Tuesday night I made the most amazing Curried Pumpkin Dahl I have ever had. To be honest, I had never tried curried pumpkin but it was pretty dang delicious.
I was a little nervous because although I loved pumpkin in sweet recipes I had never tried it in something savory or spicy. My expectations were blown away. It was a lot of work because I actually had to peel and chop a small pie pumpkin, but it was totally worth it!
Curried Pumpkin Dahl
1/2 of a large sweet onion, sliced
1/4 cup grated coconut
3 cloves garlic, sliced (I used 4 because I <3 garlic!)
2 Serrano or Thai chili peppers, .seeded and diced (I used 3 Serrano peppers NOT seeded.)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I used 1 cup of each)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups tomatoes, diced
4 cups fresh pumpkin (1 small pie pumpkin), peeled and diced
2 cups cooked black-eyed peas
2 cups kale or spinach, chopped
3 tablespoons mint, minced
1. Combine onion, coconut, garlic, chili peppers, ginger root, garam masala, cumin, cinnamon, salt, turmeric, coriander and 4 tablespoons stock in a blender. Puree mixture to a paste.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan, then add the spice paste and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Add remaining stock, tomatoes and pumpkin. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until squash is just tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Mix in black-eyed peas and kale. Continue to cook, stirring often, until kale is tender, about 10 more minutes. Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasonings; stir in the mint just before serving.
I served it over brown rice and will be making it again VERY soon!
Wednesday night I made grilled lemon-pepper Mahi-Mahi with organic couscous and veggies:
Step for the veggies
1.) Melt 2 TBSP organic butter in a pan over medium-high heat
2.) Add 4 cloves minced / chopped garlic and let cook for approximately 1 minute
3.) Add 1lb baby carrots and a couple hand fulls of frozen broccoli and let the mixture saute for about 5 minutes
4.) Add 1/2 cup water, black pepper, onion power, and salt
5.) Cover, and let simmer for about 20 minutes
6.) Add extra seasonings to taste
These were the best carrots I have ever had. No joke.
Steps for the Mahi-Mahi:
1.) Mix together a few tablespoons water and 3 drops liquid smoke and brush the mixture over the fish
2.) Melt 1 TBSP butter or olive oil and brush over the fish
3.) Sprinkle very generous amounts of garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon-pepper seasoning
4.) Cover with aluminum foil and grill for 5 minutes per side
5.) Remove the fish from the foil and grill for approximately 1 more minute per side
6.) Serve on top of whole grain couscous and squeeze a lemon on top (optional)
For the couscous I followed the package directions, and at the end added a little bit of Parmesan cheese.
Yesterday at a work event I won tickets to the Gator game on Saturday. I am really excited! I know that a lot of 'fans' aren't going to this game because we aren't having a great season. However, I would be there cheering on my boys in blue even if we hadn't won a game all season. "In all types of weather we'll all stick together for F-L-O-R-I-D-A!"
