White Bean Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Yet another excellent recipe from smitten kitchen

It involves roasted red peppers and white beans and is super simple to put together. I made some this weekend for a get together and it went over great!

I used a large bottle of roasted red peppers instead of a small one.

Pina Colada Curried Chickpea

1 (20 oz.) can pineapple tidbits or chunks
4 Tbsp butter (oil or earth balance sticks)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large carrots, coined
1 Anaheim pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped into large chunks
1 granny smith apple, peeled, and chopped fine
1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped
1 t. chicken bouillon granules (Edward&Sons NOTChicken Bouillon)
3 T. Flour
4 T. Curry powder
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 t. cumin
1 t. salt
1 can coconut milk
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained

Cooked Rice

Drain pineapple. Heat butter in skillet, add pineapple and carrots. Cook over medium heat until starting to turn golden and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add onion, garlic, Anaheim pepper, bell peppers, and apple. Saute until onion is translucent. Add basil. Combine bouillon, flour, curry, cumin, and salt. Whisk into skillet with red curry paste.. Cook 2 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and stir until thickened. Add garbanzo beans. Serve over rice

Uncommon Grounds Veggie Delight

A friend and I love to go into the only cafe in town and get these with Italian cremosas. I have done a very similar idea with lettuce wraps


Pita bread
hummus (They use a lot of garlic and no tahini in theirs, we love it)
Tzatziki Sauce
Alfalfa Sprouts
Chopped red onion
Chopped cucumber
Chopped tomatoes

Combine the onion, cucumber, and tomatoes. Set aside. Cut the pita bread into 6 wedges. Spread with about 2 tsp of the hummus and the with the same amount of the tzatziki sauce. Top with alfalfa sprouts and the mixed veggies. Top with small dollop of more tzatziki sauce.

Another way to serve this is spread the hummus in a dish, top with tzatziki sauce, then sprouts and finally top with chopped vegetables. Serve like middle eastern 7 layer bean dip, with pita or corn chips.

Spicy Italian Sausage Soup

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 large yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large handfuls of spinach, chopped pretty fine
1 large carrot, grated, optional
4 c. chicken broth
2 c. beef broth

Saute Italian sausage until cooked, breaking up huge chunks. Add onion, garlic, spinach, and carrot, and cook until onion is translucent. Add beans and both broths. Simmer at least 10 minutes.

Economical Counter: Based on 5, 2 cup sized servings
Beans x2 - $1.60
Italian Sausage - $2.70
Onion - $0.12
Spinach - $1.00
Carrot - $0.15
Chicken Bouillon - $0.40
Beef Bouillon - $0.20

Total $6.70
Per Serving Total $1.34

Warm Lentil Bowl

This was in part inspired by the last recipe I posted and trying to use up some ingredients from that, looking for something interesting to do with a daal like dish, and experimenting with caramelized vegetables. Just layer in individual bowls starting with rice, then the lentil mixture, and finishing with a topping of caramelized vegetables.

If you aren't a big fan of Indian spices, want to try it with a twist, or just want to keep it simple, try this variation. Cook the lentils in whichever broth you choose with some rosemary and sliced green onions until slightly thicker than you want. Stir in butter to thin. Top with vegetables and enjoy.


Several cups warm cooked rice, I like it to be kinda sticky

Lentils:
olive oil
1 c. brown lentils
1 small Anaheim pepper, seeded and ribbed
1/2 onion, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. paprika
3 c. water
4 bouillon cubes (I prefer chicken, vegetable or imitation work too)
4 Tbsp. butter (or coconut milk)
Blend together pepper, onion, garlic, and ginger until smooth. Saute in olive oil until fragrant. Add remaining ingredients, except butter and simmer until lentils are very tender and start to fall apart, forming a paste. Stir several times when cooking so lentils don't stick on the bottom of the pot. This should be thinner than regular daal, not soupy, but not spreadable. If you want it thicker add less water when cooking. Stir in butter until smooth.

Caramelized vegetables:
4 Tbsp. butter (olive oil will work but the flavor will be different, earth balance sticks work great for this is you want the flavor of butter)
2 large onion
1 carrot, cut into ribbons
1/2 sweet potato, cut into 1/2 in cubes
2 zucchini, coined
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into tiny cubes
1 c. fresh green beans, cut into 1/2 in chunks

Heat butter in a skillet. Add onions. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally. When starting to look golden add remaining ingredients, except zucchini, and cook until all are cooked through. Add zucchini and cook over low heat another 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Other combination of vegetables work too. I also like onions, carrots, and cauliflower.

Spanish Bean Soup

This soup had a nice kick to it from the chorizo, a perfect antidote to the snow that's threatening to bury the car. My children added sour cream to theirs since they're not big fans of spicy-hot things.

1 large sweet onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 can garbanzo beans

3-4 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed.

2 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

2-3 T dried green and red peppers

8 cups ham or chicken stock (i used a mix of both)

1-2 c. diced smoked ham

1 chorizo sausage (I used a soy chorizo), finely diced or crumbled

olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in 3-4 T olive oil stirring frequently, until onions are translucent. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat so that the pot is just simmering. Cook until potatoes are very tender, about 30-40 minutes.

Palak Channa

Olive oil
1 Anaheim pepper, seeded and ribbed
1 Lb fresh spinach
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 in piece fresh ginger, peeled
1 large onion
1 can tomatoes, drained in a colander to make sure all liquid is removed, puree
3/4 c. plain yogurt, greek yogurt, or sour cream (or coconut milk UPDATE: Which after trying, I prefer)
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. coriander
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained
splash lemon juice

Saute spinach in olive oil until dark and wilted. Set aside. Combine garlic and ginger in a food processor until just before they form a paste. Add onion and pepper until both are chopped pretty fine. Cook until onion is translucent and mixture is fragrant. Add tomato and spices. Cook, stirring, until all are mixed in, simmer 5 minutes. Whisk in yogurt.

Puree spinach. Add to tomato mixture. Stir in garbanzo beans and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Add the splash of lemon juice. Serve over Basmati rice




While I am on the subject of "palak" or spinach this recipe from 101cookbooks for palak daal looks well worth checking out

Lentil Barley Soup

You may have noticed that we eat a lot of soup around here. But when it's 15 degrees outside, I have 3 sick children, and it's only the beginning of February, my favorite thing to see on the table in front of me is a steaming bowl of soup and a hot slice of bread to dip into it.

Soup also gets bonus points in my kitchen because it's so versatile. You can change, tweak, eliminate, add, puree, and generally remake most soups to be anything you'd like, without worrying about the precision measuring that's so crucial to good baking. This soup is particularly easy. You can make it vegetarian, or you can toss in your leftover pot roast. Canned tomatoes are good...or not. Lots of broth, or thick like a stew - you decide. So feel free to experiment, and then tell us what you did!

3-4 T olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1-2 stalks celery, diced

2 medium carrots, diced

9-12 cups vegetable or beef broth (feel free to use bouillon cubes or soup base)

1 cup dry brown lentils

1 cup dry pearl barley

1 can diced tomatoes, or 2-3 whole tomatoes, chopped (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and celery in a large soup pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are translucent and beginning to get soft. Add garlic and continue to saute, still stirring, for another few minutes. Add broth (more broth will create a soupier soup, while the smaller amount will make it more like a stew). , carrots, tomatoes (if using) lentils, and barley and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to med-low, so that it sits at just a simmer, and cover. Simmer for 45-60 minutes, until lentils and barley are tender. Check it every 15 minutes or so and stir to make sure the barley is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Let sit for a few minutes, and serve. This will thicken even more overnight as the barley continues to absorb more water.