Showing posts with label curried. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curried. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Vegan Curried Quinoa With Fresh English Peas
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Did you Plant your Peas?
The growing season in Northern California always catches me by surprise. One minute its really cold and the next minute its hot and Ill be walking down the street noticing my neighbors 3 foot tall peas growing next to their 2 foot chard! And every year I wonder why I waited so long to start my garden. Well I did it again but luckily I found some beautiful English peas in the grocery store.
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| Peas are so perfect - so beautiful! |
Frozen vs. Fresh
Without a doubt, frozen peas are more convenient, less expensive and nutritionally equal. After all, they are frozen at the peak of their goodness. But theres just something about shucking peas thats calming and it certainly connects you to nature more than ripping the top off a plastic bag full of frozen peas. They are really fun to grow, especially when you have kids. They grow so quickly, its almost like magic!
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| 1 cup of raw peas provides: 117 calories 8 g protein 7 g dietary fiber 0 saturated fat and cholesterol 97% RDA vitamin C 45% RDA vitamin K 30% RDA manganese 26% RDA thiamin 24% RDA folate 22% RDA vitamin A |
Try them Raw!
Raw peas, whether they are fresh or frozen, make a good base to thicken raw soups. And eating them raw preserves their high vitamin C content. Try Raw Vegan Split Pea Soup or blend them with other vegetables as in Creamy Raw Vegan Zucchini Soup with Crushed Pistachios.
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| Peas are used to thicken this raw creamy zucchini soup with crushed pistachios |
Vegan Curried Quinoa with Fresh English Peas
[4 servings]
1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped, (1 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon sweet curry
1 teaspoon hot curry, or to taste
2 cups veggie broth (can use vegan bouillon cube and water)
1 pound fresh English peas, shucked (about 1 1/3 cups)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt to taste
Soak quinoa for 15 minutes. Drain in a fine strainer and rinse in cold water for 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat and sauté onions for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute.
Add quinoa, sweet and hot curry and stir until well coated.
Add broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook covered on a high simmer for 5 minutes.
Place fresh peas on top of simmering quinoa in a single layer but dont stir in. Cook another 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender.
Remove from heat and let sit covered for another 5 minutes.
Stir in fresh cilantro. Salt to taste and serve immediately.
Per serving: 256.8 calories, 6.3 g fat, 0.8 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 9.4 g protein, 41.0 g carbohydrates and 6.4 g dietary fiber.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Can You Become Addicted To A Curried Pumpkin Enchilada A Review Of Avatars Punjabi Burrito Restaurant In Petaluma California
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| Vegan curried pumpkin enchilada with quinoa Follow Foods For Long Life on FACEBOOK ! |
A Great Find
Its hard to say what is more amazing - the food at Avatars Punjabi Burrito or the owner! Let me start by telling you about the owner.
Ashuk Kumar graduated from Berkeley in 1988 with a degree in Business. Coming from a prestigious school like Berkeley, Im sure he had many wonderful and lucrative opportunities. In fact, he worked at Cisco for 6 months. But this wasnt his passion. His passion was food. So with the small amount of money he saved while working at Cisco, $10,000 from his mom and a bank loan, he bought (of all things) a hamburger place in Sausalito.
What he did next was pretty crazy. Way back then, when people were still smoking in offices and no one talked much about things like gluten, Ashuk put out a big board in front of his new establishment. It said, "Non smoking restaurant", "Gluten Free", and "Vegan, Sodium Free and Carb Free Upon Request". Instead of hamburgers, he developed a "fusion" menu combining the flavors and cuisine of the places that he had lived and traveled - Mexico, Jamaica, India and Italy. Ashuk laughed as he told me how the hamburger clientele left in droves because of the "weird food" and the ban on smoking. Im sure he wasnt laughing then after investing his life savings in this new concept.
He caught a break when some executives from Autodesk, a nearby company, told all of their employees about this wonderful new restaurant. The next day, 72 people showed up at his door! The rest is history. He opened another restaurant in Mill Valley 17 years ago and less than a year ago, he opened Punjabi Burrito in Petaluma.
Now about the Food
Although Ashuk has been a vegetarian for 46 years, this is not solely a vegetarian restaurant. Seafood and some meat dishes are on the menu. From Mexican enchiladas, Italian ravioli to Jamaican jerk chicken, all of his dishes are influenced by Indian spices. But whats on the menu is not important. Ashuk will usually ask you what you like and then show up with something he promises youll love! Although he is usually at his Sausalito location, he assures me that his Petaluma team can also customize meals to your liking.
I do believe my favorite vegan dish is the curried pumpkin enchilada. Im not sure of the ingredients but their are distinct flavors of mango, tamarind, chutney and curry. Now that Ive tasted this, I dont believe I can live without it! Im truly addicted!
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| Ashuk explains the menu to 16 hungry vegans from Compassionate Living Outreach at a Meetup in March |
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| Blackened seasonal vegetables which chick peas |
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| Vegan mustard greens and spinach enchiladas with rice |
Give it a try!
If you live in northern California or come for a visit, give this restaurant a try!
Punjabi Burrito is located at 131 Kentucky Street in Petaluma.
Ashuks other two restaurants are:
The original Avatars located at 2656 Bridgeway Blvd in Sausalito and
Avatars Punjabi Burrito located at 15 Madrona St., Mill Valley.
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