Italian Provencal Lentils and Pasta

It's been a long time since I've taken the time to write about what I'm cooking. First my excuse was work (too much, not at home enough to cook), then my excuse was time (spending it with the kids instead of at the computer), then my excuse was traveling (traveling means not cooking, right?). Enough excuses.

I got home from work in time to make dinner with the kids last night. I made a version of a lentil dish that I've been making regularly recently. I like lentils because they cook quickly and don't require me to remember to soak them the night before!

Here is a shot of last night's meal.

Unlike my previous versions of this dish, the lentils can stand alone. I've been making this dish with red lentils, making it much more of a sauce that coats the pasta and much less of a dish on its own. Making the dish with the green lentils totally changed it up. I also used only 1/2 cup of lentils last night; normally, I've been making the dish with 1+ cup. Next time I make the red lentil version, I'll post about it. (I made it the morning of our trip out to Cali, put it in to-go containers, added it to the diaper bag, and Jacqui and I ate it on the flight for lunch/dinner.)

Ingredients
1 T olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup dry green lentils, washed and picked over
2 cups water plus one low-salt vegan bouillon square -- or 2 cups vegetable brother if you have it
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tsp provencal spice blend
brown rice pasta

What to do
Set a pot of water (with salt or olive oil, as you like) to boil. This is for the pasta. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and stir to keep it from sticking together. The pasta I made said to boil for 1-2 minutes (I boiled it for 2 minutes), then turn the heat off and cover for 20 minutes. Worked well for me! (My family was recently on a gluten-free kick. On our trip to Maryland this past weekend, I inherited the left-over gluten-free booty, including this rice pasta from Tinkyada.)
Meanwhile, chop the onion, garlic, and carrot. Heat a deep pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes more. Add the carrots, water plus bouillon/broth, spices, and lentils, and stir well. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on lower heat for 15 minutes.
Uncover and add the can of tomatoes plus juices. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, until the lentils are tender enough for your taste. If you think it's too liquidy, just up the heat for a few minutes (don't let it burn!).
Serve by putting pasta in a bowl and spooning the lentils over top.

Outcome
Adrianna fed herself (!) the pasta and lentils using her fingers and spoon. The tomato pieces were a little too large for her. Jacqui ate some of the lentils and pasta by herself, but then succumbed to the "Mommy, help me" routine. She ate up all the pasta and lentils in her bowl and would have eaten more had I given her a larger bowl. (I filled her bowl up to the top with food last night!) I ate up two (small) bowls pretty quickly myself...the second was accompanied by a glass of a new wine (Yellow + Blue malbec) I picked up to try -- vegan and organic and environmentally friendly Yellow + Blue. Dave's saving the lentil leftovers for the girls' dinner tonight.

Not Quite Banana Muffins

I tried to make muffins over the weekend -- Saturday morning to be exact. But I forgot a **crucial** ingredient -- the rising agent! So, instead of fluffy muffins, I had compact, but delicious, things. I don't really have a word for them. But I just finished off the last one. Yummy.

Not Quite Banana Muffins
Ingredients
1 cup whole spelt flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup organic canola oil
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup pepitas

What I did
Preheat oven to 350F.
Put the flours and salt into a bowl, let Jacqui mix.
Mash the bananas in another (bigger) bowl.
Give Adrianna her own bowl and a spoon to mix her imaginary not-quite-muffin-batter.
Add the oil and sugar to the mashed bananas, let Jacqui mix well. Add the water and vanilla, and let her mix well again.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and fold everything together. Once it's mostly mixed, let Jacqui mix some more. Make sure to incorporate all the dry ingredients.
Chop the pecans. Let Jacqui add in the chopped pecans and pepitas.
Have Jacqui (is this child labor???) line the muffin tins. Spoon the not-quite-muffin batter into the tins. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F.
This made 16 not-quite-muffins for me. The first set, I put in as if I had remembered the rising agent, expecting some vertical growth. After there was none in the first batch, I just topped the second batch out to the top of the liners, so I only had enough batter for four more. I filled the other muffin-holes with water and baked for 30 minutes too.

Outcome
Not muffins. No rising. Looked really funky. Taste: Delicious! Jacqui ate them. Adrianna ate them. I ate them. Even Dave ate them! Woo hoo! And we finished them in just a few days. Next time, though, I'm going to try to remember the rising agent. Muffins, here we come!

(If you want to make them rise, I think I meant to add 1 or 1 1/2 tsp baking soda to the dry ingredients. Try it out. Let me know if that works!)

Vegan Sprouted Spelt Lentil and Garbanzo Stew

This will be dinner (or lunch) for the girls tomorrow. It's supposed to be a cold day tomorrow, so I thought a good hearty soup/stew would be welcome. This is made in a slow cooker.


I bought whole spelt on our last trip to Maryland. On Saturday night, I soaked a cup of it, draining the spelt on Sunday, and left it in the pot. Today (Monday), I left it out for the whole day, and the spelt sprouted! I was planning on using it to make spelt minestrone, so the soup is now sprouted spelt minestrone.

Ingredients
1 cup whole spelt grain
2 T extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 green (or yellow) zucchini, sliced and quartered
1 cup frozen green beans
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
2 squares vegan low-sodium bouillon
water
3/4 cup dried green lentils
3/4-1 cup dried garbanzos -- 2 cups cooked (*updated)
2 handfuls pine nuts

What to do
Sprout the grain (or don't, but at least soak it overnight).
Put the slow cooker on high. Add the olive oil, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, zucchini, beans, tomatoes and tomato liquid, bouillon, and enough water to cover. Mix together. Pick through the lentils, rinse, and add. Toss in two handfuls of pine nuts. Cook for 2-3 hours on high, then switch to low and cook overnight. In the morning, turn the slow cooker to warm.
Meanwhile, soak the garbanzos overnight. Cook in a pressure cooker in the morning, and add 1 to 1 1/2 cups garbanzos to the slow cooker. (This is my tomorrow-morning-step.)
(I'm actually soaking 1 1/2 cups dried garbanzos to make extra to freeze for future meals. 1 1/2 cups dried garbanzos should cook up to at least 4 1/2 cups garbanzos, maybe more.)

More tomorrow on this soup.

Update: This is not a soup. It is a stew. A thick and hearty stew. I also updated the amount of garbanzos -- Jacqui and I decided to add two cups of cooked beans this morning after I pressured cooked the beans. We both thought that the stew needed more of these super delish beans!

I renamed this stew. It's not really a minestrone anymore. It's a pure stew. I brought some for lunch, so a blackberry photo will be added shortly. :)

Update: photos up. As usual, my blackberry photos aren't too good. The soup tastes better than it looks. It's a little tangy, and quite filling. This thermos filled me up for lunch.

Vegan Cranberry Orange Scones

I made scones yesterday for breakfast with Jacqui's help. Just a few ingredients (that you probably already have in your kitchen) mixed together and baked at 425F for 12 minutes. Jacqui ate the batter, Dave ate two, and even our visiting (non-vegan) friend ate two and liked them! :)

Ingredients
Dry
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole spelt flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp orange zest
2/3 cup chopped pecans and walnuts
2/3 cup dried cranberries
Wet
1/2 cup maple syrup
6 T sunflower oil
3/4 cup orange juice (I juiced our remaining orange for ~ 1/2 cup and then filled it up with orange-mango juice)

What to do
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Total flour should be 3 cups. I broke it out into 1/1/1 because I wanted to use spelt flour, I wanted to use whole wheat flour, and I had 1 cup of all-purpose flour remaining in my bag. I think that, to keep the scones from becoming too heavy, you'll not want to use more than 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, but it might work with 2 cups. Chop the nuts (I used 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/6 cup chopped walnuts for two reasons: 1. I only had 1/2 cup pecans and 2. I am allergic to walnuts, but can generally handle them in small quantities). Stir in the cranberries and chopped nuts.
Juice orange or measure out the boxed orange juice. Mix (whisk) the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
Add the dry to the wet and stir to combine. Jacqui did this step mostly by herself. I had to mix in the bottom/last flour myself, but she was able to do this really well herself.
Place parchment paper on your baking sheet. Using one or two spoons, spoon the mixture and drop it onto the paper. Put 6 - 8 dropped scones on the sheet, then bake for 10-12 minutes (12 minutes did it for me, but I checked at 10 just to be sure). Drop 6 - 8 scones on the sheet again, and bake for 12 minutes, this time setting off one of the alarms in the apt and waking anyone still sleeping. (But really, who is still sleeping at 8-something in the morning on a beautiful Sunday???) Place on a cooling rack and let them cool for a few minutes before devouring.
Serve plain, or with some vegan butter or jelly or maple syrup.

We enjoyed these plain. They are just sweet enough to not need anything else. Jacqui had filled up on the uncooked dough/batter and didn't eat much of her baked scone, but Dave, Ryan, and I ate two each. Yum yum yum.

Not food I made....

Today, Adrianna and Jacqui went to the doctor. I had told Jacqui about the trip last night, and how Adrianna was going to get a shot. Jacqui asked about the shot all morning, and kept telling me that "I want Adrianna to get her shot." Cute? Not so sure. When I asked her if she wanted a shot, she cried, "No No No! No Shot!"

Jacqui got a shot this morning. So, while Adrianna slept off the effects of her shot, we scootered over to Washington Ave and got some vegan pistachio ice cream for me and Jacqui to share and some vegan pasta pie for Jacqui to have for lunch. The ice cream was yummy, and Jacqui ate a cone for the first time! Not sure how much of the pasta pie she ate after all that ice cream, but she got a shot. I think she can have ice cream instead of lunch.... :)

And last night, I decided to do something new with the girls before bedtime. I got them into clean diapers and then gave them each a massage with organic baby massage oil. I used to do this all the time with Jacqui when she was first born, but at some point, we stopped. And never really started with Adrianna.

Jacqui said that Adrianna should have the first massage -- she's such a generous older sister! Then it was Jacqui's turn. Then pajama time. Then, Jacqui said that she wanted to give me a massage too. So, she had me lie down on the blanket I had put on the ground for her and Adrianna, and proceeded to try to wipe some oil from her tummy onto her hands, and then massage my feet (after first tickling them) and my hands/arms (again, first tickling them). Such a sweet girl! :)

Vegan Lentil Soups

I made these two soups last week. Both were big hits with the girls -- and with me! Both are lentil-based soups, made in the slow cooker. Perfect for days when you need a home-cooked meal, but just don't have the time (or won't be home) to make it when you want/need to eat.

Lentil Soup with Kale Ribbons
Ingredients
olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 large yellow carrots, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups dried green lentils, picked over and rinsed
6 cups warm or hot water
3 low-salt vegan boullion squares
1 T Bragg's sauce
remains of a bunch of kale, stemmed

What To Do
Before going to work on Sunday afternoon, heat a saute pan over medium heat. When warm, add the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the chopped onion, celery, and carrots. Saute unil soft, adding water if needed, approximately 8-10 minutes.
Add the water and vegetable boullion to the slow cooker, mix to break up/in the boullion. Add the sauteed veggies to slow cooker. Add the lentils and Bragg's. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Meanwhile, roll the kale and cut thin strips. Boil a salted pot of water, add the kale when it is boiling, and cook the kale for 5-6 minutes. Drain in a colander.
Leave the kale next to the slow cooker for Dave to mix into the soup before feeding it to the girls for dinner.

This soup was a big hit with both Jacqui and Adrianna. Woo hoo! :)

Lentil and Garbanzo Soup
Ingredients
olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 yellow carrots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp groun cumin
1/4 tsp ground cardamon
1 cup dried lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 large can of diced tomatoes, without juice (save other half to make soup again)
1 can organic garbanzos, drained and rinsed
6 cups warm or hot water
3 low-salt vegan boullion sqaures

What To Do
When I get home late Sunday night from work, and know that I won't be getting a meal tomorrow unless I make it tonight...heat a saute pan over medium heat. When warm, add the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the chopped onion, garlic, and carrots. Cover and cook unil soft, adding water if needed. Add the ginger, tumeric, cinnamon, cumin, and cardamon, stirring to coat the veggies. Add water if it gets too gummy.
Add the water and vegetable boullion to the slow cooker, mix to break up/in the boullion. Add the coated veggies to slow cooker. Add the lentils, garbanzos, and tomatoes. Cook on low overnight (for 6-8 hours).
Place the slow cooker to warm in the morning, spoon soup into a to-go thermos, and enjoy a piping hot container of soup at lunchtime on the go!

I meant to make couscous to serve with this soup, but didn't have the time to get it made Monday morning before I dashed out of the apartment at 7 am. So it was couscous-less the first day. It should be served with couscous or brown rice, or any other whole grain. Jacqui and Adrianna loved this soup too. Yay!

Fassolatha (Greek Bean Soup)

On Sunday I made Fassolatha soup, after seeing the posting on Disposable Aardvarks about the Greek lunch she made for her oldest. (Can I say that I am totally jealous of her culinary and bento-making skills?)

I used the same recipe from About.com as a base. I changed a few things though...

To make this a soup that my kids and I could enjoy, I omitted the hot peppers, added some more carrots and celery, and used the 3 T of tomato paste. I used up the rest of my organic olive oil in the soup (1 cup!). The soup took an hour and a half to cook, during which time Jacqui and I watched and stirred it, and I tried to teach her how to say Fa-sou-la-tha.

On Sunday, we enjoyed the soup with breaed (not crusty, just Vermont Breads from the grocery store) and extra salt and pepper. Dave and I had it for a late lunch (at 5 pm) and Jacqui snacked on it with us and ate it for dinner. Adrianna even got in on the fun at dinner time and was eating up the beans like crazy. She wasn't a big fan of the potatoes, which I think I cut too big anyway. She did eat a few pieces of the carrot.

Yesterday, Jacqui had the soup for lunch with brown rice mixed in -- her idea -- I served it on the side and she added it right in. I tried the soup with the brown rice and liked it too! Adrianna didn't seem to like the rice in the soup. She still ate the beans, but mostly just played with the rice portion of it. I could get her to eat the rice with the beans if the spoon held 2-3 beans and 2-3 grains of rice. Otherwise, it was straight in and out of the mouth, just like the potato pieces!

Dinner last night for Jacqui was brown rice, green beans, tofu pup, strawberries. Jacqui was disappointed that we didn't have soup too. I can't remember the last time she's asked for the same meal three times in a row!

Next time I make this soup (and there will be a next time), in addition to adding extra salt and pepper (and maybe trying a hot pepper), I will also add in rice. The soup was delish with the rice soaking up the broth, and it became a full meal without having to scrounge around for some bread. Yum!