Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Cauliflower Pepper Curry

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hello beautiful friends!

so sorry for being quite MIA in the past week. a fatal combination of house guests, laziness, and a renewed inspiration to make work had culminated in a bit of stagnation, cooking-wise.

but as a peace offering, i have the recipe from the cauliflower pepper curry that i made for the second time in a week. so take that as an endorsement; this stuff is good.

this recipe is a great illustration of one of my favorite food policies: "more pepper". (the others being, 'more mustard', and 'more garlic'.)



Cauliflower Pepper Curry

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 8 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 can of coconut milk (14 oz)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp peppercorns, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon curry leaves
  • 1 bunch spinach, chopped
  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped
  • 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, cubed

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cover, until the seeds have stopped popping. Add cumin seeds and cook until browned (1 min).
  2. Stir-fry cauliflower until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for an additional one minute.
  3. Pour in coconut milk and scrape bottom of pan to release spice. Stir in salt, peppercorns, and curry leaves. Reduce and simmer for about 5-8 minutes, until cauliflower is tender.
  4. Add spinach, continue to simmer until cooked (about 5 minutes).
  5. Stir in tomatoes. Raise heat to medium-high, and boil uncovered for 3-5 minutes until tomato is warmed, and some of the cauliflower has broken down to thicken the sauce.
  6. Serve over basmati rice, if desired.


Bon appetit! Was a great, simple meal that could be left unattended for stretches of time. Perfect for listening to the State of the Union address and chipping away steadily at a cable-knit scarf that I have been working on since December.

There are a lot of things that I could say about my feelings (or lack thereof) on politics, and political leaders, and rhetoric, and public relations. Clearly, there are many things about our nation's shared situation that are less than ideal, and things about my own situation that are the same. In some ways, the last year has caused me to become a skeptic. Skeptical about things working out, about the seemingly inexorable slide of our country towards desperation, about things falling apart more than they come together.

As I made dinner tonight, I was a bit surprised to find that despite these precious feelings, I now have more gratitude than ever before. I no longer feel helpless. I no longer feel as if the things that happen to me are solely a result of unpredictable, inscrutable factors.

I could focus on the negative. I could grouse about tuition costs, about squeezing in hours at work at any given opportunity, about always rushing endlessly from place to place with burning calves and lungs. About millions of things, really. But the truth is, I don't. I'm recklessly, stupidly grateful to have a job, to have the opportunity to work and be paid in exchange, to have faith in my ability to do things well, in good friends and in a warm cat on my lap. I'm grateful for having the will and health to put in the effort to make food for myself, to experience the satisfaction in preparing it for subsequent consumption. In exercising a conscientiousness and a certain joy in converting raw ingredients into something worth having.

There are a lot of cliches that exist about the therapeutic effect of making food, about cooking to save yourself. I think I can buy into that to some degree, but it goes deeper than that. It's not just cooking that's saving myself. It's me. I'm saving myself. And small things, small things are saving me.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

groceries, week 3


oof, it's been awhile. life has been busy! these are the groceries from two sundays ago - didn't do a formal grocery shopping trip last sunday since i was in a frenzy at the prospect for cooking for 7.

as it turns out, i'm impossible at holding onto receipts for longer than a week, but i do remember that the bill for everything above came out to about $33. most of the last week was just making burritos and enchiladas in various forms, since i challenged myself to finish an entire package before they slowly withered into submission in my fridge crisper drawer. you know what i'm talking about.

but the short list (sans individual prices). bought more items from trader joe's than normal, so it stretched my dollar a bit more than usual.
  • whole wheat flour
  • tortillas
  • red cabbage
  • yellow popcorn
  • green onions
  • italian parsley
  • avocado
  • portabella mushrooms
  • crimini mushrooms
  • yellow sweet onions
  • mexican blend cheese
  • coconut milk
  • artichoke hearts
  • soy sauce
  • tomato and roasted pepper soup
  • cauliflower
  • basil
the last week and a half have yielded a lot of mediocre food and initial lukewarm results from new recipes. you can't win 'em all, eh? lots of deadlines and readings and makings have also led to a lot of dinners consisting of random vegetables and popcorn. having company for the weekend also threw off the clear delineation between weekly budgeting, but business should be resuming to normal soon!

there was a single notable success with a pepper curry recipe, which i will have to post later (and cross my fingers that i remembered to take pictures of it. all of these meals lately have been blending together!)

Monday, January 18, 2010

French Onion Shrimp Enchiladas


Alright, so you might as well pencil these in the day after you make the French Onion Soup. It has been my experience that every soup recipe always yields slightly less than it purports to make. Slightly less, in that it is always, always just slightly less than a full bowl that you could justify sitting down to without making something else to accompany it.

Needless to say, after the previous night's endeavors, I wasn't really in the mood to put forth a whole lot of effort into dinner. And then it dawned on me - enchilada sauce.


French Onion Shrimp Enchiladas
(makes four)
INGREDIENTS
  • 3/4 pound coldwater shrimp (I used frozen, but obviously you can use fresh)
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 4 medium-large tortillas, slightly warmed
  • 3/4 cup leftover french onion soup (see this recipe)
  • 1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Saute shrimp over medium hear in medium-large pan until fully cooked. Add onion and continue to cook, until onion becomes slightly transparent. Add spices and black beans. Simmer for a few more minutes, and salt and pepper to taste.

Scoop a few spoonfuls of soup into the bottom of a dish (I used a 9-in pie dish).

Roll the filling into tortillas, and place into pan. Spoon the remaining soup over the tops, making sure to drench all of the enchiladas evenly. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 min, or until the cheese is bubbling and becoming brown.


Perfect. A little spicy from the taco-esque seasoning a little sweet from the caramelized onions. I was a little worried that the flavors would clash a little bit, but a lot of the mushroom flavoring from the soup was absorbed by the cheesy topping - and the onions inside and out of the enchiladas brought everything together pretty nicely. If I were to make it again (and if I had had some on hand), I'd suggest using Gruyere cheese - a little throwback to the more traditional french onion soup.

Vegan French Onion Soup


As a kid, you learn quickly that a good rule to live by is, "if it takes good, it is probably bad for you".

But of course, as we grow older, we learn another valuable life lesson: "there are always exceptions to the rule", and "rules are made to be broken".


Vegan French Onion Soup

INGREDIENTS:
  • 8 cups water
  • 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, cut in half
  • 2 stalks of celery, cut in four pieces
  • 1 large carrot, cut in four pieces
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5 cloves of garlic in skin, cut in half or smashed
  • 1 tablespoon Tamari soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 large onions, thinly sliced (about 10 cups)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry thyme
    salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste



INSTRUCTIONS:

Start with the broth. Combine water, mushrooms, celery, carrots, peppercorns, the bay leaf, and crushed garlic cloves in a large pot. Simmer covered, for about an hour.

Meanwhile, slice onions. Saute with olive oil in a medium-large saucepan over medium-high heat, until they start to turn translucent. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Add 1 tsp sugar, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onions start to caramelize. Be careful near the end not to stir too often or too infrequently - if you stir too often, the onions won't brown, and if you stir too infrequently...well...you know what happens. Once the onions have turned brown, add crushed garlic and thyme.

Once broth is done simmering, strain the vegetables out of the stock. Add the stock to your pan of (now caramelized) onions.

Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Okay. Admittedly, this recipe takes awhile, about an hour and a half, with all of the simmering and caramelizing action that is going down. So don't attempt this recipe after a fifteen hour work day and your stomach is threatening to digest itself. In fact, I think it's pretty safe to say that it is probably a "strictly weekend" sort of recipe.

But think of the rewards! Don't lie, I know I had you guys at "ten cups of onions".

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

vegan fudge brownies


hello friends!

so this is the point (cerca week two, to be optimistic or cynical, depending on your point of view) in the year when new years resolve is starting to weaken a bit.

though i am certainly far from throwing in towel, i'm starting to sense to feast-famine pattern of postings that is likely to start occurring, with emphasis on "feast" on these things called weekends, during which i occasionally manage to capture that rare beast known to some as "spare time".

ok, there will be no more gratuitious use of quotation marks for the rest of this post, so you can put your rotten tomatoes away.

what i am really getting at here is that though i am cooking consistently throughout the week, i will definitely need to make a more protracted effort to make sure that i'm posting in some semblance of real-time - with a liberal definition of being within the week.

but, as a show of my good feelings (and attempt at appeasement), here is the most amazing brownie recipe i know of. say what you will about vegan foods, but these brownies are by far the best i have encountered. something about the creative substitutions for dairy that really does the trick if you are into the idea of dense baked goods - which i am certainly in favor of. caution - these are heavy. as in, can use as a doorstop heavy. or, can eat for breakfast and be sustained for a good few hours heavy. not that i've done that for the past two days, or anything.


Vegan Fudge Brownies

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 16 oz package silken tofu
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup dark cocoa powder
  • 1 cup Earth Balance

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Puree tofu until smooth (in food processor, blender, or by hand). Add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla.
  3. Melt margarine in a saucepan over low heat. Whisk in white sugar and cocoa powder until smooth.
  4. Combine cocoa mixture with tofu mixture until well incorporated.
  5. Fold in flour.
  6. Pour into pan, bake at 350, until toothpick comes out clean (usually around 30-40 min).

Voila! In terms of difficulty and time commitment, probably not too much more or less than your standard recipe (unless your recipe consists of: opening betty crocker package, adding eggs and water, and baking. and even then, still not too much more).

But trust me. It's worth it. Just a note, you might want to make some coffee during the last five minutes while these babies are baking to have with your first piece.

(You can thank me later.)

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

feelings


Sunday, January 10, 2010

groceries, week 2


whew! one week over, with success! just barely eeked in under $40, having had to run to grab some chocolate sorbet and more Earth Balance, which put me at $38.12. not bad, considering that included in this week's menu was a couple of group meals - one for 8, one for 3. i'm realizing now that i didn't document either of these meals for the sake of hospitality - which is something that guests in the future will just need to get over.

this week's recipes of note:
banana bread
spinach quiche
cajun mac n' yease
mushroom and barley pie
breakfast salad
curried quinoa


a few of these are still works in-progress (or I didn't photograph them!), so the actual recipes should be making a reappearance here sooner or later.

this week's groceries:

Madison Market:
fuji apples - $1.24
kidney beans - $0.99
yellow onions - $2.46
crimini mushrooms - $2.69
roma tomatoes - $3.16
tofu - $2.29
earth balance - $3.49


Trader Joe's:
sumatra coffee - $4.99
arugula - $2.29
artchoke hearts - $1.99
pizza sauce - $2.29
pizza dough - $1.29
mozarella - $4.29


Total: $33.46


Off to do some more Sunday baking. Hint: chocolate and tofu is involved. Get stoked.

Mushroom & Barley Pie


everyone has at least a few staple foods that they always have on hand. for some people, it's Top Ramen. Others have more nutritious go-to items, like carrot sticks and granola bars. Some people (and these friends are the best kind to have!) always can be counted on for having freshly ground coffee or beer on hand.

my current cooking repertoire is well-perfected, but admittedly...unambitious. pasta, rice, and quinoa are my go-to items, usually augmented with an inordinate amount of garlic (by other people's standards), clams, or a handful of standard vegetables like onions, tomatoes, or mushrooms.

SO. the resolution is to start trying recipes that contain most of the staples that i already have on hand, supplemented with a few other inexpensive ingredients.

i picked this recipe because i have always had a soft spot for savory pies. i blame reading this on reading too many redwall books as a kid - i remember skipping over lengthy descriptions of battle scenes to drool over the descriptions of the epic feasts that the animals would throw after they inevitably vanquished whatever bad guy(s) was in town. (am i alone on this? am i a nostalgic idiot sometimes? these questions are beside the point.)

but i digress. point is, i have a lot of spare time to spend on the internet, i may or may not have googled "redwall pasty recipe" because i'm subject to incredibly persuasive and completely random food cravings...and here we are.


Mushroom & Barley Pie
[adapted wildly from a smorgasbord of sources, most prominantly from What Smells So Good? and Smitten Kitchen]

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup barley
6 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head roasted garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 (1-pound) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon water and a pinch of salt

The night before: soak barley in 6 cups water. The recipe can use pearl barley, but using hulled barley leaves the bran intact/is less processed/has more fiber, blah blah. If you use pearl barley, you don't have to presoak.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring barley (still in water that you presoaked in) to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender (around 1 hour). Drain and cool. (Reserve the barley water! You can water it down, add a little bit of honey, and drink it on its own.)

2. Take pastry out of the freezer to thaw.

3. While barley or farro cooks, cook onion in large saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms. Cook on medium-high heat until mushrooms are soft (about 5-8 minutes). Cool.

4. Add barley to mushroom/onion mixture, then add feta and roasted garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

6. Roll out thawed pastry into two 9x12" sheets. Spoon filling over pastry, leaving a 1" border.

7. Brush border with egg wash, then place the second sheet on top. Press edges to seal, then crimp edges. Brush the top of the pie with remaining egg wash. Cut steam vents on top of pie.

8. Bake on middle rack of preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or under pastry is puffed and brown.

In the pie that I had made, I'd added some sun-dried tomatoes, which turned out to be an awful idea - the tomatoes completely overpowered the other flavors, so I've omitted it in the recipe above.

Another thought is that though I had been quite conservative with some of the ingredient quantities from previous recipes, it still made an enormous pie. An enormous pie that my vegan roommate can't really help me finish. So, if any of you out there are keen on having any of the leftovers and are willing to come to me, you know who to call.


Also, today is FINALLY when I'm allowed to shop for groceries again. Hallelujah!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

spinach breakfast salad


Don't get me wrong. I love breakfast foods. I love breakfast foods with a reverence and respect that is usually reserved for dudes with golden halos. Crispy almost-burned hash browns give me shivers. I am probably never going to procreate, lest I be tempted to trade my first-born for a perfectly browned pancake.

That being said, there is one drawback to the all-American breakfast. Once you're done with your Denny's slammer breakfast of pancakes, sausages, eggs, biscuits and gravy, all dunked liberally in butter, you're only prepared to do one thing: go back to bed.

Being as I had a manic day ahead of me, I didn't have the time to indulge in the wonderful world of breakfast. What I did have, however, was a bag filled with freezer-burned vegetarian sausage patties, some spinach that was on the verge of wiltage, and an assortment of random vegetables.

So, in the spirit of experimentation, extreme hunger, and low expectations (I should have thought to snap a "before" picture of the sausage patties - they were in pretty sad shape) - I threw it all together. And it was delicious! So delicious, in fact, that I tried making it again, this time with a freshly opened package of veggie sausage. And guess what? It wasn't as good. The excess water that came from the melted freezerburn actually resulted in the creation of some meatlike gravy that became the perfect substitute for salad dressing. No olive oil required. So file this one away as a recipe to salvage the saddest foods.


Spinach Breakfast Salad

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 cups spinach, chopped
  • 1/4 cup carrots, preferably shredded (I only had baby carrots)
  • 3 stalks of green onions
  • 1 tomato
  • 5 sausage patties, with freezerburn (I used Morning Glory veggie sausage, but can obviously be of the Real Meat variety as well)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Cook sausage on medium heat until brown. Remove, leaving liquid in pan.

Chop all vegetables and sausage. Throw all the veggies into the pan, and toss to coat.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.


So yeah. Not the fanciest of recipes. But, I think the advertising euphemism would be, 'easy'. Takes ten minutes to make, tops. And let's face it, when was the last time that you've ever seen a recipe that called for x recipe, freezerburned? Yeah. Didn't think so.


p.s; sorry for the dearth in posts. am actually cooking quite a lot, but haven't had the time to update. will be catching up, today and tomorrow!

Monday, January 4, 2010

rum balls


I was not having a good day.

Sunday, (that is, yesterday), I woke up late. Normally, this would not be a big deal, all things considered. Though I'm notorious for cramming my schedule to the brim with various obligations, I consider my Lazy Sundays to be sacred, serious business.

Except for this Sunday, which was, non-coincidentally, the day before the first day of winter quarter. This is also normally not a big deal. One of the many perks of being an art student is, well...work is play. There are no tests, no menial assignments, no group activities that inevitably require spending far too much time in the vicinity of the Axe-wearing population. Wait, did I say 'wearing'? I actually meant, 'drenched'. In fact, just working on my thesis work these past couple of quarters has, in effect, totally divorced me from the academic life cycle of the typical college student. Until I decided to start and finish a minor in two quarters.

On this Sunday, I not only needed to order textbooks (because, oops, forgot that Real college classes require those), and try to remember what it's like to be an actual college student - I also had signed up to make dinner for friends. Eight friends. It wasn't until after the invitations had been haphazardly issued that I realized: my apartment doesn't even have eight chairs. However, what it lacked in furniture, it compensated for in filthiness (a combined effort from: my propensity for cooking complicated meals, evenings that often result an impressive volume of recyclables, and a cooperative laziness in that whole "taking-out-the-trash" activity that I hear that mature, grown-up people do sometimes).

Needless to say, there were about five or six full trips worth of trash and recyclables to take out. In my slightly deranged haste, I forgot my keys on the kitchen table when I took out the first load.

Of course, the "oh shit" moment of realization dawned on me right when the deadbolt was clicking into place. I panicked. Not only was my roommate at work, I also didn't have my wallet. Or a coat. So I did the only thing that I could have done, given the circumstances. I took out the damn trash.

On my way back in, I frantically flagged down my sassy neighbor to see whether she had my building manager's phone number. I was positive that she would, given that she's the type to hang out on her balcony to put the drivers of illegal parked cars in their place. So I fully expected that she would be able to help me out. What I was not expecting was for her to point towards the floor above us (we have an open courtyard layout), and say, "Oh. Joe? He's right there."

I wish I was joking when I confess that Handel's Messiah actually starts playing in my head when this happens. Looking up, I behold the first glorious sight of my grizzled, bandanna-wearing landlord waving with his epic ring of keys - one of which could let me back inside my warm (slightly less smelly) apartment!

I was so giddy with relief (and harried, as I still had a mess of an apartment to contend with, and a meal to make), and so preoccupied with entertaining thoughts of what I would have done had Joe not been conveniently to the rescue that - I did it again.

Now, this was not my proudest moment. But, I figured, I had just seen Joe. It would be embarrassing to come crawling back to his apartment, but it wouldn't be beneath me. So, I ashamedly went up and timidly knocked on his door. Then waited awhile. Then, thinking that perhaps I had knocked too softly, knocked again. Then waited some more.

When it became clear that he wasn't home, I contemplated my options. And by options, I mean "trying to finagle the screen out of the only outfacing window to our apartment". Only thing was, in my hurry, I miscounted the windows. A pertinent point that becomes clear minutes later, as my neighbor judo-death-chops his hand through the venetian blinds to give me the stank-eye. Just as I am getting the screen off his window. To his apartment. Once we both get over nearly pooping ourselves in surprise, he turned out to be a pretty nice guy. A pretty nice guy who also happened to have Joe's phone number on his fridge.

So, a quick call and an hour and a half later, I was back. In my warm, even less smelly apartment. And I really could have used a drink. But, as I had been up for less than two hours (1.5 of those which were spent waiting to be let back in), I decided that making these would probably be better form. And hot diggity, what a great decision that was.


Rum Balls
[only slightly tweaked from Everyone Likes Sandwiches]

INGREDIENTS
  • 3 cups pecans
  • 2 1/2 cups vanilla cookies
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
  • 4 tablespoons molasses
  • 1/2 cup amber rum
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss pecans on a baking sheet, for about 10 minutes, or until you can smell them. Cool, and chop coarsely.

While pecans are toasting, crush the cookies into mostly powder.

In a large bowl, combine chopped pecans, cookies, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa.

Add the molasses and rum, and mix well.

Try not to nip from the bottle.

Chill for at least 1 hour.

Try not to eat the dough.

Roll mixture into bite-size balls and roll in powdered sugar.



They were perfect. Smashing helpless cookies to smithereens with a blunt object? Great outlet for pent-up frustration. No baking required, which was particularly helpful in my current state of mind. Bite-sized, and an easy candy alternative. Oh, and did I mention that they pack a bit of a punch?


Good thing I made a double batch. More than enough for me, and apology gifts for my next door neighbor and building manager. Everyone wins!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

curried sweet potato and rice soup


for new years eve, my roommate and I decided to stay in and make dinner.

our new years eve consisted of (in the following order):
  1. taking a nap
  2. taking a power bath with a book (think power shower, but in bath form - bliss!)
  3. making this soup
  4. making the decision to stay in
  5. beer, wine, and prosecco
  6. deciding to ring in the new year listening to gwen stefani's 'what are you waiting for'
  7. missing the actual arrival of the new decade (!), thanks to the fact that the website that that we had loaded with the new years countdown had frozen
  8. having a miniature dance party to santigold in the living room
  9. ending up going out anyway
in retrospect, we probably knew that it was inevitable. but luckily, the brunt of our new years activities were absorbed quite nicely with being full of this delicious, delicious soup.


it's that time of year. in seattle, this means the beginning of three long months of not seeing the sun, and being constantly damp (not wet - this city specializes in doling out just enough constant drizzle to warrant being unbearably damp while being just short enough of moisture to warrant opening an umbrella). not to mention coming down with seasonal depression.

and that, my chickadees, is when we collectively thank god for SOUP.

i had a couple of leftover sweet potatoes maxin' and relaxin' in my fridge, leftover refugees from Thanksgiving. i had originally planned on just throwing them in the oven and roasting them until they were caramelized and gooey. this was one of the few things from the Thanksgivings of my childgood that my mom and I could agree on because it was so easy to make. (step one: preheat oven to 425. step two: throw potatoes in oven. step three: take out of oven after an hour. step four: eat.)

but, given my sort-of new years resolution - (let's just call it a resolution, shall we? i feel like anything that is labeled as a New Years Resolution is doomed to failure around, oh, February) - coming across this recipe seemed pretty kismet. and what a recipe it is! slightly more work than just chucking them in the oven, but not too much more. and definitely worth that extra effort.


Curried Sweet Potato and Rice Soup
[adapted from Happy Herbivore]

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 whole large sweet potatoes, cooked
  • 1 whole sweet onion, diced
  • 6 whole garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 tsp mild curry powder
  • 0.25 tsp chili powder
  • 1 cup rice milk
  • 1/2 cup rice, cooked (I used a blend of white, brown, wild, and red)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425F. Bake sweet potatoes until just slightly overdone, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Allow to completely cool, then peel away the skin and discard. Or eat. Whatever floats your boat.

Mash potatoes in a medium bowl - if you have just overcooked the potatoes, you should be able to do this without a blender.

In a medium saucepan, combine onion, garlic, broth, curry and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until onions are translucent (about 5 to 7 minutes).

Transfer mixture to potato puree, add rice milk, and mix thoroughly.

Return to saucepan and heat thoroughly. Season to taste.

Ladle into a bowl, spoon warm wild rice into the center, and serve.


The result? Soup that was rich and creamy. Sweet, with just a little kick from the chili powder, with a little crunch from the onions, and a little chewy, from the rice. Amazing. And delicious! I doubled the original recipe because I had two potatoes instead of the 1 that it had called for - and because I figured that the leftovers would be just as good cold, if not better.

Turns out that it was just enough to make two hearty bowls for 2 - so if you want leftovers, think about doubling the recipe above. Another thought that would have been delicious, had I had some on hand, would have been a bit of fresh cilantro on top.


Happy new year, dumplings!