I just made the most delicious, hearty Moroccan Quinoa & Sweet Potato Stew!!!
I was inspired after having some incredible Indian food delivered from The Curry House when my parents were visiting yesterday.
We got veggie samosas, vegetable biryana, baigan bharta, and a chickpea dish whose name is slipping my mind at the moment, along with some naan, of course!
It was a nice change from my diet of soup, soup, and more soup over the last week… but was still warming and great for my cold. While my mom and I ate lovely Indian food, my dad and Mike chowed down on Ricobene’s breaded steak sandwiches!
a.k.a., a heart attack on a platter….
They LOVE these things and I think my dad dreams about them. Pretty much every time he comes to visit us, he wants to go to Ricobene’s! It’s an old-timer Italian joint on Chicago’s south side that has been there for decades… the kind of place where Chi-CAH-go cops hang out during their breaks. The picture truly does not show how enormous it is…. they were probebly 5″ in diameter!!
Back to today. I was proud of myself for cutting up my sweet potatoes into tiny, bite-size pieces. I love sweet potatoes, but often don’t make them as often as I like because they are so gosh darn hard to cut! Any ideas how to make this easier?
Here’s the recipe for my Moroccan Quinoa & Sweet Potato stew:
* 10 c. water
* 2 1/2 c. quinoa
* 3 large sweet potatoes
* 4 carrots
* 1 28oz. can diced tomoes + 3 roma tomatoes (fresh), diced
* 1 can chickpeas
* 2 c. coconut milk (the beverage kind, not in the can – if you use canned, use less)
* 2 tsp salt
* 2 tsp. cinnamon
* 2 tsp. garlic
* 2 tsp. cumin
* 2 tsp. paprika
* 1 tsp. ginger
* 1 tsp. turmeric
* 2 tsp. curry
* 2 T. EVOO
* 1 c. tomato juice
I made my life super easy by throwing everything all together, minus the coconut milk (which I stirred in last). However, the carrots will take forever to cook so you would be better off cooking these first under tender before adding the other ingredients (or roast them in the oven and then add them to the pot).
I left everything to simmer for 1-2 hours, and voila! I love the flavors in the soup…. I call it Moroccan stew since it has a lot of the flavors that are used heavily in Moroccan cuisine (cumin, ginger, cinnamon)…. my parents lived in Morocco in the Peace Corps so I’ve always grown up with an appreciation for these flavor combinations.
This soup would also be great with other veggies in it…. definitely onions (I just didn’t have any)…. regular potatoes, parsnips, zucchini….. let me know if you try this recipe and like it! 
***
Thank goodness the stew recipe worked out so well, since I had a couple FAILS in the kitchen today!!
I wanted to make something for a football party we are going to tomorrow, and the plan was to make kalamata olive bread – I’ve been wanting to do so ever since I had some at the fabulous Everest Restaurant.
Somewhere along the line, this recipe became a disaster… making it from 100% whole wheat flour was probably my first mistake, but for whatever reason, it STUCK in the pan that I baked it in!! I had to literally chip away at it to pull it out of the pan.
It tasted ok, but a combo of white and wheat flour would have worked best, I think. And it’s obviously not in any condition to be served to others 
I also tried to make Super-Charge Me cookies (from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan), but – although the dough was phenomenal – the finished, baked cookie was very dry and bland.
Ahhh!! Yuck. I will just have to find something else to make tomorrow…. lucky I think I have some ideas
***
Gratitude Journal:
1) I finally am starting to feel like I am back to normal!!! Hooray!!
2) I had a nice relaxing day and got some cleaning and cooking done
3) I’m loving the fall weather outside my window and I can’t WAIT to go for a run in it tomorrow!!!
Have a happy Sunday!
I'm a school social worker who is also a newlywed (and had a Big Fat Greek Wedding, no less!) living in Chicago. I am starting this blog to talk about the training process I will go through to prepare for the Chicago Marathon, while also raising awareness for Ceasefire, a Chicago anti-violence program.
That recipe looks like it might become my favorite food! I love all of those flavors. It looks like excellent pre-marathon fuel too! I bet you will be amazed at how rested and ready your legs feel tomorrow.
[...] Moroccan Quinoa & Sweet Potato Stew [...]
That stew looks amazing! I am keeping that one!
Fabulous stew, delicious cookies, and awesome “gratitude journal” statements
oooh your stew looks delish! i have no idea how to speed up the chopping process, short of some kinda gadget that’ll do it for ya.
to answer your questions re: the movies -
Capitalism: Eh. Not Michael Moore’s best. I found it already to be a little dated. Some very interesting parts though, and he shines a light on issues in a way that’s easy to understanding. But it can be a bit oversimplified.
Invention of Lying: We really wanted to love this but thought it was just ok. There were a lot of funny parts but as a whole, it was a pretty formulaic romantic comedy with some chuckles. Would be a terrific plane movie or rental.
hmm even tho you said the cookies didn’t turn out all that well, they still look awesome!
I am such a huge fan of curry! I don’t know how you have so little on your plate. I can always overeat when it comes to Indian food!
That stew looks great!
LOL at heart attack on a plate!
Hey you. I just wanted to check in because I know it has been a while. Perhaps we can catch up in the next couple of weeks? Are you getting excited for this weekend? Let me know if there is somewhere I could come and watch you. I really want to see you in action!
Are you sure those cookies were bland? They look like balls of doughy goodness
This looks amaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing.
I’m usually too lazy to chop up sweet potato, I just “bake” it in the micro!
That looks insanely delicious
fabulous fall dish! Thanks for the recipe
I just printed this recipe! I am going to make it next week! Thanks!!
i’ve had that breaded steak sandwich before (cut in half). it’s a beast and it makes you want to just keel over afterwards. i’d much rather have your stew!
I just hunted down some quinoa. I’m going to try this on the Moroccans here (I’ve collected two so far).
That stew looks amazing! Now I need an excuse to make it
[...] eats this week since it’s been much of the same…. green juices for breakfast, leftover Moroccan Quinoa and Sweet Potato stew for lunch…. pretty much Monday through Friday I did this on repeat! Tonight I did make a [...]