1/2 a large bunch of kale, cooked in salted boiling water for 5 or 10 minutes, till soft but still bright green.
1 cup chickpeas (I used canned, so rinsed and drained)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/3 inch dice
Olive oil
1 shallot – finely diced
1 large clove garlic – minced
1 t. basil
1/2 t. red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1/2 cup beer
2 T golden raisins, soaked till soft and chopped
1 t. smoked paprika
1 t. cumin
dollop of butter
juice of one lime
salt & pepper

Warm a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, red pepper and basil and cook till the shallots and garlic start to brown.

Add the sweet potatoes and cook till they start to brown and soften. Add the beer. Cook till it’s thick and syrupy.

Add the chickpeas, paprika, cumin, raisins and about 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer till the sweet potato is nice and soft. You might need to add a cup or two more water as you go along, to keep it a consistency that you like.

Chop the kale into small pieces and add to the stew. Cook until everything is mixed and hot through.

Add the butter and lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

Super cheap! A can of chickpeas is less than a dollar, and so is a bunch of kale. Sweet potatoes are very inexpensive this time of year, and that's about it!

kale sweet potatoes 30 minutes Vegetarian

1 cup french lentils prepared this way (link to Out of the Ordinary French Lentils)
1 cup roasted mushrooms (flavored with plenty of sage, thyme and rosemary) (Link to Out of the Ordinary Roasted Mushrooms)
1 cup rolled oats, toasted till fragrant and lightly brown
1 cup mixed nuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup kidney beans
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
about 4 T butter, cut into pieces
1 T whisky (I used laphroaig, which has a lovely smokey flavor)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t. smoked paprika
pinch each nutmeg and allspice
salt
lots and lots and lots and lots of black pepper

6 or 7 very large chard leaves

Combine everything but the chard leaves in a large bowl and stir to mix well. Leave out about 1 T worth of butter pieces.

In a large pot of salted water, boil the chard leaves for a couple of minutes, until they’re wilted, but still bright. Drain them, and leave to cool for a moment. They don’t need to be completely dry.

Butter a medium-sized bowl or dish. Line the bowl with the chard leaves – starting in the center and moving around like the petals of a flower. Make sure the leaves overlap one another. Their tips should hang over the outside of the bowl.

Press the filling into the leave-lined bowl, and then fold the tips of the chard leaves over. Overlap them again, until you have a smooth, coherent surface of chard leaves. Dot the surface with the remaining tablespoonful of butter.

Bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes, till it’s hot through.

If you buy everything in the bulk food section of the grocery store, it's less than a dollar for ... a cup of french lentils, a cup of oats. Slightly more for the mixed nuts - but it's still a cheap form of protein. Mushrooms and chard will be about 2.00 each - but you don't use the whole bunch of chard for this recipe!!

french lentils 1 hour scottish oats whisky Vegetarian