Lent - Moral support may be needed ;)

splishsplash

NewShadow wrote: »

Please - any and all company welcome.

I'm avoiding saying 6 weeks - sounds waaayyy longer than 44 days...

The above sound interesting - any recipes?

Oh, ok, let's just refer to Lent in that case
Curried chickpeas:
My standard curry sauce is to gently fry 1 chopped onion and 5 pressed garlic cloves in olive oil with 1 tsp cumin, chili powder, cayenne, onion granules, garlic granules, paprika, 2 tsp garam masala, 1.5 tsp turmeric, 1 chopped red chilli and the seeds from four cardamom pods.

Fry for about 10 minutes, add cooked chickpeas, 1 tin tomatoes, 1 tin light coconut milk and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

Mix 1 tbsp cornflour with a little cold water to make a thin slurry, add to the curry and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Mixed Bean Stew:
I always have cooked beans in the freezer, so I use whatever comes to hand, alternatively you could use canned mixed beans or kidney beans or anything you fancy.

Fry chopped onion and garlic, add 2 diced carrots, 1 diced leek, 4 diced potatoes and 2 diced peppers and fry until soft (a good ten minutes). Add .5 cup white wine vinegar, .25 cup maple syrup, .25 cup tomato ketchup, 4 tbsp soy sauce, 1 dsp wholegrain mustard and 1 dsp worcestershire sauce. I also add 1 dsp onion granules and 1 dsp garlic granules. Finally add a tin of tomatoes and your beans adn simmer everything together until reduced to a sauce consistency - probably around 20 minutes. I serve it with cabbage.

Chana Masala:
I use this recipe, but I omit the cilantro and sugar and I use fresh tomatoes. I also only use 1 chopped chilli but leave the seeds in.

Peperonata Topping:
Depends what I have in, but it will usually be something like this one with a few capers and olives added.

HTH

elsien

I'm going to chuck sweet potato, spinach and feta frittata into the mix.
Not slow cookerable, but I make a job lot in muffin cases and freeze them, then I've got a pile of handy lunches ready to go.

katkin

Thank you New Shadow for posting this thread and to everyone who has contributed such great ideas. It's really helpful.

For Lent this year I am going to give up to my beloved potato! Half Irish and a glutton the potato is probably my favourite food. The one food I'd want to take to my desert island

I'm greedy with tatties, crave them and comfort myself with the loveliness of mash, roasties, chips, dauphinoise, baked, stuffed, steamed, herbed new buttered and sauted and...and.. I'm weak and give in too much to comfort eating with potatoes more than anything, no chocolate, not puds, not alcohol.

I find tatties addictive they tempt me towards moral weakness!

Giving them up would help my weight loss programme too and I do need to make some changes with that as I'm slipping into eating too many carbs again.

springdreams

Vegetable soup. Here is a recipe that I like:

http://lilysalittlebitofeverything.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/soup-in-summer.html

Another possible meal is mac & cheese.

springdreams

Green lentil cottage pie

​2 lb potatoes, cooked and mashed with milk, butter/spread and ground black pepper
Vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
6oz green lentils (uncooked)
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 oz cheese (cheddar)
2 carrots, diced
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 green pepper, diced
4 oz mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried basil
Pinch cayenne pepper
Seasoning
Vegetarian stock cube


Cook lentils in plenty of water until just soft, drain, but save ½ pint of the cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, fry onion, garlic and carrot, adding the pepper and mushrooms towards the end.
Add the cooked lentils, tomato puree, basil, cayenne and seasoning. Add the reserved liquid and the stock cube.
Put this mixture into an oven proof dish, cover with the mashed potato and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Bake in a moderately hot oven until the top is golden brown

springdreams

Lentil Spag Bol

4oz red split lentils
2 carrots grated
1 onion chopped
2 sticks celery chopped
garlic as desired
3/4 pint vegetable stock
14oz tin chopped tomatoes
big blob tomato puree
pinch herbs of ur choice

Fry the onion, carrots, celery, garlic until soft.
Add the stock,lentils, tomatoes & tomato puree, bring to the boil and simmer for approx 20 mins.

Serve with pasta or jacket potato.

U can add chilli or curry powder instead for different twist.

springdreams

VEGETABLE CURRY

Serves 4

2 large onions cut into eighths

700ml vegetable stock

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1½ teaspoons ground cumin

1½ teaspoons ground coriander

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon ground ginger

cayenne pepper (to taste, it varies widely in hotness)

1 small red & 1 small yellow pepper, chopped

3 carrots, peeled & coarsely chopped

300g mushrooms, quartered

1 tablespoon tomato puree

large cauliflower, trimmed & broken into florets

Juice of 1 large lemon

Salt to taste

150g green beans, trimmed & cut into 1½ inch lengths

Separate the onion pieces into segments & spread them in a heavy frying pan. Add no liquid or fat. Heat the pan gently, cooking at moderate heat without stirring for 7 to 10 minutes, until the onions are sizzling, speckled with dark amber and beginning to stick to the pan.

Stir in some stock and deglaze the pan (i.e. let it bubble up, stirring up the browned bits in the pan with a spoon as it bubbles).

Stir in the garlic, spices, peppers, carrots & mushrooms. Reduce heat & simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is very thick (not at all soupy) and the vegetables are frying in their own juices. Don't rush this step; it is essential that the spices should not have a raw, harsh taste.

Cook very gently for a few more minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Cool slightly, then puree half the mixture in a blender & push it through a sieve.

Combine the pureed and unpureed mixture in the pan. Add the cauliflower to the pan. Toss everything together very well. Pour in additional stock to reach about one third of the way up the sides of the pan. Squeeze the lemon juice over the contents of the pan.

Season with salt, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the beans & continue simmering for 5 minutes more or until all the vegetables are tender.

Note: this reheats very well. If you plan to cook it ahead, undercook the curry
slightly so that the vegetables do not become mushy when they are reheated.

springdreams

Butternut & coconut curry

Ingredients

1250g Butternut Squash, peeled, de-seeded and cut into cubes

4 spray(s) Calorie controlled cooking spray

1 teaspoon Cumin seeds

1 large Onion, chopped

1 tablespoon Root Ginger, 2.5cm peeled and diced

1 Chilli, Green or Red, deseeded and sliced

2 teaspoons Garam Masala

1 cube Vegetable stock cube

200ml Pineapple Juice

400ml Amoy Reduced Fat Coconut Milk

100g Low Fat Soft Cheese

225g Water Chestnuts, drained

100g Spinach

25g Cashew Nuts, Roasted & Salted, chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200°C/fan 180°C. Place the squash on a non-stick baking tray and mist with cooking spray. Sprinkle over the cumin seeds and lightly toss. Bake in the oven for 45 mins–1 hr or until tender.

Meanwhile, heat a non-stick saucepan over a medium heat and mist with the cooking spray. Cook the onion, ginger and chilli for 5 mins until softened. Then add the garam masala and cook for 30 secs. Add the vegetable stock, pineapple juice, coconut milk and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 mins until it has reduced a little. Stir in the soft cheese until smooth.

When the squash is cooked, add it to the curry along with the water chestnuts and spinach. Stir to until mix through and the spinach has wilted. Season to taste and serve, sprinkled with the cashew nuts.

VfM4meplse

katkin wrote: »

Thank you New Shadow for posting this thread and to everyone who has contributed such great ideas. It's really helpful.

For Lent this year I am going to give up to my beloved potato! Half Irish and a glutton the potato is probably my favourite food. The one food I'd want to take to my desert island

I'm greedy with tatties, crave them and comfort myself with the loveliness of mash, roasties, chips, dauphinoise, baked, stuffed, steamed, herbed new buttered and sauted and...and.. I'm weak and give in too much to comfort eating with potatoes more than anything, no chocolate, not puds, not alcohol.

I find tatties addictive they tempt me towards moral weakness!

Giving them up would help my weight loss programme too and I do need to make some changes with that as I'm slipping into eating too many carbs again.

Something you may find of interest before you jack in the spuds:

On_a_Shoestring

Good luck! I'll be following.

I'm not religious either but I am giving up sugar for lent this year (excluding fruit etc). I don't see it as a religious thing but a way to challenge myself

I gave up chocolate last year so this year will be ramping it up a notch!