First Meal Back After Holiday Eating Disasters....

So, after being at my parents for Christmas and in Cincinnati with my friends for NYE, I had done my fair share of unhealthy eating (um, and drinking). I decided to make a somewhat healthier meal*, but make sure it was packed with lots of vegetables and colors (I can't wait to get Color Me Vegan--I am pretty sure it's a still-to-come XMas/Birthday Gift for me!), so I went with a recipe from my roomies copy of Color Me Vegan and a delicious vegetable concoction I threw together.

I was iffy about making the rice--I generally do not go for sweet-themed things for anything other than desert; however, I am really, really glad I did (and also super-excited for the leftover rice for lunch today!) So, without further ado (since I am not quite through my cup of coffee and short on words), the recipes:

Yellow Rice with Chickpeas, Sweet Potato and Collards

For the Rice:

(I used a rice cooker for this; however, if you were making it in a saucepan, you would still throw everything together at the beginning. Then, bring to a boil and lower to a simmer and simmer for 50 minutes, or until rice is cooked. Also, this is the halved recipe from CMV, since I didn't need that many leftovers!)


South African Yellow Rice with Raisins (Geelrys):
--1 1/2 c. long-grain brown rice
--3 c. water (don't use stock here, this is a sweet rice & I think this would ruin the flavor)
--1 Tbs. Earth Balance or other vegan butter
--1/4 tsp. Tumeric
--1 small cinnamon stick
--pinch of salt (1/4 tsp? 1/2 tsp?)
--1/2 Tbs. sugar
--pinch of saffron (the original recipe doesn't call for this ingredient, but I get it super cheap at San Marcos and love the color and aroma it adds!)
--1/2 c. raisins (I used golden raisins to keep with the yellow color of the rice; however, traditionally the recipe uses regular raisins--wait, are the non-golden "regular" raisins? That's what I have always thought of them as, so I am going with it!)
--zest from 1/2 large lemon

Make it:
1. Put the ingredients in a rice cooker (or see the notes above for non-rice cooker method)
2. Once done, remove the cinnamon stick and fluff the rice
3. Done!

For the Beans, Greens, and uh, Starches:

--1 large sweet potato (or more or less, depending on how much you want in the dish), peeled and diced
--1 can chickpeas, drained
--Julienned Collard greens (again, no specific amount, just as much as you want)
--2 cloves garlic, crushed/diced finely
--2 tbs. Olive Oil
--1 tsp. cumin
--juice from 1 lemon and zest from 1/2 lemon
--cracked pepper to taste

Make it:
1. Peel and dice the sweet potato and boil in water until nearly fork tender (12-15 minutes). Set aside.
2. Julienne the collards and set aside.
3. In a large skillet on medium/medium high heat, add the olive oil and garlic. Fry garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add chickpeas and cumin and saute for 5 minutes.
5. Add sweet potatoes and cook for 5-8 minutes (if you wanted crunchy potatoes, you could add them earlier and cook them longer...)
6. Add in collards, lemon juice and zest. Mix everything around to coat with oil, juice and spices. Turn the heat down, and let simmer and meld together for a few minutes until the collards are tender.

Assemble:
(This is never my strong suit, by the way)

1. Plate the rice and veggie/bean mixture on a plate. Garnish with sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds)
2. Enjoy:)

*Sorry about the picture, the batteries were dead on my camera, so I took it with my cell phone.