Lentil Chickpea Coconut Curry

Since trying lentils for the first time last summer, I’ve become mildly obsessed with them and usually cook them anywhere from one to three times a month. I love lentils with brown rice, or with sausage, but my favorite way to eat lentils is in a delicious curry. I was originally going to post a recipe for Chana Masala (chickpea curry), but decided I needed to include my beloved lentils and also some greens.

If you enjoy curry, I definitely recommend giving this recipe a try. Hearty lentils and chickpeas are simmered in a flavorful tomato-curry sauce with kale and coconut milk, served over rice. This meal is so filling and satisfying, I bet most wouldn’t guess that it’s vegan. I admit I sometimes miss meat in a vegetarian or vegan meal, but this isn’t one of them. Lentils and chickpeas are both packed with protein, very low in fat and diet superfoods in my book. I’ve been making this meal in some variation or another for months now, and it really has become one of my favorites. This is the first time I made it with coconut milk and I love the way it mellows out the strong flavors a bit. The amount of spices are based off my personal preferences, so you may find you want more or less of something – just have fun playing around with it!

Lentil Chickpea Coconut Curry

Ingredients:
serves 5-6

• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups of water, veggie stock or chicken stock
• 1 cup dry brown or green lentils
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 15 oz. can fire-roasted tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
• 5-6 stalks kale, torn into small pieces or 4-5 cups spinach (I used both)
• 1 Tbsp yellow curry powder
• 1 tsp red curry powder or garam masala
• 1 tsp red curry paste
• 1 tsp cumin + 1 tsp coriander (or 2 tsp cumin if coriander is not available)
• 1 tsp fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained (feel free to use the whole can if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp)
• fresh cilantro and scallions to garnish, warmed Naan to serve

Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, cook rice according to box directions. You can do this step in advance, or let the rice cook while you’re preparing the rest of the meal.
2. In a 3-4 quart cooking pot, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over low heat. Add diced onion and carrots and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add minced garlic and continue cooking.
3. Once veggies have softened and browned a bit (about 15-20 minutes), add water or stock to the pot, along with your lentils and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then return to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the tomato sauce or diced tomato to the pot and stir in kale. (If using spinach, don’t add it until later – see step number 5.) Season with all of the spices (yellow curry powder through red pepper flakes) and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until kale is tender and the curry has thickened.
5. Stir in chickpeas, coconut milk, and lime juice (and spinach, if using) and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve curry over rice, with a garnish of fresh cilantro, scallions, and warmed Naan.

Start by sauteing your veggies

Once veggies are tender, add 3 cups of water or stock to the pot, along with lentils and 1 bay leaf. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in tomato sauce, kale and spices and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Once kale is tender, add chickpeas, coconut milk, and lime juice to the curry. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

The finished product!

Roasted Tomato & Eggplant Soup

This recipe was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I’m pretty pleased with how it came out. Last night my roommate Emily came home with Creamy Tomato soup from Panera Bread and all of a sudden I found myself craving tomato soup. I’ve been attempting to post twice a week nowadays, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays, but I hadn’t thought of what to make for today (Tuesday) yet. That’s where tomato soup comes in!

This soup was influenced by a few different recipes. Last year I tried Au Bon Pain’s Eggplant Soup and found it surprisingly delicious. I’ve always loved tomato soup, but found the addition of eggplant enticing. One of the best tomato soups I’ve had in a while was at a local restaurant a town over from me. Back in September, when I had my wisdom teeth out, I couldn’t eat much other than soup and mashed potatoes. I was tired of eating soup, but found this restaurant’s tomato soup especially delicious. It was chunkier than usual and tasted like it had cheddar cheese cooked into it.

Soup also appealed to me today because I have the most horrible canker sore on the side of my tongue right now. Yesterday it was pretty painful, so I figured today it’d be starting to heal. Instead I woke up and it had just about doubled in size and was so painful I could barely eat anything. Even just swallowing or talking hurts. Not fun. After taking some medicine, my tongue feels a bit better but solid or tough food is still kind of out of the question for now.

If you are a tomato lover, you will love this soup. Roasting tomatoes brings out an incredible sweetness that you can’t really get with raw tomatoes. The roasted eggplant adds a nice, mellow flavor and the soup is finished off with some fire-roasted bell peppers. I chose to add some light cream and cheese to my soup, but you can eliminate these things if you’re looking for a soup that’s dairy-free (as well as vegan). This soup is comforting and will help keep you warm for these last few weeks of winter. It could even double as a pasta or pizza sauce!

Roasted Tomato & Eggplant Soup
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• Two large tomatoes, cored, seeds removed, and cut into quarters
• 1 eggplant, stem removed and sliced in half length-wise
• 1/2 of 1 sweet onion, cut into large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 28-oz can peeled or diced tomatoes
• 1 small (6 or 12 oz.) jar roasted red peppers
• handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• optional: 1/2 cup light cream or half and half
• optional: 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange your tomatoes, eggplant, and onion chunks on top. To prevent garlic cloves from burning, insert into cored tomatoes (see photo below for reference). Drizzle veggies with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Roast your veggies for 30-40 minutes, or until the tomatoes have begun to collapse and eggplant is starting to shrivel. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
3. In a large sauce pan, combine your peeled/diced tomatoes, roasted red peppers, basil, chicken/vegetable broth, and red pepper flakes. Once your roasted veggies have cooled slightly, add them to the sauce pan as well.
4. Use an immersion blender to blend the veggies to your desired consistency. (Or, alternatively, transfer the veggies to a blender and then return to sauce pan.)
5. Heat the soup to low and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Stir in cream and cheese, if using. Serve with an extra sprinkle of cheese or your favorite type of bread and enjoy

After cutting up your veggies, place them on a lightly greased baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper. Nestle your garlic cloves inside the tomatoes, as shown in the photo. Roast for 30-40 minutes.

Once your veggies are finished roasting, let them cool for 5-10 minutes.

Gently remove the skin from your eggplant. Grab a small chunk at the end of it and it should peel off rather easily.

Place your roasted veggies into a large sauce pan, along with the canned tomatoes, roasted red peppers, chicken/veggie broth, chopped basil, and red pepper flakes.

Using an immersion or regular blender, blend the soup to your desired consistency. (If you cook a lot and are considering getting an immersion blender, buy one. seriously. best thing ever.)

Heat sauce over low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Stir in cream and cheese, if using.

Serve with an extra sprinkle of cheese and some basil.

Banana Peanut Butter Milkshake

Today I’m going to keep it short and sweet, because it’s Friday and because I’m lazy.

Did you know today is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day? To celebrate, I’m sharing a drink recipe I’ve been really enjoying for the past few weeks. I tend to go through phases where I eat a lot of peanut butter, and then I eat none at all for like three months. Right now I’m in a peanut butter phase and have gone through almost an entire jar of peanut butter in just a few weeks, which is normally unheard of for me. It’s probably because I recently bought my favorite type of peanut butter after not having any for almost a year.

Peanut Butter & Co. makes my favorite peanut butter in the whole world – The Bee’s Knees.I can only find it at one store back home, but last time I was visiting they were out of it. I picked up some Mighty Maple instead, which is almost just as good. Peanut Butter & Co. has 10 different varieties of peanut butter and they are made with all-natural ingredients.

This milkshake combines peanut butter, frozen bananas, milk, and protein powder to make a healthy drink that’s perfect for before or after the gym. It’s thick, creamy, and tastes kind of like a banana split in drink-form. I’ve been having one after the gym and some days it’s honestly enough to motivate me to get off my butt and go exercise – knowing I can treat myself with a delicious (and healthy) milkshake afterwards.

Frozen bananas, when blended up, turn into an ice cream-like consistency without the help from cream or added sugar. If you left the milk out of this recipe, you’d have something similar to ice cream and I’m betting it would taste pretty darn good, too. This recipe can easily be made vegan if you use dairy-free milk, such as soy or almond. I used coconut milk because it’s my personal favorite. This shake is also delicious with coffee if you need an extra pick-me-up – just add 1/2 cup brewed coffee that’s been chilled. Yum!

Banana Peanut Butter Milkshake
makes 1 milkshake

Ingredients:

• 1 banana, cut into chunks and frozen (make sure you peel it and cut it into chunks before you freeze it or else you’ll be sorry!)
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup milk (any type will work – cow’s milk, soy, almond, coconut, etc.)
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder or 1/3 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• optional add-ins: 1/2 tsp cinnamon or cocoa powder

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Sweeten to taste and serve immediately, or place in freezer for later use.

Hope everybody has a great weekend!

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

Bolognese is one of those words that I never had any idea what it meant until I started watching the Food Network. One of my very favorite shows to watch on it is Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I love watching Guy travel around to restaurants all around the U.S. that you would have never heard of otherwise, and learn about how others interpret popular recipes or make entirely unique creations. I’ve actually learned a lot about cooking and food in general from that show, and it gives me endless inspiration for the meals that I create.

One recipe that I’ve seen a number of times is Bolognese sauce. Bolognese is a meat-based tomato sauce typically consisting of ground meat, onion, carrot, and celery, finished off with white wine, sometimes cream, and served over papparadelle pasta. Pasta with meat sauce has always been somewhat of a comfort food to me, so this recipe instantly appealed to me. Growing up, my mom would often make what she called “American Chop Suey”, which was just meat sauce served over fun pasta like rotini or wagon wheels (our favorite!). As much as I love mom’s chop suey, I felt like I was ready to kick things up a notch and fix up an old favorite.

My Bolognese sauce is not exactly traditional. First of all, I decided to use ground turkey rather than beef or pork simply because I prefer the flavor and like that it’s lower fat. My recipe also doesn’t include white wine. I simply haven’t acquired the taste for wine in cooking yet… hopefully it will come some day. I chose not to add cream to my sauce, but if you choose to use it, make sure you add it at the end when the sauce is just about done cooking.

This Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese is a rich, chunky sauce with complex flavors from the combination of the meat, veggies, and spices. I chose to cook it in a slow cooker because I think most of us can agree that sauces that are cooked over a low temperature for several hours just taste better. If you don’t have a crock-pot, you can cook this sauce over the stove top and let it simmer for 3-4 hours. This sauce is surprisingly low-fat and is a perfect meal to serve to your family or friends. Serve it with whole grain pasta to make it even healthier!

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese
serves 4-5

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground turkey (I used 93% lean)
• 1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 1 15. oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 bay leaf
• cooked pasta of your choice, to serve

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter over low heat. Add onions and carrots and saute for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add celery and garlic and continue cooking.
2. In a separate frying pan, cook ground turkey over medium heat. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the meat up into small chunks. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until meat is lightly browned (but don’t overcook).
3. Lightly spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray. Add meat and veggies, along with the 2 cans of tomatoes and the spices. Stir to combine. Don’t forget the bay leaf, too!
4.  Set for low and cook for 4-5 hours. Once your sauce is finished, served over cooked pasta with a healthy sprinkle of parmesan cheese and enjoy.

Start by sauteing your veggies

and browning your meat

Once your meat and veggies are done cooking, add them to your slow cooker along with the tomatoes and spices

When your bolognese sauce is just about ready to serve, cook up some pasta

Serve your pasta with the bolognese sauce and some parmesan cheese. Yum!

Vegetarian Chili

At this point I have mentioned my love for vegetarian food a few times on this blog. I would say about 40-50% of the meals I eat each week are vegetarian, sometimes even vegan. I really enjoy popular vegetarian/vegan food such as tofu and tempeh, and I have grown a bit of an obsession with lentils. My roommates probably think I’m weird, but I just find something about lentils so satisfying and have been eating them once or twice a week for the past few months.

Chili is a dish I have always loved, and have tried many variations of – but all of them have always included meat. As a substitute for meat, I used tempeh, mushrooms, and lentils. I’ve noticed these three things are often used in vegetarian dishes recipes because their texture imitates ground meat, such as beef or turkey. Tempeh, for those of you who are unfamiliar, is actually made from fermented soybeans. I know what you’re thinking, and while I do agree it sounds completely unappetizing, it has a somewhat meaty texture and soaks up the flavor of whatever you’re cooking it in (just like tofu). It’s also packed with protein and at $1.99 per 8 oz, you can’t beat the price.

Though I admit I did miss the ground turkey a bit (which is what I usually use for chili), I found that this chili was still filled with many other flavors from the veggies, spices, and beans. This recipe is packed with protein, fiber, vitamins B and C, and will keep you feeling full all day long. I ate mine with cheese and a bit of sour cream, but the chili itself is vegan so it’s perfect to serve to your vegan or vegetarian friends!

Vegetarian Chili
makes 5-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used half a red and half a green)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms (baby bella or white will do)
• 1 8 oz. package tempeh
• 2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup lentils
• 1 15 oz. can of your favorite beans, rinsed and drained (I used a combination of black and pinto beans)
• 2  Tbsp brown sugar (optional)
• optional toppings: serve with diced avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream/Greek yogurt, etc.

Your ingredients

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and add diced onion and carrot. Cook for about 10 minutes, until slightly softened. Add diced celery, bell pepper, garlic, and mushrooms and continue cooking over medium heat.
2. In a medium-large cooking pot, add 1 tsp olive oil and crumble tempeh into the pot using your fingers. Fry until tempeh has turned golden-brown in color, about 3-5 minutes.
3. In a separate smaller pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add your lentils and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are mostly cooked. It’s okay if they’re not completely cooked through (see step 5).
4. While the lentils are cooking, add cooked veggies to tempeh, along with both cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir in your spices and bring the chili to a boil, then return to a simmer.
5. Add the cooked lentils to the chili, along with the beans and optional brown sugar. Let the chili simmer for another 15 minutes or so to let the flavors really intensify. Serve with optional toppings and enjoy

Start by sauteing your onions and carrots

After about 10 minutes, add the rest of the veggies and continue cooking

Don’t forget the mushrooms and garlic!

While your veggies are cooking, crumble the tempeh into a cooking pot along with 1 tsp olive oil and fry for 3-5 minutes until golden-brown

In a smaller pot, begin to cook your lentils. (I cooked mine in some leftover tomato sauce for extra flavor).

While the lentils are cooking, add the cooked veggies to the pot with the tempeh, along with the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and spices.

Once your lentils are done cooking, add them to the chili along with the 15 oz. can of your favorite beans and optional brown sugar.

Let the chili simmer for another 15 minutes or so and then serve with optional toppings

Side note, how did everybody make out in the crazy blizzard last weekend? We were lucky that we didn’t lose power, but we did spend a good 3 – 3 1/2 hours shoveling out our cars in our driveway. Our driveway is so narrow that the snowdrifts on the sides of our house and the one next door just completed blended into our cars. My car, which is a Nissan Pathfinder with 4-wheel drive, was completely buried in snow and we actually needed our neighbor’s help to push it out!

Yep, that is my car under there.

At one point I got tired of using a snow brush so I just got on top of my car and start kicking off the snow, haha.

As if that snow storm wasn’t enough, yesterday we got another snowfall. Luckily not 2 feet this time, but enough to make me feel seriously ready for spring.