Vegan MoFo, Day 1: Curry is for Lovers

As a response to a mind-blowing discussion shared with a friend several weeks back on the ole Facebook, I decided to create a "Foodies" theme for Vegan MoFo. (Plus, I learned about MoFo being in October this year the day after said convo occurred, so I was still a TAD BIT offput.)

Basically, the here's the gist:

-friends post about having a great experience eating pho

-I comment that I also made it (SUCCESSFULLY THIS TIME!) that same evening and linked my blog post

-one friend decided to take it upon himself to point out that I couldn't call the concoction I made and consumed "pho" because it wasn't made of "animal-bone-rendered-until-its-soul-turned-to-delicious-broth" and then suggested that I had to call it something else, not unlike the case with Champagne.

-I suggested that the term I had used, "Vegan Pho," should have been enough of a qualifier for what the hell I meant, so I started calling my food "shit in a pan" or "weird stuff that looks like X," you know, so there wasn't any confusion.

-Then I told him to "Phok Off." (hey there, friend, if you're reading this, no hard feelings, but you pissed me off at the time, kthx!)

So, here we are, on Day ONE of Vegan MoFo, and I decided to make something positive out of this negative BS.

And I begin my journey through Vegan MoFo and October with a curry.

I hate curry...hate hate hate it. I've never liked it. The taste...the smell...it just weirded me out.

But I felt a major craving for it last week after seeing it in several magazines and sites. I decided to build upon the Chickpea Curry from The Vegan Stoner and also make the coconut rice recipe from the Vegetarian Times Healing Foods mag that I picked up recently.

Curries are an interesting thing. They are big in Britain, acquired from colonial days in India and adjusted to their liking. There are many different ways to make a curry, many different ingredients and formats to use (you can even make curry soups!). And curry powder was something entirely made up by the British.

So it only fits that a curry would go with my theme. People seem to go ga-ga for it, have their favorite curry-serving restaurants, and like to make it at home.

Here's the result:

"Some Bean Sh*t and Sauce over Rice"

makes 3-4 servings, adapted from The Vegan Stoner and Vegetarian Times

curry

coconut oil (I used the new Earth Balance Coconut Spread)

1 green pepper, diced

2 carrots, sliced into half-coins on a bias

1/2 a yellow onion, diced

3 cups cooked chickpeas (usually 1 cup before cooked)

1/2 can lite coconut milk

onion powder, S&P, curry powder, smoked paprika (I just basically added these until it looked right...)

3 green onions, sliced

rice recipe here, which I made exactly as listed

topping

1/4 cup flaked, unsweetened coconut

1/8 cup raw sesame seeds

Make the rice according to the recipe (this should be done first, you can make the other two components while this is finishing).

Saute the carrots, onion, and green peppers in coconut oil/spread, about 5-7 minutes. Add cooked chickpeas and continue sauteing until heated through. Add the 1/2 can of coconut milk (the other 1/2 can is used in the rice recipe), stir and lower heat until simmering. Add spices, mix, and continue simmering for about 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small pan, toast coconut and sesame seeds together, making sure to stir often. There will be a little oil given off while toasting that can coat the seeds and coconut, but it will also make them stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, so make sure to keep stirring often.

Stir the rice, spoon it into a bowl, top with the chickpea mixture, followed by the seeds/coconut and sliced green onions.

Eat, enjoy, and realize that you DO, in fact, like curry.

{noms}

Jes

PS--

{i'll call my food what I want.}