Hearty Ten Bean Soup/Stew with Spinach and Potatoes

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A one pot hearty ten bean soup/stew with spinach and potatoes and flavored with curry powder.

Hearty Ten Bean Soup with spinach and potatoes

There is a slight nip in the air when we go for swimming in the morning these days. The onset of winters is here and while the cold does bring with it its own cons, I am excited to cover my extra flab with long coats, scarves and layers of sweaters. It means you can eat that piece of donut and only worry about it when spring arrives! Well, it never works like that, but yes winters can be a little more accommodating when it comes to added calories.

Fall/winter season also means apples, and squashes are back in the market.  There are so many pies to be made- I have an apple pie recipe that I love and somehow whenever I make it I never get a chance to photograph it- it gets polished off way too quickly. But I promise this season I will post the recipe, because it is really good.

Another about this season is that soups become a thing again. So much yes for that and this ten lentil soup will be the perfect thing to cozy up with during the coming cold months. You wont even have to worry about added calories; your summer clothes wont curse your winter choices.

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Chickpea and Walnut Masala Veggie Burgers

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Chickpea Walnut Masala Burger Chickpea Walnut Masala Burger

I love a good veggie burger. With V vegetarian on two days of the week, one of them being a  Saturday, veggie burgers are a great option for me to take to a potluck or get together so that he has something to eat and I don’t have to spend too much time making them. Since veggie burgers are so easy to put together these also make a great weeknight meal and can be perfect to pack in the lunchbox. I love the black bean burger recipe that I have posted in the past but for a while I had been thinking of doing a chickpea burger. After looking at different recipes online, I combined elements of a few of them and came up with the recipe for these vegan Chickpea and Walnut Masala Burgers that I am posting today.

While most veggie burgers are crumbly, these chickpea burgers benefit with the moisture that grated carrots lend to the patty. Prompted by the #iheartwalnutcontest I decided to add toasted walnuts to the burgers and they do make a great addition to these meatless burger patties. A little roasted cumin, garam masala and chillies make these burgers flavorful and my new favorite recipe.

For convenience I used canned chickpeas, but you could soak and boil the chickpeas.Instead of regular burger buns I like serving these with whole wheat english muffins or sandwich bread because I like the bread to patty ratio. I serve it with some garlic tahini sauce, but tzatziki dip would also taste great.While I don’t have a gluten intolerance, for people who prefer gluten free you can use gluten free bread to make the bread crumbs. You could also add cheese to the patty mix, but I wanted to keep them vegan so that they cater to a wider range of people with different dietary restrictions. Cheese lovers can just add a slice of cheese on top!

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Tilapia Tacos

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Lime marinated tilapia with a cornmeal crust. Served with brown rice tortillas these make a filling gluten free meal

Fish Tacos

V is a picky eater. He is not one who likes to experiment too much with his food. He can eat baingan ka bharta, toovar dal and roti every day of the week and still not complain. And till very recently he would not eat fish. When we moved to Dallas, I wanted this no-fish policy of his to change. I agree the smell of fish to some can make it a little hard for them to like it ( I am not a big fan of certain seafood too because I can not tolerate the smell) but with the health benefits that fish carry I wanted them to be a bigger part of our diets.

V, thankfully was receptive with the idea. Initially I made the fish with mustard and indian spices to suit his palate and then slowly have graduated to grilled fish and tacos. In spite of its relatively small amounts of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, I stick to tilapia for V, because of its mild taste. Plus, it still is a great source of protein.

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