Butternut squash curry

Post Reply New Topic

Baked tofu is one of my go to recipes. Cut the tofu into 6 portions and season with balsamic vinegar. Bake in a pan with a little water for about 35 minutes. Great protein addition to a vegetable stir fry

Lentils is a staple. I eat them all the time and they are pretty easy. Soak the lentils in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Chop up onion, celery, garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Add other spices to taste. Soften the onions and spice in oil while the lentils soak. Combine and cook for another 20 minutes.

Yesterday, I had a black bean burrito for lunch (homemade) and indian-spiced lentils for dinner. I think I'm a bit overloaded in the legume department...

LOL, legumes and cabbage are my friends. I like black beans.

There was cauliflower in the other Indian dish last night...LOL.

I love legumes and cruciferous vegetables.

Are you a vegetarian?

No, but I am an eater of "less meat." Many of my meals are vegetarian, but not all. Most of the other meals are dishes where meat is in small pieces in a casserole or stew or something like that.

We just got back from a vacation, and my daughter declared while on vacation that she is now a vegetarian. So, since we've been back we've had almost no meat as a family.

I'm not sure that *I* will completely switch to vegetarian, but I am vegetarian-friendly... I can't do Vegan, though. I gave goats and chickens, so my fridge is filled with raw milk, homemade cheese and eggs.

Goats and chickens wouldn't work in my apartment.

Have you ever used a pressure cooker for legumes? I hear that the soaking time is radically reduced, and that the legumes come out fully cooked, but not mushy.

I have been tempted, but no. For one person, they are a bit much. The new pressure cookers are well designed and can do many things.

My pressure cooker is a stove-top model with a loose, weighted knob on top to control the pressure. It was about $100 cheaper than the automatic push-button models. I'm still trying to get used to it.

I am a coffee junkie. Every morning, I grind two scoops of beans and make coffee. Keeping the water just under a boil is the key. My electric kettle works very well. The ground coffee is put in a cone and place over a thermos mug. I slowly pour the water over the grounds, reheating the water when necessary.

I like the medium roast blends, less roast and more flavor. Vienna roast is my favorite.

Bitter melon is new to my diet. It is very bitter. Slice in half, remove the seeds and cut into segments. Parboil for 5 minutes and drain. I dice it up and add it to salads and stir fried.

The spinach looked good the other day. Fresh spinach needs to be washed and trimmed. I start with my standard base of onions, celery, garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Add a bunch of spice and saute it for about ten minutes. Putting a little water in the saute pan helps it cook faster. Spinach only takes a few minutes to wilt. I add it to the saute pan when the onions are ready. The spinach is added a few hand fulls at a time. It is mixed in until there is room for more and I repeat.

I like fresh spinach.

Chili peppers are wonderful. I use red chili flakes, dried ancho peppers, hot sauce and a wide variety of fresh chili peppers. Anything that is over 10,000 Scovilles is a bit much for me. I like the heat to be present, but not dominant.

I like chili peppers. I bought a bag of dried chili peppers once at an Indian market in the city. I use them when I make Indian sauces from scratch (which is not too often because it seems I never have *all* the spices needed at the same time!) Getting a whole bag of them proved to be a bit overzealous of me.