A Foodie Gets Fit: It was a dark and stormy night...

It was a dark and stormy night. Rain was lashing at the windows and the wind was howling... Okay, so it was about 75 degrees out, but it was still dark and stormy and I wanted comfort food. In my house, that means curry.

Because I had the ingredients on hand, I decided to go for a hat trick. Curried sweet potato soup, curried cauliflower and lamb curry (one of The Aussie's favorite things to eat).

Curried Sweet Potato Soup (makes 8 one cup servings)

1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes

1 medium onion

2 garlic cloves

1 T olive oil

1 T curry powder

1/2 t grated ginger

4 cups stock (I use chicken, but vegetable would be fine)

salt and pepper to taste

Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into a large dice. 1 1/2 pounds will give you about 8 cups of diced potatoes. Peel and chop the onion and crush the garlic through a garlic press.

This is a fun new vegetable peeler I got at the grocery store when I was buying the sweet potatoes.

Add olive oil to large pot set over medium high heat. Add in curry powder. We like spicy, so I tend to add more than the 1 tablespoon. Mix the curry and oil together to form a paste and heat for a minute. Toasting, or "blooming" the spices, helps bring out their flavor.

Next add the diced onion and the crushed garlic. Stir to incorporate the curry paste and cook until lightly softened, about 1 minute.

Add the diced sweet potatoes ...

... and the chicken stock. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For safety's sake, since I have been known to wear what I'm making, I let the soup cool down before I get out the stick blender. Puree until smooth. You can serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, but it tastes fantastic without it.

The sous chef taking a nap on the newly washed dog bed.

Next up, lamb curry. The Aussie's mother's family emigrated from Scotland to Australia, by way of India. My MIL was born and raised in India, and this is based on her recipe. It works very well with chicken and shrimp too.

Lamb Curry (4 servings)

6 round bone lamb chops

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion

4 cloves garlic

4 T curry powder (who am I kidding, I use twice that!)

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup milk (optional)

salt to taste

Trim and cube the lamb chops. This is the time intensive part of the recipe. If the chops are slightly frozen it makes it easier to cut the meat. You don't have to use round bone chops, but the bone does add extra flavor to the curry.

Peel and dice the onion and crush the garlic with a garlic press.

As with the soup, start out with a large pot over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and curry powder and bloom the spices.

Next you'll add the onions and garlic, stirring to incorporate the curry powder.

With the pot still over medium high heat, add the cubed lamb and brown the meat for several minutes.

Add the can of diced tomatoes and stir well.

Lower heat and cover. Cook for about an hour.

This is the curry after about half an hour. At this point, remove the cover. Stir well and continue to cook without the cover so that the liquid reduces.

This is the cooked down curry. Pour in the 1/4 cup of milk and stir well.

Curried Cauliflower (serves 4)

1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets

1 T olive oil

1 T curry powder

1/2 cup water

The curried cauliflower is super easy. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 T olive oil and 1 T curry powder. Add in the cauliflower florets and stir to coat with curry mixture. Add water and cover. Reduce heat and cook for 8-10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.