Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

adapted from:  http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/01/06/roasted-red-pepper-hummus/

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons tahini, stirred well
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 (14 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 teaspoon) (or add roasted garlic)
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons juice from 1 to 2 lemons

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini and 2 tablespoons olive oil. In the bowl of a food processor, process chickpeas, roasted red peppers, garlic, salt, cumin and cayenne until the mixture is almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl. With the food processor running, add the lemon juice through the feed tube in a steady stream. Scrape down the bowl and process for 1 minute. With the machine running, add the oil-tahini mixture through the feed tube in a steady stream. Scrape down the bowl and continue to process until the hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds.
Transfer hummus to a serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. Top with olive oil and some diced roasted red pepper for garnish.

Yields: 2 cups

Peanut Stew

adapted from : http://theveganstoner.blogspot.com/2011/07/peanut-stew.html#comment-form

1 small onion or 1/2 large onion
1 can crushed or stewed tomatoes
1/2 can garbanzo beans
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 potato
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp minced/crushed garlic

Peel and chop the potato and microwave for at least 3 minutes (4-5 probably better). Chop onion and cook in a medium sauce pan for a few minutes. Add crushed garlic and sautee for a minute or two longer. Add the tomatoes, peanut butter, and half can of garbanzo beans. Add potato and thyme. Bring to a boil then turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

verdict: pretty good. I only microwaved the potato for 3 minutes and ended up having to simmer for at least 25 minutes because it wasn't cooked. So I would microwave the potato longer next time.

note: I ended up buying stewed tomatoes, and had to add it after the onion but before everything else and mashed it since it had whole tomatoes. I would recommend getting crushed tomatoes.

Chana Masala

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/02/chana-masala/

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced (I used a jalapeno)
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (I used a quarter of this because my cayenne is extremely hot)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground (I left them whole)
1 tablespoon amchoor powder (see note)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups tomatoes, chopped small or 1 15-ounce can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small
2/3 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lemon (juiced) (see note; I used a whole lemon to swap for the amchoor powder)


Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, amchoor (if using it), paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.


Eat up or put a lid on it and reheat it when needed. Curries such as this reheat very well, later or or in the days that follow, should it last that long.


verdict:
Came out very well. Can't really complain about anything. Could probably have added a little more cayenne as it had only a tiny kick to it.

Sweet Potato Curry

http://www.includingcake.com/2012/01/sweet-potato-curry.html

Ingredients
3 tablespoons madras curry paste ( I used Laxmi Tandoori Paste)
1 medium onion- diced
2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped into chunks)
1 red pepper- sliced
1 15 oz can of chickpeas (or other white beans)
200g (6-7 ounce) bag of spinach
1 15 oz can of coconut milk ( I used lite)

Method

In a large sauce pan, fry the onion for few minutes in olive oil till soft. Add curry paste and fry for 1 min. Add the coconut milk, sweet potato, pepper and chickpeas and simmer for approx. 15 minutes until potato is cooked. Add spinach (fold spinach through the mixture in handfuls) simmer for a couple more minutes until spinach is wilted. If not liquidy enough add a little water. Serve immediately with rice or naan bread as desired .

Freeze left over portions in individual bags.

verdict:
very tasty. however, the recipe called for 4 sweet potatoes and I only used 2 which was plenty! After adding all the ingredients the liquid only about half covered all the veggies - which worried me - so I added (I think) a half cup of water. Mistake! It made it wayy too watery. Next time I would add 1/4 cup or less, although I would still have worries about the veggies simmering properly.

Once again another recipe that claims 4 servings....I would say this is maybe 5 or 6.

Also, I couldn't find the proper curry paste so I bought something else. I used 3 tablespoons and it had a pleasant (spicy) kick to it.

serving suggestion:
I ate it with some jasmine rice. It worked well to soak up the excess sauce i made when I added too much water.