Easy Vegetarian

Hi Guys,

I've been increasing my repertoire of vegetarian meals... but before you go, ugh, gross, and ignore the rest, let me assure you that this is not boring veggie that will leave you wondering, where's the meat?

The first recipe, Chickpeas with Spinach, is adapted from my WholeFoods iPhone application, which I highly recommend to all-- it lets you search for recipes by "what you have on hand," by dietary restrictions (my current least favorite "dairy free"), and easily makes you a shopping list. Its free and certainly does not need to be used at WF market specifically.

The second, Curry Couscous Salad, is a Giada interpretation. Fast and easy, I had no idea that you just dumped couscous into boiling broth, took it off the heat and then 5 minutes later it is done! Summer cooking at its finest.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Sachin is about to kill me for staying up late to do this, so I'll save you the low res iphone shots of the leftovers we have from these!

Chickpeas with Spinach

Ingredients:

Vegetable Oil

Yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp cumin ground

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

Cayenne, pinch for me, more for sachin but WOOHOO.

14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with liquid

2 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 6oz package of baby spinach

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet and add onions, cooking till golden brown. Add spices and toast for 30 sec and stir into onions. Add tomatoes with liquid and chickpeas and bring to gentle boil. Add water if needed. Reduce heat and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with wheat tortillas or in a bowl with spoons.

Serves 6 (but I'd say, makes 3 good dinner portions and PLENTY of METHANE!)

Curried Couscous Salad

Ingredients

Cauliflower:

Cauliflower, 1 medium head trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch peaces

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Couscous:

2 c low salt chicken broth

1 1/2 tbsp mild curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

10 oz box couscous

3/4 c dired cranberries

1/2 c cashews, salted and roasted, coarsely chopped.

1/2 c cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped int o 1/2 inch pieces.

1/3 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 large lemon zested

Dressing:

(we just used EVOO and lemon juice)

1/3c greek yogurt

1/4 c evoo

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Directions:

Cauliflower: preheat oven to 400F. Lightly coat florets in EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Roast in center rack of oven for about 25 minutes or until beginning to brown while you prep the rest! Let cool for about 10 min.

Couscous: boil chicken broth, curry, and salt to taste in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in couscous and cover while couscous absorbs liquid--about 5-7 minutes. Fluff with a fork and toss into a large serving bowl. Stir in cooked cauliflower, cranberries, cashews, cucumber, parsley, and lemon zest. Refrigerate (if you want to serve cold).

Dressing: serve with olive oil and lemon juice if you are dairy free, blech. Otherwise, wisk yogurt, EVOO and curry powder until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, add dressing to salad and toss to coat.

Serves about 4 for dinner. (don't trust what the skinny italian cook reports for serving size.)

ps. the EVOO comments are for Julie, lover of rachel ray. the option to add in roast or boiled chicken would be great for meat for breakfast boy charles.