Red Light Special

February 20, 2009

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I had to run yet another errand late this afternoon – a trip to Sears to claim my reimbursement for the botched stove delivery of December. Apparently there was a compute glitch and the check I was supposed to get in the mail was deleted from the system. Yeaaaahhh. So I ventured out during rush hour (waiting for a light THREE times before I got through) to collect my $80 payment, which was worth the trip.

This week has left me a bit frazzled. (SO MANY TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!!!!! My computer is being a PIECE tonight. I hate restarting my computer so much. I have been trying to post for 30 minutes now and it’s taking for-ev-er. Humph!)

So anyways, I decided to make a real cocktail while I made dinner. Bourbon + ice + water + sweet vermouth + cherry juice + cherry. I am not a liquor drinker at all, but I love bourbon!

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Dinner tonight was a fun recipe I’ve been saving for a while shared by Heather G.: Coconut Cauliflower Chana.

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Here’s Heather’s recipe. The only changes we made were the addition of raisins and garam masala, and of course omitting the onions (and the red pepper since I was out). Oh, and I used Lite Coconut milk because that’s all I had.

Coconut Cauliflower Chana

This recipe can be found in jae steele’s book Get It Ripe, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2008

Makes 6-8 servings

2 T non-hydrogenated coconut oil or olive oil
2 medium-large onions, chopped (obviously you would omit this – ha!)
2 large carrots, chopped
3 large or 5 medium cloves of garlic
1 T grated fresh ginger root
1-2 T curry powder* (or to taste)
1/4 t cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 t sea salt
2 fist-sized orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (may sub with regular potatoes), diced
3 c diced cauliflower
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 1/2 c cooked chickpeas
1 can good quality coconut milk (do not use light version)
1/4-1/2 c filtered water (or more to thin sauce as desired)
1/4 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1 handful of chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish)

Heat the oil in a soup pot on medium. Add the onions and sautee for about 5 minutes.

Add the carrots, garlic, ginger, curry powder, cayenne and salt and saute for another 5 minutes. Stir in the sweet potatoes, cauliflower, red pepper, chickpeas, coconut milk, water and shredded coconut, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are soft.

Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Served with a dollop of yogurt, a half cup of brown rice (already prepared) and a movie:

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The dish was awesome!! Loved the cauliflower and sweet potatoes and of course the spices.

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A little later I had two little secret recipe oatmeal cookies -

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I thought the movie (Thank You For Smoking) was just OK. Not really my type, but a thought provoker for sure.

More KERF to Surf!

Happy Hot Breakfast Month

I’m grumpy from this computer trouble, so I’m off to bed to sleep it off!

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{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Molly February 20, 2009 at 10:31 pm

That dinner looks so good! How strong is the coconut flavor? Did anything happen because you used light coconut milk?

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2 Allison K February 20, 2009 at 10:46 pm

I had my first real KERF inspired dinner tonight! My husband was out with the boys, and I didn’t want to make a huge meal, or spend money on take out.
I made some brown rice and then just dumped a bunch of veggies in pan to heat them through, including spinach which previously i’ve only enjoyed raw.
I put that all over brown rice and dumped on hot sauce and plain yogurt. DELISH!
Thanks Kath!

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3 seelee live (for the love of peanut butter) February 20, 2009 at 10:47 pm

what kind of tastes did it taste like? I would like to know what it smelled and how it tasted. thatd be a fun addition to your posts-letting us know what it tasted like and what kijnd of experience it was!! thanks!!

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4 FoodsThatFit February 20, 2009 at 10:52 pm

Computer glitches drive me crazy! This is random, but I really like the contrasting colors of your walls, it looks really bright and cheerful!

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5 Michelle Hisae February 20, 2009 at 10:53 pm

Isn’t Netflix amazing! My boyfriend and I just got a subscription and we’re hooked! It’s so convenient to watch online while waiting for you next movie to arrive in the mail. And it’s definitely in a college student’s budget when we share. :)

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6 vegantickles February 20, 2009 at 10:53 pm

do yourself a favor and switch to a MAC. Apples are really the best. Totally worth the money.

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7 Heather February 20, 2009 at 10:58 pm

Hi Kath – so glad you enjoyed the coconut meal! The recipe comes from “Get It Ripe” by jae steele, a really great vegan/whole foods cookbook focused around holistic nutrition. Everyone should check it out :)

Also, Maker’s Mark!!! MY favorite/the best liquor of all time. Good choice.

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8 Maggie February 20, 2009 at 11:10 pm

Too bad about the stressful day :( Hope you get some rest and are feeling better tomorrow!

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9 emmy February 20, 2009 at 11:23 pm

I hate computer problems! I actually picked up my laptop to throw it the other day before the husband caught me!

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10 Shelby February 20, 2009 at 11:28 pm

That dinner seriously looks phenomenal! I’m saving this recipe!

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11 Emily February 20, 2009 at 11:31 pm

I just saved your delish-looking dinner into my recipe file.
Sorry for the computer problems…technology = most definitely a love/hate relationship!

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12 Kasey February 20, 2009 at 11:35 pm

Kath – I absolutely love your blog & have been a daily reader for quite a while, you are such an inspiration to me! So much that I’ve actually started my own blog – I’m pretty terrible at blogging so far but we’ll see. Looks delicious!
Kasey

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13 Sharon February 21, 2009 at 12:58 am

Awh, simply lovely!

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14 sue February 21, 2009 at 1:52 am

love the title! i want a sip of that cocktail- sounds good!

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15 Sarah (lovINmytummy) February 21, 2009 at 2:12 am

Is this KERF or KDRB (Kath Drinks Real Booze)?

;) My computer drives me to drink at times as well!

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16 Elizabeth (thelongweigh) February 21, 2009 at 2:52 am

Sorry for the frustrations today! You deserved that cocktail!

I love Netflix and Netflix and delicious cookies sounds perfect!

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17 Kailey (SnackFace) February 21, 2009 at 2:57 am

Sorry bout the bum computer today- I often want to throw my laptop across the room. That drank, dinner, cookies and movie look like they can make it all better!

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18 Marianne February 21, 2009 at 3:53 am

Hmmm, how coconut-y is that? Cuz I love me some coconut :D

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19 Courtney (The Hungry Yogini) February 21, 2009 at 6:07 am

Yummy yummy!

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20 Maureen February 21, 2009 at 6:09 am

Oooh, congrats on getting the reimbursement! Unexpected money is awesome. I love that silver dollar plant decoration on your table, and that looks like such a yummy drink!

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21 coco February 21, 2009 at 6:23 am

love the red dinner~~~ everything looks yummy and romantic!

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22 zestycook February 21, 2009 at 6:40 am

Kath -That dinner looks so good! Boo to the computer troubles. Hope you had a good sleep. I did not!

zesty

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23 VeggieGirl February 21, 2009 at 7:46 am

Loooove the looks of that Coconut Cauliflower Chana!!

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24 Kath February 21, 2009 at 8:03 am

Molly + Marianne ,
The light coconut milk probably just made a thinner sauce. It tasted just like other dishes with coconut milk. It wasn’t overly coconuty – I might have saved the coconut (unsweetened flakes that I use) for a garnish instead because they did kind of get lost how small they were. Now toasted, sweetened coconut would have been awesome!

Allison K,
Go you!

seelee live,
It tasted just like the ingredients would suggest: lots of yellow curry, slight coconut, slight spice.

vegantickles ,
I hate macs!!! I used one for a year at one of my jobs and just hated the way programs ran along the top and how the windows were – mostly layout things.

Heather ,
There you are! It was a great recipe – thanks!

Kasey ,
Thank you and good luck!

Sarah (lovINmytummy),
hahah

Kath

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25 Beadie @ What I Ate Yesterday February 21, 2009 at 8:36 am

Sorry you are having such difficulties. Hang in there!

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26 Casey February 21, 2009 at 8:40 am

Save up…and buy a Mac! Hope your computer gets better!

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27 Biz319 February 21, 2009 at 10:02 am

Hope your computer problems get better! I hate when that happens – I usually have to call my brother Charlie for help!

Wow, Makers Mark is so strong – I bet one was plenty!

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28 brandi February 21, 2009 at 10:05 am

that dinner looks great! and I think I have everything….

hope the computer issues are better today!

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29 Caitlin February 21, 2009 at 10:55 am

The flower-type things in that red vase on your table are so pretty. WHere are they from?

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30 Kath February 21, 2009 at 11:07 am

Caitlin,
Pier 1 like 3 years ago.

K

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31 Ryan | Lifegawker February 21, 2009 at 3:16 pm

Hey Kath,

I learned something new yesterday. I was watching Dirty Jobs and they were talking about Kerf. They were not talking about Kath Eats Real Food though, they were talking about the slag that catches in the bottom of a pan below a plasma cutter at a locomotive factory.

It was funny because I heard Kerf (while I was half paying attention to the show) and thought “No way, Kath is on TV, awesome!!”. Wrong Kerf altogether.

HAHA :-)

Ryan

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32 Kath February 21, 2009 at 3:20 pm

Ryan | Lifegawker,
Haha – I have heard of kerf before! I think someone told me about it. Eww!

Kath

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33 theoddbod February 21, 2009 at 5:19 pm

oh ya, bourbon…the good stuff

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34 Alicia February 23, 2009 at 5:22 pm

I might have to try bourbon… (could use some esp. today)
I felt the same way about Burn after reading, it was just “ok.” But I do LOVE my netflix!
P.S. I’m a member of spark and saw your shout out before I saw it posted here, congrats!

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35 jae steele February 6, 2011 at 4:12 pm

hi kath,
one of my readers just alerted me to this blog post, letting me know that it features my recipe – verbatim.
i’m all for sharing (yay!), and i’m all for credit, so please do edit this post to include “This recipe can be found in jae steele’s book Get It Ripe, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2008″ or something to that effect. a link to my publisher’s site or my blog would also be appropriate.
thanks muchly!

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