There has been some concern over the collard greens included in the Black bean enchilada recipe. Yes, you can skip them. I only include them as a sneaky way to get some good stuff into my kids. You can really add or delete any vegetable that you fancy. Try some sweet potato instead of collards or broccoli. But Cindy, you know they ARE good for you so just once, dice them up so tiny you can hardly see them and try the greens! Let me know how it goes.
Liz
I am going to start this with a disclaimer. I do not proclaim to be a curry expert. If you know someone who is, seek their help then introduce them to me! These are just easy recipes that my kids like and they are cheaper than a take away from our local Indian restaurant and less fattening as well.
I really love a plain lentil curry. To start I saute a large onion in a little olive oil and ghee (clarified butter) if you live in England or near an ethnic foods shop you can find it, if not just use a knob of butter. I usually don’t cook with butter and if you choose not to it will taste great. There is just a velvety roundness the butter adds to the lentils that I like and it tastes a little more authentic. After the onions are soft I add a few cloves of chopped garlic. Cook all of this over a low heat. If you get it too brown it will have a bitter sharp flavor. In the mean time sort and rinse about 2 cups of lentils (any color you like) Then add 2 cups water w/knorr or other vegetable bullion cube or 2 cups water to the onions and garlic. add salt and pepper. When the broth boils gently add lentils and cook gently for about 20 minutes. This is where you get to be creative! I use a couple of different curry powders I have found around. I know it is sacrilege to use a premixed curry powder but I don’t have the skill in Indian cooking to blend my own. I adjust it by adding a little cumin and coriander etc. Taste as you go along. It takes several TBSPs of Curry powder so don’t be shy. This is not meant to be a hot curry but if you want it to be hotter add a little cayenne. Cook until lentils are tender. You can leave it as is or mash a little with a potato masher. Serve over rice (basmatti, brown, white, wild, whatever) and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top.
I also like a chick pea curry. I make it basically the same but you can vary it by adding vegetables in with the onions and garlic. I like Eggplant (aubergine), carrots, potatoes, peas anything I have on hand. When I add the chick peas (I use about 2 cans or you can soak dry beans to add but this requires forethought, not one of my strong suits) I add a large tin of tomatoes and a squeeze of tomato paste. You may wantt to put in a drop of honey and season as above.
Namaste!
So first, if you are wondering it is pronounced keen-wah. Next it is a seed, not a grain although I persist in referring to it as a grain even thought I know better! Third, it is great for you and so easy to cook there is no reason not to incorporate it into your diet. Try it today!
Quinoa is an ancient seed/grain. It was one of the most sacred foods of the ancient Incas. They called it chesiya maya, the mother grain. it contains all eight essential amino acids and is gluten free. It is used on it’s own or added to soups, stews and stir fries. It can also be sprouted and eaten in raw form.
To cook quinoa rinse the quinoa well. Boil double the amount of water for the quinoa you have measured and rinsed (if you are cooking one cup of quinoa, boil two cups of water). Add a little salt, cook over medium heat until the germ separates (about ten minutes) remove from heat and cover for a few minutes. Fluff and enjoy.
You can quinoa as a side dish or substitute for rice or pasta. Top with anything that sounds good. Curries, pasta sauces, stir fried vegetables, beans, anything!
Share your recipes here. Let me know what you thought of your first or 47th quinoa experience!
To fortify the ball rollers upon their return to the big pink house, my friend Heather and I cooked up two big trays of EASY black bean enchiladas. Yep, you guessed it canned beans and sauce but with a family of five as houseguests, three extra kids spending the night, our family of six and a ball rolling to attend (Oh yeah, and we were in the ER the night before with Jane and her broken arm) easy was just the ticket!
Black Bean Enchiladas:
One large onion
Three cans black beans
Three carrots
Garlic (three cloves or powder to taste) my cloves sprouted so I had to opt for powder and it was fine!
Frozen (or fresh) collard greens
1/2 cup green (or red) salsa
2 tsp cumin
1Tbsp chili powder
Black pepper and salt to taste
shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, or mexican pre-grated blend)
2 dozen large flour tortillas
2 cans red enchilada sauce
2 cans green enchilada sauce
sautee onions, garlic and carrots in olive oit until tender.
add collard greens and spices and saute a few minutes more,
drain cans of black beans and add to mixture. Heat thru.
Spread a thin layer of red sauce in one lasagne pan.
Spread a thin layer of green sauce in another pan.
In each tortilla roll about a half a cup of bean mixture and a generous sprinkling of cheese (options, add raw onions, olives, chilis, tomatoes. cooked sweet potato, white potato, corn, anything that sounds good). Roll place in pans. Continue untill all tortillas and/or mixture is used. Cover red sauce pan in red sauce, cover green sauce pan in green sauce. sprinkle with cheese. Cover w/ foil and bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubble.
Enjoy!
If you have linked through as a Snailwell Gazette listener then you will be familiar with the “What’s for Dinner?” Segment of the podcast. From now on that section (except when I forget and revert to the old name) will be called Veggie Mama Cooks. This stems from my apparent inability to stick to just talking about dinner and needing to discuss all meals and the food involved with them. It also stems from the many people who have contacted me about being a vegetarian and being a mom. The questions have ranged from “Where you a vegetarian while you were pregnant?” to “Why do you eat cheese you horrible person?”
In order to have a place where I can answer some of these questions and supply many of the “recipes” ( I use that term loosely as a lot of what I throw together I forget to write down) I decided to start a seperate blog for this section of the podcast. I figured if Just Clean Green rated it’s own blog then so did What’s for dinner, oops I did it again! (poor Brittany!)
Feel free to post questions or your own recipes and we can use this page as a forum to share what we are cooking (It doesn’t have to be vegetarian, but if you post a non-veggie recipie I can “vegify” it for readers who want that option. I am off to pick Jane up from school so I will let you know what we cook up for lunch and dinner in the next post!
Happy Eating!
