The Nutcracker Marathon and Quick Christmas Bombay Potatoes and Cauliflower

San Francisco Ballet's The Nutcracker.

I don't have many Christmas traditions beyond watching The Nutcracker on PBS. For the last several years they have been airing the San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker and it is my favorite. However this year I anxiously scanned their programming looking for The Nutcracker in vain. Every time I searched for The Nutcracker it was only on the Ovation channel which I do not subscribe to. Serious action was needed. I cancelled my Showtime subscription and subscribed to Ovation. Nirvana! On Christmas day, they have Nutcracker marathons! From all over the world!

So I've been watching The Nutcracker off and on all day. Some of them are pretty strange (Nutcracker – The Story of Clara by the Australian Ballet), some not so hot, San Francisco Ballet is there in all their glory (yes!), and I'm now watching the Bolshoi at the Bolshoi. It has the possibility of becoming my new favorite. All of the children's parts appear to be performed by adults and it just seems more polished than many of the rest. No frumpy nightgown for Clara and the dancing is stupendous.

Quick Christmas Bombay Potatoes. Very pretty, red & green!

I had been planning on making a Christmas pizza today but got waylaid by the Nutcracker marathon and this recipe for Saucy Bombay Potatoes. I absolutely love cauliflower and potatoes so I made this instead of the pizza. Many changes were made. The beauty of the recipe is no matter how you change it up, it's going to be good and even better the next day!

Quick Christmas Bombay Potatoes and Cauliflower
Ingredients
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 tsp avocado oil
2-4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 potatoes (I used Yukon), peeled & chopped
1/2 cauliflower, chopped
1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup dark beer (totally optional)
1 tsp garam masala (or your favorite Indian spices)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 14 oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 TB tamari
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas
1-2 handfuls of fresh spinach
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1 TB fresh lemon juice

Directions
Heat oil and saute onion for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and potatoes and cook a couple mintues more, Add cauliflower, vegetable stock, beer, and spices. Stir well, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until potatoes and cauliflower are crisp tender. Add tomatoes, tamari, pepper, and peas and cook for about 5 more minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Take off the heat, add lemon and serve. About 4 servings.