EnviroMom Meatless Supper Club: Week 6

I wanted to try something really different this week, so I fixed African Sweet Potato Peanut Stew. A friend photocopied this from a 2006 Good Housekeeping magazine, and it's a slow cooker recipe, which I love. My friend noted that it was 'excellent!' and 'really thick, not brothy. good over rice.' So over rice, I served it:

African Sweet Potato Peanut Stew
3 garlic cloves
2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and stems
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
3 pounds (or 4 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1 can (15-19 ounces) garbanzo beans/chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 package (16 ounces frozen cut green beans)

In a blender or food processor with knife blade attached, blend garlic, cilantro, tomatoes with their juice, peanut butter, cumin, cinnamon, ground red pepper, and salt until pureed. Transfer this paste to slow cooker bowl, and stir in water. Add sweet potatoes and garbanzo beans, and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours, or 4-5 hours on high, until potatoes are very tender. About 10 minutes before finished, steam green beans and then mix them into the stew before serving.

OK. So, I made a few modifications. I used my own pre-cooked garbanzos, and fresh diced tomatoes. I didn't have sweet potatoes so I micro-steamed half a butternut squash instead, then cut into bite-size chunks. I left out the cilantro and decided to sprinkle it on top for my husband and me. I also left out the cayenne pepper, thinking that might make it too spicy. I also thought I was being brilliant when I told the kids we were having 'peanut butter stew' for dinner, and planned it for right after soccer practice when I knew they'd be super hungry. They loved the concept. Not so much the real thing. One picked at it and ate a few garbanzo beans. The other dug deep and just ate the rice that I served it over. For us grownups, I served it over brown rice, with the green beans on the side, and the sprinkle of cilantro on the top. I can't say any of us loved this. I think it needed a heck of a lot more spice. I was hoping it'd taste rich like a Thai peanut sauce, but it didn't. If I make it again, I'd for sure add the cayenne and heaps of cilantro. Another thing I wondered is if I'd pureed the whole thing, would the kids have liked it better? None of us are big squash eaters, so this may just have been way too different. Oh well. I will eat the leftovers this week and experiment with upping the spice factor.

Let's see what our guest bloggers cooked up this week. I promise, most were much more successful than I was...

This week, Jen from Life on Bean Road has pan fried some Potato Latkes -- a meal her whole family loves. Potato pancakes or latkes are a staple in many countries and cultures, and as she says, they have a strong resemblance to french fries or hash browns, which are hard not to like. Pass the ketchup!!

This week, Nancy at Nano's Kitchen made some Light Cheddar Butternut Squash Soup served with grilled cheese sandwiches, a fave of mine. I'm finding it's a good strategy to have a substantial side to a meal that might not please all the palates at the table. Nancy mentioned that her hub isn't the biggest squash fan, but did like this soup. And doesn't it look gorgeous in the blue bowl?
(photo credit: Nano's Kitchen)

Beth at The Cummings Clan made Mean Gene's Mulligatawny, a sweet and pungent Irish soup (that I can't begin to guess how to pronounce), and served it with Irish buttermilk bread. She said she liked it but the rest of the family... not so much. Kind of like my stew. But at least her fam liked the bread!! Now I'd like to offer a big round of applause for the moms of the world who heroically eat all the leftovers without complaint.

Marleen at Walking on a High Wire fixed a Pumpkin and Black Bean Casserole. She was motivated to try this because she had some pumpkins that needed fixing. It's sounds nicely layered and spicy, almost like a lasagna. Most importantly, her family liked it.

Industrious Emily has a winner: Sweet Potato Chickpea Casserole. Just 10 minutes of prep, then the rest is easy-peasy baking time. Best of all, kids and adults love it! I will give this one a try with the rest of my chick peas.

Melanie at Recipe Journal made Cherry Tomato Ravioli Soup, and get this. It was so good, and so easy -- she didn't share any with anyone else, and it's her new favorite soup. It's so pretty and yummy looking -- I can see why she didn't want to share.

Mary Beth at Salt and Chocolate made a Mushroom Barley Soup on her weekly soup night -- love that. This soup has such a wonderful mix of ingredients: Marsala, soy sauce, butter, garlic, and of course 'shrooms! She said it was earthy and delicious, and although not all the kids loved it they did decide the mushrooms were like bugs and they were bug eaters. Gotta admire that kind of creativity in kids.
(photo credit: Salt and Chocolate)

Heather at Production Not Reproduction had one of those weeks. You know the kind. Her meal needed to be fast, easy and made from ingredients on hand. Thus she made Spicy Black Beans and Rice. The world needs more comforting/healthy meals like this. Because we all know there's always going to be those kind of weeks.

Andrea at Minimonos never ceases to amaze me. This week she cooked Veggie Cars. Yes, cars. Working with veggies she had on hand, principally the humble potato. Check it out:
(photo credit: Minimonos)

This week's edition of the EnviroMom Meatless Supper Club has been brought to you by the winter squash, the garbanzo bean and the potato! Thanks again to all of our guest bloggers who have outdone themselves once again. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to take a veggie car out for a test drive...