Curry Rice with Garbanzo Beans and Spinach

Ahhh the end of the month. When the fridge is bare and making dinner feels a bit like MacGyver, except instead of diffusing a bomb with an apple, a bit of twine and a rock, I'm trying to make dinner out of 6 seemingly incongruent ingredients.

Plus, I have to get my kids to actually eat it. Right.

After some time spent in the kitchen scratching my head and wracking my brain, I came up with this and let me tell you, it was both delicious and a HUGE hit with the kids. And yes, my kids do actually eat like this. Hard to believe, I know. I could regail you with all the things they don't eat, but let's just get to it already.

Ingredients:

Rice:
1 cup jasmine rice
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups water

Garbanzos and Spinach:
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
3/4 cup of fresh spinach, chopped
1 to 2 cups garbanzo beans, cooked or canned
dash of water or veggie broth

Combine all of the ingredients for the rice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic in a large skillet for about 2 minutes. Add in the cumin and stir, cook over medium-low another two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the garbanzo beans and a dash of liquid to deglaze the pan and heat the beans through. Stir in the spinach, cook another two minutes.

Serve with the rice.

Vegan Kale "Yummy Bowls" with Red Pepper Miso and Garlic Tahini.

Choose your favorite grain, bean and vegetables and make your own yummy bowl!

Ingredients
Bowl:
1.5 cups of grain, such as rice, quinoa, bulgur or couscous
2.5 cups water or broth
1 onion, chopped
1 cup mixed vegetables of your choice ( I used green beans and yellow squash)
1/2 cup beans, such as garbanzo, black bean, or lentil
2 tbsp miso paste


Combine all of the ingredients except the miso in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all of the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 tbsp Red Pepper Miso paste such as:

Tahini Sauce:
Meanwhile, in a food processor combine: 1/2 cup tahini, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 2 tbsp olive oil. Blend until smooth.

Next assemble your bowl: ladle the grain and bean mixture into your bowl. Top with steamed kale, tahini sauce and a shake or two of hot chili oil. You might try this one:

Enjoy!