Posts filed under 'beans'
Chickpea-Broccoli Coconut Curry
Curry! It has been AGES since I made any sort of curry/Indian food. I use to make it all the time. My pantry was stocked with all types of Indian ingredients and spices. Then Reno started eating “real food” and I stopped cooking a lot of foods that I liked to cook because I refuse to cook two dinners, one for us and one for her. Well I wanted a curry the other night. Knowing she wouldn’t eat the curry part of the meal I took out some of the broccoli before I added the curry spice. Unfortunately I forgot to take out some chickpeas for her as well. At least she ate the broccoli. Not pictured above was some seared seitan that I served on the side. Made mostly for Reno to have more protein with her meal but also for us seitan loving parents. This is a quick dinner to make on busy weeknights when you want something warm and comforting. I’m definitely adding it to our somewhat rotation of regular meals.
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small-medium onion, small diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
4 cups of broccoli florets
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 chicken-less bouillon cube
1 15 oz can coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil, over medium-low heat, in a medium-large size saute pan. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the broccoli florets and continue cooking 8-10 minutes until the broccoli is cooked through but still has a crunch to it. Now add in the chickpeas, the curry powder and the chicken-less bouillon cube and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the can of coconut milk. Cook the curry, stirring occasionally, for about 10 more minutes. The coconut milk is thick and will thicken some more as it cooks. If you want you can thin it out with 1/2 cup of water or more if necessary. I personally didn’t thicken mine but I like the thickness. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately over white rice.
I served ours with a side of seared seitan which isn’t pictured above.
January 1st, 2012
Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad
I think I have a new favorite cookbook and it’s called Appetite For Reduction. I love all things Isa and I think this might be my all time favorite Isa cookbook. I simply want to make every recipe in this book. Everything sounds so good and looks so easy to make. I’ve only had a chance to make 3 or 4 recipes so far from the book and they have all been delicious. The first recipe I made was the Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad. I pre-cooked some red quinoa the night before so I had it all ready too make this salad for lunch the next day. By having the quinoa ready this recipe came together in a flash. You slice some red onions, chop some romaine and drain and rinse a can of chickpeas and mix it all together with the quinoa. Then you make the recipe for the Balsamic Vinaigrette, which I am a huge fan of, and then mix it all together and serve. We devoured this salad and then again the next day because it keeps so well in the fridge for a few days.
For me the best part of this salad was the recipe for the Balsamic Vinaigrette. I love that Isa uses cashews in the recipe. It gives the dressing such a nice creaminess. I want to put it on everything.
June 30th, 2011
Chickpea-Almond Brown Rice Stir Fry with Tamari-Peanut Sauce
This was the very first meal I cooked for us since we brought Miles home from the hospital. Up until then we have been well taken care of food wise from friends and family. My non-cooking husband even cooked a meal for us one night. Of course when the time came for me to have to start making dinners again we pretty much had nothing in the fridge/pantry. After standing in the middle of the kitchen wondering what the hell I was going to make for dinner I all of a sudden remembered that I had a whole container of brown rice from some Veggie Heaven take out a few nights before, then I saw a can of chickpeas in the pantry and found some broccoli in the fridge. The rest of the dish just kept evolving while I was cooking.
I first sauteed some onions and garlic in oil then added the broccoli and chickpeas. While rooting around the fridge I found a bag of almonds so I chopped them up and tossed them into the pan along with the leftover take out brown rice. While this was all “stir frying” together I was trying to think of way to get Reno to eat this meal. I knew by the looks of it she wouldn’t eat it at all. I have in the past gotten her to eat similar dishes, usually with noodles instead of rice, if I put peanut sauce on it. We were running low on peanut butter, thanks to all the smoothies I’ve been making, so it was heavier on the tamari then on the peanut butter. Which is better for a stir fry anyway. The sauce was made with: tamari, peanut butter, water, orange juice and ginger powder. I added it to the stir fry right towards the end of cooking it and cooked it for a minute more just till it was heated through.
By then…Reno had emerged from her bath and declared that she would NOT be eating this dinner. I informed her that she WOULD be eating it and if she didn’t want to eat it then she was welcome to go straight to bed. If I know that she’s not going to like something I’ve made I’ll always give her another option but I knew she would like this. She complained through the whole thing. First that it was made with rice and not noodles and I always make peanut sauce with noodles. Then she was fine just eating the rice but that there was all “this stuff” in the way of her doing that…that “stuff” was the chickpeas. Oh and she also wasn’t going to be eating the broccoli which is actually a vegetable that she likes. After she had basically eaten 1/2 of her bowl she claims that her belly is full. Which was too bad because that’s when I decided to announce to Peter that there was some ice cream in the freezer for me and him when we were done with our bowls. Well wouldn’t you know it…Reno wanted some ice cream…she quickly ate the rest of her meal. 
The meal was delicious and I can’t wait to make it again. I hope to have the time and mental capability to write the measurements down so I can post the recipe for you all.
June 17th, 2011
Just some photos of what I’ve been eating recently:
Kung Pao “Chicken”
From Veggie Heaven, Teaneck NJ. This reminds me to work on my Kung Pao recipe that I created months ago.
At Home Chipotle
Our closest Chipotle is in a strip mall that has the worst designed parking lot I’ve ever seen. Its basically just for people who drive Mini Cooper size cars not for the larger SUV type cars most people drive around here. On the strip malls busiest days/hours if I want Chipotle I make it myself at home. 
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding
Courtesy of Urban Vegan’s cookbook which is amazing if you haven’t purchased it yet. I’m excited to hear she is writing another one!
Chickpea Salad Sandwich
A favorite weekend lunch of ours.
Jambalaya
I use to teach cooking classes with my friend Donna and she showed the class how to make this dish one day. It was genius and easy. Peter and I love it. Her recipe doesn’t have beans in it but since i’m in need of extra protein because of the pregnancy I added some kidney beans the last time I made it and I’ll forever be adding kidney beans to it. So delicious.
and just for shits and giggles…here is the best photo I’ve ever taken of my cat Riley.
February 10th, 2011
V’con Spaghetti and Bean Balls
With another winter storm headed our way tomorrow all I’m thinking about are warm and comforting meals. One of my favorite’s is the Spaghetti and Bean Ball recipe from Veganomicon. I’m a sucker for kidney beans and have been adding them to everything lately but my favorite way to eat them is in this bean ball recipe. Something magical happens to them when they are fried up in oil and then covered in your favorite sauce. Before I’ve even smothered them in a tomato sauce I’ve eaten at least 3 of them. I just can’t get enough.
My real favorite way to eat them is as leftovers. I smother a ciabatta roll with softened butter and garlic which I then toast in the oven a la Garlic Bread and heat up the leftover bean balls and sauce on the stove. Once bread and balls are done cooking I make one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.
January 10th, 2011
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