Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Happy Diwali!

We had a fruit-filled day today. Since it is still dark when Parker gets up for school, the younger kids have been sleeping in so they have breakfast after Parker is long gone. This means I don't cook bigger breakfasts as often anymore since we have two of them. Dema and Josie feasted on kiwi, soy yogurt with blueberries, and grapefruit.
Josie wore the new outfit she bought this weekend, at the vintage store downtown, to ballet. She pretty much wears it as much as she can. Who can resist sparkles and bright colors?
We cycled from ballet to the library where we also had lunch. I had it together today and brought water, lunches, and Josie's new snack bag. Tofu wraps with Mindful Mayo and mustard. I am now a fan of Mindful Mayo after years of being a Vegenaise girl (I haven't tried their new soy-free version yet, though). Rob's a tough sell so we'll let you know when he tries it. Dema and Josie don't like any mayo at all, but Dema said it was pretty good. Josie only had mustard on hers.
They also had apples and an assortment of nuts/dried fruit in Josie's snack bag. We love all nuts, but we've been spending the money on pistachios more often since reading Vegan for Life. Pistachios are a good source of lysine which is an amino acid that can sometimes be hard to get in a vegan diet (although it is found in soy products, legumes, and quinoa and we obviously don't avoid soy or any other legumes or quinoa). It really is just an excuse to eat pistachios more often. They are ranked in the top five nuts for antioxidant levels and they are addictive.
Dema's snack after our appointment downtown was the last of our watermelon which will probably be the last one of the year. As he was eating this one, he asked for more. Sorry, bud, it's all gone.
Dinner was our Diwali celebration. We aren't Hindu, but we have quite a few Hindu friends. Last year my husband celebrated Diwali at work, but this year he works at home and I wanted to get the entire family involved.
I lighted the candles,
cooked up some Sweet Potato Dal*
and some paratha from the freezer.
We served it with brown basmati rice and garlicky kale (we had a tahini and walnut sauce Rob whipped up for the kale that some of us put on after the picture, not so Indian tasting, but still delicious).

*The Sweet Potato Dal was one of the first dishes my mom made vegan and could prepare by heart. That was her biggest complaint when I went vegan that she had to open cookbooks again. Soon she embraced it and delighted in finding new recipes and cookbooks, but remember 17 years ago there weren't a lot of vegan cookbooks readily available like they are now. I don't know where she found the recipe and she passed away over nine years ago, so sorry if I'm stepping on any toes or breaking some copyright.

Mom's Sweet Potato Dal

1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander or garam masala
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups red lentils, rinsed
6 - 8 cups water
2 - 4 cups peeled, diced sweet potatoes
1 tsp iodized salt (or to taste)

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat,. Add the onion and saute until translucent, add garlic and heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the spices except salt and cook stirring for one or two minutes. Stir in lentils and water and cook uncovered over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 30 - 40 minutes. Add salt. Serve hot. Feeds 6 - 8 people.

As we enjoyed dinner, I read the Hindu section from our Faiths Like Mine book. The Story of Divaali was our bedtime book.

I hope all of you who celebrate Diwali had a great one!

2 comments:

Amey said...

yay! i Love that you had a Diwali celebration complete with Dal and Parathas! Diwali is such a cool holiday. I love celebrating holidays from other cultures and religions... more festivities!

VeganLinda said...

The more festivals the better! :-)