Coconut Vegetable Stew

One pot meals make my kitchen life so easy at times. If I can nail a recipe that I will enjoy making and eating many times, it’s even  better. This recipe is just that. I got inspired to make this after reading a post from this amazing blogger: Pumpkin and peanut butter. I wanted to make her recipe as is the first time I read it but had to modify because of what I had on hand. I have since made it twice and every time it becomes something slightly different. The version I am sharing with you today is one that my husband raves about. I decided it was time I wrote down exactly how I made it so I could make it again. I made this to bring to a big family trip to the mountains we just had last week. I made a huge batch so it could feed 12 of us. I am sharing that recipe here. You can either half the recipe to make a smaller batch, or better yet, make a huge batch and freeze some for use!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch cube of ginger, grated
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 TBS cumin
• 1 medium head of cauliflower,chopped
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 talks of celery,chopped
• 2 cups red lentils
• 9 cups water or vegetable broth (I mixed both)
• 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 19 oz can of coconut milk (smaller or bigger is fine)
• salt to taste

Steps:

• in a large pot heat the oil and add the onion
• cook onion for a few minutes until it becomes transluscent
• add the garlic and spices and cook another couple minutes until the fragrance comes out
• add everything else and cook covered on low for about 30 minutes or until all vegetables are soft
• serve as is or with a side of black forbidden rice and rosemary roasted potatoes like we did

Since making this dish ahead of time, all the flavors got to marinate really nicely together. This is a dish that gets better as it sits. Freezing some of it would not be bad idea!

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Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is sweet and creamy, as well as easy, satisfying and comforting. Thanks to the recently added hidden red lentils to this recipe, it is also high in protein.

This is one of my favorite winter soups. One I grew up eating. Since we had an enormous vegetable garden, I grew up eating the highest quality organic vegetables, and we ate mostly from that garden. Which means that during the winter we ate a lot of squash and loads of soups. Although I complained a lot as a kid, I am so grateful that my parents instilled such good eating habits in us and showed me first hand what real food is.

This soup reminds me of home. We would eat it at my grandma’s house too and she would always serve it with shredded cheese. The kind that melts and makes long strings. Mmmmmmmm.

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, wished and roughly chopped
• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 3/4 cup red lentils
• 7 cups of liquid (I used half vegetable stock, half water)
• 1 TBS salt

Steps:

• In a large pot, sautee the onions until slightly transparent
• add all other ingredients
• bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low
• cook, covered, until the vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes
• blend everything together, either with an immersion blender or a stand up blender

This soup will keep for several days in the fridge, and is also a great meal to make ahead for a lazy parenting night.