Potato Curry
Vegan
Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 4 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 14 ounce can lite coconut milk

Spices

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons curry powder (I used Penzey’s hot curry powder)
• 4 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with water and add the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce the heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes are just tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium heat sauté the onion and garlic until translucent.
3. Combine spices and add to the onions. Cook until spices are fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, peas, cooked potatoes and lite coconut milk. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve with naan or brown rice.

Other recipes I’m making this week:

• Pitas with baked falafel, cucumbers, sprouts and Trader Joe’s tahini sauce (no recipe, just follow the baking instructions on boxed falafel mix)
• Buffalo tempeh tacos (Billy’s request)
• Vegan Mexican pizzas (new recipe I’m working on)
• Split pea soup

Mom’s Cornbread

Vegetarian

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy flour (the secret ingredient that makes this cornbread so good)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients until just combined. Pour into a greased 8” square baking dish or a 9” pie dish.
3. Bake 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You can cover it near the end of baking with tin foil to prevent browning, but I skipped this step.

Other recipes I’m making this week:

• Fruity French Lentil Salad
• Spicy Vegan Potato Curry I pinned on Pinterest
• Cauliflower, Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry (I guess I am craving Indian)
• Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes  I also pinned on Pinterest
• Pad Thai
• Tu-no Salad Sandwiches

Potato Soup
Vegetarian
Adapted from Allrecipes.com 

Ingredients:

• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups skim milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley (or 2 teaspoons fresh parsley)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the vegetables, broth and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are just tender.
2. Mash the potatoes to the consistency you prefer. Stir in milk.
3. Stir butter, flour, parsley and pepper in a small bowl. Add butter mixture to the soup and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the soup thickens.

Other recipes I’m making this week:

• Another amazing soup: Vegan Garlic Lentil Soup
• Vegetarian Pad Thai I pinned on Pinterest
• Waffles in the Vintage Westinghouse Waffle Baker I bought this weekend

On Sunday, I went over to my grandma’s house (we call her Mama) and I learned how to make traditional North German bread called ‘Stuten.’ It’s a yeast bread with butter, golden raisins and traditionally lard. Obviously, I left the lard out. I wrote down all the measurements while we were baking. Now I can make Stuten every Christmas.

The Stuten has just a hint of sweetness and tastes great with a thin layer of butter. I also like to eat it with some thinly sliced Gouda. Mama is a wonderful baker, and she never measures anything. I love her apple cake and gooseberry cake as well.  I’ll probably post the recipe, but I want to get Mama’s permission first.

This weekend I am continuing my holiday baking. I want to make a few varieties of Christmas cookies. I’ll probably make some Spritz cookies and maybe try a new recipe. I seem to have misplaced my 1/3 cup dry measuring cup. It’s kind of annoying, because now I have to buy a whole new set.

I may use it as an excuse to buy these measuring cups and spoons. So pretty. They are from World Market, and aren’t that expensive.

We’ve experienced some very un-Christmas-like weather in the Chicago area. I still have tons of herbs in my garden. I used a bunch of parsley to make the chimichurri sauce for these avocado tostadas.

I always order the black bean tostadas at Chicago Diner, but this time I made a mental note to figure out how to make them at home. This recipe has a lot of ingredients, but none of the steps are complicated.

The chimichurri sauce is really flavorful. I served it on the side in souffle cups. I think it’s strange that they are called souffle cups. Billy grew up working at his family’s restaurant, and that’s what they called them. Who is baking tiny soufflés in these cups? Anyway, if you want to save time, you could skip the chimichurri sauce and serve the tostadas with your favorite salsa instead.

Avocado Tostadas
Vegetarian, Vegan

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 16 ounce can refried black beans
• 1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning
• 1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 6 tostadas
• Chimichurri Sauce (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa in vegetable broth according to package directions.
2. In a pan over medium heat, sauté onion and pepper until tender.
3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, stir together refried brand and taco seasoning. Cook over medium-low heat, until warmed through.
4. To prepare tostadas, top them with refried beans, quinoa, pepper mixture, lettuce, tomato and then avocado. Serve with chimichurri sauce on the side.

Chimichurri Sauce
Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Process in a food processor or blend in a blender until smooth.

Besides blog changes, it was a busy weekend.

The (fake) tree is finally set up. It’s way too tall for our living room, so I have to bend the top down to make it fit. No room for an angel or star, but that’s fine with me. I prefer a tree without ornaments.

We have lights on the outside of the house for the first time. We also have a plastic Santa that my parents found at a garage sale for $5. They always find the best stuff.

That wreath was really hard to hang. Billy and I used a giant metal pole that came with the house to hoist the wreath above the awning. I have no idea what the pole’s real purpose is, but it has come into good use many times.

On Sunday, Billy and I did the last of our Christmas shopping. After some Sunday night grocery shopping, I was exhausted. I quickly threw together this tortellini recipe.  I’ve made it before, but this time I added artichokes and reduced the amount of lemon. With those changes, it’s definitely a keeper.

Tortellini with Lemon, Artichokes and Brussels Sprouts
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, quartered
• 14 ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 pound frozen tortellini
• Zest and juice from 1/2 a lemon

Directions:

1. Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Add Brussels sprouts and cook for 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and sauté onions until softened.
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer Brussels sprouts to skillet. Add artichokes and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Add frozen tortellini to boiling water and cook according to package directions.
5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer tortellini to skillet. Stir and remove from heat.
6. Serve topped with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of lemon zest.

Other recipes I’m making this week:

• Easy Eggplant Parmesan with whole wheat spaghetti
• Avocado tostadas like I had at Chicago Diner on Friday night
• Samosa Casserole that I pinned on Pinterest last week. Confession: I have a casserole addiction.
• Easy Cheese Danish – A trial run of a recipe I’d like to make on Christmas Eve morning

Here are a couple of my recent $1.49 finds.

I love this silk top. It’s Kimchi Blue from Urban Outfitters. I’ve worn it under sweaters and jackets.

I also found this vintage slip recently. I haven’t worn it yet, but I think it would look cute peeking out of a dress.

Based on the union label, I originally thought the slip could be from 1964-1973. Then I noticed that the registered trademark symbol was missing.  That means that the slip is from 1963 or 1964, before the new label received its trademark. Here’s a great guide to union labels.

The Saks logo also confirms that the slip is from the early 60′s. It matches other Saks Fifth Avenue tags from that time. It still has the original store tag on it, so I’m assuming it was never worn. Can’t beat that.

Good luck searching the $1.49 bins. I’d love to hear about your finds!

I served the vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Shells for dinner on Friday night, and they were  delicious. The filling was really good by itself, but with the pasta shells, salsa, taco sauce and cheese, it was over the top.

I wouldn’t make a dish this rich everyday, but I think I could cut the calories a bit by only using one cup of shredded cheddar jack.

This recipe makes a lot of shells! I ended up with 23 over-stuffed shells. We had plenty of leftovers.

Mexican Stuffed Shells
Adapted from The Way to his heart…

Ingredients:

• 1 lb jumbo pasta shells (you’ll have a few extra if you break any)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 medium yellow onion. finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• 28 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
• 4 oz cream cheese, cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 cups salsa
• 1 cup taco sauce (I used Ortega because it had the best ingredients)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar jack
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Cook shells for 9 minutes, or until slightly undercooked.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Sauté onion and red pepper until onion is translucent.
4. Add beans, garlic and jalapeños to the skillet. Cook until heated through. Stir in cream cheese.
5. Turn off heat and stir in cilantro.
6. Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the vegetable mixture and place in the baking dish. Top shells with taco sauce.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and add the cheese. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
8. Serve shells topped with green onions.

With all the holiday events coming up, I was glad to find this cute silk top at Wings Resale in Niles. It’s perfect to pair with jeans for a holiday party – no jewelry required. It was unworn, and I paid $6.99 for it. I can’t wait to wear it.

Do you have any big holiday parties coming up? What are you wearing?

On to the table runner. My vintage dining room table is solid cherry. My great aunt and great uncle bought it while vacationing in the Appalachian Mountains. I didn’t want to cover up the beautiful cherry with a tablecloth, so I opted for a table runner.

I looked and looked, but I couldn’t find one that was casual enough for my dining room and the right size.  I saw this post on Ella Claire and went to JoAnne Fabrics to pick up some burlap.

I had the best intentions of buying inexpensive $3/yard burlap, but I fell in love with the gold-flecked burlap. It was $12 a yard, but I had a coupon, so I splurged. If you opt for the cheaper burlap, this project could cost under $10.

Here’s the how-to:

I’d love to see photos of your table runners. If you’d like to share, please email your photos to spicesspackle@gmail.com.

What I didn’t know is how easy it is to make split pea soup at home. Split peas cook really fast.  Honestly, the hardest part was sorting out the bad peas. This particular recipe has amazing flavor, but don’t skip the croutons. I used french bread for my croutons and they added a smoky note to the soup. I think the croutons make up for the missing ham. The fresh parsley adds a nice, fresh touch.

The recipe was from Everyday Food magazine. Sadly, Everyday Food is out of print, but you can still find all the amazing recipes on the Martha Stewart site. Here’s the recipe for split pea soup.