But wait!!! There's more! Curried lentils and kale and how much I LOVE curries

PEOPLE!! I am having a moment with Indian food. 

I had a practical affair with the fabulous Tandoori vegetables and dal that I had in Minneapolis at the Bombay Bistro....  le sigh. Really, can I live there? 
And now I have found a recipe for a curry that I could eat monthly if not weekly.  The smells are perfectly like those that were wafting around the Bistro and also the Middle Eastern restaurant that we went to for lunch whilst floating about Minneapolis searching for fabulous ethnic foods...  

The curry with the cinnamon and the coriander and the cumin and the turmeric.....  heaven.  Just heaven.  The taste, the fragrance is divine.

Ok, I have been waxing poetic for long enough.  

Indian Spiced Slow Cooker Lentils with Spinach

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic 
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander seed
1 tsp. ground turmeric 
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
1 tsp. ground cinnamon 
1 1/2 cup red lentils 
4 cups vegetable stock 
1 can (14 oz.) light coconut milk 
4 cups chopped fresh spinach (or baby kale mix) 
salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste -

Lime and/or greek yogurt for garnish/finish

Heat olive oil and add onion, gently saute until partly cooked- about 3 minutes.  Add garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, Garam Masala and cinnamon until fragrant.  Put into slow cooker.  Add lentils and veggie broth and cook on high for about 2 hours or on low for 4.

Allowing the vegetables and spices to meld

In the crockpot with all of it

Turn down to low and add the spinach or kale and coconut milk, cook covered another 30 minutes or so.  

Add in coconut milk (I used light coconut milk) and kale/spinach

Trust me- add the lime squeeze to the bowl!

This is just beautiful and divine!!  So simple and so good - I can't recommend this enough- if you like the flavors of India.

I believe this is also vegan (I am now tired and cannot remember) SO that is your cooking marathon for me today- hope your day was warm and toasty!!  AND perhaps just a bit joyful.

Quinoa and kale stuffed sweet potato

I am always trying to find vegetarian fare that is pretty quick and easy, plus makes a bit so I can have lunches through at least part of the week.  I keep my ideas on my Pinterest board so I can easily find them!  As I was scrolling through that board this weekend I rediscovered this one.

Good choice, Mad Art Teacher, Good choice!

I WISH I had a pic of all the ingredients....  I was multitasking that day and neglected to photo everything. But you will get the idea if you read carefully!  :)

This topping for the sweet potatoes is so simple and so delicious that it is surprising.  It goes perfectly with the rich, red-orange sp, but would make a good combination with any sort of grain or even as a side  dish with any meal.  Just a thought!

First things first- throw those lovely sweet potatoes into the oven.  I wrap mine in foil and I use these Red Garnet Sweet Potatoes

The base of the topping is quinoa, a wonderful, high-protein grain.  I have a couple different sorts, but am partial to the look of the dark brown "red" quinoa.  Pretty!  Quinoa needs to be rinsed first (some kinds come sold as prerinsed, look at your box or bag first.  If in doubt, rinse it!)  It isn't a big deal to run water over it 3 or 4 times and let it drain

After rinsing, combine the quinoa with vegetable broth and cook on the stove.  In the meantime..... Saute your onions in a little oil (and butter according to the recipe).

HERE is where you need to pay attention!!!  After the onions are softened it says to add the rest of the ingredients, which includes slivered, toasted almonds.  So I didn't have toasted ones, I had raw almonds, and so I decided to just cut up my almonds and toss them in WITH the onion at the end.  Worked out perfectly!!

After the onion and almonds are sauteed, add the kale and dried cranberries.  Trust me, this is good stuff.

When the quinoa is ready, toss that in as well.  Stir it up, and have it warm for when the Sweet Potatoes are done.

This was divine and REALLY pretty.  I found that it reheats really well at work for lunch too!  WINNER here.  YUM

Something about the crunch of the almonds and the sweet of the cranberries melds with the rich sweet potato and slight texture of the quinoa......

Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Serves 8

What you'll need:

4 sweet potatoes

1 cup quinoa

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tbsp. butter 

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cups kale, broken into 1 inch pieces (I used more than 2 cups)

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds (I used chopped, raw almonds)

1/4 cup (plus) dried cranberries

salt and pepper

What you'll do:

Bake the sweet potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 1 hours or until fork tender.  While

they are cooking, make your filling.  Cook the quinoa (use prerinsed or be sure to rinse the quinoa a few times) in the vegetable broth.  And while

that is cooking, saute the onion in the butter and olive oil with a pinch of salt until soft. (Here is where I put in the almonds, about 1 - 2 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients)

Add in the kale, almonds, and cranberries and saute until the kale is soft, about 3

minutes.  Add the finished quinoa to the frying pan and mix together.

Top a halved sweet potato.  

Approximate calorie count:

250 calories for the full cup of topping, and about 150 calories for the sweet potato.

This was a fantastic find!!  YAY

And it definitely gives me a little lunch-time joy!