02.03.12_Thai Quinoa Chili

Ever since Phillip and I made the Butternut Coconut Stew, I have been on the look out for another recipe that we could use quinoa in since we barely used half the bag last time. I came across a similar dish, Thai Quinoa Chili and thought it would be another easy, tasty dish that would be good for the winter months. The recipe called for:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 4 cups vegetable broth, divided
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 1-28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Sliced green onions, for serving (I omitted these for Phillip)
• Plain Greek yogurt, for serving (omit to make the dish vegan)

After reading through the list I thought 3 cans of beans was a lot, as was a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, but we rationalized that all the beans would take the place of the meat that was typically in chili.

As always, this recipe could not have been easier. I whisked together the chili powder, curry paste, cumin and a few tablespoons of stock in my largest soup pot. I then added a little olive oil before dropping in the sweet potato, onion, green pepper and garlic. I also added one Thai chili to give a little kick. Make sure you wash your hands good and several times after using these bad boys. They are hot! After sauteing for a few minutes, I dumped in the drained kidney beans, the quinoa, and the can of tomatoes. Finally, I added the coconut milk and remainder of the veggie stock, praying it would all fit. It was literally filled to the brim. Needless to say this recipe made an ABSURD amount of chili. We ended up freezing half of it and the other half was more than enough for both of our dinners and lunches for another day so I'd definitely recommend halving this recipe if its just for two people.

The chili was delicious but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't taste the coconut milk. It was very subtle, maybe because it called for light? I definitely was hoping for more of a Thai flavor. I topped my bowl with a dollop of Greek yogurt which added a nice tang to the chili that I really liked. Obviously you can omit this and the dish would be vegan.

On the side we decided we would make cornbread, but I wanted to change it up a bit to go with the Thai flavors I was expecting with the chili. I used the box mix, but added 1/4cup of frozen corn kernels, a Thai chili, and instead of 1/4cup of milk, I did half milk half coconut milk. Again, I didn't get as much coconut as I wanted so if I were to make these again I would use all coconut milk to get more of the flavor. The Thai chili gave a nice kick though and the corn added texture to the muffins. Cornbread mixes are not vegan, FYI, so if you did want to make this a vegan meal you would have to make these without the box.

12.14.11_Butternut Coconut Stew

A group of friends and I have started having a "dinner party" once a month. We rotate who hosts and use it as an opportunity to try new recipes that we've been wanting to try. I love butternut squash. And I love coconut. So when I saw this recipe I knew I definitely had to try it. The recipe also called for quinoa which I had never made before so I was excited to try something new.

I went to Safeway because they always sell peeled and diced butternut squash. Of course, it was a sale item this week so they were completely sold out. I was forced to buy a fresh butternut squash which, if you remember from my butternut squash risotto, is quite the process to peel. Once the squash was peeled and cubed, the process was significantly easier. I also decided to double the recipe since there would be five of us for dinner and I always like leftovers so there was a lot of stew!

While the 4 cups of squash were cooking in boiling water for about 15 minutes, I sauteed a large onion, a jalapeno, 4 tbs fresh ginger, and 4 cloves of garlic then seasoned with a little salt. After the squash was cooked I drained it, put it back in the pot, then added the sauteed onion mixture. I then added a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, a 28 oz can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, and then a cup of coconut milk. The recipe called for lite coconut milk which we could not find so we combined 1/2 cup of the coconut milk with 1/2 cup of water to thin it out a bit. I didn't want the coconut flavor to compeltely overpower the dish. After all the ingredients were combined I just had to bring the pot back up to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I waited until everyone had gotten to my apartment before I put the quinoa on. It was super simple. I just added 1.5 cups quinoa to 3 cups of water, brought to a boil, then covered and reduced to simmer for 15 minutes. Once the quinoa was cooked dinner was ready! I scooped a little bit of quinoa into everyone's bowls then laddled on the stew. It was super yummy and perfect for a cold winter day. My photographs came out terribly for some reason so if you want to see really amazing pictures of the stew, check out the original post I got the recipe from!