Recipe: Chickpeas, Pumpkin and Cranberries with Bulgur

I've really been making an effort to thrust myself into the holiday season this year in a truly full force kind of way.

For instance...last night I ate cookies for dinner.

Because it seemed seasonally appropriate.

{Don't judge me.}

{It was awesome.}



In my defense, everyone else was doing it.

Not that I would do {insert random ridiculous activity here} just because everyone else was doing it...but come on...eating cookies for dinner?  I didn't exactly need much convincing. 




Besides.

Once you realize you've traveled 217.3 miles from New York City to Boston (and back) in a weekend...

AND dragged The.Boy. with you

AND forced him to run the Somerville Jingle Bell 5K on Sunday morning just so that you could justify all of the excessive cookie consumption that you knew you were going to do that evening.

Well, you have to actually eat the damn cookies. Duh.

So, yeah.  Shannon's third annual cookie swap - an unmitigated success.

Now if you'll please excuse me, I have to get someone to set up an IV of this chickpea, pumpkin and cranberry stew into my veins.  Because we have exactly one week until Christmas. And I'll be damned if I don't get some healthy deliciousness into my body before all hell breaks loose.

This is our 8th week of the 12 Weeks of Winter Squash! Link up your recipes here:




I would also just like to take a minute to acknowledge the tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School this past Friday.  I know one of the boys who attends that school, a sweet and adorable 2nd grader, who thankfully is okay, but I cannot even put into words how sick it makes me feel and how unimaginable it is that we live in a world where such a thing could even occur to a child like him.  No parent should ever have to worry that their child's life is in danger while at school, but unfortunately that is now a reality that we all have to live with.

As a nation, and even on a more global scale, we have to somehow find a way to get through this and hope that some kind of change can come of this that will prevent such a thing from ever happening again, if only so that no parent shall ever again have to face this kind of grief.  We just cannot allow these children's lives to have been lost in vain.  In addition, a support fund has been set up for the families affected by this and anyone who is so inclined should consider donating.

Hug your loved ones today and every day. Because you just never know what tomorrow will bring.



Chickpeas, Pumpkin and Cranberries with Bulgur
Serves 4, adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian 

Ingredients

• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cinnamon stick, about 2 inches
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into thin rings
• 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
• 1 cup dried chickpeas and adzuki beans, soaked overnight and cooked
• 1 medium butternut squash, cut into 1-inch dice
• 2 tbsp dried cranberries
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• salt to taste
• 1 cup bulgur wheat
• 2 cups water

Instruction

1. Combine the ginger, cumin, paprika, turmeric, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. In a good-sized pan or pot, add the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the cinnamon stick. Stir for a few seconds and put in the onion. Stir and fry about 3 minutes or until it is medium brown. Add in the reserved spices. Stir once and quickly put in the tomatoes. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the beans, butternut squash, cranberries, broth, and salt and bring to a simmer. Cover, turning the heat down to low and cook for 13 to 15 minutes.
3. In the meanwhile, combine bulgur and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until bulgur has absorbed all of the water and is cooked.
4. Put a mound of bulgur on each plate and serve the stew atop it.

I am submitting this to I Heart Cooking Clubs.