Curried Cabbage & Peas

Curried Cabbage & Peas (page 111)
(substituting baby yellow squash for carrot)

Tonight was kind of a disorganized dinner-making experience. Still, dinner made it to the table, and that's what's important, right?

First of all, I didn't get home until nearly 6:00 pm, and I really wasn't in the mood to cook dinner as soon as I walked in the door. I was really quite tempted to just pick up some Chinese take-out on the way home, but I told myself, no, we have food at home, and Chinese take-out is way too greasy, anyway.

I had originally planned to make the Braised Cabbage with Seitan (page 97), but my week didn't go exactly as planned, and I didn't have any prepared seitan for the recipe. But, I still had the cabbage. Amy commented here on yesterday's post that she recently enjoyed the Curried Cabbage & Peas; I thought, hey, I've got peas! I'll make that! Along with the 40-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli, since I've also got a big pot of chickpeas and some broccoli hanging out in the refrigerator. OK, a plan was in place.

I quickly got the chickpeas, broccoli, and garlic (and quartered small red potatoes) in the oven to roast, then I started slicing up an onion and the cabbage. Then I discovered, oops, no fresh ginger root. I figured this qualified for one of those "in a pinch" situations, so I subbed dried ginger. Then I realized, darn, no carrots! Well, might as well use up those baby yellow squash that have been languishing in the crisper drawer.

The resulting Curried Cabbage & Peas turned out okay, but not great. I'm sure the missing fresh ginger root would have made a big difference. And the carrots certainly would have made it more colorful. But all-in-all, it wasn't bad, especially considering the last-minute ingredient substitutions that were made.

I'm always trying to think of ways to make these veggie "side dishes" into a more satisfying complete meal. I bet this would be great served over brown rice with the addition of some cubed tofu or chickpeas.

Cranberry-Cashew Biryani

Cranberry-Cashew Biryani, page 67, before the finishing cilantro garnish

Okay, so that's kind of a terrible picture up there, but this was really yummy. Who cares that it's not really an authentic biryani? Not me. It was satisfying and delicious. El Hombre thought it was fantastic, too.

I love how colorful this dish is: the carrots, cranberries, and peas are like little jewels scattered throughout the yellow hued rice. I also really love that practically all the ingredients in this dish are pantry staples for me. So, theoretically, I could whip this up pretty much anytime.

The only problem with this dish? It makes a lot, and I wanted to eat a lot of it.

Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who is stopping by for a visit here. This project is only two weeks old, and already I can feel your support. So, thank you!

Also, I wanted to give a little update on my progress in the weight-loss department. I'm down about 3 more pounds over the last two weeks. Yay me! Since the end of January, however, I've lost a total of about 13 pounds, so there's definitely a downward trend here.

I've been getting better at getting regular exercise and workouts in. I think I'm feeling a little more muscle tone here and there, and it's not my imagination. The dog and I are getting in some good walks together. I've been kicking my own butt doing cardio-strength drills with the Nike Training Club app. But food-wise, I need to focus a little more on Fuhrman's "basic skeleton plan" (fruit for breakfast, salad topped with beans for lunch, and more salad plus cooked vegetables along with the cup of whole grains/starchy vegetable for dinner), and make sure I'm fitting the AFR recipes into that framework, as much as possible. And I just need to remember to be patient with myself. It'll happen; I'll reach my goals.

But now, onto the recipe of the day:

Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie, pg 117

Isa, you win: I ate the mushrooms, and I liked it.

I mentioned already that I'm not really a fan of mushrooms, but somehow this worked for me. Was it the variety (shitake - not cheap, by the way)? Was it the way they were chopped up (pretty small - I was scared of ending up with big chunks)? Or was it the delicious combination of the other vegetables, spices, and seasonings (the Worcestershire here definitely gave it that "somethin' somethin'"), lusciously ladled over the cauliflower mashed potatoes?

I don't know. But I liked it, and I'd eat this again. Even with the mushrooms. Who am I?!??

2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma

2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma, with chickpeas
and brown basmati rice

Another delicious dish from AFR - and this one was so easy, too! Quick and simple to make at the end of a busy day, with flavorful and satisfying results. The most difficult part of the entire recipe was chopping up the vegetables, and that wasn't hard at all. I swapped out half of the cauliflower for some broccoli, and added some chickpeas to bulk this up for a main dish.

Vegetable korma is a type of Indian stew of vegetables in a mild, creamy curry sauce. This sauce had just the right balance of creaminess, spice, and sweetness. For me, there was just enough heat to warm things up without overpowering all the fab flavor. El Hombre went ahead and christened his plate with some extra red chili flakes and cumin, but he has asbestos mouth and likes to sweat when he eats.

There are leftovers in the refrigerator - I look forward to having more of this with lunch tomorrow!