Spicy African Quinoa Soup

When I was out in San Francisco I met so many other bloggers. Many of them cook healthful meals and provide great tips on tasty ways of including nutritious ingredients into my recipes.

One of these lovely ladies is Mama Pea. Her Spicy African Peanut Soup (by mama pea) is one of my new favorites to cook. This is so easy and packed with flavor. Since I had quinoa on hand and half of an acorn squash to use I substituted these for the sweet potato and lentil ingredients. In addition, I have so many spices from Africa already stocked I can pull this dish together in no time at all.

Therefore, last night, round two of operation keep warm continued. This time I made soup.

* 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
* 1 sweet potato, (I used half an acorn squash)
* 1 t. curry powder
* 1 t. garam masala
* 1 t. cumin
* 1 T. minced ginger
* 2 t. minced garlic
* dash of cinnamon
* 1/2 can tomato paste, (is all I had)
* 1 can light coconut milk
* 2 c. vegetable stock
* 2 T. natural peanut butter
* 1/2 quinoa (mama pea used red lentils)
* garnishes: cilantro, chopped peanuts, sour cream or plain yogurt

Bring the ingredients to a boil for 5 minutes then simmer for 20 if using stovetop. The final result is creamy spicy/sweet coconut flavor and chickpea mix and reminds me I don't need to be cooking elaborate meat dishes to be full or happy. Thanks Mama Pea!

Coda was happy to wear her sweater all night. She gets really hyper when it gets this cold outside and it helps calm her down keep her warm.

Do any of my readers watch Fringe? This is my favorite show and last night it was on after a holiday break. I had plans to bake cookies but I put those aside when I realized I had a schedule conflict.