Chickpea & Quinoa Stew

Kim made this for her triumphant return to Book Group after living in London for three years. It's adapted and converted from Deliciously Ella Every Day by Ella Woodward. 

Original recipe or
How I made it:

1 1/2 lbs butternut squash or sweet potato, peeled, trimmed and cubed in 1-inch cubes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 t. ground turmeric (original recipe calls for 3 t. but I found that a bit much.)
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. chili powder
1 t. ground of fresh ginger
1/2 t. Aleppo pepper
1 14 oz can lite coconut milk
1 T. tomato paste
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 1/4 c. boiling water
1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 bag pre-washed spinach (7-8 oz., more if you like)
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Roast butternut squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment, drizzled with olive oil and salt, for approximately 30 minutes or until just tender.
2. In a large dutch oven, add garlic, turmeric, coriander, chili powder, Aleppo pepper, ginger, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Heat through and add butternut squash.
3. Add the rinsed quinoa and boiling water. Simmer on low for 15 minutes.
4. Add chickpeas. Simmer on low for 15 more minutes or until quinoa is fully cooked and plumped. 
5. Add spinach and simmer on low until wilted, about 5-10 minutes.
6. Season to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and naan. 

Vegan Babies aka Banana-Chocolate Brownie Bites

My continued search for vegan brownies for my vegan girl took a turn for the better this week when I hit on these delish brownies. This recipe is a mish-mash of several things I've tried or seen online.

Pulverize in a food processor or blender, until very, very smooth:
1 15-oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. ground flax seed whisked with 2 T. water
4 Tbs. cocoa
1 ripe banana
1/2 c. sugar (I used Turbinado)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules (optional but adds nice flavor)

Scrape into a bowl and fold in:
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Add:
3/4 cup chocolate chips (mini preferred)

Scoop into mini muffin tins that are well greased.
Bake for 23 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Makes 24 minis.

Puerto Rican Beans

It's a cold and nasty day in Chicago.  A perfect day to have a big pot of something on the stove...


From a recipe for "Sunday Beans" in the NYT mag that started with slab bacon, I veggie-ized this with the good counsel of Alex, the most awesome Puerto Greekanish cook you could ever meet, and the results garnered this compliment: "You would make any Puerto Rican abuela proud!" They are that delish.


The original recipe called for canned beans, but I subsequently made with dried beans with great results.

2 T olive oil
1 T annato seeds
1 med onion, peeled and diced
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 med red pepper, seeded and diced
2 large carrots, scrubbed and diced
2 T ground cumin
1 T ground coriander
juice of one large orange, plus enough pineapple juice to equal 1.5 cups total juice
2 T tomato paste
2 14-oz cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 14-oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
optional: dash of liquid smoke for bacon-ness without the bacon
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large pot. Sautee the annato seeds until the oil turns a deep red. Remove the seeds and add the vegetables. Cook until they have softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander and stir for about 2 minutes. Add the juice and tomato paste. Raise the heat until it reaches a simmer then lower the heat and reduce the liquid to 1/2 its volume. Add the beans, liquid smoke (if desired) and enough water to simmer, if necessary. Simmer for at LEAST 30 minutes, preferably for a couple of hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with rice.

Terrible picture but those are the beans at 9 o'clock.