Should I try going back to knitting, then ? – if it might result in this …

The operative word is the first verb. 😦

Handing you a challenge, Michele.

Just kidding.

Sighh …

An Open Letter to the GOP

Today’s recipe (another wonderful discovery !) is called “Spicy Chickpea and Vegetable Stew”.

😦

I do wish there were some place somewhere to which recipe inventers could turn to find inspiration for Better Names For Recipes !

Still, it’s correctly descriptive: it just doesn’t give the faintest indication of how yummy and good for you the recipe is ..

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SPICY CHICKPEAS WITH AND VEGETABLES CASSEROLE

Time: 30 mins – 1 hour     Serves: 4 gourmands/6 gourmets

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 3 tsps ground cumin
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp allspice
• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and lightly rinsed
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 375ml vegetable stock
• 300g butternut pumpkin, peeled and diced small
• 150g green beans, topped/tailed and trimmed into thumb-length bits
• 200g zucchini, {ditto} into halves then thick slices

(basically, think of the logic re cooking times of these vegies)

• little can tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano

Method

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes, or until softened.
• Add the cumin, chilli powder and allspice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Add the chickpeas, tomato and stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the pumpkin, beans, zucchini, tomato paste and oregano. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes
• Remove the lid and simmer, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce slightly. Serve hot.

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Cooking times can be varied to suit taste: do you like your pumpkin squashy ? – or maybe you prefer your zucchini firmer ? Just try it out as you go along, basically.

Sames goes for the amount of chilli powder. The recipe I found calls for a half tsp: but that’s pretty pathetic in my eyes. [grin]

I’m incapable of believing that I could ever derive as much joy from coming across non-vego recipes as I do from these DELICIOUS vegetarian ones.

Btw: I invite anyone interested to suggest a more attractive/appealing names for this terrific bringing-together of pulse and vegetables (not overlooking a wee bit of heat) ..

And for those like the beautiful Debra up there in California, it’s 3 points if you divide it into six serves. Points only in the olive oil and the tomato paste.

Here’s a video of interest. It should actually be viewed by everyone.

It came as a great surprise to me when it arrived in an email from my serial emailer mate R, over in Perth (my home town).

Tell me if you have trouble with the audio – not that I can do anything about it, but I want to know if I’m having trouble with my sound card (do we still have sound cards ?) !