In addition to the many things I do as a wife, mom, teacher, church-goer, so on and so forth; I recently joined a book club.
Reading is my life so gathering together with a great group of women every six weeks or so to discuss a book, enjoy some food and time away from the kids is much more of a break to me than it is just one-more-thing on my list.
That being said, because our meetings are held on Tuesdays, whatever dish I decide to bring must be quick, ready-to-go and hearty enough to feed both my family and my book group.
When we gather, we do our best to bring dishes inspired by whatever book we have just read.
Our most recent book?
The great part about pairing food with a book like this is that it is a free-to-choose opportunity. I mean, they travel the world, talk about food and culture, people, poverty and riches beyond measure.
Really, truly, anything we brought would have fit.
For me though, one of the more insightful portions of their journey was related to the Cohen’s family’s time in India. With extensive discussions about the meals they enjoyed, my mouth began to water for curry and vegetables. Oh to be able to scoop them up with a warm piece of naan…
Sigh.
While I have not perfected a grain-free version of naan just yet, this Crockpot Coconut Curry Vegetables and Beef dish did hit the spot.
While this may not be exactly what the Cohen family enjoyed on their trip (the meals they enjoyed in India were strictly vegetarian), this dish is easily made vegan by excluding the beef and adding in two or three more sweet potatoes to the pot.
While you may wish to cut this recipe in half, I must say this is one of those dishes whose leftovers are almost better than the original meal. Perfect for planned-over lunches or quick heat-n-go dinners, I might recommend you keep this recipe just where it is…even if you aren’t serving the army and a half that I serve every day.
As this is my entry into this month’s Ingredient-Challenge Monday, I do hope you enjoy this meal as much as we have, and don’t forget to enter your favorite coconut recipes on the linky tool below for your chance to be featured in next month’s ICM Challenge Ingredient Announcement! xoxo
Ingredients
- Crockpot Coconut Curry Vegetables and Beef
- 5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2.5 pounds Stew Meat (grass fed beef is best) (optional: replace stew meat with 2-3 more sweet potatoes for a vegan dish)
- 1/3 c Curry Powder
- 3 Tbs Arrowroot Powder
- 1 Tbs and 1 ½ tsp Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- ¾ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- ¾ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Large Green Bell Pepper, cut into strips
- 2 Large Red Bell Peppers, cut into strips
- 1 Large Red Onion, Diced
- 5 Large Carrots, cut into matchsticks
- 2 cans Whole-Fat Coconut Milk (I used Thai Kitchen)
- ¼ c Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Instructions
- In a large 6-quart crockpot, layer sweet potatoes and stew meat.
- In separate mixing bowl, mix curry powder, arrowroot powder, chili powder, sea salt, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper together. Sprinkle over sweet potatoes and stew meat, mixing until evenly covered.
- Layer green bell pepper, red bell pepper, diced onions and carrots over sweet potato and meat mixture; do not stir. Slowly pour coconut milk over vegetables and cook over low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4.
- Mix in cilantro immediately prior to serving.
- Serve as-is or over steamed rice (for your gluten-free grain eaters).
- Makes 12 servings.
Ready to enter your coconut recipe? Please link back to this post and enter the link for your recipe in the linky tool below.
Don’t have a blog?
No worries! You, too can enter to have your recipe featured in next month’s ICM Challenge Ingredient Announcement!
To enter, simply leave a comment with your complete recipe here.
We do ask that your recipes stay gluten-free and dairy-free so that our family can give them a try. If they are Paleo friendly, I will be joyously enjoying your dishes along with my family.
And yes, we do sample each and every one!
I look forward to seeing your coconut creations all month long! xoxo
This post is also connected to: Wellness Weekend
I’ve linked up a few of my favourite coconut recipes. I am not too familiar with paleo, but I think at least 2 of them fit. Aarti’s Summer Stew is just too good not to include it!
Janet, you have some great recipes! My family and I will love giving these a try. xoxo
you picked one of my very favorite ingredients…I had SO many recipes to choose from, I had a hard time choosing! I ended up picking one you could enjoy also….with very minor modifications!
Tessa, your bars look amazing! I am doing the whole 30 right now but should be allowed non-refined sugars and stevia on a limited basis in plenty of time to test your recipe. Thank you!!
Shoot! I just learned about this from Diet, Dessert, and Dogs – a few hours too late! I love this recipe so much that I have to share though….
Sweet Potato Pudding Spread
yields about 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups
1 large-ish white sweet potato, or enough to yield 1 cup of flesh when roasted
1/4 c canned coconut milk
1 1/2 T peanut, almond, or other nut butter
1/4 c cooked, shelled chestnuts, optional
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
Roast the sweet potato(es) at 425 degrees F for about one hour, or until easily pierced with a fork. Allow to cool slightly, then remove the skin and add the flesh into a blender or food processor. You can even mash by hand, but the texture will not be as smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender a few times. My blender usually produces a creamy consistency with a few chunks of chestnut, which I prefer. Use as a spread on the remaining sweet potato skins, apples, pears, toast or quick breads, waffles and pancakes, or enjoy as is. Once I ate it with some leftover coconut cream and it was a fabulous dessert! Next time I may experiment with some unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao nibs, but for now I am perfectly content without it.
http://eatrecyclerepeat.com/2012/01/25/sweet-potato-puddin-spread/
🙂 Oh, I do believe this recipe will earn an honorable mention! Keep your eyes open, next weekend I will announce the new challenge-ingredient and featured recipe from May. I look forward to seeing more of your creations in the future.
Thanks, Kate! xoxo
And this recipe looks amazing too! I love sweet potatoes and I love crockpots! Match made in heaven
Hello 🙂
Mmmmhhh… I love coconut! Can’t wait to try your Crockpot recipe…. Please run this challenge again 😉
Here’s another light & super quick to make coconut dish for you to try:
It’s sugar-free & allergy-friendly – Try it with veggies of your choice, for instance broccoli or green asparagus instead of the king prawns for a lovely vegetarian/ vegan version.
Thai Green Curry with a twist
1 handful mangetouts
1 small red pepper
1 large leek
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
half a teaspoon tumeric, salt & freshly ground black pepper
half a can coconut milk
3 tablespoons olive oil
Optional
400g king prawns
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
half a teaspoon cumin seeds
150g rice pasta or brown rice (cook separately & serve as a side dish)
Just lightly steam-fry all the ingredients in a wok or big frying pan, add coconut milk & enjoy 🙂
Tastes also great with brown rice & coconut oil for an extra coconuty edge!
http://candidadietplan.com/thai-green-curry-with-a-twist/
Your Thai Green Curry sounds delightful! The second Monday of every month is a new Ingredient-Challenge Monday where you can link in your recipes that feature the challenge ingredient for the month. Keep your eyes open, I am about to announce this month’s ingredient and I do hope you can join us in the challenge!
xoxo,
Sunny