curry in a hurry

in an effort to prove to any non believers that i do, in fact, consume foods other than sweets, i'd like to offer you all my second consecutive day of savory entree ideas!  hurray!  dinner today was kind of a spur of the moment idea, which was born of some inspiration from a recipe that was born of some inspiration from another recipe.  it was only natural that i continued the trend and made a few of my own adjustments to make this dish a little more me-ified.  i adjusted the spices a bit, added some shredded coconut and coconut milk, and threw a sweet potato and a parsnip into the mix.  i was also able to omit the butter, since sweet potatoes have such a creamy, buttery flavor on their own.  the end result was pretty durnd awesome if i do say so myself.  and, of course, i do :D

i realize these pictures don't do it justice...light is scarce in my kitchen after the sun goes down, but trust me when i say this was amazing.  indian inspired spices with a mild, creamy tikka masala flavor.  the sweet potato and coconut in this really compliment it well, balancing out the spice with some pleasantly light, creamy sweetness.  masala is always a great sort of "starter" dish for anyone trying indian food for the first time.  it's such an unintimidating, mild spice combination with a really demure, creamy, gravy-like consistency, but it still contains a lot of traditional indian flavor.  in other words: everyone can love on some masala.  because really, what's not to love?

i made my version of this vegan, but this would be really awesome with chicken, lamb, or paneer as well.  also, rice would be a great side with this if you'd like to stretch the sauce out a bit more, although i found that it wasn't necessary.  with all the chunks of broccoli and seitan, this ended up being a really satisfying meal on its own.

tikka masala style coconut sweet potato curry with broccoli and seitan

serves around 3

• 1 small to medium sweet potato
• 1 large broccoli crown cut into chunks
• 1 medium parsnip cut into wheels
• 2-3 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion cut into chunks
• 8 oz seitan (i used westsoy's cubed variety)
• 1 ts sea salt
• 1/4 ts cumin
• 1 3/4 ts curry
• 1/4 ts cayenne (more if you'd like it spicier)
• 3/4 ts paprika
• 1 1/2 ts dried basil
• 1/2 ts fenugreek
• 1 cup strained tomatoes (i used pomi)
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water (as needed)
• 1 T light shredded coconut

prepare the sweet potato by washing it, poking it in several places with a fork or knife, covering it loosely with a paper towel, and cooking it in the microwave.  for me, this generally takes about 10 minutes, flipping the sweet potato over at the half way mark, but every microwave is different.  once the potato is soft, remove it from the microwave, cut it in half and carefully empty the insides into your blender/food processor using a spoon or fork to peel it away from the skin.  discard the skin or eat it as a snack like i do :)  steam the broccoli and parsnips until al dente (usually about 4-5 minutes), rinse with cold water, and set aside.  in a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on medium low.  add the onion and cook until just starting to turn translucent.  add the steamed parsnips (not the broccoli yet, though) salt, cumin, curry, cayenne, paprika, fenugreek, and basil.  keep stirring to avoid burning any of the spices.  once onions are soft, stir in the strained tomatoes and coconut milk and bring sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally.  once all warmed and combined, add the sauce to the sweet potato in your blender or food processor and blend until smooth, adding the 1/2 cup of water as needed to thin the sauce to a thick gravy-like consistency.  return the sauce to the pan, stir in the shredded coconut followed by the steamed broccoli and seitan.  heat until seitan is warm and serve to your oh-so-impressed friends.  easy, right??  15 minutes, a few ingredients, some choice spices and you've got yourself some tasty, healthy indian food.  fancy in a flash!

so there you have it.  2 solid days in a row without a single cake, pie, muffin, or sprinkle to be found.  no worries, though...i don't know how much longer this can go on.  these sweets...they have been lurking.  i've actually been working on a few different treats over the past couple of days.  keep an eye out for them soon.  at the moment they're still a little stage shy, but in the coming days they should be fully prepped and ready to make their debut.  stay tuned!

lean, green cheesey soup tureen!

ok, i know i've been posting an awful lot of sweets lately.  can you blame me?  but i don't want to give the wrong impression.  i love veggies, too!  and there's plenty of reasons for you to love them, too.  here's just one:

creamy, cheesey broccoli soup with parsnips + spinach = last night's dinner!  this started out as a mission to clean out the fridge and ended up being a hit.  i'll definitely be including this in the regular dinner rotation from here on out.  what's great is despite it being really rich and cheesey tasting, no cheese was actually harmed in the making of this soup.  i ended up using nutritional yeast for this again (an ingredient which i'm kind of in love with) which loaded it with both flavor and healthy vitamins and nutrients without all the high calories and saturated fat of cheese.  as a matter of fact, i checked the estimated stats on my recipe and compared them to a lot of other typical broccoli cheddar soup write ups and man-oh-man....not only were my servings larger, but my calories were lower, my nutrition was through the roof, and the fat content was seriously 1/8 of the others...and those were the healthier ones!  now, while this soup definitely does have a really pleasant cheesey flavor, i can't guarantee it will taste exactly like cheddar, because let's face it, it's not made with it.  but on the other hand, neither are a lot of the commercial varieties...and they're chock full of bad-for-you stuff.  it's just a matter of what you'd like to put in your body.  i always try to veer towards something i can enjoy and feel good about enjoying.  give it a shot and see what you think!

creamy broccoli better than cheddar soup with parsnips and spinach

makes about 4 servings

• 1 medium head of broccoli with stalk, chopped
• 3-4 medium parsnips, chopped
• about 2 cups of fresh spinach
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 can broth (i used light chicken broth, but veggie would work, too)
• 1 7oz container of 2% or full fat greek yogurt (don't use fat free.  it separates when you cook it)
• 1 ts paprika (optional)
• 2 T garlic powder
• 1 ts dried basil
• 1 1/2 ts sea salt
• 4 T nutritional yeast
• 1 T dijon mustard

in a pot, heat a little olive oil on medium low heat.  throw in the onion and parsnips and cook until onion starts to turn translucent.  pour in your broth and turn heat up a bit to bring to a simmer.  add paprika, salt, basil, garlic powder, and broccoli.  make sure all the veggies are at least partially submerged, cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until parsnips are soft.  stir in spinach and simmer until wilted and dark.  ladle out all your veggies into your blender or food processor, leaving the liquid in the pot on low heat.  blend until smooth and creamy.  pour the pretty green porridge back into the pot and mix in yogurt, dijon mustard, and nutritional yeast.  adjust the spices to your taste.

we ate this with some cooked ground turkey meat, but it's also really yummy on it's own.  andouille sausage would be amazing on it or, for some veggie options, you could also add some smoked tofu or seitan.  top it with shredded carrots and walnuts for something different or throw in some chunks of roasted veggies and potatoes.  this soup is mild and classic enough to really go with a lot of different flavors.  play around with it!  i fully endorse kitchen tomfoolery and table antics.

alright, kids...i'm signing off for now.  but don't worry, i'll be back with more cakes tomorrow.  that's just how i roll: sweet and fluffy.  word.