Slow Cooked Red Curry

Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the WorldGourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World

In the 'words' of LittleOne, "Mmmmmm"
(okay, so she has like five words/sounds, I picked the one that worked..)
 
We had been craving the savory flavors from our favorite local thai restaurant for what felt like weeks before we realized that life is just too 'busy' right now. If either of us would be lucky enough to get home from work early enough to make it to Cy's, the other would inevitably be stuck in the traffic, snow, office or hospital fuming with jealousy and imagining the other's Fusion Curry. What's a curry-craving lady to do?

We had tried our hand at homemade curries in the past with several semi-successes, but the latest from a gem of a new library release (see "adapted from" below) was a wonderful new addition to the permanent recipe file. The added bonus? Sweet Potatoes!!

An aside (similar to the lentil tangent..) - Sweet Potatoes are another one of those wonder-foods that we try to use frequently, feed to the LittleOne often, and hopefully this summer harvest our own. Why? Well first off, they're delicious.. but equally important: their beta-carotene content is unmatched! You'll notice this recipe has FULL FAT coconut milk; this is important to not substitute. First for the texture, but second because research has shown that 3-5 grams of fat in a meal is required to reap substantial update of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes. The same is true for carrots, which is how I justify dipping mine in gobs of guacamole. Also, we tend to leave the skins on our potatoes when we cook with them (fiber, people!!). In this particular recipe you won't even realize the skins are still intact, but if you have extremely picky eaters in your house, feel free to peel them.

Ingredients:
2 pounds small red potatoes, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk (regular style, not 'light')
2-3 tablespoons red curry paste (the more curry, the more spice)
2 tablespoons agave nectar (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 large sweet potato, cubed into 1 inch pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen green peas
salt to taste

Preparation:
Scrub potatoes, cube, and place them in the slow cooker with sliced onion. 

In a small bowl, mix coconut milk, red curry paste, agave and soy sauce together and pour over the potatoes. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours, or until the potatoes are slightly tender when pierced with a fork.

Add the sweet potato, cover, and continue to cook on low for another 2-3 hours, until all of the vegetables are tender.

Add peas and salt to taste.
Continue to cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes longer.

Serve over rice. And if you're fancy, you can garnish with cashews and/or fresh cilantro. As you can see, we're either not fancy or we were out of garnishes (turns out, the answer is 'all of the above'). 

Adapted From: The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker

Lentil Tacos

Four years ago, I could not have picked a lentil out of a lineup, muchless provide any guidance on cooking one. Not that I would now consider myself any type of legume expert, but let's just say that more often than not there is a lentil leftover of some sort in our over-crowded, stainless-steel (translation: fingerprinted) refrigerator.

What are they? Technically, lentils are a legume - rather than a bean, they actually grow similiar to a pea. Most grocery stores stock standard brown lentils and red lentils; however I was lucky(?) enough to drop a pretty penny on some beautiful french green lentils while visiting Whole Foods in a substantially-sized city earlier this week. I like to buy them in bulk because they are generally cheaper and there is less packaging waste, however one pound bags are also often found in the supermarket aisle near the beans.

So, why lentils? They are a quick fix for many of the nutrients my nearly-vegetarian diet is missing. Lentils are high in protein, iron, B vitamins and folate. All important, many tough to acquire from a heavy vegetable diet like ours. But more importantly to me personally, they are very high in cholesterol-lowering dietary fiber and prevent blood sugar peaks after a meal. As someone with uncharacteristically high cholesterol and some other fun genetic maladies for another day, I need to be diligent about such things. Crafting health benefits into things that also taste wonderful is an added bonus.  

The other nice thing about this recipe is that it's a conversation starter and a crowd pleaser. The Husband loves it. The Little One uses her little fingers to pick them up one by one. A few of our more carnivorous friends claim that they do not even miss the meat; however in the nature of full disclosure, they could have just been being kind! If you're interested in additional favorite lentil recipes or unsolicited nutritional advice, be in touch! And without further ado..

Ingredients:
1 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup fresh salsa

For assembly:
(our creations usually depend on what is in the pantry, but a few ideas) 
-Tortilla shells
-Fresh guacamole
-Taco sauce
-Lettuce
-Shredded cheese

Preparation:
In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender.
Add lentils, chili powder, cumin, and oregano; cook for an additional minute.
Add broth; Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until lentils are tender.
Uncover, cook for 6-8 additional minutes or until slightly thickened.
Fold in your salsa. 
Assemble tacos and enjoy!


Source: Unknown. Passed along by a wonderful friend.

Lentils