute before serving.
10. Serve hot soup to your hungry friends. 

NOTE: If the soup starts to thicken when re-heating for left-overs, just add a bit of water to make it thin again. 

BANANA MANIA

 I've been on a banana kick.

I just love bananas!

This morning I made banana pancakes!

They were delicious.

banana pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 bananas sliced
• 2/3 cup milk (use soy or other non-dairy milk to make it vegan)
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. mix dry ingredients in bowl.
2. put milk and 2/3 of banana in blender. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix until just barely incorporated. Should still be a little lumpy.
4. add in rest of sliced bananas.
5. cook on medium in a well oiled skillet.

The angels eat this for every meal.

This is the most heavenly dessert known to man.

It is a banoffee pie, aka heaven in food form.

Mona, Chris and I shared this delight at the Cornish Pasty Co. It is a very yummy restaurant. I highly recommend it. Anywhoo, their description of this delicacy is,

"Crisp graham cracker crust, homemade caramel. Fresh whipped cream and bananas."

God bless the soul who conceived this dish. The guy who made it at the restaurant said his name was Stevo. I like him.

Portobello Fajitas con homemade salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed and caps cut into strips
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• homemade or your favorite salsa to taste

STEPS:

First cook the onions and peppers in olive oil until soft (5min on medium heat)

add mushrooms (3min)
then add spices and cook 3-5 additional minutes.

roll vegetables into tortilla

add salsa

enjoy!