Lentils de puy, or French green lentils, make a killer muhjadarrah

1. My new job is intellectually challenging and requires long hours
2. I’m a little wrapped up in just living in my new city
3. And not least of all, I’ve been sick with some chronic stomach problems

That last item, truthfully, prevents me from writing up what I’m doing in the kitchen. For the past three weeks I’ve had to cut out all processed sugar and wheat from my diet. This past week I also nixed meat and dairy, and I have another week to go as a vegan while I finish up a two week cleanse. I honestly I haven’t felt much like sharing with you the kale salads I’m throwing together every day for lunch, though I can’t complain about the food. I can eat nuts, avocado and coconut to my stomach’s content, which I would never allow myself to do before because of all the fat. But when you aren’t eating cheese and butter every day, screw it, there is plenty of room in the diet and the wallet for plant fats. I’ve given myself carte blanche on almond butter, and I don’t care how expensive it is.

For those of you that know me well, you know that I live to cook. I read cookbooks like novels and spend several hours a week just planning and shopping for my food. My boyfriend calls the kitchen my “laboratory”. I could let myself get mopey and depressed about the food I can’t make right now, which does happen for a few minutes here and there. I’d rather view this as a chance to explore culinary corners long darkened by my lack of interest, time or money.

For example, I know there is a wonderful world of online specialty food shops which I’ve ignored because it’s so easy to get the variety of food I’m comfortable with in Chicago, and because they tend to be pricey. But faced with a limited diet I feared boredom. So I’m exploring these shops for new-to-me varieties of legumes and grains. I’ve developed a bean fetish. Two of my favorite sites are Purcell Mountain Farms and Rancho Gordo. My first order from Purcell Mountain Farms included Black Beluga lentils, Kala Jeera rice and Corona beans. I got the Coronas specifically for 101 Cookbooks’ Pan Fried Corona Beans and Kale recipe, and let me say that this dish is heavenly. It’s worth finding the Corona beans to make this, I really can’t recommend it enough. The Kala Jeera rice went into one of my new favorite comfort foods, Muhjadarrah (hat tip to Hala for the recipe). Rice, lentils, olive oil, onions, salt. That’s it, and it’s magic.

Sweet brown rice with cinnamon and coconut milk. Hello, breakfast.

It's not coffee, but it IS delicious

I don’t know how much longer I will have to stick to this diet, but I think I’m going to continue it for a while longer even if my doctor says I can go back to my regular diet. Just writing this post made me a little excited about all of the new things I’m learning. Maybe I will start putting up recipes for kale salad, because it’s actually quite delicious

I’m busy, I’m packing, blah, blah, blah. You get it by now. In spite of everything going on in my life, I must take time to feed myself nourishing meals. Fast food won’t cut it for me. Maybe I’m high maintenance or a bit snobby. I’m OK with that, because I get to eat lovely dishes like this hearty concoction of winter veggies.

Last week at the market I came across no fewer than 5 types of sweet potato and I knew I had to do something with them. These beauties are high in vitamins A, B6, C and dietary fiber. Most sweet potato dishes I’m familiar with amp up the sweetness with brown sugar. I wanted to take a different approach, so I searched for a savory dish and found this recipe on Real Simple. That site ought to start paying me for advertising because I reference it here so often. It really is my go-to place for recipes when I’m keen on one ingredient.

Combining the sweet potatoes with kale and quinoa make this dish a nutrition boon that includes good doses of iron and calcium. The wine adds a complexity to an otherwise simple dish, but if you don’t have any on hand you could substitute broth. I’d recommend skipping the broth and buying a nice bottle of wine that you can finish off with dinner

Sweet Potato, Kale and Quinoa

Serves 4
Total time: 30 minutes
Cost per serving: ~$3.50

1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small sweet potatoes, about a pound
8 ounces sliced cremini or “baby bella” mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch kale
3/4 cup dry white wine (or veggie broth)
kosher salt and black pepper

Prep: Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks. Remove the stems from the kale by folding in half lengthwise and running a knife down the side of the stem. Tear the kale into 2 inch pieces and rinse in a strainer. Peel and chop the garlic.

1. In a small saucepan, bring the quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until most of the water is absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot. Don’t use a skillet here because you will never get all of the kale in there. Add the sweet potatoes and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms soften.
3. Add the garlic and toss with the veggies, then add the kale, wine or broth and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the kale often and cook until it starts to wilt and soften, about 10 minutes.
4. Serve the quinoa in bowls topped with the veggies.

I can’t believe how much vitamin A and C is in this dish, and check out the iron, protein and fiber content. What this label doesn’t show is the nice dose of the B vitamins and vitamin K you get, too. This one is going to stay in my repertoire for when I’m feeling the winter doldrums in Chicago.