green veggie bowl with kale coconut sauce topped with curried chickpeas

 

“You are the books you read, the films you watch, the people you meet, the dreams you have, the conversations you engage in. You are what you take from these. You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air, the brightest light and the darkest corner. You are a collective of every experience you have had in your life. You are every single day. So drown yourself in a sea of knowledge and existence. Let the words run through your veins and let the colors fill your mind.”

This is a poem I’ve read in a few of my yoga classes that I really needed to read for myself this week. We often hold our identity so closely to external things; our job, our hobby, our partner. If we were stripped of everything; where we live, what we do, who we surround ourselves with – what is left? Just us. These external factors help us shape our lives, influence us and help design what we want our life to look like but they aren’t who we are. Who we are is so much deeper than that and it is personal and unique to each and every person in the world. It is our core values, our life purpose, our dharma. 

I had trouble letting go of something this week that I had become incredibly attached to. I felt that it defined me and without it I would feel lost and unsure of what to do with my time. Initially I felt a range of emotions but eventually came to the conclusion that it is a gift. In the yoga sutras (1:12-1:16), sort of like the ‘bible’ of yoga. Patanjali discusses practice and detachment; abhyasa and vairagya. I’ve heard it described as a scale, they balance each other out. It’s two opposing thoughts “never give up!” and “always let go!” that actually go hand in hand. 

I understand this duality as practicing the life I want to live and the person I want to be without attachment to those external factors. In the sutras, Patanjali explains that with practice we move “…ever deeper towards the direct experience of the eternal core of our being.” Practice, indicates doing something repeatedly. Vairagya, or non-attachment, to me, means being able to accept changes along the way. Patanjali also discusses impermanence. Everything is transient. Your highest high and your lowest low are all impermanent. All we have is who we are, at our core, and that is what matters most. 

So pretty much I’m saying pursue your dreams, go for gold and allow all the detours en route to make you stronger, teach you immensely and make the destination even sweeter.

I made this recipe up today and I’m so stoked on how it turned out. It was clean and oh-so green! Kale was 2 huge bunches for $3 at the local grocery store so I concocted this meal and it is definitely going to be a staple in my cooking repertoire. 

green veggie bowl with kale coconut sauce and baked curried chickpeas 

for the vegetable bowl

• 2C brown rice 
• 1 big bunch of dark green kale, divided in two 
• 1 can of coconut milk 
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped 
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 crown of broccoli, chopped 
• 1 bunch of bok choy
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1C vegetable stock 
• 2 brown onions, diced 
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 1 TB mild-medium curry powder
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) 

for the curried chickpeas

• 1 can of chickpeas
• drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 TB of curry powder
• dash of salt 

To make the sauce, go twice around the pan with the EVOO, about two tablespoons and let heat. Add two cloves of minced garlic and one of the diced brown onions. When the onion and garlic become fragrant add half of the kale, ripped into leaves, stems removed. Saute for 5-10 minutes until the kale starts to soften and wilt. Add the can of coconut milk and a couple of teaspoons of curry powder to the pan. Combine and let saute for another 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly before adding it to your blender or food processor to make into a smooth green sauce.

Boil 4 cups of water, when boiling add the two cups of brown rice and bring to a simmer until it is ready (15-20 minutes). 

In the same pan, saute the other onion and remaining garlic in about two swirls of the pan of EVOO. Add all of the green veggies and let saute for 5 minutes. Then add the 1C of vegetable stock, let simmer 5 minutes longer. 

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In a small mixing bowl add the EVOO, dash of salt and TB of curry powder to the chickpeas and combine. Lay out on a baking sheet and place into the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 

While chickpeas are in the oven add the green kale-coconut sauce to the pan with the veggies and mix to combine. Let simmer while the brown rice and the chickpeas finish up. 

In your bowl add a scoop of the brown rice, topped with the kale coconut veggies, followed by a sprinkle of the baked chickpeas and some leafy arugula, if you’re a fan, cilantro would taste amazing in place of the arugula as well. 

I really hope you try out this recipe, it tastes even better than it looks! 

with kale and kindness,

Sarah Alicia Harvison

meatless BLT spaghetti

I made this for dinner last night and I am so incredibly pleased with how it turned out. I modified the recipe from Rachael Ray’s look + cook book. The BLT stands for butter lettuce, leek and tomato and man was it delicious. This recipe is easily made gluten-free by using rice noodles or any other gluten-free pasta. I used white spaghetti because I was out of whole wheat but I suggest using whole wheat or spelt/rice pasta. This recipe can also easily be made vegan. I usually don’t eat dairy so for this recipe I only put the cheese in the sauce and opted out of cheese on top of my serving however you can leave the cheese out of the pesto sauce to make the recipe vegan. 

BLT spaghetti

Ingredients 

• 1 pound spaghetti (I’d suggest about 1/3 of regular sized package)
• 2 heads butter lettuce
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup lightly toasted pine nuts (or slivered almonds) 
• a handful of fresh parmesan cheese plus more for garnish if you’d like 
• salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
• 4-5 leeks halved lengthwide and then thinly sliced into half-moons, washed and dried
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

First bring a large pot of water to boil, salt the water and cook the spaghetti to al dente. While the water is coming to a boil chop and reserve 1 head of the butter lettuce, then chop the second head and add to a food processor (alternatively you can use a blender) with the parsley, basil, mint, nuts, (optional cheese), lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste. 

Pulse-chop the greens, then turn on the processor and slowly stream in the 1/3 cup of olive oil to form a pesto. Transfer to a large bowl for later. Next, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat adding the garlic and the leeks. Saute for 3-5 minutes or until the leeks are wilted. Add the pint of grape tomatoes and stir, raising the heat slightly. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the tomatoes have burst, if some still need to pop you may press them with a wooden spoon or potato masher. Season with salt and pepper – add the white wine and cook for 1 minute. 

When the pasta is almost al dente add a ladle of the starchy pasta water to the pesto and then drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pesto in the bowl along with the tomatoes and leeks and toss, seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking. Finish off by squeezing the half lemon on top of the pasta and garnish with the reserved chopped lettuce and the optional extra parmesan. 

I absolutely loved this dish and it was a big hit with my momma too! I definitely made too much pasta and had to reserve almost half of what I made for another time. In my version of this recipe I have doubled the pine nuts and the leeks. You may also choose to add garlic and some spinach to your pesto mix. What I love about cooking is it is so much less exact than baking. You taste, you adjust, you play! I am so not good at rules and specifics – much better at spontaneity and creativity. So get creative in the kitchen and try out this meatless BLT pasta, I promise you won’t regret it! 

I absolutely love Rachael Ray’s cooking but she uses a lot of dairy and meat in her recipes. My most favourite recipe of hers is an artichoke and spinach macaroni and cheese which I am going to attempt to make vegan this week – stay tuned! 

with love and pesto, 

Sarah Alicia