Midwest Curry Potluck

I know, I know the words midwest, curry and potluck seem to be pretty incongruous - but it works - well at our house anyway. My husband’s parents were medical missionaries in India. Dan and his siblings grew up in Kerala, which is on the south western coast. And adding the vegetarian bent - makes curry a natural. 

In light of recent political events we decided an evening of great company, food and conversation with a spicy twist was in order; enter a curry potluck party. We had about 25 people, 13 curries, fruit, appetizers, beverages and of course fun! A great surprise was our niece Katie; she headed off to Pune, India on Sunday but was able to join us before she embarked on her studies, we’re looking forward to reading her blog posts and wish her safe travels and great adventures. 

 I was looking for a vegan curry to prepare and I found a delicious mushroom curry; of course I needed to alter it a bit to suit my taste. I have to say though, that the appeal in this recipe is that the sauce is made from carrots and water, no broth, no coconut milk, or other traditional ingredients - carrots. carrots and more carrots. The basic recipe is here

The sweetness of the carrots and the curry were an excellent combination. The recipe called for baby portobellas, but I used a combination of portobellas and button mushrooms to temper the taste. Next time however it will be total portobellas - the smokiness adds so much to the dish. 

The recipe came together quickly, and the flavor was so delicious. We had so many delicious curries - it was hard to chose a favorite - so I won’t but here is a photo of a few of the offerings.

And of course the crowd is always lively. 

Looking forward to the start of pottery class this weekend and then Superbowl Sunday  - go “whomever” you love - I’m just here for the snacks!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Warming Vegan Soup

Happy New Year!

The holiday decorations are safely tucked back in the closet, the recyclers have taken the tree and winter has set in; that cold, below zero winter that only something steaming hot can take the chill off. 

I received the Pure Vegan cookbook by Joseph Shuldiner from Dan’s daughter Mary for Christmas this year and I’ve spent a fair amount of time pouring over recipes, which is one of my favorite things to do. 

There are so many great recipes in this cookbook I’m not sure where to start but since the temps have been low lately I decided to make a warming Celery root and fennel chowder. The combination of leeks, celery root, and fennel is perfect and hit the spot. Dan made a whole wheat bread with rosemary (from our garden last year), dukkah and other spices, it was the perfect match. 

I made a couple changes subbing 1 sweet potato and 1 baker for the 2 baking potatoes because I am not a huge fan of white potatoes. I also didn’t have fresh parsley or thyme so I used dried. I may also have added more garlic because well, you can never have too much garlic right?

Ingredients:

1 large fennel bulb - trimmed and thinly sliced (reserve fennel fronds for garnish)

2 to 3 leeks - white and light green parts only

1 large baking potato - peeled and diced

1 large sweet potato - peeled and diced

1 to 2 shallots - minced

3 garlic cloves - minced (I may have added a few extra of these too)

1 cup fresh minced parsley (I used less dried)

1 tsp fresh minced thyme

2 tsp fennel seed

2 tsp salt - or to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large celery root, peeled and diced 

6 cups water

Instructions:

In a large soup pot combine all ingredients - except the celery root and water and sauce for 15 - 20 minutes covered over medium low heat stirring occasionally to keep the veggies from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

Add the celery root and water, uncover and increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until celery root is tender - approximately 20 minutes. 

Transfer half of the mixture to a blender and puree. Return to pot and stir until incorporated. Top with fennel fronds and serve with salad and bread. 

Next project in the cookbook Pistachio olive oil cake - I might be a movie night dessert or a dessert for our curry pot luck in a couple of weeks. 

Keep warm and thanks for stopping by.