So it’s been a while since I last blogged – this has been due to a number of contributing factors which I will expand upon below – but I thought the best thing I could share today in terms of recipes is one of my favourite comfort foods: vegan sweet potato & lentil curry.
It’s super easy to make and really speedy too – so there’s minimal effort for a fabulously delicious and nutritious bowl of cosy curry to warm us up on this cool day. As is my habit, I tend to hide away and focus on surviving when life gets tough and blogging falls by the wayside.
A few things culminated to distract me from my blog! We finally received a diagnosis from the biopsies taken in the middle of August. Not from his consultant Sally Mitton who has been shocking since the day we met, but through a new consultant based at the Royal Free where Aaron’s allergy consultants are also based.
Aars does not have coeliacs disease – which is great news. But he has eosinophilic oesophagitis and gastritis. It’s another form of allergy. An internal allergy – most commonly to gluten, eggs, dairy, soy, white fish and pollen. Ironically the symptoms began about a year after he had passed food challenges at the Royal Free for white fish, baked egg, baked dairy and soy flour. There is much on going research into the disease as it’s only been acknowledged for the last twenty years. So Aars is due to have another endoscopy for more biopsies at the beginning of May to see if the dietary changes we have made have had an impact. Fingers crossed they have.
Immediately after our appointment with the new paediatric gastroenterologist I was relived that we finally knew what was wrong. This was swiftly followed by shock that Aars had another horrible food-related, allergy-related illness to manage as well as anaphylaxis. The day after the appointment I became consumed by fury that Sally Mitton had not given us the conclusive diagnosis or followed up the biopsy results in any way shape or form. And frustration that I still cannot start a formal complaint against her as the Royal Free need the histology slides from her.
The silver birch pollen season also began in the middle of March here in Surrey, and Aars got really sick with sinusitis and tonsillitis. It all felt pretty overwhelming and like we were fighting a loosing battle with invisible and unknown allergens. He was white as a sheet and lost weight and was ill, missing the last week of school before Easter.
I got sick too – I think that the stress of it all, and feeling overwhelmed and pretty powerless to help made me susceptible to sickness. Easter however was good we escaped to St Mawes in Cornwall and the clean (pollen-free) sea air did Aars a world of good.
So we are back in the world of the living/blogging – having gained some perspective and health – Aars has gained some weight and grown a little too! His next endoscopy is booked for the 5th May.
I am focusing on delicious and nutritious comfort food like this vegan sweet potato & lentil curry, and hoping that this cold spell with hamper the silver birch pollen season.
I hope that you give this simple but scrummy curry a go. It’s full of fabulous North African flavours which probably enhance the nostalgic comfort factor for me. But even if you did not grow up in North Africa the earthy mix of lentils with the mellow sweet potato and creamy coconut m!lk make for the ultimate comfort in a bowl.
Enjoy! Smiles and love,
Rai x
vegan sweet potato & lentil curry
This sweet potato curry is really easy and pretty speedy to make. Just make sure you cut up your sweet potato into small chunks. The end result is a proper cosy comforting bowl of thick and creamy curry.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbs oil (we use coconut oil)
- 1 Tbs cumin seeds
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 2 chillies chopped finely
- 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
- 1 huge sweet potato or 2 big ones (cut into small chunks 1cm³)
- 1 C split red lentils
- 1 tsp vegan swiss bullion
- ½ C passata
- 1 tin of coconut m!lk
- ½ C water
- fresh coriander (as much as you fancy)
Method:
Place a heavy based saucepan on a low flame and add the oil, seeds, ground spices followed by the fresh chillies and garlic.
Once the oil is infused stir in the chopped sweet potato (the smaller you cut the sweet potato the faster it will cook - I go for about 1cm cubed or smaller) and the lentils. Make sure that they are coated in the spicy mix. Then stir in the swiss bullion.
When the sweet potato and lentils feel like they are sticking to the pan, stir in the passata followed by the coconut m!lk. Place a lid on the sauce pan and leave to cook for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure nothing sticks. If you find that the veg are sticking, or you need to cook the curry a little longer due to the sweet potato being bigger chunks and not yet soft, add some water. I prefer to keep this curry thick and creamy.
When the lentils and sweet potato are soft, you know that they are cooked and you can take your curry off the heat and serve immediately. I sprinkle a load of fresh coriander (leaves and stalks) over the top.
Notes:
This dish goes really well with rice.
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