Nutritarian - day 3

 You guessed it! Breakfast was the same chocolate green smoothie I've had the last 2 days.

Lunch surprised me. I had fresh mint and cilantro left over from day one. I googled 'vegan mint recipes' and the most interesting post was a recipe for Curried Chickpeas with Mint and Cilantro Chutney. I didn't have too high of hopes for it, but I ended up loving it! The combination of the curry and the chutney was amazing. There was only enough mint and cilantro to 1/2 the chutney recipe, which seemed like just the right amount. 

I paired it with naan bread, which was good, but I think rice would be nice to soak up the liquid. Another option would be just to eat it as it is out of the bowl. As usual I forgot to take pictures before we ate. Here is the leftover curry and chutney.

CURRIED CHICKPEAS WITH MINT AND CILANTRO CHUTNEY

Mint and Cilantro Chutney

·         2 cups (40g) cilantro leaves

·         2 cups (40g) mint leaves

·         3 cloves garlic

·         1 1/2 tablespoons minced ginger

·         1 serrano pepper or green chili, seeded and roughly chopped

·         1/4 cup Nature’s Intent Apple Cider Vinegar

·         3 tablespoons maple syrup

·         1 teaspoon kosher salt

Chickpeas

·         2 tablespoons olive oil

·         1 medium onion, diced (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups)

·         1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 tablespoon minced ginger

·         1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced

·         1 large carrot, peeled and diced

·         2 teaspoons ground coriander

·         1 teaspoon ground cumin

·         1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

·         2/3 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or from a can)

·         2 cans of chickpeas (save the water from the can)

·         1/4 cup (full fat) coconut milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1.    Add all the chutney ingredients to a food processor. Blend until all the ingredients are well mixed. Transfer the chutney to a small bowl and cover. Let it rest while you cook the chickpeas.

2.    Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, the minced garlic, ginger and serrano pepper and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the carrots and cook for another 3 minutes.

3.    Add the remaining teaspoon of salt, coriander, cumin and turmeric to the pot and stir to coat the vegetables with the spices. Add the diced tomatoes and chickpeas and stir. Add 1 cup of the reserved water from the can of chickpeas to the pot. If you forgot to save the water from the can, don’t worry. Water straight from the tap works, too. Turn the heat up to medium-high.

4.       Bring the liquids to a boil. Partially cover the chickpeas with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and let the chickpeas simmer for 15 minutes. Drizzle the coconut milk.

Dinner was Vegetable Sapa Sui. This would be an oxymoron if we were back in Samoa. Sapa Sui is all about the meat. I've been making a version with meat and vegetables since we got home from Samoa. Today I just left out the meat and amped up the veggies. When I served myself I added some baked tofu. It didn't really need it.

Vegetable Sapa Sui

Ingredients:

Veggies, veggies, veggies! Whatever you have on hand. This time I used:

Carrots, Onions, Red pepper, broccoli stem, mushrooms, and zucchini.

Fry veggies in 1-2 T olive oil

Add 3 T fresh minced ginger and 4 heads garlic, crushed

Add 4 cups water, 3 T soy sauce, 3 T oyster sauce.

Bring to a boil.

Add a package (170gm) bean vermicelli noodles. Reduce heat and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve hot.