Sweet Onion, Red Lentils & Tomato Stew

Sweet Onion, Red Lentils & Tomato Stew

@icookwhatilike

This recipe makes a stew that goes with bread and potatoes.

Ingredients:

1 sweet yellow onion - Vidalia
1/2 cup red lentils - dry
2 1/2 cups water with boulion cube
1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce 
Additional sauce to finish, as well as seasonings such as basil, oregano 
Olive oil (and butter-optional)
Grated parmesan (or cheese such as Gruyere)

Technique:

Sauté diced onion in olive oil and butter, stir until it caramelizes (begins to brown and sweeten), add water, bouillon, lentils, and tomato sauce, increase heat to boiling, then reduce heat to lowest simmer, and cover soup pot for about 25 minutes.

Finish:

Add additional sauce, water, and seasonings.  I added iodized sea salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. When the stew was seasoned to my liking, I then served the stew in bowls and added grated Parmesan.

Goes With:

Bread, roasted potatoes, grilled cheese sandwich. 

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Use potatoes of your choice, peel, cut into eighths, lightly oil and salt, and add one or two additional dried seasonings if you prefer.  

Place on parchment paper lined pans.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.  

Note:  Electric and manual potato peelers make the whole task easier.  Or scrub the potatoes and leave the peels on if you like.

Sunbeam Bread From a Machine

Ingredients:

1 cup water
4 egg whites
2 teaspoons cane sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise bread machine yeast

Technique:

Add the ingredients in the order listed into the bucket in the bread machine.

Set the machine to French Bread Cycle, 1-1/2 lb loaf, medium crust.  The finished texture will be similar to French bread.

Note:

I have a Sunbeam Breadmaker model #5891.  The Sunbeam Breadmaker is reasonably priced on Amazon and has good reviews, except for the recipe book, which tends to over state the amount of ingredients needed.  Many other bread recipes are to be found with a Google search.

Lentils with Tomato, Salt and Pepper

Ingredients:

Lentils (I like French lentils for this recipe.)

Broth or water

Tomato 

Iodized sea salt

Pepper (white or black)

Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce or Liquid Smoke)

Technique:

Place 1/2 cup dry lentils in a slow cooker.

Add 1 cup broth or water.

Add a chopped tomato.

Season with salt and pepper.

Season with a teaspoon of Bragg Aminos after cooking.

Cook until done, adjusting high, low or medium to the time you have available.  (About 3 hours high, 4 to 6 on low setting).

I like the umami flavor of Bragg Aminos and add just a teaspoon of this to the lentils once they are completely cooked.

Cooking and eating lentils is an easy way to get plant protein in place of meat in a burrito, then try adding salsa, guacamole, cheese, and fresh salad greens until it's stuffed.

Other Cooking Options:

A small sauce pan cooks lentils on top of the stove in about 40 minutes.  Start out with high heat, reduce to low, and cover.  Check to see that water does not boil away, as more may be needed to cook the lentils until done.

An oven cooks lentils in a small dutch oven or ceramic dish at 375 degrees until done.  This will take about 40 minutes as well, of course, check to see that water does not all evaporate.

The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled, depending on how many lentils you want.  

Other Serving Options:
Read about Lentils at Wikipedia, with more ideas about how to serve lentils, and with links to lentil soup recipes.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentil

Salad Greens with Apple and Orange

I found this salad mix to be refreshing during a warm-up in the otherwise cooler autumn-to-winter season.

In a large salad bowl place the following ingredients, served with a light dressing of orange juice and maple syrup on the side.

Salad Ingredients:

Mixed Greens such as Arugula and Baby Spinach, pre-washed

An Apple such as Honey Crisp or Gala, cored and diced

An Orange:  I used a Clementine, peeled and sectioned

Celery diced

Pecans

Dried Cranberries

Feta Cheese

Chicken or Vegetarian Chick-n such as Boca


Orange Juice Dressing:

Mix about 1/2 cup Orange Juice with about 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup and a teaspoon of Bragg Aminos or soy sauce.

Note:  Orange juice poured over the prepared and diced apple before adding it to the salad mix helps to prevent oxidation.

A Vegan Soup du Jour with Oregano and Basil

Gather and prepare the ingredients, then place them in a slow cooker for about 4 hours on high; or 8 hours on low; or 1 hour or less in a soup pot on the stove.

Place the ingredients into the cooker.

1 Tablespoon EVOO

1 onion (chopped)
1 carrot (sliced)
3 stalks celery (chopped)
1 sweet red bell pepper chopped (omitting seeds)
2 cloves garlic (omitting inner core, then finely diced)
2 tomatoes with seeds and pulp (chopped)
1/2 cup chopped green vegetable (such as broccoli or beans or peas or pepper)
1/3 cup French lentils
2 to 4 cups water or broth

2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon idodized sea salt
black pepper

Place the lid on the slow cooker, and set to high for four hours, or low for eight hours.

If cooking on the stove top in a soup pot, increase the water by one cup, bring to a simmer uncovered, then cover and reduce heat to lowest simmer, and check in an hour.

Taste and adjust seasoning.  Add Bragg Liquid Aminos (about 1 teaspoon) to the soup once it's in the bowl.

Serving ideas:  Serve over noodles, pasta or couscous, or just serve in a bowl with bread on the side.


Note:

Why bother with iodized salt?  Dr. Weil answers this question:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400874/Why-Buy-Iodized-Salt.html

Trail Mix

Ingredients:  

cereal such as Cheerios or Rice Chex
nuts such as walnuts, almonds, peanuts or pecans
raisins or dried cherries or cranberries
chopped chocolate 70%

Mix together:

3 cups cereal
1/3 cup nuts
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup (about 1.5 oz) chopped chocolate candy

Divide the trail mix into several smaller serving-sized containers.


Makes 4 one cup servings with about 174 calories, 3 g protein, and 2 g fiber each.