Hi Zesty Readers, I am Mellissa from A Fit and Spicy Life and am very excited to be doing a guest post while Zesty is out of town. I thought I would share one of my fall favorites made with ingredients that are in season now and spices that really complement those flavors! Since this soup has a lot of chopping I use a Chopper or Food Processor to get the onions and apples the same size, to save time and to stop a few tears.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 3 apples, cored and chopped
• 15-oz can pumpkin puree
• 2 2/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (veggie broth can be substituted)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp cane sugar

Directions

1. Pour oil into large saucepan and place over medium heat.
2. Add onion, garlic, curry, cumin and cayenne.
3. Saute, stirring often until onion is soft.



4. Stir in apples, pumpkin, broth, water and sugar.



5. Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to low.
6. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Puree soup in a food processor or with a hand blender, to achieve desired consistency.
8. Just before serving, return to pot on low heat.
9. ENJOY!!

Thanks so much Melissa (fit and spicy life) for a great recipe.  This is definitely the time of year for curry and pumpkin.  I love the combination of flavors and will be trying this for sure.  I hope you have a great Thursday and talk soon.

Take care

zesty

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Curried Pumpkin and Apple Soup

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I am excited to present you a new blogger to Zestycook.   Kevin from Closetcooking was very accepting when I asked him to do a guest post on zesty.  I have been reading Kevin’s blog for a while now and mostly drooling over stunning photography and loving his recipes.  I gave Kevin full reign over what to post and as you can see below – it looks like he came up with another winner.

Recently I have been enjoying exploring lentils though up until now I have only been using the green du puy lentils.  There are many different types of lentils and I wanted to branch out and try a new one.  When I was out shopping the bright red lentils caught my attention and I picked some of them up.

Despite the fact that we have had a few warm days the weather has gotten cooler again and I was in the mood for a soup. While searching for recipes I came across a few for curried red lentil and chickpea soups that sounded good. Using those two main ingredients as the base for my soup I proceeded to add my favorite soup vegetables; onions, carrots and celery.  Next I added some diced tomatoes to add more body and red to the soup.  I thought that I was pretty much done but then as I was pulling out the lentils I noticed the quinoa in my cupboard and I recalled that it had worked well in several soups that I had made before and I decided to throw some in as well.  I had ended up with a recipe for a nice and healthy sounding soup that also promised to taste great.

Red lentils cook pretty quickly and I only needed to simmer them in the soup for as long as I would have simmered the soup to allow for enough time for the flavours to mingle anyways.  The curried red lentil soup with chickpeas and quinoa was nice and easy to make and it did not take long.  This soup could easily be made on a week night.  I really enjoyed the combination of the red lentils, chickpeas and quinoa and the textures that they added to the soup.  The soup was nice and thick and hearty and yet somehow light at the same time.  With the curry powder in it the soup was nice and aromatic and it tasted great.  I wanted a bit more heat in the soup so I added some chili sauce though you could easily omit it or reduce it or even increase it depending on your tastes.  I garnish the soup with some fresh chopped cilantro and a dollop of thick and creamy strained (or Greek style) yogurt.

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Chickpeas and Quinoa

(makes 4-6 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 cup onion (chopped)
• 1/2 cup carrot (chopped)
• 1/2 cup celery (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon ginger (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon curry powder (or 1 tablespoon garam masala + 1 teaspoon turmeric)
• 1 cup red lentils
• 3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable broth)
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce (such as sambal oelek, or to taste)
• 1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
• 1 cup quinoa (cooked)
• salt and pepper to taste
• * cilantro (chopped)
• * Greek style yogurt (or strained yogurt or sour cream)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the lentils, stock, tomatoes and chili sauce.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
6. Add the chickpeas and quinoa and warm them up.
7. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a garnish of cilantro and a dollop of Greek style yogurt.
8. ENJOY!

Editors Note:

I hope you enjoyed this post!  The soup looks excellent and I am very thankful that Closetcooking took the time to guest post on zesty.  If you are one of Kevin’s regular readers drop a comment below and let him know what you think of the recipe.  If you are a regular zesty reader, I definitely appreciate your support and love reading your comments.  As you read this, I wonder if I am on the beach in Jamaica? I hope you have a great Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Chickpeas and Quinoa

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Happy Wednesday! As we continue with the catering dishes today I bring you a little taste of India with a crunch.

These toasted curry chicken bites were the star of the show. Even though they are a little time consuming in the preparation phase, they are well worth the effort.  The real effort is in the creation of the sandwich. The filling, on the other hand, is quite simple to whip together as long as you can keep your fork out of it.

These combination of flavors and textures just makes me smile. So without further a do, lets get on to what you will need to create these toasted curry chicken bites.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Cooked chicken (chopped)
• 3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
• 3/4 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
• 3/4 Cup Chopped Almonds
• 2 Tsp. Curry Powder
• 2 Tsp. Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/4 Cup Melted Butter
• 18 Slices Whole Wheat Bread (crust removed)

Method

1. Preheat Oven to 375°.
2. Mix thoroughly all ingredients except melted butter into a bowl.
3. Roll out slices of bread with a rolling pin until very flat.
4. Add ~ 1 tbsp. of mixture to the bread.
5. Roll bread like a Jelly Roll.
6. Cut in two, pierce with toothpick to hold it together and brush with melted butter.
7. Complete remainder of sandwiches.
8. Bake for 15 Minutes at 375°.
9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For these little bites, I made them the evening before and cooked them until crispy.  At the night of the party, I just put them in a 400° oven to warm them through and achieve the crunch again.

Question of the day:  What is your favorite Indian dish (if you like Indian cuisine)?  I hope you have a great day and I look forward to your feedback.

Take care

zesty

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

Toasted Curry Chicken Bites

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For the most part I have always tried to watch my carb intake after 5:00 pm. Now I am not always behaving as you may have noticed last week when I hit up my favorite take out spot for a double cheeseburger.

I have been getting alot of great snack and healthy meal ideas especially since reading some of my favorite blogs out there like Katheats and Michelle at Taste As You Go as well as Megan’s Munchies and Krista’s Kravings not too mention Peanut Butter Boy , Skinny Chef and The Hungry Mouse.

So with that all being said I tried to be a little creative with dinner since it was around 8:00pm by the time we sat down after the kiddies went to bed. I was craving chicken curry in some form so I decided to whip it into a little salad and sit it on some romaine lettuce and wrap it up and call it a meal.

Ingredients

• Boneless Skinless Chicken (2 Cups)
• 2 Large Romaine Lettuce Leaf
• 1 Tbsp Curry Powder
• 2 Tbsp Light Mayonaisse
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans
• 1/2 Cup Diced Apple
• Cracked Black Pepper

Method

1. Add the first three ingredients together in a bowl and gently mix together. 
2. Once the curry and mayonaisse are mixed well add pecans and apple and mix again. 
3. Top with a generous amount of fresh cracked pepper
4. Wash Lettuce leaf and ensure it is dry
5. Spoon chicken mixture on top of lettuce – wrap – and enjoy!

The wrap had a great flavor and texture with the crunch of the apples and the pecans as well as the freshness of the lettuce. Next time I may add some cheese for another layer of both flavor and texture.

In additon to the wrap we had a little treat of Doritos ( Blue Cheese and Hot Wings ) – yeah i know two distinct flavors all in one bag. Pretty crazy but I loved them. So much for this post going all healthy. Well that’s all for now… but not without a question to all of you… what are your favorite kind of chips?

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Lettuce Wrap Anyone?

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