Chickpea Cashew Curry

Curry is always my go-to meal when I need something easy and fast. I used to be intimidated by curries, but there are so many easy recipes that don't require too many ingredients. I've been wanting to try this cashew curry recipe and finally got around to it Monday night. I had the main ingredients already in my pantry and only needed to stop at the store for a few produce items. 

I loved how this curry turned out, although I have to say it is very different than the curries I usually have because it calls for lime juice and cilantro. While the lime juice and cilantro definitely change the taste, it was a delicious new flavor and the cashews blended with the coconut milk and spices made the curry oh-so-creamy. I've been wanting to try a recipe that uses blended cashews and after this one, I'm hooked. I think I'll try a "mac-n-cheese" dish with blended cashews next. 

I'll make this dish again for sure, but I think next time I may add more garam masala and curry powder and leave out or add less lime juice and cilantro to keep the flavor more authentic. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Chickpea Cashew Curry

(Makes 4 servings)

 Ingredients:

· 1 small onion, finely minced

· 4 cloves garlic, minced

· 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

· 1 small red pepper, finely chopped

· 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

· 1 tablespoon garam masala, divided

· 1/2 cup cashews

· 1 can coconut milk (14-ounces)

· 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (28-ounces)

· 3 ounces spinach, roughly chopped

· Kosher salt to taste

· Juice from 1 lime or to taste (optional)

· 1/4 cup  chopped cilantro or to taste, divided (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and sautee (using pam or water) the onion, garlic, ginger and chili until onion is soft and starting to brown, about 7 minutes.

2. Add the cayenne, 1/2 tablespoon of garam masala and cashews and stir until combined and fragrant.

3. Add the coconut milk and remove the saucepan from the heat. Use a spatula to scrap the bottom of the saucepan to remove any brown bits.

4. Carefully pour the coconut milk and cashew mixture into a blender and blend until smooth, starting at the lowest setting and finishing on high. Blend for about 30 seconds.

5. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and put the heat on medium-low. Add the chickpeas, spinach, and salt. Add the lime juice and half of the cilantro if using. Cook until the spinach has wilted and the curry is heated through.

6. Serve over brown rice or with bread and top with remaining cilantro!

 Notes: I got this recipe from here.

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

WIAW: Finally Home! (For two weeks at least)

It's so nice to be home! Brett and I have been traveling all month. We were in Virginia, New York, Cocoa Beach and West Virginia. We just got home late Sunday night and for the first time in a long while I get to look forward to two straight weeks at home. Yay! Here are some of my favorite pics from our travels:

This picture is actually the only one Brett and I took while in New York. It was cold, but we loved walking around everywhere!

We went straight to Cocoa, Beach after flying back from New York to spend a few day with Brett's parents. It was an amazing weekend and we did so many "floridian" things that I've yet to do.

We picked tangerines and oranges at an orange grove.

We went hiking at one of the state parks nearby. Tons of mosquitoes so we were booking it!

We even went night kayaking where we were able to see and hold glow in the dark jellies! No worries, they don't sting.

In cold, snowy West Virginia I got to catch up on family time for Thanksgiving. It was awesome to have 23 of my family members all crammed into one house! 

Us girls went on a lot of walks though to get rid of our cabin fever.

Since we've been gone so much, I spent yesterday doing tons of "wively" duties. I went to the grocery store, unpacked and sorted laundry, cleaned the fridge and cooked/baked up a storm. I even went on an 8-mile run - my last "long" run before my half-marathon on Saturday. I had hurt my ankle right before we left for New York, so I didn't think I'd be able to race. But after two weeks of not running, it healed itself and I'm good to go!

Anyways, here are my eats from yesterday and some recipes to look forward to. Check out Jenn's blog to get inspiration from others!

Breakfast:

A glass of lemon water. (This really is a good substitute for coffee!)

Oatmeal with flaxseed, hemp hearts and a dollop of peanut butter.

It's was a good, simple bowl of oatmeal with lots of energy for my run.

Morning Snacks:

Half of a banana right before my run. Did you know bananas split into three sections if you lightly squeeze the edges? I love doing that.

Lunch:

After my run I ate leftover Chickpea Cashew Curry and a tangerine (unpictured)

I'll post the recipe later this week!

Afternoon Snacks:

After grocery shopping, my stomach was growling so I ate this concoction before doing some baking.

A slice of ezekiel bread with hummus, zucchini, cucumber, tomato and nutritional yeast.

I also had quite a few licks of this Black Bean Brownie Batter.

I've always been skeptical of black bean brownies, but these turned out amazing! 

I'll post about them later as well.

  I realized I had forgotten some ingredients from the grocery store that I needed for dinner, so I ate a fuji apple before heading out the door again.

Dinner:

I've been trying to cook with a new vegetable each week and for last night's dinner I used leeks for the first time! It's been so fun branching out and realizing that so many veggies aren't as intimidating as I thought.

This Vegan Pot Pie was awesome! It had leeks, mushrooms, carrots, onion, potato and celery in it.

I ate 1/4 of it.

Evening Snacks:

After dinner I had to go to my night class. 

I brought one of my homemade black bean brownies to snack on and had a handful of pretzels too.

Right before bed both Brett and I got hungry so I had a mug of cereal. 

It had half of a banana, kashi mini wheats, granola and almond milk.

I'm weird in that I eat cereal out of a bowl when I have it for breakfast, but when I eat it at night I like it out of a mug. Sorry for the dark, blurry iPhone pic.

There you have it! All my eats on my wives day. It's so nice being home in sunny Florida and being able to experiment in the kitchen again.

Moroccan Carrot and Raisin Couscous

 

I love this dish. It's so simple and filling and makes your kitchen smell incredible while it's cooking. I decided to make it for my dinner duty tonight for our family's Thanksgiving week together. My Dad rented a house for our entire family to use in West Virginia. My whole immediate family is here as well as my Grandparents, my Aunt and Uncle and three of my cousins. It's amazing how much our family has grown in the past few years. All of my siblings and I are now married and two of my siblings have kids! It's such a joy to have a full week together and to spend some quality time with my nieces and nephew. Since moving to Florida and it's become harder to see my family, so I'm always incredibly thankful for these family gatherings.

This is also the first holiday I'm spending with my family since going vegan. I wasn't sure how they'd feel about a Mediterranean meal, but everyone ended up loving it! Along with this couscous recipe I served roasted cauliflower with sweet tahini dressing, a green salad with lots of yummy toppings, pita chips and hummus and baked chicken for all the meat-eaters. For dessert I also made chocolate chip cookie bars which I love. Everyone went back for seconds and kept complimenting me on how good everything was. Success.

I actually got this recipe from my friend who used to write a blog. She's no longer posting, but I still go to her blog often to try out some of the recipes she has listed there. This recipe caught my eye because of the small list of ingredients and short cooking time. Try this simple recipe out! It's delicious as a side dish or the main course.

Moroccan Carrot and Raisin Couscous

(Makes 4-5 servings)

 Ingredients:

· 4 cups vegetable broth

· 1 cup chopped carrots

· 1 cup chopped sweet onion

· 1 cup cooked chickpeas

· 1.5 –2 tablespoons Moroccan spice mixture*

· 1 cup raisins

· 2 cups couscous

*If can either use ras-el-hanout or make your own Moroccan spice mixture by mixing the following spices together:

 

· 1 teaspoon ground cumin

· 1 teaspoon ground ginger

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

· 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

· 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

· 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

· 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1. Pour the vegetable broth, carrots, onion and chickpeas into a medium sized sauce pan and bring the liquid to a boil.

2. Once the liquid boils, reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer for 8 minutes.

3. Add in the Moroccan spice mixture, stir, and let simmer for 2 more minutes.

4. Add in the raisins and couscous. Stir well, cover, remove from heat and let sit for ten minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed.

5. Fluff with a fork and serve hot!

Notes: I did not create this recipe but got it from here!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith