Curry Sweet Potato Soup

My sister-in-law made this, and when I asked her for the recipe, she, an experienced cook, gave me some very general directions. I, having far less soup-making experience than her, found a similar recipe online and modified it. I don't remember where I got the recipe, so I can't properly credit it, but I can say the peanut butter was entirely my sis-in-law's idea, and the white rum was in the recipe I got online. I think both additions are essential, but I eat it as a main dish, so I need the protein and fat in the peanut butter. The rum just somehow magically marries the flavors together. I think of it as the essence of pure flavor. I probably add a lot more curry, garlic and ginger than the recipe says. I also add whatever random vegetables are around that need to be used up. I've never tried the optional sour cream topping.


1 tablespoon oil
1/2-3/4 cup chopped onion (1-2 onions)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon curry paste 
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
4 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes (not yams)
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons rum (optional but recommended, I use white rum)
peanut butter, maybe 1/2-1 cup, to taste
salt
recommended topping
4-6 tablespoons sour cream (any fat content)
sweet paprika

Directions

1 SOUP:.

2 In a soup pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add curry paste and onions and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat if necessary. Add garlic clove and ginger and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

3 Add sweet potatoes and pepper. Mix. Add stock. Cook for 15 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.

4 Puree the ingredients in batches in a blender or puree the whole amount directly in the pot with a hand blender (if pot is high enough).

5 Check if you like the consistency of the soup. Add more stock or water if desired and adjust the seasonings (check if salt is needed). You can add more curry paste if desired, but most pastes need to be cooked first before adding to a dish. Add rum and peanut butter if using.

6 Serve:.

7 Serve in individual bowls and top each with a tablespoon of sour cream and a sprinkle of sweet paprika.

Olive Lentil Casserole

This hearty, meaty-tasting dish came from an old casserole cookbook belonging to my cousin.  I forgot the name of the cookbook, so no source-citing this time.  I mostly follow the recipe, but often skip the parsley and always go heavy on the spices.  The squishier and more cooked the lentils, the better, and don't skimp on the uncooked olives for topping.

1 1/4 c. dried lentils
4 eggs
1/2 c. wheat germ
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2/3 c. sliced pimento-stuffed olives
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped dry-roasted or salted peanuts
3 T. chopped parsley
1/4 tsp. thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Place lentils in large saucepan.
Pour in 5 c. cold water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.
Cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
Drain and cool.
Beat eggs in large bowl.
Add lentils and remaining ingredients and toss until combined.
Turn into 1-quart baking dish.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until set in center.
Garnish with additional sliced olives.

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

This delicious dessert recipe is one I got from my mother.  While on the road, I wanted it when it was inconvenient to call her, so I looked it up online, copied and pasted.  I think it differs from her recipe ever so slightly, but I cannot credit it properly, so I'll just say it's hers.  Unlike the cookies, I cannot even pretend that it is in any way healthy, but I promise you this:  once you taste it, you won't care.

My aunt says she used to call them "Better than sex bars."  Sadly, this is probably true more often than I care to think about...
 
CRUST:
1 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 c. oatmeal

FUDGE LAYER:
1 (12 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp. butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix the crust and press most of it into a buttered pan.  I just use a regular 9x13 cake pan, but my mom uses some funky slightly larger pan, maybe 10x14 or something?  Reserve about a cup of the mixture for a topping.

Melt the fudge ingredients in the microwave, stirring after one minute and zapping in thirty second increments after that to avoid scorching.  Pour onto crust, then top with blobs of the remaining crust mix.  Bake at 350 until it's golden brown on top and smells delicious, maybe 20 or 25 minutes?  Lick fudge bowl while waiting.  Let cool for what seems like forever, or it will be impossible to get out of the pan.  You can always pop it in the fridge if it's taking too long...

Edited to add: If you're into that sort of thing, a little extra salt in the fudge part is mighty tasty!

"Mac'n'cheese"

I randomly stumbled across this recipe while searching for something completely different, and was really curious to try it. It's a vegan recipe, and I was cooking for some decidedly non-vegan kids, so I made a few changes. I left out the nutritional yeast and paprika, instead opting to stir a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese into the sauce and sprinkle some cheddar on top. I didn't have a food processor, so I smashed the beans up and used tomato sauce instead of the fancy expensive fire-roasted tomatoes. Lastly, I used some of those whole grain noodles, so I still ended up with a pretty healthy version of mac'n'cheese, and it was darn tasty. I've copied the recipe here, without permission:

Baked Macaroni with Fire Roasted Tomato White Bean Sauce

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni
1 15 oz. can great northern beans or cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
4-6 tablespoon nutritional yeast, depends on your taste
1 15 oz. can Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes and 3/4 of the juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, plus one clove garlic chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
ground black pepper
paprika
soy parmesan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cook macaroni in a pot of boiling water, according to the directions on package. Put the remaining ingredients except for the paprika in a food processor or blender. Blend until it is smooth and creamy.

Combine macaroni and sauce in a large bowl and pour into a baking dish that has been sprayed lightly with canola oil spray. Sprinkle lightly with paprika and soy parmesan and bake in the oven covered with foil for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes until lightly browned on top.

Curried Lentils and Rice

I got these recipes out of two separate recipe books and thought they would go well together. They were my cousin's books, so I don't remember enough to properly credit them. It's a warm, hearty dish that goes over pretty well, and the combination of lentils and brown rice makes a complete protein, so it's a great dish for vegetarians and vegans. If you want a non-dairy alternative to the yogurt topping, some of that fake sour cream stuff would be a good replacement.


In large saucepan pan, mix two cups of rinsed lentils, some chopped vegetables (whatever you like or need to use up from the fridge, I generally do carrots, onions and celery, but I have also added sweet potatoes, squash, peppers...), some fresh chopped garlic and grated ginger, and curry powder to taste. I usually use about two or three tbsps., depends on the curry. I mix all of this up before adding four cups of water, because then I don't get curry lumps.

In another saucepan mix two cups of brown rice with curry powder, chopped garlic and grated ginger, then add a can of light coconut milk and enough water to total four cups of liquid. I have also done this with a cup of almond milk instead of coconut milk, and it turned out great. You could just do water to make a zero fat meal, but a bit of fat is good because it helps you to metabolize the fat soluble vitamins in the vegetables, and there really is no fat in the lentil part.

Bring both pans to a boil and turn down and simmer for around forty-five minutes. Brown rice and lentils should cook at the same speed. I stir the lentil stuff on occasion, but not the rice.

If you are really into sprouted grains and stuff, you can presoak the rice and lentils to make it an even healthier dish, but reduce the water you add when cooking.

While they're cooking, chop up some tomatoes and mix them with some plain lowfat yogurt for a delicious topping. I try to get all of the tomato juice in there too, yummy! I serve it up in layers, lentils on rice and all topped with yogurt.

Colossal Cookies

I originally got this recipe from my ex's mom, but it's all over the internets under the same name, so I don't think I need to cite any references here. Fewer oats = chewier cookies, and I'll admit to using more chocolate chips than the recipe calls for. Especially if they are Ghiradelli semi-sweet chips...

1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16 ounce) jar crunchy peanut butter
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
6 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Bake at 350F for around 10 minutes or so.