Lentil Chili

Want a wonderful way to starve off that winter chill, vegetarian style.  Here it is!  Wonderfully thick with lentils, peppers and tomatoes simmered with chili seasonings.  This recipe is an adaptation of one of my favorite Cuisine at Home recipes.  I like to make a double batch of this on a Sunday afternoon and reap the benefits during the hectic work week.  With all of the luscious sides and garnishes to go with it this chili becomes quite a personality.

4 cups of dry brown lentils, rinsed

6 cups of water

6 cups of V-8 or tomato juice

2 (28-oz) cans of tomato dice with puree

1 6 oz can of tomato Paste

2 jalapenos, minced without seeds

1 large onion, diced

2 large red peppers, diced

2 green peppers, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 Tbsp of chili Powder

1 Tbsp each of cumin and coriander

2 TBSP brown sugar

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa or 1/4 cup of chocolate chips

Juice of 2 limes

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, & tortilla chips

rice and corn bread

All ingredients ready. . . .

Toast cumin seeds for flavor

Saute of peppers and onions with toasted cumin oil

Add the spices, garlic, tomato paste and cocoa for warmth.  Place four cups of rinsed lentils in.
Then add your liquids, and simmer away, for anywhere from 60 minutes up to two hours.  You want your lentils to have a little bite left to them, but not be chewy.  Once you reach your desired texture, add your salt, chocolate chips, lime juice.  Taste and adjust your seasonings.

The finished Chili. . . wonderful!

A few notes of interest:

• Grocery store lentils, brown, work wonderful in this recipe.  Their tougher skins will withstand the long steady simmer
• Lentils are a great source of iron, especially when married with foods rich in vitamin C such as tomatoes and peppers
• The dietary fiber of lentils is sixteen grams per cup, excellent!  Calorie wise they weigh in at 230 calories per cup with twenty five percent of a day's protein intake for an average adult.
• It's a good idea to salt when lentils are just about done to prevent toughening up their skins

Direction Summary:

• Sweat vegetables in three tablespoons of olive oil for five minutes.  
• Stir in spices, tomato paste and garlic for one minute
• Add water, juice, tomatoes and lentils bring to a boil.  Turn heat down, and simmer partially covered for sixty minutes up to two hours or more.
• Seasoning check;  Add lime juice, salt and chocolate chips.
• Recheck seasonings and keep warm

Serving Suggestions:

• Traditionally, serve with rice, sour cream, shredded cheddar, scallions and corn bread
• Warm flour tortillas up and fill with the chili and roll up.  Top with shredded cheese and sour cream and bake at 350 till hot and melty.
• Make a sloppy joe.  Let it cook down a little further, and spoon onto soft sandwich rolls.  Serve with Roasted Potatoes.  Or pop open a bag of Alexis Sweet Potato Fries.

Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup

This soup is a "sure-fire" hit!  Italian Wedding soup is a wonderful, healthy comfort food.  My soup is made with turkey meatballs, that will soon become a staple in your household.  These meatballs are so deliciously tender and flavorful.  The best of all, is that they are baked.  I've adapted the meatball recipe from The Little Owl.  A small restaurant in the heart of the West Village in NYC.  The base of the soup is a simple saute of mixed vegetables, deglazed with white wine topped off with fresh herbs.  Then simmered in a chicken stock with the lovely addition of a Parmesan/Romano rind.  Pasta can be cooked right in the soup.  You want it to sit in the broth to soak up the flavors.  The pasta should be petite in size, not to overshadow the soup. This meal can be prepared a day ahead.  The flavors only get richer as the soup sits.  To complete this meal all that is needed is some wonderful bread and a fresh balsamic or lemon dressed salad.

Soup Ingredients:

8 cups of good quality, low salt chicken stock

2-3 Tbsp of good olive oil

2 small or one large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 carrots, peeled and diced

3 stalks of celery, sliced horizontally in 1/4 in slices

2 bell peppers, preferably red, yellow or orange

1/4 lb of green beans sliced in thirds

2 yellow or green squash, diced

1/2 lb baby spinach

1/2 cup of white wine

zest of one washed lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

Fresh herbs such as 1 teasp. of rosemary, 2 tbsp of parsley, 2 tbsp of dill, 1 teasp. of thyme
  (all optional: you can choose one herb or all)

8 oz. of baby pasta


Prepare all vegetables.  Warm a large size dutch oven over medium heat.  Add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and add vegetables, one at a time.  Saving the minced garlic for last.  If the saute seems dry add more oil, or a tablespoon of unsalted butter.  After all the ingredients are used, including the garlic deglaze pot with 1/2 cup of white wine.  Let simmer down for a few minutes till almost dry. Add any herbs now, before adding 10 cups of stock.  

After stock comes to a boil, lower heat to a simmer add lemon juice and zest, and cheese rind. Cover and let simmer while you prepare your meatballs.

Meatballs:

1 lb of ground turkey

1/3 cup of panko

1/3 cup of water

5 Tbsp. of Pecorino Romano

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/4 cup of parsley, minced

3/4 teasp. of kosher salt

1/4 teasp. of black pepper

optional:  1/2 teasp. of Italian herb mix 
                 1/2 teasp. of fennel seed

Directions:  Pre-heat the oven to 400.  If using Convection Bake use 375.

Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment sprayed with nonstick spray.  Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix carefully with clean hands.  When done wash hands with cold water to cool down skin.  Now, you want to form small balls approximately an inch in size.  Place about an inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for 24 min.  If using convection bake for 22 min. 

Let cool for five minutes, after removing from oven.  Then place in simmering stock with lid on. Simmer for 20 min. to meld flavors.  Next, add dry pasta and spinach.  Cook, till pasta is al dente.  Now, taste for seasoning.   Either cool down, and refrigerate or serve immediately in warmed soup bowls.


For Serving:  Grated Cheese (Parmesan/Romano), Italian croutons or crostini or oyster crackers, drizzle of balsamic reduction

Minestrone

Can you think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, than napping with the New York Times.  A Sunday ritual.  As I wake up, I think this cold weather calls for a homemade soup.  The smells alone, will warm us all up, heart and soul.  I decide on minestrone and let the fun begin.

What I love about minestrone, is the versatility.  As long as you have the core ingredients in, which most of us do, you can make this soup sing. Then jazz it up with a few special items of produce you might have in.

The core of this soup starts with the holy trinity, onions, celery and carrots.  Followed by chicken stock, tomatoes, beans, pasta, olive oil and herbs.  Onions can be in the form of leeks or shallots.  If you have any leafy vegetables in, such as baby spinach or swiss chard, it will make a wonderful addition.  As far as herbs, parsley, rosemary, thyme or basil will all add wonderful flavors.


I happen to have swiss chard, so I will chop this up, and add it to my soup, after adding my stock and tomatoes.  I also, love to use San Marzano tomatoes when possible.  It lends itself to a sweeter final product with less acidity.

One of my all time tricks to making this wonderful soup is to roast a whole head of garlic, sliced in half, with some olive oil, white wine, salt and pepper and fresh thyme at 350 for 45 minutes.

Here it is, the saute of leeks, celery and carrots with a few tablespoons of good oil, salt and pepper.  I like to deglaze this with one quarter of a cup of good white wine.  Then hit it with good stock. My favorite go to brand is Kitchen Basics.

I am using whole San Marzano Tomatoes which I will whirl in the food processor with half a can, fifteen ounces, of white Cannellini beans to thicken and flavor the soup.

 I will add my swiss chard, and any cheese rind I happen to have.

String beans are plentiful right now, and chopped into one inch pieces make a wonderful addition.

No soup is complete, unless there's good bread. Tonight it will be Parker House Rolls, from Bread Alone bakery in NY state.

The Final product will be garnished with good crouton crumbles, and lots of grated Romano and Parmesan Cheese.  Yummy!!!

Minestrone

2 leeks, cleaned and sliced, white parts only or one medium onion, diced.

2-4 carrots, small dice

2-3 stalks of celery, sliced

1/4 cup of white wine

1 head of garlic, split in half (wrap in foil and sprinkle with herbs and olive oil and bake at 350 for 
  forty five minutes to an hour till nice and soft)

1/4 - 1 lb. of green beans, swiss chard, spinach, zucchini, green peas.  Chopped accordingly.  
  Green Beans (in half, ends trimmed)  swiss chard ( leaves sliced in thirds), zucchini (diced).

4- 6  cups of good quality chicken stock (low sodium, if possible)

2 15 oz cans of Cannellini beans (save one half of a can to puree with roasted garlic and one cup of the hot soup)

28 oz can of good tomatoes

grated Italian cheeses 

cheese rind of an Italian hard cheese, such as Parmesan or Romano

1/4 of a box of small pasta such as orzo, small elbows etc.

optional: pesto to drizzle when serving

Directions

Roast garlic.  See ingredient list for directions.

Start with a saute of leeks, carrots and celery with a few tablespoons of good olive oil.  Saute for five minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Use your salt content in your stock as your guide of how much to add.  I add some dried or fresh Italian seasonings at this stage.


Saute any additional vegetables you might want to add one at a time, such as string beans, swiss chard, zucchini etc.  Add additional olive oil as needed.

Deglaze with white wine, until almost dry.  Then add stock, tomatoes and beans, reserving one half of a can.  Bring to a boil, and simmer away for at least one hour up to three hours with the lid slightly ajar.  If you happen to have a cheese rind, now is time to add it.

Squeeze your roasted garlic out of it's skin.  Add this, and your half can of beans with two cups of your soup and puree in a food processor or blender.  Add your puree back into your soup pot.  Taste, and adjust seasonings.  Adding more salt and pepper as needed. 

When twenty minutes away or so from serving add pasta, and continue simmering, until pasta is cooked.

When ready to serve, add your favorite grated Italian cheese, crumbled croutons, if available a swirl of pesto.

Ginger Cookies

Ginger Cookies

Chewy, crispy, spicy with moist middles

The Black Dog Tavern has been an institution on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts since 1971.  The bakery makes dozens of these cookies everyday, to serve patrons lined up outside the bakery.  The recipe that I have provided for you below is just very slightly adapted.

I have made dozens of ginger cookies over the years, and this recipe is by far, my favorite.

Assembly of ingredients.

For the Orange sugar, zest half of an orange with 1/2 cup of fine sugar.  Place a little over a 1/2 cup of sugar in the food processor, process thirty seconds.  Remove the sugar into a bowl.  Now, measure out a 1/2 cup of sugar and place it into the food processor.  Add your zest of one orange and process for thirty seconds.  Voila!

The orange sugar that is used to dust the exterior of the cookie, not only enhances it's sweetness.  It's citrus note blends wonderfully with the heat of the ginger.













Orange Dusting Sugar.

The quintessential ingredient in these cookies is real ginger root.  Most cookie recipes ask for ginger in a powder form.  There is no comparison, in a taste test.  The medicinal qualities of ginger, are founded.  According to Web Md, ginger has chemical compounds that reduce stomach and intestinal distress.  As well as inflammation in the stomach, and other areas of the body as well.  It's chemical make-up is such that it affects the brain and nervous system in fighting nausea.  Which is why these cookies can be a good staple for individuals who are experiencing any of these maladies.








Using real ginger, also lends a heat element to the sweet.  Making this cookie ideal for all age groups.









For the ginger oil:  1/4 cup of diced ginger + 1/4 cup of canola oil
  



Can be done in food processor, and then strained.  Make sure after straining, you have 1/4 cup of ginger oil.

Using canola oil versus butter has it's benefits.  Canola oil offers a healthier alternative.  Also, using canola oil will increase the cookies holding power.  Not that, that will be an issue.  These cookies will disappear before you know it.

Lemon Chicken & Barley Soup

Chicken and Lemon Barley Soup

When the temperature begins to drop; is their anything more comforting than a bowl of soup, served with some warm crusty bread?  This chicken lemon barley soup really fills that niche. Chunks of chicken bathed in a lemony broth thickened with barley, flavored with delicate vegetables and herbs.  Topped off with good grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

1 1lb of all-natural ground chicken

1 good size carrot, peeled and diced

2 leeks, washed and halved lengthwise and crosswise into half moons

1 red pepper, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 yellow or green squash, diced

1 cup of frozen baby peas

4 cups of low sodium all natural chicken stock

3 cups of filtered water

1/2 cup of dry white wine

3/4 cup of good quality pearled barley

zest of two lemons and juiced to yield 1/4 cup

1 tablespoon of minced herbs such as thyme, rosemary and oregano

Fresh bay leaves, if available

1 tablespoon of sugar, raw if available

salt and pepper to taste

optional,  1/2 teasp of garlic powder or granules

rind of Parmesan cheese, if available

2 tablespoons of good quality olive oil

1/2 tablespoon of unsalted butter

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

Prepare leeks as directed above, and soak in cold water for ten minutes to remove dirt.  Then slice into half moons.

Brown chicken in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Remove and set aside.

Add remaining one tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of unsalted butter to empty soup pot.  When starting to bubble, add diced vegetables two at a time.  Spacing a few minutes before adding next two vegetables, stirring frequently.  When all vegetables are added, and saute is finished add 1/2 cup of dry white wine.  Increase heat to medium high, to reduce by half.  At this time add zest of two lemons, fresh bay leaves and minced herbs.  Also, add a healthy dose of salt and pepper.

When reduced, add 3/4 cup of pearled barley, browned chicken, four cups of all natural low sodium stock, three cups of filtered water, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder or granules, 1 tablespoon of sugar, three tablespoons of lemon juice and Parmesan rind.  Bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for one hour, until barley is tender.

When soup if done, taste.  Salt and pepper?  Soup needs this, don't skimp.  Add remaining tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 cup of frozen baby peas, and 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.