Spicy Potato Curry

It was one of those days.  I had no meat thawed for dinner and no real plan on what to cook. Luckily, I had some potatoes that needed to be cook soon anyways, so this is what I threw together.  It was delicious! I had  leftovers twice the next day (lunch and dinner). It is spicy so if you don’t enjoy the heat, either reduce the cayenne or leave it out altogether.

6 medium potatoes, cubed

Vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons cumin

1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper (less if you don’t like spicy)

4 teaspoons curry powder

4 teaspoons garam masala

2 teapsoons salt

¾ cup cauliflower, cut in bite sized pieces

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained

½ cup frozen peas

14 oz can coconut milk

Bring large pot of salted water to boil then add potatoes.  Simmer until tender (15-20 minutes). Drain thoroughly.

Over medium heat, place oil in a large pot.  Add onions and garlic and saute until onion is transuclent. Add seasonings and stir and cook for about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, garbanzo beans, peas, potatoes and coconut milk.  Bring to a simmer and allow to cook 10 minutes.

Great over basmati rice or with some delicious naan or both!

Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Bowls

Here's a healthy recipe to start the new year.  The bonus is that it tastes pretty good too!

3 cups large-diced butternut squash

1 cup frozen spinach, defrosted (substitute fresh if you have that option)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

1 tsp cumin

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tahini

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (may want to add a little more at the end)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons water

1 cup cooked quinoa

2-3 green onions, diced

Preheat oven to 400F.  Toss squash, 2 tablespoons olive oil, cumin, salt, and pepper together then place on baking sheet. Roast until cooked through and slightly crispy (about 30 minutes).

Make the sauce by adding garlic, tahini, vinegar, olive oil and water and blending (with an immersion blender or food processor or just a whisk). Add salt and pepper. Add the sauce to the quinoa.

Heat spinach.

To assemble place quinoa in bowl, top with spinach, butternut squash, and green onions.

Healthy, quick, and pretty!

Samosas - golden fried deliciousness

I've made these a few times now and think I've perfected the recipe to my tastes  I hope you like them!

Samosas


Dough
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
1/4- 1/2 cup lukewarm water (start with 1/4c and add until it's wet enough)

Filling
2 large potatoes, boiled and diced (peels can be left on or removed)
2 tablespoons oil
2 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 red chili pepper, diced (seeds removed for less heat)
1 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 c lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-3/4 cup frozen peas

To make the dough
Mix the flour, oil, salt and water together to form a dough. Start with 1/4 c water and add to it, as needed.
Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes.  Separate the dough into 8 small balls. Set aside and cover with damp cloth.  Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

For the filling
Dice and boil the potatoes (can be done in advance).  Heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the cumin, red chili, ginger paste, and coriander.  Stir frequently for a minute.  Add the green peas and let cook until the peas are tender.  Add the potatoes and mix well.  Allow to cook for 5 minutes.  Add the lime juice and salt and remove from heat.  Let filling cool to room temperature before proceeding.

Assembling the samosas
On a floured surface, roll a ball of dough into a thin circle.  Cut the circle in half.  Take one half of dough and form a cone shape (by folding the cut ends up). Seal the sides of the cone by pressing firmly along the seam.  Fill the cone with the potato mixture then seal the top of the triangle. Set aside. Repeat this step with all 8 balls of dough.

Heat enough oil in a pot to completely submerse the samosas (deep frying).  Add only a few at a time (depending on the size of your pot) and let fry.  Let them cook until they are a nice, deep golden brown color.  Move them to a paper towel lined plate.  Repeat until all samosas are fried.

You can also prepare extra and fry them for a few minutes, allow to cool, then freeze for future snacks.  Warning:  I have tried to do this but each time my husband convinces me that we need them all right now.   And he's right.

Baba Ghanoush

I had been craving it for a few days.  Delicious charred eggplant, lemon, tahini slathered on nice, warm pita bread.  So last night I finally gave in and made it.  So. Worth. It.

First, the scary part.  You have to char the eggplant to get that delicious smokey flavor.  Poke some holes in the eggplant, wrap it with a bunch of foil and place it over the open flame on a gas stove or a grill. Turn every five minutes or so.  It will take 15-30 mins, depending on the size of your eggplant.  I had medium ones and they took about 20 mins. Remove them when they feel squishy.  Yes, that's a technical term.

Let them cool a little then open the foil (watch out for the hot, escaping steam), split them open and place the eggplant pulp (not the skin) into a bowl.  Let it cool slightly then mash them with a fork (or you can put them in the food processor if you prefer a more pureed dip).  Add the rest of the ingredients (adjust for your personal taste) and enjoy.

Serve with pita bread, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, or just eat it straight out of the bowl.


2 eggplants roasted
1/4c tahini
1/8tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp cumin
1 lemon
1/2tsp salt

Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika 

I can't wait until lunch time so I can eat this (along with the pita bread and hummus).

Avocado, Tomato, and Heart of Palm Salad

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  This is a delicious, easy to prepare salad. It's a little spicy so if that's not your thing, you can omit the chipotle powder. This is great on its own or over a nice piece of baked chicken (or meat of your choice).
  
  Juice of 1 med lemon
  1 tsp white vinegar (optional)
  1 tsp salt
  1 tsp sugar
  1 tsp chipotle powder
  ½ tsp ground black pepper
  ½ large red onion, diced
  ½ c finely chopped cilantro
  2 med roma tomatoes, diced
  2 large ripe avocados, diced
  5 stalks Hearts of palm (or one large jar), thinly sliced
  1 med lime

  Whisk first 6 ingredients together until spices dissolve. Add everything else except the lime. Lastly, squeeze the lime juice into the bowl and fold the mix together.
  
  That's all there is to it.

  
  

Spinach Quiche

For dinner Friday, I decided to make a nice vegetable quiche (Catholic = no meat on Fridays in our house).  I found a nice recipe for a spinach quiche on Smitten Kichen's page and played around with it a little and came up with my version - Spinach, caramelized onion and mushroom quiche.

For the crust, this recipe from Martha Stewart is super easy and it makes enough for two crusts which is great because you just freeze the other and have it on hand for the next quiche or pie or whatever.  If you hate the idea of making your own crust, you can always buy a pre-made crust (unless you live in Rio because I have definitely not seen them in the grocery stores here). I made the crust the day before and left in the freezer overnight.  I took it out in the morning and let it defrost in the fridge all day.

For the quiche, preheat the oven to 425.  Then, caramelize the onions and mushrooms.  This takes maybe 30-45 minutes because you want to do it at a low heat and give the onions time to get nice and brown and delicious.  You can always do this earlier in the day (or the day before) to save time.  Once the onions and mushrooms are almost done, throw in a minced garlic clove to add a little more deliciousness. Remove from heat and let cool a little.

Caramelizing the onions/mushrooms.  They aren't quite done here but getting close.

Next,  take the cream cheese and and beat until nice and fluffy.  Then add the eggs, one at a time and beat before adding the next egg.  After that add the half and half.  I couldn't find half and half here so I made it (half milk, half cream, duh).  Next add the onion/mushroom mix, drained spinach, cheese, green onions and salt and pepper.  Mix well and pour into the pie crust.  Bake until the top is nicely browned and the the filling is set (not jiggly). Let cool and rest for a few minutes.


1/2- 1 medium onion, chopped (I used 1/2 an onion but next time will use a whole one)
5 oz shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup half and half
3 eggs
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup grated Gruyere
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

I served this with a nice salad, fresh fruit (mango and papaya) and some extra Gruyere cheese chunks.

Hummus- a jack of all trades

I love hummus! I could probably eat it every day of my life and not get bored with it.  It can be used in so many different ways.  It's great as a condiment on sandwiches (SO much better than mayo or mustard), it's good mixed into scrambled eggs, and of course as a dip for crackers, chips, carrots, broccoli, celery, any veggie really.  Oh, and I also LOVE it with grilled meats- chicken, beef, lamb...YUM!


I start with a basic recipe and then just experiment. For the basic recipe, I use two cans of garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed), 1/3 cup of tahini, juice of two lemons, 2-4 cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of cumin, salt and pepper and about a 1/3 cup of olive oil.  I put everything in the food processor except the olive oil.  While the processor is going, I add the oil to it.  That's the basic recipe.  Now, from here I start tasting (big delicious spoonfuls) and add whatever else I have lying around.  Today I added chipotle seasoning and Hungarian paprika because I was feeling a little spicy :)  Sometimes I just add extra lemon or extra garlic.  I've also made a nice batch with roasted red bell pepper.  One day, I'm going to take the time to caramelize some shallots and throw in but haven't gotten around to that yet.

Before serving it, I drizzle a little more olive oil on top and dust with paprika.  Yummy and delicious and so very easy!