Leek and Chickpea Curry

I have never had leeks before. I bought them just for that fact. 

If YOU have never had leeks before, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised at their taste and, in this curry. You never can go wrong making a curry out of the vegetables you have on hand.

The flavors meld. They compliment.

If you are thinking 'curry,' that must be spicy! It's only as spicy as you want it to be. I like things with a good kick, but also have deep flavors that keep your tongue busy with each bite as it recognizes all the spices you add. A curry combines these two food loves in one.

Curry doesn't mean just spicy. It means a lot of things. But, as it was explained to me, curry usually is defined as anything cooked with water. Read this interesting wiki definition if you want to get some more ideas. Think about it this way. If you like to curl up with a warm bowl of soup on a chilly day, a curry gives you just that.

This will be my first of many curries I hope to post on this blog. I won't post about regular curries; that you can Google, but the ones I put my own spin on.

Leek and Chickpea Curry                                        serves 4

2 tbl vegetable oil or ghee
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 in ginger, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, trimmed. Here is a helpful video how to prepare leeks for us beginners
2 c cooked chickpeas, 1 can
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1 tsp EACH ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, garam masala, tumeric
1 tbl EACH chili powder, Kitchen King (available in Indian, Punjabi, Pakistani stores)- KK is optional
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 can coconut milk
water 
coriander/cilantro, fresh, chopped

1. In a saute pan, heat the oil and on low saute onion, garlic, ginger and leeks for 5 minutes, letting leeks and onions sweat.
2. When leeks and onions are tender, add all the spices listed, mix well and let cook another 5 minutes.
3. Add chopped potato, tomatoes, coconut milk and one cup of water. Mix well. Bring to a boil and let simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary.
4. Garnish with fresh coriander, serve with wheat tortillas, wheat pita bread or rice.

Calories calculated with Sparkrecipes calculator: 241 calories per serving. *Does not include calories of anything served alongside (tortilla/rice)

Cream of Potato and Bacon Soup

As the chill sets in this November, you see people starting to gather towards those warming foods. Potatoes, beef, stews, casseroles...

Foods you can hold under your nose and they immediately warm your face, hands, and once eaten, your whole body. Nothing takes the chill off then a good, warm, bowl of soup. That is exactly what I needed today. I was outside most of the morning picking lemons and almonds off my trees and when I came inside, my hands were freezing and I was hungry.

This is a classic recipe for creamed veggie soup, substitute any vegetable for this recipe and it will still be good. Just vary it a bit according to needs.


I tweaked mine a bit by adding a bit of salty crunch; bacon (and I am Oh So Glad I Did!). Potato and bacon already go great together, but in this soup it's just divine.

The chunks of potato are so nice and tender to bite into

I LOVED the creaminess of the potato soup and the bursts of bacon flavor fill your mouth. I enjoyed every bite of this soup that left me very full afterwards.

But, I still found myself sneaking spoonfuls of the soup a few hours later, Yum!

Cream of Potato and Bacon                Serves 4

6 medium potatoes (or a mix of small and large to fit 6 med potatoes worth)
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped roughly
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbl butter
1 cup milk or half and half
4 strips of bacon

1. Fill a medium sized pot full of water and set on stove top on high. While water is heating up, peel and cube potatoes, add to water. Once water boils, set the timer for 7 mins.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, cook your bacon until crispy, drain on paper towels and set aside. Drain almost all bacon fat from pan, sautee onions until aromatic. Remove from heat.

3. Potatoes should be tender after 7 mins, drain water, reserve 1 1/2 cups of cubed potatoes. Take out your food processor or a good quality blender (I have the Jack LeLane one); add remaining potatoes, onions, and vegetable broth. Cover; process about a minute or until smooth.

4. In your sauce pan, wipe out any remaining bacon grease. Add butter and melt. Stir in flour, a good amount of salt and pepper, and stir until combined. Be careful not to burn the butter or flour. Add milk all at once.  Cook and stir until slightly thick and bubbly.

5. Add potato-onion puree and reserved potatoes to sauce. Crumble cooked bacon into the soup and mix gently. Cook until heated through. If necessary add additional milk to reach the consistency you prefer. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

6. Garnish with, what else? More Bacon! Enjoy!

Calories calculated using SparkRecipes Calculator: 195 calories per 1 cup serving

Black Bean and Sausage Soup

I have been loving introducing dry beans into my regular meal plans during the week. I used to think it was too hard to plan ahead and soak beans overnight.

What if I forget about them? What if I change my mind and don't want to cook _____ tomorrow night, what do I do with all these beans now? I want to make something now but I needed to pre-soak beans last night? Ugh! etc...

But, there are some simple recipes that I have found that used the quick soak method (which I love) and still make delicious meals fast.

Craving something with black beans and what I had in the house, I made a VERY yummy soup, Black Bean and Sausage.

I seriously ate this soup for lunch and dinner for two days straight! It was that good.

Black Bean and Sausage Soup

1 cup dry black beans
2 cups chicken broth (homemade is best)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
8 oz or 1/2 lb ground sausage

1. Rise beans and pick over them, removing any beans that are broken or wrinkled. In a deep pot, combine beans and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Let simmer for 2 mins then remove from heat and cover. Let stand for an hour (do not remove the lid the entire time, heat will escape while beans are still cooking).

2. Drain and rinse beans, return to same pot (no need to get a new pot), Stir in 2 cups of water, broth, celery, onions, garlic, salt and red pepper.

3. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.

4. Halfway through cooking (45 mins), brown the sausage and crumble as fine as you can. Add to the soup, stir and continue cooking another 30-45mins.

5. Serve and enjoy.

Don't be afraid of dry beans. They save you money. Contain less salt then canned beans and only require a bit more of your time to make these kind of hearty dishes.

Calories Calculated using Sparkrecipes Calculator: 107 calories per 1 1/2 cup serving