SPICY MIDDLE EASTERN-STYLE CHICKPEA, BELL PEPPER, EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND TAHINI STEW (VEGETARIAN) - RAGOÛT MOYEN-ORIENTALISANT AUX LÉGUMES D'ÉTÉ, POIS CHICHES, ÉPICES ET AU TAHINI (VÉGÉTARIEN)

If you follow me via my Facebook page, you might be familiar with my daily " light & healthy supper" posts*. Well to make a long story short, I use this space to share with my fans the detailed desription of the humble, yet delicious, budget-friendly, wholesome and totally improvised meals I cook every evening.

Against all expectations, my quotidian dinner ramblings have become quite popular and a few of the people who enthusiastically read them have told me that I inspire them greatly. Many have even asked me whether I'd consider putting my recipes on the blog.

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
- Sylvia Plath

Of course I'd love to be one of those hyperactive bloggers who publishes on a day-to-day basis and always feels the urge to put pen to paper or grab his/her camera, but unfortunately that's not me. You see, I'm a self-doubting perfectionist who has anxiety issues and suffers from chronic bouts of depression, so unlike many creative souls, I generally cannot be put under any kind of pressure or else my inspiration and mojo disappear. Stress and mood swings kill me and tame my inner fire. As a matter of fact, I am only capable of producing quality material when that big black cloud has ceased to hover over my head and I start to regain my self-confidence as well as my serenity...

Anyway, I have nonetheless been able to quickly take pictures of one of my modest creations that I'm happy to present to you today. This summery "Spicy Middle Eastern-Style Chickpea, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Tomato And Tahini Stew" is really flavorful. Not only is it pleasantly fragrant, but it is also hearty, seasonal, inexpensive and easy to put together.

Nothing artsy-fartsy here, just straight-forward vegetarian grub for foodlovers who care about their well-being, the environment and the state of their bank account without compromising on taste and quality.

* In case you absolutely don't know what I'm talking about, I invite you to visit my "fan page" by clicking on this link.

Spicy Middle Eastern-Style Chickpea, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Tomato And Tahini Stew
Recipe by Rosa Mayland, September 2014.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs Olive oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Cloves garlic, chopped
1 Red bell pepper, cubed
1 Eggplant, cubed
1/2 Tsp Ground cumin
1/4 Tsp Ground allspice
1/6 Ground black pepper
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1 Tsp Tomato paste
400g Cooked chickpeas
3 Tbs Tahini mixed with 5 Tbs Water
3 Tbs Yogurt
A few drops of red Tabasco
1/2 Tbs Fresh mint, chopped
Fine sea salt, to taste

Method:
1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and then the onion. Cook the onion until translucent.
2. Add the garlic and cook for 1/2 a minute.
3. Add the bell pepper and stir-fry for about 4 minutes, then add the eggplant and stir-fry for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the spices, quickly stir and add the tomatoes as well as the tomato paste. Cook for 10 minutes, until the juices of the tomato have evaporated.
5. Incorporate the chickpeas, the tahini sauce, the yogurt, the Tabasco and the mint. Cook for another minute.
6. Season with salt and serve.

Remarks:
The tomatoes should not have dissolved completely - pieces should remain.
If you find that the dish/sauce is too thick add a little water.
The mint can be replaced by fresh coriander (a handful).

Serving Suggestions:
Serve this dish alone, or with couscous or basmati rice.

Ragoût Moyen-Orientalisant Aux Légumes d'Été, Pois Chiches, Épices Et Au Tahini
Recette par Rosa Mayland, Septembre 2014.
 
Ingrédients:
1 CS d'Huile d'olive
1 Oignon, haché
1 Gousses d'ail, hachée
1 Poivron rouge, coupé en dés
1 Aubergine, coupée en dés
1/2 CC de Cumin en poudre
1/4 CC de Tout-épice (poivre de la Jamaïque) en poudre
1/6 de CC de Poivre noir fraîchement moulu
2 Tomates, hachées grossièrement
1 CC de Concentré de tomate
400g de Pois chiches cuits
3 CS de Tahini mélangé à 5 CS d'eau
3 CS de Yogourt
Quelques gouttes de Tabasco rouge
1/2 CS de Menthe fraîche, hachée
Sel de mer, selon goût

Méthode:
1. Faire chauffer une poêle à feu moyen, ajouter l'huile d'olive, puis l'oignon et faire cuire ce dernier jusqu'à ce qu'il soit translucide.
2. Ajouter l'ail et cuire pendant 1/2 d'une minute.
3. Ajouter le poivron et le faire sauter pendant environ 4 minutes, puis ajouter l'aubergine et continuer à faire sauter (en remuant régulièrement) pendant 5 minutes.
4. Ajouter les épices, remuer rapidement et ajouter les tomates ainsi que le concentré de tomate et faire cuire pendant 10 minutes, jusqu'à ce que les jus des tomates se soit évaporé.
5. Incorporer les pois chiches, la sauce au tahini, le yogourt, le Tabasco et la menthe. Laisser cuire encore une minute.
6 Assaisonner avec le sel et servir.

Remarques:
Les tomates ne doivent pas s'être dissoutes - des morceaux doivent rester.
Si vous trouvez que le plat est un peu sec, ajouter de l'eau afin d'obtenir la consistance voulue.
La menthe peut être remplacée par de la coriandre fraîche (une poignée).

Idées De Présentation:
Servir ce plat seul, ou avec du couscous ou du riz basmati.

MULTI-PURPOSE QUARK AND ZUCCHINI SAUCE - SAUCE MULTI-USAGE AU SERE ET A LA COURGETTE & MY INTERVIEW FOR SAVEUR.COM

Who knows where inspiration comes from. Perhaps it arises from desperation. Perhaps it comes from the flukes of the universe, the kindness of the muses.
- Amy Tan

And immersion in random absurdity can be a perfect remedy to thinking too much. It leads to art and science. It leads to madness and inspiration. It leads to fun.
-  Chris Corner of IAMX

Inspiration comes in many forms and shapes. It can be found serendipitiously at any moment (while you shower, eat breakfast, have a walk, meditate, etc... - especially during downtime as then your mind is free and you have the opportunity to be reflective), everywhere and in everything (books, music, photography, movies, beauty, ugliness, news reports, sad/tragic or happy events, people, acts of courage/kindness/cruelty, mistakes, smells, nature, memories, etc...). In order to connect with it, one just needs to open wide his/her soul and heart, be receptive to its calling and remember that it is as slippery as soap, as ephemeral as a rainbow, as fragile as a butterfly and as impalpable as a ghost.

It is wildly rampant, exhaliratingly magical, a kind of cosmic drug that sets you on fire, puts you in a semi-shamanic trance, makes you feel invicible and linked to the Universe, an awesome productivity multiplier, a great encourager, an amazing enthusiasmer as well as a terrific motivator. Its purpose is the arousal of our emotions and the elevation of our mind, but sadly, as it is the case with all that has the particularity of being immaterial, you cannot summon it at will or bottle it up for later use.

Inspiration is in seeing a part of the whole with the part of the whole in you.
- Kahlil Gibran

Inspirations never go in for long engagements; they demand immediate marriage to action.
- Brendan Francis

Just like a vision or revelation, it generally grabs you unexpectedly, comes in a flash, hits you without warning and is highly perishable. During a very short lapse of time, ideas sparkle/fuse and start to form, but this state of awareness doesn't last eternally, so if you don't act immediately and capture those visions or thoughts on the spot, they tend to fade and disappear as quickly as it came.

Hence, it is good to know when you are prone to intellectual enlightment (aka peaks of brilliance - mine come mainly in the morning and occasionally in the evening) and always be ready to beat the iron while it's burning hot and make sure that you keep a consistant physical trace (more than scribblings, voice memos or sketches) of your creative meanderings.

You have to tap this source before the well of wonders tarishes as illumination will not wait for you. Once the train has left it will not come back,therefore, it is important to run with it, to let it sweep you away, to capitalize and focus completely on it as well as optimize it whenever you have the opportunity and not to be parasited by anything or anyone during these brief periods of sheer clarity. In one word, understand how your think tank functions, learn to make space in your day for your inspiration to proliferate furiously and try to momentarily isolate yourself from the outside world. You'll fastly see results if you follow those basic rules.

Regrettably, it is impossible to be constantly touched by divine grace and unfortunately, sometimes we have to go through a few depressingly and ego-shattering dry spells (writer's/painter's/composer's/etc... block) before we get our mojo back and chanel the spirits of ingenuity again. Happily, these phases are mostly not everlasting and a short break from the routine usually solves the problem. You'll be surpised to see in which manner doing something completely different or escaping to a happy and different place (holidays, a hike, a nap, visiting a friend or family, going out to eat, aimlessly watching a program on TV or surfing the net, etc...) can have a positive impact on your productivety/artistic performance.

Thankfully for me, those frustratingly infructuous  intervals rarely go on forever. It seems that I am always able to draw inspiration from whatever surrounds me (I even marvel at the stupidest and meaningless of things) and nearly never fails to find subjects to write about or compose innovative eats. I guess this has a lot to do with the fact that I am a person whose brain rarely rests and is like an erupting volcano, a daydreamer with an insatiable curiosity and an individual who has kept my inner child alive.

If you give me one simple ingredient and ask me to invent a meal, you can be pretty sure that I'll come up with a recipe which is far from being ordinary and has a zest of originality. Developping dishes without having to cogitate much is one of my strong points as I am capable of summuning my culinary genius easily.

For example, a few days ago, I had some quark (fresh cheese which can be found in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, etc...) in my fridge and really wanted to sublime it by transforming it into a fresh, tasty, healthy and summery sauce which could be poured cold over boiled potatoes, accompany hot or cold staples and be used in multiple ways (dip, spread and dressing), so that's how I concocted a succulent and versatile "Quark And Zucchini Sauce". Perfect for this transitional season...

I am really thrilled and proud to announce that Rosa's Yummy Yums is listed on SAVEUR's "Sites We Love"!!! A dream come true... To read my interview, please head over there.

Sauce Multi-Usage Au Séré Et A La Courgette

Recette par Rosa Mayland, Septembre 2012.

Pour environ 2 tasses.

Ingrédients:
250g de Séré/fromage blanc (demi-gras de préférence)
1 Petite (150g) Courgettes, râpée
2 Oeufs durs, hachés
1 Gousse d'ail, finement hachée
1 Echalote, finement hachée
2 CS de Graines de citrouille, torréfiées et finement hachées
2 CC de Pesto (fait maison ou acheté)
1 CC de Zeste de citron (bio)
1 Pincée de Poudre de piment de la Jamaïque
Tabasco rouge, selon goût
Poivre noir fraîchement moulu, selon goût
Sel de mer fin, selon goût

Méthode:
1. Mélanger tous les ingrédients ensemble.
2. Servir.

Remarques:
Vous pouvez remplacer le séré par un autre fromage frais (de chèvre, de brebis ou de vache) de votre choix, du yaourt grec, un mélange de ricotta et de crème fraîche (2 parts/1 part), du mascarpone ou du cream cheese (n'oubliez pas que le mascarpone et le cream cheeese sont beaucoup plus riches que le séré demi-gras).

Suggestion d'accompagnement:
Servir comme dip avec des légumes crus en bâtonnets ou en tranches (carottes, concombre, courgette, céleri branche, poivron, champignons de Paris, chou-fleur, jicama, etc...).
Servir comme tartinade avec du pain ou des craquelins.
Servir comme sauce avec du poisson (truite, saumon, cabillaud, etc...), de la viande grillée, des pommes de terre en robe des champs, des frites au four, des légumes vapeur ou des pâtes.
Servir comme sauce à salade (pommes de terres, pâtes, riz ou légumes grillés).