Curried Chickpeas and Quinoa

This was full of flavor and it was made in 15 minutes, what more can you ask for?
I found the original recipe on Susan V’s blog as I was skimming through food gawker (love that site). To see what else Susan  is cooking up click here!

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 teaspoons good curry powder (or adjust to taste)
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne or other ground red pepper (or to taste)
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted preferred)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• salt to taste

Heat a medium-sized, non-stick sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring, until onions soften. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
Add the chickpeas, curry powder, and red pepper, and stir briefly. Add the tomatoes and cooked quinoa, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for about 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Add salt to taste.
Serve in wraps, pita bread, or lettuce leaves or with naan or other flatbread
I know you are thinking I see mushrooms in the photo but not in the recipe?! You are right. I threw some mushrooms in there because we like mushrooms here and put them in a lot of our dishes just because we like em!

Indian Mango Dal

I love Indian food! So I suppose it is a good thing I live in Seattle because I have soo many options! I was looking for lentil recipes a while back and found this one from Eating Well and decided to give it a try. Well I have made it several times now because it is really good!



This is a jar opener but it also does the trick to take the papery skin off of garlic


Slightly dampen a paper towel and wipe down mushrooms. You can do a quick rinse and then wipe them down but never soak mushrooms. They will absorb water and become rubbery and lose their flavor otherwise.


I still prefer to peel my mango and then dice it but the slice then scoop  method looks better on camera. So I changed things up a bit just for this post.


Now it’s ready to eat! Also you can see that there are mushroom in my picture but not in the actual recipe. I had some mushrooms that needed used up so I tossed them in and they tasted great and also gave a little more texture to the dish.

• 1 cup yellow lentils (I used brown but yellow would probably be “prettier”)
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 ripe mangos, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Place lentils in a colander and rinse until the water runs clear. Combine lentils, 4 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and turmeric in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant and starting to brown, about 30 seconds. Add onion; cook, stirring, until soft and beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cayenne and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more.
3. Stir the garlic mixture and mangoes into the lentils. Return to a simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes more. Stir in cilantro

One last thing. I always cook up a huge pot of lentils and freeze what I don’t use. So I probably cook up 4 cups and then scoop out 2 cups once they are cooked to use with this dish.