African Coconut Curry Soup

Ok so I know I haven't been living up to my 'Healthy Eats' portion of my blog lately... I apologize. I think I may have mentioned this months ago, but with school being pretty busy I haven't been all that creative when it comes to making dinners. I often just make an easy favourite of mine and call it a day. And frankly, it's sooo much more fun to come up with a yummy dessert on my time off than a full dinner.

I have ALSO noticed that taking pictures of food that is not pretty, or frankly just ugly, is fricken hard!! And I'll be honest, this soup isn't that pretty looking. I'm sure if I had superior photography skills and a decent camera I could get it to look nicer, but with what I'm working with, this is the best that I could do. With cupcakes, I can take a dozen photos and each one will look good (well- sometimes), but with this soup, I had to take picture after picture, and I'm still not happy with the end result.

Regardless of how this soup looks though, it was delicious, and something that you could seriously whip up in 10 minutes. I couldn't get enough of it, and was so disappointed when Sean reminded me that he's not a fan of curry and wouldn't be trying any. Oh well, his loss!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil

1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), chopped

1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 ounces), chopped

1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped (optional, I did not use any)

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 cups vegetable broth. divided 

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

1/4- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste (I added more than this) 

black pepper, to taste

1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk

3/4 cup cooked white or brown rice

 

Directions:

In a medium stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and chili (if using) and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir frequently to prevent burning for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, parsley, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked.

 

In the meantime, cook rice as per directions on packaging. Use the remaining 1 cup of broth to cook the rice in, and if more liquid is needed, top up with water.

 

Once rice is cooked and soup has finished simmering, add the cooked rice and coconut milk; heat through until everything is nice and hot and ready to serve.  

Source: slightly adapted from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen, found through Epicurious. Pin It

Vegetable Biryani

1 more week and I get to have a mini-vaca and go home to visit family and friends! I'm very excited, and have been looking forward to it for at least a month. We'll be doing some apartment hunting, as I'll be moving in the later summer to get set up to do my Masters degree in the fall. I'll also be baking and setting up for my good friend's wedding shower! I've finally decided on a design for the cake, but I'm not 100% on the actual cake. That's the problem when you have 2 months to plan something- you can't stick with one recipe because new ones keep coming up and things constantly change. I have a good idea though, but I can't say what exactly because it has to be a surprise!

This Indian dish packs a punch of flavour and nutrition all in one! The curry-scented vegetables, lentil, dried fruit and nut pilaf is a delectable dish with a variety of textures and flavours. It's great served on it's own, but I found serving it with naan bread and a scoop of Greek yogurt (or just plain yogurt) added an extra something. The yogurt is a great addition if you use a spicy curry paste and need something to cool your palate. Sean laughed at me when I said there was a little heat to the dish even though I used a mild curry paste. I openly admit that I have no tolerance for heat whatsoever... I blame it on my mother. You see, she never cooked spicy things for us growing up, so I never developed a taste for it, and now I'm just a big baby. So unfortunately you won't see too many spicy things posted on this blog; however, some you will be able to adjust to your taste, like this one. Use whatever curry paste suits your taste for this dish!

Yield: 4-5 servings
Ingredients:
3/4 cup lentils (canned or dried- drained and rinsed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon curry paste (once again, adjust to your taste. I added a little more than this)
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups small cauliflower florets
1 cup basmati rice
1/4 cup raisins or dried currants
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Directions:
If you're using dried lentils rather than canned then add them to a saucepan of boiling water, and cook for 10 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onions for 3 minutes. Add carrots and continue to saute for another 3 minutes, or until onions are deep golden brown.

Add the garlic, curry paste, salt and pepper, and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in cauliflower, rice, raisins and lentils to coat.

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the rice, lentils and vegetables are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir in peas and cook until heated through, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with almonds. Serve with a scoop of yogurt and naan bread, or as desired.

Source: Canadian Living: The Vegetarian Collection
What else? This is my favourite cookbook! I think if you're a vegetarian, you really should invest in this book. I think even if you're not, it's worth looking at!

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