Just call me Betty Crocker (or Paula Dean; either is fine)

Yes, that is the title of my blog. Here’s why. So as I posted in my last blog, two of my New Year’s resolutions are: 1) to eat out less and cook more, and 2) to blog more often. In order to accomplish this whole blogging thing, I needed an idea, and in order to eat out less, I needed a reason (other than the fact that my bank account would really appreciate it). So I stole the concept of Julie and Julia and decided to combine these two resolutions into one. Now, not all of my blog is going to be about my cooking, but I feel like this is an easy and fun way to help me keep up with these two things. So my goal is to, once a week, cook something new and blog about it (i.e. how I made it, how it was, etc.)!

So tonight, I went to the store, bought everything I needed, and embarked on my new assignment. It was a great success (hence the title). Julie came over to test it out and gave it two thumbs up. I was very surprised that it came out so well since it was something I’ve never done before, and I have a ton of leftovers. Here’s what I made:

Chickpea Potato Curry Recipe

INGREDIENT

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

One 14 1/2-ounce can fire-roasted or stewed tomatoes with chiles (See Muir Glen. If you can't find canned tomatoes with chiles you can add half a 4-ounce can of diced green anaheim chiles to a 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes.)

6 baby (new) Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 ounces), quartered

1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 teaspoons minced ginger

1-2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

METHOD

1 In a large pot, combine the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, potatoes, onion, butter, ginger, 1 teaspoon of salt, cumin, coriander, and cayenne. Stir to mix and nestle the potatoes into the liquid.

2 Set the pot, uncovered, over medium heat. Simmer vigorously for about 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add more salt to taste. Serve the curry in bowls over Jasmine rice.

It was great. I was inspired by the Indian food that Julie, Erin and I ate last week, and thankfully this was less spicy and I was able to eat it without it bringing me to tears or dying for more water. It was absolutely perfect and very easy. It took me about 10-15 minutes to prepare everything so it was super fast and convenient for a busy college student. So if you’re looking for a new recipe, this one is a good one.