Leftover Lemony Garlicky Seared Carrots (vegan/vegetarian)

As a side dish to any meal especially BBQ tofu (OMG delish!) and to use the left over carrots and garlic from the Sweet Potato Lentil Curry I present to you Lemony Garlicky Seared Carrots This recipe is so easy and very versatile. Use sesame oil instead of olive and sprinkle with sesame seeds for an Asian kick, use basalmic vinegar instead of lemon juice for a french inspired side dish to a mock meatloaf or lentil loaf.

serves 3-4

Ingredients:

3T Olive Oil

2T EarthBalance or margarine... or butter

7 carrots cut into batons ($.35)

6 cloves garlic sliced($.20)

1/2 lemon ($.10) I'll but them when they're 10/$1 and freeze what i don't use straight away.

salt, preferably Kosher

total cost: $.65. cost per serving: about $.20!!!

Side Note:

ok... you need a really good professional style skillet preferably stainless over non-stick. (Go to TJMaxx if you have one in your area... way cheaper & worth it!) A stainless steel skillet allows you to get your pan hot enough to sear foods where as you cannot with a non-stick pan. Getting a non-stick pan super hot will apparently cause cancer causing fumes to release. IDK. If you do not have a stainless steel a non stick will do fine. Olive oil has a higher smoking point than butter so this combo allows food to get hot enough for searing but not taste burnt because of the butter. You will want some char marks on the carrots but not many.

Method

After you have cut your carrots into batons, liberally salt them and set aside. Get your pan searing hot if you have a stainless steel pan, set on med.high if your pan is non-stick. A drop of water should dance on the hot pan. Add your olive oil and just as it begins to smoke add your EB, margarine or butter. when it becomes bubbly brown add your carrots, then your garlic. Saute the carrots until the butter/oil has been absorbed the pan appears to be dry. Once dry, squeeze lemon juice onto the searing hot pan collecting the seeds in the palm of your hand. Let the excess juice absorb. Turn off heat, serve and enjoy!

Procrastination Sweet Potato Lentil Curry (Vegan)

When I should've been working on this research paper I have due on Friday I decided to make some curry. Curry is usually cheap, fairly easy to make and the sky's the limit when it comes to creativity. Literally, just about anything in your cupboard or fridge can be in curry. If you have nothing in your fridge... going to a farmer's market type grocery store (like Henry's/WildOats) can put you in a position to create a meal for 4 (with leftovers) for under $10! The best thing about these types of markets is that they have a bulk section where you can purchase grains, dried legumes, granolas, herbs and spices. You can buy as much or as little as you like. I like buying in this section when i can because it allows me to always have fresh spices and cut costs when i only need a tablespoon or two. Don't be afraid to be a weirdo like me and bring a tablespoon and quarter cup along. Sometimes the weight doesn't even register (you'll see what i mean when you see how much my curry powder costs). I save costs by also purchasing unwashed spinach. It's not much of a time waster in my opinion. I'll tell you when to start it.

All of the items were purchased from Henry's Market in Escondido, Ca. None of the items were on sale... booooooooo!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2T olive oil

3T curry powder ($.18)

2T veggie chicken stock powder ($.16)

3 carrots chopped ($.15) the whole bag costs $.50 but i only used 3

3 cloves garlic minced ($.10) bunches are 3/$1

1 bunch spinach in strips($1.49) a pre-washed bag costs around $3

1 med onion chopped ($.28)

1 russet potato chopped ($.61)

2 sweet potatoes or yams chopped ($1.29)

1/2 C dried red lentils rinsed ($1.08)

2 tomatoes diced ($.95) I tend to use whatever is cheapest when cooking, this time I used roma

1 can coconut milk ($1.19)

1 C hot water (I prefer to nuke it in the micro for 99 seconds. less energy used)

salt to taste

total spent $8.06 price per serving $2!!!

It is always wise to have "tout mise-en-place" (everything in it's place) I like to have everything chopped, diced and measured out before i start cooking. I also tend to keep out my shopping bag so that I have a place to put all of my scraps and trash.

Preparation:

Fill your sink with cold water. If your spinach bunch is really dirty, cut off the dirtiest part first before dropping it into the water. Agitate the water and allow sand to fall to the bottom. Let rest.

In a cup add hot water to veggie broth powder... you have now made veggie stock! set it aside for later.

In a stock pot i heat my oil on about med-low. Once warm i add my chopped potatoes, yams, carrots, onion and garlic. Add salt and saute till the onion is translucent. About 10 minutes

meanwhile....

gather spinach, drain water from sink, rinse sink add more cold water and put spinach back in the sink. Agitate and let rest.

back to the curry...

Add curry powder to the pot, along with the can of coconut milk and the lentils. add a bit more salt. Cover and allow to simmer for about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally adding the remainder of the stock if the curry becomes too thick.

while that's simmering... back to the spinach

agitate the spinach one last time and remove the stems. The best way to get the spinach leaves into strips is to use the Chiffonade method I stack more than i should an mine are usually messy but you get the point. Set that aside.

Once the lentils in your curry are tender add the spinach ribbons and chopped tomatoes. Stir gently and allow spinach to wilt. Season one last time with salt, if needed and BOOM DONE CURRY!