I am quite fond of Portland and am blessed to be able to visit often. There is so much to love. Local coffee roasters, died-and-gone-to-heaven vegetarian scratch cuisine, juice bars, vegan eateries, beautiful parks, craft cocktails, yoga, co-ops, and the list goes on. Though P-town is known for its dreary weather, there are days of sunshine that make you forget about the doom and gloom. This past week I was kissed with sun rays every single day (in the middle of winter) and was tickled by all the people running, cycling, sipping on mid-day cocktails, dining al fresco, and soaking up some sun in the parks.
Due to the unusually warm and bright day, Mom and I shopped till we dropped and instead of eating out again (though it’s hard to turn down a restaurant meal in this magnificent food mecca), we wanted to stay in tonight and cozy up with a homemade pot of stew and watch Forks Over Knives.
She had never seen this life saving film and though curious about a plant-based diet, hadn’t quite taken a deep plunge. I thought this would be a good movie to share. In honor of the film, I made a vegan dinner of a hearty and richly spiced stew, and a shallot, radish, and kale salad. Both were absolutely scrumptious and worthy of a post.
Ingredients:
1 Tb. coconut oil
1/2 cup yellow onions, diced
4 small garlic cloves, minced
2 Tb. fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and (1-in.) cubed
2 medium carrots, peeled and rough chopped
1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
1 1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 (15-ounce) can light coconut milk
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Preparation:
1. Heat coconut oil in a large sauce pan and add onions, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add sweet potato and carrots and stir to coat, about 1 minute
2. Add cauliflower, turmeric, cloves ginger, cumin, curry, and salt and heat 1 minute. Pour in vegetable stock, coconut milk, and diced tomatoes, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
3. Stir in chickpeas, peas, and cilantro and heat for 5 minutes more.
4. Serve alone or over cooked rice.
Variation:
If you dig African peanut stew, you can get a similar flavor by adding 1/2-1 cup almond butter to this recipe as well as 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. Add in during step #2.