Red Bean, Sweet Potato, and Peanut Stew

Another one-pot dish. I used a rice cooker but any large pot will work.

Ingredients:

Canned red beans, rinsed well
Canned diced tomatoes
Sweet potatoes/yams, diced and softened in microwave
Peanut butter, about 1/4 cup
Onion, diced
Garlic, chopped
Fresh ginger, chopped
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Curry powder (about 2 tablespoons)
Salt to taste
Lime squeezed on top
Water

Heat the garlic and onion in oil in the bottom of the pot and cook till clear. Add ginger and spices and cook another minute or two. Add sweet potatoes, coat. Add beans and tomatoes, stir. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer. Add peanut butter. Add water as needed to maintain slight soupiness (shouldn't be like a paste). Simmer until sweet potatoes are well-cooked. Salt to taste and squeeze lots of fresh lime juice on individual portions. Serve over rice. It's also really good if you mix the rice in a lot.

Curried Garbanzo Beans with Swiss Chard

I made this curry in a rice cooker during my lunch break. It would also be an easy one-pot meal on the stovetop.

Ingredients:

2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed well
1 can coconut milk
1 thinly sliced onion
Chopped fresh ginger
1 large bunch of Swiss chard, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons of curry powder
1/4-3/4 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
Olive Oil


Heat the oil in the bottom of the pan.
Add the onion and cook till clear
Add the ginger and spices and mix well
Add the coconut milk and garbanzo beans
Add the chard and simmer until chard is well cooked.

Serve over rice.

Peanut Butter and Saltines

There were only three or four saltines left last night when I discovered this snack lying about among party-goers. Brian said that this is what his Dad had for a snack in his office where he worked as a doctor.

This is a good example of a snack that is easy to always have around the house and also very easy to forget about.