Lentil & Chickpea Curry

 

Happy Monday friends! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. I sure did! It was filled with yoga, spa time, and relaxation in the sun with a great book. And lets not forget some awesome time spent with some really good friends. All in all such a great weekend.

 

Today I've got such a great recipe to share with you! It makes a huge batch (for super cheap) but its so good you won't mind eating it all week like I did last week. The leftovers are almost better than the night you make it.

 



I found the recipe for Lentil & Chickpea Curry on this great blog called Sweet Sugar Bean written by a sweet gal from Saskatchewan. Since Saskatchewan is one of the world's largest producers of lentils, I figured Renee must know a thing or two about how to prepare them in a delicious, healthful way. I made a couple modifications to the original recipe, but by and large I stayed pretty true to the original.

 Lentil & Chickpea Curry
Minimally adapted from Sweet Sugar Bean

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 3 tbsp. medium indian curry paste
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 540ml can diced tomatoes
• 1 540ml can coconut milk
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed thoroughly and picked through
• 1 540ml can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 cup frozen peas
• vegetable stock
• handful of cilantro, chopped
• plain yogurt
• hot sauce

(Seems like a long ingredient list right? I know, I know... but the great thing about this recipe is a) you likely have more than half of this on hand already and b) the above listed ingredients are super cheap to buy and this recipe makes about a billion servings...)

Method:

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook til soft, about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and stir til fragrant. Add the curry paste, carrots, spices and salt. Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes, coconut milk, lentils, chickpeas and honey. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain an active simmer. Stir every ten minutes or so until lentils are cooked through (this takes approximately 40 minutes).
3. Once lentils are cooked, stir in cauliflower and peas. Cook til cauliflower is tender. If curry is too thick, add some veggie stock or water to thin it out. Stir in cilantro and adjust seasonings if necessary.
4. Serve topped with a dallop of yogurt and a few drops of hot sauce if you like it spicy. Some home made naan takes this meal over the top.

 

Happy Cooking my Friends! Hope you enjoy this one.

Healthy Eating for Ordinary People's Roasted Chickpeas for SRC

 Whew!! Seems like every month I'm surprised when this deadline creeps up on me, but it is time for the Secret Recipe Club reveal again. You can imagine my dismay when this afternoon I got the reminder that my post had to be up tomorrow morning... whoops! Hadn't even made my dish yet. This is not to say I haven't been considering what to make because I've been browsing through Rivki's blog Healthy Eating for Ordinary People periodically since it was assigned to me. I really, really wanted to make griddle bread... but totally ran out of time today. So I quickly browsed Rivki's blog this afternoon and found this yummy recipe for Roasted Chickpeas.

I was pretty stoked to find such a delicious recipe for chickpeas on Rivki's blog! I was a little nervous about being assigned her blog at first because it looked sooooo healthy! I am not a huge fan of all veggies and there are a LOT of veggies on her blog. I was pleasantly surprised to find "normal" food on her blog! And plenty of delicious looking recipes like this Raspberry Peach Tart, Roasted Peaches, and these Lemon Mint Zucchini Pancakes to name a few!  You should definitely stop by and check it out next time you're looking for a healthy way to incorporate some fresh veggies into your diet.

 Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas
Recipe adapted from Healthy Eating for Ordinary People

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp spicy curry dip mix (or any mixture of curry powder, cumin, coriander, a touch of cinnamon or garam masala would work too)
• coarse salt to taste

Method:

1. Rinse and drain chickpeas in a strainer. Spread chickpeas on a clean dish towel in a single layer. Let dry for 15 minutes, moving around periodically to ensure all sides of the chickpeas are dry.
2. While your chickpeas are drying, preheat your oven to 400F.
3. Once chickpeas are dry, place them in a medium bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with curry spices and coarse salt. Toss to coat.
4. Spread seasoned chickpeas in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes stirring three times during the cooking time. Chickpeas will be nicely browned and crunchy. Let cool and enjoy!

 So easy right?! And unbelievably delicious. Thanks Rivki for such a delicious and simple recipe.

If you're interested in the Secret Recipe Club, check out their webpage here! I love being a part of the Secret Recipe Club. It is such a fun way to find new blogs and experience new things. Thanks Amanda for starting up such an awesome club. :)

Happy Cooking My Friends!

The Best Hummus Ever & My New Facebook Fan Page

So as promised, I am going to post the best hummus recipe ever! This post is going to be a short one because I didn't take any photos of this hummus. However, I have an exciting announcement to add to this post, so hopefully it won't be too disappointing. :) First, we'll start with the hummus recipe! The recipe was given to me from a friend and every single time I make the recipe many people bombard me asking for the recipe. My friend found the recipe in her cookbook from Rebar Modern Food, a restaurant in Victoria, British Columbia. I haven't had a chance to go to the restaurant, but I have heard many good things about it. So if you're in the area, it would likely be a great place to try out. Bombay Hummus Adapted from Rebar Modern Food Cookbook Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup oil


• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced


• 1 19oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained


• 1/4 cup cashews, roasted


• juice of 1 lime


• 2 garlic coves


• 1 tsp salt


• 1 tsp cumin


• 1 tsp coriander


• 1/2 tsp cracked pepper


• 1/4 tsp of cayenne (this make it pretty spicy - I usually use about 1/2 that amount)


• pinch turmeric


• pinch cinnamon


• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro (I probably use closer to 1/4 cup because I LOVE cilantro, but go with what you like!!)


• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Method:

1. Gently heat oil and ginger in a small pan. Let the ginger sizzle, but not brown. After 10 minutes, remove from heat and set aside to cool.


2. Combine the ginger, oil, garlic, cashews, cilantro and mint in a food processor. Whirl until moderately smooth. Then add the juice of the lime and whirl until smooth and creamy. This may take a few minutes.


3. Add the rest of the ingredients and whirl until mixture has reached desired smoothness. You may need to add more oil or water to the mixture to get it really smooth. Season to taste if additional seasoning is desired.

Now for my exciting announcement which really isn't all that exciting, but I'm excited about it!! I have a brand new Facebook Fan page for my blog. :) You will receive notifications when I post new recipes on my blog and check out some photos before they're posted to my blog. You can also provide me with suggestions and feedback about my blog and have some say in what I write about! So please check out my fan page here and become a fan!

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Pita Bread - Attempt #2 & Hummus Ma Lahma

Alright, it has taken me a while, but I've finally got up the nerve to try my hand at making pita breads again! I took the advice of a couple of my great blog followers and upped the temperature of my oven and rolled them thinner. And the results were far improved! Still not perfect, but definitely much improvement! I saw partial pockets form this time where last time I got no pockets! Soooo I will keep trying. I do have a bit of a tale to tell about this one though...

Have you ever broken a rolling pin? Didn't think so! Well, while I was making these, my rolling pin broke. I had been using this cheap wooden one I picked up from ikea when I first moved out on my own and it had always done the trick. I tidied up my kitchen prior to starting to make the pitas so I would have a nice clean counter to roll them out on. When i started rolling out the second pita, I noticed some brown dust on the dough which looked like coffee grounds. So I'm like, I already wiped down the counter... where the heck is this coming from??? Well i look a little closer and the "coffee grounds" are actually pouring out of the middle of my rolling pin. NOT GOOD!!! So I had to be creative and roll the rest of my pitas out with a big can of chickpeas! So that is my kitchen disaster tale with a happy ending! Maybe I can blame the less than perfect results on the lack of a rolling pin? :D

I have wanted to try something like this for a while, but I just got around to trying it out! I found the recipe on the Food Network website. Emeril Lagasse developed the recipe and it sure is delicious. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes hummus and making home made pita breads just amp up the delicious factor!

You can find the recipe here. It is late and I'm not up for typing up the recipe. So please accept my apologies for my laziness!!!

I didn't change a thing other than add additional liquid (mixture of olive oil and water) to the hummus to get it to the consistency I wanted it. You can definitely play around with it til you get it the way you like it. Hummus is great like that! You can also mix up the spices you use on the beef. I think next time I'm going to try out a yummy curry spice mixture on the beef. Lots of ways to personalize this recipe and make it how you and your family like it! Have fun playing with it!

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Potroast Meatloaf

First off - I have to apologize - I've gone from posting almost daily to posting only a couple of times a week. I just started back to full time work and hopefully once I get in the groove of things, I'll get around to posting more. I'm hoping to get up to posting about 4-5 times per week, so please bear with me while I get settled in my new job!

Secondly, I know meatloaf isn't exactly classy and that a lot of people don't like it, but I really like meatloaf and I found this lovely recipe for potroast meatloaf in Jamie Oliver's cookbook "Jamie's Food Revolution". It is so incredibly flavourful and your house will smell divine while it's cooking. So if you're not a meatloaf fan, do scroll a little further and at least have a look at the recipe - I promise it's delicious and you won't be disappointed.

Potroast Meatloaf

Recipe from Jamie's Food Revolution

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 level teaspoon cumin
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
• 12 plain crackers
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 heaped tsp dijon mustard
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2-1 fresh red chile
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 15-oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
• 2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 12 slices smoked bacon
• 1 lemon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 475F. Peel and finely chop one of the onions. Place in a large frying pan on medium high heat with 2 lugs of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the ground cumin and coriander. Fry and stir every 300 seconds for about 7 minutes until softened and lightly golden, then put into a large bowl to cool. Place crackers in a ziplock bag and smash up until fine crumbs. Add to the bowl of cooled onions with the oregano, mustard and ground beef. Crack in the egg and add another good pinch of salt and pepper. With clean hands scrunch and mix up well. Move the meat mixture to a board, then pat and mold it into a large football shape. Rub it with a little oil. Place meatloaf into a baking dish and put into preheated oven, and turn down temperature immediately to 400F. Bake for 30 minutes.
2. Peel the other onion and chop into 1/4 inch pieces. Peel and slice the garlic. Finely slice the red chile. Place the onion, garlic, and chile in a large pan on medium high heat with 2 lugs of olive oil, the paprika, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for around 7 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until softened and lightly golden. Add the worcestershire sauce, chickpeas, tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil then turn heat down and let it slowly simmer for 10 minutes. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed.
3. Pick the rosemary leaves off the stalks and put them into a little bowl. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and pour all the fat from the pan over the rosemary leaves and mix up well. Spoon your sauce around the meatloaf. Lay the slices of bacon over the top of the meatloaf and sauce. Scatter the rosemary leaves on top. Put the pan back into the oven for 15 minutes or until the bacon turns golden brown and the sauce if bubbling and delicious. Serve with a mixed leaf salad and some wedges of lemon for squeezing over.

And that's that! It makes a lot of food, so make sure you have enough people to eat most of it or lots of containers for leftovers! I hope this recipe can change your opinion on meatloaf - it is easy and delicious! Bon apetit!

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Chipotle Hummus

In May my mom gave me a hand-me-down food processor as part of my birthday present. Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I greatfully accepted the gift and was excited to try out all of the recipes I had been avoiding due to not having a food processor. The first thing I tried was hummus. Since then I have tried nearly every single hummus recipe in all of my cookbooks. I have never been one to cook without a recipe, but I'm now proud to say I am comfortable enough with making hummus that I have been making it without a recipe. My latest experiment is Chipotle Hummus. I've nailed down a recipe for it - made by me! Please try it out and let me know how it turns out. Feel free to add more or less of the ingredients to taste. :) Homemade hummus is sooo much better than anything you can buy from the store and if you make it regularly and stock the required ingredients, it's also far more economical!

Chipotle Hummus

Recipe by Erin Reimer

Ingredients:

Combine the following ingredients in a food processor:

• 1 can chickpeas
• 3-5 tbsp lime juice
• 3-5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 chipotle peppers
• 3 tbsp adobo sauce

Whirl in food processor until smooth, adding more olive oil as needed to produce a nice smooth hummus. For a lower fat option add more water instead of olive oil as machine is running.

Enjoy!