Red Lentil Dhal and Peas Pillau

I was going to make a plain soup today for dinner but I wanted to use up the vast quantities of basmati rice and red lentils I have in my pantry. So what better meal to treat myself to than an indian feast? I adore the red lentil dahl recipe posted here. I was lazy and didn't grind up and toast the spices like the recipe says but I had a little taste and it was amazing, especially with a squeeze of lemon juice. To go with the dahl, I made the 'Peas Pillau' recipe from a lovely little vegetarian book called 'Flavors of India'. This rice is beautifully fragrant with the aromas of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and clove. I took these pictures in the afternoon to get the best light but I won't be eating until tonight after I get home from work. Can't wait!


Peas Pillau in all it's glory.

Moroccan Tagine of Chickpeas

I got this recipe from a cookbook I just bought called 'Food of Morocco'. It has mostly meat recipes but a few were vegetarian or vegan. The Tagine of Chickpeas recipe was completely vegan to my delight. This stew is beautifully flavored with a medley of spices: paprika, turmeric, cumin, ginger, cinnamon and harissa (a North African red chili paste) and is bathed in a rich tomato sauce. I didn't feel like couscous tonight and I don't know where to get Moroccan bread, so I enjoyed it with a loaf of Iranian Barbari bread (wheat flour, water, yeast, salt) that I picked up from Payless Produce on the way home from work today.

Soup and Salad.

I'm trying to be good and eat soups and salads through out the week. It keeps things light and easy on my schedule as well as my stomach. I try to save the more indulgent foods for the weekend. I whipped up my favorite red lentil soup (sephardic recipe from 'Olive Trees and Honey') and a half recipe of "black pepper cheeze" from 'Ani's Raw Food Kitchen'. It's the easiest raw cheese recipe I think, just raw cashews, garlic, black pepper, lemon juice and water. I used the soft cheeze as a spread on top of fresh tomatoes and persian cucumbers. If you want, you can drizzle olive oil and balsamic or cider vinegar over it. That would be very tasty indeed.

Breakfast in Bed.

I have mornings to myself before going to work and I usually get loads of things done before then. I work on jewelry, run errands, walk the dog, do a bit of cleaning and many other things that I allow myself to squeeze into these free hours. I was off yesterday and worked on jewelry so I took a break from that today. I walked the dog early this morning, came home and after a fresh shower, I prepared a tray of breakfast that I brought to my room to eat. It was a lovely little breakfast of pita toasts with margarine and a drizzle of agave syrup, a bowl of oranges and mangos sprinkled with cinnamon and a cup of my favorite Ceylon tea. It was delicious. I should do this more often!

Lazy Falafel.

Now, when I usually make falafel I make it from scratch but today I was really lazy and wanted to be quick about it. A while ago, I bought one of these packet falafel mixes by Sadaf and it looked pretty easy, you just need to add water. I bought some fresh pita and made a lemon dill garlic sauce to go with it (it's vegenaise, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dill). I also made a side dish of lemon dill rice with pinenuts. The falafel was alright though not as good as my homemade stuff (isn't homemade everything so much better?). It was a little on the dry side but I had baked them instead of frying so maybe that contributed to the dryness. But all in all, it was a very satisfying meal.


I served the falafel sandwiches with fresh cucumber slices, tomato and onions sprinkled with sumac.

Happy Mom's Day! And More Cookbooks For My Collection.

Hope all you moms out there are having a wonderful day. I made a yummy date cake to celebrate. Later on, we are ordering pizzas for Mom because that's what she has been craving.




Soft, puffy and sweet cake topped with walnuts. Recipe here. (Substitute soymilk for the milk. And no need to soak dates, just puree them in a blender with soymilk and sugar.)


These are the latest books in my collection. The Moroccan, Mediterranean and Soups book have both meat and vegetarian recipes. I am determined to veganize a few of the meat recipes somehow...

Thai Red Curry and "Kanom Jean"

I've been craving red curry served on top of "kanom jean" (thin somen noodles) that my family eats all the time, especially at holiday parties. My auntie usually makes a big pot of red curry and a big bowl of "kanom jean" prepared into coiled mounds. Since the curry is always meat based I haven't been able to partake in this wonderful marriage of foods. There's something about the noodles that works so well with the curry. They provide a soft, neutral cushion of slippery noodle goodness for the spicy curry that rice doesn't quite do. The only problem is that it goes down so well, you can eat bowl after bowl very easily!


Little coiled mounds of cooked "kanom jean".


My curry was made with coconut milk, chickpeas, zucchini, baby corn and thai red curry paste. I served it with a side of miso sesame coleslaw to extinguish the heat!

Red Curry with Chickpeas

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 heaping tsp thai red curry paste (the more you use the spicier it will be!)
1 14oz. can coconut milk
1 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp rhizome (krachai) powder (If you can't find this, it's ok. But if you can, use it. It really lends an authentic flavor to kanom jean curry.)
1 zucchini, sliced into small pieces
1 14oz. can baby corn, drained
1 14oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 TB mushroom soy sauce or 2 TB regular soy sauce

Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add red curry paste and saute for few minutes. Add coconut milk and water and bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve currry paste. Add vegetables, chickpeas, sugar and rhizome powder. Lower heat to simmer for about 30 minutes. Season with soy sauce.

Psst...I edited the recipe to include rhizome powder which is one ingredient that I forgot about. I didn't put it in my curry at first but the next day, I heated up the leftovers and added the rhizome powder and it made it even more perfect!