How do you feel about stews? Are you a “stew person”? Are you feeding “stew people”? My Stew Proclamation is along the lines of: “I will always appreciate and indulge in a messy heap of stew.” There it is. I do, indeed, live among stew people. And we are good people. The recipe for “Chickpeas, Potatoes, and Green Beans in Cauliflower Sauce,” from fatfreevegan.com, celebrates the simple pleasures that only a heap of vegetables and potatoes can bring to the table.

I give all due credit to the vegan who makes a “cream” sauce by pureeing a boiled cauliflower. And I was excited to use fresh curry leaves in the mix of sauce ingredients. These leaves taste “green,” like spinach, but with an initial kick. As the cauliflower boils, the warm scent of ground coriander is quite soothing. I definitely used my immersion blender to puree the sauce right in the pot.

As you might imagine, this was a thick stew. I ruined the vegan presentation by using cow’s milk instead of soy milk. I needed to add 4 tsp. kosher salt to the pot, but it still tasted a bit bland. Rather than prepare the suggested “Fiery Onion Relish,” I added a dollop of Sriracha hot chili sauce to my bowl, and thereby improved my flavor. I served the stew atop basmati rice, and my stew people were happy.

PRICES
Orange Cauliflower (1) = $3.74
Red Potatoes (4) = .98¢
Green Beans (2 cups) = .86¢

RECIPE: substantial stew, uncluttered by meat
PREP TIME: eat after an hour or more of prep and cooking
TASTE: pureed cauliflower, dazzled by a list of spices, calmly coats beans, potatoes, and stringbeans, and welcomes a dab of spicy condiment at the end

Next time, I want to cook “Udon Noodles in Tea Broth with Smoked Turkey,” from healthy-delicious.com. And I’ll tell you right now … I plan to used smoked duck rather than smoked turkey. See my noodles when you come back to my site on Thursday, May 12.

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