EasyVeg

Try this recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance and you will thank me. I can almost guarantee it. Don’t be intimidated by the amount of ingredients. You will have to do a bit of chopping, but once you’ve done that, essentially you just throw everything into your pot and let it simmer together. Get yourself a box of quick cooking couscous (isn’t it all quick cooking?) and serve this stew over it. As always, my additions, omissions, and substitutions will be in parentheses.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, quartered and sliced thin
1 cup baby carrots, quartered and sliced thin (regular carrots work just as well)
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (1 Tbsp ground ginger)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric (couldn’t find it, didn’t use it)
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water (I used just over 2 cups, and it was really thick, but I liked it that way)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1 cup dried red lentils, washed (I could only find green/brown?, so I used those.)
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4″ thick
1 cup green beans, cut to 1″ pieces
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp salt
1 bunch - about 4 cups - spinach, torn into pieces
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped mint
Lemon wedges to serve (omitted)

Directions
In a stockpot, sauté the onions in the olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and chile and sauté 3 minutes more. Add the garlic and ginger; sauté for 2 minutes. Add the cumin, turmeric, and coriander, and mix. Add the stock, water, tomato paste, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, black pepper, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.
Add the veggies (except the spinach) and raisins and salt, simmer 15 more minutes. Add the spinach, cilantro, and mint; stir well. When the spinach has wilted completely (about 1 minute) turn the heat off. Let the stew sit for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Serve over couscous with lemon wedges to squeeze in.

The hardest part will be waiting to eat it. Enjoy!

I’ve been testing out recipes from One-Dish Vegetarian Meals almost daily since I first laid my hands on the book. So far, my absolute favorite, hands down, has been the Hot Thai Soup. Some of the ingredients are a little different. I hadn’t used them before in my cooking, anyway. And I did have to do some very careful searching of the grocery store aisles to find a few of the items. However, I was able to find almost everything I needed at my local grocery store - not a specialty market. (I’ll note any changes I made to the recipe in parentheses.)

Ingredients
6 cups water (6 cups vegetable broth - I think it adds more flavor)
1 tsp. salt (omitted because I used veggie broth)
3 lemongrass stalks, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 serrano chiles, thinly sliced
1 tsp. slivered fresh ginger (1/2 tsp. dry, ground ginger)
1 cup canned sliced bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained (I used the whole can)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbsp. Tamari
Juice of 1 lime
2 cups cooked jasmine rice
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Thai basil, for garnish (omitted because I couldn’t find it)

Directions
In a large saucepan, combine the water, salt, lemongrass, chiles, and ginger. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain the broth through a sieve (I used a slotted spoon to remove the lemongrass stalks and chiles because I don’t have a sieve), return it to the saucepan and boil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add bamboo shoots, coconut milk, tamari and lime juice. Stir well and simmer for 5 minutes.
Place 1/2 cup of rice in the bottom of each bowl, ladle the soup over the rice, sprinkle with basil leaves, and serve hot.

Tip
Tamari is just a richer kind of soy sauce. If you can’t find it, or you already have soy sauce on hand, you can use regular soy sauce in its place.

Soups and stews make fantastic meals. They’re extremely versatile, and just as importantly, they’re easy to make. The following is a recipe for my favorite soup which was featured on the Food Network show Good Deal with Dave Lieberman. The unique combination of spices gives this recipe a bold, interesting flavor that you’ll find yourself craving again and again. Go ahead and make a whole pot. The left-overs are delicious!

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1 large onion, medium diced
6 to 8 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1 quart vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (5-ounce) package pre-washed baby spinach

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent; lower heat if browning starts to occur. Add spices and saute a minute or so. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, broth, and sugar. Season with a couple pinches of salt and 10 grinds fresh pepper. Stir well. Chickpeas should be just covered with liquid. If level is shy, add some water so the chickpeas are just covered.
Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to low and gently simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove soup from heat. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in the spinach and let heat through until wilted, just a couple minutes.
Season again, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Serve soup, drizzled lightly with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.