Lentil Stew

The last post I did was for a bean stew... since then there have been 12 atmospheric rivers dumping a record amount of rain in California.  So I am still making bean stews!  This is an update of a winter squash and bean stew that I do with lentils.  Lentils have all the wonderful protein packed benefits of beans, but they cook much faster: 20 - 30 minutes.  Plus they grow with much less irrigation than other crops like wheat and corn. I'm sure we will sometime soon find that important again. And while I love winter squash in stews, they are gone from the markets, but this works well with pretty much any vegetables you have around.  I added mushrooms and cabbage to this soup along with extra carrots. Plus as always a bunch of greens - in this case I used collard greens which I love in soups.  

 

Rosemary and Bay from the front yard

Don't hesitate to add plenty of red pepper, or some hot sauce at the end. Yesterday's batch was a bit under seasoned - I added a nice spoonful of salsa which gave it a nice kick.  

Here's what went into yesterday's batch: 

Chop and saute: 

Cook .. Just 30 minutes!

Add greens (chop first): 

And its done!

 The recipe: 

Vegetable and Lentil Stew with Sausage

This can be a clean the crisper drawer kind of soup, with any kind a vegetable

 

1-2 tablespoons olive oil 

1-2 slices of bacon (optional, good if you don’t use sausage)

2-3 links of pre-cooked chicken sausage (or use pork sausage – sauté instead of bacon)

1 large onion, chopped

1 to 4 carrots, sliced 

1 or 2 celery stalks, sliced (optional)

2 cloves of garlic

Red pepper flakes to taste

Rosemary (1-2 teaspoons fresh), bay leaves (2-3), and/or Italian Seasoning

More veggies as desired: mushrooms, cubed butternut squash or sweet potato, green beans, tomatoes

6 cups of liquid - 1 quart chicken broth plus 2 cups water (or all water or all broth)

1 pound of green lentils, rinsed 

 

1 bunch of greens (kale, mustard, chard), stalks removed, chopped (or baby spinach)

 

Herbs, lemon juice, salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste.

 

In a large pot, heat the oil.  Sauté the bacon if using.  Add onion, sausage, celery, garlic, chili (plus any veggies that would benefit from sautéing like mushrooms), plus salt to taste (I start with a ½ teaspoon).  When onions are translucent (5 minutes or so), add carrots and other vegetables, rinsed lentils, broth / water and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 25 or 30 minutes, until lentils are tender (don’t cook to the point of falling apart).  Add more water if desired. Add chopped greens.  Kale or mustard greens need to cook 5 to 10 minutes; baby spinach is done as soon as you have stirred it in. Taste – add salt, maybe a squirt of lemon juice, herbs, some pepper, maybe some hot sauce as desired. 

To Taste ... Roasted Carrot Dip

More and more, I just make stuff up when I'm cooking. I start with an idea, look in my cookbooks (Eat My Books is a handy tool for this), or more normally, just google the idea. The idea that started this was a roasted cauliflower dip.   I found a recipe or two, make some modifications, and it came out tasty, but a pretty unappetizing color.  So then I thought -- carrots!  That will be pretty (after all, dips are party food and it can't just be a grayish/beige blob).  For flavor inspiration, I riffed on the roasted carrot with yogurt sauce side dish at Stake, our local (excellent) steak house. Found more recipes... I would say this one was guide that I used, but changing things that need to be changed because I wanted it to include yogurt.  And I didn't have any Harissa.  It came out good.   The problem is that at some point later in time, I want to make it again.  So I'm trying to remember what recipe(s) I used for a base (did I clip it in EverNote? was it a cookbook?), what did I do different from the recipe?   At which point I think about writing it down.  Which is good, but if I want to post it, I feel obligated to include cooking times and measurements.   So then I will make it again, make notes of measurements and times.  But be aware... my notes are often just estimates.   But I don't really feel too bad about this, because you need to cook things until they are done, which will vary depending on your oven, the freshness of the vegetables, how things are cut, and a thousand other variables.  And the same goes for how things taste... the age and variety of vegetables, the type of yogurt, all will affect the taste.   Then there is your taste .. how salty or spicy do you like things?  

Bottom line, use this as a guide.  Don't hesitate to adjust as you see fit.

 Roasted Carrot Spread

1 lb carrots
4 cloves garlic, with the skin still on
~ 1 tablespoon olive oil
~ 1/2 teaspoon spice rub* to sprinkle
1 teaspoon spice rub*
1 tablespoon tahini
¼ cup plain or Greek yogurt. Or Crème Fraiche
Juice from ½ lemon, maybe more
Salt, Pepper

Preheat oven to 425F, convection roast if you have it.  Place a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan.   If using large carrots, peel, but if using smaller/fresher carrots, just scrub.  Split carrots if large.

Put carrots and garlic on sheet pan.  Drizzle olive oil over (note – I never measure), and sprinkle with spice rub (maybe a ½ teaspoon.. again, I don’t measure).  Toss with your hands to get everything evenly coated.  Spread out carrots; put the garlic in the center. Wash your hands, then put the pan in the oven.  If using convection, turn the carrots and garlic every 10 minutes or so. The garlic will be done first, in about 20 minutes. (The garlic is done when it is soft.) The carrots should be done in 25 – 30 minutes.  The carrots are done when they are soft and edges are starting to brown. If not using convection, turn every 15 minutes, and they will be done in 30 – 45 minutes (again, the garlic will be done sooner).  

Let the carrots cool.  Squeeze garlic out of its skin into a food processor.  Add carrots and remaining ingredients (start with ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt, and a good grind of pepper), then process until fairly smooth.  Taste .. add more salt, lemon juice, yogurt, or spice rub to suit your taste.  Serve with crackers, pita, or bread.

* Spice rub:

1 part ground cumin
1 part ground coriander
1 part mild chili powder

Ken's Chicken Dinner

Winner winner
Chicken dinner
Winner winner
Simple dinner

My father-in-law is teaching himself to cook. The other day he asked if he could cook chicken, potatoes, and carrots together in the oven. Maybe other vegetables.  I was thinking of course, but things would cook at different rates. Maybe you would need to stagger how you put things in the oven.  But this inspired me to try it out and to keep it simple (I have heard commentary for some people who will be left un-named ...mom... that claim I do everything the hard way).  One of my pet peeves are recipes that are called "simple one-pot meals" that really need 2 saucepans, a baking dish, the food processor, a colander, and a bowl or two.  And don't include a vegetable.  This dish really is a whole meal and really needs just one pan, and one cutting board (although I'm sure my mom would do this using a paring knife against her thumb).  The only caveat is that if you want to make enough for 4 or more people, it will take a really large pan.  Or 2 pans.

It came out good.  My only recommendation was to use bone-in chicken instead of boneless chicken to not over-cook the chicken while giving the potatoes time to get nice and soft.  I used chicken thighs ... to me they have a lot more flavor and are more suited to slower cooking. Legs would be good too.  Feel free to adjust the vegetable quantities and types to your taste or what you happen to have on hand. I really didn't measure anything when I made this, you don't need to either.  Sweet potatoes instead of white ones, winter squash instead of summer, more onions would work. Skip the mushrooms if you don't have any.  Maybe use cabbage. You  could certainly use fresh herbs if they were handy.  I'm sure I will do some more experimenting on this through the winter.   Maybe I will be the one that really learns something!

Ken's Chicken
Serves 2-3

2 - 3 medium potatoes, cubed
3 small zucchini, cut in large chunks
4 medium carrots, cut in large chunks
1 cup or so of mushrooms
1 very small onion (or more.  or not)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning or dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken thighs and/or legs (preferably with skin and bones)

Preheat the oven to 375F (use convection if you have it).   As you cut up the vegetables, toss them into an oiled 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle with garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper, then add the olive oil (not too much - you will get more fat from the chicken) and give a good toss (hands work best for this).  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper (and if you are using boneless skinless pieces against my advice, put some oil on them too), and nestle in among the veggies.   Bake for 30 minutes, then stir the veggies around, bake for another 20 minutes (with convection) to 30 minutes or until everything is done.

The Traditional Norman Thanksgiving

The essential foods:  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and wine. Of course there is pumpkin pie for dessert. Plus some random vegetable (because some of us don't count green bean casserole as a vegetable), and most years, some type of roll. We all do some parts ahead of time, then at the end its 3 or 4 cooks in the kitchen, mashing potatoes, making gravy, getting out serving dishes, doing the vegetables.  If I had to pick one thing to be most thankful for, it's having a family that has fun doing this together.

This year, the random vegetable was carrots. I gotta say, it went over way better than the Brussels sprouts I did a couple of years ago. It is based on a recipe from November 2009 Gourmet but of course I didn't exactly follow it, so I promised to write it down. The original recipe called for a lot more sage, so feel free to be heavy handed with it if you really like sage.  And while this went really well with turkey, it doesn't need to be saved for a holiday dinner.

Holiday Carrots

6 – 8 servings

2 pounds carrots, quartered and cut in 2-3 inch lengths
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons butter
6 ounces chopped shallots (about 4), diced
Salt (about ¼ teaspoon), Pepper (about ½ teaspoon)
1 heaping tablespoon chopped sage
1 heaping teaspoon chopped thyme

Cook carrots in stock until just tender, about 15 minutes. Do ahead: Set aside to cool, then store in refrigerator until ready to finish. If not doing ahead, cook the carrots in a 12 inch skillet, when done put in the serving bowl and set aside.

To finish: melt butter in 12 inch skillet, add shallots, salt and pepper then sauté until shallots are translucent (5 to 10 minutes). Add the broth from the carrots, and let reduce until just a little liquid is left. Add the herbs, then the carrots. Cook until the carrots are heated through (1 to 10 minutes depending on the starting temperature of the carrots.

The importance of Fat

Last year, I talked about balancing your diet, with the intention of doing stories on Protein, Fat, and Carbs. I only got as far as protein. Time to continue the story, with Fat. We have a love-hate relationship with Fat. We love high fat foods but told not to eat them by the likes of the American Heart Association, the USDA, and Cooking Light Magazine. We have been led to believe that Fat will make us fat. But it turns out that Fat is a very complex character. Studies are now coming out saying Fat (at least the kind in olive oil and nuts) is good. There has been a lot of bad science, but it is slowly getting better. Just replacing fat in our diet with simple carbs doesn’t work to reduce chronic diseases like diabetes or heart problems.   There are lots of reasons for this (like we eat more calories total), and simple carbs (without fat) don’t fill you up. And to make fat-free taste good, the product is spiked with emulsifiers, gums, salt, and artificial flavors. Everyone agrees that some fat in your diet is good. Some vitamins are fat soluble, so some fat on vegetables, like an oil based-vinaigrette on salad or bacon in green beans, makes the vegetables more nutritious. The problem with fats is that they are a bunch of different things, and very quickly a discussion of fats brings back nightmares from organic chemistry class. Things like saturated fats, mono-saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, trans fats, omega-3. -6, and -9 fats, long chain and short chain fatty acids. Let’s look at the current fat stereotypes, and try to make sense out of them without needing a degree in organic chemistry and biology.

The good fats: the one that wear white hats. These are fats found in unprocessed foods, like nuts and avocados, olives, salmon and other fatty fish. This is pretty well accepted by everyone. Extra virgin olive oil is also in the category of good to eat.

The easy to love fats with a bad reputation: Bacon, butter, eggs, steak. These get labeled as saturated fats, and we keep hearing they are bad for us. But unfortunately there are not many good, controlled studies which show whether a long term animal-fat laden diet is good or bad. There are population studies that show that red-meat rich diets are bad (but these diets are also likely rich in simple carbs, as in do you want fries and a large coke with that burger?). There are also population studies that show that traditional cultures based on hunting or dairy have good health. Some studies (but not all) show some people that go on very low carb diets (i.e. a high fat Atkins Diet) have improved blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and can reduce weight. These fats are the most complicated. There are a bunch of different structures for these fats, and the make-up of these fats depends on what the animal ate. For example, a cow that is raised on grass has more good omega-3 fats than a cow raised on grain (organic beef and organic milk comes from cows that are raised on grass not grain). Meat and dairy are not empty calories, in addition to protein they have a load of good vitamins and minerals. Personally, I count the fat in meat as a good fat, but with limits. Pesticides tend to accumulate in fat (which is true for humans as well as cows and fish), and modern practices for “factory meat” are pretty gruesome and include some less than desirable components, like routine antibiotic use as well as other chemicals like arsenic in chicken feed. And likely soon, GMO modified salmon. I usually try to eat organic or wild meats and dairy, that tends to limit how much I eat due to availability and cost.

Next in the list is the “polyunsaturated fats”, like canola oil. While has been generally considered a “good” fat, scientist is being to suspect these are problematic when consumed in large amounts, primarily because it throws off the balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fats (the more omega-6 fat you eat, the more omega-3 fat you need). Also, they are made from GMO modified crops and are processed like a Hollywood starlet to make them palatable. It’s usually easy to replace these with olive oil. Oils are empty calories, but we don’t eat them in isolation. Oils are a carrier for something else, and need to be looked at in context of what they are mixed with… raw vegetables in a salad or French fries? A bit of oil in granola, or pseudo-butter substance on movie popcorn?

Next are the rest of the vegetable oils (like corn and soy). These are the cheap fats. They get credit for not being a saturated fat, but it’s not clear that saturated is a bad thing. Like canola, they start with GMO plants, then are processed with nasty chemicals (which are mostly removed). They commonly reside the ingredient lists of processed foods. Personally, I try to avoid these as much as possible.

Last, there is the bad-est fat of all: synthetic transfats. This one is sneaky, because as long as there is not too much, foods can be labeled “no-trans fat”. Look for “partially hydrogenated” oil, in the ingredient list. They show up in G-rated foods, like Skippy Peanut butter, and many varieties of Girl Scout cookies. Avoid entirely!

Around the world, healthy diets range from 10 – 40% or more fat (1). Some diets among hunter-gathers (like The Inuit) are almost 75% fat… and didn’t cause heart disease, obesity, or other problems we now associate with fat.

I know for me, a diet of at least 35% fat works for me. I eat low fat yogurt and cottage cheese, full fat cheeses (you don’t need that much), lots of nuts, plenty of avocados (right now, we are getting Fuente’s at the farmers market). Lunch is frequently a salad dressed in olive oil and lemon juice. I sauté vegetables in olive oil (and occasionally bacon or duck fat). I eat a variety of meat, including fish, chicken (with skin), beef, elk (which has virtually no fat), plus some bacon and salami. I think where you really get into trouble with fat is when you combine fat with simple carbs, like French fries, bread, and most any dessert.. portion control is key.

I will finish with a high fat recipe, a salad! This is my interpretation of a dish we had at one of our favorite restaurants in Scottsdale, FnB. The tarator has a Turkish origin, the recipe I used as inspiration was in kilograms and “tea glasses”. It’s similar to a Greek cucumber and yogurt salad (Jajoukh) but with carrots.

Carrot Tarator with Beets

Cook the beets however you like. I generally peel, quartered put in a vacuum bag then cook boiling water for about 15 minutes. You could roast them (like in this salad), or even steam if you like.

Serves 2 as a main dish salad, 4 – 6 as a starter

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces grated carrots (about 2 large)
12 ounces Greek yogurt (use at least lowfat, whole milk is better if you can find it)
¾ teaspoon salt (more to taste)
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 small clove garlic, minced and mashed.

Quartered, cooked beets lightly dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt
Roasted walnuts
Fresh dill or other herbs

Heat ¼ cup oil in small skillet over medium low heat, cook carrots for about 15 minutes (don’t brown). Let the carrots cool. Meanwhile, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, yogurt, salt, sugar, and garlic in a medium bowl. Add the cool carrots. To serve, spread about ½ inch deep in a shallow serving bowl (need about 9” diameter), top with beets, walnuts, and dill.

Happy New Year, and get your hand out of the bag

Happy New Year! I have to admit, I’m not the resolution making type. But the new year is a good time to think of changes to make, new things to try. You know I’m a fan of small changes, and I more and more believe that to maintain a healthy weight, the key factor is good habits (which I need to get back to after a somewhat gluttonous week or so!)

If you want to try to change just one habit, here is a recommendation: Don’t eat out of a bag. I know, this might seem almost un-American, as so eloquently stated on the Cobert Report.  But to help your mind make a connection with your stomach, make sure that you see what you eat.  If you want some chips, get a bowl, dish some up, put the bag away. If you get some fast food, take everything out of the bag before you eat it.

If you would like to try one new thing, start thinking of vegetables as being the main dish of a meal, the meat and starch as being a side. I find this thinking helps me keep the vegetable inventory under control. And helps me eat that half plate of veggies every meal.

For an example of a good vegetable main, I am sharing the recipe that I made for our Christmas dinner (yes, there was turkey to go along with it!). I adapted it from the December Fine Cooking issue, where I changed out onions for leeks (because I had a bunch of leeks), half and half instead of cream, and fresh (whole grain) bread crumbs instead of Panko. And re-wrote the instructions so the made better sense to me. So I don’t think I’m starting the year by violating copyrighted material.

Carrot and Sharp Cheddar Gratin

Serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 leeks, diced about ¾ cup
Salt
½ cup half and half
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pepper
1 ½ lbs carrots, peeled, cut cross-wise if large, in ½ inch pieces

2 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated

Crumbs:
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 ounce fresh bread crumbs, ~1 slice of bread
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

Heat oven to 350F. Oil a 7x11 baking dish (or similar).

Heat oil in 10 inch skillet or medium sauce pan, add leeks and salt. Sauté until leeks are starting to brown, about 7 minutes. Add half and half, mustard, and pepper, stir well with wooden spoon to get any browned bits. Add carrots, bring to a simmer and cook until the carrots are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes.

Mix all the crumb ingredients together in a small bowl.  (side note - the food processor does an excellent job of making crumbs... Any bread will work, as long as its not too sweet, as it will brown too quickly)

Pour the carrot mixture into the prepared baking dish, scatter Cheddar over the top, then top with bread crumbs. Bake until the carrots are tender and crumbs are golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest a bit before serving.

Peasant Food

So much for posting every Sunday or Monday on “what in the box” … its Saturday, Sunday, I am thinking I really need to get around posting on what to do with the turnips we got 2 weeks ago.  At least turnips keep!

I’m not sure if you can get a vegetable any more “peasant-ish” than turnips, and mussels might be the protein equivalent.   So I paired the two up for a nice dinner.   To someone who grew up in the desert, mussels are a bit scary.  Most recipes talk about de-bearding, getting the sand out, etc.  But mussels today (at least when you get them at AJ’s) are already clean.  The only trick is to make sure they are alive.   Make sure you buy them the day you cook them (the person at the fish counter will sort usually sort through and get live ones).  When you get them home, open the plastic bag so then can breathe.  I put the bag in a bowl with some ice, and a wet paper towel on top and keep them in the fridge..  When you are ready to cook, rinse in a colander, and get rid of any that don’t close.  You might need to tap them to make them close – those are still OK.   Then put into the pot and cook (see below)… and if any don’t open, don’t eat.  It’s really pretty simple, and they are so good.  And good for you!   Don’t forget some bread to soak up the broth.

Mussels Sailor-Style (if you are a French Sailor)

Adopted from Jaques Pepin’s Complete Techniques.  Figure a little under 1 pound of mussels per person for a main dish.

2 - 5 lbs mussels
1 cup chopped onions
1clove garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped
½ cup chopped parsley
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Dash (or sprig) of Thyme
1 bay leaf
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup white wine

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, cover, place on high heat and bring to a boil.
Keep cooking for about 10 minutes.  Twice while they are cooking, lift the kettle with both hands, your thumbs holding the cover, and shake the kettle in an up-and-down motion to toos the mussels.  They should all open.  Do not overcook or they will toughen.  Serve in shallow bowls with some of the broth on top.   Save (and freeze) any extra broth for fish soup.

There was a great recipe a while back in Fine Cooking on how to roast vegetables… practically any vegetable (from peas to cauliflower to squash to root vegetables) like turnips!  I added a carrot to the turnip for some color..

Roasted Turnips and Carrots
First, heat the oven on to 450 – 475F.  Trim and peel a turnip (or two), start with about a pound plus a big carrot for some color.  Cut everything into ¾ to 1 inch pieces. Put on a cooking sheet covered with parchment, add tablespoons or so of olive oil and a bit of salt.  Mix to distribute the oil.  Spread evenly, and put into the oven.  After 10 minutes, stir and make sure chunks are turned.  Cook for another 10 or 15 minutes, until tender and done.  They should have brown spots and edges.  Remove from the oven, add some more salt (some finishing salt  if you have it), and maybe a squirt of lemon juice (hey.. this was in this week’s box!)   Serve hot.