Butternut Squash Soup with Chickpea Croutons

Emily and I got the squash pack from Bountiful Baskets a couple of months ago. Besides the spaghetti squash and acorn squash, we ended up with 7 butternut squash. This past week, we finally finished them off using this recipe. The original recipe came from My New Roots, but we adapted it to our tastes. I think the chickpeas really provide a good balance for the soup, so don't leave them out.

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash
1 large yellow onion
4 large cloves garlic
2 tsp. coconut oil or olive oil, plus olive oil for garnish
salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
4 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp. ground turmeric powder
1-2 tsp dried rosemary and thyme (optional)
Chickpea croutons (Recipe below)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the butternut squash into even chunks and place on a baking sheet. Peel and cut onions into quarters, add to baking sheet. Peel whole cloves of garlic and add to baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and toss well to coat. Place in oven and roast until the squash is tender.

In a large blender pour 4 cups hot vegetable broth, turmeric, rosemary and thyme. Remove butternut squash from skin and add the roasted vegetables to the blender. Blend on high until completely smooth (let blender run for a minute or so). If the soup is too thick, add more broth to thin to desired consistency. Season to taste. Serve with croutons.

Croutons
3 cups or 2 cans cooked chickpeas – drained and well-rinsed
3 Tbsp. coconut oil or olive oil
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. smoked paprika or ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp. chili powder

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the chickpeas in a medium bowl and toss with oil and spices until coated. Spread the chickpeas on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put in oven until they turn golden and crisp up, stirring occasionally. It takes about 25-35 minutes. They will crisp a little more outside of the oven, so you may want to take them out before they are completely crisped.

African Vegetable Curry

I made this a couple weeks ago. It was the perfect week night meal. It didn't really take a lot of effort, but the flavor was great. The recipe came from naturallyella, but I adapted it a fair amount. 
1 large russet potato 
1 red pepper
1 small red onion
2 tablespoon olive oil
5 clove garlic
3-4 tablespoon curry
2 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon clove

1 head cauliflower

pinch corriander, tumeric, and paprika
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
zucchini
2 cup vegetable broth

In a large skillet or stock pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat of medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, about five minutes. Add cauliflower, potato and pepper, continue to cook until cauliflower begins to soften- another five minutes..
While vegetables cook, in a small sauce pan combine remaining olive oil, garlic, and spices. Heat and whisk until sauce is warm and combined. Add spice mixture, beans, zucchini, and vegetable broth to vegetables. Continue to cook uncovered for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Liquid will reduce by half and vegetables will be cooked through. Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Easy Hummus

I am sorry, I did not take a picture of this one, but it was super easy, and good...

2 cans of Chickpeas/Garbonzo beans, drained
3 gloves of garlic pressed
Lemon juice

Add to blender cup. For me, I could press the 'sauces' button and voila! I started w/two cloves of garlic, and worked my way up...

Hummus is great for dipping vegetables like sweet peppers, carrots, cucumbers, and even tortilla like chips ;-)

Curried Rice and Chickpea Salad

This has become a staple in my recipe library over the past year. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to throw together and the flavor is great. I've taken it to a few potlucks and it always disappears pretty quickly. I got the recipe out of Robin Robertson's "Quick-Fix Vegan: Healthy, Homestyle Meals in 30 Minutes or Less" Cookbook.

1 ripe mango, cut into bit sized chunks
3 cups cooked rice (I used a wild rice blend here, but I like brown basmati too)
1½ cups home-cooked chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed
1 red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice
¼ cup minced scallions
⅓ cup golden raisins (I used dried currents)
⅓ cup toasted peanuts (I used almonds)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp mango juice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine mango, rice, chickpeas, bell pepper, scallions, raisins, peanuts and parsley or cilantro in large bowl.   Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour dressing over salad and stir to combine.

Barley and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients
6 c water
1 1/2 c uncooked pearl barley*
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
2 bell peppers, diced (any color)
1 avocado diced
4 c mixed greens
basil to taste
lemon or lime juice to taste

Bring water and barley to a boil on stove. Reduce heat and cook for 40 minutes. Add bell peppers and chickpeas and cook for 5 more minutes until softened and barley is completely cooked. Remove from heat. Combine the cooked mixture with the fresh basil, mixed greens and avocado. Add lemon or lime juice to taste.

* You could use any whole grain, but you would need to adjust the water accordingly.

Chana Masala

I got the original recipe from the website kalewithlove.com, but I added and change things a fair amount because I didn't like the acidity level of it.  I think it turned out pretty good after that.

Ingredients   
2 cups chickpeas
1 tablespoon safflower oil or olive oil 
1 pound washed baby spinach 
1 cooked sweet potato, peeled and mashed 
2 washed tomatoes, crushed. 
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
2 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder, but you could use whatever) 
3 garlic cloves, diced.  
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes  
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 
Juice of 1 lemon.

Directions:
1. Place skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add small amount of the oil and the spinach. Cover and stir occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes, until leaves are just wilted. Remove cooked spinach to a plate and set aside for later.
2. In skillet, still over medium heat, add remaining oil plus the garlic and red pepper flakes. Allow to cook for 2 minutes until garlic starts to golden.
3. Add the mashed sweet potato, crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, chickpeas, mushrooms, cinnamon and chili powder . Cook until the chickpeas are fully tender and the sauce is sizzling.
4. Mix in the sautéed spinach and lemon juice. Turn off heat and serve immediately. Serves 6