Lentil Balls! (Vegetarian)

So this is a recipe I came up with "on the fly" and Brett has fallen in love with it. Though I am not usually one to try to emulate meat, I have found pasta with marinara to be rather lacking since becoming a vegetarian. This recipe has now become a staple in my kitchen and is something that my meat-loving hubby asks for regularly.

The lentil balls are super easy to make and can be used in a number of applications. You can use 'em with pasta and marinara for spaghetti and "meat"balls, or on a hoagie with cheese, mushrooms, or whatever else you want. You can also mash up the balls and use 'em as a filling for lasagne and other pasta dishes.

Baked Lentil Balls!

Lentil Balls

Makes about 10 lentil balls

2-2 1/2 cups lentils, cooked (brown or green work fine)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

8 whole wheat saltine crackers, crushed 

garlic powder (to taste)

onion powder (to taste)

paprika (to taste)

basil (to taste)
oregano (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 egg

Preheat oven to 450.

Spray a cookie sheet with canola oil.

In a bowl, mash the lentil with a fork, leaving some whole lentils. Season to taste (easy on the salt, the crackers are salted). Add the parmesan and crackers. Mix until well combined.

Crack the egg into the mixture and combine thoroughly.

Using your hands, form mixture into golf ball sized balls.

Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes, flip balls and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Southwestern Lentil and Veggie Bisque

I've been on a soup kick for quite some time now, so nobody should be surprised that this is...yet another soup post.

I have been into trying out smooth soups lately, perfecting the arduous process of pressing everything through a wire mesh strainer feels like quite an accomplishment when you get a beautiful tasty soup in the end. And it is a good arm workout.

So without further fanfare...


















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Southwestern Lentil and Veggie Bisque

1 cup green lentils, rinsed
water

2-3 tbsp safflower oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped *
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped *
4 New Mexico chiles, seeded and chopped (red if you can get 'em) *
1 red onion, sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced **
3 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed *
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup sweet corn
1 tomato, cored and chopped **
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup veggie broth
1/4 cup cilantro *
cumin to taste
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Put lentils in a small sauce pan and fill with water.

Bring to a boil and simmer until done, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute peppers, onions, potatoes, carrot, and corn until they begin to soften, about 15-20 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook for an additional ten minutes.

Tranfer veggies to a blender or food processor and puree. Add the veggie broth and cilantro. Slowly add the lentils (with cooking liquid) in small batches and puree until smooth.

Over a large soup pot, smash the mixture through a wire mesh strainer.

The resulting soup should be very smooth.

Season to taste with cumin, salt, and pepper.

This was a really tasty soup and quite filling too!

I will be working on updating the recipe index this evening, as well as responding to the comments I have been neglecting (I suck sometimes).

I hope everyone is have a great weekend!

'Til next time.

Super Beany Chili

I have been a pretty bad blogger lately, I could make a bunch of excuses, but really, I don't have many good ones, and the good ones I do have aren't the reason for my lack of blogging, I've just been lazy. We have been cooking though, still mostly "tried and true" recipes, especially since I found some of the first season's local tomatoes! I went to the Root Cellar the other day to get some local salad greens and saw the table full of gorgeous red delights as soon as I walked in. I made a beeline to them and asked the woman there in disbelief, "Are these local?!?" Indeed they are, from somewhere south of Jefferson City, Missouri. I think they have to have been grown in a greenhouse, but it has been beyond wonderful having local tomatoes again. I was surprised at what a wonderful, rich, tomatoey flavor they have. I should have got a picture of them, but I didn't and we are down to just a couple now any way. And those we will be using very shortly. We also got the above mentioned local salad greens, local shiitake mushrooms, and St. Louis made Dijon-Garlic-Lemon-Balsamic Vinaigrette. It is a mouthful, but it is delicious.

Anyways, we made this chili :blush: a couple of weeks ago. It was seriously tasty and we've enjoyed in by itself, with tortilla chips, on baked potatoes, and even on waffle fries (I've been contemplating tater tots too). Since making chili is a process, I made a huge batch and froze a good portion of it for later use. We've been taking a container of it out of the freezer in the evening, and it'll be ready for dinner the next night, wahoo!

















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Super Beany Chili
2 cups dark red kidney beans +, soaked overnight with a dried cayenne pepper *** and a dried New Mexican Chile
1/2 cup pinto beans ****, soaked overnight with a dried cayenne pepper *** and a dried New Mexican Chile
1/2 cup black beans ****, soaked overnight with a dried cayenne pepper *** and a dried New Mexican Chile
1/2 cup Anasazi beans ****, soaked overnight with a dried cayenne pepper *** and a dried New Mexican Chile
2 cans fire roasted crushed tomatoes
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, chopped + (not local)
1 yellow onion, chopped + (not local)
6 cloves of garlic, minced + (not local)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped *** (frozen from last year)
3 Hot Hungarian Wax peppers, cut into rings *** (frozen from last year)
dried cilantro flakes +
ground cumin
chili powder
chipotle chili powder
salt
1 cup green lentils, rinsed

Soak beans and dried peppers overnight. Drain and rinse the beans and remove the peppers.

Combine beans in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover about two inches. Boil over medium heat for about 2 1/2 hours, covered. Make sure to check the water level occasionally, you may have to add more.

Add the tomatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, peppers, and spices. Simmer covered on medium-low for another two hours. Check the doneness of the beans.

Once the beans are close to being fully cooked, check the spice level and add more if necessary. Add the lentils and simmer for about 40 minutes or until lentils are fully cooked.

This was really yummy chili. I've mentioned before that I had "chili'd Brett out", but it turns out that my chili is generally too volcanically hot for anyone but me. So I don't overdo the spice and I add sriracha, cayenne pepper, dried habaneros, or hot chili garlic sauce to my dishes to achieve my desired spice level.

Well, I've been trying to jump start my pilates routine again. I used to do pilates at least three times a week, and that is saying something for someone who hates exercise. It really made me feel good, I had more energy, more stamina, and I looked, well, a little nicer. I've wanted to get back into it for awhile, so I figured summer and a wedding were pretty good motivation to get started. I also decided I would like to do some "booty exercises" (I am a size 2 girl with a size 4 behind), and get some upper body strength. I have damn strong legs and can carry quite a bit on my back, but the damn 5 lb. weights are almost too much for me. I started my "exercise regimen" yesterday and today I feel like someone ran over me. And I only worked out for about 30 minutes. :-( Now I am off to do pilates, and then probably take a hot bath and hide in my recliner the rest of the evening.

I'll tell you what, the pilates can stay around, but all this strength training, I don't think I will do this very long, I don't want to look all ripped and scary, I just don't want to be one of those bizarre "fat skinny people" anymore.

Oh, woe is me, am I right?

Have a good weekend everyone.

'Til next time!

Two Bean and Lentil Chili with Local Veggies and Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

The cool evenings of fall make soup, stew, and chili some of the best types of food during this time of year. This post is about chili. I love chili, it is really versatile and can be made savory, spicy, and even sweet-spicy if you really want to mix things up a little bit. This time of year is also a wonderful time for those of us who like to eat local in the Midwest - we still have some of the goodies from the tail-end of summer (like tomatoes and fresh, hot peppers) as well as the staples of fall (sweet potatoes, winter squash) to work with. This meal was made for dinner last Sunday - the filling chili and tasty roasted sweet potato wedges were the perfect pairing with Sunday night football. Wahoo!

I also love how easy chili is. I had some beans on hand in the fridge, some fresh things, and I just shucked it all together in a large pot and let it cook for a couple of hours. Brett isn't the biggest fan of chili, I think I've mentioned before that I burnt him out on chili since it was one of the first homemade dishes I learned how to make. He really liked this batch and even happily ate the leftovers for lunch. That was how I really knew he liked it - he ate it again for lunch! He swore you couldn't tell that this was vegan chili.

The local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = The Root Cellar
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms















Yummy, chili!















Baked sweet potato wedges.

Two Bean and Lentil Chili with Local Veggies
Makes about 5-6 cups of chili.

1 cup kidney beans, cooked
2 cups black beans, cooked ****
1 cup green lentils, rinsed
4 cups of water
4 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and minced *
1 red bell pepper, seeded and minced ***
2 "yummy" orange peppers, seeded and minced *
2 serexican chiles, seeded and minced ***
2 serrano chiles, seeded and minced ***
1 Spanish red onion, minced *
6 tomatoes (we used 3 red, 3 yellow), chopped *
6 cloves of garlic, minced *
chili powder
cumin
ground coriander
black pepper
salt

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Season to taste - but be careful, you can always add more seasonings later. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours.

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges
1 large sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into wedges *
1 tbsp safflower oil
a couple of pinches of black pepper
sea salt

Preheat oven to 450.

Spray a baking dish with safflower oil.

Toss sweet potato wedges with safflower oil, pepper, and salt.

Place on baking dish in a single layer.

Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes. Flip wedges over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with more salt if desired.

I will try my best to get the garden update posted tomorrow. It was really windy here yesterday - too windy to get decent pictures, so hopefully the weather will cooperate tonight. I am also feeling a little icky. I hope I'm not coming down with something. That would really suck.

'Til next time.

Lindsay's Tamale Pockets and Super Easy Tasty Taco Salad

Over the weekend, I was super lucky to be able to try out a tester recipe for Lindsay's (aka the Happy Herbivore) upcoming cookbook. These are her Tamale Pockets, and man were these tasty. The pictures above do not do this meal justice. I'm not sure what was up with our camera, both Brett and I took TONS of pictures of these and none of them really came out. Oh, and it didn't help that I overstuffed the pockets. :-)

The complimentary textures of the two crusts go perfectly with the seasoning of the filling. Oh my goodness, that filling was amazing. It could have it's own category of recipes dedicated to it! I can't say much more about it, you'll have to wait. But this picky Mexican food lover can happily say "I approve!", as did Brett, so try to be patient as you wait for her much anticipated cookbook to come out!

Anywho....

During the summer, our meals are pretty simple, which is why you will likely see much more ranting and posts about gardening. However, if all goes well, the end of the summer will be filled with posts on food preservation. Anyway, the reason for this is that I don't like to run the oven, stove, or anything if I don't have to when it's hot. So, for example, this weekend I made up a huge batch of traditional refried beans so we could have bean burritos, taco salad, and Local Veggie and Bean Wraps. I also made up some seasoned lentils so we could have Lentil and Potato Tacos, and also taco salad. You see, I like to be able to make up big batches of stuff for us to eat on during the week, but I don't like to eat the same thing all week either. That's the beauty of Mexican cooking, I can simply make up two big batches of beans and lentils and we have 4 different meals using many of the same ingredients. Who can beat that?

Now, this meal isn't really anything special, but it was damn tasty, and I thought I would explain the 'method to our madness' that is our summer eating habits. Eating like this also helps reduce waste, since, with a little bit of planning, you won't be scrambling to figure out what to do with the leftover seasoned lentils or brown rice you have on hand. I don't know about anybody else, but I hate waste. Don't even get me started on the folks who planted their Community Garden plots, never to return, all the while they have perfectly good food rotting on the vine when we are facing a global food crisis. It just gets to me, seriously.

Anyways, back to the taco salad.

















Brett made some tofu sour cream to go with this, and man, it was perfect! He's really getting the tofu sour cream thing down.

Super Easy Tasty Taco Salad
traditional refried beans
seasoned lentils
long grain brown rice, cooked
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
tortilla chips
tofu sour cream
Green Chile Taco Sauce

All you gotta do is crush up some tortilla chips and layer 'em in the bottom of a bowl, layer on the beans, lentils, rice, lettuce and tomato, and then top it with tofu sour cream, Green Chile Taco Sauce (or picante) and enjoy!

Mmmm, I could eat this for dinner almost every night, taco salad is one of both mine and Brett's favorite foods, so easy, so tasty, and dare I say even healthy when the taco salad is vegan.

'Til next time.

Southwestern Lentil Burgers with Spicy Shoe String Yams and Roasted Asparagus

This meal was really good. I modified the recipe from one of Chandelle's that can be found here. I basically changed the spice combination to suit our tastes and changed up the ingredients based on what we had on hand.

'Burgers' are a great summer meal as you can make up a large batch, freeze what you don't use, and have yummy dinners that require the stove to be on for just long enough to cook the burgers. I don't know about anyone else, but I like to avoid using appliances that heat the place up when it's hot!

Note: Don't get the 'super-ultra-mega' big burger buns like we did. I had to make the patties HUGE, these were so big we didn't need the sides! In my own defense, these buns had the fewest preservatives in them.

Southwestern Lentil Burgers with Spicy Shoe String Yams

Lentil Burgers:

1/2 cup green lentils (raw)

2 cups veggie broth

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cup Matzoh meal

1/4 cup long grain brown rice, cooked

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 red onion, minced

juice of half a lime

2 tbsp Bragg's

chili powder

cumin

salt

The Rest of the Stuff:

whole wheat (or whole grain) burger buns

leaf lettuce

sliced cucumber

sliced avocado

sliced red onion

chipotle vegan mayo (I just mixed some chipotle chili powder, cumin and salt in some Veganaise)

Bring broth to a boil and add the lentils. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.

Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers, garlic and onion and cook for 10-15 minutes or until soft, drain any excess liquid.

Combine all other ingredients with the lentils.

When cooled, form into patties.

Heat just a bit of coconut oil in a small skillet.

Fry for 5 or so minutes on each side until golden brown.

Spicy Shoe String Yams:

1 large yam, cut into very thin strips

1 tbsp coconut oil

chipotle chili powder

cumin

cayenne pepper

ground coriander

dash cinnamon

dash cocoa

Mexican oregano

salt

Preheat oven to 450.

Toss yams with oil and seasonings. Layer in a baking dish.

Roast, uncovered for 30 minutes or until soft.

We also made some roasted asparagus to go with the meal.

Aside from the size of the burger, this was an excellent meal!

'Til next time.

Spicy Lentil Burritos with Chipotle Tomatillo-Serrano Sauce

These burritos were really good, and easy to make too. Brett, who wasn't sure he liked lentils, has now warmed up to at least the green variety. No longer does he cringe when he hears I want to try something with lentils.....

I don't have any pictures of the burrito itself. I didn't end up with a good picture of the filling, they all came out blurry. And then I forgot to take a picture of it once I had wrapped it up and slathered it with (big surprise) guacamole. But if you've seen one burrito, you've seen 'em all right? I'll make sure to get a decent picture of the filling next time I make this, but suffice to say, picture or not, this meal was filling, spicy, tasty, all sorts of good things.

I also think this might be my favorite sauce I've made so far. It's smoky, spicy but not overly so, and flavorful. And I did get a picture of the sauce!

Ole!















Chipotle Tomatillo-Serrano Sauce
Makes 3 cups.

1 lb tomatillos, husked and diced
6 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
1/4 red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 chipotle chilies en adobo, chopped
juice of one lime
1 cup fresh cilantro, shredded
cumin
dash dried basil
salt
2 tbsp seasoned brown rice vinegar
1/2 cup water

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers and onion and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.

Transfer everything to a food processor and blend until very smooth, this is a thin sauce. Add the liquid in batches.

This sauce will last about a week in the fridge and it freezes well.

Spicy Lentil Burritos
1 cup green lentils, cooked
1 seasoned roasted yam
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped fine
4 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and minced
2 small yellow crookneck squash, cubed
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
cumin
Mexican oregano
ground coriander
paprika
salt

tortillas
Chipotle Tomatillo-Serrano Sauce
Guacamole

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium sauce pan. Add the peppers, onion, garlic and squash and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until veggies are soft, adding more water if necessary along the way. Once cooked, drain any additional water and transfer to a large bowl.

Combine lentils, veggies and spices in the bowl.

Layer lentil mixture, seasoned roasted yams and chipotle tomatillo-serrano sauce in a warmed tortillas. Roll up and fry if desired.

Top with guacamole.

Lentils are really good in Mexican, it's a nice change up from beans.

'Til next time.

Lentil and Potato Tacos with Jalapeno Salsa

These were a huge hit in my house. Brett usually takes awhile to decide how he feels about a meal, but he was praising these after his first bite. And he’s been a little on the fence about how he feels about lentils. We both agreed that this would be a very omni-pleasing dish as well. Who doesn’t like a tasty spicy taco?

I thought these were really, really tasty myself, I know these are going to find a place in my routine very nicely.

Note: I made the jalapeno salsa earlier in the day to allow it to cool and the flavors to blend in the refrigerator. It only took about 35 minutes to make the salsa (include all the prep), and it made enough to last us for awhile. The salsa freezes well and will also keep in the fridge for about 3 weeks. And remember, while this isn't the spiciest salsa, a little bit goes a long way!















This is what the salsa looks like after it's cooked before being pureed. If you notice some orange in there it is because some of my jalapenos were more mature and turning red.















Jalapeno Salsa
10 jalapenos, seeded and minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 yellow onion, minced
4 tbsp white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp dry cilantro
cumin
salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small pan on the stove. Let simmer for about 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently.

Pulse in a food processor until smooth.

FOR: Tacos, Tostadas, Taco Salads, Nachos, Chips and Salsa, Burritos or Burros, Quesadillas and Fajitas

Lentil and Potato Tacos with Jalapeno Salsa

Look at those tasty bad boys just ready to be eaten!

Makes enough filling for 6 tacos.

Cooking Time: 45 minutes (About 1 1/2 hours including salsa cooking time)

1/2 dry green lentils
2-4 cups water

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1/4 red onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
cumin
chili powder
salt

2 small red potatoes, scrubbed and diced small
ground coriander
Mexican oregano
paprika
chipotle chili powder
cumin
cayenne
salt

hard taco shells
shredded lettuce or spinach
black olives
tofu sour cream
Jalapeno Salsa
New Mexican Red Chile Sauce

Preheat oven to 425. Toss potatoes and seasoning and roast, covered in foil for about 45 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Meanwhile, bring a small pan of water to a boil. Add the lentils and cook for about 25 minutes or until lentils are soft, drain.

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add peppers, onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the lentils back to the pan and season with chili powder, cumin and salt.

When potatoes are done, pop desired number of taco shells in the oven for 5 minutes to warm.

Layer some spinach, roasted potatoes, lentil mixture, tofu sour cream and black olives in taco shells.

Serve with jalapeno salsa and New Mexican Red Chile Sauce.

These were so good we will be having them again next week (but I promise not to blog about them again).

'Til next time!

Lentil Chili Nachos

This was a really good dinner. I had something like this when I was in DC after graduating from college last year and the chili was way too flavorful and salty, but I loved the idea of a lentil chili nacho. Not only was this delicious, aside from the chips (which aren’t too bad), this was a very healthy, and easy to make meal.

Note: This makes a lot of chili, a lot. After I had filled our plates, I froze a quart, and put the other half quart of chili in the fridge for lunches this week. If you don’t like leftovers, you can always cut the recipe in half. It may also seem like there are a lot of hot peppers in here - this chili is not spicy at all (this was confirmed by Brett who is not a spice freak like me), however, if you are very sensitive or cooking for children, you might want to omit one of the jalapenos and the habanero.















This was Brett's plate topped with guacamole, olives, tomatoes and jalapenos.

This was my plate topped with guacamole, jalapenos, red onions, olives and tomatoes.

Lentil Chili Nachos

Lentil Chili:
2 cups dried green lentils
6-8 cups water

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapenos, minced
1 habanero, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
1/2 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1-2 cans no-salt added tomato sauce (depending on how thick you want your chili)
chili powder
a couple large pinches chipotle chili powder
ground coriander
cumin
Mexican oregano
salt

Toppings (this is what we used - you can top it with whatever you want):
black olives
jalapenos
tomatoes
diced onions
guacamole

blue corn chips

Wash lentils well in a wire mesh strainer. Combine with water in a large pan, bring to a boil, and cook until lentils soft, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the rest of the veggies. Heat a few tablespoons of water in a medium pan and cook the peppers, garlic, and onions until soft.

Once lentils are done, drain and rinse them. Transfer them to a large pot. Add the cooked veggies, tomatoes with chilies and tomato sauce. Add seasonings to your liking.

Keep on low heat and simmer for about an hour.

While the chili is simmering, it is the perfect time to get your toppings prepped.

Once chili is done, make a large ring of chips around a plate. In the center, layer the chili, whatever veggies you desire, and guacamole.

Having the ring of tortillas and dip in the center keeps the chips from getting soggy.

'Til next time!