Craving Curry

This week I fell in love with curry. I found both of these recipes through Pinterest, but immediately went to the site, Cara's Cravings, and was wowed by all her inventions.  

I've been sick the last couple days, making me crave some hearty soup. So this chili was perfect. And if I do say so myself, it is AMAZING! So rich in color and flavor! Enjoy!

Rice Noodles and Peanut-Curry Sauce

1 Serving (includes 3 servings of vegetables)

Inspired by Cara's Cravings 

2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
3 Tbsp Water
1/4 tsp Ginger

1/4 tsp Coriander
1-2 tsp Curry powder
1 tsp Garlic
1 tsp Honey

Rice Noodles

Olive Oil

Onions

Zucchini

Butternut Squash

Fresh chopped Cilantro

Combine sauce ingredients in small sauce pan. Heat until well blended.

Boil noodles.

Sauté vegetables in small amount of olive oil.

Mix together, serve with a garnish of cilantro.

Red Curry Chicken Chili

Multiple Servings/Family Size (includes 3-4 servings of vegetables)

Inspired by Cara's Cravings

 

 4 cloves of Garlic, chopped

1 small Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and diced

1 large Red Onion, diced
1 medium Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 medium Zucchini, diced
2 cans low sodium Diced Tomatoes

1 can low sodium Garbanzo Beans

3 medium-sized boneless, skinless Chicken Breast, cubed

1 tablespoons Cumin

2 tsp Chili Powder

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

3 Tbsp Red Curry Sauce (see recipe below)
1 carton low sodium Chicken Broth

Chopped fresh cilantro

Red Curry Sauce:

1 Tbsp Tomato Paste

2-3 Tbsp Water

1 tsp Curry Powder

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

1/4 tsp Coriander

1/4 tsp Ginger

1/4 tsp Garlic powder

1/2 tsp Paprika

Roast garlic and squash on a greased baking sheet until slightly browned.

In a large soup pot, sauté remaining vegetables and chicken until tender and browned. Add garbanzo beans, tomatoes, squash and garlic, spices, red curry paste and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Add cilantro and simmer for 1/2 hour.

Happy Pi Day!

I love coming up with recipes from ingredients in my kitchen/pantry. This Strawberry-Cranberry Pie is no exception. In honor of Pi Day (3/14) I decided to make three little pies. The genius part was the combination of strawberries and cranberries, very much like it's dear cousin, Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie. Enjoy!


Strawberry-Cranberry Pie

1 3/4 cup Flour 
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Oil 
3 Tbsp. Cold Water

Strawberries, frozen or fresh
Cranberries, frozen or fresh
Brown Sugar


Mix dough, and set aside. 

Chop berries and boil with sugar in a small amount of water. Continue to boil until berries are soft and sauce thickens.

Grease a muffin tin. Pat in dough. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Then take out of oven and pour in berries. Top with small pieces of flattened dough or oats.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until top begins to brown.

Hamentashen and some fun times with Kale

Spring may in fact be upon us. I don't want to get too excited yet, but I did see some crocuses today!

So far this has been the month for Kale. It's definitely my new favorite. The soup is a re-do of a Butternut Squash soup I made last fall, but it was so good this time around that I had to add it. 

 

This weekend my parents came to visit, so I thought I'd try a Kale Pesto. It turned out really well. 

Finally, in honor of Purim (the Jewish holiday commemorating the story of Queen Esther and the Lord's protection of His people), here is a recipe for Hamentashen cookies, literally "Hamen's Ears" (the bad-guy in the story).

Purim Hamentashen

Multiple Servings/Family Size (includes 1 servings of fruit, if you use fruit jam)

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups of flour (Add enough flour so that the dough is no longer sticky – I added considerably more than 2 cups!)

Preserves or Filling (I used a Plum-Rhubarb jam I found in the ethnic aisle at the Devon Market, and I even made some with Nutella!)

Set dough in refrigerator for about 15 minutes, then roll out between two pieces of wax paper. Take a wide rimmed cup and cut out circles. Spoon approximately 1 Tbsp of filling on circle. Fold into a triangle, over lapping and pinching the corners tightly.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale Soup

Multiple Servings/Family Size (includes 3-4 servings of vegetables)

Olive Oil

Onion

Garlic

1 medium-sized Butternut Squash, cubed

4-5 Plum Tomatoes, diced

1 large bunch of Kale, chopped

1 Carton of low sodium Chicken Broth

1 can low sodium Small White Beans

Parsley

Sage

Coriander

Paprika

Black Pepper

2 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

Roast butternut squash, tomatoes and garlic on an oiled cookie sheet until golden brown. At the same time, sauté onions in a large soup pot. Add roasted vegetables, kale, bean, chicken broth, herbs and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add vinegar and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes.

Kale Pesto and Bean Pasta

Multiple Servings/Family Size (includes 3 servings of vegetables)

(inspired by In A Mood for Food)

1 medium bunch of Kale
small handful of almonds, toasted
Garlic
1 cup Cilantro leaves

1 tsp Dried Basil

Black pepper
1/3 cup Olive Oil

Whole Wheat pasta
1 can low sodium Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Red Onion

Mushrooms

Balsamic vinegar
Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Remove the kale greens from the stem and rip into bite sized pieces. Steam greens over a boiling water for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile place almonds in a food processor and pulse until well chopped.  Add steamed kale, garlic, cilantro, black pepper and basil. Pulse until ingredients are coarsely minced.  Scrape down the sides.  With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil and blend until a thick pesto is formed.

Sauté onions and mushrooms in small amount of olive oil. Add beans.

Mix everything together and serve with Parmesan cheese.

"Saying Goodbye to Friends" Recipes

Last week, I decided to go all out and bake a chocolate cake. Two of my very good friends moved to Arizona today, so the whole weekend was full of goodbye parties. And how do I best contribute to events? By baking, of course. Please take note that is cake is not healthy, not endorsed by all things DASH diet, or any diet for that matter. But the beautiful kick of the raspberries and the simple blueberries make up for it. I will miss my friends dearly, but I'm glad their departure prompted me to bake my first chocolate cake from scratch.

In addition to cake, I whipped up this little dish to take to the party. It was dreamed up in my head while I was at work, and I'm so pleased that it turned out-- and was a hit! Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake with Butter Cream Frosting and Fruit

Multiple Servings/Family Size (includes 1 servings of fruit)

(inspired by the Pioneer Woman)

Cake:

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

4 Tbsp Baking Cocoa

4-6 oz Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

2 sticks Butter

1 cup Boiling Water

½ cup Buttermilk 

2 large Eggs, beaten

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

Melt butter in a saucepan and add cocoa. Stir together. Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture.

Pour into a floured 13 x 18″ sheet cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Frosting:

1 cup Unsalted Butter (softened at room temperature)

2 cups Powdered Sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla

6-8 Tbsp Heavy cream

With a power mixer, beat butter at medium speed until nice and smooth.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to mix until sugar is fully incorporated.  Add cream and mix for 3 minutes.  Check the consistency, if it is too loose, add more sugar. If it is stiff, add more cream. 

Raspberry filling:

Frozen raspberries

Water

White Sugar

Corn Starch

Defrost berries by boiling with water in a medium pot. Strain out seeds with a mesh steamer or colander. Pour back into pot, add water and bring to a boil. Mix corn starch and a little bit of cold water in a small bowl. Add corn starch mixture and sugar to boiling berries. Stir well.  Boil until it reaches desired consistency. Cool.

Cut cake in half. Flip one piece upside down on desired presentation surface. Spread frosting on first piece. Add cooled raspberries, in an even coat. Allow to set for a few minutes. Place second piece on top. Spread frosting on top. Embellish with Blueberries and Raspberry filling.

Note: If you don’t have fun frosting tips, use a small zip-lock baggie with the corner cut off.

Chickpea, Green Bean, and Sweet Potato Couscous

1 Serving (includes 3 servings of vegetables)

Olive Oil

Onion

Green Beans (frozen or fresh)

Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed

Pearl Couscous

Garbanzo Beans

Water

Paprika

Black Pepper

Parsley

Garlic Powder

Balsamic Vinegar

Lemon Juice

In a large frying pan or stick-less soup pot, sauté onions, green beans and sweet potatoes in small amount of olive oil. Add couscous and garbanzo beans. Cook until couscous is browned, stirring often. Add spices and enough water to cover all. Bring to boil and then simmer until couscous is done and water is mostly evaporated. Add balsamic vinegar and lemon juice.

Serve either warm or cooled.