CURRY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER & QUINOA SALAD

Get ready for a different flavor sensation! It's a nice balance of sweet, a bit of tang and curry flavor that I just can't get enough of. If you love roasted cauliflower and the combination of ingredients in this salad, I have no doubt you will find this to be a great addition to your meal rotations.

This recipe came about from a recent trip to a small grocery store near me. I picked up a version they had and thought it was good enough to recreate for the recipe collection. The quinoa is my own addition, I wanted to add some protein and extra fullness to the salad. The remaining ingredients are almost the same. I did have to guess at the dressing but it came out perfect, even better than theirs I think...much less oily. This can easily be a side salad or a full meal. Great for to-go lunches as well, can be served at room temp or chilled. 

To all of those who have picked up a copy of THE ARCHIVES VOL 1, thank you so much! :)

Roast your cauliflower and prepare your quinoa...



Mix the dressing and gather the rest of the ingredients...



toss everything together and you're ready for a flavorful and filling salad!

CURRY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER & QUINOA SALAD

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried quinoa
• 1 cup water (or just under)
• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 1 medium apple (I used Fuji), cored and diced
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut

Dressing

• 3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
• 2 - 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon or orange juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cut cauliflower into florets. Lay in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Add a drizzle of oil and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes, mixing the cauliflower around half way through. Remove from oven, let cool. 

Rinse your quinoa using a fine mesh sieve (honestly, I usually skip this part but have it here for good measure. Don't feel you have to do it but you may find that you prefer it that way.) In a medium pot/pan, add quinoa and water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Once done, turn heat off, uncover and let rest for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside to let the flavors develop. Taste for seasoning adding anything extra you might like. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine quinoa, cauliflower, apple, raisins, shredded coconut and dressing, toss well to coat. 

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Serves 4

Notes:

If you know and love the Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar from Trader Joe's, or elsewhere, this is a great place to use it! Use it in place of the apple cider vinegar.

Sub in a tablespoon or so of water for the oil. Try using 1 tablespoon oil and 2 - 3 tablespoons water.

Feel free to use regular raisins or currants. Cranberries may even be a nice change up.

For my quinoa, I buy one bag each of white and tri-color and mix them together creating a nice blend of color and texture.

Enjoy this flavor combination, it's delicious!

CURRIED CHICKPEA SALAD

I love, Love, LOVE creamy chickpea salads! They are so addicting that I can literally sit and eat the whole bowl within a day. If you're familiar with my blog you already know about the Mashed Chickpea Salad and Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad. Now we are delightfully adding this curried chickpea salad to the collection. I honestly can't say that I love one more than the other. They each have a different flavor and are equally delicious in my book. But if you're a curry lover, you will be smitten over this salad! Inspired by a recent trip to Trader Joe's and saw their Curry Chicken Salad and knew it was time to make a vegan version. The ingredients are inspired by their ingredient list and it did not disappoint. I love the combination of curry with the sweetness of the raisins, along with the crunch from the carrots and cashews. It's a perfect blend of flavor and textures. The ingredients are simple so you can pull this together easily. It can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week making it easy to pull together to-go lunches or simply to have on hand for snacking. I can almost guarantee this will not be in your fridge for that long...it will be gone almost as soon as you make it! This salad can be served alone, with sliced red bell peppers as scoopers, on a bed of leafy greens or made into a sandwich. I encourage you to gather your ingredients and give this salad a try. I think you will find it to be as good as the others. In fact, it may just become your new favorite!

Curried Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 2 - 3 carrots (about 1 cup), diced
• 4 - 5 scallions/green onions (about 1 cup), sliced
• 1/2 cup raisins, dried currants or chopped dates
• 1/2 cup raw or toasted cashews
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup thinned hummus or tahini, vegan mayo would work too (see notes)
• juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• mineral salt & cracked pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine hummus with lemon juice, curry & garlic powder and a generous pinch of salt. Blend until combined. Set aside. (If adding vinegar or maple syrup as per the notes below, add to the hummus at this time.)

In a medium mixing bowl, add chickpeas and roughly mash about 1/2 of the beans with the back of a sturdy fork or potato masher. Add in the carrots, scallions, raisins, cashews and hummus, mix well to combine. Taste for flavor adding mineral salt and cracked pepper to taste.

Serve as is, with sliced red bell peppers as scoopers, on a bed of leafy greens, with crackers or made into a sandwich with bread of choice.

Serves 4-6.

Notes:

I love the sweetness that the dried fruit gives and could use up to 3/4 cup so each bite has a little sweetness to it. Feel free to add extra raisins, currants or dates.

If your hummus is on the thick side, thin it out with water until desired thinness. Using a small bowl add a couple rounded tablespoons of hummus with 1 tablespoon of water. Adding more of each as you go until you have a thinner hummus. Do the same if using tahini. Feel free to use more for a super creamy salad. If your measuring by tablespoons...8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup and about 11 tablespoons = 2/3 cups (technically 10 T + 2t).

You can try tweaking this recipe by adding a tablespoon or so of apple cider or white wine vinegar to the wet mixture. It will give it a slight tang. You may also like to try adding a tablespoon of pure maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of choice to add a little sweetness all around. Adjust curry, adding more or less, to suit your taste.

Try replacing the carrots with diced red bell peppers for color variation.

Enjoy!

Curry + Sriracha Roasted Chickpeas

For the love of chickpeas, curry & sriracha!

I love these little crunchy guys. I was revisiting my Curry & Sriracha Roasted Cauliflower and thought why not do a batch of chickpeas too. I'm out to keep the campaign going... 

'Eat More Chickpeas!' 

Fair enough. I know the chickens would agree too. I hear them cheering me on as I type...well not really, but if they knew my plan they surely would. These little roasted chickpeas are yet another great way to add this versatile little bean into your life. They are full of protein and fiber, they toast up nicely and take on a variety of flavors making for a great anytime of day snack. Skip the chips and roast up some chickpeas instead. They are so easy to make, you may want to double up the recipe as they can go pretty fast. Try adding these as salad and soup toppers too. Get creative with the chickpeas!

Curry + Sriracha Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas), or 1 can (15oz), drained, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 heaping teaspoon sesame, coconut or olive oil
• 1 heaping teaspoon sriracha
• 1 heaping teaspoon curry powder
• dash or two garlic powder
• mineral salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place ingredients in a medium size bowl and combine well to coat. Place in a single layer on a roasting pan or rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for about 40-45 minutes mixing them around every 15 minutes or so until chickpeas have a nice roasted look and are crispy. Keep a close eye on them in the last 10-15 minutes as some may burn. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes:

Keep your jarred chickpeas crunchy by adding some rice to bottom of your jar or container. They seem to soften up a bit once sealed away, the rice will help soak up extra moisture to keep them crunchy. You can also keep them in a container that let's air flow through so they can keep their crunch and be sure to eat within a few days. 

Feel free to add extra spice if you want it a little spicier. Also, next time around try mixing up the spices using some of these other alternative options: chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, thyme, smoked paprika, vinegar & salt, cinnamon, lime, garam masala, salt & cracked pepper, lemon pepper, nutritional yeast, etc...mix and match to whatever appeals to you.

P.S. Don't forget to drink plenty of water with your chickpeas...

Enjoy!

Curry Tomato Soup + Zucchini Noodles

Growing up I was a Campbell's tomato soup girl, thanks to my mom who introduced me to this soup while pairing it with spaghetti noodles. For a teenager it was easy, fast, filling and I just plain loved it! Sometimes I would add milk making it a creamy version but most of the time I just simply added water. Now that I'm a little more grown up, I decided to take my old favorite and give it a much deserved homemade redo with a grown up flair. My inspiration comes from this recipe at 101 Cookbooks and also the recipe from Love & Lemons (I liked the zucchini noodles in place of pasta...how perfect for this redo!)

For this soup you can either use fresh or canned tomatoes (preferably fire roasted if using canned). Add to that some sweet onion, curry, basil, a bit of salt, red pepper flakes, lime and some coconut milk/cream and you have yourself a very wonderful tomato soup that pairs well with zucchini noodles, or any noodle of your choice! You can also use farro, rice or some other grain instead of noodles like Heidi suggests in her recipe at 101 Cookbooks.

Simple, flavorful and good to the very last bite, or sip if you will. Once the zucchini noodles are gone you will be tilting the bowl to finish! I do recommend using a non rimmed bowl for this soup unless you want to finish with a spoon.

Curry Tomato Soup + Zucchini Noodles

Ingredients (serves four)

• 4 small/medium zucchini
• 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
• 3 cups tomatoes (about 5 large), diced or 1 can (28oz) tomatoes + juices (pref. fired roasted)
• 2 cups water or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon curry (red curry paste or yellow curry powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin, or to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, loosely packed
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• salt to taste
• 1 can (14oz) coconut milk or cream or 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• limes, to serve

In a large pot, heat oil on medium, add onions and saute for five minutes, or until softened. Add tomatoes, water, curry, basil, red pepper flakes and salt, turn heat to medium high, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. If you want a creamy soup, add the coconut milk/cream after 10 minutes of simmering, continue to simmer for five more minutes. Or you can do as I did and add a few spoonfuls to your serving bowl. Once done, taste for flavor adding extra spices as needed. 

Once soup is done, remove from heat, let cool a few minutes and puree using a submersion blender or food processor (if using a food processor you may have to puree in a couple batches). 

While soup is cooking or cooling, julienne or spiralize your zucchini. No need to cook as these will be served raw and warm a bit once the soup is served over top. 

Serve with lime wedges, fresh basil and/or oregano and coconut milk/cream. 

Notes: 

Replace the coconut milk/cream with one cup unsweetened almond milk if your watching you're fat intake, or use lite coconut milk instead of full fat. I tried with the almond milk and loved it but the coconut milk is my personal favorite.

Also, try using soba noodles, brown rice, farro, quinoa or rice noodles in place of the zucchini noodles for something different.

• • •

For the spiralizer, I personally use this one. I have also seen this one recommended by Gena Hamshaw of Choosing Raw. 

For the julienne tool, I use one like this. It will create the noodles you see below and store nicely in your utensil drawer.

Enjoy!

Curry Red Lentil Stew with Kale & Chickpeas

Coming to the end of fall and thought a nice lentil stew was in order. I happen to have all these ingredients on hand and decided to put them all together...it was a delicious success. I served this a couple ways. One was over a bed of rice, in a bowl all by itself. For the third way, I combined the leftover rice and stew together creating another wonderful way to enjoy leftovers. I topped my leftover stew with sliced avocado on top, I highly recommend doing this! Avocado is such a nice addition to almost any dish. All ways were hearty and filling while being full of wholesome nutrition. This recipe is easy to put together and is ready in under an hour.

I do have a few spices in here which include ginger, red pepper flakes, turmeric, curry and cumin. Feel free to simplify by just using curry and maybe another spice or two. You can still pull off a flavorful lentil stew with simply using curry alone as well. As with all recipes, adjust spices to taste adding anything more or less to your liking. 

Curry Red Lentil Stew with Kale & Chickpeas

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 - 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1 - 2 tablespoons curry, to taste
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• himalayan salt to taste
• 1 tablespoons red pepper flakes, optional 
• 1 can (15 oz) fire roasted tomatoes or two cups fresh tomatoes, diced
• 2 cups dry red lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans or 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 cups water or vegetable broth, + more as needed
• 3 cups kale, julienned
• juice of one lemon, optional
• cooked basmati, brown or jasmine rice, as much as needed

In large pot or stock pot, heat your oil over medium heat, saute onion and garlic until onion becomes transparent. Add spices, tomatoes, lentils, garbanzo beans and 6 cups of liquids, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add in the kale and optional lemon juice, continue to cook for 10 minutes or until kale softens and wilts.

Serve alone, over rice or grain of choice...

Enjoy!

CURRY LENTIL & GREENS SOUP

Soup season is underway. Still a little warm here but the sun is going down early making for cooler nights. This is a most delicious and nutritious meal on these cool nights, great for afternoons too. Use whatever greens you like...spinach, rainbow chard, beet greens...I had kale on hand for this round. Easy one pot dish ready in about an hour from start to finish. Will definitely be having this again....very flavorful with a hint of spiciness. Simply a lovely hearty soup for everyone to enjoy!

Edit: I have finally updated the pictures and recipe for this soup on 11/12/14. I didn't change much about the recipe except use less cumin. If you love cumin feel free to add 1 tablespoon. As an after thought I added a handful of currants to the soup. It was just what it needed, adding a bit of sweetness gives a nice contrast to the curry making it perfect! 

CURRY LENTIL & GREENS SOUP

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or 1/4 cup water (for water saute)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste or tomato paste
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 - 2 teaspoons cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 organic roma tomatoes, diced or 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes with juice
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup uncooked lentils or 2/3 cup lentils + 1/3 cup wild or black rice
• mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 6 cups water or vegetable broth (or combo)
• 3 potatoes, diced 
• 1 bunch or package greens (I used kale, julienned)
• raisins or currants, to garnish, optional

In large stock pot, heat olive oil/water over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onions, saute for 5 minutes. Add the curry/tomato paste and garlic, stir to combine and cook for 3 minutes. Add the curry, cumin and red pepper, mix to combine and cook for 3 more minutes. Add lentils, tomatoes, potatoes, then water/broth (in this order the tomatoes and potatoes won't splash), bay leaves, salt and pepper, bring to boil over medium high heat. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 35 min. Add the greens after the soup has been cooking for 15 minutes and continue to cook stir occasionally. Add additional water as needed, maybe up to 1 cup.

Serve with crusty bread.

Serves 4 - 6.

Notes:

Use any dark leafy greens you like....spinach, kale, swiss chard, broccoli raab greens, beet greens ect. Just be sure to julienne your greens if they are large leafy ones.

Discard the bay leaves, or at least don't eat them. I have one shown in the soup just for the photo.

Add in a handful of raisins or currants for some sweetness at the end of cooking. Or, you may rather add some to the top of your individual servings. It's highly recommended!

If you're a big fan of cumin, add 1 tablespoon like the original recipe calls for.

Adapted from E.A.T. Broccoli Raab Green Curry Lentil Soup

Spicy Thai Curry Corn Soup

Corn is still in season and I wanted to feature it in a dish since I love it so much. I eat it fresh off the cob, it doesn't even need to be cooked. I also have a new found love for curries these days. This was an excellent dish. The sweet corn pairs well with the spice from the red pepper flakes and curry powder while the coconut wraps it all up making this a great dish to come back to again and again. I would consider this a lightly cooked meal, the veggies, except onion, garlic & spinach, are crispy and close to fresh. It's also an easy dish to put together from start to finish...ready in about 30 minutes. You don't have to use all these vegetables either...I added the celery and mushrooms I had on hand just to use up. Five hearts for this soup!

Spicy Thai Curry Corn Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 ears of corn, cut off the cob
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• handful mushrooms, sliced
• 3-4 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 can lite coconut milk (15 oz)
• 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1 cup water
• juice of 1 lime
• himalayan salt & cracked pepper to taste
• large handful spinach (I used a spinach & arugula blend)

Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat and saute onions until translucent. Add garlic, corn, celery, bell pepper and mushrooms, cook a few minutes more. Add coconut milk, unsweetened non-dairy milk, water, curry powder, red pepper flakes, juice of lime, salt & pepper to taste and cook on medium heat for 10 min or until heated through. Add spinach and cook until softened to your liking. Test for flavors adding more spices if desired. Serve with lime wedges. You may even want to serve with some crispy bread to soak up the juices...

Enjoy !

CURRY & SRIRACHA ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

 I never used to care much for cauliflower a few years ago...but times have changed. Cauliflower is awesome! I especially love it roasted. I had a head of cauliflower in my fridge that I was going to do buffalo wing style but didn't feel like going through the whole ordeal so I decided to simply coat it with curry and sriracha and roast it up. It was fantastic on all accounts...taste, texture and color. I thought maybe it was going to be too spicy but it was perfect. I sat and ate the whole thing to myself enjoying this as a mono meal. You can of course use this as a side dish along with some rice or quinoa too. I absolutely love this dish and make it often! Simply delicious...

 

CURRY & SRIRACHA ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

Ingredients

• one head cauliflower
• 1-2 tablespoons sesame, coconut or olive oil
• 1 heaping tablespoon sriracha chili sauce
• 1 heaping tablespoon curry powder
• generous dash of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut cauliflower into florets and place in large bowl. Combine oil, siracha, curry and garlic powder in a small bowl. Pour over cauliflower and coat well, mixing for a minute or so. Place coated cauliflower in a single layer on a roasting pan lined with parchment paper or lightly greased with oil if needed. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. 

Serve alone, or over basmati, jasmine or brown rice, even quinoa would be excellent.

Feel free to add more curry, sriracha and garlic powder to your taste...

Enjoy !

Sriracha makes everything better...well, almost! Get your sriracha on :)