8c veg broth
1c dry baby lima beans, soaked overnight and drained
1c chopped onion
1c chopped carrots
1 stalk celery chopped
1/2c pearl barley, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper
Place broth and beans in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients, except salt and pepper and return to a boil. Reduce heat to med, cover and simmer until barley and beans are tender and broth is creamy, about 1 1/2-2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
And just FYI, if you’re serving vegan guests, lime Tostitos have a milk ingredient in them, and some vegans don’t eat honey so you may want to sub agave nectar instead.
That chickpea sandwich sounds amazing, Ellen Cherry, I’m going to try that!
I love thai curry and it’s always an easy thing to make if you use a prepared Thai curry paste. You must use a Thai yellow curry paste, however (Mae Ploy is a very good brand). Yellow curry paste is the only kind that is truly vegetarian and doesn’t have shrimp or fish products aded.
Curry paste is relatively inexpensive, keeps well in the fridge and you always end up with a very fresh tasting curry compared to ones made with dry spices. It is also very quick.
I don’t really have a recipe, it’s more of a process and can include just about any veggie that you’d like.
Thai Vegetarian Curry Base
2 tablespoons veg. oil
1 onion cut in half and sliced thin
1-2 tablespoons Thai Yellow Curry Paste (or to taste)
3-4 cups of your choice of veggies
1 can of coconut milk
3/4 cup of water
Soy sauce to taste
1-2 teaspoon sugar
Add the oil to a hot wok or large frying pan, sautee the onion on high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the curry paste and fry with the onions for about 30 seconds to activate the flavors. Add your choice of *fresh veg. and stir fry for another minute. Add the coconut milk,water,and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and cook until the veggies are tender. (Usually about 10-15 minutes)
Serve with rice.
*Some suggestions for veggies (and fruit) to add to the curry as stand alone ingredients or in combination:
Potato
Sweet Potato
Squash
Zucchini or Yellow Squash
Eggplant
Mushrooms
Green Beans
Rabe
Any kind of hearty Greens
carrots
Green Pepper
Star fruit
Pineapple
Tomatoes
The Kitchen sink
Also, Thai Yellow Curry paste and Coconut Milk are not really exotic ingredients anymore, in the US. You can find them more and more often in the ethnic aisle of your groocery store or at asian markets. Curry is also economical, you can usually get several curries out of a tub and Coconut milk is cheap.
If you have a pressure cooker, it’s really hard to beat a big mess o’ green beans and potatoes for cheap, easy, and delicious.
Fresh green beans, rinsed and snapped (or cut) into pieces.
Small red-skin or yellow-flesh potatoes, cut in half or quarters.
A white or yellow onion, cut in half, then each half in quarters.
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.
The instruction book has different numbers for beans and potatoes. Use the larger amount of water and the longer time.
How much of each ingredient? Use more than you think your group can possibly eat. More than two diners? Add another onion. There won’t be any leftovers.
Hummus! Two cans of chick peas, drained with a little liquid saved. Half a red bell pepper, a clove or more of garlic, depending on how much you like garlic, a squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of (preferably kosher) salt. Blenderoonie. Add back in chick pea liquid as needed for your preferred consistency. Eat with chips or on a salad, or in a pita with lettuce and onion and tomato. Yum!
I like to make hummus too, but I like either a couple of tablespoons of tahini or a slosh of sesame oil, or some combination thereof in the mix. Also tend to go heavy on the lemon, but that’s a taste issue.