African Chickpea Coconut Curried Stew

I've got some good news for you.

You don't have to spend hours searching for what you're going to serve your friends. You've got your answer right here.

This African Chickpea Coconut Curried Stew will blow. your. mind. It has all the qualities you expect from a winter dish: it's comforting, flavorful, soupy, stewy, carby, and spicy.

It's perfect over rice or wheat.

Oh, and it's vegan.

I got this recipe from a friend about two years ago. Since then I've made it what, ten times? And you should know this about me: no matter how good a recipe is, I usually use it only once or twice because there are just too many recipes out there and not enough time to try them all.

Okay. Enough blabbering. Here's the recipe:

AFRICAN CHICKPEA COCONUT CURRIED STEW

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
• 1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 ounces), chopped
• 1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, seeded and peeled, fresh or canned 
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

•  On the side, prepare a pot of rice or wheat to serve the stew over.

Directions:

• In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. 
• Add the bell pepper, onion, and chili. Cook, stirring, until softened, for about 5 minutes. 
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. 
• Reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. 
• Add the remaining ingredients and cook, again stirring occasionally, until heated through, for about 5 minutes. 
• Serve warm over rice or wheat and enjoy!

This will change your life. I'm not kidding. Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - Gary Yourofsky.

Guys.
GUYS.
I want you to stop what you're doing and watch this speech. RIGHT. NOW.

I present to you Gary Yourofsky, an amazing and brave animal rights activist who changed the lives of many, many animals... AND people.

This guy is RADICAL. He has has given 2,495 lectures to more than 60,000 people at 180 schools in 30 different states AND in several Israeli cities and schools. The lecture below has been translated into more than 30 languages and has received over 7 million hits on YouTube. He has been legally (and unjustly) punished for random acts of kindness and compassion. He's been banned from entering several countries because of trying to serve justice towards animals. For example, in 1997, in Ontario, Canada, he liberated 1, 542 minks from being slaughtered on a fur farm... which led to him being kicked out of Canada.

This speech will completely change your beliefs about meat consumption.
Yes, it's one hour long, but I can assure you that it's totally worth it. This guy is a pure GENIUS. I promise that this will be a good use of your time. It's not just a good use of your time, it's an IMPORTANT, LIFE-OR-DEATH implied use of your time. Please watch it. It's all I ask of you.

So go on, click on play.

How do you feel after watching this? Did you know about Gary Yourofsky before?

Fancy some Pork Lard?

So the other day I was munching on some cookies.
Plaza del Sol Cinnamon Hearts imported from Spain, for the record.
After eating 3 or 4 of these small cookies, my eyes wandered over to the list of ingredients on the box.
And what is listed as third ingredient ? Pork Lard.
In a panic, I looked up "pork lard", and although I already could have told you what it is if I weren't in a state of shock, to my horror I read that it's... pig fat. Right off the pig. "Lard can be obtained from any part of the pig as long as there is a high concentration of fatty tissue", Wikipedia says.
I was munching on pig fat.
I WAS MUNCHING ON PIG FAT!!!

It's like if you cut off the fat from your body and cooked it up into your food. You're eating the fat from a creature's body. And in your cookies.
How SICK is this?! Why mix PIG FAT into innocent little cookies?! 

I felt like throwing up. I felt like the world had tricked me!

Now doesn't this just look DELICIOUS? Is your mouth watering at the sight of these blobby lumps of FAT? YUM!

I was quite shocked and traumatized from this whole experience, as you can probably tell.
And I'll definitely be checking the ingredients in my cookies from now on.

My Vegetarian Thanksgiving

This Saturday, we had a slightly early Thanksgiving with our friends.
It was a much anticipated afternoon... Thanksgiving is very special to me, because in spite of living in France where very few people celebrate it, WE do, which reaffirms my identity as an American all the more!

It was an afternoon of good food, good conversation and good people, as Thanksgiving should be.
Interestingly enough, my mom and I only made one of the dishes from my Thanksgiving Meal Ideas post... every recipe we used was new to us. But I am NOT exaggerating when I say that every single thing we ate was absolutely delicious.
Not even one dish was in the slightest way mediocre.


Have you ever wondered what a vegetarian eats at Thanksgiving? Well here's your answer.
(Links to the recipes are at the bottom of this post)

Pear and Fennel Salad

Squash, Spinach and Onion tart

Yummy Mashed Potatoes...

... and Vegetarian Wild Mushroom Gravy to pour over it!

Rosemary Roasted Carrots

 Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

"The Best Vegetarian Stuffing Ever" (The title of this recipe is not misleading: it really is the best I've ever had! Too bad I didn't take a picture of it from the inside. )

For dessert, we served Paradise Pumpkin Pie (a three layer pumpkin pie! Oh my!)!

 This is my bro and I before our feast started :P

Somewhere in this wild world we call the internet, I found this cute and free downloadable banner to print... It went perfectly on our wall! 

Now if you're interested in making any of these recipes, here's where you'll find them:

Pear and Fennel Salad
Mixed Baby Greens, Delicata Squash, and Caramelized Onion Tart
Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy
Rosemary Roasted Carrots
Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
The Best Vegetarian Stuffing Ever
Paradise Pumpkin Pie


What are you going to make this Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Meal Ideas and Inspiration

Next Saturday, my family is having our American friends over for Thanksgiving Lunch. And my mom and I will be making all the food! This is a big thrill for me, and I've been dreaming of what we're going to make.
I am totally into keeping traditions, so I definitely want to make classics or modified versions of the classics, MINUS the turkey of course.

First off, I wanted to share this recipe for "Stuffed Potimarron" (potimarron is type of pumpkin found in France) from my friend Meg Bortin (The Every Day French Chef). This recipe sounds so fun and festive and I totally trust that it's fabulous because Meg's food always tastes so good.


The following recipes are what appealed to me most on Pinterest... If you like my selection you can go to the Thanksgiving pinterest board I created to find all the other recipes I pinned!


I'd like to make this Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy from Martha Stewart. I need my gravy this Thanksgiving!


I thought this Healthy Potato Gratin from Food and Wine is beautifully arranged.









This Vegan Tofu and Vegetable Pot Pie from The Kitchn sounds like the perfect comfort food to me.

These are Lentil Mushroom Walnut Balls from Oh She Glows. YUM! They'd be a great side to the Thanksgiving meal.

Last but not least, I will DEFINITELY be making these Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts From The Live-In Kitchen. I tried something similar to this in a Lebanese restaurant in the States. I've been craving some ever since!


OH! And if you're looking for a scrumptious traditional desert, make the Pumpkin Pecan Pie I posted last year. It's truly wonderful.



Or if you're more in the mood for muffins, make my Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. You'll impress everybody!





What will you be making this Thanksgiving?

Spiced Roasted Pumpkin

Every Thursday, we receive an abundant basket of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
Lately, the contents of the basket have been such a joy because we're getting so many autumnal veggies which means LOTS of autumnal cooking!

Last Sunday, with the first gorgeous pumpkin we received, I baked the most wonderful Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Well, in our latest basket we got another pumpkin, and I needed to bring a vegetarian dish to a friend's house yesterday... so I brought this REALLY tasty, spicy roasted pumpkin!

It is roasted with Cumin and Cayenne Pepper... and it did come out quite spicy (which I love- but if you aren't very used to spicy food I recommend you tone down the Cayenne Pepper).


Here's the recipe (which I doubled), inspired from a recipe I saw a while ago on Food.com:

Spiced Roasted Pumpkin

Ingredients:

-800g pumpkin, cut into wedges
-1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper (according to your taste buds)
-1 tsp cumin
-ground black pepper
-sea salt
-3 tbsp olive oil (approximately)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Place the pumpkin wedges in a roasting pan or on a roasting sheet and sprinkle with cayenne pepper, cumin, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil and toss until the wedges are well coated.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender and caramelized (you can insert a fork into one of the wedges to make sure it is tender).


Enjoy!


What are some of your favorite autumn recipes?

Fall euphoria: Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Rainy, fall Sunday mornings are just the best time to bake, right? It has been raining all day here.

These muffins are coziness, happiness, and enchantment all in a treat.
And they're vegan.

Yep, that's right: no butter, no eggs, and no milk are used in this recipe.
I promise, you would NEVER tell the difference. Or wait, yes you would. These are BETTER
than any muffins I've ever made.

These muffins were perfect for sitting around reading, blogging, and doing my homework... I've eaten three by now!

They are super moist and just perfectly spiced with autumn's best flavors: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger...
And, of course, pumpkin.
I can't decide what made the consistency of these muffins so perfect. The pumpkin, or the coconut oil?
Or is it the combination of ALL the wonderful ingredients in this recipe?
You tell me once you've made them (you should, because they are SO. FREAKISHLY.GOOD).

I got the recipe from AverieCooks.com. She used small chocolate chips, but I didn't have any, so I hammered a chocolate bar into chunks. I think it made the muffins more chocolatey than intended... What a shame. Not. ;)

This is what her recipe looks like. I added a few comments.

Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

Ingredients:

-1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (this consists of ginger, cinnamon,  nutmeg, and ground cloves. I used a fourth of a tsp each because I didn't have pumpkin pie spice already made)
-1/2 teaspoon allspice
-1/2  teaspoon nutmeg
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
-pinch salt, optional and to taste
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed (if you don't have any, regular brown sugar is fine)
-3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
-1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (vegetable or canola oil may be substituted)
-1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (other milks may be substituted: I used soy)
-2 tablespoons molasses
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract
-1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (regular-sized chips may be substituted, use about 1 1/4 cups; or use 6 to 8 ounces chopped dark chocolate)

 

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Grease and flour a muffin pan; set aside. (Averie says she prefers using muffin pans than liners, because the paper might stick to the muffins)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and optional salt; set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugars, pumpkin, oil, milk, molasses, and vanilla until combined.
4. Pour the wet pumpkin mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined; don't overmix. Batter is quite thick and if yours is seemingly too thick, add a tiny additional splash milk to thin it.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips (I like mini chips in muffins because of the size ratio, but use what you have)
6. Divide batter equally among the cavities of the prepared pan. Each cavity will be just under 3/4 full (don't exceed 3/4 full or they could overflow). Spraying a one-quarter cup measure with cooking spray so the batter slides right off is handy here.
7. Bake for about 15 to 19 minutes (mine only needed 15) , or until tops are domed, puffed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs dangling but no batter. Allow muffins to cool in pans for about 10 to 15 minutes before removing and placing on a rack to cool completely. Muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 ingredient ice cream: Bananas and Peanut Butter.

Why, oh why have I never thought of this? Frozen bananas and peanut butter. It's as simple as that.
This recipe is easy-peasy and so, so, so delicious.
Do not be put off by how healthy this is. This actually tastes like real ice cream. It is real ice cream... Without the cream ;)
This is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. If you're a peanut butter lover like me you should definitely whip this up.
It's a perfect summer treat as it's refreshing AND energizing (beats that sluggish feeling we get from the heat)!
So here's what you do:

1)You cut your banana into thin coins and freeze in a sealed container for a few hours (or until they are hard)

2)You take your banana coins out of the freezer and put them in a blender along with a tablespoon of peanut butter.

3)You blend it up until smooth! If it gets stuck you can move the coins around with a spoon or add a little of the milk of your choice (I haven't needed to do that yet... until now every time it got stuck I moved the coins several times with a fork and that did the trick)

4)There is no number 4! You're done! And your mouth is watering 'cause it smells so good :]

I can imagine adding chocolate chips or a caramel swirl to this recipe if you're looking for something fancier ;)

Tell me what you think!

Paris, oh beautiful Paris

Today's post will be about my time in Paris.

Our appartment is in the 11th "arrondissement" (=neighborhood), but we were on the go and touring in many other places.

The arrondissements of Paris

We wandered around the Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissement) a lot, one of the most beautiful and most touristic neighborhoods of the city. One day we saw this performance artist conducting a "time machine". He got a lot of attention and it was quite hard to get a picture without somebody standing in front of the camera or shoving me out of the way.

 

 

The Marais has a Jewish stretch with five or six different felafel shops, where you can get a sandwich to-go or sit inside the restaurant. Personally, I think the to-go is the better option. You can find plenty of places in the Marais to sit down, whether it's on the steps of a monument, or a bench in the park...  you can just eat while walking. Plus, to-go is much cheaper and it's funner to have the fillings put in the bread then to have it spread out on a plate.

These felafel sandwiches are SO GOOD and just thinking about them is making me crave one, big time. By the way, if you specify that you don't want sauce in your sandwich (there isn't that much anyway) they're vegan. :)

 If you visit Paris this should definitely be on your list of things to do.

 

 

 

 

There were several vegan restaurants that I wanted to try and we only got to eat in one (which is in the 11th arrondissement) but I'm happy we got to fit that in, at least. It's called SOYA and it has a really groovy atmosphere... and yummy food:

We got a big spread with hummus, roasted veggies, beetroot dip, tzatziki, tofu and best of all the tofu-mint dip. It was amazing. I want to replicate it.

My brother got couscous with seitan and tofu, which was really, really tasty.

I got a salad of roasted veggies and quinoa and this pesto-sesame-sauce-thingy which I can't really remember apart from the fact that it tasted amazing.

One day we crossed Paris all the way to the 16th arrondissement (it felt like a totally different world from our neighborhood) to see some old friends. On the way we stopped at the American Library where I got five different books and a bunch of Friends DVDs. Then we proceeded to the 16th. We toured a little: we saw the statue of liberty (which honestly was much less interesting and pretty then the one in NY) and we strolled on the new walkway along the Seine.

 

 

One of the things which makes Paris so beautiful are the architectural details. Like the face over this window, for instance. You can find these on the façades of many buildings.

Other than touring my mom and I went to one or two yoga sessions per day and when it got too hot we spent time at the pool with my brother too.


Unfortunately, at some point during the trip my camera started freaking out and I couldn't take anymore pictures... I was planning to snap away at anything interesting I saw but therefore I was not able to. :(
I cannot tell you how many times I pulled out my camera to take a picture of something while we were out and then remembered that my camera would not co-operate. Kind of a drag, but I lived. ^^

5 ingredient granola bars

Searching around on pinterest, I came upon this recipe for no-bake, healthy, five ingredient granola bars.
It caught my eye, it called my name. I had to make these.

What's not to love about an easy, delicious, healthy granola bar recipe?
And did I mention delicious?
All the good stuff is packed into these little bricks of heaven: dates, almonds, oats, peanut butter, and honey. And when I say good stuff, I mean good for your taste buds AND your health. These bars are filled with protein, healthy fats, fiber and much more! Only great things can come from eating these.

The prep time is supposed to be 10 minutes, but as it often happens to me when I try a new recipe, it took WAY longer than that. That's because I didn't have the good sense to read the recipe through before embarking on it! When the time came to add the oats to the almond-date mixture, I had to wait 15 minutes for them to toast before stirring them in (you don't HAVE to toast them, but it's recommended if you like the flavor. I think it was worth it.) Oh, well. Live and learn.
Also, I didn't have a good almond-chopping technique... that slowed down the process as well.
I used honey this time, but you can veganize this recipe by using maple or agave syrup (I had a hard time deciding whether I wanted to use honey or maple syrup... they both sounded so yummy! I'll try maple syrup when I make these again.)

My bars don't look as thin and rectangle as they do on Minimalist Baker (which is where the recipe is from) but hey, they're pretty dang awesome.

I have a feeling I'll be making these again and again, as they are the perfect snack to carry around if you need a boost of energy.