Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup

Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. That's what this soup should be called. It smells divine. It tastes divine and it's super healthy. Win-win. Huzzah!

Ingredients:

2-3 onions, diced

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

1.5 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp mild curry paste

1 tsp nutmeg 

Coconut milk (1 can)

1.5 tbsp tomato paste

4 cups vegetable broth

1.5 cups red lentils 

Pour oil into a pre-heated pan. Add onions and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add curry powder, paste and nutmeg. Continue to cook until onions are soft but not mushy. Add in coconut milk and stir well to mix. Next, add tomato paste and broth and bring to a boil. Lastly, add the lentils in and cook on med-low heat for 20-30 minutes. 

Finally, gobble it up! It is nice and easy to make, with minimal prep and can easily be doubled. :) 

Stuffed Parathas!

Ok, so this post gets dedicated to my friend at work, Chandra. She has been trying to get me to make roti and parathas for a while and I finally did it! And she was right! It was super easy! 

First, I made my curried veg. In a pan I fried up some diced onion, garlic and potato. I seasoned it with yellow curry powder, turmeric, chili powder and a pinch of salt. 

Now that the stuffing is done, I took it off the heat and set it aside to make the dough. To make the dough;

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup water

Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and vegetable oil. Slowly add water until dough is formed. Knead dough to an even consistency and set aside. 

Break off a piece of dough and roll Into a ball. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/2" thick and place a spoonful of the filling in the middle.

Fold the corners over and "round out" while flattening with a rolling pin. It should be about twice the circumference and half the thickness. 

Place the paratha into a pre-heated, non oiled pan, on medium-high heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes, flip and cook again for another 1-2 minutes. The paratha should have a nice brownness to it and puff up slightly. 

TA-DAAAAA! Parathas! I can't wait to make more with all different fillings. Don't be discouraged if they don't look "pretty" at the beginning. It took me a few tries to get the technique down. For your laughing pleasure, my first one looked like this:

At least it tasted good! Cheers!

There's always time for curry!

For any other working parents, or just plain busy parents this post is for you! 

In our house, one meal that is always met with smiles (and more importantly no whining or fussing) is curried anything. Tonight I needed to cook up something in a hurry...I'm inclined to rhyme here, but I suspect you know where I'm going. 

Ingredients: (use as many or as few as you need depending on family size)

Lentils

Spinach

Onions

Peppers

Potatoes (peeled, cooked, cubed)

Baby peas 

Tomato paste (to thicken)

Almond milk (to make it creamy)

For seasoning I used a mix that I've been using for years. There are no preservatives and the spices are delicious.

Directions:

In a large saucepan add a tablespoon or two of oil (any oil of your choice) and add in the peppers and onions. Then once they're mostly cooked add in the lentils, potato, peas etc. Cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes. If you're adding spinach add it as a last vegetable. Then add in the tomato paste and almond milk and let simmer for another 10 minutes and you're done. 

In 20 minutes you'll have a fragrant and delicious curry! While it was cooking I made some rice and added in a pinch of saffron threads for colour and flavour. 

As you can see, I tend to cook for a family of 10 or 12 rather than the 3 that we actually are. This way we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow or dinner another night which is really handy on nights that we have extra curriculars. 

Enjoy!   

Breakfast of Champions!

Ok, so today I have a LONG day of canning ahead of me. I made my brine last night and its been sitting- so in a few hours I'll be ready to start my mango pickle. 

This is how I have justified a GIANT delicious breakfast of Curry Tofu Scramble w/Sweet Potato Hash.

Not only will this fuel me for the entire day, but it is so easy to make!

Chop some peppers and onion. Heat a pan with a bit of oil/butter/margarine etc. Then once the veggies are almost done, throw in a spoonful of curry paste, stir and let simmer for about 2 minutes. Then cut in some silken tofu for the scramble and DONE! 

While that was happening I put some sweet potato hash in the oven with some olive oil, sea salt and a touch of garlic chili powder. 

Now, FEAST YOUR EYES! 

Curry and Cumin and Turmeric- Oh My!

Spices are what make the meal. And in our house we LOVE spices. I was away this weekend with a friend and upon coming home my lovely had begun dinner. This is very exciting for me for two reasons. 

1. I don't have to cook! 

2. I CAN TAKE PICTURES!!

Usually the only reason that I have "after shots" only is because I cook kind of like the Swedish Chef from the muppets. So I keep my phone (camera) far far away. But now I had the opportunity to take "how to" pics while inhaling delicious smells.

Tonight for dinner is a staple in our house; curried vegetables. Sometimes on their own, sometimes over rice or quinoa. Always delicious!

Not only are curried dishes SO good (and good for you) they are also super easy to make. 

First you sauté some onions in a tablespoon of oil...

Then you add your spices to a bowl. We used curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, sugar, ginger and garlic. 

Then add some veggies to the onions. We used broccoli, cauliflower and kale. 

Add your spice blend to the vegetables, mix well, cover and let cook for a minute.

Once the veggies are coated evenly add some diced tomatoes. I used leftover rustic tomato soup. Then simmer while the spices devour the veggies!

After about 20 minutes of simmering on a low heat this delicious meal is ready to be eaten. I'm eating it alone but my family are eating it with some jasmine rice.

Pumpkin pinwheels are coming, likely Friday. Stay tuned!