Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens

Happy New Year!

Staying with the ongoing tradition, I cooked black eyed peas and collard greens this New Years too. Rather than soup this year I tried this easy, quick, and simple recipe. I made no changes to the original recipe other than the quantities. It turned out delicious.

Here’s how I made mine.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup black eyed peas
• 1 bunch collard greens
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• cayenne pepper
• lemon juice
• some parmesan cheese

Soak dry black eyed peas overnight or for 8-10 hours in some water.

Rinse the black eyed peas, add one cup water and cook. I usually like to pressure cook my beans.

Heat some oil in a pan. Add minced garlic and fry lightly. Add chopped collard greens and fry for 5-6 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, and black eyed peas and continue cooking. Season with salt and peppers. Drizzle lemon juice and continue frying till moisture evaporates. Sprinkle cheese and serve warm with some bread.

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Quick Lunch Series: Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Good recipe when you have assorted vegetables and greens that you want to use off. This recipe is loosely based on this one.

Ingredients:

1 can Great Northern white beans

1/4 cup quinoa

1-2 cups of assorted vegetables (I used bell pepper, yellow squash, carrots, celery)

2-3 Roma tomatoes

1/2 bunch of kale greens

green onions

garlic

lemon juice

salt and pepper

paprika

dashes of dried basil, thyme and oregano

Heat oil in pan. Lightly sauté onion and garlic. Add chopped vegetables and greens and continue to fry for 5-6 minutes. Add quinoa and two cups water (or use broth) and bring to boil. Reduce flame and continue cooking until the quinoa is cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

Rinse and add beans. Season with salt and pepper and other seasoning. Stir and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes. Makes about 2-3 servings.

Serve warm with some bread. Can also add some cheese if desired.

Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens Chili

Happy New Year!

Over the last few years, I have been cooking black eyed peas and collard greens on New Years day. Each year I try a new recipe. This years is adapted from here. Here’s how I made mine.

Ingredients:

1 cup black eyed peas (fresh or 1 can)
4-6 leaves of Collard greens sliced
green onions (can use regular onion) sliced
2-3 garlic cloves minced
1 jalapeno chopped fine
1-2 carrots chopped
2-3 celery sticks chopped
3-4 tomatoes chopped (can use a can of tomatoes instead)
1-2 tomatoes (juice or use tomato paste)

1-2 tsp olive oil
Seasoning: salt, chili  powder (or paprika), cumin powder, coriander powder, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaves

 

Soak black eyed peas overnight if using fresh. When ready to make soup, steam peas in a pressure cooker.

Meanwhile, heat a Dutch oven or large pan with some oil. Add onions and garlic and fry lightly. Add carrots, celery, collard greens, tomatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked black eyed peas, tomato paste, seasoning and 2-3 cups water (or broth) and mix well. Reduce flame and let simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream and some corn bread.

See Also:

A. SOUP. A. WEEK. BLACK EYED PEAS FOR PROSPERITY IN THE NEW YEAR
HOPPIN’ JOHN
BLACK-EYED PEAS AND GREENS WITH NAVRATTAN SPICES TO START THE NEW YEAR
BLACK-EYED PEAS AND COLLARD GREENS
BLACK-EYED PEAS AND COLLARD GREENS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Spaghetti Squash Week

Although we can find Spaghetti Squash all year round, I usually am drawn to them in fall. There were many recipes that I wanted to try, although as usual couldn’t get to them all.

My obvious favorite from before is this Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowl. This week I tried two new recipes:  Spaghetti Squash Casserole and a Very Vegetable Spaghetti Squash.

The Spaghetti Squash Casserole builds on a previous recipe you can find here. Here’s how I made the casserole this time.

Ingredients:

1 Spaghetti Squash
2 cups tomato sauce
baby kale leaves
some sliced yellow squash and zucchini
cheese (pepper jack and parmesan)
salt and pepper
fresh basil
crushed pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice the spaghetti quash and remove the seeds and pulp. Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper. Place on a baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove and let cool.

You can find the tomato sauce recipe here.

To make the casserole, layer one cup of tomato sauce, scoop out spaghetti squash strands from one half of the baked squash and layer on top of the sauce. Layer some baby kale leaves on top of the squash. Next add a layer of yellow squash and zucchini slices. Add the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle sliced cheese.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Broil for another 4-5 minutes. Serve warm with some bread.

The recipe for the very veggie Spaghetti squash is adapted from here. I used sundried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts,  some kale and fresh basil. Sprinkle some feta cheese before eating.

Quick Lunch Series: Pear, Pomegranate and Pecan Salad

It’s what’s for lunch

I’ve had a left over pear for sometime and decided to pick some pomegranate seeds this past weekend with a plan to make salad for lunch. An internet search provided many alternatives. I liked the ring of Pear, Pomegranate & Pecan!

This is loosely based on this recipe. Here’s how I made my salad.

Ingredients:
Baby kale (1-2 cups)
Half a pear sliced
pomegranate seeds
pecans
sliced red onion
feta cheese

Dressing:
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar (I didn’t have apple cider vinegar)
Mustard
Minced garlic
salt and pepper
thyme
oregano

Lay out kale at the bottom of the bowl. Layer sliced pear, pomegranate, pecan, onion and feta. Mix dressing ingredients. Drizzle over salad and enjoy!

 

Repost: Mango and Farro Salad

It’s what’s for lunch!

It’s the time of the month, to clean the refrigerator. What better way than to plan new recipes!

I’ve tried a Mango and Spinach Salad and a Mediterranean Spinach Salad. This one is a cross between the two. What better way then to combine/refresh old recipes.

This time with some avocado!

Continue to read here for the recipe.

Fenugreek Leaves (Methi) cooked two ways

I love all green leaf vegetables. There is always kale and spinach in my fridge at the minimum. Or other greens such as chard greens, mustard greens, collard greens, amaranth leaves, and red sorrel leaves.

But fenugreek leaves is a whole different story.

While I admired the patience with which my mother extracted, cleaned, chopped and used them in cooking and enjoyed the end product, I am lazy when it comes to following the arduous process involved!

I rarely buy fenugreek leaves, but on a rare occasion I do commit and often regret, which was the case this past week. Good news is, these days you can buy fenugreek leaves in the frozen section of an Indian grocery.

The most common recipe that we used to make at home was to cook fenugreek leaves with toor dal (pigeon gram). I scoured the web for other ideas and finally decided to also try a curry recipe with it.

Here’s how I used my bunch of fenugreek leaves.

Peas, Methi Malai (Creamy Peas & Fenugreek Leaves Curry)

3/4 bunch of fenugreek leaves, extracted, rinsed and chopped
1 cup frozen peas, washed
1 small onion chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
small piece of ginger, chopped
2 Roma tomaotes, blended
3-4 tbsp of sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
1-2 tsp oil
dash of tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Extract, rinse, chop and set aside the fenugreek leaves.

Heat oil in a pan. Add tumeric and cumin seeds and fry till lightly brown.  Add onion, garlic and ginger and fry till lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Add peas, and fenugreek leaves and continue flying for another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and spices as desired.

Add milk, sour cream and a cup of water. Bring to boil, and reduce flame and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes until the curry thickens. This is very lightly seasoned, always adjust seasoning to personal preference. You can also add paneer if desired.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with naan, roti or a bowl of rice.

Methi dal

 

I previously posted the recipe for Methi dal and you find the recipe for Methi dal here.

Note: Fenugreek leaves have a very strong flavor, and unlike other greens, using a whole lot of them in dal can make it bitter. I usually like to err on the lighter side and use less rather than more!

Quick Lunch Series: Curried Quinoa, Roasted Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts Bowl

This recipe is loosely base on this one.

Ingredients:

1/2 head cauliflower
1/4 chopped onion
1 bag Brussels sprouts
1/2 cup quinoa
salt and fresh ground pepper
olive oil
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used lite)
coconut oil
red pepper flakes
curry powder
cardamon powder
Turmeric
Ginger
lemon juice
kale or other greens (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Trim and rinse cauliflower florets. Toss in oil, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes in an oven safe bowl.

Trim and slice Brussels sprouts. Toss in oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to an oven safe bowl

Bake for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp coconut oil, add onion and cook until translucent about 5 minutes. Add turmeric, curry powder, ginger and cardamon powder and fry for an additional 30 seconds. Add coconut milk, 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup quinoa. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked. Season with salt.

Fluff the quinoa, top with roasted cauliflower, and  Brussels sprouts. Top with green onions, drizzle lemon juice and toss in some greens such as green onions and chopped kale!

Perfect for a guilt free, week day, office meal!

Quick Lunch Series: Cauliflower Rice and Kale Soup

As soon as I came across this soup recipe, I was propelled to try it! Here’s how I made mine.

Ingredients:

1 small Cauliflower, separated into florets
1 bunch of Tuscan Kale, chopped
1/4 red onion chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carton of light coconut milk or use Almond milk
cumin powder
paprika
curry powder
red pepper flakes
salt and fresh ground pepper
olive oil
lemon juice
3-4 cups of broth or water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss Cauliflower florets in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Layout in a baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare other vegetables.  Heat a little oil in a large pan or dutch oven. Lightly fry onion and garlic till translucent. Add carrot and kale and lightly fry. Add seasoning, coconut milk and broth or water and bring to a boil. Reduce flame and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Process the roasted Cauliflower in a food processing, pulsing lightly to create Cauliflower rice. Transfer to the soup pan and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes.

Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Sprinkle croutons or pumpkin seeds. Drizzle lemon juice. Sprinkle herbs as needed and serve warm!

Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens for the New Year

I am a little late in posting this. Following the tradition from the last few years I made black eyed peas and collard greens on New Years Day.

For lunch, I made these Mediterranean flavored wraps with steamed black eyed peas seasoned with salt, sun dried tomatoes in oil, black olives, sliced cucumber, sliced orange pepper, banana peppers and roasted pepper hummus.

For dinner I made soup loosely following the recipe here.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup black eyed peas, soaked over night and steamed
2-3 large collard greens
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 bay leaf
1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup broth (or use use water like I do)
1/2 tsp berbere spice
touch of turmeric
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
cilantro to garnish
squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)

If using dry black eyed peas, soak in water overnight. Steam in a pressure cooker with twice the amount of water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large dutch over or pan. Add bay leaf, turmeric, onion, jalapeno, ginger and garlic and fry till lightly golden. Add berbere, salt, fresh ground pepper and tomatoes and continue cooking for five minutes.

Add broth or water, coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce flame to medium low and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cooked black eyed peas. Add more broth or coconut milk as needed and continue to simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Add chopped greens and mix well. Keep cooking for another 5-10 minutes.  Garnish with some cilantro, drizzle of lemon juice  and serve warm with some rolls.

See Also:

Black-Eyed Peas for Prosperity in the New Year
Hoppin’ John
Black-eyed Peas and Greens with Navrattan Spices to start the New Year
Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens