Potato & Spinach Curry

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curry dish, dinner, food, foodie, lunch, meal, postaday2011, potato, potato curry, potatoes, recipe, side dish, side dishes, spinach, supper, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe

There are tons of herbs and spices you can use in any curry. I like to play around with different tastes, so even if the main ingredients are the same, the flavor can be completely different. Hubster loves potatoes, but not spinach; mixed together as a curry though and he loves it. I would eat this dish as a main dish, Hubster prefers it as a side.

Potato & Spinach Curry

Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, 1 bag of fresh baby spinach, olive oil, 3 bay leaves, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, 1/4 tsp. red chili powder, 1/4 tsp. turmeric, 1/8 tsp. ground ginger, 1/4 tsp. cumin, 1/8 tsp. coriander, 1/8 tsp. ground fennel,  pinch of cardamom, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Bring water and 2 bay leaves to boil in a medium sauce pan. Peel and cube potatoes, lightly boil in water for about 4 minutes In a frying pan add all herbs and spices (except salt) and dry roast over low heat. Add potato cubes, olive oil and tomato paste and cook until potatoes are Remove from heat and make sure potatoes are well coated. Allow dish rest for a few hours (you can skip this step if you don’t want to wait). Reheat potatoes and toss in spinach leaves until wilted. Serve hot over basmati rice.

What is on your menu tonight?

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Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerine & Pomegranate

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autumn breakfast, autumn brunch, beverage, beverage recipe, breakfast, brunch, brunch recipe, chinese apple, comfort food, crème fraîche, crème fraîche substitute, dessert, easy meal, fall breakfast, fall brunch, favorite foods, food, foodie, gourmet brunch, grilles, grilling, holiday breakfast, holiday brunch, meal, mimosa, pomegranate, pomegranate seeds, postaday2011, pound cake, recipe, seasonal food, tangerine, tangerine pomegranate, vegetarian recipe, winter breakfast, winter brunch

Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerines & Pomegranate

Yesterday morning we started off our New Year with something sweet… grilled pound cake. We only consumed one loaf, so today I wanted to play around with a new idea and use part of the other loaf. Use butter rum pound cake recipe or almond pound cake recipe. Crème fraîche is impossible to get here and when it is available, it cost a fortune. I however didn’t have time to make crème fraîche, so I made a quick and easy substitute.

Ingredients:
butter rum pound cake, crème fraîche, 3 tangerines, 1 pomegranate

Directions:
Heat grill pan over medium heat. Use a bread knife to slice the pound cake. Lightly butter each side of cake, place on hot pan and grill  for about 30 seconds before flipping. Remove promptly from heat. Spread crème fraîche on one slice of pound cake and top with another slice. Peal tangerines and break into segments, remove any seeds. Add 1/2 a tangerine to each plate and sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds.

Crème Fraîche Substitute:
Whip together 1/2 c. sour cream and 1/2 a c. of sweet whipped cream (homemade, not out of a tub or can). You’re supposed to let it stand just like you would making true crème fraîche, but then it’s not any faster. Make and let it sit awhile with you mix the pound cake batter.

*Garnish with a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar if desired.

Yesterday Hubster walked to the store to get orange juice and instead returned with an orange, pineapple, apple… I thought this would be a tasty variation for a mimosa…

What was on your breakfast plate?

Garbanzo and Sausage with Rice

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brown rice, entree, garbanzo, meal, one pot meal, pepper, red bell pepper, red pepper, rice, sausage, side dish, turkey sausage, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe, vegetarian sausage

A few years ago, I inherited this recipe from a student’s parent, however it called for Chorizo. I don’t prepare red meat often, and I never eat it. Nevertheless, Hubster does enjoy it from time to time. I decided I need to revamp the recipe a little for our preferences. I’ve made this once before, using turkey sausage, today I decided to mix things up and use a vegetarian sausage (by Morning Star). The TVP sausage broke down a bit instead of holding its shape, but the flavor was still great.

Garbanzo & Sausage w/Rice

Ingredients:
4 c. garbanzo, 2 Tbs. olive oil, 1 medium onion, 1 red pepper chopped, 1 clove garlic (minced), 1/2 tsp. chili powder, 1/4 lb. sausage* (1/2 diced, 1/2 quartered), 2 Tbs. tomato sauce, 1 c. vegetable broth

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, pepper and sausage, cook until tender and meat is no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over hot cooked brown rice.

*Once the meal was done simmering, I split the batch in half and added 1/2 tsp. to Hubster’s portion. Hubster said it didn’t look like a tasty meal, but that it was actually delicious! I guess next time I’ll stick to turkey sausage, so it’ll hold it’s shape better and not look so mushy.

Minestrone

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carrots, celery, Garbanzo beans, minestrone, recipe, red kidney beans, shell pasta, soup, tomatoes, vegetable soup, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe, vegetarian soup, zucchini

Hubster asks how can I eat hot soup in the summer? With fresh vegetables at fingertips length, how can you not make a minestrone?

The zucchini was fresh from my neighbor’s garden.

Minestrone

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, 4 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 3 tomatoes, 2 c. dark red kidney beans, 2 c. garbanzo beans, 1 bag fresh spinach, 2, Tbsp., butter, 3 Tbsp. minced onions, 1 tsp. dried sage, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. thyme, pepper, salt, 1/2 lb. small shells, 6 c. water

Directions:
Dice the tomatoes, chop celery and slice carrots. Sauteé vegetables with butter. Add minced onions, herbs, bay leaves, salt, pepper and water and bring to a boil. Cut zucchini into half moons. Remove bay leaves and add zucchini and spinach to soup and continue to slowly boil until zucchini is tender. Add beans and pasta and boil for 10 minutes.

Top with fresh grated pecorino romano cheese and serve hot.

Serve with homemade crackers or bread. Mmm…

What hot dishes do you still like to enjoy during the summer?

Chick Pea and Cauliflower Curry

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cauliflower, chick peas, curry, curry vegetables, ethnic, ethnic cooking, ethnic cuisine, Ethnic Food, Garbanzo beans, Indian cuisine, Indian food, tomato, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe

The past few weeks I’ve been on a hiatus due to a much-needed vacation. Originally, I planned to leave a few posts in the queue, but pre-vacation preparations left me with very little time. Also, since I seem to be the queen of camera trouble, my camera battery is completely drained, I have to order a new one, so it may be a while until I have more photos. At least my parents are visiting for a few days, and they’ve been kind enough to share their camera with me. So this month is lacking in posts…

I have a new Butter Chicken recipe I’ve meant to try, but there’s just not enough time to prep it the night before so it can marinate. At a new supermarket I found Butter Sauce in a jar, and thought I’d give it a whirl. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what I was hoping. It serves me right for not making it myself. I served it with seasoned lentils over rice, chick pea and cauliflower curry and puppodums.

The winner of the night was my chick pea and cauliflower curry. My curry vegetables were delicious! My recipe below is an estimate, since I usually eye things better than measuring them, when first creating a recipe.

Chick Pea & Cauliflower Curry, Butter Chicken, Rice with Lentils

Chick Pea and Cauliflower Curry Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. butter, 1 Tbsp. minced onions, 2 tsp. ground ginger, 1 Tbsp. ground cumin, 2 large tomatoes, 1 can Garbanzo beans, 1 bag frozen cauliflower, 2 Tbsp. curry powder, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, 1 c. water

Chick Pea and Cauliflower Curry Directions:
Over medium-low heat, melt butter with ginger and cumin and soften onions. Cut tomatoes into thin strips and add to butter. Allow tomatoes to completely soften (about 8 minutes). Add cauliflower, chicken peas, tomato paste, curry powder, and water. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer covered for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

*If you like it spicier, add more cumin.

There were no leftovers of my curry. I didn’t get my fill, I might make another batch tonight.

What is your favorite curry dish?

Mexican Rice

Tags

Cinco de Mayo, food, recipe, rice, Semi-Mexican, side dish, Tex-Mex, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe

Today is Cinco de Mayo… Two nights ago I made Lime Chicken to kick off my week-long celebration, last night it was Mexican rice. Rice is great as a side dish or add beans and veggies and make it a meal. This is a quick and easy dish to make.

Mexican Rice

Ingredients:
1 c. uncooked rice, 1/2 c. olive oil, 2 c. chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegetarian version), 2 Tbs. minced onions, 2 tsp. garlic powder, 2 diced green chilies, 2 diced tomatoes, 2 c. black beans, a handful of fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:
Saute rice and onions in olive oil, until browned. Add broth, garlic powder, chilies and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add beans and cilantro and simmer about 5 more minutes, or until rice is tender. Serve hot.

What’s for dinner tonight?

Broccoli Cheddar Soup in Bread Bowl

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bread bowls, broccoli cheddar soup, broccoli recipe, cheddar recipe, dinner recipe, recipe, soup, soup bread bowl, vegetarian recipe, vegetarian soup

The aroma of fresh-baked bread makes my mouth water. I decided to make homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup and serve it in hot bread bowls. I created my bread bowl recipe based off of the two flops I experienced (following two different recipes). While the bread bowls were in the oven, I whipped up a batch of soup.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup in Bread Bowl

Soup Ingredients:
1/4 c. butter, 3 Tbs. minced onions, 2 tsp. garlic powder, 16 oz of frozen chopped broccoli, 1 grated carrot, 4 c. vegetable stock, 1 1/2 c. milk, 8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, salt and pepper

Soup Directions:
Melt butter over in soup pot. Stir in minced onions, grated carrot, garlic, pepper and salt. Stir in broccoli and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. In a separate bowl mix flour and milk together. Stir into soup, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add cheese, remove from heat, stir until melted.

Bread Bowl Ingredients:
1 Tbs. yeast, 2 1/2 c. warm water, 1 Tbs. sugar, 2 tsp. salt, 2 Tbs. EVOO, 7 c. flour, 1 egg white, cornmeal

Bread Bowl Directions:
Mix together yeast, sugar and warm water, allow to stand 15 minutes. Mix in EVOO, salt and 1/2 of flour. Slowly mix in remaining flour (after breaking my electric mixer, I used my bread machine to mix the dough). Cover with a warm damp cloth and store somewhere warm. Allow to rise for 40 minutes. Sprinkle cornmeal on baking tray. Oil hands and roll dough into 6 equal balls. Set somewhere warm and allow to rise for 40 more minutes. Preheat Oven 400ºF. Brush egg whites on top and sides of bread and bake for 15 minutes. Brush bread with egg whites again and bake for another 15 minutes.

To Serve:
When ready to serve, cut the middle of the loaves out, leaving a 3/4″ wall. Pour soup in bread bowl immediately before serving. Enjoy!

*You can substitute chicken broth instead of the vegetable broth.

*If using fresh broccoli, steam before adding to soup.

*To help my dough rise, I set the bowl in the microwave with a cup of boiling water.