Curried Root Vegetables

Our pantry and refrigerator are brimming with root vegetables this time of year. What better way to enjoy them than with a savory curry sauce? This recipe is vegan though it could be modified to add chicken or beef if desired. Another option would be to add a few cups of cooked garbanzo beans. Mmmmm, yum!

To continue on with the spirit of the giving season I am giving away another wonderful cookbook today. Stephanie O' Dea has written a bestselling slow cooker book entitled, Make it Fast, Cook it Slow. It is the perfect book if you are looking to eat healthier, are on a gluten-free diet (yes, all recipes are gluten-free), and don't have much time to prepare home-cooked meals. I have one signed copy for one lucky winner! Just leave a comment below to enter.

If you would like to preview some of her recipes you can go to her very popular blog, A Year Of Slow Cooking, which began in 2008 as a resolution to cook everyday that year using her slow cooker! Stephanie also has a new cookbook being released later this month, More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow: 200 Brand-New, Budget-Freindly, Slow-Cooker Recipes. The following curried vegetable recipe is one of mine, though Stephanie has a number of fabulous-looking curry recipes in her book.

Snow Day Soup

Here in Bellingham, Washington the temperature has dropped and its snowing! In fact, the cold weather moved in last weekend and we had a little snow then and now its a beautiful winter wonderland!

I had to buy the babies some down buntings so they could go out and play in it. As soon as we set them on the front porch, all toasty warm in their new blue buntings, they crawled down off the porch and began crawling through the snow and eating it as their faces brushed up against high drifts (they both walk now but for some reason prefered to crawl in the snow). It was the funniest site to see, something the girls never did! They crawled all throughout the yard, making tracks in their wake.

What better than to relieve the cold chill in the air than a steaming bowl of hot soup! We have been enjoying the Winter Vegetable and White Bean Soup this week (recipe in the soup chapter of our book). It is chocked full of warming winter vegetables, such as, yams, delicata squash, potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, and cabbage. (We had a bumper crop of delicata squash this year in our garden so I have been making more squash recipes than usual this season.) The white beans (I used navy beans in this batch) add extra protein and fiber. The tomatoes add zing and balance the heavy flavors of the root vegetables. The large amounts of onions, shallots, and garlic add robust flavors and help keep your immune system functioning well. The herbs add a subtle complexity in flavor.

This soup is a favorite of most and we hope you enjoy it too! The recipe makes a large batch, which for our family only lasts 3 days. The root vegetables don't freeze too well so if you find you have extra, I 'll bet your friends would be happy to share it!

I have some new recipes to post, but this is the Holiday Season and we have been enjoying spending time with our children playing Christmas songs on our new piano, baking Christmas cookies, playing in the snow, or just cuddling up on the couch with a good book.

The boys will turn ONE YEAR this Friday! Hard to believe, it goes by so fast. I am going to create a recipe for a special first birthday cake, so stay tuned!

Happy Holidays!