Vegetarian Sweet and Spicy Curry Recipe

Sweet and Spicy Vegetarian Curry

Recently I made some comments on a Google+ post regarding whether it was necessary to eat eggs or milk. I personally feel that it is no longer necessary to consume those things considering  all the great and inexpensive  Vitamin B12 supplements out there. There is just too much cruelty in the factory farming industry so I try to reduce my association with it as much as possible. Here is site that details some of the benefits of lentils http://ic.steadyhealth.com/what_are_the_benefits_of_lentils.html. This spicy curry combines potatoes and lentils with some antioxidant rich vegetables. It also has potatoes and fibre from cabbage in it so it should be satisfying without being very high in calories. You can store the leftovers for nutritious and warming lunches throughout the week. It has minimal preparation involved so all there is to do after your curry starts to cook is to wait for your desired thickness in it. If you like, you can increase the amount of cayenne to a full tablespoon to make it really hot. The meal should be ready in an hour.

Ingredients

2 potatoes chopped in 1 inch cubes ,1 onion choppe,d 1 carrot sliced, 1/2 cup of red lentils, 1 cup shredded cabbage, 4 tablespoons of honey, 1 can of sweet green peas. Vegetable oil to fry onions.
You will also need a variety of spices including 1 tablespoon each of cumin, turmeric, mustard powder, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, celery seed, coriander, paprika, and parsley  (You can use a ready made curry powder too if you are short on time but I like to make it from scratch!) 1/2 tablespoon each of fenugreek, caraway, clove, cinnamon, cayenne. 1 teaspoon of rosemary, 2 curry leaves and a Bay leaf, Plain Yogurt

Preparation

Begin by boiling 6 cups of salted water. Chop the potatoes into 1 inch cubes and put them in the boiling water. The skins have a lot nutrition in them. If possible use organic potatoes. After the potatoes have begun to soften up a little bit add the sliced carrots and lentils. Wait another 10 minutes and then fry 1 chopped  onion lightly in a frying pan. Add the onions into your pot along with the cabbage. Lower the heat to medium low. Prepare a curry paste by putting all the spices in a smaller bowl, mixing them up, then adding water gradually and stirring to make a paste. Put the paste in your pot and stir in along with the curry and bay leaves. Add in the four tablespoons of honey at this time also. Let the curry simmer for about 40 minutes reducing and thickening. Stir occasionally and add salt and pepper or additional honey to taste.  Add in the peas and some shredded greens of any time for the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Serve in a bowl with a dollop of yogurt to temper the spicy heat and garnish with some artful greens on top. A side of salad and some Naan bread will also accompany this very well. I hope you enjoy it. Many other vegetables can be added if desired later such as broccoli, green pepper, or chilies

Tariq Hossenbux's Opinions on Kraft Dinner Food Colouring Additives

Tariq Hossenbux's Opinions on Kraft Dinner Food Colouring Additives

 Daily Mail Article on Kraft Dinner Food Additives

So this morning I saw a recipe for Kraft Dinner with Salsa that I decided I had to make.

 http://www.kraftcanada.com/recipes/salsa-mac-cheese-90357

After I was done the day's work, I ran out to the grocery store and picked up 3 boxes for myself. The Kraft Dinner Original was on special for a dollar each, but I hate Yellow #5 food colouring, also known as Tartrazine. It's what gives KD that unaturally orange colour. It's been linked to Asthma and Hyperactivity in kids, and I think it gives breakouts of acne as well. It's made from petroleum industry byproducts so it's no surprise that it may even have links to cancer.

 http://www.stopkillingmykids.com/the-side-effects-of-tartrazine/

Because of this I bought the white cheddar version which costs 87 cents more just as I will usally get white cheddar when I can too. You have to be careful though and always read the ingredients because sometimes they even put colours in things that are white like yogurt or sour cream. The White Cheddar version has M0321 but I was unable to come up with anything when I googled that. It especially upsets me when they add colours to things like drink box juice  that the person consuming it will hardly  see.  The recipe also calls for cheddar and they had the cracker barrel type on sale so i picked up this Kraft product also. Personally since i started eating good quality English cheddar  i hardly even consider cracker barrel to be cheese. It falls apart way too easily and you can't compare cracker barrel to the nice strong taste of the English Dorset Drum cheese.

Most foods in this country that look orange are coloured with Tartrazine. When i was in England it was refreshing to see that candies and other things are coloured with natural ingredients instead of the artificial ones. Instead of words like tartrazine and lake blue you see spinach or carrot extracts colouring foods. Even their version of Kraft Dinner called Cheesy Pasta has natural ingredients. And Yes I am aware that Kraft Dinner has a KD smart version now with no artificial flavours or colours in it. But what this tells you is that big corporations have more control over politicians and legislation in North America. And that means they then have more control over our health and welfare. It extends to other things of course like Europeans requiring more tests on genetically modified foods (GMOs) before they are accepted on the market. Kind of sad don't you think?

I completed the recipe which consisted on mixing salsa with KD, sprinkling some cheddar on top, and baking it.  Not bad, but not really great. I saved up a little of the powder to sprinkle on top after cooking. We always did that as kids.  The tomato salsa overpowers the other flavours a little too much I think.You never know what a recipe is like till you try it though!