Spinach and Chickpeas

I jumped on the bandwagon.

Which one you say?  The meatless Monday bandwagon.  I feel like a lot of my days, not just Mondays, are meatless, but why not make it "official"*?  On the first Monday of the year, I made this Spinach and Chickpea dish from a list of recipes for the semi-vegan. 

I really enjoyed this dish.  I used a little less spinach than it called for, because a full pound seemed like a lot; in hindsight, I should have used it all.  The breadcrumbs are delicious and the seasoning mix is key, as is the vinegar. 

* On the second Monday of the year, I ate bacon on my salad.  Oops.

Spinach and Chickpeas

Ingredients

Chickpeas
Spinach
Bread crumbs
Pimentón (smoked paprika)
Cumin
Garlic
Sherry vinegar
Olive oil

Preparation

1. Cook a couple of cloves of minced garlic in a generous amount of olive oil until fragrant, and then add bread crumbs made from 4 or 5 slices of crusty bread (pulse in a food processor for best results); cook, stirring frequently until evenly toasted; remove.
2. Add a little more oil to the pan and sauté a pound of spinach, along with 1 teaspoon each cumin and pimentón.
3. When the spinach begins to wilt, add a can of chickpeas, drained (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas), and cook for 5 minutes or so.
4. When you’re ready to serve, stir in a tablespoon of sherry vinegar and sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs.

Tomatillo Chili

Hello again!

We had a chili cook-off with our parenting group recently.  No, we did not feed the 13 month olds chili, but it did remind me of the scene in Mr. Mom.

One friend made this chili.  I really enjoyed the flavors, and have been looking for a good white bean chili.  While the recipe doesnt call for white beans, my friend successfully added them in.  I did not use any chicken, except for the broth (note, when my friend made it, she used a rotisserie chicken from the store).  To the flavor paste, I added one can of white beans so they were pureed to add thickness.  I also added one additional can of white beans, whole.  It ended up being pretty thick, so perhaps I would add more broth next time, or not puree as many beans.   I used canned tomatillos but think it would be better with fresh and will try that next time.

Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup

My soup obsession continues, and boarders on addiction: Sometimes I eat it for breakfast. A friend asked that I bring a butternut squash soup to a dinner party, but I wanted something more fun. I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks and it sounded exotic enough, and super easy. I used a butternut squash or two, and then delicata squash because they are new to me. Lovely display at Whole Paycheck:

This soup is supremely easy, and as you would guess, the only thing I changed was the amount of curry paste (more more more!). You could also make this vegan by brushing the squash with olive oil instead of butter. The soup was a huge hit at the party, I will make this all fall / winter long!

Roasted-tomato Soup with Parmesan Croutons

This soup recipe has been with me for two years, and is from Shape magazine.....which sounds scary. But fear not, it is enjoyable!

When it looks as amazing as this outside, one doesn't necessarily think of soup, but I could eat soup every day of my life, even when it's warm outside:

But, it is amazingly simple, and doesn't taste like marinera, which I often find an issue with tomato soup. You just throw the veggies in the oven for a bit, then take them out and add the broth and some basil, and puree. Easy. I did not make the croutons, but will think about it next time.

Take 5 Carrot Cupcakes

This recipe from Food & Wine was good but could be altered - I've never used so much oil, and think replacing some of it with yogurt or applesauce would not only be healthy, but actually taste better as well. I find it hard to believe this has been "tested and perfected" but maybe it has and I did something wrong. I love carrot cake more than any other! 

Cucumber-Mint Water

I've been putting cucumber and ginger in water for awhile, but wanted to try something else. This minty cucumber water is easy and refreshing....and mine was very green...good for St Pats!

Stuffed Peppers

Every Tuesday I get the Tuesdays With Tori recipe and I usually think they look good, but I almost never make any of the recipes.

Recently she presented something that looked quick, easy, and delicious, so I tried it. I used Pasilla peppers since they were all I could find. I had never heard of Pasilla before so I quickly checked them out on my phone while I was at the store. They had a one out of five heat rating so I figured they would be mild. I found them to be pretty spicy and was sure they would be too spicy for S. However in the end he declared dinner delicious.

Here is the link to the recipe.