cauliflower curry

First, I feel I must warn you: this makes a LOT of curry. We had it on Thursday for dinner, and we're still trying to mop up the leftovers. I think I'm going to actually end up throwing some away, and that hardly ever happens around here. Lots and LOTS of curry, folks.

Second, the instructions for this (see last week's Menu Plan Monday post for the link) are a bit confusing, because they don't list the ingredients in the order that they're used.

Third, this is really good curry. Who knew vegetables could taste so good? 'Cause that's what this is: lots and lots of vegetables. (Lots and LOTS.) Lots and lots of vegetables, some curry powder, a bit of broth and some coconut milk. The coconut milk adds a rich texture that saves this from feeling like, you know, just lots and lots of vegetables. I was surprised when I realized that it was vegan, because it had a much nicer feel in the mouth than a lot of vegan food does.

And the kids ate it.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Spring Pea Tarts: Vegetarian Times

Yesterday I made these tarts from Vegetarian Times. They turned out really well - but my daughter wouldn't eat hers.

These mix cooked spinach and peas with Neufchatel (cream) cheese and some other flavorings for the filling, and you put them in shells assembled from puff pastry. The puff pastry's on the pricey side, and I think you could make something very similar just by hollowing out some rolls in place of the tart crust. The filling is certainly worth making again, and both my husband and I think it'd make a good dip. I could see it as a sandwich spread too.

It is a pretty rich filling, for all that it's mostly vegetables, and in the middle of the tart I wished for a little more crust to balance out the richness. But overall, an excellent recipe. And very pretty.

(Blogger's giving me grief, so for a link to the recipe, please see my previous "Menu Plan Monday" post. I'll see if I can edit the link in later.)

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica

alterations:
-I used frozen rather than fresh spinach, and so possibly a little more than was called for. But as it was all just pureed, I don't think it made a difference.

Hummus Cakes: Vegetarian Times

I think this is the best hummus I've ever made. And it's baked: go figure.

The best as to taste, that is. They are pretty dry, but I served them in pita with yogurt-cucumber sauce and tomatoes, so that wasn't a problem.

This did take a bit of time to put together, for all that it looks simple on the plate.

peacce of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

alterations:
-I doubled the recipe, and used one can of black beans in place of chickpeas, 'cause I only had three cans of chickpeas. Turned out fine!

Oodles of Gingery Noodles: Vegetarian Times

Actually, I think this is misnamed: this recipe tastes a lot more of hoisin sauce than it does of ginger.

Not that that's a bad thing. Hoisin sauce isn't a bad taste. But it is a strong one, and it drowns out a lot of the other tastes in this dish. Except, surprisingly, the taste of tofu. That might sound dubious too, but as the recipe has you fry the tofu till it's golden-brown and toasty, the taste of tofu is much like the taste of nice, slightly soggy Chicken McNuggets.

Hmm. I haven't made this sound terribly appetizing yet, have I? Okay, one last try: if I got this at a corner Chinese restaurant, I wouldn't carry away any strong memory of it, but I wouldn't feel ripped off either. In fact, I'd probably think I'd gotten a remarkably non-greasy, passable and enjoyable dish, made with rather good pasta.

peaced of Christ to you,
Jessica

alterations:
-asparagus instead of watercress, because it was amazingly cheaper at the ranch market.
-fettucine instead of somen because Trader Joe's was inexplicably out of Asian noodles. How does that happen? Did they move them and just not tell me? And how could they, when there's nowhere else, that I know of, that carries green tea noodles?

for Sharon

Here's the recipe for African Chickpea and Spinach Soup, as I made it (I altered it slightly from the original). I got it from Vegetarian Times, but look as I could, I could not find it on their website. So, here it is:

-2 tsp. olive oil
-1 onion, chopped
-2-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1/4 c. chunky peanut butter
-2 c. chicken broth
-1 tsp. paprika
-1 tsp. ground coriander
-1/4 tsp. chili powder
-1 can chickpeas, drained
-1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
-2.5 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed

1) heat oil in large pot over med heat. Add onion, saute 5 minutes, till soft and golden. Add garlic, sautee 2 minutes, or till lightly browned.
2) Mix peanut butter and chicken broth, set aside. (This was easier for me because I used reconstituted boullion, so my broth was hot. By the by, the easiest way I've found to reconstitute boullion into broth is to put the boullion in a glass Pyrex 1-qt. measuring cup, then pour boiling water - heated in a tea kettle - over the boullion, and stir. Easy to see how much you ought to add when it's in a measuring cup.)
3) Add paprika, coriander and chili to onion mixture, and saute 1 min., or until fragrant (like you would with a curry, mmm!). Stir in peanut butter mixture, chickpeas and tomatoes. Simmer. Stir in spinach. Simmer on low with lid on till suppertime. In my case, about an hour.


Warning: for some reason, this dish smells funny, but tastes good.

Enjoy!
-Jessica Snell