In October we received the call to “tie your own chitenge.” The Africa Project fundraising season was launched. For those of us who have been around awhile there are many happy memories of past fundraising seasons. And now a new one stands before us. Generosity comes to mind. The entire project has always been infused with generosity and gratitude. The generosity is apparent in the folks in Kantalomba who, over the years, have with open hearts included us in their lives. We have received so much! We have been constantly inspired and giving and receiving flow into one beautiful act.
You might ask what this has to do with the Kitchen Corner. The same process of generosity and gratitude, giving and receiving is available to us as we prepare the food to nourish our bodies. As we perfect the practice of tying our chitenge, it might be fun to sit down and eat an African-inspired stew in that chitenge! May all barriers to oneness fall away as we enjoy a very yummy stew in honor of our African family.
In gasshō
Sequoia
Vegan African Sweet Potato Stew
--from Food.com
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. curry powder
2 medium onions
2 carrots
4 celery ribs
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 lbs. large sweet potatoes (about 2 large ones)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes
1 tsp. salt, divided
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne
½ cup chunky peanut butter
3 Tbsp. roasted peanuts
½ cup light coconut milk
Directions
- Prepare sweet potatoes in advance by peeling and chopping them into chunks. Dice carrots, celery, garlic and onion. Drain and quarter tomatoes.
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add curry powder and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add onions, carrots and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in sweet potatoes, broth, tomatoes, and ½ tsp. salt, and bring soup to boil. Cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes.
- Season with pepper, cayenne and remaining ½ tsp. salt. Add peanuts, peanut butter and coconut milk to soup, stirring to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
Variations
Omit peanut butter (still very yummy)
Add 1 can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans
Add a couple of handfuls of baby spinach at the end of cooking time.