Lentils and Wheat Berries with Oven Roasted Tomatoes

I'm pretty proud of this recipe.  I thought it up based on the ingredients I had on hand and its so delicious. It was not quick, but it is easy.  If you have time to roast the tomatoes or cook the wheat berries ahead of time, that would help. 

1.25 cups dry Black Lentils

1 cup dry Wheat Berries

1 bunch Scallions sliced

1 handful Parsley chopped

1 container of Grape Tomatoes oven roasted *

Vinaigrette

EVOO

Red Wine Vinegar

Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar

Simmer lentils in plenty of water (uncovered) until el dente, about 15 min. Simmer wheat berries in plenty of water (uncovered) until soft, about 45 min.

Whisk together dressing. Combine all ingredients. Season with S&P.

* slice tomatoes in half, arrange on backing sheet cut side up, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and back at 250 for 3 hours (right, Mom?). These are ahmazing. 

More Beets! Beet, Arugula & Quinoa Salad

I made this salad after having something similar at a restaurant. It's really simple with a delicious vinaigrette.  Mmmm it's my new fav.


Salad
Arugula
Roasted Beets (roast whole in foil, like a potato, then peel off skin and slice)
Sliced Almonds or Pumpkin Seeds
Quinoa
Feta (not pictured)


Vinaigrette
2 TB Dijon Mustard
1 clove Garlic
Juice from 1 Lemon
approx 1/4 cup Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Blend vinaigrette ingredients with immersion blender.  Toss Salad.

Beet & Quinoa salad

We went to a wedding a few weeks ago where they served this amazing salad at the rehearsal dinner. It's so delicious, even Daniel -- who has an historical hatred of beets -- liked it.

I was sort of freaked out when I realized that the beets were raw, but it's so sweet and crunchy. I don't have a food processor so I did all the shredding by hand using the Ikea flat grater into a dish style. It was sort of fun and didn't take very long.

As with any salad the amounts are very up to taste/ size of the veg in question. I didn't really measure anything, but will the next time I make this. Make the dressing first so the flavors can all meld while you make the salad.

Beet, Carrot, and Quinoa Salad

4 beets, shredded
3 carrots (more beet than carrot), shredded
1 apple sliced (optional)
1 cup (cooked) quinoa

dressing
1-3 garlic, shredded
4 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp raw honey (my new obsession)
    * you can whisk the honey with a few tbsp of warm (not hot) water to liquify it
 a few turns of TJ's "everyday seasoning" grinder. but, salt and pepper would work here too.

Mix it all up and let everything sit for at least an hour before serving. It definitely gets better with time.

Hey you guys!

After some time being lazy and getting fat I've been re-inspired -- and I am hoping to drag all of you along with me!!

 I've been trying to drop a few lb's, but regular exercise wasn't moving the scale. So, D and I went on a restrictive calorie diet. It was super depressing but set me on the right track. I'm no longer counting calories, instead focusing on making us healthy meals -- which of course means a lot more cooking and grocery shopping since we've cut out most processed foods. But, it also means being excited by what I am eating -- and what I am eating making me feel healthy and energetic.

Prob the hardest thing to cut out was cereal. I love the stuff, and would pretend I was eating something healthy because it was loads of fiber. I can't be trusted around grapenuts. So, I've replaced that fave snack with the suggestion on every healthy eating show out there. This isn't exactly a recipe but it's a start!

Snacker

a small handful of almonds 
big glass of water

TABOULEH

Some of my friends at Edgewater Church have been asking for this recipe so no pics and no thrills. Here it is-

1 pkg quinoa (or cracked wheat or any other grain but I love quinoa because it's high in protein)
4 plum tomatoes, chopped small
1 med sweet onion, chopped small
1 cucumber, seeds removed and chopped small
1 bunch of flat leaf parsely, chopped
1/2 - 1 bunch of mint, chopped
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
1 T sea salt (or to taste)
fresh pepper

Cook quinoa according to pkg directions. Let cool a bit and then add all the ingred's mixing well. Can be eaten immediately while a little warm or put in the frig for a few hours before serving.

Raw Kale and Cranberry Salad

Whole Foods sells this salad at the deli, but with pine nuts. It's suprisingly delicious. Cheryl and I are obsessed.

1 bunch kale
drizzle of walnut oil (or olive oil)
grape tomatoes
sliced almonds
dried cranberries
Salt
Pepper

Tear the kale into bite size piecies. Massage (if you will) the oil into the kale. It will turn bright green and soften up a bit. Combine as much as you'd like of the remaining ingredients.

Wheat Berry Salad

My friend Angie made a really delicious cracked wheat salad this weekend. I tried to make something similar but with wheat berries. It's not quite as amazing as the original, but still great!

Ingrediants
2 cups wheat berries
1 Cucumber
2 Tomatoes
4 Scallion
1 cup Corn
Handful of Parsley
Basil
Mint



Dressing
Juice from 1-2 Lemons
1/8ish cup Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Cover wheat berries with 2 inches of water and simmer for 1 hour. Rinse and drain.

Chop of veggies, toss together with dressing. Done.

Blueberry Almond Quinoa with Lemon Basil Dressing

I wanted to make a quinoa salad using a mango, but since my mango wasn't ripe I went searching for something similar. I got the idea to add blueberries from this recipe, used her dressing, then added veggies that I had in the fridge.

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 cup or more of each:
blueberries
diced cucumbers
diced red pepper
sliced scallion
sliced almonds



Dressing:
3 T EVOO
4 T lemon juice
10 Basil leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Cook the quinoa as directed, whisk together dressing ingredients and combine everything.

Roasted Cauliflower and Wilted Spinach Pasta

This recipe comes from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook, which has become a new favorite.

This came together in no time with minimal chopping - an appreciated change to all the soups and roasted veggies I've been making. The flavors are delicious and similar to the Spinach Pasta Salad posted 4/5/10, but its served warm and sooo easy.

(Karin, maybe roasted broccoli or asparagus instead of cauliflower? Roasted anything I suppose).

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tbsp dried herbs (I used oregano and thyme, can also use basil, and marjoram)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Black pepper to taste
3 cups penne pasta (I used farfalle)
4 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips (I used regular tomatoes and it worked fine)
1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette (or more)

STEPS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and put a pot of water on to boil.

2. Place the cauliflower in a baking pan in one layer. Add the olive oil, dried herbs, salt and pepper and toss with the cauliflower until coated. Roast for 20-30 minutes until just beginning to brown and fork-tender, but not mushy. Turn the oven to broil and broil for 1-3 minutes until nicely colored.

3. Cook the pasta then drain and rinse in cool water. Toss with a small amount of olive oil to prevent sticking if not using immediately.

4. Place the spinach in a large bowl. Dump the hot cauliflower on top of the spinach and gently toss. Set aside and let the heat from the cauliflower wilt the spinach. Add the pasta on top.

5. Add the tomatoes and vinegar and toss well. Add more olive oil if needed. Season to taste with more salt/pepper and vinegar until the flavors really pop.

South American Black Bean Soup

This recipe is modified from "125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes". So good!










1 TBS EVOO
2 onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalepeno, finely chopped
1 TBS oregeno
2 TBS cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chipotle crushed red pepper flakes
1 28 oz can tomatoes, pureed
2-3 cups veggie stock
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

In soup pot, sautee onions, celery and carrots until tender. Add garlic, jalepeno, oregeno, cumin, salt, pepper and chipotle flakes. Add pureed tomatos and veggie stock. Simmer for 30-45 min. With a submersion blender, puree about half the soup.

Vegan Shepards Pie

This is another version of Karin's Shepard's Pie. It makes enough for 2 pie size dinners. I just froze one and am pretty happy about that. (I didn't add sweet potato topping to frozen pie so not sure how that would work out - probably fine).





2 cups lentils
cooked in 4 cups veggie broth (or water) with a bay leaf

Sautee
1 diced onion
2-4 diced garlic cloves

Add cooked lentils to onion and garlic mixture
Add 2 cans diced tomatos
1 TBS cumin
Salt and pepper

Pour mixture into 2 pie plates
add a layer of frozen corn and peas
(Trader Joe's fire roasted frozen corn)

Sweet Potato topping:
Bake or microwave 1 sweet potato per pie.
Add 1 TBS of vegan butter and milk substitute and mash.

Top pie with sweet potatoe mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 30 min.

INDIAN VEGETARIAN CURRIED FRIED RICE

Yum, yum, yum! This is so good. Tom and I loved it. My only suggestion for this dish is to have everything ready. This goes quick. So quick you don't have time to chop and cook. Believe me I tried and now regret that I didn't take a picture of my kitchen. Looked like a tornado hit it! But boy did it taste good. Really good.

2 T. peanut or veg oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 T. minced ginger (I used a tad more)
1 c. green beans, cut into 3/4" pieces
1/2 c. 1/4" diced carrots
1 T. curry powder (I used a tad more)
3 c. cooked brown rice
1 c. canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 c. halved cherry tomatoes
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce (I used shoyu)
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

Heat a 14" flat-bottom wok or 12" skillet over high (not non-stick). Swirl in 1 T. oil, add onion and ginger, and stir-fry for 10 seconds or until ginger is fragrant. Add green beans and carrots; using a metal spatula, stir-fry for 1 minute or until beans are bright green. Stir in curry powder and stir-fry for 5 seconds or until fragrant. Swirl in remaining oil, then add rice. Stir-fry for 1 minute, breaking up rice with a spatula until it's well combined with vegetables. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, soy sauce, and pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute or until mixture is heated through.
Makes 4 servings.
* Use cold rice in this dish; hot rice will make your meal gummy.

I meant to make shepherd's pie

but it turned out like a pie for this type of shepherd.

I usually make shepherd's pie with 2 cans of kidney beans, but I was out--all I had was a single can of canellini beans. So, I cooked up some quinoa to flesh out the filling.

Both my dudes loved it. The big one doesn't like my veg shepherd's pie, but he had 2nds of this.

I had a sweet potato that i cooked on the grill the night before and that really added a nice, summery touch to this dish.

1 onion, diced

a few cloves garlic

chopped carrot

1 can canellini beans

1 cup (or so) cooked quinoa

corn

sweet potatoes mashed with some butter

Preheat to 375

saute the onion for 5-6 minutes on medium. toss in the garlic and the carrot. Saute this all till the carrot is getting a little soft.

Add the quinoa and the beans. Saute for 10 minutes, giving a periodic stir (add water if necessary to keep from sticking.)

Put sautee into a pyrex, dump the corn on top then top with sweet potatoes--making peeks with the fork so you get yummy browned bits when you bake it.

Put into the oven until the top is getting a bit golden. Or, put into fridge till you are ready to bake it.

Poppy Seed Dressing

This one is vegan but does contain sugar. I tried agave nectar but it seemed too runny. Oh well, even with the sugar it's still delish.

1/3 c. white sugar
1/2 c. white wine vinegar
1 t. salt
1 t. ground dry mustard
1 t. grated onion
1 c. vegetable oil
1 T. poppy seeds

In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard and onion and process for 20 seconds. With blender on high or food processor, gradually add oil in a slow, steady stream and process for 30 seconds more. Stir in poppy seeds.

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

I've been trying to make my own salad dressings lately. I served this one when Richard & Kari were last in town. This one is for you Richard!

2 scallions, trimmed
1 clove garlic
1 c. mayonnaise (I used light)
2/3 c. buttermilk
2 t. white wine vinegar
kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper
2 T. parsley, chopped

Coarsely chop scallions and add to the bowl of a food processor with the garlic; pulse until garlic is minced. Add the mayo, buttermilk, vinegar, salt & pepper, to taste, and pulse until well combined and smooth. Add parsley and pulse until blended (be careful not to mix too much or the dressing will turn very green). Enjoy!

***If this is too thick to your liking, add a touch of milk to thin before adding the parsley.

Spinach Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from a friend at church. It is so pretty with the color of the sun-dried tomatoes, the olives and the spinach. And need I say how really delicious it is? I've been eating left-overs for days (from my mom's 80th) and I haven't gotten sick of it yet! Have it as your main course or to accompany with some meat (if you must!). I would use whole wheat pasta since I don't sense a huge difference. Add the spinach to the pasta while it's still hot and it will wilt a bit.
* This can easily be a vegan dish. Just omit the cheese.

1 - 10 oz. bag of spinach
8 oz. grated asiago cheese
5 - 6 oz. chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 c. red onion, chopped
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
1 can sliced black olives
1 lb. pasta, cooked (any type, but I chose bow tie because it looks so darn cute)
ground pepper to taste

• Remove stems from spinach and tear into bite sized pieces.
• Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and toss with the dressing.

Dressing
3/4 c. olive oil
3 T. white wine vinegar
1 T. oregano
1 T. basil
2 t. dry mustard
2 t. minced garlic
1 t. salt

• Dressing can be made the night before and refrigerated.
  

Edamame, Black Bean & Black Eyed Pea Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette

This salad is great to bring to parties, picnics or to keep in the fridge for lunch all week. It's full of protein, fresh, crunchy and delicious!










1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame (8 oz)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-oz) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 cups (about 4 stalks) thinly sliced celery
zest and juice from 1 lime
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in a small heavy skillet over moderately low heat until hot but not smoking, then cook cumin, stirring, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 30 seconds. Pour into a large heatproof bowl.

Add edamame and remaining ingredients to cumin oil and toss to coat. Let stand 10 minutes for flavors to blend.

Veg Blog Search

I just found this great veggie blog search. Ex. lentils... or breakfast. I sent a request to include our blog in the searches.

http://vegblogsearch.com/

Garlicky Leek and Artichoke Soup

I love soup. I also love artichokes, leeks and garlic. So when I saw this recipe in Vegetarian Times as part of a veggie seder plate I knew it must be made. For me this soup delivered. I thought of it as an artichoke dip that you eat with a spoon and without all the fat. I had some whole wheat pitas laying around that I spiced up and put in the oven and it was a good accompaniment. I think Richard's yummy homemade bread would also be delish with it. I changed the recipe a tad and this is what I ended up with.

2 T. olive oil
2 med leeks, white parts chopped (approx 2 - 2 1/2 cups)
9 cloves garlic, peeled
3 c. vegetable broth
2 14 oz cans water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1 med boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" pieces (3/4 c.)
sprinkle each dried thyme and basil (recipe called for fresh thyme, mine died)
2 t. lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic, and saute 5 mins or until leeks are softened and translucent. Add broth, artichokes, potatoes, thyme and basil; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer covered 20 - 25 mins or until potatoes and garlic are very tender. Blend all ingredients and stir in lemon juice. I garnished with a little red pepper for kick. The recipe calls for a garnish of a little pesto drizzled into the soup.

*****I JUST DISCOVERED WHILE REWRITING THIS RECIPE THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO ADD 2 CUPS OF WATER TO THE BROTH, ARTICHOKES, ETC. NO WONDER MY SOUP WAS SO THICK. YOU DO AS YOU PLEASE. :D

Lentils & rice with carmelized onions

I'm really excited about this recipe. It reminds me of a great dish from my favorite middle eastern restaurant. I had a tried a few times to make something similar but failed. Until now! It's from Veganonmicon which is a cookbook I use at work and love. It's even better topped with a version of tabouli (chopped parsley, mint & tomatos) but I didn't have that today.


3 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced into thin rounds or half moons
splash of olive oil
1 cup brown rice
1 cup lentils **
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp all spice
1 1/2 tsp cumin

** The recipe calls for red lentils which will melt into the rice creating a "mashy" texture while brown lentils will keep their shape. I've tried both and may prefer the brown lentils.

Heat a large skillet and add the olive oil then onions. Carmelize the onions until soft, brown and delicious. (I did this on high heat for about 20 min. Karin took a farmers market class, loves carmelized onions and says they should be cooked low and slow. My bet's on Karin).

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the cinnamon stick, all spice, cumin and rice. Cover and simmer for 15 min.

Rinse and add the lentils to the rice. Stir only a few times as to not break up the rice. Simmer for 45 min (only took me 30) or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 10 min.

Remove the cinnamon stick, gently fluff the rice and lentils and add to carmelized onions.