Potato Curry

Putting it here for reference so I don't lose it.
From http://vegrecipes.livejournal.com/1342699.html

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 teaspoons curry powder
4 teaspoons garam masala
1 inch of ginger, grated
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper maybe start with 1/4 or 1/2 tsp, add more later. 3/4 was too much.
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 can diced tomatoes (~15oz size)
1 can of coconut milk (~15oz size)
1 can garbanzos, rinsed and drained (~15oz size)
1 can peas (I used 1/2 a package of frozen peas)

Boil potatoes til (just barely) soft. Sautee onions and garlic til soft. Stir in curry powder, garam masala, ginger, cumin, cayenne and salt. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring. Mix in potatoes, garbanzos, and peas, then stir in the tomatoes and coconut milk. Simmer 5-10 minutes.

Recipes I Haven't Used (yet): Crushed Chickpea Soup

Want to make this: http://www.sfgate.com/recipes/weeknightdish/article/December-dinners-that-will-get-a-warm-reception-5083283.php

From the link:

Crushed Chickpea Soup

Serves 6
To make this a vegetarian dish, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• -- Pinch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• -- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 cans (about 14.5 ounces) chickpeas, 2 drained and 1 with bean liquid
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock (for stock, see recipe elsewhere in this section)
• 1 can (about 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley + more for garnish
• -- Lemon juice to taste, if desired
• -- Greek yogurt and pita chips, for serving

Instructions: Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic; cook, stirring often, until the onions soften, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the cumin, paprika, cinnamon and lemon zest, and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes to blend the spices.
Add the chickpeas and liquid from 1 can and the chicken broth; bring to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes more.
Using a potato masher, lightly crush the chickpeas in the pot. Stir in the parsley, and season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice, if needed.
Garnish with parsley, and serve topped with yogurt and accompanied by pita chips.
Per serving: 338 calories, 16 g protein, 49 g carbohydrates, 10 g fat (1 g saturated), 3 mg cholesterol, 304 mg sodium, 14 g fiber.

Minestrone

I've made minestrone a bunch of times but was never incredibly happy with it. I had dinner at a friend's house a few weeks ago and they'd made a really great vegetarian minestrone from Moosewood. I'm actually not sure if this is the exact same recipe (there are so many different Moosewood cookbooks) but I was pretty happy with the way this came out. Putting green peppers in was a new thing for me, so that may have helped. Here's roughly what I did, which is a variation on what's listed in the link. (I made this last week so my memory's not perfect.)

http://www.ivu.org/recipes/italian/minestrone2-j.html

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 5 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 cup celery -- minced
• 1 cup carrot -- cubed
• 1 cup zucchini, cubed
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley -- chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 3 cups tomato puree (~42 oz canned tomatoes blended in Cuisinart)
• 3 1/2 cups water or less - to cover (use water from cooking garbanzos if possible)

Saute garlic and onions in oil until they are soft and translucent.
Add 1 tsp. salt, carrot, celery.
Mix well.
Add oregano, black pepper and basil.
Cover and cook over low heat 5-8 minutes.
Add green pepper, zucchini, stock, puree, and cooked beans.
Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Add tomatoes and remaining salt.
Keep at lowest heat until 10 minutes before you plan to serve. Add parsley for the last ~20 minutes of cooking.

[Spicy, Indian-food-inspired] garbanzos + kale

1 can of chickpeas
half an onion, chopped relatively small
6ish leaves of kale, sliced fine
splotches of marinara sauce (1/2 cup?)
shitload of paprika
salt
powdered ginger
garam masala
cumin
curry powder
yogurt

Sauteed onion in oil for a bit, added chickpeas and spices and fried a bit, dumped in marinara sauce and cooked a bit more,then dumped in kale and a little bit of water and stirred a bit and then put the lid on and cooked til the kale was wilted. Stirred a few spoonfuls of yogurt into my bowl before eating.

I do variations on this all the time, and I always forget what I do. (Tomatoes? No tomatoes? Garlic? Etc.) I usually do fresh ginger, but I think the powdered ginger might be even better. This has a nice hotness to it and it's evenly dispersed through the dish.