Best Blackeyed Peas for Dinner

Happy New Year, Everyone! We actually had this dinner on Sunday, but we saved a couple of spoonfuls of lucky peas to eat today. I LOVE my copy of Alternative Vegan. It is full of Indian recipes which are easy to prepare, and no recipe contains tofu or faux meat so I can enjoy them all! When I saw the recipe for Blackeyed Peas Daal, I knew this would be the star of our New Year’s Dinner.




I can’t tell you how fabulous the flavor of this daal is. And I can’t wait to try many more recipes from this book.


To go with the daal, I made Palak Soyabina Panira from ED&BV.




This tofu, spinach, and tomato dish had a slightly different flavor from the daal because it had cinnamon and jalapeno in it. Dreena said she preferred this recipe with less tofu. I can tell you it is fantastic with NO tofu. We both loved this dish too.


Some basmati rice made for a perfect Indian plate.





To make the dinner completely special, I made VWAV Samosas with Coconut Mint Chutney. I wish you could have seen Chase’s face light up when he walked in and saw this on the table.



I wavered on whether or not to make these because I’ve never been able to keep filling inside any sort of pastry. Maybe since I only made a half batch I was able to focus long enough to fill 10 samosas. I didn’t lose one drop this time! These take awhile to prepare, but it’s totally worth it, especially when you’re told that your samosas are far better than any restaurant’s. (Thank you, Isa!)



I made a second loaf of bread from my new bread maker – Oatmeal bread. Isn’t it the cutest little loaf ball?!

And the texture was perfect.

I can’t give up treats cold turkey, so I made a batch of barely sweet gluten free muffins with chocolate chips and dried tart cherries.

Now it’s a new year. The holidays are over. It’s time to go back to work (sigh), back to the trainer, and back to good eating habits.

Again, Happy New Year, everyone, with wishes for a wonderful 2008. Don’t forget to eat your blackeyed peas!