Have to admit I made a pretty bumpin curry dish last night and I owe it all to the unused cauliflower in the vegetable drawer. I really enjoy cauliflower but I’ve only ever eaten it steamed (which isn’t exactly the most exciting option). There had to be a better way to prepare this pale broccoli lookalike. The answer is curry, people.

Hurried Veggie Curry

Time: prep time 15 mins, cook time 30 mins

Difficulty: Chopping, opening cans, sauteing, measuring. You’ve got this

Serves: ~6 (or 4 with leftovers)

Ingredients:

• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• boneless skinless chicken breasts
• fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
• sea salt (to taste)
• thinly sliced yellow onion
• 1-2 tablespoons ginger*
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin*
• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 small package frozen spinach
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 can chick peas
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro*
• 3+ teaspoons curry*

Directions:

• Saute chicken breasts in 2 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat until heated through, turn on the reg.
• In another pan, add rest of olive oil and saute the sliced onion until soft. Add ginger, garlic and cumin. Saute another minute.
• Add cauliflower, chick peas, spinach (broken apart), tomatoes and water. Cover pan and let simmer for 8-10 minutes
• Meanwhile, shred the chicken breasts.
• After the vegetables have simmered for 8-10 minutes (or until they look softer), add shredded chicken, curry, and cilantro. Mix well, cover, and let cook another 3 minutes (you may need to add more water depending on how dry the chick peas are looking).
• Add salt and pepper to taste, serve alone or with flatbread/grains

Wow, curry hoarders. I used the basic curry powder on the far right but think this would have been terrific and even more flavorful with one of the sauces too.

This meal was surprisingly filling for being mostly vegetables, and the majority, if not all, of these ingredients were super inexpensive. This definitely could have made an awesome vegan/vegetarian recipe by leaving out the chicken, but there’s SOMEONE in my house who’s not quite okay with meatless dinners. Misguided opinion for sure. I served it atop short grain brown rice, but it would have been just as good with naan or pita, pasta, lentils, quinoa or just on its own.

The only bummer was that I missed out on the gym yesterday to make this feast. I also wrongly assumed I could hop on the rowing machine while this was cooking away. Not so, this recipe took serious supervision. Apparently the process is a lot more hands on when you create the recipe and don’t know what to expect in terms of temperatures and cooking times. Lesson learned.

Happy Friday Eve everyone; one more day until the weekend! I’m excited to sleep in, paint my nails and go skeet shooting for the first time! What’s on your agenda?

~A~

What now?

• Check out this brilliant way to wilt spinach for pasta in less than 2 seconds
• If you have an unnatural love for all things bacon, check out the Baconery in NYC. I don’t want the food, just the t-shirt that reads “Feel like bacon love”
• Listen to Come on Eileen by Save Ferris for a happy beginning to your weekend