Phew! That's all I'm going to say about yesterday.
I was assigned to cook community dinner tonight along with Annie (who, by the way, spent a year in BC's School of Social Work after I graduated and is 1 degree of separation from my very dear friend, Scott. The world is oh so small.)
Annie selected two recipes from the Mennonite cookbook, More-With-Less, which you can find at your local Ten Thousand Villages store :) Even with tripled measurements and high altitude adjustments, these came out tasteful and filling!
Baked Lentils with Cheese
Serves 6-8
Preheat oven to 375. Combine in a 9x13 baking dish:
2 cups lentils, rinsed (and I suggest soaked for a couple of hours as well)
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/8 t. each of marjoram, sage, and thyme
2 onions chopped (or less if you'd like)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups canned tomatoes
Cover tightly and bake for 30 minutes. (Note, we put all the ingredients in at once and it was just as good.)
Uncover and stir in:
2 large carrots, sliced 1/8" thick
1/2 c. thinly sliced celery
Bake covered 40 minutes until vegetables are tender.
Stir in:
1 green pepper, chopped (we subbed in zucchini)
2 T. finely chopped parsely
Sprinkle on top:
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes until cheese melts.
Dutch Apple Bread
Makes 1 loaf
Preheat oven to 350. Cream together:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
Add and beat well:
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
Combine separately:
2 cups flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
Add dry ingredients alternately with:
1/3 cup buttermilk/sour milk/orange juice
Fold in:
1 cup chopped apples
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (we didn't use nuts. I think raisins would be good too.)
Bake in greased 9 x 5 loaf pan for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Since I am a food nerd, too, I can feel your pain. Having a limited choice in things to eat takes some getting used to. I should send you some Indian recipes for these ingredients, since I know how much you LOVE Indian food. ;)
ReplyDeleteHere is a tip for lentils: soak them for a few hours with a squeeze of lime or lemon juice (or even use a little bit of your yogurt). This adds acid to the soaking water, which improves the soaking. Rinse them well and cook them. That will reduce gas and make the nutrients more easily absorbed. This also works well for black beans and garbanzos. If you ever cook red kidney beans or yellow split peas, soaking them with a pinch of baking soda overnight will do the trick.
Hope everything goes well and you get some good contemplation time!!! -Juana
Love the recipes and love the above tips on soaking beans! :) So good to be catching up on your life in the desert through this medium! Sending lots of warm and peaceful thoughts!
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I'd be happy to receive suggestions on creative concoctions for my stockpile. I've eaten lentil soup 4 days in a row now, so new ideas would be much appreciated!
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