Veggie Feast for the Last Day of Summer Vacation

I suppose that in the grand scheme of things the weekend before the new school year begins doesn't probably count as part of summer vacation since, well, weekends are set-asides in my mind. They're not school days, therefore a student isn't on vacation over a weekend, right?
Well, whatever way you want to look at the Sunday before the first Monday of a new school year, I aimed to do it up right (not necessarily big, since "big" things tend to make me anxious, but what doesn't make me anxious, Gentle Reader?) so that it might be enjoyed by all. Of course, the new recipe I planned to prepare for the evening repast I knew would not be enjoyed by all because the boys are loathe to eat a vegetable that isn't a red bell pepper, a green bell pepper (although the boy can be finicky about even these) or a carrot (so long as it's still crisp and tender). Eh, screw 'em. What do they know about good food anyway?

Marrakesh Vegetable Curry

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t ground turmeric
1 T curry powder
1 t ground cinnamon
3/4 T sea salt3/4 t cayenne pepper
15 oz. chickpeas, drained
1/4 C blanched almonds
1 zucchini, sliced
2 T raisins
1 C orange juice
10 oz. spinach

1. Heat 3 T of olive oil in a large Dutch oven.
   
2. Add the sweet potato, eggplant, bell peppers, carrots and onion, and then saute over medium heat for 5 min.
3. Heat the remaining 3 T of olive oil in a medium saucepan, add the garlic, turmeric, curry powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper and then saute over medium heat for 3 min.
   
4. Pour the garlic-spice mixture over the veggies in the Dutch oven.
5. Add the chickpeas, almonds, zucchini, raisins and orange juice.
   
6. Simmer 20 minutes, covered.
   
7. Add spinach to pot, cook for 5 min. more and then serve.

Yield: 6 servings of undetermined size

Nutritional Info
Calories: 275Fat: 17.4 g
Protein: 5.7 g
Carbs: 28.5 g
Fiber: 8.5 g
Na: 735 mg

The Faudie's Futzings
Usually before I prepare a recipe from AllRecipes.com, I make sure to browse the comments to determine if the recipe as posted was found wanting or lacking by other folks. This time, though, I didn't but can't give a specific reason why. I probably just didn't have time since I don't have a lot of browsing time between the transcription training and keeping the boy entertained.

That said, I did futz. I had to, Gentle Reader, or else I could no longer call myself The Faudie because a faudie futzes.

• I so did not use 6 T total of olive oil. I used maybe a tablespoon in my old nonstick Dutch oven to saute the veggies. (Sorry to disappoint, Gentle Reader, but Chive the Dutchie stayed in the cabinet because I was too lazy and tired to clean him up afterwards because Chive does not go in the dishwasher.) For sauteing the garlic and spices, I used maybe 2 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil in a small nonstick pot.
• Speaking of the garlic and spices, I didn't saute them anywhere near 3 minutes. Do this only if you want burned, bitter garlic and spices. Get the oil nice and warm, add the garlic, add the spices a few seconds later and then shut off the heat once the wonderful scent hits your nose. If this process takes more than 30 seconds, I'd say you didn't have your oil warmed up sufficiently before adding the garlic and spices. For shame, Gentle Reader!
  
• I substituted about a quarter-cup of orange-scented cranberries for the raisins (I'd been snacking on them--bad me!--while preparing this dish and figured they'd work nicely, especially with the OJ). I usually love golden raisins that have grown plump and succulent in a fragrant, spicy sauce, but I suppose my sleep-deprived stupor and munchie mouth prevented me from grabbing the bag of golden raisins out of the pantry.
  
• I only used 6 ounces of OJ because the little cans I buy are 6-oz. cans. I rinsed the empty can out with about 2 oz. of water to get the remains of the OJ out and into my curry. That said, I found 8 oz. of liquid to be far too little. I don't know if I had too many veggies (I hadn't even added the chickpeas and spinach at this point) or had the heat up too high, causing the liquid to evaporate too quickly, so I popped the top on a 6-oz. can of pineapple-orange juice and poured that in. Yes, I know, Gentle Reader, that's hardly an obvious addition or substitution (especially since I had a carton of low-Na chicken broth in the 'fridge), but I figured, Hey, what the hell! The additional 6 oz. gave the curry some actual liquid, and the pineapple-OJ blend didn't throw off any of the flavors--at least not to me.
  
• By the time I added the chickpeas (soaked 'em myself--and, as usual, had too many), my Dutchie runneth over. So even though I had an 8 oz. (maybe it's 10 oz.) of chopped spinach all thawed out and waiting to be squeezed dry and added, I opted not to add it. I just didn't want to be cleaning up flecks of stray spinach off Lumpy (me and my laziness!), and as I thought about it more, the spinach seemed like too odd an addition.
  
• Even though I have sliced zucchini frozen and needing to be used, I didn't use it. I instead cubed a glorious (and aging) yellow crook-neck squash Mum had brought me from the garden of a family friend waaay back in mid-July, allowing me to then transfer the remaining three out of the Wally World reusable bag they've been sitting in on the bottom shelf of 'fridge #2 (yes, Gentle Reader, I now have two refrigerators, but that's a story for another time) and into the veggie crisper of said 'fridge. Hooray!
  
• Because I'd sauteed the squash along with the other veggies, I didn't cover and simmer the curry for 20 minutes. Five minutes or so after adding the chickpeas (they'd been sitting in 'fridge #1 after being prepared at 3 a.m. that morning--damn almost-full-moon insomnia), the curry was ready.

I'd wanted to prepare some brown rice to accompany the curry, but I discovered I'm all out. (Bad, bad me!) So I ate the curry on its own, and the lack of rice was hardly a detriment. It didn't have a good deal of sauce like other curries, and what little sauce it did have I soaked up with a bit of pita.

This curry packs a nice one-two punch: First you get the sweet of the cinnamon, and then a few seconds later, the kick of the cayenne comes. Yowza, that's damn good eats! Now if you're not terribly keen on having your taste buds kicked by a fair quantity of cayenne, you could probably reduce the amount to a quarter of a teaspoon or even use red pepper powder that's a bit aged and therefore lacking in kick. Omitting it might even be a possibility, but then you'd be robbing yourself of the fun of this dish.

Another charm of this dish is its versatility. You could probably fairly easily swap out veggies in this one. Why not have both yellow crook-neck and zucchini squash in it? Take out the sweet potato and add more carrots and maybe some diced tomato. Use only red bell peppers, or throw in a spicier pepper in addition to the bells. Go crazy, Gentle Reader. It's the best time of year to do it because a lot of great veggies are in season.

The dish undoubtedly helped Monday morning go as smoothly as it did, for I had the boy off to school and my big 'ol butt at the gym in good time with nary a drama-queen tantrum, meltdown or crying jag.

He's dressed.

He's excited.

He's got his screwiness locked and loaded.

Yeah, this boy is ready to roll. Watch out, second grade, because here comes the boy! May the FSM have mercy on us all (but especially his teacher.)