Tomato Chickpea Curry with Swiss Chard + Spiced Pepitas

What a perfect dish for a cold, overcast day in Oklahoma. The warming spices of the curry and the smoky, spiced pepitas are super satisfying. Plus, this is similar to another recipe I've posted here before that can be made in 30 minutes which is perfect for a quick lunch that looks a lot fancier than it actually is. There's something about that yogurt zig zag that I love. The contrasting colors and the pretty garnish really make a simple dish feel pretty decadent. This is vegan, if you use a coconut yogurt or a cashew cream instead. It's also gluten free and has great plant-based protein from the chickpeas, the pepitas and the addition of the yogurt. It is great with nan or toasted whole grain tortillas - both can be found gluten free at most health food stores.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup or 1 can of cooked chickpeas
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes or 1 cup tomatoes, oven roasted and chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1|2 - 2 cups vegetable stock
1|2 of a yellow onion, chopped in large pieces
2 carrots quartered and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups chopped swiss chard
1|2 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
fresh cilantro
greek yogurt
juice of 1|2 lemon
1|2 t curry powder
1|4 t cumin, cayenne, smoked paprika
sea salt + black pepper
2 T olive oil
nutritional yeast, optional but recommended

DIRECTIONS
Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan or deep skillet to medium high. Sauté the onions and carrots until they start to brown. Season them with a sprinkle of sea salt. Add the garlic for about five minutes until it becomes fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and the curry powder. Deglaze the pan with the veg stock. Add about 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast if you have it. Stir in the roasted tomatoes and the chickpeas. Let this simmer and thicken for about 10 minutes. While this is reducing, heat a small skillet over medium low and add a small amount of olive oil. Add the pepitas and a pinch of salt, cumin, cayenne and smoked paprika. Stay with this pan so that they don't burn. When they start to pop after about 5 minutes, remove them from the heat. Season the chickpeas with black pepper and add the swiss chard. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Chop or tear the cilantro leaves. Mix the lemon juice and the greek yogurt together in a small bowl. If you have a plastic squeeze bottle, add a splash of water to the yogurt. This makes a perfect zig zag and they're super cheap plus great for storing homemade sauces and salad dressings. You can also create the same effect with a spoon. Top your curry with the spiced pepitas, cilantro lemon yogurt.

ENJOY!!

Spring Vegetable Omelette with Fresh Mozzarella

The word omelette is kind of traditional and this recipe is far from that. Typically, you layer the ingredients inside the egg and fold it over to make a half moon but I don't really stick to a method. It's really more like a hard scramble. The secret is not to overwork the eggs because they will start to fall apart. Moving them across the pan in large sheets keeps them firm and in larger pieces. I also served my cheese on the side in fresh wedges instead of melting it on top, cafe style. I love eating food that's in season. It's always going to be the freshest in the markets and of course, if you are growing it yourself. This is a good way to incorporate lots of greens into your breakfast. I have so many varieties in my winter garden right now that I eat a combination of them with every meal. I prefer a 2:1 ratio of whites to yolks, so I separated a couple of mine. You can use whole eggs if you prefer. Take a little walk through my winter garden of greens with me on the way to the recipe....

This beautiful, blue kale is my all - star. It performs better than any other cool weather green. It's strong, hardy and vigorous! I keep it pinched back all winter long, eating the larger leaves first. The baby leaves are sweet and tender enough for salad. 

This mesclun mix of lettuces are the glamour girls of the greens. Lacy, pointed and dotted with dark red, they are super delicate and perfect eaten immediately picked and always raw.

Spinach is second in line for hardiness. It hardly blinks under snow and freezing temperatures when protected. Keep the leaves pinched once a week and you will have it until May. It's delicious cooked or raw. I use it both ways all the time because it's so versatile.

This intermix of mache and chervil are really pretty together. Mache has a very green flavor and tastes best mingled with other lettuces. Chervil has a distinct anise flavor and is complimentary with fish, lemon and vinegars.

INGREDIENTS
Fresh, organic eggs - 2 per person, either separated or whole, whisked
asparagus, tough ends trimmed, diced
cherry or grape tomates, halved or quartered
shallot or red onion, thinly sliced
fresh garlic, minced
baby kale or spinach, cut into ribbons
fresh jalapenos, sliced (optional of course)
other optional ingredients could be sliced mushrooms, zucchini or bell pepper
parsley, chopped
fresh water mozzarella, cut into triangles or medallions
olive oil + butter or ghee
sea salt + black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Warm a saute pan on medium and add the olive oil. Add all of the vegetables except the tomatoes, greens and parsley. Season with a little salt. Cook about 2 minutes. Add about a tablespoon of butter or ghee and the tomatoes, greens and parsley. Season with black pepper. Add the eggs. Using a flexible spatula, move the eggs across the pan in sheets, careful to keep them firm and in large pieces. Adjust the salt + pepper. Cook until they have just set. Serve on a nice plate, arranging the wedges of mozzarella around one side and garnish with any reserved parsley and black pepper.

ENJOY!