Hello,

It is starting to feel like winter! Whenever it is gray and cold outside, I feel like making (and eating!) soup. I wanted to make a coconut curry soup this week but ran out of coconut milk and didn’t feel like running out to get some. I put this together with the stuff I had in my fridge/pantry and I think that it is versatile enough that you can use whatever you have on hand. We ate the soup with crunchy garbanzo croutons and pesto grilled cheese sandwiches (recipe for the garbanzos below as well!). I hope that it hits the spot for you like it did for us!

Winter Soup

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower

2 large or 4 small carrots (about 2 cups chopped)

1 small onion

vegetable bullion (2 cubes)

water

1 clove of garlic, 1 knob of ginger

Assorted spices: cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, curry powder or curry paste, thyme, etc..

ghee or butter

splash of milk (almond milk or non-dairy milk will work, as will coconut, or cream if you want to use that)

garbanzo croutons (see below)

Instructions:

1. Salute the chopped onion, garlic and ginger in 2 tablespoons of the butter or ghee.
2. Add in spices: salt and pepper, cumin, curry paste etc. Stir and cook for about a minute until the spices are fragrant.
3. Add in the chopped vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes until they start to soften.
4. Add in 3 cups of water and stir, scraping the bits of the bottom. Put in the bullion cubes. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
5. Using a hand blender (or a regular blender in batches), puree until smooth.
6. Stir in 1 cup of “cream” (milk or coconut milk work well)
7. Top with toasted pepitas, chopped herbs and garbanzo croutons.

Garbanzo Croutons

Ingredients:

One can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

salt,  cumin

olive oil

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Toss the garbanzo beans with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp cumin
3. spread out on a baking sheet and toast for 30 minutes until crispy, stirring once 15 minutes into the cooking time.
4. Serve!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

It’s been a whirlwind the last week! We just celebrated Diwali (a Hindu festival which celebrates the triumph of good over evil or light over dark). It’s one of my favorite holidays of the year and we were so happy this year to celebrate with my nephew as well. I am always the happiest when the kids are together.

This year, after celebrating with so many who are dear to me, I reflected on how we have been blessed to develop a diverse community/village. #lifegoals

I am going to tell you about these delicious and relatively quick fall falafel patties I made. But first some link love!

A couple of books that I am reading:

1. A recommendation from the girls’ head of school called “Wait, What?”  It’s a quick read and super interesting.

2. I know I am late to the game, but my sister just gave me her copy of Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey and it’s pretty incredible. One of my favorite poems here:

Other fun stuff:

1. Ten of the best photos from the 2017 National Geographic Travel Photos contest. Cheers me up every time:

https://www.boredpanda.com/national-geographic-travel-nature-photographer-of-the-year-contest-2017/

2. My friend Nadya sent out this awesome video for the International Day of the Girl:

3. On my list to make:

https://cookieandkate.com/2017/mini-peanut-butter-cups-recipe/

and

http://www.acozykitchen.com/burnt-butter-pear-apple-crumble/

Now, on to the recipe. I saw this a couple of weeks ago on Ashley’s blog Blissful Basil and bookmarked it to make. I love the idea of incorporating pumpkin into these to make them good for the fall! And since it uses such little pumpkin, there is pumpkin puree left over to make a fall dessert. These patties are also gluten-free and vegan. I ate mine with tahini sauce (i’ll give you the quick recipe below) and some greek yogurt on the side. They would also be good like more traditional falafels – wrapped in pita. I did make a few tweaks to the recipe, so if you want the original, you can go to Ashley’s site.

Pumpkin Lentil Falafel

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried split red lentils
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cup mix of raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin purée
• 3/4 cup oat flour (make your own by blending oats in a food processor)
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, stemmed
• 1/2 medium red onion, roughly diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and generously oil 2 baking sheets.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but not yet mushy. Strain off excess water and set aside.

3. Add the seeds to a food processor and process for one minute, or until ground into a coarse flour.

4. Then, add the cooked lentils, pumpkin purée, and all remaining ingredients to the food processor. Pulse 10 to 15 times to coarsely chop and mix. Be careful not to over-process.

5. Using a large tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of the batter on to the baking sheets, flatten slightly using the back of the spoon.

6. Bake for 10 minutes on each side, longer if you like them crispier (but be aware, that if you overtake them, they will dry out)

7. Let the patties cool on the pan slightly before moving or serving.

   8. Serve with tahini sauce!

   

   

   Quick Tahini Sauce

   In a small blender (or can be mixed by hand) combine a few scoops of sesame tahini, a splash of olive oil, a splash of water, juice of one lemon, and salt/pepper to taste. Blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Serve with the falafel!

    

   Love,

Pooja