Vegetable Curry in the Slow Cooker

So I am not a big meat-eater… I mean, I eat it without a problem nowadays, and if you put some good pulled pork BBQ in front of me, I might just forget there are things called manners, but at the same time, planning meals without meat doesn’t phase me and isn’t something I have to try to do. And, when you put me and a grocery budget in the same room, meat is the first thing to go because it seems so non-essential to me.

Here’s the problem. I am now grocery shopping for two. No, I am not pregnant. I am shopping for one small, fit female (me), and one hunk of a guy. Yeah, as you can guess, when that hunk came home and looked at the fridge, and realized that I had only planned one meal with meat for the week, and that he had just inhaled all of it in one sitting, he got the saddest, crushed look on his face. You’d have thought I just killed his puppy… I tried to explain that I had made sacrifices too, that I had had to put back my beets, granny smith apples, my grapes, AND my wheat berries, but for some reason that did not console him. He then looked up, smiled, and said something like, “well at least you got deli meat for sandwiches, right?” ::crickets::

Wow, I completely forgot that he really likes eating meat! How did I do that? He was sweet though, and murmured something about how I have been shifting my life to his, he should adjust his to mine too. It’s not like he hasn’t been changing his lifestyle for me though… Man, I gotta get better about making decisions not just for me…

Have you ever done something like that? Forgotten the preferences/needs of someone important to you?

Anyway, here’s one of the meatless meals that is a staple at my house. Below, you can see I have mixed in brown rice to it for my lunch at work, just to add some more calories to hold me through  ’till dinner (I had packed cheese slices and apple slices in the other compartments, just in case you were wondering.)

Curry for lunch at my desk

Everything is mixed in the slow cooker and will be ready when I get home.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry
Adapted from The Lemon Bowl
Serves 4-5 hungry people

• 3 cups cauliflower – cut in florets (I used frozen)

• 2 cups Brussels sprouts – quartered (I used frozen, and defrosted them before quartering)
  

• 1 sweet potato – peeled and diced

• 1 red pepper – diced

• 1 medium onion – diced

• 2 (15 ounce cans) chickpeas – drained

• 15 ounce can tomato sauce

• ½ cup light coconut milk

• ½ cup chicken broth

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• 1 tablespoon curry powder (or to taste)

• 1 tablespoon turmeric

• ½ teaspoon cayenne – optional

• 1 cup frozen green peas

• salt and pepper to taste

• plain yogurt, cilantro, sriracha and scallions – optional garnishes

 

Place vegetables, chickpeas, tomato sauce, coconut milk, chicken broth and spices in the slow cooker and heat on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours.

Before serving stir in green peas to warm.

Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Serve over brown rice or grain of choice (or on own) with yogurt, cilantro and scallions, or sriracha.