Spiced Summer Squash and Green Beans and Cauliflower Curry

I tried gardening for the first time in many years and it's been successful! I decided to make a dinner to use up some of the summer squash and green beans I've grown. Since that wouldn't make a lot of food, I also made a dish out of a cauliflower that I knew wouldn't last much longer in the fridge. These turned out to be so light and fresh while being deeply satisfying. 400 calories including rice? Yes, please! Don't let the seemingly long instructions fool you. I was able to make both recipes and the basmati simultaneously and it took me about 35 minutes to get it all together and on the table (chopping included).

Spiced Summer Squash and Green Beans

Ingredients:
1 large onion
1 TBS margarine, or coconut oil
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 lb summer squash (this was one very large one for me, but you'd probably need 2 if you bought from the store) peeled, cut into rounds, then quartered
1/2 lb green beans (about 40 beans) ends snipped, then chopped into 2-3 pieces
1 TBS coconut butter (you can take 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut shreds and pulverize them in the blender instead, but do NOT use coconut oil instead)
1/4 cup water

Spice blend (make life easy and toss these into a small bowl before you begin cooking)
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Saute the onion in the margarine until soft, then add the mustard seeds. Keep a lid nearby, these suckers fly everywhere if you're not careful. Once the seeds start popping, add in the spice blend, mix into the onions, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the green beans and summer squash along with the coconut butter and half of the water. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, but covering while not stirring. It's done when the beans are softened, but still retain some of their original crunch. If you dislike any crunch, cook for another 5 minutes, adding a little extra water to soften.

Makes 4 1/2 cup servings (I'd double it next time, personally)

Cauliflower Curry

1 head of cauliflower broken into little florets
1 large onion, diced
1 medium red skinned potato, peeled and diced finely
1 TBS olive or coconut oil

Spice Puree (make life easy and add this to a blender and blend it up before you cook)
3/4 cup canned diced fire roasted tomatoes
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp coconut butter (or 1 TBS coconut shreds minced)

In a big pan, fry up the onion, potato, and cauliflower in the olive oil.  Cook covered for about 10-15 minutes, until everything has softened. You are going to need to add some water along the way and you'll want to stir often to prevent sticking/burning. Add in the spice puree and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the flavors have unified and the vegetables are totally softened.

Makes 4 1 cup servings.

Serve atop fluffy basmati rice.


Spiced Summer Squash Nutrition (per 1/2 cup serving, makes 2 cups total)

Calories:104
Carbs: 11
Protein: 2.7 g
Fat: 6.1 g
Fiber: 4.5g
Sugars: 4.5
Vitamin A: 23%
Vitamin C: 25%
Iron: 10%

Cauliflower Curry Nutrition (per 1 cup serving, makes 4 cups total)
Calories:133
Carbs: 21
Protein: 4.6 g
Fat: 4.6 g
Fiber: 5.5g
Sugars: 6.4
Vitamin A: 6%
Vitamin C: 108%
Iron: 4%