Hello gardeners and happy almost spring! It’s me, Maggie from From Soil to Soul. I’m back with another recipe for you this month.
Though I am counting down the days until the Spring Equinox, it’s already starting to feel like the new season has arrived. The days are significantly longer, the temps are warmer and my seed starting shelves are filling up quickly. There is much to look forward to over these next few weeks.
Today’s recipe is inspired by the optimism the warmer days have brought with her. My Dump & Bake Vegan Curried Quinoa is a bright, vibrant dish filled with an array of spices.
Alongside the warmer weather, it’s my past trips to India that also inspired this dish. I spent time traveling in India in both 2014 and 2016. After my first trip, backpacking throughout Delhi and the surrounding area, I was enthralled with the newness of it all and immediately knew I needed to go back. I wanted more of the flavours, smells, mesh of religions, architecture, history, sense of peace and constant chaos.
So I went back again! This time for longer and much more submerged in the culture as a volunteer teaching English for the non-profit, Sambahli Trust based in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. It was actually these travels that inspired me to eat a plant-based diet. Indian food showed me that there’s no need to compromise flavour or diversity when eating vegan.
Though the many delicious meals I had in India certainly inspired this dish, it is in no way an authentic Indian recipe. And I encourage you to go support Indian content creators who are sharing real Indian food based on family recipes.
My go-to blogs for fantastic Indian recipes are Vegan Richa, Holy Cow Vegan and Rainbow Plant Life (my most frequently visited overall food blog, in fact!).
What I love most about this recipe is that it’s a dump and bake meal, meaning you combine all the ingredients in one baking dish and then put it in the oven. Easy as that!
I suggest using chickpeas and cauliflower in this dish as they are staple vegetables in many Indian dishes. However, you could certainly swap them out for other veggies, like broccoli, white beans, green peas or shredded carrots.
However the one ingredient in this recipe that absolutely cannot be substituted is the Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base.
Better Than Bouillon is a substitute for vegetable broth that is (in my humble opinion), more flavourful and savory than even homemade vegetable broth. It also adds the needed salty flavour to this recipe as I don’t call for any additional salt in the ingredient list. Please do not skip out on this! You can find Better Than Bouillon at most major Canadian grocery stores, including Superstore. 
I hope you enjoy this bright and light dump and bake dish. It’s quick enough to make that you might still be able to get outside after dinner to enjoy the last few moments of evening sunlight. Happy cooking!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 50-65 minutes
Serves: 6
2 cups of water
2 tbsp of curry powder
2 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of turmeric
1 heaping tbsp of Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base 2 cloves of crushed garlic
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 cup of canned or fresh diced tomatoes with juice
1 1/2 cups of quinoa rinsed
2 cups of cauliflower or about half a head of a large cauliflower diced into bite sized pieces 1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
Fresh lime for garnish
Fresh chopped cilantro (optional)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375°F.
2) In a 9x13 (or similar size) baking dish, whisk together water, spices and Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base until all ingredients are combined.
3) Next, add tomatoes, onions, garlic, cauliflower, chickpeas and quinoa. Gently mix together so all ingredients are wet and dry quinoa is covered with liquid.
4) Cover dish with aluminum foil and place into oven on the middle rack.
5) Bake covered for 50 minutes.
6) Remove from the oven and toss using a spatula. If water is not completely absorbed, cover again and put back in the over for another 15-20 minutes.
7) Once quinoa has absorbed all liquid, remove from oven and let cool before garnishing with fresh chopped cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime.
8) Other optional garnishes include chopped cashews, raisins or unsweetened greek yogurt.
About Maggie 
I’m Maggie — Canadian gardener from the Prairies (Zone 3b), passionate plant mama, backyard chicken-keeper, co-host of The Grow Guide podcast and founder of From Soil to Soul. Growing my own food became a key part of my life in 2016. That year, my now husband surprised me with a greenhouse for my birthday. I knew very little about gardening and naively jumped in head first. Right away, I fell completely in love. But I quickly came to realize, there was little to no info online for Canadian gardeners living in colder climates. And most of what I did find was stale, outdated or just didn’t reflect the excitement I felt about gardening. I also found it hard to find organic, eco-friendly products I could feel good about using to grow my own food. I started From Soil to Soul shortly afterward as a way to share my experience learning how to garden. Specifically, learning how to garden in an extreme climate with winter lows of -25°C and summers highs reaching +30°C. Since then, we’ve expanded our garden, added raised beds, created a three-bay composting system and built a new greenhouse…with at least a dozen other projects in there I’m sure I’m missing!
You can learn more about Maggie and From Soil to Soul on her site, here And you don't want to miss Maggie's beautiful socials, here (IG) and here (FB)
