Vegetables are Delicious: Red Curry and Pumpkin Risotto

The other day I watched Forks Over Knives, a documentary promoting a vegan diet. I'm not about to become a vegan anytime soon, but it did inspire me to use more vegetables. Pumpkins are just coming into season, so I grabbed a small one at the store last week and made this quinoa risotto to warm me up on the crisp fall evenings we've been having lately!

Red Curry and Pumpkin Risotto
one small pumpkin or squash
one medium sweet potato
one medium sweet onion, diced
one small bunch rainbow chard
red curry paste *
3/4 cup quinoa
1/2 can light coconut milk
vegetable stock (about two cups)

Peel pumpkin and sweet potato and chop into bite-sized pieces. Toss with olive oil and salt. Roast at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Meanwhile, sauté onion and stems of chard over medium heat until caramelized. Add coconut milk and curry paste and bring to a simmer. Add quinoa. Add vegetable stock 1/2 cup at a time. When quinoa is almost ready to crack, add cooked pumpkin, sweet potato and chopped chard leaves. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until chard is done. Serve with a wedge of lime.

*Start out with 1T curry paste and taste the broth as you go. If you want the flavor to be stronger or spicier, add more 1/2t at a time, but remember: curry needs to cook! Don't add too much curry paste towards the end!

Color is Delicious: Pink and Green Salad

Already I have had a long morning. At 8AM my Dad had a cardioversion, his second one this year. 

Due to complications with his last cardioversion, he has not been able to eat anything that is spicy, crunchy, acidic or salty. That rules out chips, onions, garlic, oranges, roasted nuts and even tomatoes (among many, many other things). Can you imagine? 

Last week he told me that if he ever feels "normal" again, he is going to go to the farm stand every week to buy the tangiest, freshest vegetables. 

So today, in his honor, I made a healthy salad of all the delicious things he can now eat: strong, spicy shallots, crunchy and sweet honeydew melon, tart grapefruit, buttery avocado, roasted pistachios- all tossed simply with olive oil, honey and a pinch of sea salt. I may even throw in some basil or mint before I eat it for lunch. 

Here's to feeling better! 

Easy is delicious: Bean Bake

Yesterday I was thinking about coming home. Coming home always calls for food. Whether you're coming home for Christmas, from a late movie or from vacation- isn't it the nicest feeling knowing that someone cares enough to have something ready for you?

Last night my boyfriend went to the Predators game right down the street from my house so I decided to have something ready for him afterwards. I didn't have a lot on hand.

Every week when I go to the store or the Farmer's Market, I am completely entranced by the produce. This past week I bought parsnips. Why? Because they are the beautiful, off-white earthy color of a set of plates I want; I know, it's a girl thing. I also grabbed some vidalia onions; they remind me of summer. I have little patience for the gentle art of sautéing, so I threw everything in the oven together with salt and olive oil.

I remembered a post I had read by Jules Clancy of Stone Soup called Onion and White Bean Bake and I decided to make a similar dish. When my boyfriend came over, I heated up the bake. He told me it was delicious three times last night and once already this morning.

Easy Bean Bake:
2 vidalia onions, roasted and chopped
1/2 cup vegetables, roasted and chopped (I used one large parsnip and one small, raw carrot for crunch)
1 can white beans, drained
1/2 cup cheese, grated (I used goat milk gouda, my favorite)
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
splash of chicken stock
pepper to taste (you don't really need salt; the vegetables and the cheese are already salted)

Roast vegetables at 400 degrees until slightly caramelized. Give onions a fine chop and vegetables a rough chop. Mix everything together and place in a greased gratin dish. Top with a splash (1/4 of a cup or less) of stock and a little cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Broil the top until golden brown.

The best part of this story is that having food ready for him last night means that it is ready for me for lunch today!