Chickpea Curry in a slow cooker

I love the idea of a crockpot/slow cooker, but don't have many recipes that use it.  It's great for beef stew, but I haven't made that in years. I've never been happy with any of the chicken recipes I've tried.  But this chickpea curry is a keeper.  I'm always on the lookout to expand my repertoire of vegetarian recipes (I tend to cook the same few when we have vegetarian friends to dinner), so the combination of a vegetarian main dish and the slow cooker led me to try this out.  I'd call this a "homey" recipe--doesn't make the cut for an elegant dinner party, but just fine for a simple meal with good friends.

SLOW COOKER CHICKPEA CURRY WITH SWEET POTATOES & RED PEPPERS

makes 8-10 servings

adapted from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/slow_cooker_chickpea_curry_with_sweet_potatoes_and_red_peppers/

1 T. olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 pound dried chickpeas, rinsed

2 T. curry powder

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 1/2" dice)
1 large or 2 small red or yellow peppers (about 1/2 lb)

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 15.5-ounce can coconut milk (lite is fine)

1/2 cup water

3 cloves garlic, minced (from jar is fine)

1 jalapeno, serrano, or fresno chili pepper

1 t. salt (or less)

6 cups spinach, roughly chopped, to serve

1/2 cup cooked brown rice, per person, to serve

curry condiments, e.g., chopped cashews, raisins or currants, chutney (I like hot lime relish)

Using a 6-quart or larger slow cooker, put the olive oil in the bottom. Add diced onion and stir to coat. Pour dried, rinsed chickpeas on top, then sprinkle the curry powder evenly over the beans.

Follow with the sweet potato, bell pepper, tomatoes, coconut milk, water, garlic, chili pepper, and salt.  Do not stir; leaving the chickpeas on the bottom helps everything cook evenly.

Cook on low for 8-9 hours. Total cook time will depend on your slow cooker and your chickpeas. The curry can be served any time after the chickpeas are soft and tender. It's fine if the curry cooks a little longer. The recipe is very forgiving—the curry will get thicker and creamier the longer it cooks. [The original recipe said to cook for 6-8 hours, but I left for 9-1/2 hours—just how it worked out in my day--and was happy with the results.]

Stir the curry well. Taste and add additional salt if needed. In a bowl, put 1/2 cup cooked brown rice and a handful of chopped fresh spinach.  Spoon the curry over the top and add further curry condiments as desired.

Alternate shorter cook time: To reduce cooking time, soak the chickpeas overnight, skip the extra water, and cook on high for 4-6 hours.  (I haven't tried this alternative. I liked the simplicity of using the beans right out of the bag, and it was convenient to assemble right after breakfast and have it finish up just at dinner time.)

My new favorite cookie--Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

When it comes to baking cookies, I usually go for simple rather than complicated.  Bar or drop cookies rather than rolled or shaped, and if the dough uses melted butter, all the easier.  You can see some of my favorites here:  toffee bars, ginger snaps with white chocolate, chocolate chip oatmeal coconut, and meringue with nuts and chocolate chips.  But I was recently tempted by a recipe for chocolate gingerbread cookies--a little more trouble, but definitely worth it! A sophisticated taste, but I'm guessing kids would like them also.

CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD COOKIES

adapted from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chocolate_gingerbread_cookies/

yield: 3 dozen cookies

Note:  The dough for these cookies needs to be refrigerated overnight (or for at least several hours).

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1-1/2 t. ground ginger

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. black pepper

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 cup dark, full, or robust molasses (NOT "blackstrap")

1 T. fresh grated ginger

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 T. Dutch-processed cocoa

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

about 1/4 c. white granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Cream the butter, then add in brown sugar, spices, salt, and baking soda. Cream all together until they form a uniform colored paste.

Add the molasses and fresh grated ginger and beat to incorporate.  Add the flour and cocoa, beating until there are no streaks of flour.  Stir in the chocolate chips and mix until they are evenly distributed through the dough. The dough will be soft and sticky.

Scrape the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap.  Flatten the dough into a rough rectangle, about 1-inch thick, then tightly wrap with the plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough overnight (or at least several hours).

Preheat the oven to 325.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Put the granulated sugar into a small bowl (for rolling balls of dough). Cut the flattened slab of dough into 1-inch cubes. Roll each cube into a ball between your palms, then roll the ball in the sugar to coat.  Transfer to the baking sheets, placing no more than 20 cookies on a large sheet, as the cookies will spread. I bake one sheet at a time. While one sheet is baking, I form the other cookies, putting them on a parchment-lined plate in the refrigerator to keep chilled while the first batch is baking.

Bake the cookies for about 14 minutes, or until the top of the cookies have started to crack slightly.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

A new kitchen gadget

Yesterday I tried out the new digital probe thermometer ordered after a close-call cooking the Thanksgiving turkey.  Our digital instant-read meat thermometer was somehow set on Centigrade rather than Fahrenheit, so we left the turkey in the oven longer than it should have been, waiting for the thermometer to get up to the right temperature.  Luckily, we pulled it out well before that, and it happened that the meat was perfectly cooked.  The mishap motivated me to look for another thermometer, not because of C/F readings, but because the one I have takes quite a while to get up to temperature after you stick it in the fish/meat, and I wanted something quicker.  I found a type I didn't know existed, where the temperature probe is connected to the home unit by a long, thin wire, so you put the probe in the food at the outset, set the unit for the temperature you want the food to reach, and then wait for the unit to beep.  I used it last night on a piece of salmon I was pan-frying, and it worked very well. I set it for 125F, let the fish cook, and then turned off the burner when the unit beeped. When I stuck a knife in to look, the flesh was still rare in the interior, but by the time I got the salmon to the table, it was done to perfection. You can also put the probe in a piece of meat or poultry that's going into the oven, as the wire is long and thin enough that you can close the oven door on it, with the home device sitting on a nearby counter. The device has 2 probes, so if you're doing a turkey and want to track light meat with one and dark meat with the other, you can. It was less than $20, and I'm happy with it!

Cranberry-Pecan Scones

Several years ago, I put up a recipe for banana, walnut, and white chocolate scones, which I still recommend for a treat.  But I now have a go-to recipe for scones that is much healthier while still delicious. Spurred by the enthusiasm of some guests today, I'm posting the recipe. It's simple enough to put together the recipe while the oven is pre-heating, and there's no handling of the dough needed--you just plop it in a round baking pan and press it down.  Enjoy!

            Cranberry-Pecan Scones

adapted from Liz Vaccariello, Flat Belly Diet Cookbook

8 servings, 308 calories/serving

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup pecans, chopped

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/4 cup sugar

1-1/4 c. plain no-fat or low-fat yogurt (if using Greek yogurt, may need a dollop more to get the dough to stick together)

1/2 t. vanilla <*see note below for possible substitution for the 3 ingredients in italics>

2 T. canola oil

1/2 t. dried lemon peel (or 1 t. freshly grated lemon or orange peel)

2/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries (or dried apricots, diced)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly coat a 9" round baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pecans, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, vanilla, and lemon peel.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the yogurt mixture and dried fruit.  Stir just until blended.

Scoop out the dough into the prepared pan, and press it so it's evenly spread across the pan.  Score the dough with a knife to form 8 triangles.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

*The original recipe called for 1-1/4 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt.  I usually have plain yogurt on hand, so I've substituted plain yogurt plus 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 t. vanilla.  If you'd rather use vanilla yogurt, take out the sugar and vanilla from the recipe as given above.