French Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Chard

Second recipe from One-Dish Vegan! The only thing I don't like about this cookbook is that there are no pictures. I like to get a finished look before I dive in and make something. So far, two out of two recipes have been winners. I love making dishes that incorporate some kind of greens in them; this one has Swiss chard. 

Simmering the lentils and sweet potatoes in some vegetable broth and white wine. It smells wonderful with the garlic, onion, thyme, and wine. 

I usually never keep wine at home because I'm allergic to the sulfites. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of white wine so I bought some Frey wine which has no added sulfites. I tried drinking a glass while I was cooking and even one glass causes me to flush and get hot! Ugh! At least I wasn't sneezing and itching. Anyway, the wine gave this dish a rich, sweet flavor that it needed. 

~ French Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Chard ~

My Vitajuwel pitcher soaking up some sun! I have the Wellness vial which has amethyst, rose quartz, and rock quartz in it. Love drinking my water after it has been vitalized with the crystals. 

Lentil and Black Bean Soup

My fridge stocked with lots of veggies, fruit and grains! It was looking pretty bad for a few months there. Oh, how easy it is to slip back into the old ways and bad habits of eating. I'm back on track now! I wish I could eat all the yummy veg foods out there but I'm allergic to quite a few things; sesame seeds (tahini), brown rice, barley, tempeh, miso (any fermented foods), bananas, melons, yeast-ugh! it just goes on and on! At least soy (unfermented) doesn't bother me. Still lots to choose from though. 

I found this delicious soup recipe here at avegangoddess.com . Lots of veggies, lentils, black beans and greens. I also added some optional corn to the soup and instead of kale I used spinach. This makes a huge pot; I should have used my largest stockpot! It made enough for three freezer containers of leftovers. 

~ Lentil and Black Bean Soup ~

One Post for February!

I thought I better blow the cobwebs off my blog so I could get one post in for this month! The past five months have been a wild ride with sinus surgery, the bipolar rollercoaster, thyroid issues, and falling off the veggie wagon. After having extensive bloodwork I can see the proof of what a plant-based lifestyle does for my health. My cholesterol and triglycerides were ridiculously high. Some of the anxiety and OCD was from my thyroid being way too high. I've been working with my naturopathic doctor to get that straightened out and I climbed back up on the veg wagon to start anew.

I found this soup recipe in Vegan Food Gifts. I wanted to try it out before I made it as gifts. 

~ Hearty Pasta Soup with Chik'n Mix ~

It has tri-color pasta, seasonings (along with 1/2 cup vegetable broth powder), lentils, and soy curls. 

I'm glad I tried this myself first because the directions say to just throw everything into the pot and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta and lentils are tender. Well, the pasta was tender way before the lentils softened so I had to let it simmer until the lentils were no longer hard. By then, I ended up with mushy pasta. The soup did taste really good so if I make this again I think I will cook the lentils first before adding them into the pot! 

Lentil Stew & Mess O' Greens

It's been a busy week! We welcomed a new granddaughter into the world; little baby Blake Lynn. She joins her big brothers James-3 1/2 and Max 2 1/2. Grandma is going to be busy babysitting! 

I found this Slow-Cooked Lentil Stew recipe in the McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. So easy to add everything to the Crock Pot and let cook all day. 

Ingredients for the lentil stew. Instead of a vegetable broth it uses 5 cups of V8 juice. 

This makes a Big pot of stew! The first night I served it over some brown rice. The V8 juice gives it a nice hearty flavor. I added 4 cups of chopped spinach for some contrast and extra nutrients. 

The next night I made this recipe for Mess O' Greens from Cookin' Crunk. Collard greens, liquid smoke and turnips.These are really tasty! You let them cook for a good 35 to 40 minutes. 

The Mess O' Greens tasted great with the Lentil Stew and brown rice. I still had some stew left so I put it in the freezer. Three nights of leftovers is too much for me!

This week I also made a favorite cool salad using buckwheat soba noodles.


~ Asian Noodles with Black Vinaigrette ~
from Crazy Sexy Kitchen

I thawed out my previously frozen black beans and made a quick dinner along with some garlic bread.


~ Black Beans ~
from Give Them Something Better

Lentil Soup with Greens & Tiny Pasta

Another great recipe from Wild About Greens.

This recipe doesn't use vegetable broth; just water. The oregano, basil and thyme along with some fire-roasted tomatoes and red wine gave it lots of flavor though. I used a bunch of chopped lacinato kale for the greens. This made a big pot so I froze the leftovers for a quick supper later. 

Lentil Soup with Greens & Tiny Pasta

I served the soup with some garlic bread made with sourdough bread, Earth Balance margarine, garlic powder and nutritional yeast sprinkled on top and broiled. 

Trying to Get Back to Normal (Whatever That Is)

I did manage to try some new recipes this last week. This month has just flown by it seems. Now I'm fighting another stupid sinus infection which leaves me not wanting to do anything. Onward and upward! I made this tasty soup from The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. It makes a big pot of soup using frozen veggies and canned beans. I thought it needed some green so I added a big handful of chopped spinach and some fresh basil. I took this over to my mom and dad's for their supper while my mom is recovering. I served it with some garlic bread. 

Fast Minestrone

My brother and sister-in-law had a Memorial weekend BBQ swim party on Saturday. I brought my veggie dog, cookies and coleslaw. I made my favorite coleslaw from Give Them Something Better. Even my 9 year old nephew loved the coleslaw! I also made these yummy cookies from Meet the Shannons; here is the recipe. I usually like a chewy cookie but these were more of a dry, baked texture like I think of store-bought cookies. Loaded with dried cherries, chocolate chips and walnuts, they're yummy with a cup of hot tea.

Cherry, Walnut & Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made another soup/stew this week. This is from The China Study Cookbook. This one is packed with protein with chickpeas, lentils, bulgur and sweet potato. The cayenne and coriander give it a nice spicy kick.

Zesty Bulgur Stew

I bought too many fresh berries last week and they were going bad so I thought "hey, make a crisp!" I always look in La Dolce Vegan first because I've made just about every recipe out of there. I used the Raspberry Apple Crisp recipe and instead of just raspberries I used a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I doubled the recipe and made a big 9x13 pan. We were babysitting the grandsons and they ate a big bowl of it. Yummy! Delicious for breakfast, too.

Berry Apple Crisp

Cauliflower Lentil Tostadas & Spanish Rice

 I love watching Jason Wrobel on "How To Live To 100" on The Cooking Channel. One episode was all about cauliflower. He made these Cauliflower Lentil Tacos but I baked up some corn tortillas and made tostadas instead.

You take a head of cauliflower and pulse it in the food processor until it is the size of rice grains. It's combined with cooked lentils and lots of other spicy ingredients to make this yummy taco/tostada/burrito filling. 

I also made Spanish Rice following the recipe in Give Them Something Better. It uses brown rice instead of white. It was kind of dry so I might add extra tomato sauce and water next time. I still like my own version of Spanish Rice better. 

Instead of the Guacamole recipe Jason uses I made the Avocado Tomato Salsa from La Dolce Vegan. Lots of lime juice and cilantro! 

Both of these recipes make alot so I froze the leftovers for a quick dinner on nights I don't want to cook.

Lentil Quinoa Taco 'Soup'

I had good intentions to cook and blog while in Sedona this past weekend; but who can think about cooking and blogging when you have scenery like this to look at?!! (Also, no reliable internet connection)

I did make my favorite Creamy Curried Veggies since I had some of the ingredients available at the cabin. 

We're still working hard on fixing up 'the old girl'. I was cleaning out the kitchen cupboards and found a few of my late grandma's cooking utensils and I knew I had to display them:

Wow! It's a percolator coffepot; don't see those anymore! There was also this metal strainer; I like to use old stuff but I just had to replace this with a new one to use.

These really remind me of Grandma Violet. She loved to cook and bake. I can still see her scooping out sugar and flour with these measuring cups. They have a special place in the kitchen now.

This was in preparation for making this recipe at the cabin. Oops! Didn't get it done; too much to do. I even bought another Crock Pot for the cabin (okay, at last count I have five now-hehe)

cilantro, chopped tomato, shredded romaine lettuce, Daiya cheddar, chopped green onions

This recipe is from Kathy Hester's cookbook Vegan Slow Cooking for Two; she shares the recipe here on her website. It is supposed to be a filling for tacos but I checked it as it was cooking and I thought the mixture was getting too thick so I added extra water. Now we are eating taco soup! Tastes just as delicious with all the toppings on top and lots of Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce. We used warmed up rolled whole wheat flour tortillas to dip in the soup.

Lentil Quinoa Taco 'Soup'

We finished the whole pot. I love this cookbook; no leftovers!

Slow-Cooker Lentil Sloppy Joes

I must be training my hubby right because he found this recipe in the newspaper the other day. He said, "hey, lentil sloppy joes, here's a recipe for you!" Hee, hee! It was in the health section of the Arizona Republic. The author also has a website here and the recipe is listed there. Great meal to make on a HOT 115 degree day. No heating up the kitchen!

The lentils after cooking for about five hours.

Lentil Sloppy Joes with sweet potato fries and broccoli.

The lentil mixture would be just as tasty over rice or quinoa.

I went shopping at my local Sprouts market and came home with these:

I haven't tried hemp seeds yet; they're kind of nutty tasting. 

I think I'll sprinkle some on my spinach salad.

A juicy organic non-GMO pineapple! 

I like making Pineapple Ginger Mint Smoothies.

Indian-Spiced Lentil Ragu~pg. 139

VegCookbookClub May recipes from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson:

Finally can get back in my kitchen to cook after having new tile installed! Yay! Every square inch of my kitchen has been cleaned and dusted but it was worth it to have a floor. We've been walking on painted concrete for three years now. 

Any recipe that uses curry powder, coriander, cumin and fresh ginger is a hit with me! The aroma of this dish while simmering is mouthwatering. Even after washing up the pots and pans and putting away the leftovers the scent lingers. Hmmm, maybe someone needs to bottle that scent. I added chopped yellow and orange bell peppers along with the onion and used fresh spinach instead of frozen. I also had a can of roasted diced tomatoes that gave it an extra smoky flavor. I served my Lentil Ragu over some jasmine rice. 

Savoury Shepherd's Pie~pg. 110

VegCookbookClub April recipes from How It All Vegan! by Sarah Kramer & Tanya Barnard:


Yay! Feeling great; working out and eating healthy. This was my lunch the other day after my Pilates workout. Wild & brown rice cake with raw almond butter and homemade vegan ranch dressing with fresh veggies! 

Sauteeing veggies for shepherd's pie.

I added some Daiya cheddar shreds the last five minutes of cooking.

Yum! Served the shepherd's pie with some freshly steamed brussels sprouts. Hubby really liked this one. He ate all of the leftovers the next night!

Brown Lentil Soup~pg. 203

VegCookbookClub February recipes from Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

BROWN

What an easy, delicious, comforting soup. And I remembered to halve the recipe; so no leftovers!   I didn't puree the soup like the recipe suggested. I like my lentils nice and chunky. I served the soup with Wolffie's "Buttermilk" Cornbread from La Dolce Vegan (the best cornbread ever!)

Lentil and Chard Ragout~pg. 183

VegCookbookClub January 2013 recipes from Kris Carr-Crazy Sexy Kitchen:

Waiting for the lentils to cook!

I like to use the stems of the chard so I chopped them and added to the onion and garlic saute.

I'm always looking for new recipes that use chard, kale, etc. and this one is a keeper! I doubled the recipe so I could use the whole bunch of rainbow Swiss chard I had. Note to self: if not using low-sodium vegetable broth reduce the amount of salt! Otherwise, I loved the flavors in this ragout, especially the lovely lemon zest. I served it over brown rice pilaf. It made enough to freeze some, give some to my daughter and have leftovers today. 

Wolffie's Black Bean & Lentil Salad~pg. 72

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I think Wolffie should have made her own cookbook. It seems like most of these recipes are hers! I had made this salad another time following the directions and it was too oily. This time I only used 1/4 C. of oil. All of these recipes using beans call for 19 oz. cans; I can't find that size around my area so I just used 15 oz. cans. I get tired of opening another 15 oz. can and only using less than half to make up for the 19 oz. Ugh! My OCD gets the better of me sometimes. Anyway, the salad had plenty of beans and lentils using only 15 oz. cans.

I couldn't wait for this to chill so I had a bowlful topped with cubed avocado and freshly squeezed lime juice for lunch! It's also really tasty on top of a baked potato.

Middle Eastern Feast!

I have been trying to clean my pantry and freezer out and discovered I had four cans of lentils I needed to use. I found a great recipe using bulgur and lentils in Vegan Express by Nava Atlas. It reminded me of the mjeddrah I used to make with brown rice and lentils. I found that recipe in the first book I read about vegetarianism in 1983-Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe'. I was a birkenstock-wearing, La Leche League mama when I learned for the first time that babies and humans in general, didn't need dairy milk to survive. Who'd a thunk it?! My precious little girl never had a bottle of formula, dairy milk, jarred baby food (I made my own!) and wore cloth diapers. She grew up to be a beautiful young woman. She has a successful career, a wonderful husband and two little babies of her own now. Wow, I'm a proud mama!

This is Nava Atlas' Bulgur with Lentils, Parsley and Raisins.

Middle Eastern Chopped Salad

The chopped salad has tomatoes, cucumber, orange bell pepper, olives, green onions, parsley and toasted pine nuts tossed with olive oil and lemon. Bright and refreshing!

I served the bulgur and salad with warm pita bread and a basic hummus from The Engine 2 Diet. The hummus was rather plain because it had no added oil or tahini but it tasted good with everything else.