Hello!
Well, my day surely improved after my accidental sleep-in this morning. I actually had a really productive day today! I will need to remember what a difference some extra sleep can do for a girl.
Also, I must admit my Green Monster this morning was pretty incredible…
This morning’s Green Monster featured: 2 cups kale, 1 cup Almond Breeze, 1 tbsp carob powder, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp cashew butter, 1 frozen banana, 1 tsp raw maca powder, 2 large ice cubes.
Green Monsters really make my heart sing.
Loudly.
Sometimes my heart sings Lady Gaga…but that is another story.
Today was a Gluten-free and raw Liberate Glo Bar day in the bakery. I know a lot of you have been waiting on more to be available in the shopping cart and I am happy to say that I will have Liberate bars on sale at 11am EST this Friday July 30th. There will be a limited supply so be there or be square!
The Dinner Decision
I am often asked how I decide what meals to make each night for dinner.
I actually have a really easy system that works for me. It typically involves no lists or planning. I simply open the fridge, look at what veggies I need to use up, and then I base my meal around that. I am a very spontaneous cook and I love to just let my heart guide me in the kitchen. Or my stomach. Mostly, my stomach.
Tonight, I had to use up a 3-week old (but still good!) cabbage. I walked to the computer and googled ‘Vegan Cabbage recipes’ and I found this in less than 30 seconds. I just used it as inspiration. I decided to turn it into a cabbage soup because Eric has been feeling under the weather this week (sore throat) and I want to heal him with veggies!
Cabbage soup for the soul was born!
The key for my method to work, is to keep a well-stocked pantry whenever possible. Buy in bulk whenever you can (Costco, bulk food stores, online) and make a list of the foods that you use most often. Then when you go to the grocery store, you will know what to stock up on.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned in the kitchen is to have fun with cooking. Experiment. Change up recipes based on what you have on hand or what you feel like. Sure, you will have some duds occasionally, but you will also have many more awesome meals and a newfound confidence in the kitchen!
I used to get all stressed about about cooking. I thought if I didn’t follow the recipe to a tee, it was an utter failure. I couldn’t understand why anyone said cooking was fun! But, I feel like I understand now…the beauty of cooking is about passion.
It is not an exact science. I prefer to put on my apron and pretend I am Julia Child (accent and all), tossing random things into a pot and emitting an evil cackle. [Ok, the evil cackle is my personal issue and has nothing to do with Julia. I will leave Julia out of this.]
Healing Cabbage, Potato, Carrot, & Tomato Curry Stew
Who doesn’t crave a piping hot stew in the summer?! I know I do. I have superb timing with this stew recipe in the middle of a hot summer, but I promise this is a good one and will be worth it. Actually I wasn’t even that hot making this stew, because after I threw it on the stovetop I simply left the room for 1-1.5 hours. Piece of cake!
This stew is a wonderful way to use up a bunch of veggies that you may have sitting in your crisper. Cabbage is packed with nutrients including: Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and Manganese. The best part is you can enjoy this soup cold too!
Inspired by Veg Web.
Ingredients:
- 1 small cabbage head, chopped into 1 inch pieces (Note you might want to shred cabbage so it is easier to chew)
- 4 small carrots
- 1 large can of diced tomatoes
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 yellow squash, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 7-8 new potatoes, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 3/4-1 tsp sea salt (or less, start slow and taste test first)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 tbsp Arvinda’s Curry Masala (depending on how hot you like it) or other quality curry
- 1/2 tsp Herbamare spice (optional)
- Parsley, to garnish
Directions: Wash and chop all vegetables. Throw into extra-large pot good for making soup and stew. In a large bowl, add the sauce ingredients diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, sea salt, pepper, herbamare, curry powder. Mix well. Add the sauce to the pot and stir well. Cover and cook on medium for about 45 minutes and then cook on low for another hour or until potatoes and cabbage are tender. Enjoy hot, cold, or at room temperature! Makes about 10-12 cups worth.
The cooking process through photography…
This is the little cabbage that lives on! It survived 3 weeks in the crisper!
Clearly, I gave him a complex by choosing all the other veggies over him week after week.
Sorry cabbage, I do love you, I just find you hard to implement into recipes at times. I promise to be more creative with you in the future.
Chop, chop, chop!
I never used to like chopping, but lately I have found it very therapeutic and calming.
I am happy report the potatoes are all used up!
I was going to make the S & V potato chips, but I didn’t have any vinegar. I will make them next time, promise! Another CSA pick-up is tonight and I suspect there will be more taters in store for us…
You will need a BIG pot.
Or a cauldron will do!
*witch cackle*
and a broomstick.
And that handsome man, Eden.
I try to buy Eden Organic whenever possible because they use bisphenol-A (BPA) free linings in their canned goods.
Progress…
After 2 hours on medium to low on the stovetop. I also assume this would be a great slow-cooker recipe! Throw it on in the morning and let it simmer all day long.
Pure bliss.
I don’t think I have ever made a healthier stew than this one!
You can literally taste the healing powers of this stew when you eat it…and might I add, it is also DEELISH!
Sprinkle of Dried Parsley…
Operation: Heal my husband is underway!
Tonight’s questions: Choose your favourite: 1) Cooking, 2) Baking, or 3) Umm…restaurant, please!
Do you have a love and passion for cooking/baking? Why or why not?
I was always a baking girl at heart, but lately I have started to love cooking too. I see it as a challenge now. The blog has really helped push me to try out new recipes.
This post took a lot longer than planned (don’t they all?!), but I promise that EPL quote is coming at ya tomorrow AM. =)
Happy Humpday!
mmm that looks delicious!!! my heart sings lady gaga all the time :) i too find the whole process of cooking so therapuetic! I love it :)
Do you like her newest song? Eh, eh I think it is called.
This stew looks great, I made my own veggie broth yesterday and then roasted veggies and added them and made a pureed soup. It was great. Now I am doing the “hmmm, what should I make for dinner tonight” thing. I came to your website to look at what I need to make the chickpea burgers, but I am pretty sure I don’t have everything. While I was here I read your latest post and had to comment. I will be making this stew within the next week, looks amazing. I enjoy your blog so much, thank you for taking the time to write to us multiple times a day and taking such beautiful pictures. You are an inspiration in so many ways <3
Thank you! =) Enjoy whatever you end up making. I need to make another huge batch of chickpea burgers as they make such quick lunches.
That stew looks yummy!
I love cooking but not so much baking. I’ve just never been that good at baking.
I l ike your method for deciding what to make. I wish I could be more spontaneous. Any time I’ve tried to be spontaneous with meals though, I find food goes to waste. Your meals are always so amazing so it obviously works!
Haha, I’ve been craving soups and stews like crazy lately as well. So much so that I just ordered a vegan soup book for inspiration. It’s over 100* F today, clearly I’ve gone mad. =P Baking is my favorite! I eat lots of whole fruits and veggies instead of actual dishes so when I have the itch to prepare something it’s almost always sweet treats or baked goods.
Ange, I really like this stew recipe! I feel the same way about chopping veggies. Very calming/ soothing/ centering to chop veggies… That with a glass of wine ;)
Re: Eden bisphenol-A (BPA) free linings in their canned goods. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but from what I’ve read in several sources, I think this applies to their canned beans only and NOT the tomatoes. :(
This is what I have heard too, because of the way the tomatoes react with cans. The only BPA-free tomatoes come in tetrapaks, the brand Pomi and I hear some Trader Joes Marinara sauces are in tetrapaks as well.
That soup looks fantastic! I have always loved to bake and it is a huge stress reliever for me. My husband is the cook of our house and has been slowly teaching me how to cook spontaneously and healthy! Now I am starting to love cooking to.
i definitely love baking, i think it is a lot of fun and can be very creative. I love cooking too, especially when its not rushed
Cooking is definitely my favorite– I love the flexibility and creativeness that come with it. Baking is too precise and rigid for me! Which is why my baked goods never turn out, ha!
ditto on the rigidity of baking! I often hear that it is therapeutic but I get so stressed out with the measurements. I’m really trying to get into it though because it has a much more fun result (I mean, people will think I’m strange if I bring leftover curry to work but people will LOVE me if I bring leftover cookies haha)
Angela, I hope your stew is healing away as we type :)
I’m a baker at heart, but I also cook. I’ve been without an oven for three months, so my cooking talents have been improving! I am looking to get back to some baking very soon though.
Ahhh, stews…I often forget about them! I had some cabbage from my CSA to use up as well. We threw it in some boiling water with baby bok choy and carrots (all from the CSA) then stir fried with some rice noodles with a homemade peanut sauce…it was tasty! All I have left to use up now is a couple zuchini and some lettuce! We get our delivery every other week…I’m not sure I could eat all those veggies each week, I could probably come close though!!!
The stew looks delish! And I can’t wait for some EPL tomorrow morning… your blog makes me feel like I’m reading EPL again :D
Too funny! I also used to HATE chopping (and in our household we stress the word “hate” is to be used only as the strongest of words), but now I find it theraputic too! I’ve been known to chop a litle too much of something once or twice…
I do love to cook and bake, but don’t always have the energy to do it, so at least once a week we do the restaurant thing. I love to just fly by the seat of my pants and start throwing things in to a pan. I’ve made some of the best meals that way. Unfortunately, though I don’t write them down so I can never duplicate it! I will read through my cookbooks like a steamy romantic novel (even though I don’t read those haha) on the weekends looking for new ideas. Yes, I’ve already looked through all of them about a hundred times, but I always feel like I *might* have missed something all those other times. :)
Baking is probably my favorite– mostly because I have a HUGE sweet tooth, and I want to eat all my creations!!
Lately, I’ve been UN-BAKING a lot– making all sorts of raw desserts and treats!! It feels good to know that I’m eating something nutritionally-dense, and it tastes just as good, if not better, than the traditional versions! :D
Right now my apartment is too HOT to cook anything– so I have a “no-using-the-gas-oven” policy in effect (it heats up our little apartment in no time!), but I’m looking forward to trying that stew when it cools down out here in California!
Oohh that stew looks awesome! I’m always stuck for how to cook cabbage, so thank you for it :)
I’m a baking girl at heart :) give me a muffin tin and some flour and I’m happy! I think my passion got reignited after I went vegan – it was like a whole world of cookery with amazing new ingredients opened! Quinoa-banana-date muffins, chocolate courgette muffins….i love it!!
This recipe is definitely a must-try. I LOVE cooking and baking because I love creating flavorful combinations in our kitchen. I don’t know how my passion for food started, but it sure beats starving myself . . . that’s the truth.
girl, cooking is all about passion…which is why it’s so awesome to cook for others too! such an amazing art form and expression of love :)
When I started losing weight and changing my life, cooking and baking started to become a passion for me. I saw what went into my food. I played with flavors and started experimenting. As for baking, all I have to say about that is it is SO RELAXING!
When I am stressed out, baking calms me down… I love everything about it, and there is nothing like zoning out to a great recipe!