Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Edible Color Palette Cauliflower Curry with Green Lentils

There is a big push right now to eat based on the colors of the rainbow. As an artist who spends a significant amount of time thinking about colors anyway, it sounds like a very Kelsey kind of way of eating. I love learning about all of the different nutritional benefits of the different fruits and vegetables, but it sounds complicated to try and fit red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple into my daily or even weekly diet. I want a healthy and satisfying rainbow meal I can cook in one pot. Am I the only cook who loathes doing dishes??


Red tomato, watermelon (lycopene) strawberries (anthocyanins)
Orange carrot (alpha-carotene) yam, pumpkin (beta-carotene)
Yellow yellow bell pepper, table queen squash (beta-carotene)
Green spinach (lutein) kale, broccoli (flavonols/lutein)
Blue blueberries (anthocyanins) Concord grapes (resveratrol)
Purple plum, eggplant, blackberries (anthocyanins)
(from Vegetarian Times www.vegetariantimes.com )

This is an attempt at cooking/eating the colors of a rainbow all together.

1 cup Green Lentils
1 head Cauliflower
2 stalks Celery
2 Carrots
1 Lemon
2 Scallions
1/3 cup Raisins
2 or 3 cloves Garlic
Fresh Oregano
Fresh Sage
Yellow Curry Powder
Cumin
Grapeseed Oil
Salt
Pepper



So it's not quite the whole rainbow, red bell pepper could easily be added, but bell peppers have sadly been at $2.50 a piece lately so I had to let them go. As for blue. . . . I didn't have a clue. The plate?

I boiled the lentils for about 25 minutes. During this time I chopped up the carrots, cauliflower, and celery and threw them into a wok with about a 1/3 cup of water. Once that cooked off and they were softening I added the raisins, garlic, scallions, grapeseed oil, and curry powder and cumin. Oh by the way I decided at this point I did not like sage so I actually left it out. But I did add the oregano! Once the lentils were soft but not yet falling apart I added them to the veggies. I added more curry powder, salt, and pepper. As a major garlic lover I added a little more chopped garlic at this point so it would be nice and potent, along with another handful of chopped scallions.

Now that it is spring and things are starting to grow in abundance, I am thinking about trying another rainbow meal. Any ideas?