Let's pretend...

There are days when I wish I could eat anything. Not because I necessarily miss any one thing in particular, but because I wouldn't have to think so much about every meal I want to have. Maybe it's because of this cold that I just can't seem to get rid of, or that the last couple of days have been rather stressful at work, but I really haven't got any extra energy to devote to being Super Me with everything all planned out. Sometimes, all I really want to do is play Let's Pretend and eat whatever. It is then that it is really nice to have a couple of meals/recipes that you can pull out where Nothing needs a subtitution, you don't have to recalculate anything, and unless you are dealing with a picky eater, you wouldn't necessarily know that this meal can be considered "safe". It's just a relatively easy meal that tastes good, and you cooked it because you wanted to.

Say hello to Moroccan Vegetable Ragout with rice. I have a slight magazine addiction when it comes to cooking magazines, though I've actually gotten a bit better; unless it's the holidays, and then all bets are off. This is a recipe that I got out of  "The Best of  Fine Cooking; Soups & Stews" No. 74, and makes the $13 I spent on the magazine worth it. Very little prep required (slicing onion, cubing a sweet potato and coarsely chopping the kale was the extent of it if you use premade orange juice; the rest was opening cans and measuring!), not a long cooking time, and the flavours were wonderful! Sweet and savoury with a heartiness to it that made having it on a cold snowy day (like today) a good option, but as it is vegetarian and filling but still light, you could do this in early summer or fall and not cook yourself out of the kitchen either.

Moroccan Vegetable Ragout

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, tinly sliced (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 3- to 4-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups peeled and medium diced sweet potato (1/2 inch cubes, about 3/4 lb)
• 1 14-to 16-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5-oz can diced tomates, with their juices
• 1/2 cup pitted green Greek or Italian olives
• 6 tablespoons orange juice, preferaby fresh (1 big navel should do it)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 2 cups lightly packed very coarsely chopped kale leaves (from about 1/2 lb kale)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cinnmon stick and cumin; cook until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sweet potato, chickpeas, tomatoes, olives, orange juice, honey and 1 cup of water; bring to a boil.

 Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are barely tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the kale and cover, cooking until wilted and softened, maybe another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now, after all that, I will say that this recipe would be very easy to modify for vegans, simply by switching out the honey for agave nectar, but let's pretend I didn't!