Golden Red Lentil Dal with Cilantro-Speckled Basmati

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Asking for help isn’t something that comes to me naturally as I’ve always been a fiercely independent worker. My previous supervisors always commented on this trait almost immediately whether it was in an academic or business setting, and I often took a lot of pride in the fact that I could do things on my own. I never considered that this trait could potentially hold me back from growth. I guess I feared that asking for help would be a sign that I was incompetent, so I avoided it as much as possible. And I often thought that if I could just figure out how to manage my time better, I could do it all on my own. Case in point: In the 7 years that I’ve grown this blog, I’ve yet to hire a team member. 

However, this past year has helped me realize otherwise, at least in some areas of my life (I still have a long way to go). Working with Ashley on the photography for the next book has allowed me to focus more on my biggest passions – the writing and recipe creation – not to mention finish on time! Our working relationship has really opened my eyes to what I could achieve if I just asked for a bit more help. It has been a total light bulb moment. You know what else I realized? Collaboration is so darn fun. So much more fun than trying to do it on my own!

One of my many goals for this blog is to post at regular intervals once again. An idea I’ve had is to step back from food photography, so I can streamline my workflow and focus on recipe development and writing. I often have recipes in cue waiting to be shared with you all, but the one thing that holds me back is often the fact that I haven’t shot the photography for the post. I adore photography and really grappled with this idea, but in the end I also know that something needs to change if I’m going to be able to grow. So in spirit of collaborating with other talented people, I’m excited to tell you that Ashley will be shooting the food photography for my upcoming blog recipes! It kicked off last week with my Pumpkin Spice Latte with Homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup post, as some of you already noticed. This doesn’t mean that I won’t do food photography in the future, but it’s definitely working for this stage in my life. For the first time in a very long time, I have the next 2 blog posts already in the works and scheduled in my calendar. It feels awesome to be getting into a groove again and I know this is only the beginning. I will be sure to keep you posted with my other plans!

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Golden Red Lentil Dal with Cilantro-Speckled Basmati

Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

This easy, flavorful curry is a great one to whip up during the workweek, and leftovers only get better the next day. Light coconut milk makes this curry so luxuriously rich and decadent-tasting, while still feeling quite light and energizing. It definitely won’t weigh you down, but I can promise it’ll warm and comfort you on a chilly day. While it’s lovely all on its own (enjoyed like a rich, thick stew), I love it even more spooned overtop my cilantro-speckled basmati rice with toasted pepita seeds, sliced green onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice. The amount of broth called for yields for a very thick consistency; if you’d like it thinner and more “soup-like” feel free to thin it out with a bit more broth (if so, you might need to also increase the spices and seasonings as the extra broth will dilute the flavours). This comforting curry recipe is adapted from Super Fresh: Super Natural, Super Vibrant Vegan Recipes by Jennifer Houston and Ruth Tal (2015, Penguin Canada) which is a new cookbook featuring the recipes from Fresh (!), one of my favourite vegan restaurants here in Toronto.

Yield
Serves 4 (makes 5 1/2 cups)
Prep Time
15 Minutes
Cook time
25 Minutes
Total Time
40 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the curry:
  • 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil or grapeseed oil
  • 1 1/2 cups diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
  • 3 large or 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
  • 1 1/2 cups peeled and finely diced carrots (about 2-3 large)*
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste**
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
  • 1 (14-oz/398ml) can light coconut milk
  • 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, plus more if desired to thin the broth
  • 1/2-3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
  • 1 (5-oz) package baby spinach
For the rice:
  • 1 cup dry basmati rice
  • 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil or vegan butter
  • 1 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, or as needed
  • 1 cup unpacked fresh cilantro, large stems removed and finely chopped***
  • Fine sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Squeeze of fresh lime juice, to taste
Suggested toppings:
  • Green onions, thinly sliced
  • Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
  • Toasted pepita seeds (shelled pumpkin seeds)
  • Squeeze of lime juice, optional

Directions:

  1. For the curry: Add the oil in a large pot and increase heat to medium. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Saute over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
  2. Stir in the ginger and carrots, and continue sauteing for another few minutes over medium heat.
  3. Add the curry powder, cumin, and turmeric. Stir well. Cook for a minute, until fragrant.
  4. Pick over and rinse the lentils in a fine mesh sieve. Stir in the entire can of coconut milk, red lentils, broth, and salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered with the lid ajar, for about 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils and carrots are tender. Stir occasionally to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom. Stir in a touch more broth if you’d like a slightly thinner consistency. After cooking, stir in all of the spinach until wilted.
  5. Meanwhile, prepare the rice. Add the rice into a medium pot along with the oil and broth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook for 12-16 minutes, until the rice is soft and tender. Fluff with a fork and stir in the cilantro. Season to taste with salt and lime juice. Keep the lid on until ready to serve.
  6. Add a generous scoop of rice on a plate or bowl and top with a couple ladlefuls of curry. Add your desired toppings and serve immediately. Leftovers will keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4-6 days. The curry can also be frozen for up to 4 weeks, possibly longer. For easy freezer-storage, add the cooled curry into a freezer-safe bag, press out the air, and freeze on a flat surface. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or simply leave on the counter until mostly thawed.

*The smaller you dice the carrots, the faster they cook! I opt for thinly sliced carrots here to hasten cook time. You don’t have to dice quite as small as in the recipe photos though.

**Be sure to use a good-quality curry powder (one you enjoy the taste of) as a poor-tasting one can throw the flavors off. I am quite fond of Simply Organic curry powder.

***Not a cilantro fan? Simply leave it out and prepare the rice without it. No biggie!

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Photography credit: Ashley McLaughlin Photography

Last but not least, I want to wish all my fellow Canadians a very Happy Thanksgiving! We’ve been blessed with gorgeous, warm weather this weekend, and I hope you are too. Thank YOU for coming back to this blog time and time again, and for making this career so personally rewarding. 

Oh She Glows

One-Pot Pumpkin & Cabbage Stew

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Hi, this is David! Luise will soon tell you about this recipe of hers and we also have a little quick video where we demonstrate it, but I just wanted to mention one thing before we get all warm and cosy. If you are reading this on an Apple device, our typography has probably turned all bold and ugly on you. I am so sorry for this! It really hurts my design soul to see our site like that. During our six years of blogging, we have never changed the design of this blog. We have always loved the design and felt like it has become part of our blogs identity, but the theme that we built our site on has been outdated for a very long time and we have managed to keep it alive with band-aids and chewing gum. However, I am not sure if we can keep this design much longer; the typography is acting like a confused teenager, the site loads slowly, is not very mobile or printer friendly and my web skills can’t seem to fix all this. So bare with us while we are figuring out how this blog should transform into a more user friendly version. It will probably look ugly for a while but change is on its way. (And if you are a super-talented and design minded web wizard, feel free to shoot me an email: david@greenkitchenstories.com). Over to you Luise!

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The first morning frost has arrived and Stockholm has turned into a beautiful multi coloured Autumn city. It is cold and sunny but daylight hours are quickly slipping away. The shorter days mean more time inside with warming teas, candle lights and large batches of slow-cooking food with hearty flavors, nourishing ingredients and lots of herbs.

This dish embraces Autumn ingredients like pumpkin, cabbage and apples, and the combination of rice and beans gives you a complete source of protein. If you live in a different climate or time-zone, you can combine any kind of grains and legumes with whatever vegetables the season is offering.

Comforting one-pot meals are cheap, no fuss-family dinners that often last for a couple of days. Not to mention how easy they are. With only one-pot simmering on the stove, you both save dishes and don’t have to focus on keeping track of several pots with different cooking times. If you soak the grains and beans in the morning, you’re set to cook everything for dinner. Apart from the general health aspects of pre-soaking grains, I have found that it’s extra important in one-pot meals, since the rice don’t dilute the colour of the stew as much when it is pre-soaked.

Here is a little one-minute video that we created to show you how easily this dish is assembled. Hope you like it. Remember to subscribe to our youtube channel for more recipe videos.

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One-Pot Pumpkin, Cabbage & Rice Stew
Serves 4–6

We have kept the flavours quite simple in this stew and instead add extra herbs and diced apple as a fresh twist right before serving it. I imagine mushrooms and tomatoes would be a delicious addition in this stew too. You can also try a bolder choice of spices or other type of grains and legumes. You can even throw in a piece of parmesan rind as it simmers to add a nice umami flavour to the stew (just remember to remove it before serving).

1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp coconut oil, ghee or olive oil
1 butternut squash or pumpkin of any kind
3 sprigs rosemary, mash them a few times with the end of a knife
zest of 1 organic lemon, grated
1 small head of cabbage
1 cup uncooked whole grain rice, pre-soaked
1 cup uncooked black eyed peas, pre-soaked
water to cover, approx. 6 cups / 1 1/2 liter
1 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder (with no added MSG)
3 dried bay leaves
sea salt and pepper, to taste

To serve
plain yogurt of your choice
fresh parsley, chopped
fresh apples, chopped
grated parmesan, optional

In the morning: Place whole grain rice and black eyed peas in two separate bowls, cover with (filtered) water and let soak for 8-12 hours. Then drain and rinse and they are ready to be used in the recipe.

Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Prepare the pumpkin; peel it, divide it in half and scoop out the seeds. Then chop it into cubes. Heat oil in a large pot, add onion, garlic and rosemary sprigs, let fry for a minute or so, stirring occasionally. Add the cubed pumpkin and lemon zest and stir to combine. Slice the cabbage, discard the stem. Now add cabbage, soaked and rinsed whole grain rice and black eyed peas, water, bouillon, bay leaves, salt and pepper and stir around to combine everything. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and let cook for 45-60 minutes. Check every now and then to see if more water is needed and gently stir around. It is ready to serve when the rice and peas are very tender. Serve in bowls with a dollop of yogurt, fresh parsley and chopped apples.

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