Curried Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

I bet most of you thought that this blog was dead. However, luckily for you, it was only mostly dead, and now that my life has been reclaimed from campaigns and grad school apps, it's back!

 
Given that my first recipe post was a different butternut squash soup, it's perhaps fitting that I restart with another. I do love me some butternut squash. And one of my favorite things in the winter is soup (especially given my 56 degree apartment situation). So, about every other weekend I make a huge pot, put half into containers to bring to work during the week, and freeze the other half so I have quick and delicious homemade dinner when I come home from work and am too tired to cook. This recipe is one of my favorites, loosely inspired by a Mark Bittman creation.

Enjoy!

The finished soup in a recycled ice cream container, ready to take on the road.

Curried Coconut Butternut Squash Soup
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 large or 3 small yellow onions

1 tbsp + 2 tsp coconut oil or vegetable oil

3 tsp cumin

4 tsp curry

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

.5 tsp salt, or to taste

7 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

2 cups veggie broth

one 13.5 oz can coconut milk

Equipment

Vegetable peeler

Large knife

Cutting board

Measuring spoons

Measuring cups

Deep, heavy bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven

Pot holders

Silicone spatula

Can opener

Stove
Immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor 

Instructions
1. If not already prepared, wash, peel, and cut into cubes squash and carrots. Peel and dice the onion.
2. Place coconut oil in a deep saucepan (ideally a Dutch oven) and add the diced onion and all the spices, stirring to coat. Sautée over medium heat until the onion is soft and starting to brown, approximately 3-4 minutes, and the spices are fragrant.
3. Add the squash and carrots to the pan, and toss with the onion and spice mixture.
4. Next, stir in the vegetable broth and coconut milk, and turn the heat up to high until the liquid reaches a simmer. Then turn temperature down to low and cover the pot.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally until squash is soft and easily pierced with a fork, approximately 15 minutes.
6. Puree the soup in a blender, food processor, or in the pot with an immersion blender. [If you don't have any of these, I'm sure the soup will still be delicious in a chunkier form.] Add 0.5 tsp salt, plus more to taste. If the soup thickens too much as it cools, feel free to add a bit of water or vegetable broth to thin to the desired consistency.

Braised Leeks

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted new recipes. Never fear, I have been cooking away, and stockpiling food pictures and recipes, so there should be a number of good things coming your way soon.

Here is an excellent new recipe for braised leeks from Smitten Kitchen. It's supposed to be served as a side with her breaded chicken thighs, but I've made it twice now without the chicken, and it's great on its own. (In case you were wondering, braising is a cooking technique that involves searing or cooking at high heat to brown something, then cooking it for a longer time in the oven with liquid). It may not look like much, but the flavors are amazing and the leeks become soft and tender.

The recipe calls for chicken stock, but that could be easily replaced with veggie stock. Though I will say that the recipe was amazing when I used homemade chicken stock, and merely good with the carton one.

The recipe below reheats well, and can easily be cut in half since 6 leeks makes a lot of food.

Braised Leeks

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Serves 6-8


Ingredients
6 large leeks
About 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup peeled and sliced shallots
1 tablespoon thyme leaves or powdered thyme
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Equipment

Stove

Pot holders

Oven

Knife and cutting board

Measuring cup and spoons

Tongs

Large saucepan

Relatively tall-sided baking dish that can go in the oven

Towel or paper towel

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Trim the roots off the leeks, but leave as much of the bottom bulb as you can. Remove any brown or nasty looking outer leaves. Trim the tops of the leeks to remove the tips and any dried-out green parts. Rinse the outside of the leeks and shake dry.

3. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, and then in half widthwise. Rinse again, peeling the layers apart slightly to get out deeply embedded dirt (but try not to pull the leeks entirely apart - you still want them in their nested quarters for frying).

4. Place the leeks, cut side down, on a towel and pat dry completely. Turn the leeks over so their cut sides are facing up, and season with 2 teaspoons salt and a few grindings of black pepper.

5. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil, and wait 1 minute. Place the leeks in the pan, cut side down, as many as you can layer to cover the whole bottom of the pan without overlapping. You will probably need to saute them in batches (it took me 4 batches with a pretty large pan). Add more olive oil to the pan as needed, for each batch. Sear them 4 to 5 minutes, until they are golden brown. Season the backs of the leeks with salt and pepper, and turn them over to cook another 3 to 4 minutes (until brown on the other side). When cooked, transfer them to a large baking dish.

6. Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into the pan and heat over medium heat. Add the shallots, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook about 5 minutes, until the shallots are just beginning to color.

7. Add the white wine and reduce by half (cook until half the liquid has evaporated). Add 1.5 cups stock, and bring to a boil over high heat.

8. Pour the liquid over the leeks in the baking dish. The stock should not quite cover them; add more stock if necessary.

9. Cook in the oven 30 minutes, until the leeks are tender when pierced. Serve hot with the liquid.

Romesco (Roasted Red Pepper) Sauce

I had never heard of romesco until I ate at Veggie Planet in Harvard Square and fell in love with their Portobello Redhead pizza. It features slices of portobello mushroom slathered in a delicious roasted red pepper/almond sauce - sauce I learned was romesco. Now, whenever I go there, I order the sauce by the cup with their bread, a method which has on several occasions enabled Taylor and me to put away an embarrassingly large quantity of this magic spread. Now that I no longer live in Cambridge, I thought I'd try my hand at making it. It was good but not great the first time, but this further modified batch was excellent.

The beauty of this sauce, in addition to its stellar flavor, is its diversity. It's amazing served over oven roasted portobello mushrooms, on shrimp, over pasta, or almost any way you might use tomato sauce. Also great with pita chips or toast. Or a spoon.

Romesco Sauce
6 servings

Ingredients
3 large bell peppers (all red or 1/2 red 1/2 yellow)
1.5 Tbsp olive oil
1.75 cups (15 oz) cherry tomatoes
7 cloves garlic
3/4 cup ground almonds (or 1 cup whole almonds)
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 chipotle pepper in adobo

Equipment
Knive and cutting board
Oven
Stovetop
Measuring cups and spoons
Baking sheet
Silpat or aluminum foil
Tongs or fork
Large saucepan
Silicone spatula
Blender/Food processor/Immersion blender*
Large bowl

*If you do not have a blender, food processor, or immersion blender, you could do a chunkier version of this if you use ground almonds and chop the roasted vegetables into very small pieces before mixing with the other ingredients. Whole almonds will probably not grind well in a blender, so be sure to use ground ones if you don't have a food processor or immersion blender.

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or foil.
2. Wash, de-stem, and de-seed the bell peppers, cutting them into halves or quarters if they are particularly large.
3. Place peppers on lined baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Use your hands to rub the olive oil into the peppers, lightly coating both sides.

4. Roast for 40 minutes, flipping pieces after 20 minutes, until skin is somewhat blackened and the peppers are very soft.

5. While the peppers are roasting, place tomatoes, garlic, (and whole almonds if you're using them) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring vigilantly, until there are nice brown spots and nearly all the cherry tomatoes have popped (about 6-8 minutes).

6. Place roasted peppers, pan roasted tomatoes and garlic, ground or pan roasted almonds, red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, and chipotle pepper in a food processor, blender, or large bowl with an immersion blender. Blend until desired consistency (I recommend until there are no large chunks, but it's not totally smooth).
7. Serve hot or cold over veggies, meat, or bread.

Pesto Quinoa

Sorry I have been delinquent in posting for the last few weeks - too much work and campaign stuff going on. To apologize, I have one of my favorite recipes to share with you. I first made it several summers ago from 101 cookbooks, and have loved it ever since. It is a particular standout in that not only is it delicious and healthy, but also vegan and gluten free (and highly acceptable to those who are neither).

There is some flexibility in the ingredients if you don't have or don't like them, but I find the flavors here are great as is (except for the 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds called for in the original which I have never once remembered to include).

Pesto Quinoa (Adapted from Heather's Quinoa at 101 Cookbooks)

Serves 6

Ingredients

several splashes of extra-virgin olive oil

a pinch of fine grain sea salt

1 shallot, minced

2 cups dry quinoa [you could probably use brown rice, bulgar wheat, or another grain if you want]

1 cup corn, fresh or frozen, removed from the ear (raw and cooked both work)

2 cups kale, finely chopped [you can use spinach or another green if you want]

2 blocks extra-firm nigari tofu

1/3 cup pesto

2/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Parmesan cheese to garnish (optional)

Equipment

Knife and cutting board

Medium saucepan

Medium pot with lid

Wooden spoon or silicone spatula

LARGE pot for easy reheating, or a bowl in a pinch

Instructions

1.Rinse dry quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer or bowl. In a medium pot heat the quinoa and 4 cups water until boiling. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, slice tofu into medium sized chunks and pat dry. Brown in a saucepan over medium heat with a little olive oil until golden and crispy on all sides (this is important because it keeps the tofu from crumbling when you mix it with the quinoa). Remove the tofu from heat and set aside.

3. Add a bit more olive oil and salt to the saucepan, still on medium heat, then stir in the shallot and cook for a minute or two. Add corn and kale and continue cooking until kale is wilted and corn is cooked, 2-3 minutes.

4. To the large pot, add cooked quinoa and pesto, mixing until the pesto is distributed throughout. Add the browned tofu, shallot/corn/kale mixture, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and stir again to distribute. Serve warm, with grated parmesan if desired.

Roasted Butternut Squash

If you thought the curry was easy, this recipe will knock your socks off. Roasted veggies in general are unbelievably easy. Basically you cut them into smallish pieces, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast at 400 degrees for as long as it takes to cook and start to get crispy. That's it.

Butternut squash is particularly good roasted because as it cooks it caramelizes. The end product is squash that tastes like candy (no, really).

Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash (You can buy pre-cubed if you're lazy or don't own good knives. Seriously, don't hurt yourself by trying to cut a squash with bad knives.)

3 Tbsp olive oil

sea salt to taste

Equipment

A big knife

Cutting board

Vegetable peeler

Metal spoon

Measuring spoon

Silpat/foil

Baking sheet

Oven

Tongs/fork

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel your squash with the vegetable peeler, making sure to get the whitish part underneath the shiny skin peeled off too because it's kinda hard and flavorless.

3. Chop your squash in half lengthwise and scrape out and discard the seeds and stringy bits. Chop into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes.

4. Spread squash cubes on foil or silpat lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands to toss and coat evenly. Sprinkle with salt.

5. Place squash in oven and cook for approximately 40 minutes until cooked through and beginning to brown, removing every 15 minutes to turn the squash with the tongs so they don't get stuck to the bottom or burn. Enjoy warm or cooled.

Thai Coconut Curry

I am a big fan of Thai food, and have been experimenting with making it myself at home. This recipe is really easy (Kenzie, I'm looking at you), tastes great, is incredibly versatile. I made it with frozen shrimp because that's the protein I had in my apartment, but you can make it just as easily with tofu, chicken, pork or beef, or even some combo of them. Likewise, I used the veggies I had around, so don't feel constrained by my choices; you can mix it up - add broccoli, snow peas, cauliflower, tomatoes, or shredded carrots. I would say you probably want sturdier veggies because something like spinach will just fall apart, but it's really up to you.

Thai Coconut Curry with Shrimp

Makes 5 large servings

Ingredients

1 can coconut milk (1 2/3 cups)

~3 Tbsp curry paste (I used yellow, you can use red or green if you have it)

~12 cups chopped veggies [I used 2 large red bell peppers, 2 large green bell peppers, 1.5 yellow onions, a can of bean sprouts, a can of water chestnuts, and half a container (about 3/4 cup) mushrooms]

1 lime

2 Tbsp chopped ginger

5 portions of protein (I used 50 medium-large shrimp, you could also use about 1 1/2 blocks of tofu, 4 chicken breasts, etc.) + 1/2-1 Tbsp oil to cook it in

Equipment

Cutting board and knife

Large pot (Dutch oven is ideal)

Can opener

Measuring spoon

Small saucepan (if protein isn't cooked)

Instructions

1. Cut your protein of choice into cubes (you can keep shrimp whole) and saute in a pan with oil if not cooked yet.

2. Wash, then chop/slice veggies into bite size pieces. Rinse any canned veggies (this helps wash away some of the sodium, which is almost always more than you want).

3. Pour coconut milk into large pot set over medium heat. Refill empty can with water and pour into the pot too. Add the ginger and curry paste and stir to combine.

4. Add chopped veggies and simmer in coconut milk mixture until cooked through (time will vary depending on what veggies you use). When veggies are mostly cooked, add cooked protein and stir to distribute.

You can eat the curry plain, or over rice. It reheats very well, and also freezes well.

Curried chicken/tofu salad

This is an easy recipe that packs in lots of protein, healthy fats, and fiber, and also tastes great. You can make it with cubed pan sautéed chicken or tofu, and in the later case it's vegan. I served it cold over greens but it would also be great on a sandwich or warm on rice.

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts/1.5 blocks extra firm tofu
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 ripe avocados
1/2 yellow onion
2 granny smith apples
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp curry powder
3/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1.5 tbsp lemon juice

Equipment
Knife and cutting board
Strong fork
Large bowl
Medium saucepan
Stove
Measuring spoons

Instructions
1. Cut chicken or tofu into cubes and sauté in olive oil over medium heat until cooked through for chicken and until a golden crust forms for tofu.
2. Chop onion finely. If you want, peel the apple, them chop into smallish pieces (the size of the tip of your pinky or smaller).
3. Peel and remove pit from avocados, then mash in large bowl with a fork until smooth.
4. Add spices and lemon juice to mashed avocado and mix thoroughly with the fork.
5. Add onion, apple, and cubed chicken or tofu and toss to coat with avocado mixture. Eat immediately or refrigerate (note: the avocado will brown quickly but still taste fine for a few days in the fridge). Serves 3-4.

Eat More Kale (Kale Salad and Kale Chips)

Last weekend I gave you ice cream, so it's only fair that I do something healthier this weekend. And kale isn't just healthy, it's awesome. If you missed it, kale is so great that the people at Chik-fil-a felt threatened and tried to shut it down. Really.

My great discovery of the week was kale salad. What is that you might ask? Basically you replace your regular lettuce (or arugula for the snobbish among us) with strips of raw kale. You need to marinate the kale in an acid to break down some of the fibrousness, but at the end, you get a delicious salad made with a superfood. I had my kale salad plain, but I bet it would be amazing with dried cherries, toasted pecans, and crumbled goat cheese, or with avocado and tomato. You can also add any sort of protein you like - shrimp, chicken, tofu, tempeh, slices of lunch meats, etc. - to make it a full meal.

Delicious Kale Salad

A previous, but no less exciting discovery, was homemade kale chips. You can buy them at stores like Whole Foods, but they're ridiculously expensive, and a large head of kale costs about $2, so you decide. Kale chips don't taste or have the exact same texture as regular chips, but they're pretty good in their own right.

Kale Salad

Ingredients

Kale

Olive oil

Lemon juice or balsamic vinegar (or other vinegar you like in your salad dressing)

Sea salt (optional)

Other salad toppings if desired

Equipment

Cutting board and knife

Large bowl

Instructions

1. Wash your kale and shake off the excess water. Cut off the tips of the stalks if they look brown or dried. Then slice the kale into 3/4 inch ribbons and place cut kale into the bowl.

2. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. I just did it by eye, but I would say if you need quantities, about 1 Tbps of acid and 1 Tbsp of olive oil is good for a very large salad for one person or a regular sized salad for 2.

3. Massage the oil and vinegar or lemon juice into the kale leaves with your hands to get it thoroughly mixed. Let sit for 15-20 minutes (now is a good time to prepare your other salad toppings if you have them).

4. Sprinkle with sea salt if you want (I have found this adds some great flavor, but you really don't want too much), then add any toppings you might have, and enjoy.

Kale Chips

Ingredients

Kale

Olive oil

Sea salt

Spices (garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika, or whatever other flavorings you want)

Equipment

Salad spinner or towels to dry the kale

Cutting board and knife

Baking sheet (lined with a silpat if you have one or parchment paper)

Oven

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Wash your kale and shake off excess water. Use your knife to de-stalk the kale - cut along each side of the thick stems to separate them from the large leaves. [The stems won't cook into nice thin crispy chips so you want to take them all out. But don't throw them away - save the stems, cut into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces and saute with olive oil and garlic for a great and easy side]. You can also even use your hands to rip the leaves from the stems. Then use your knife or hands to cut p kale into chip-size pieces.

3. Dry the kale leaves in the salad spinner or with towels [you need as much moisture gone so they will get crispy when you bake them].

4. Place kale on the lined baking sheet so that the leaves, when spread out, don't overlap (you will likely have to bake in multiple rounds or with multiple baking sheets at one time). Drizzle with olive oil (probably about 1 Tbps per sheet) and toss with your hands to coat all the leaves, or you could spray with cooking spray, ideally olive oil cooking spray, to coat evenly. Sprinkle with sea salt and any spices (I've used garlic and onion powder and liked that, but the plain are good too).

5. Bake until edges are brown but not burnt (about 10-15 minutes).

6. Eat still warm from the oven for the best chips, or allow to cool fully before placing into an airtight container (tupperware or ziploc bag), in which you can store them for a week or so.

Pan Fried Eggplant

I like eggplant may ways - grilled, roasted, curried, in bhaba ghanoush, in eggplant parmesan, and even

fried. Fried eggplant is so tasty, and a lot faster than roasting in the oven for an hour. It is not, however, very healthy. And, if you salt the eggplant first, which you usually have to, it's not even that fast. Enter my new technique, which will give you delicious and healthy pan-fried eggplant in about 20 minutes.

Ingredients

One eggplant

Cooking spray or a small amount olive/canola oil

Salt (to taste)

Equipment

Knife and cutting board

Stove

Saucepan (the wider it is, the more slices you can do at once)

Fork

Instructions

1. Wash your eggplant and cut off the stem (don't peel it or your slices will fall apart in the pan). Slice into 1/4 inch thick rounds.

2. Turn your saucepan on to medium heat and mist with cooking spray. Place into it as many slices of eggplant as you can without overlapping them, then mist again with cooking spray to cover the tops.

3. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until they begin to steam. Press down pretty hard on the top of each slice with a fork so the moisture begins to seep out, moving around the surface of the slice to get the moisture out of the entire slice. Flip the slices.

4. Cook for another minute, then press down again with the fork along the whole surface of each slice. Flip again.

5. Repeat 1-3 rounds of cooking for a minute, depressing with a fork, and flipping until each slice is cooked through (it should be translucent, with no whitish patches).

6. Give each slice a nice crispy edge by cooking for 30 seconds on each side without pressing down with the fork, then transfer to a plate to cool. Sprinkle with salt.

7. Repeat cooking process for remaining slices.

While you can eat the fried eggplant plain, I would also recommend cutting the slices into pieces and adding to a pasta dish (I'll send out a recipe for what I did with mine), using in a panini, or making eggplant rolatinis by wrapping each slice around ricotta or fresh mozzarella (perhaps with some sundried or fresh tomato, roasted red peppers, or hot peppers in the middle).

Vegetarian Chili

As promised, here is the recipe for the vegetarian chili I made last week (my variations off of Heidi Swanson's recipe). It's a very flexible recipe, so feel free to tweak based on what you have on hand. It reheats and freezes well, and is both very healthy and very tasty. 

Note: this makes a HUGE pot of chili, like 10 large servings, and was half an inch from overflowing my largest pot, so unless you're cooking for a crowd and have an enormous pot, you will probably want to half the recipe.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped [serrano peppers are hot, so be careful with your handling of it]
1 chipotle pepper (from can or rehydrated), minced [I used canned in adobo and the flavor was excellent]
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, roughly chopped (save the liquid and add that with the tomatoes too)

1.5 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
8-10 cups vegetable broth (you can sub in water for some or all of this, just adjust your salt accordingly - I used 4 cups broth and 4 cups water)
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned is fine)
2 1/4 cups black, brown, or green lentils (or combo), rinsed and picked over [I tried using 1 cup of yellow split peas instead of lentils, and they didn't soften as much as they should have, so I would really use lentils here, or more chickpeas]
1 1/3 cup pearled barley, pearled farro, or bulgur wheat (or some combo) [I used all bulgar wheat and it was great]
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (or to taste)

cayenne pepper to taste

Equipment

knife and cutting board

sieve/strainer (for rinsing lentils and draining chickpeas)

measuring spoons

measuring cup

can opener

LARGE stockpot or dutch oven

wooden spoon/silicone spatula

Instructions
1. Chop and rinse all ingredients as noted above.

2. In a large stockpot pot over medium heat add the olive oil, onion, and shallots.

3. When the onions soften up and get a bit translucent, add the garlic, ginger, chili powder, and cumin. Stir well and cook for a minute or so, until everything gets quite fragrant.

4. Stir in the serrano pepper and chipotle pepper, canned and fresh tomatoes, and 6 cups of the broth/water. Now add the chickpeas, lentils, and barley/farro/bulgur - stirring between each addition.

5. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 35- 45 minutes (stirring every 5 minutes or so to ensure things don't get stuck to the bottom of the pan and burn, as happened to me) or until the lentils and grains are cooked through. As it cooks down, add more vegetable broth or water as necessary to keep the mixture from getting too thick.

6. Before serving, do your final adjustments - add some cayenne if it's not hot enough yet, or more chipotle, salt, or whatever you think it needs.

Palak Daal

This is a great recipe to make on Sundays for the whole week because it's easy to make in a large quantity and the flavors gets better every day (it also reheats very well). My recipe is an adaptation of the one from 101cookbooks (one of my favorite food blogs - check it out). You have a lot of leeway in the spicing here, so feel free to tweak based on how spicy you like thing. I tend to slightly underspice when I'm making the whole recipe and then individually spice each bowl as I eat it so I can add exactly the right amount (it can be hard to spice a giant pot of food because you won't get all the peppers and spices distributed totally evenly), but you can also just do the whole pot if you don't want to mess with adding spices each meal.

This recipe makes about 8 large servings, so feel free to cut in half. I recommend serving with brown rice, but you could also serve with naan or plain.

Ingredients
1.5 cups / 9.75 oz lentils, picked over and rinsed [the original recipe says to use "white urid/ ivory lentils, I have never found them, so I've used regular lentils and yellow split peas, both of which turned out great, I think french green lentils would also work too]
9 cups water, plus more if necessary
1 lb. spinach, washed and chopped
1.5 Tbsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3/4 tsp turmeric
1.5 jalapeno pepppers, minced (plus more for garnishing)
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter (you could probably substitute vegan margarine/olive or canola oil to make it vegan)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1.5 tsp red chile powder
juice of 1/4 a lemon
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Equipment

Cutting board and large knife

Large pot (ideally thick bottomed so things don't burn)

Stirring spoon or silicone spatula

Small saucepan

Instructions

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat combine the lentils and water, and bring to a boil.

2. While the water boils, work on chopping your spinach, ginger, tomatoes, and jalapenos. [Word of warning on chopping jalapenos - use rubber gloves or put your hand inside a plastic bag as you cut them up so your hands don't start burning, and especially if you have contact lenses, because taking lenses out with small amounts of capsaicin left under your fingernails is a highly unpleasant experience and permanently wrecks your lenses. Also, you should discard all the seeds and the white part the seeds are attached too - all you want is the green exterior.] If you're using baby spinach, you don't need to chop as finely because it will already be in smaller tender leaves, but if you're using spinach with thicker stems and leaves, chop it more finely. [Another note: you can and should store your ginger root in a Ziplock in the freezer. It will keep the ginger fresh much longer, and frozen ginger is way easier to peel and cut into nice shavings that mince into tiny bits.]

3. When the water is boiling, add the spinach, ginger, turmeric, jalapenos, and tomatoes.Reduce the heat, put the top on, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If things start to dry out, add more water, but as long as the pot is covered, that probably won't happen.

4. Towards the end of the simmering time, heat the butter and cumin in a saucepan over medium heat and fry until the cumin seeds start to pop (this is what the instructions say, sometimes they don't pop, maybe the seeds are old or something, so after 30 seconds or so of the butter being hot and melted, if nothing happens, go on). Add the red chile powder and fry for another 30 seconds.

5. Add this butter mixture to the lentils along with the salt and allow to cook for another five minutes.

6. Taste, and season with more salt or other spices if needed. If you care more about ease than prettiness, you can add the chopped cilantro now and stir into the daal, where it will promptly wilt. If you are going to eat most of the daal now, you can serve it into bowls and top with chopped cilantro (and a little bit of extra jalapeno if you like it very spicy), which is a prettier presentation. Otherwise, let it cool some, then put into containers to refrigerate or freeze.

Sweet Potato Fries

While she may be the queen of unhealthy cooking, Paula Dean's recipe for sweet potato fries is both delicious and actually not horrible for you (and shockingly doesn't feature a sour cream/mayonnaise/heavy cream dipping sauce). My version is slightly modified from hers, and vegan. I can't say if they are tasty eheated because I ate all the fries that night off the baking sheet while hot. My guess is that they will lose a lot when they cool off and get soggy, but unless you cook up 5 potatoes for yourself, that probably won't be an issue because you won't have any leftovers, they're that delicious.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

2-5 sweet potatoes (depends totally on how much you want to make)

olive oil for tossing (~1 Tbsp per potato)

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, and other seasonings optional

Equipment

Sharp knife and cutting board

Vegetable peeler (semi-optional)

Oven and oven mitts

Tongs

Baking sheet + silpat or foil/parchment paper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.

2. Peel the potatoes, or wash and carefully dry if you're leaving the skin on (I usually peel, but up to you). Cut off any bad spots or eyes, then cut in half the long way. Place the cut side down so it doesn't roll around, then cut into 1/4 inch wide slices. Cut slices into 1/4 inch thick fry-sized strips.

3. Place your silpat on the baking sheet or cover your baking sheet in foil or parchment paper. Place potato strips on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then toss with your hands to coat. You want the strips to be a little slick, but not sitting in puddles of oil, so add oil accordingly.

4. Spread the potato strips out on the baking sheet (bake in two rounds if you have too many fries to fit without overlapping them). Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper to your tastes. You can also add a sprinkle of other spices like garlic or onion powder, paprika, or cayenne pepper. I would recommend going without spices the first time you make them, or adding them after baking once you've tried a plain fry and decide what flavors you want.

5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender and golden brown (cook more depending on how brown you like them), taking them out at least once to toss with tongs. Cool for a few minutes before eating so you don't burn your mouth (this is the hard part).

Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Parmesan

The original recipe calls this the best broccoli of your life. I might not go that far, but it is mighty delicious and oh-so-easy. It's tastiest right from the oven, but still very good reheated later in the week, and could be done without the parmesan if you want a vegan version. My recipe is an adaptation of the recipe here: http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/11/the_best_brocco.html

Ingredients

2 heads of broccoli (you can do it with more stem-heavy or floret-heavy broccoli, totally your preference)

4 cloves garlic

1 lemon

Olive oil

Salt (kosher or sea salt is recommended, but regular table salt is fine too)

Pepper

Parmesan cheese

Equipment

Knife and cutting board

Baking sheet (cookie sheet with sides)

Oven and oven mitts (or dish towels)

Tongs (or 2 forks in a pinch)

Grater/Zester/Microplane zester

Silpat or tin foil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425. If you don't have a silpat, line your baking sheet with tinfoil.

2. Wash and dry your broccoli, then cut into somewhat small pieces. Peel and chop your garlic into small chunks.

3. Put the broccoli on the baking sheet and sprinkle the garlic over it, then drizzle with olive oil and toss until coated (the original recipe says 5 Tbsp of oil, that is way more than I use, which is usually more like 2 Tbsp). Sprinkle with salt and pepper based on your tastes (you can always add more at the end, so if you're not sure how much to add, go light).

4. Roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until some of the broccoli begins to brown (you can let it go a little longer if you like more browning). Probably once during the cooking time or twice if you're worried, take the pan out of the oven and toss the broccoli with tongs so nothing sticks and different parts get exposed to brown.

5. When the broccoli is done, remove it from the oven and zest the lemon over it, then cut in half and squeeze the juice over the broccoli (if you don't like too much lemon, feel free to only zest and juice half). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese (they recommend 1/3 cup, I don't really measure, just pour as much as I want).

Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is an adaptation of a butternut squash soup recipe that my family loves to make, which I thought would be particularly popular given that it's about 10 degrees and snowing right now. I'm not exactly sure where it was originally from; I think my uncle Jamie got it from a cooking magazine a while back, but I just have a printout of it with no source. The original recipe uses chicken broth and milk, making it neither vegetarian nor vegan, but I frequently make it with vegetable broth and omit the milk, and it turns out great, so choose your ingredients based on your preferences.

Butternut Squash Soup

(Note: you can easily double or half this recipe. It freezes really well, so I would recommend making a large pot and freezing what you can't eat in the following few days.)

Ingredients

1 lb butternut squash (the recipe says you could use pumpkin instead, I've never tried this but go ahead if you want)

4-5 cloves of garlic

4-5 green onions (plus extra for garnish if you want)

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 Tbsp of flour

3 cups vegetable/chicken broth

1 cup of tomato sauce (the kind that is totally smooth and comes in a can, not the chunky one you put on pasta, or alternatively, one small can of tomato paste)

2 tsp- 1 Tbsp of chili powder (2 tsp. is usually enough, but this is very much based on your personal spice perference)

.5 tsp each cumin and oregano

1 cup milk

dash cayenne pepper (optional)

plain greek yogurt for garnish (optional)

Equipment Required

Stovetop burner

Chopping knife and cutting board

Vegetable peeler/paring knife (optional)

Measuring cups and spoons

Large pot

Wooden spoon/spatula for stirring

Blender/food processor/immersion blender (potentially optional)

Instructions

1. Peel and dice (cut into large chunks) the squash. If don't have a good knife to cut the squash, this will be very difficult and possibly dangerous, so I would recommend buying peeled pre-diced squash (which is also faster and easier if you're short on time).

2. Wash and dry the green onions, cut off the gross root part at the very bottom and any brown or shrively bits at the very top, then chop into relatively thin (maybe 1/4 inch wide) slices.

3. Peel the garlic, cutting off any brown hard bit on the bottom. Chop into very small pieces.

4. In a very large pot over medium-low heat, saute the garlic and green onions in enough olive oil so everything is coated and doesn't stick to the bottom (I would guess 1-2 Tbsp should be plenty).

5. When the green onions and garlic are mostly cooked (the green onions will have become more translucent and the garlic will not yet be browned), add the diced squash. Pour in the broth, tomato sauce, chile powder (if you're unsure about the spice level, add less than you think you will want and you can taste and add more later on when things are cooked), cumin, oregano, and flour. Stir so the spices and flour are not just floating on top and try to break up with the spoon any flour lumps that form.

6. Simmer (this means put on whatever heat level is necessary to keep it bubbling a little but not with the big bubbles of a boil) 20-30 minutes until the squash is tender (you should be able to easily put a fork through all pieces). Don't worry about over-cooking it since that won't hurt it, but do be sure the squash is totally cooked because hard squash will be really gross.

7. Turn off the burner when the squash is done and allow to cool slightly. Pour into a blender or food processor and puree (blend until smooth) or keep in the pot and blend with your immersion blender if you are so luck as to have one. (If using a blender or food processor you will likely have to blend in several batches unless you are only making a small pot of soup). If you are adding in the milk, you should add it now (just add to the blender with the broth and cooked squash). If you have no blender or like soup with chunks, you could leave it as a broth with squash cubes, in which case I would make sure to cut the squash into quite small pieces at the beginning. But I think the soup is a lot better pureed, so I would go that route unless you really can't.

8. Test your soup for spice-level. Add salt, cayenne pepper, and/or more chile powder if you want.

9. Serve garnished with a dollop of greek yogurt or sour cream (I love greek yogurt with this soup) and a sprinkle of chopped green onion if you would like, or allow to cool a bit more, then pour into individual containers and freeze (the individual containers make reheating for a future meal much easier than having to reheat a huge block of frozen soup to get one cup or trying to cut off a hunk from a soup ice cube).