Pumpkin Shrimp Curry

This creamy and savory blend is spiced just right.  If you prefer a vegetarian option, simply replace the shrimp with hearty lentils!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced onion

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 chopped plum tomato

1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup roasted butternut squash, roasted and diced

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Steamed rice

Cilantro

Lime zest

sauteed shallots

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in plum tomato and pumpkin purée; cook, stirring frequently, until pumpkin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry powder, and cayenne pepper; simmer for 20 minutes. Add butternut squash, shrimp, and lime juice. Simmer until shrimp are cooked and squash is warm. Serve with steamed rice. Top with cilantro, lime zest, and sauteed shallots.

Serves ~4

Recipe adapted from epicurious.com

Thai Carrot Soup

This creamy soup is packed with warming spices; the perfect starter to a hearty winter meal.  It can also serve as a main course when topped with pan-fried jumbo shrimp and accompanied by a green salad.  For a different variation, try swapping the carrots for other winter vegetables, such as sweet potatoes or butternut squash.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 clove garlic, finely chopped

3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger

2 teaspoon red curry paste, or more to taste

3 teaspoons light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

6 cups coarsely chopped carrots

3 cups low-sodium gluten-free vegetable broth 

1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk

1/2 can full fat coconut milk (about 7 ounces)

juice of one lime, plus extra lime wedges for serving

black pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry paste, sugar and salt and cook 1 minute longer. Stir in carrots, broth and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Puree with immersion blender until smooth.  Add lime juice and black pepper.  Taste, adjusting amount of red curry paste and lime if necessary.

Serve with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge.

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: about 35 minutes

Adapted from Whole Foods Market Website

Spicy Tomato Soup with Orzo and Kale

This excellent soup is adapted from the talented Olaiya Land, a PCC COOKS instructor. This is warming and hearty for any time of year- it makes an excellent first course for a pasta dish. Try making a pot over the weekend, this goes great for lunch taken to work during the week. Once the soup is cooled, portion it into reused to go tubs to be heated in a bowl at work, or purchase some glass bowls with lids from any home/kitchen store so you can microwave it in the bowl sans lid. The orzo can be replace with any whole grain you have on hand!

Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes (incld 10 min resting)

Ingredients:

2 Tblsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

2 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

15-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

6 cups stock or broth, chicken or veggie

1 bunch kale, stems removed, and torn into bite size pieces

½ bunch fresh cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped

1 cup uncooked orzo (or quinoa or barley)

¼ cup minced cilantro, or toasted pine nuts, for garnish

Instructions:

-In a heavy stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers (but not smokes). Add the onion, carrot, cumin, red pepper, and oregano, and saute for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

-Add tomatoes + their juice, and the stock. Stir, and simmer for 15 minutes.

-Meanwhile, bring a sauce pot filled with water to boil. Add the orzo, and boil until cooked al dente, about 15 minutes (barley will take much longer, start ahead of everything else). Drain, and set aside.

-Add the torn kale and the cilantro, and simmer for 10 minutes, until the kale is cooked and tender but is still green. Let sit for 10 minutes off the heat. Taste for salt and pepper; add as needed.

-If using pine nuts as a garnish, saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon constantly to prevent burning. You want them a toasty brown and quite fragrant.

-To serve, divide the orzo into the bowls (about a 1/3 cup of cooked orzo each), and ladle the soup over the top. Garnish with minced cilantro or toasted pine nuts.

Spicy Sweet Potato & Peanut Stew with Chickpeas

This recipe is borrowed from the very talented Dreena Burton.  Earthy spices, sweet potatoes, spicy ginger, and a bit of peanut butter pureed with whole, buttery chickpeas-- mmmmmm.....  Serve with brown rice or quinoa and a healthy salad.  

Yield: Makes 3-4 servings
Time: ~45 minutes

Ingredients: 

     2 teaspoons olive oil
     3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
     1 cup onions, diced
     1/2 cup celery, diced
     2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
     1/2 teaspoon sea salt
     2 teaspoons cumin seeds
     2 teaspoons ground coriander
     1/2 teaspoon paprika
     1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
     1 cup vegetable stock
     1 1/2 cups water
     3 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
     1 tablespoon peanut butter
     1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned is okay-- just be sure to rinse and drain first) 
     2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
        lime wedges to garnish (optional)
        fresh cilantro leaves to garnish (optional)


Directions: 


Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add sweet potatoes, onion, celery, garlic, salt, and all spices, and stir to combine.  Cover and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring once or twice. 
Add stock, water, and HALF of the ginger (reserving the rest).  Stir to combine, and increase heat to bring stew to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer for ~15 minutes or so, until the sweet potatoes have completely softened.
Stir in remaining ginger and peanut butter.  With an immersion blender (if you have one), briefly puree the soup until it is just smooth but keeps some texture.  If you do not have one, wait until the soup cools off a bit, transfer to a blender, blend until just smooth, and return to pot.  Make sure you don't fill the blender up more than about halfway at a time-- it is prone to splash out!  
Stir in chickpeas and allow to heat back up if you used a regular blender.  Then stir in lime juice and serve with the lime wedges and cilantro leaves.


Very slightly adapted from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, by Dreena Burton. (Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, BC, 2007). 

Earth Day: Mushroom, Bean & Barley Soup

Mmmmmmmmm.......the perfect soup to make on a lazy Sunday.  Nourishes not only the body, but the soul as well, clearing the mind with its delicious aroma, attracting passerbys for company, and reminding us of the abundance all around us.  Tender, hearty, delicious... 

Prep/Cook time: About 1 hour and 15 minutes
Yield: Makes ~ 6-8 servings, about 1 cup each

Ingredients: 

     1 tablespoon olive oil

     1 sweet onion, diced

     2 carrots, grated coarsely

     2 cups oyster mushrooms, sliced into bite sized pieces

     8 cups vegetable broth

     1 cup hulled barley, uncooked

     1 cup white Cannellini beans (pre-soaked if dry)

     ¼ teaspoon salt

     ½ teaspoon pepper

     2 teaspoons dried thyme

     2 teaspoons dried or

     1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

     2 teaspoons dried oregano

     2 teaspoons dried basil

     2 large bay leaves

     1½ cups kale, de-stemmed and torn into bite-size pieces

Directions: 

Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots and mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth, barley, beans, and all of the spices to the soup pot, turn the heat up to high, and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to a medium-low simmer. 

Allow to simmer, uncovered, for one hour, stirring occasionally, until barley is soft and somewhat fluffy.  In the last five minutes of cooking, add the kale.    

Tip:

Store leftovers in the refrigerator.  Reheat on stove top over low heat until warm, adding extra vegetable broth for desired consistency. 

Copyright 2011, K. McCauley, Original recipe