Crock Pot Eggplant Chick Pea Curry

Thank you for the generous responses to my post about healthy convenience breakfasts. I hope that everyone enjoyed my list of ideas as well as all of your additions in the comment section. It was a true group effort!

A few days ago, Julie Ann over at The Reduction Project was blogging about a recipe from Appetite for Reduction called Eggplant-Chickpea Curry. Imagine my surprise when I read on to find out that she had experimented with turning this normally stove top recipe into a crock pot recipe because she was in a time crunch.

As most of you know, I am currently relying heavily on my crock pot due to our ongoing kitchen renovations. Combine these personal needs with my deep love of anything Indian and I was immediately intrigued by Julie Ann's post.

I would say that the texture I achieved in my crock pot is A+ but the flavor is a B. I'm left wondering how to get that amazing Indian food taste without the ghee (clarified butter). Maybe this is the best it can be without the fat!

But my husband loved it! When I got home from an event at my daughter's school, he was raving about dinner and telling me that he ate three bowls full. He thought the flavor was great.

Crock Pot Eggplant Chick Pea Curry
adapted from a recipe by Isa Chandra Moskowitz from Appetite for Reduction

2 cups diced onion
3 lbs. eggplant, diced
4 cloves garlic. minced
2 15 oz. cans fire roasted tomatoes
3 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp mild curry powder
1 1/2 tsp hot curry powder (optional)
1 Tbsp garam masala
2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp salt (optional)
dash of powdered stevia

2 15 ounce cans chick peas, rinsed and drained

Place all ingredients, except chick peas, into a crock pot on low heat (my lowest setting is 10 hours, 8 hours would be plenty). Let cook all day, stirring once throughout the day if possible, but not necessary. Thirty minutes before serving, add chick peas and stir. Once chick peas are warmed through, the dish is ready.

Serve over brown rice with chutney if you've got it (I really like the Trader Joe's chutneys).

Do you like to make no-added-fat  Indian Curries? Have you ever had a no-added-fat Indian Curry that was as good as Indian food from a restaurant? 

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Unprocessed: Spicy Peanut Noodles with Broccoli

I just watched the season finale of Top Chef: All Stars. Even though the food cooked on the series is nothing like the food I want to or would eat right now (my mouth waters regardless), I totally and completely connect with the passion and the personalities of the contestants on the show. I was bawling like a baby when they announced the winner, Richard Blais.

Today I present you with the second of Chef A.j.'s recipes from her new cookbook, Unprocessed. Light on calories, this dish is not. Heavy on flavor and texture, this dish delivers. Bring this to a party and you are sure to wow your family and friends. After preparing two of Chef A.j.'s recipes, her disappearing lasagna and now her Spicy Peanut Noodles with Broccoli, I can say that she should be competing on Top Chef! And by preparing Chef A.j.'s recipes, I feel like I can bring the magic of great tasting, special food into my own home, even as a no-added-fat vegan.

Chef A.j.'s Spicy Peanut Noodles with Broccoli

Printable Version

1 pound brown rice noodles (spaghetti or linguine)
1 pound broccoli florets
3/4 cup peanut butter, unsweetened and unsalted
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbsp low sodium tamari
2 Tbsp date syrup*
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4-1/2 ounce piece of fresh ginger, pressed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
8 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
Sesame seeds or chopped unsalted peanuts for garnish (optional)

*To make the date paste: soak 1/4 pound of dates in 1/4 cup of water for several hours until much of the liquid is absorbed (you can do this overnight). In a food processor fitted with the s blade (I used my mini Cuisinart), process dates and liquid until completely smooth. Store extra date paste in the refrigerator.

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Run under cold water when done. Drain and place in a large bowl.

Blanch broccoli and run under cold water when done. Drain and add to pasta bowl along with the scallions.

To make the sauce, combine peanut butter, water, rice vinegar, tamari, date syrup, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk until smooth and cook for about 10 minutes until thickened, turning heat down to low if necessary to prevent overheating. Pour dressing over noodles and broccoli and thoroughly combine. Chill until it becomes cold.

This dish was spectacular, but rich. I was too lazy to make a salad to eat with it, so I know that I overindulged. But how could I not, it tasted so darned amazing!

I don't know if you've noticed but I've been a little distracted lately from blogging. I have something pretty big to report, but that announcement is going to have to wait until my next blog post!

Do you watch Top Chef or other cooking competition shows? If so, which ones?

Is it hard for you to watch t.v. like this when you are trying to protect your own health and waistline? Or can you watch regardless of the types of food being cooked on the show?

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Chinese No Chicken Salad

First I want to thank everyone who commented on my green smoothie post in the last two days. As any blogger will tell ya, it's the comments that make it all worthwhile! That, and getting shout outs on other people's blogs, which is why I was so excited when I woke up today to find out that Roni over at http://www.ronisweigh.com/ and http://www.greenlitebites.com/ had given Healthy Girl's Kitchen a major shout out! CHECK IT OUT HERE. Thanks Roni!

Roni's been blogging about weight loss and Weight Watchers for a long, long time, but she had never tried a green smoothie, not once. It's my major concern about Weight Watchers, that they are not impressing upon their members the importance of nutritional excellence when striving to attain a healthy weight. So I was really jazzed up that Roni, a very popular and public Weight Watcher, decided to try her first green smoothie, and blog about it to a very large audience, as a result of my encouragement. Go Roni!

I leave you with something near and dear to my heart. The Asian No Chicken Salad. As a longtime fan of Chinese Chicken Salads (having lived in Los Angeles for 9 years), I long for the yumminess (for lack of a better word) of them. So I frequently make a no chicken version and I don't miss the chicken at all!

Healthy Girl's Asian No Chicken Salad
serves a crowd

1 package of 3 hearts of romaine, sliced thin and washed and dried
3 cups shredded cabbage
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 5 oz. can water chestnuts, chopped
1 15 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup raw sliced almonds
1/8 cup raw sesame seeds
2-3 peeled and shredded carrots
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Place all ingredients in large bowl and toss with dressing.
Healthy Girl's Asian Low Oil Dressing
adapted from a recipe from http://www.drfuhrman.com/

1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil, toasted
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard



Lastly, here's a fun article about how veganism is becoming mainstream. How awesome is that?

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A Vegan Trifecta

Last week a cookbook was recommended to me by a friend, Scott, who is a far better cook than me. In fact, he's really a chef, only he's a lawyer who cooks just for fun. He is also a self-proclaimed meat addict. But he really put himself outside of his comfort zone and signed on to do the Whole Foods 28 Day Engine 2 Challenge. I'd like to think that I had something to do with inspiring him to try out this plant strong way of eating, after seeing my transformation. We'll never know.

I think Scott considers himself officially "plant strong" now, if not completely vegan. He's gone through quite a transformation himself, both physically and psychologically. Not only has he dropped more than 30 pounds since dropping the meat, he's dropped the emotional ups and downs that he used to experience. His testimony is actually quite moving.

So when Scott told me about a cookbook that he was getting a lot of inspiration from, I ordered it that day from Amazon. It's called Clean Food and the author is Terry Walters. If you are looking for an incredible variety of easy, fast vegan recipes full of unique, healthy ingredients, this cookbook is a must. There are four sections, one for each season, so you can even stick to eating what is in season if you'd like. The only thing that could make this cookbook better is photographs, but I guess I'll have to supply those for us!

In one day, Ms. Walters has already inspired me to cook my own aduki beans (instead of using canned), purchase a pomegranate, use up the millet that was in my pantry and much, much more. I just picked three things from the book that seemed appealing to me and figured I would serve them all up at once for dinner. The results? Beautiful, tasty, filling and ultimately nutritious.

Millet, Aduki Beans and Corn with Lemon Dressing

Warm Greens with Citrus Dressing and Pomegranate

Curried Parsnips

I do want to mention that Ms. Walter's recipes often include olive oil or grapeseed oil. I chose to eliminate it altogether and opted to saute in broth instead for the Curried Parsnips. In the case of the other two recipes, I reduced the amount of oil called for the in the recipe by 50%. None of the recipes that I tested seemed affected at all by these changes, which is generally what I find with all recipes!



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Vegan Indian Eggplant Curry

Are we done with Indian food yet? Never! Here's the last of what I made for last week's vegan pot luck. It's very yummy. Great with some naan or brown rice and keeps beautifully in the refrigerator as leftovers.

Eggplant Curry

makes at least 4 cups

1 Tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil (not olive oil)

2 medium onions, peeled and diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a microplane

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped into 3/4" pieces

1/2 cup vegetable broth (or water)

1 large eggplant, peeled and diced into 1" cubes

2 red or yellow or orange (or a mix) bell peppers, seeded and diced into 3/4" pieces

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground fenugreek

1/2 tsp ground cumin

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook for 10 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the broth (or water), eggplant, peppers, salt, turmeric, coriander, fenugreek and cumin and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 70 minutes.  Serve immediately or reheat before serving.

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Vegan Indian Saag (Spinach) Tofu

I've been working on perfecting this recipe for Indian Saag Paneer for over a year, first lightening it up to fit within my Weight Watchers plan, and now, morphing it into a vegan Saag "Paneer".  A traditional Saag Paneer includes cubes of Indian cheese and heavy cream--not Healthy Girl friendly at all. But because it is my number one favorite Indian dish, I'm practically obsessed with getting it right (ie tasty and healthy).  So without further adoo (how on earth do you spell that?), here is my Saag Tofu:

Saag Tofu
serves 8

Printable Recipe

2 packages firm tofu
Tamari or low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp low sodium vegetable broth
6 medium or 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 Tbsp minced (or grated) ginger
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe's low fat Marinara Sauce in the green can)
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 16 oz. bags frozen spinach (or 3 10 oz. boxes), thawed
1 bag fresh baby spinach
1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Open and drain packages of tofu. Wrap each block of tofu in paper towels (a few layers around) and place wrapped tofu block under a cookie sheet weighted with something a bit heavy on top of it. After 15 minutes, discard wet paper towels and cut blocks of tofu into 1" squares. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Place tofu squares on cookie sheet and drizzle lightly with Bragg Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce. "Broil" the tofu squares for about 40 minutes, shaking the cookie sheet every 10-15 minutes, until the tofu is chewy and looks like this:

Remove tofu from oven and set aside.

Heat vegetable broth in a large skillet or pot on medium heat.  Add the garlic and ginger, stiffing frequently, until garlic just starts to brown.  Immediately reduce heat to low and stir in tomato sauce, coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt.  Partly cover and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in defrosted spinach (it is okay if it is not totally defrosted at this point). When incorporated and hot, stir in fresh spinach.  When fresh spinach is wilted, using a hand/immersion blender, puree mixture until smooth (or as smooth as you would like it, it's up to you). 

Simmer 8-10 minutes until spinach turns an olive green color.  Stir in almond milk.  Gently mix in tofu cubes. Remove from heat and serve. Great served right away with rice or naan and raita.  Keeps well in the refrigerator for leftovers.

Looks just like the real thing, huh?

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Vegan Chana Masala (Indian Chickpea Stew)

I've got a group of friends that have been getting together for a decade and having pot luck dinners. This weekend  I'll be hosting one at my house that has been in the making for months. The theme? Vegan, of course!

So I decided to go crazy and make 5 vegan Indian dishes (have I told you that I was Indian in a past life?). I was inspired by a cookbook I just got called The Candle Cafe Cookbook, More than 150 Enlightened Recipes from New York's Renowned Vegan Restaurant.  This restaurant is beloved and I hope to get the chance sometime soon to visit.

Here's my first adventure, Chana Masala.  I am very impressed with the results. Quite addictive actually. 

Here's a photo of all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go before I started to cook anything. The french term for this is "mise en place" meaning "everything in it's place" and believe me when I tell you, this recipe moves along very quickly, so getting everything ready beforehand is a must.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place

Vegan Chana Masala (Indian Chickpea Stew)

makes about 5 cups

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 Tbsp coconut butter or vegetable oil

1 large onion (about 2 cups), diced

2 Tbsp finely minced garlic

2 Tbsp grated (on a microplane) fresh ginger

1 cup vegetable broth (or water)

1 medium tomato (1 cup), diced

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 cans (15 oz. each) chick peas, drained and rinsed

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp sea salt

Heat a large skillet over high heat.  Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook, stirring often, until they begin to pop.  Lower heat to medium.  Add the coconut butter or oil and stir for about 1 minute.

Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for about 8 minutes, until softened.  Stir in the broth (or water), tomatoes, chickpeas, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom.

Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.  Serve immediately or reheat gently before serving.

Yum!

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