Vegetarian Night

When little Jimmy saw his plate tonight he said, "Where's the meat?!"

The boy loves meat.

Once I assured him that he'd eaten enough meat today already, he quickly forgot and totally enjoyed his dinner.

Tonight we ate two of my very favourite vegetarian dishes from Moosewod Cooking for Health.

The first is a curried millet that has lots of rich curry flavour, sweet raisins and parsley.

To go with it, some spiced kale with sweet potato also featuring curry but with a little more kick because of the chili flakes and garlic.

Both dishes are very filling and satisfying.

Curried Millet

(Moosewood Cooking for Health)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 tsp whole black mustard seeds (optional)

1/2 C minced yellow onion

3/4 C millet

1 1/2 tsp good curry powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 C vegetable stock

1/4 C chopped golden raisins

1/2 C minced parsley

1. In a saucepan over med-high heat warm the oil. Toss in the mustard seeds and cook 1-2 mins or until they pop. (Watch out you don't get a pop on the face.) Add onion, cook 3 mins. Add millet, cook 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Add curry and salt. Cook a minute or until fragrant. Add stock, bring to a boil. Cover millet and cook 20 mins on low heat.

2. Stir in raisins and parsley. Fluff with a fork. Cover and let stand 10 mins.

Spiced Kale with Sweet Potaotes

(Moosewood Cooking for Health)

4 C sweet potato, peeled and diced (1/2 inch cubes)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp black mustard seeds (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp good curry powder

8 C kale, remove stalk and chop

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 Tbsp vegetable stalk or water

1 Tbsp soy sauce

black pepper

1. Steam or boil sweet potatoes until tender. Set aside.

2. Warm oil in a large pot, add mustard seeds cook a minute or 2 until they start to pop. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add red pepper flakes, curry, salt and kale. Stir a few mintues.

Add stalk and soy. Cover and cook until kale is softened, a few minutes. Stir in some black pepper and serve.

(These two are pretty special.)