Monday, May 9, 2011

Coconut Curry Veggies and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus




pictured is red pepper hummus and coconut veggie curry



Coconut Veggie Curry:

I love simple curries, and was craving it the other day, so I went to the grocery store to pick up some coconut milk and curry powder. I had the following veggies at home: red potatoes, japanese eggplant, 1 sweet potato, onion, garlic, frozen organic green peas, (zuchinni and squash from farmer's market)

clean and dice all veggies. In olive oil, sautee sweet potatoes, garlic and onion, add the red potatoes, squash, zuchinni and eggplant, saute until tender, and add 1 tablespoon of curry powder, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, stir, salt and pepper to taste, then slowly add 1/2 can of coconut milk, 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice and chopped fresh cilantro and mint along with a cup of frozen peas, let simmer for 10 min.

Serve with flat bread. Add any protein that you like, I served this just vegetarian style :)

My hummus recipe is as follows:

so easy - get fresh chick peas and soak (1-2 cups)

rinse and boil in hot water for about 2 hrs (add kosher salt)

when soft, drain and place in blender with 4-6 cloves of garlic

add good olive oil, slowly stream in - I also add 1 tsp of sesame oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and 1 large roasted red pepper (with seeds out). To roast the red pepper just place in oven with drizzled olive oil for about 15 min until soft and blistery. I had 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds at home, and toasted them and threw then into the blended mixture, I have to say that they added an earthy layer of flavor. If you have fresh flat leaf parsley, add 1 hand full to the blender and blend until smooth.

Serve with flat bread, so good!

Homemade Easter Cupcakes








On Easter Sunday I made the most simple white cake batter for cupcakes, I use this recipe quite often. I didn't have any butter left to prepare butter cream, so I used a store bought white frosting that I had in my cabinet. Decorate your cupcakes any way you like, I love coconut so I topped mine with a shredded coconut

For my recipe, I used:

1 cup natural sugar
1/2 cup organic butter
2 organic eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 tsp pure vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup organic milk



This recipe makes 12 large cupcakes. Cream the sugar and eggs, add milk, flour and other ingredients and whip. Butter your baking cups and preheat oven to 350 and bake for 20 min or until golden brown