The 3 C's of Stew: Coconut, Chickpea, Curry

Hey look! Again I'm trying to use the Flip-Cam; again I've failed to post a video, but instead I have stills from the botched shoot for you. You still win. You are a winner! You are full of as much winning as Charlie Sheen! (Is that joke old yet? The answer--yes. Am I deleting it? The answer--no.) Bonus prize? This recipe is not only vegetarian, it's vegan too. So the weekday vegetarian and animal-free among you can rejoice and we can all nom-nom together.

I've been a very busy girl--working, eating out, working out, rinse, repeat. I notice that my default go-to style of meal is the soup/stew. Why? Because throwing a bunch of things in a pot is fast, easy, super-forgiving, and almost always awesome (there are rare bad batches but everyone has a bad day now and again). Because my go-to on the go dish is a soup/stew, I steal ideas and grab inspiration from all over the place and all over the world. Today's dish combines Asian favorites coconut milk and curry powder with Middle East treats chickpeas, Oceana's sweet potatoes, and broccoli of the Roman Empire.

Curried Chick Pea Coconut Stew
--1 TBSP olive oil
--garlic, minced
--1 small onion, diced
--1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
--cinnamon and cumin
--1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
--1 yellow bell pepper, de-seeded and diced
--1 small head of broccoli, chopped into florets
--1 14oz. can coconut milk
--1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
--2-3 cups vegetable broth (depending on whether you want more of a soup or a stew consistency)
--1 15oz. can chick peas, rinsed and drained
--1 lime

--salt and pepper to taste

Heat a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté over medium heat for two-ish minutes. Add the curry powder and a dash each of cumin and cinnamon. Stir to combine, letting the seasoning mix into the oil, onion, and garlic--this will deliver flavor throughout the dish in these tiny little spice hosts.

Add the sweet potato pieces and sauté for a few minutes before adding the bell pepper. Stir to combine and sauté for several minutes, allowing the vegetables to become tender. Add the broccoli, again, stirring regularly and only allowing the broccoli to slightly sear.

Mix in the coconut milk, then the tomatoes, and finally the vegetable broth. Bring the mixture to a boil before adding the chickpeas. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring twice before serving. Season each portion with a dash of salt and a few cranks of fresh black pepper. Take the lime and squeeze juice into each portion. Serve!

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 6

Calories: 399 per serving

Pantry Pasta

Every now and again I go on grocery strike. It usually happens after I open the cupboards and several somethings fall out onto my head. After a flurry of Turret's, I vow to do some cooking with the items in my pantry and not add anything new until I've depleted some of the old stashes.

This recipe is one such recipe--created after almonds binged me on the top of my pretty little head.  All the items used were ones I had on hand in the pantry (or the freezer in the case of the sausage).

Chickpeas Pasta
--4 servings dried pasta--1/4 cup of chicken broth
--1/4 cup of raw almonds
--2 links of pre-cooked sausage (I used this one)
--1 can (15 oz) of chickpeas, rinsed & drained--1/4 cup of white wine
--salt & pepper
--crushed red pepper flakes
--1 can (14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes

Cook the pasta according to package directions. (Note: the servings will vary from brand to brand and type to type, so be sure to read the nutritional facts to determine how much dried pasta you need to cook).  When the pasta is al dente, strain and return to the pan.  Add 1/4 cup chicken broth and allow the noodles to finish cooking, soaking up the chicken broth.

While the pasta cooks, heat a medium-sized skillet with deep sides over medium-high heat. Roast the almonds, stirring or flipping the pan constantly so that they brown but do not burn.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In the same pan, sear the sausages on each side. The sausages are pre-cooked so they just need to be heated and have a little brown added to each side. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the canned chickpeas. You won't need to add any liquid or oil as the chickpeas will still have moisture on them from being rinsed.  Add salt & pepper to taste and a healthy shake of red pepper flakes.

Slice the sausage and add it to the mix. Stir to combine. Pour in 1/4 cup of wine and combine s'more.

Add in the pasta (including any remaining chicken broth that hasn't yet been soaked up. Mix up the pasta and cover with a lid for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve!

*New*
We'll be adding some nutritional info to our recipes. But please remember, we're cooks, not nutritionists!

Chickpeas Pasta
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves : 4
Calories/Serving : 260

Freezing Outside, Hearty & Warm Inside

It's been f-ing cold in Denver. Single digits, negative temperatures, wind. And to make this cold snap even more delightful, there is no heat in my house. Apparently there is a problem with the boiler and they're "working" to get it fixed. Meanwhile, I have nothing to do but freeze and cook to try to stay warm (the oven is an excellent space heater).

There's a dish over at Root Down that I quite fancy, and I decided to warm up by making my own version. This dish is completely different from theirs (which I crave constantly) but is inspired by it. I eat so much bacon that I keep bacon fat on hand but the recipe below assumes that you don't just have bacon fat hanging out in your fridge. (Sidenote: You really should have bacon fat hanging out in your fridge. It's the perfect flavoring for any kind of greens or beans).


Lamb Meatballs In Broth W/ Veggies

--olive oil
--1 lb. ground lamb
--several cloves of garlic, minced
--salt & pepper
--4 slices bacon
--small onion, chopped coarsely
--can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
--1 bunch of kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
--chicken broth
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Mix garlic and ground lamb together and form into meatballs. Season with salt & pepper. Cook 2 minutes on each side, turning so all sides are brown. Remove from heat.

In the same skillet/dutch oven cook the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon but leave the fat in the pan. Feel free to eat the bacon!

Turn heat down to medium and toss the chopped onion in. Cook for 2 minutes until begins to brown on the edges. Remove pan from heat.

Now the "tricky" part. Take a bowl or measuring cup and place paper towels on top of it. Take the pan and strain the onion and bacon fat through the paper towels. You'll have a golden liquid of rendered bacon fat (with onion flavoring) in the bowl and all the funky stuff is caught in the paper towel.

Pour the rendered fat back into the skillet/dutch oven. (I added some of the onions back in but that is completely up to you!)

Add the chickpeas/garbanzo beans and kale. Cover beans and kale with chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Add the meatballs back to the pan. Add more chicken broth if you like and allow to simmer until broth has consistency/amount you desire!