Recipe Redux: Curried Chickpea Soup

I am re-posting this recipe in memory of my lost curry powder.

My pantry is the definition of over-stuffed.  Every time I reach in to grab something I find some sort of spice plummeting toward my head.  The last casualty was my curry powder.  An entire glass bottle fell on my kitchen floor and shattered.

By the way, vacuuming is not the best way to clean up spilled curry powder.  It will only spread it all over the floor and make it even more difficult for you when you get on your hands and knees to wipe it up.  So, uh, don't do that.

This is one of my favorite recipes I've made with curry powder.  I know it's summer and all, but I still like a good soup now and then.  It's air conditioned indoors, after all!  So, make this in memory of my lost curry powder.  

Or because it's tasty.  Whatever.

Curried Chickpea Soup

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup spinach or kale, chopped

1 tsp curry powder

lemon

Directions:

Bring the stock to a boil.  Add the chickpeas and curry powder, and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Add the spinach or kale, and cook until wilted.  Stir in the lemon juice.

Spiced Chickpea Tacos

I never used to like Mexican food.  Growing up, I would always complain when my parents would take my brother and I to the local Mexican restaurant.  My problem is that I don't like most of the ingredients in Mexican food.  I don't like tomatoes or sour cream.  I used to not like avocados.  And we all know my stance on cilantro.

And then I met Chipotle.

I know Chipotle is bastardized Mexican food, but it was a wonderful way for an older me to be reintroduced to Mexican flavors.  I found that I didn't mind heat in my meals, guacamole is one of mankind's greatest inventions and cilantro still tastes like soapy dish water.  

Despite my newfound love of Mexican food, I don't make it very often at home.  I'm not confident with the spices and rarely have the proper ingredients on hand.  I picked up some tortillas from the grocery store this week, though, and used what I had to make some fun vegetarian tacos.

Spiced Chickpea Tacos

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp brown sugar

8 small corn tortillas

1/2 cup lettuce, chopped

1/2 avocado, sliced

1/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse and drain the chickpeas.  In a bowl, mix the chickpeas with the oil and spices.  Spread on a baking dish and bake 10 minutes.  Toss the chickpeas, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Microwave the tortillas for 15-20 seconds.  Pile on the chickpeas, lettuce, avocado and cheese.  The tacos go well with cold beers and Grey's Anatomy marathons.

Do you guys like Mexican food?  If so, do you ever make it at home?

Parsley-Panko Crusted Tilapia

 My taste buds have changed a lot over the years.  I used to be all about chicken.  Prepare it any way and I would gobble it up in no time flat.  There's a story my family likes to tell about a trip to Disney World when I was around ten, and I ordered chicken fingers at every single place we went to including a Mexican restaurant.  Clearly, I had a very sophisticated palate.

Then I went through a beef phase.  Barbecue beef.  Mongolian beef.  Beef beef.  To hell with my cholesterol, it was delicious!  Plus, I was in high school and I couldn't pass up the delectable option of a taco salad at lunch.  I mean, I was only human.

                           

Now, I've turned onto fish.  Shrimp.  Salmon.  Tilapia.  Coming from being only an occasional sea food eater, I felt like this entire new world was opened up to me.  I also discovered that most of these fish are ready to eat in about 20 minutes.  Yes and yes.

Whole Food sells these frozen tilapia filets that are only about 3 dollars for two.  Every time I see them at Whole Foods, I get super excited at the low price, despite my buying them each time I'm there.  What can I say, I live for the small things in life.

My favorite way to prepare tilapia is lightly breaded and cooked in the oven until it is delightfully crispy, but still tender and most on the inside.  I make Jessica's macaroon crusted tilapia pretty often, but last week I wanted something more savory.  Armed with some panko breadcrumbs from my pantry, I whipped up this simple recipe.

Parlsey-Panko Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients:

2 tilapia filets (fresh or frozen and thawed)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg beat

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

dried parsley

lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place a cooling rack (like you would use for cookies) on a cookie sheet and set aside.

If defrosting the tilapia, place in a strainer and run cold water over the filets until thawed.  Pat the filets dry.  In a small bowl, beat the egg and set aside.  In another bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and parsley.

Dip the tilapia in the egg, shaking off any excess, and then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture.  Place the filets on the cooling rack and slide the baking sheet in the oven.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Finish off with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Soba Noodle Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

Soba noodles are my new best friend. Yes, they are made of buckwheat. Yes, they are healthy. Yes, they slightly resemble worms. Dressed up, though, they pack quite a punch.

Everything is better with the right packaging. Perfectly wrapped gifts. Men in suits. Patrick Dempsey in hospital scrubs. Alexander Skarsgard in...er...nothing. And soba noodles are no different. Except they don't wear suits or hospital scrubs; because that would be weird.

If you haven't tried soba noodles yet, do it. Not that I am trying to peer pressure you or anything, but all the cool bloggers are doing it.

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Seriously, though...give it a try. Your life will be exponentially better! At least the part in the kitchen...

Soba Noodle Stir-fry with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

soba noodles

shredded cabbage

carrot, shredded

tofu

peanut butter

soy sauce

honey/agave

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press tofu and slice into bite size pieces. Spray a baking sheet with cooking oil and add the tofu in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip the tofu. Another five minutes and remove from the oven.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the soba noodles. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until tender. Remove to a strainer and wash noodles. Add the tofu, shredded cabbage, and shredded carrot.

In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, and honey. Vary the ratio to match your taste. More soy sauce lends a sharper, saltier flavor which I prefer. Honey makes it sweeter. Peanut butter make it more, well, peanut butter-y.

Add the sauce and mix. Enjoy!!