Warm Chick Pea Stew - 7 Meals for under $15

My challenge in the 7 Meals Under $15 was the Warm Chickpea Stew. The first time I tasted chickpea stew was at Gjelina on Abbot Kinney in Venice, and as a thick vegetarian stew goes that was rated very high on my yummy radar. Then I decided to take gluten out of my diet and I couldn't eat the Gjelina's stew because there's couscous in it. When I saw this recipe I jumped at the chance to make it gluten free, this recipe has brown rice instead of couscous.

It was a beautiful morning this morning in Topanga. I woke up early and after a little breakfast I felt inspired to make the stew. I had all the ingredients at my fingertips. In my usual way, I altered the recipe just slightly to match my own particular taste, but not too much because I wanted to stick as closely as possible to the original recipe.

While I was chopping and prepping and thinking about how fun this blog thing is, my phone rang and it was the wonderful Vicki herself, perfect timing, since she's the reason I'm blogging these days. Vicki and I chatted through most of my preparation and cooking, with Vicki on speaker on the kitchen counter while I chopped and stirred. (It's a fun way to cook!)

Here's the recipe, enjoy!

Warm Chickpea Stew

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 75 mins

Serves: 8

1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 1/2 cup diced onions (2 medium onions)

3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks)

2 diced medium carrots (carrots were not in the orig. recipe, I added them)

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 (28 oz) can organic diced tomatoes and their juices

3 cups organic vegetable stock (the orig recipe called for chicken stock, I prefer vegetable stock) [note: if store bought, buy low sodium]

20 oz can of organic chickpeas, rinsed

14 oz can of organic lentils, rinsed

1/2 cup short grain brown rice

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp fresh organic lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I used 6 fresh basil leaves instead)

1 bayleaf (I added this to the recipe)

Heat the olive oil in a medium stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions, celery and carrots and cook for approx. 4 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices, stirring well. Add the vegetable stock, lentils and chickpeas. Bring to a boil.

Add the rice and salt and lower the stew to a simmer. Cook covered for 60 minutes or until the rice is tender. Add the basil leaves and lemon juice, continue to cook for a couple more minutes. Serve in warmed soup bowls, you can garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs if you wish.

When I served the stew for lunch today I served it warm and not hot, so we could really enjoy all the delicious spices. It was a perfect Saturday lunch, but I would serve it anytime. ENJOY!

Joan's notes: This was a quick and easy recipe and within an hour we were enjoying a bowl of yummy nutritious stew. Next time I will crumble a mild goat cheese on top when serving the stew. While I was chatting with Vicki this morning I challenged myself next time to cook the chickpeas and lentils from scratch rather than using canned ingredients, this will add to the cooking time of course, but these can easily be cooked the day before and refrigerated until I need them. I rinsed both the lentils and chickpeas under cold water which removed some of the sodium added in the canning process, but I am curious to know how different this stew will be with home cooked ingredients.

Till next time.

Organic Kale Salad - The Recipe

Joan's Favorite Organic Kale Salad

1 head of organic kale (the curly kind)

Olive oil

1 orange

1 grapefruit

1 pomegranate

Handful of the following raw and unsalted seeds:

Sesame seeds

Pumpkin seeds

Flax seeds

Sunflower seeds

Wash the kale and strip/cut the leaves from the stems. With a sharp knife chop the kale leaves to fine bite size pieces (the finer the better) and place in a glass bowl. Add olive oil, approx 2 tablespoons to the kale leaves and knead the oil into the leaves making them tender and soft. Add the juice of 1 fresh orange and knead it into the leaves as well. Do not add the oil and orange juice at the same time, you will not achieve the right tenderness. Set the bowl aside. Seed the pomegranate and add the seeds to the salad. Add the raw seeds of your choice. Mix it all together and enjoy and see who fights for the last little bits left in the bottom of the bowl.

Organic Kale Salad

When I was growing up in Ireland we would eat kale (curly kale) once or twice a year around Halloween. My mom would cook it and chop it fine and add it to our mashed potatoes (this dish was called colcannon), she bribed my brother and I to eat it by wrapping coins in tin foil and placing them underneath the colcannon and we weren't allowed to dig for the money, we had to eat the colcannon until we reached the silver gifts.

I have to say I didn't enjoy colcannon at all, but it sounds delicious to me now. I re-discovered kale about 2 years ago, as many of my friends did too and I started to explore different recipes and this one is my favorite. In fact I love my kale salad so much that I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I can't get enough of it. This picture was taken at my birthday party last weekend. Although my hubby didn't want me cooking anything for my own bday, I was very happy to make my salad.
Here's the recipe:

Joan's Favorite Organic Kale Salad
1 head of organic kale (the curly kind)

Olive oil

1 orange

1 grapefruit

1 pomegranate

Handful of the following raw and unsalted seeds:

Sesame seeds

Pumpkin seeds

Flax seeds

Sunflower seeds

Wash the kale and strip/cut the leaves from the stems. With a sharp knife chop the kale leaves to fine bite size pieces (the finer the better) and place in a glass bowl. Add olive oil, approx 2 tablespoons to the kale leaves and knead the oil into the leaves making them tender and soft. Add the juice of 1 fresh orange and knead it into the leaves as well. Do not add the oil and orange juice at the same time, you will not achieve the right tenderness. Set the bowl aside. Seed the pomegranate and add the seeds to the salad. Add the raw seeds of your choice. Mix it all together and enjoy and see who fights for the last little bits left in the bottom of the bowl.

When I made this salad last weekend I added the juice and fruit of a delicious sweet white grapefruit that I bought at the farmers market, which turned my salad into a delicious brunch salad.

Prep in advance: I usually wash / prepare 2 heads of kale at once so that I can be prepared to make another salad the next day. I save the prepared leaves in a glass container in the fridge till I need it. Unlike a salad made with lettuce, kale salad tastes even better the next day when the leaves and seeds have soaked up the citrus juices. Kale leaves can also be added to veggie soups, yum.

Unlike when I was a child, my 14 year old girlie will sit down with a big bowl of kale salad and finish it to the last bite, I feel pretty good about this and I don't have to add money wrapped in tin foil to bribe her, she sometimes helps to seed the pomegranate.

This is a healthy, nutritious way to eat your greens and seeds.

7 Meals for under $15

I was breezing through my email and What to my wondering eyes did appear, but a miniature post with 7 quick recipes under $15 (well, it started out like the poem).

I really like a lot of these recipes. And, I'm all for a vegetarian dinner at least once a week.

I, like Kerry, enjoy CSA fruits and veggies. Mine come straight to my door every other Monday in a box from my milkman. It's like a Christmas present every week. My teen son looks forward to it. He runs out to bring it in and almost always takes something to school. It's these Monday nights when I really get down to inspired menu planning, but I digress.

Here's the recipe list.

I think we'll each try one or tow and post as we go. Kind of a modified Julie and Julia deal. But, on a budget and not French and there is no Julie here.

Let us know if you try one and how it works out for you!

1. Warm Chick Pea Stew

2. Hearty Matzo Ball Soup

3. Hungarian Goulash

4. Falafel “Buffet"

5. Pulled Pork Tacos

6. Vegetarian Dahl

7. Osso Bucco 

   Photo from Cooking Light magazine

Organic Vegetarian Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.

I love making soups and stews, particularly in the winter. It must be the Irish in me. I have found though that my family will enjoy a delicious bowl of soup anytime of the year. Whatever vegetable is in season I will take advantage and make soup and freeze it. Of course living in Southern California, other than heirloom tomatoes which come and go, most other veggies are available all year round. Butternut squash is one of those and happens to be a family favorite of ours. Whether we just roast it, puree it or make into a soup, we all seem to love this particular fruit/squash/veggie.

I found this recipe in a Williams-Sonoma Soup for Supper cookbook years ago and I have enjoyed exploring and changing this recipe over the years and each time it seems to be better than the last. I like to make this soup on a Sunday, serve it with dinner on Sunday evening and then freeze the rest for later in the week or another time.

Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour for baking squashes.

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Organic Ingredients:

2 medium to large butternut squashes (1/12-2 lb) each

2 celery stalks

2 carrots

2 yellow onions

8 fresh sage leaves, shredded

2 - 3 oz of hazelnuts

3 tablespoons of butter (sometimes I substitute olive oil)

Organic low sodium vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Roasting the squash makes it easier to peel and deepens the flavor of its flesh, making a richer, more flavorful soup. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Wash each of the squashes skin thoroughly before cooking. Using a sharp knife cut each squash lengthwise in half, scoop out the seeds (seeds can be saved and roasted later and enjoyed as a healthy snack). Place the squash cut side down in a glass pyrex or similar dish, add approx 2 cups of water to the dish so that it's just coming up the side of the squash but not covering it. The thing I love about this recipe is I can cook the squash the day before or hours in advance of actually making the soup, just pop it in the oven while you are busy around the house, it's actually better because then it's cool enough to handle. Cook the squashes for about an hour or until tender or soft. Remove from the oven, save the water in a bowl or pot and set aside (this will be used as stock in your soup). Once it's cooled down scoop the pulp into a bowl and set aside.

While the squashes are cooling, in a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, celery and carrots, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent, 8-10 mins. Add the sage leaves (I always have organic sage growing in my herb pot). Add the squash pulp to the pot, as well as the water/stock you set aside from roasting, then add enough vegetable stock to cover the ingredients in the pot. Bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally to avoid burning the veggies and reduce heat to a nice simmer, continuing to stir occasionally, I like to cook it slow (although the recipe says 20 mins of cooking time) I tend to let it simmer longer and slower I think this adds to the flavor of the soup. While the soup is cooking I put the hazelnuts in a food processor and grind them well till there are no hard pieces of nuts, so just before a powder consistency. Once the soup is cooked, working in batches, puree the soup in a blender and with each batch being pureed add some of the hazelnut so that it all gets blended together. The blended soup has a rich and creamy consistency. Return to a clean saucepan over low heat and serve in warmed bowls.

We usually have a delicious salad and some warmed bread. I don't add salt or pepper in the cooking process of this soup and in fact I don't add seasoning at all to mine when I eat it, I personally don't think it needs it, let me know what you think.

If I'm going to freeze some of the soup which I usually do I will fill 16 oz paper containers like the one in the picture which I have found at either Surfas in Culver City (they don't always carry them though) or at Smart and Final stores, don't forget to buy the lids to fit. I write the name of soup, making a note that it has nuts (in case I am serving someone who is allergic to nuts) and the date on the lid and put it in the freezer for a future lunch or dinner. When you take it out of the freezer, with a sharp knife cut a line down the side of the container at the seam and you will be amazed at how easy it is to peel the paper right off the frozen soup and pop the soup in a pot over low heat so it doesn't burn, it takes about 10 mins. to warm the frozen soup and voila.

Recycle the paper container and lid.