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G-nut Stew, Re-Done for the New Year

4 Jan

Happy New Year, everyone.

I thought I would bring you my updated version of this g-nut aka peanut stew. I have been making this stew for over 2 years now and it never fails to satisfy me and leave me with leftovers for the week.

I usually make this stew with garbanzo beans, but this time around I decided to use black-eyed peas. It is thought that on New Years Day if you eat black-eyed peas and greens then you will have prosperity and luck in the coming year. And who doesn’t want a little good fortune?

I am applying for an internship to eventually become a registered dietitian, and I need and want all the luck and prosperity I can get this year! Black eyed peas are just like most other beans and legumes, packed with protein, fiber, and iron and are great for reducing cholesterol.

With orange sweet potatoes and carrots, green peppers and chard, anti-inflammatory alliums onion/garlic, and our spicy friend ginger, this stew is packed with good-for-you veggies. The sauce for the stew is peanut butter and broth. Easy and simple.

I ran out of brown rice, so I made the stew and put it over white rice. Fine. Delish. Thank goodness for rice cookers. I have also made this stew with quinoa, or you could even pair it with cornbread.

I like to chop all of my ingredients up first before cooking, so that I can just dump the bowl into the pan quickly and have the stew ready in minutes. Because when I’m hungry, I want dinner FAST.

Let’s bring in this new year with lots of prosperity, luck, health, and delicious food!

African G-nut (aka Peanut) Stew

see my original post here

serves 4-6

2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, grated (NOTE: I like to keep extra ginger in the freezer so I have it on-hand at a moments notice)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cups veggie broth

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 15-oz can of black-eyed peas

1/2 bunch of swiss chard, stems removed and roughly chopped or torn

1/2 cup peanut butter

optional: cilantro or parsley, for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the ground cumin and ground coriander and cook for 1 minute. Add the sweet potatoes and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.
2. Add the salt, vegetable broth, green pepper and garbanzo beans. Bring the stew to a boil, add the swiss chard, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the sweet potato and carrot are soft and the chard has wilted slightly. Mix in the peanut butter and cook for a final 5 minutes. If you want a thinner or thicker stew, you can add more peanut butter or, alternatively, more broth.
3. Serve the stew hot, over rice/quinoa/couscous, with toasted peanuts and cilantro or parsley as a garnish.

An At-Home Beauty Product Experiment + Chocolate Dipped Apricots With Sea Salt

20 Dec

Last night I put a combo of oats, wheat germ, and cornmeal on my face. Today after showering I rubbed a mix of pumpkin puree, vanilla yogurt, and honey on my face. Yes, I put food on my face. The experience was…weird.

The oats/cornmeal/wheatgerm were mixed with water into a paste which I then rubbed on my face. It felt gritty. It looked totally wacko, it kinda smelled, it looked like I took my morning oatmeal and put it all over my face.  My roommates were making fun of me. But hey, I figure that I have a dry winter ahead of me and I should exfoliate my face once in a while? Luckily I am blessed with naturally good skin and don’t do much else than soap and water with some moisturizer. Not sure that I will keep up this new beauty routine, but it was still fun to try it out.

Cereal Grain Face Exfoliant

from EcoBeauty

2 T. rolled oats

2 T. cornmeal

2 t. wheat germ

Mix everything together and store in a jar or airtight container. To use, combine 1-2 teaspoons of the mixture with 1-2 teaspoons of water to create a paste. Gently rub onto your face and wash off with warm water.

The pumpkin pie facial was another wacky experience. I stirred together 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree (from the can), 2 T. vanilla yogurt, and 1 T. honey and put about 1 teaspoon of the mix on my face after I finished showering. I waited about 10 minutes then washed my face with warm water.

So I think I am done experimenting with my face, but next up I am looking into this brown sugar coconut oil hand and foot scrub. Working in a restaurant 5 nights + cooking at home does quite the job on my poor hands and feet (I am in want of cute rubber gloves for dish washing at home!).

I would now like to discuss these chocolate dipped apricots with sea salt. This is a holiday treat that you can feel good about. Dried apricots have fiber and vitamin A and iron and are a nice alternative to the mounds of cookies and cakes that you will see during the holiday season. Dipped in whatever chocolate you fancy (dark, semi-sweet, milk, white…) and sprinkled with a dash of sea salt, these orange beauties are made to please.

I tried to open my apricots up with my fingers before dipping to make things easier. I purchased my apricots from Trader Joe’s.

A little sweet, a little tart, a tad salty. These are great as gifts or as a snack to place on the table after dinner when company is over. When I was in school, my friend Alison’s mom would send her a care package during finals and she almost always threw in chocolate dipped apricots. These were not just any old apricot, but the juiciest freshly dried apricots from B&R farms in Hollister, CA. SO GOOD! Alison was always kind enough to share with me and it was these apricots (+a little studying) that got us through finals.

Chocolate Dipped Apricots with Sea Salt

1 lb of dried apricots

1 lb of chocolate

flaky salt, such as Maldon

Have a sheet tray lined with parchment paper ready. In the microwave or in a bowl over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate. If using the microwave, vigorously stir your chocolate every 30 seconds.

Quickly dip you apricots in chocolate, either just the tips or the entire thing and then lay on the parchment. Note that you may need to reheat the chocolate if starts to harden midway through dipping. Sprinkle with sea salt while the chocolate is still wet.

Once finished, place the baking sheet in the fridge or freezer so the chocolate hardens.


Warm Winter Meals…my go-to’s

11 Dec

I AM FREEZING!

Let’s you and me warm up with some cozy winter meals. I am rounding up a few of my go-to warm recipes that I find myself craving again and again.

Chicken Marbella: This chicken never fails to please…makes the house smell so cozy!

African G-Nut Stew: Savory recipes that call for peanut butter make me swoon.

Green n’ Yellow Risotto: Nothing screams warmth like a piping hot bowl of creamy risotto.

Mushroom Etc. and Sausage Ragu over Polenta: Cheesy polenta + Savory Sausage + Quickly Sauteed Veg

Lasagna! Layered pasta filled with veggies, basil, and ricotta. With a touch of fresh nutmeg for good measure.

Minestrone Soup. Warm broth, hearty beans, crusty bread.

Quiche. The savory pie that can be eaten morning, noon, or night.

Get your ovens preheating and your stove-tops flaming because it is time to warm things up for the cold winter ahead of us.

Miso-Curry Delicata Squash

26 Oct

This meal cannot get any more “fall.” There is bright orange, deep purple, and forest green. Delicata squash gets roasted in the oven with purple potatoes and tofu and then everything gets combined with raw dino-kale and toasted pepitas. Dressed to the heights with a miso-curry sauce. Yum yum in the tum. I could eat this for days.

The dressing (or sauce?) is my favorite part about this dish. There are only 3 ingredients: olive oil, Thai red curry paste, and white miso. So easy and perfectly salty and savory, I was literally licking my plate clean because this sauce was so perfect. And what a great way to use more of the Thai red curry paste that I had from when I was making this Tofu Panang Curry. I recently bought a small tub of sweet white miso from Whole Foods and this was the perfect opportunity to use some (I’m also dying to make miso soup and this vegan fettuccine alfredo with my white miso).

This past Monday, October 24th, was “Food Day.” From the website:

Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. We will work with people around the country to create thousands of events in homes, schools, churches, farmers markets, city halls, and state capitals.

In honor of Food Day I went to Eataly in NYC where farmers working with Eataly were there to give samples of their produce, dairy, meat, wine and chat with the customers. I purchased all of my produce and the pepitas for this Miso-Curry Delicata Roast from Eataly. And the best part? I only spent $12 (including a few other fruits and miscellaneous nuts and seeds purchased)!! Granted, I already had olive oil, red Thai curry paste, and miso at home. But 4 servings worth of food for only about $12 is dang-good. And this is what Food Day is all about. Healthy food should be affordable, accessible, easy to prepare, and tasty.

I feel healthy and comforted. Rock on.

Miso-Curry Delicata Squash

adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday 

serves 4

Ingredients

12 ounces/ 340 g delicata squash (aka 1 decent sized squash)

1/4 cup/ 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil

Scant 1/4 cup/ 2.5 oz/ 70 g white miso (I purchased mine at Whole Foods, I bought the “sweet” one)

Scant 1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste

1 package of extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes (I used a 14-oz pkg)

1 large handful of small purple potatoes, unpeeled and cut into chunks

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 bunch of dino-kale, tough stems removed and leaves chopped

1/3 cup/ 1.5 oz/ 45 g pepitas, toasted

optional: 2/3 cup/ 1 oz/ 30 g chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the delicata squash in half lengthwise and use a spoon to clear out all the seeds. Cut into 1/2-inch thick half-moons.

In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, miso, and curry paste.

Combine the tofu, potatoes, and squash in a large bowl with 1/3 cup/ 80 ml of the miso-curry paste. Use your hands to toss well, then turn your vegetables onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment and arrange everything in a single layer. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until everything is tender and browned. Toss once or twice along the way, after things start to brown a bit. Keep a close watch, though; the vegetables can go from browned to burned in a flash.

In the meantime, whisk the lemon juice into the remaining miso-curry paste, then stir in the kale until coated.

Toss the roasted vegetables gently with the kale, pepitas, and if using, the cilantro. Serve family style in a large bowl or platter.

Tofu Panang Curry

5 Oct

I’ve been having cravings up the wazoo lately. Everything from pizza and burgers to dumplings (soup dumplings!) and curry, from fresh pasta with a buttery sauce to a giant burrito packed with beans rice guac and cheese. From pancakes to French Toast to ice cream and a brownie. I want it all.

I don’t go out to eat very often. I like to make my own breakfasts and lunches. I work in a restaurant at night where they feed me dinner. And on my days off I just want to cook something homemade and hearty.

This Panang Curry really hit the spot for me today. I made it for myself for lunch, my roomies will eat some for dinner, and there will still be enough for leftovers tomorrow and the next day.

The curry is filled with dark green kale, bright orange sweet potato, and soft lean tofu. Fresh ginger and garlic and some spices give this curry a lovely flavor balance of tangy spicy and smooth. Garnished with lime and cashews for a crunchy top-note and spooned over protein-packed quinoa.

As the weather is turning to fall, this curry is the perfect way to warm your body up and keep your spirits high with all the colors and texture and good-for-you nutrients. And leftovers make it so easy to just reheat and not have to worry about cooking for the next few days.

Meat-eaters, gluten-free goers, vegans, vegetarians, and locavores will all delight in the Thai-inspired stew. Now give yourself a pat on the back and serve this up for dinner tonight.

TOFU PANANG CURRY

adapted from Chole Coscarelli

*I find it useful to have all my ingredients chopped, measured out, and ready to go before I start cooking

**Also, feel free to sub out the sweet potato for some winter squash, the kale for chard or collards or spinach, feel free to add cauliflower or bok choy, tempeh instead of tofu…

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely minced/chopped fresh ginger (peel with a spoon and grate on your microplane, or just chop by hand)

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon Thai Red Curry Paste (just look near the isle where you buy the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, etc.)

1 1/2 cups water

1 14-oz can coconut milk

zest of 1 lime

2 tablespoons brown sugar (or maple syrup)

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 14-oz pkg of extra firm tofu, drained and cubed

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes

1 bunch of kale, cut off the stem and torn into pieces

juice of 1 small lime

1/2 cup roasted cashews (I have used those Chili Lime Cashews from Trader Joe’s in this curry before, SO GOOD!)

PROCEDURE:

(If making a grain, start cooking your rice or quinoa first so that it will be ready around the same time as your curry.)

Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and ginger and let cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in peanut butter, turmeric, cumin, and curry paste and let cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Whisk in water, coconut milk, lime zest, brown sugar, and salt until combined. Add tofu, sweet potato, and kale, and bring to a boil. Let simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Stir in lime juice and adjust seasoning to taste. Garnish with cashews and serve over rice or quinoa.

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