Using What I Have Journal #22/Dinner Bowl #134

One of the most fun things I do in the kitchen is to round up what I can to finish off the stuff in the fridge and freezer before shopping. I had some homemade vegan naan in my freezer, along with some cooked basmati rice. I also had most of a can of light coconut milk open in my fridge. These were the inspirations for going for an Indian-style meal.

I used up a lot of other things, too, with this! I made a soy curl curry, finishing off the coconut milk, half a bag of soy curls, the end of a bag of frozen spinach, a partial tomato and a partial onion in my fridge, and spices. I based it somewhat on a recipe by Vegan Richa, but I don't have an instant pot and I took some liberties. I am always learning new things in the kitchen. To help the flat flavor this had from the lighter coconut milk, I added some almond butter and soy sauce. The final squeeze of lemon also helped. To make it on the stove, I of course needed to increase both the liquids and the cooking time. I cooked an onion in some olive oil first, then added the tomatoes and spices. I used my fresh tomato (about 1/2 a cup chopped) and an entire can of petite diced tomatoes with their liquid. I let that simmer for about 5-6 minutes to help the flavors develop before adding the soy curls and coconut milk. About halfway through the 30 minutes I let that simmer, I added a cup of unsweetened soy milk. At the very end, I added almond butter and soy sauce, plus a bit more salt. It turned out really well!

I also had one single-serve container of plain non-dairy Greek yogurt, so I made a simple onion raita. It looks a little weird, but it was quite good with the otherwise spicy foods here.

The veggie fritters are a recipe I've made before, though I had to substitute dried parsley, because of course I totally forgot I am growing parsley in my own kitchen window. I was a bit preoccupied. Anyway, the recipe is at Create Mindfully. It finished off a bag of chickpea flour, plus a tiny red onion, part of a wrinkly bell pepper, and some frozen corn. The fritters were really delicious with the raita.

I cut my naan in half to make the portions more manageable, warmed it in the toaster oven, and then and that was lunch. It may be brown, but it was delicious.

And soon enough, I'll restock!