Recipes From the Box: Spicy Eggplant and Cauliflower

I don't know about you, but I am getting a little tired of greens... SO I decided to spice things up a bit. Last week, in the Veggie Only Box, we received amongst other things, a lot of potatoes and cauliflower. I had a eggplant that I had bought from the farmer's market and organic cherry tomatoes and an extra can of garbanzos (chickpeas) from T'Joes.
I had all I needed for the spicy dish I had been craving (wink wink)...


The Recipe
2 Tablespoon of curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
couple dashes of ginger powder
Oil, I used peanut because that's what I had.
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
salt
1 large eggplant (or 4 small) big chunks
1 medium size head of cauliflower florets
1-2 hand fulls of cherry tomatoes or 2-3 chopped tomatoes
1 can of garbanzos, rinsed
3/4 C water
A splash of cream
plain or goat milk yogurt

In a big soup pot over medium heat add curry, and garam masala; toast, stirring until spices begin to brown. **don't space out! The spices can burn easily.**
Add oil, onion, garlic, ginger, and salt to a pot and cook until soft; 3-4 minutes. Add water, eggplant, cauliflower, tomatoes, garbanzos and spices. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook til tender, 15-20 minutes add the cream as desired. Top with a dollop of yogurt and serve.

Caution! 
Very spicy!! The yogurt helps a lot. And if you haven't tried the goat milk yogurt at T.Joes, now's your chance.


This is one of my favorites. Spicy, healthy, and even better the next day. Organic and fantastic veggies locally grown, you just can't beat it.

Additional links
FFTY
More Recipes From the Box

What are R values and why you should care

According to Wikipedia, an R value is a measure of thermal resistance used in the building and construction industry. Under uniform conditions it is the ratio of the temperature difference across an insulator and the heat flux (heat flow per unit area, Qa) through it or R=(change)^T /Qa. *The bigger the number, the better the building insulation's effectiveness. R-value is the reciprocal of U-value.

Wake up! This is the fun part...

Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler space. In the winter this means, heat flow moves directly from all heated living spaces to adjacent unheated spaces such as attics, garages, basements, and even to the outdoors through walls, ceilings, floors and especially windows. During the cooling season heat transfers the other way, from the outdoors, where it is warmer to the interior, where we would like it to stay cooler. 

How do you slow the transfer of heat?

By increase your the R value with properly installed insulation in your floors, walls, and ceilings. Although this wont prevent heat loss, it will significantly slow the rate at which heat is escaping.

How do you get a higher R value?

Insulation is not the only factor that determines your R value, the overall value is determined by all the building and finish materials that make up the walls and ceilings,  including windows. Therefore, it doesn't pay to install new insulation if you still have the single pane windows. Just as, if you have poorly installed insulation that leaves air leaks or old insulation that has compressed over time, you wouldn't feel the benefits of new highly efficient windows.

What is a typical R values?

For a home built in California in the 1950, when energy was cheap and abundant, California building codes didn't exist, and single pane glass was the only option, a typical R values was relatively low, around R12 maybe. Today, our California Building Code requires, as a minimum, R19 in the walls, and R38 in the ceiling. However, a house designed with passive solar strategies suggest R30 in the wall and 60 in the ceilings in a temperate climate and R40/R80 in the extreme climates.

(more on passive solar design strategies coming soon) 

Weatherizing in any climate or any time of the year is a good idea, just make sure you are well informed before starting any new construction project.

   

Additional links

Passive Solar Design

Cold Comfort: Home Energy Audits