I wasn’t expecting to win anyone over with this recipe. My boys hate sweet potatoes, Cole hates spinach, and Tony isn’t all that fond of quinoa. I made it anyway because I love all of those things. Surprisingly, everyone ate this stew without complaint. I think it was the chickpeas that did it, or as Cole would call them, “Chickadees.” Both kids seem to like chickpeas a lot, so in the process of eating the chickpeas they inadvertently ate some of the other ingredients they normally wouldn’t eat and discovered it wasn’t so bad. According to Cole, this was pretty good “Chickadee Stew.” I certainly enjoyed it, and Tony did too. It has a nice blend of spices in it, and while the peanut butter may seem like an odd choice it actually worked really well in this dish. It’s similar to African Thai Stew, which I like to make quite often. In fact, I had set out to cook that very meal when it turned into this instead. Sometimes my recipe-meddling turns out badly, but in this case I’d say it was a success.

Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew
Adapted from The Dinner Fix: Cooking for the Rushed (African-Thai Stew)

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp finely grated ginger
2 celery sticks, sliced
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup quinoa
2 cups fresh baby spinach
2 tbsp peanut butter
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and celery. Cook for a few minutes until softened. Add broth, sweet potatoes, cumin, curry, chili powder, chickpeas and quinoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until quinoa and sweet potatoes are cooked through. Add spinach, peanut butter and stir well. Cover again and cook until spinach has wilted. Add salt and pepper if desired.