Oatmeal for Breakfast

As many of you know, one of the ways we stay within our grocery budget is to have meat as an occasional treat rather than a daily occurrence at our table. Jonathan mentioned that one of the reasons this is easy for him is that we eat things that aren’t just meatless versions of the meat and potatoes of our youth, but completely different recipes. Here is one such recipe from the last few weeks. It’s kind of like a summer stew.

African Curried Coconut Soup from Epicurious March 2009

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

I’m just going to confess right off the bat that this recipe comes from the Well-Rounded Pregnancy Cookbook, but I’m not ashamed! It is delicious!

Stir-Fried Vegetables with Coconut Curry Sauce (serves 2)

1.5 tsp canola oil
2  tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger (you can store ginger in the freezer and use it as you would fresh)
1 clove garlic, minced (or more, we always use more garlic)
4oz green beans, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1.5″ pieces
2 cups broccoli florets
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 bunch kale, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 tsp  sweet or hot curry paste
3/4 cup canned coconut milk (we use light coconut milk)
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp chopped scallions, white and green parts
2 Tbsp chopped roasted peanuts, optional
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute.
Add the green beans, broccoli, carrot, kale and stock, cover the pan and cook until the beans and broccoli have turned bright green, one to two minutes.
Stir the curry into the coconut milk.
Increase the heat under the skillet to high and add the curry mixture to the vegetables.
Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, three to four minutes more.
Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the scallions.
Sprinkle with copped nuts and cilantro leaves for serving.

We like to have this over soba noodles or rice. It is DELICIOUS.

Also, don’t feel that you can’t mix it up. I often add more green beans than broccoli, we’ve had this with beef or chicken. One of the options in the book is to replace the green beans with one cup of sliced mushrooms and the broccoli with 2 cups sliced zucchini. I’ve used frozen veggies too. It’s not quite as crunchy, but it works.