While our daughter was out here visiting I had the opportunity to flex my Vegetarian Muscle a bit. I made the Jennifer Aniston Salad and Allison Roman’s Chickpea Stew. I had the stew at our daughter’s house and found it so delicious and figured it was perfect to make for her while she was out here since she’s a vegetarian not a vegan . I made a few changes to the original recipe so if you’d like to see it google the original recipe as this is my version. It’s really more of a soup than a stew and again depending on how thick you like it .

It’s always good to have some meat-less meals even if you’re not a vegetarian. And I am a chickpea lover so this was right up my alley.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 2″ piece of Ginger , finely chopped — I love fresh ginger but if no fresh ginger use powdered ginger –use 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger for every 1 Tablespoon of Fresh — so probably 1/4 teaspoon would be right

Kosher Salt and Black Pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes — now I love spicy so if you don’t you can omit

2 15 oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 15 oz. cans full-fat coconut milk, be sure to avoid low-fat coconut milk, coconut milk meant for drinking or cream of coconut. They are all very different and would not be suitable for this recipe and yes I know this is a lot of coconut milk but I think it’s the right flavor and consistency in this recipe .

2 cups vegetable stock , and you may need some more so hang on to the rest of the container

1 bunch spinach, kale, collard greens, or swiss chard, stems removed and torn into bite size pieces. I used baby spinach and I like it the best because it breaks down very quickly and is easy to use.

toasted pita, lavash or other flatbread, like Naan would be delicious served alongside

Directions:

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Season with a little kosher salt and some coarsely ground black pepper, cook and stir occasionally until onion becomes translucent and starts to brown a bit around the edges but not burn. About 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and the chickpeas, I sprinkled a little salt and pepper here as well. Cook, stirring frequently so the chickpeas sizzle and fry up a bit in the spices and oil, they’ll start to break down and get a little browned up as they crisp, another 10 minutes or so. Remove about 1 cup of chickpeas and set aside.

Using a wooden spoon or a masher crush the remaining chickpeas slightly which will release their starchy insides and help to thicken the stew. Add the coconut milk and stock, taste for salt and pepper.

Bring to a simmer, scraping up any bits that may have formed on the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally , until stew has thickened, probably 1/2 hour . If after 1/2 hour stew is not thick enough continue cooking. If you need more broth add it here as well. The desired consistency is sort of a personal thing so however you like it will be just fine.

I then added the greens and the remaining whole chickpeas , my spinach broke down pretty rapidly , taste for salt and pepper . Add as much or as little greens as you’d like.

Divide among bowls and if you’d like to top with some fresh mint and I served alongside yogurt ( or sourcream) and toasted pita if using bread.

This salad has been all over the internet and I have to say it looked absolutely delicious and right up my alley. Upon closer inspection of it I realized that I would make it but with a few changes to better suit my taste. I definitely think it needs dressing but that’s just me, some of you may like this a lot without any dressing and apparently that’s the way Jennifer Aniston ate hers. Also she used Bulgur and I used Farro it’s just a little different flavor and taste , you can also use quinoa but I prefer Farro. I would also only use 2 cups cooked Farro , the original calls for 4 cups which I guess would be better for more people. You can substitute any of the ingredients or omit. I made for my daughter and myself and she didn’t want Parsley so I left it on the side so I can taste it with the parsley. I love the mint and thought it was an important flavor but you can play around with it and make it your way. I love chickpeas in my salad so this was a must but if you hate them just omit them. Obviously not an exact science so add more or less of any of the ingredients– this is just a guideline.

We ate a lot of the salad for dinner and still had leftovers.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked Farro — obviously you can use Bulgur or quinoa or any grain you prefer — follow instructions on the package of Farro — it will probably be 1 cup uncooked farro to two cups water but check your packaging

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup finely chopped mint

1/2 cup or more or less shelled pistachios –leave them whole they’re better this way

2 mini cucumbers — chopped into small pieces ( see photo) 1/2 cup approximately

chickpeas – I used 1 can organic chickpeas — rinsed and drained and I let them dry for a while

1/2 cup or more crumbled Feta — use as much or as little as you like

Dressing Ingredients:

1 whole lemon – juiced — I use a juicer to get every last drop

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Sprinkle of Kosher Salt — to taste

Directions:

Prepare farro according to package directions. I made about an hour or so prior to dinner so it would be cooled down.

Finely dice up all of your herbs and ingredients that require chopping

Put dressing in a measuring cup and with a small whisk whisk it good and add a sprinkle of kosher salt once it emsulifies it is ready – a few quick whisks should do it

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and right before eating dress it and mix well — very delicious and will be in my rotation often.

I have been experimenting with a lot of Indian style food recently . You’ve all seen some of my favorites so far. This one was so delicious and I just love the curry flavor. Obviously not everyone is into the curry flavor but if you are and are looking for something new and fairly easy to make — this one’s for you.

I did it over rice and you can use any type of rice you like or any grain would also be pretty delicious. I also use Spicy Curry which isn’t so spicy but I like it a lot. You can use any curry powder you’d like. The chick peas added a delicious layer of flavor and we love cilantro but feel free to omit if you don’t like.

This would be most perfect served with some warm Naan Bread as well but we didn’t have any in the house so we passed on that. This recipe is for 4 people and honestly the prep was quick and cooking time was about 1/2 hour all in. I cut whole recipe in 1/2 for the two of us and had a little salmon left over which I ate cold for lunch the next day and it was outstanding.

Enjoy! and please let me know how this comes out if you try it and like it. By the way Joel ate his whole bowl and didn’t even pick out the chickpeas which sort of amazed me.

Ingredients:

Salmon Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. Salmon — I had a little leftover and ate it for lunch the next day so add a little extra salmon

2 Tbsp. Curry Powder — I used Spicy Curry Powder but any Curry Powder will do

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Sauce and Rice Bowls:

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 yellow onion thinly sliced

1 bell pepper ( I used red but any color will do)–chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons freshly chopped ginger

Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons Curry Powder

1 14oz. can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 14 oz. can full fat coconut milk

1 lime, juiced

1 handful chopped fresh cilantro if you like

Steamed White Rice or Brown Rice or Jasmine or any grain you’d prefer

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or just spray with cooking spray.

Place one of the oven racks as close to the top as possible – about 6 ” from the heat source

Place the salmon skin side down on the baking sheet. Combine the curry powder and olive oil to make a paste. Rub the paste liberally over the top part of the salmon. Bake for about 10 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon ( maybe a little more or less). When cooked remove from the oven and set aside. ( salmon will continue to cook a bit so don’t over cook)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once it’s hot add in the sliced onions and chopped bell pepper and cook until softened — about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and ginger and season with some kosher salt and coarse black pepper. Add in the Curry Powder as well ( 2 Tablespoons) Cook for a few minutes. Stir in the drained , rinsed chickpeas and the coconut milk and lime juice. Stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh cilantro if you’re using.

I flaked pieces of the salmon and put over the rice and spooned the curry sauce over it — so delicious.