Wednesday, July 27, 2011

What's for Lunch?


So now that I am living on my own, I am finally getting a chance to use my vintage dishes, glasses, and silverware on a daily basis. And, I gotta say it's been super fun thus far. Since I love cooking and I would like to share my vintage dishes collection with you all, I thought I would start featuring some of my meals on the blog.

Yesterday I made one of my favorite hearty dishes -- curried cauliflower. I used to use a recipe, however, I have made this dish so many times that I don't use it anymore. I tried to find it online, but had no luck. So here's how I made it with approximate measurements.

Curried Cauliflower

You will need:
1 head of cauliflower
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of chickpeas
1-2 sweet potatoes, steamed and cubed
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp paprika
1 tsp basil leaves
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
salt and pepper
olive oil

In a large frying pan, line the bottom with olive oil and heat your onions and garlic. While that is cooking, cut up your cauliflower into little florets. Place in the pan and cover. While the cauliflower is cooking, peel and dice the sweet potato. If you have a large one, just use one, otherwise, use two smaller ones. I place mine in the microwave until soft enough to mash. You can steam them too. I have done both and both work well. At this point, you are ready to add your spices. I just sprinkle mine on, so these measurements are an estimate. However, the main thing is to include more of the curry and the ginger then the rest of the spices. The yeast flakes will help to thicken up the sauce that will form once you add the can of diced tomatoes. Now add the chickpeas and cover for a minute or two. Once they have soften, add in the can of diced tomatoes. Cover and bring it to a boil. If needed, add a half cup of water. You want a little bit of a soupy sauce in the bottom of the pan. At this point, I test to see how its flavored and add more spices as needed. The last thing to do is fold in your mashed sweet potatoes.

It sounds like a lot of steps, but it really is an easy meal to make. And it's cheap too! What else is nice about this dish is you can use it as a chunky dip too. I tend to snack on the leftovers the next day with some pita chips.

I also have been on a huge ice tea kick lately. Right now, I have iced Passion tea by Tazo in the fridge.

Now for details on the dishes! The tablecloth, glass, napkin, and the Homer Laughlin Eggshell Georgian plate all come from different estate sales. The bakelite fork was found on eBay. I was so excited to find a huge lot of vintage butterscotch bakelite silverware on eBay for a real steal. I think I got such a good deal because there was not a complete set of any of the patterns. I don't mind one bit and think it's fun to mix and match the patterns.
What have you been snacking on?

Emily

2 comments:

akvaughn said...

Looks delish. Will have to try that recipe.

Lauren Hairston said...

I love getting dishes from estate sales!

The curry sounds yummy. I've never used nutritional yeast flakes before, though! Great idea about the pita chips--those are so ridiculously delicious.