Indian-inspired. And beets.

The longer I participate in the food blogging community, the more I realize just how much I don't belong. "Participation" may be a strong word, but hey, I blog and I read others' blogs. And the more I eat my own cooking, the more I realize how little I have to offer! (Tonight's dinner was a humble exception, I might add).

A friend today referred to me as "the food blogger", meaning to imply that I'm the expert chef between the two of us. I tried to defend myself, to explain that I'm horrible in the kitchen and that my purpose wasn't to display my skills, but to document a journey from nowhere to somewhere. But since we work with children, we don't have time to philosophize and explain any more deeply than a few seconds allow. So I left it.

Tonight's dinner was inspired by recipes from many different sources. I can't bring myself to type out all the recipes but I will note my adaptations here.

Mung Bean Stew

(my own recipe, thank you very much)

Cook mung beans so that there is a little water left after they are soft. Heat oil on medium; add a teaspoon of mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, then immediately add one chopped serrano pepper and sautee for one or two minutes. Next add two cloves of garlic and about 1/2 inch piece of ginger (minced) and one red sweet pepper. After sauteeing those for another minute or two, add the cooked mung beans (I just kept adding spoonfuls until the balance between the peppers and ginger and beans looked right, probably about three or four cups of cooked beans). Add a bit of salt then bring to a boil. Cover and turn down the heat to simmer for 30 to 60 minutes (I suspect the longer the better, and these turned into a nice, mellow yet bold gravy).

Lemon Rice

(inspiration here but it's a pretty standard recipe)

Adaptations: added raw cashews after adding the rice to the skillet and omitted the cilantro (this part is a staple as it backs up the kick of the lemon juice but we just didn't have any!).

Chickpea Flour Khandvi

(inspiration here but adapted to veganize it)

Mine took on the texture of playdough (delicious vegan playdough) and if you've ever made playdough at home, expect a similar process.

Adaptation: substituted 3 cups of buttermilk for 2 1/2 cups of almond milk (unsweetened) and the juice of a quarter of a lemon. I only used one green chile (instead of three! yikes!). I processed all of the ingredients before pouring it into a saucepan to cook (on medium-low) and used a whisk to stir for the entire 20 to 30 minutes that this was cooking (I stirred intermittently but when I did I really went for it to get rid of lumps and scrape the bottom of the pan). And rather than making rolls, I made cubes by dumping it into a pyrex dish (once it was "ready" by the standards of the OP). After it cooled enough to handle, I dumped it onto a cookie sheet and cut the pieces into squares. Again, I omitted the cilantro garnish because I didn't have any. Time for this chef wannabe to get some cilantro!

Roasted Beet Salad with Sunflower Sprouts

(inspiration here)

This was the dish that didn't fit in, but boy was it good! I didn't change anything big about the recipe, but I wanted to note that I used one clove (?) of shallot as the OP didn't include the quantity. It was a good amount. I also tripled the orange zest, doubled the olive oil, and doubled the vinegar and halved the orange juice and it turned out superb.