Once the weather starts to cool I love to make a big pot/batch of something really good and tasty for dinner on Sundays. This dish hits the spot. It is simple and comes together really fast. By the time your brown rice is ready the spicy peanut stew and you must make the cool cucumber sauce. The spicy peanut sauce is here and the cool cucumber sauce is here. The cool cucumber sauce is a must it enhances the flavor and adds texture. It is not a “sauce” but more like a fresh salsa using cucumbers and jalapenos. I always use butternut squash, sweet potato and cauliflower that the recipe calls for plus, depending on what I have on hand, I add kale, spinach, swiss chard. yellow squash, any other squash I have on hand. This dish is full of flavor and textures that is very satisfying and filling. There is usually enough left over for one more meal or you can freeze it and eat it another day.

This dish is wonderful with dosas this recipe from Eat’n Veg’n (vegan and gluten-free), Ricki Heller at Diet Dessert and Dogs has a wonderful recipe for chinese scallion pancakes, pitas or you could serve onion paratha from Happy Vegan Face.

Enjoy cooking and the food you create! Have some fun with your animal friends!

Sunday I had a busy day baking and cooking.  I made a batch of Dave’s Killer 100% Whole Wheat bread the recipe and video can be found here on Everyday Dish TV. This bread is everything Dave claims it to be. It is a great whole grain sandwich bread, with a suttle sweetness and nutty flavor. Give it a try!

While the sponge was proofing, I started on the carrot cake.  I found a wonderful recipe on VegWeb.com and it is an “Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake”. The cake come together quickly, and you can use a mixer with out worrying about over mixing the batter.  If you are looking for a carrot only cake, this is not the recipe for you.  This cake has carrots, pineapple, coconut and if you want, raisins and walnuts. I of course added everything.  This cake is very moist, has more substance to it than regular cakes and is a great cake to take to parties, potlucks and as a birthday cake. It reminds me of a Christmas cake, with all the fruit, but not as dense. Of course I topped it with the faux cream cheese frosting included with the recipe.  The frosting makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake.

After I had the cakes cooling and the bread baked, I started to prepare the Indian food.  Because the vegetable korma has lentils in it, I started with this to give it more time to cook. I posted the recipe below.

Vegetable Korma

1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds

3 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 large onion chopped

1/2 cup of shredded coconut

2 tsp of Garam masala or Punjabi Chole masala

2 tsp coriander

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp tumeric

1 – 14 oz can of diced tomatoes or 2-3 fresh tomatoes chopped

1 large potato peeled and cubed (can partially cook in the microwave)

1/2 a head cauliflower (large) cut into large bite size flowerettes

2 large carrots peeled and diced

1/2 cup of peas

1/4 tsp tamarind pulp

1. Add 1 Tbsp of canola oil to a large pan and heat oil on medium heat, add fenugreek seeds and cook until they turn brown. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and saute until golden brown.

2. Now, add the spices, tumeric, cumin, chilli powder, coriander, garam masala (or punjabi chole masala) and coconut. Mix well. Roast the spices until the spices and iol start to separate.

3. add the potatoes, tomatoes, and lentils.  Add 2 cups of water and allow to simmer covered for 15 min.

4. Add the carrots and cauliflower and another cup of water if needed to cover the vegetables.Cook for another 20 min.

5. Add the peas and tamarind pulp and continue cooking until the vegetables are tender. Serve over basmati rice.

While this dish is cooking I started the paratha (Indian flat bread) dough and let it rest for 30 min.  While the dough was resting I then started the vegetable kootu (recipe from the Vegetarian Times, March issue).

The TGs helped me make the bread.  You have to roll out the dough into golf size balls. Dust each ball in flour and roll out into thin circles, brush with vegetable oil, fold in half and half again. Then roll out into 1/8 inch thick wedge/circles. The thickness of the final step and having enough hot oil in the pan allows the paratha to puff like a pita.  If the pan is not hot enough and if the paratha is too thick or thin, they won’t puff. The TGs had the right mix.  They puffed really nice and tasted great!  This was an amazing meal, so many flavors and taste sensations. We even had enough left for another dinner!

Enjoy cooking and the food you create!

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