Curried Lentils

My last day in Boston, I woke up to an empty apartment having packed my belongings into suitcases and slept on a sheet-less bed. After having someone come and take my bed away, I couldn't stand being in the shell that was once my apartment. So I spent the day walking around Boston, saying goodbye. I walked the length of Newbury Street, remembering when I was fascinated by all the cupcake shops in the area.

When I reached the end near Hynes Convention Center, I stopped at the Clover Food Lab truck. Food trucks were another thing that Boston introduced to me that I still think is the coolest thing ever and love the creativity and flavors the owners create. At Clover, I chose their curried lentils and ate them near Kenmore, in the shadow of Fenway Park before continuing to Brookline to visit the apartment where the author of some letters I have once lived.

This recipe is inspired by those lentils and it reminded me of that day which was bright and sunny, perfect for a farewell walking tour. Originally, these were served cold and with what I believe was shredded carrots. When I prepared them at home, I ate these lentils warm and with yellow peppers instead but with subtle nods to Boston food trucks. Which are probably subtle nods to other places in the world.

I'm still adjusting to measurement systems here and I had to strain some rice I made after using a flatmate's measuring cups which I now realize was not in cups but some other form of measurement. A similar fail was had with the lentils. I guess it's not really a fail, I just had to strain the lentils like pasta when they were cooked instead of them absorbing all the water. Sorry, lentils!

A red onion, garlic and yellow peppers are sauteed in a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkled with fresh parsley and curry powder, the aromas start to grow in the kitchen. Lentils and vegetables are stirred together and topped with avocado. It's an easy but filling meal or great as a side. Try it cold for all those barbecues coming up this summer!

Recipe

• 1 cup lentils
• 1 large (or 2 small) yellow bell peppers
• 1 small red onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

1. In a medium saucepan, cook the lentils based on package instructions (likely a 1:2 ratio of lentils and water).
2. In a medium skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil (or vegetable or coconut oil). Add the onion and garlic.
3. Stir in the peppers with the onion and garlic. Saute until softened, adding the parsley and curry as they cook.
4. In a large bowl, combine the lentils and vegetables, stirring to combine. 
5. Top with avocado and enjoy!

Chicken and Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower Rice

In my humble opinion, I was a good eater as a child. I ate my vegetables but only certain ones like broccoli and carrots. That was pretty much it, actually, but my tastes have evolved to include most vegetables like peppers and zucchini. Some things, however, never change. I still despise brussel sprouts, I don't care how much bacon you waste on them, and asparagus. Cauliflower is also not a favorite but I've been able to hide cauliflower in other foods instead.

I heard someone at the gym discussing cauliflower rice which is basically just ground and toasted cauliflower. Since rice is typically paired with other more delicious things, I thought it wouldn't be too bad to give it a try with a spicy curry recipe.

I've made fish curry before but this recipe seemed more up my ally, very simple with few ingredients but enough flavor to overpower the cauliflower rice. Originally this recipe was vegan but I added some chicken. You can go either way!

Onion, garlic and peppers are cooked in a skillet until almost soft. Doused in coconut milk and mixed with curry paste (the more the spicier) to finish cooking. Chickpeas and cooked chicken are added to soak up the curry flavors.

Meanwhile, the cauliflower is ground in a food processor. It took me a few rounds in the food processor to get all of the florets to be crumbly. Lightly toast with some olive oil before serving with the curry.

I honestly couldn't taste the cauliflower flavor but boy did my apartment smell like it. I managed to convince some friends that we should get together and watch Bollywood films together. Granted we ordered real Indian food for the occassion but reheating this curry afterwards got me pretending I could bangra--but only in the serious privacy of my apartment with only my cat as my witness.

Recipe

• 1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
• 2 Tablespoons red curry paste
• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped in food processor
• 8-10oz chicken, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the chicken until almost cooked through.
2. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add the onion and garlic to the oil and cook until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the chopped pepper to the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes more.
4. Add the drained chickpeas and coconut milk to the skillet. Mix in the curry paste until the coconut milk turns an orange color. 
5. Simmer over medium heat and add the chicken. Allow everything to simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, process the cauliflower in a food processor until course. 
7. Toast the cauliflower in a large skillet with olive oil until fragrant. Some of the cauliflower will toast and turn brown but it's not necessary to get all of it to brown.
8. Serve the chicken and chickpea curry over the cauliflower rice. 

Butternut Squash Curry

Let's take a break from pumpkin. We're not breaking up, we're just taking some time apart to explore other orange autumn gourds. Is that cool? Okay, great!

Did I mention I love orange? When I was younger, I loved red but red was an angry color (#ariesproblems) so I pretended it was both red and silver which made it way cooler (and matched my sneakers) but really, yes, I love fire colors (#ariesproblemsstill) which happen to be autumn colors. That perfect red-orange of the fall leaves makes me smile like woah. What's even more beautiful about it is it's soooo hard to capture. Even if you paint it or photograph it, it's just not he same. I think Peeta and I would get along (this is the part where I reveal I'm a nerd who memorized that part where he's like "my favorite color is orange, not like Effie's hair but like sunset". Magical).

Squash has that orange color that gets us all happy but it's more of a complimentary orange to the leaves. I'm a big fan of butternut squash soup although it's fairly work-intensive. This curry turned out to be a lot of chopping but otherwise pretty low maintenance. I'm a fan.

Initially, I assumed I would need to cook the squash and then scoop out the cooked parts for this curry. Apparently, you can cook and eat the rind! Whaaaat, minus 2 hours of work, bam. That's not to say it's not challenging to chop the raw squash. I'm pretty sure I got a blister.

The onions and garlic and cilantro are chopped up first and set to cook in a big pot with oil. I finally learned the proper way to chop cilantro (thank you Barefoot Contessa on Saturday mornings). Instead of chopping the leaves and what not like you normally would (you know what I mean), you scrape the leaves off by using your knife in a downward motion along the stalks. This strips away the leaves without the stalks. Fabulous!

While the onions etc. are cooking, we chop the squash. Perhaps chop some squash before starting to cook the onions because it takes some time. The pot sounded angry, like feed me, so I quickly added some liquid to that bad boy in the form of water, coconut milk and then the squash. Chickpeas (drained) and some chopped spinach fortify this curry. Like it needed to be any better.

Don't forget the curry! I don't know why but when I make red curry dishes, they're significantly less spicy than red curry dishes at restaurants. So I added a healthy amount of curry, let it cook a bit, taste tested and added some sambal oelek (that spicy stuff from this carrot soup last year). Just for some extra kick.

Once all that chopping is done, it's easy clean up and rice cooker set up. Everything comes together in a bowl and I ended up discarding some of the liquid as the curry was a bit soupy. It should be a little liquidy but drowning the rice.

I couldn't even tell that the rind had stayed on the squash. I wonder if it's like bread where all the vitamins are in the crust. Let's go with yes so we can say this was extra packed with vitamins (because I think it was).

Perfect for lunch in the park or dinner in the warmth of your home.

Recipe

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 medium white onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 can of chickpeas (drained)
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 2 cups of water (less if you want a thicker curry)
• 1 teaspoon curry paste
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of sambal oelek

1. I recommend chopping everything at once and setting aside. Chop your butternut squash so it's in small pieces (the original recipe said chickpea sized but it's based on your preference). Dice the onion and shear the cilantro leaves from the stem before chopping. Also dice your garlic.
2. Add the onion, garlic and cilantro to a medium pot with the oil. Allow the ingredients to cook and sweat until the onion is somewhat translucent.
3. Add the coconut milk and water to the pot. 
4. Next, add the squash, drained chickpeas, and spices (curry paste and sambal oelek).
5. Allow the mixture to come to a low boil. Then reduce the heat and cover to cook completely.
6. While the mixture cooks, you can make your rice according to the instructions. 
7. The curry will be done in about 30 minutes but you can test it by checking if the squash is tender and easily speared with a fork.
8. Serve the curry over rice (or eat like a soup).