Dinner is Ready (almost :)

So this is what I did today (among other things :): went to the farmer's market, got a TON of veggies and turned them into four beautiful dishes. And I decided to share them with you :) coming up right now! Hang on!






Recipe #1 - Chickpeas with Veggies
1 lb of dry chickpeas, placed in cold water the night before
1 leek
1 onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
4-5 leaves of collard greens of any kind of greens that you like
2 tomatoes (or use canned diced tomatoes instead)
1 small can of tomato paste
3 tablespoons of olive oil (only because you'll have TONS of chickpeas after soaking them :)
salt, cumin (lots of it!), cayenne pepper, black pepper, red pepper, chili pepper (yes, it'll be spicey! :) and last but not least, my mom's secret curry mixture (which has a little bit of all the above and then some but do try it with just the above, I'm sure it'll still be killer!)
3 glasses of water

Well, it's pretty easy, put all these in a pot and cook in low heat :)

Here's before

Here's after










Enjoy! :)


Recipe #2 - Veggie Something
2-3 mid-size potatoes (I like leaving the skin on)
5-6 leeks
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic (mince, dice or cut, however you prefer them :)
a bunch of cilantro leaves
1 large piece of European Artichoke (this is a weird looking veggie I found in the farmers market, if you don't have it, skip it :)
1 big carrot
1-2 celery sticks
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 glass of water
black pepper, red pepper, salt, curry, cumin, turmeric, yellow mustard, chili pepper

Mix everything except the cilantro, let it cook in low heat (see a pattern here? :).
Once all is cooked AND you turned the stove off, add cilantro for color and scent :)
One more tip, I like mixing the spices in a bowl before adding them so that there are no chunks

Here's before

Here's after

Recipe #3 - Quinoa Tabouleh

1 cup quinoa (that's how much I had in my pantry :)
2 cups water
half an onion
3 cloves of garlic
3-4 celery sticks
1 small can of tomato paste
1 large carrot
salt, black pepper, red pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3-4 scallions
a small bunch of cilantro leaves
1 lemon juice

Onion, garlic, celery, carrot, tomato paste, olive oil and 1 cup of water go into the pot. (This is a trick I learned from mom. Instead of burning and ruining your oil and veggies while trying to saute them, you add a little water to sort of steam them.) When the veggies cook, add quinoa, spices and the rest of the water, use boiling water this time. Let it cook in low heat.

When all is cooked, add cilantro, lemon juice and cilantro (instead of cilantro you can also use parsley but I like the fragrance of cilantro :). And do enjoy!

Here's before

Here's after

Recipe # 4 - Veggie Soup
The branches of cilantro that you were otherwise throwing away :)
1 onion
1 large potato
3-4 collard greens (or any greens you'd like)
2 carrots
2-3 celery sticks
2 cloves of garlic
1 lb green split peas
salt, black pepper, red pepper, dried mint
1 tablespoon of tomato paste (I just stole some from the recipe above, hehe :)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Water to fill up the pot

Cut everything in chunky pieces, let them cook in medium heat until all veggies are soft, mix all with a hand blender and love it! :)

Here's before

Here's after

Now I'll go eat hihow!
Love,
:) Damla