Lentils and bulghur

Tex-Mex night at our house... but I had neither black beans nor rice. Improv: lentils and bulghur! New favorite. Works as a side or wrapped in a tortilla with salsa, cilantro, sour cream... Options are endless.

1 cup uncooked bukghur

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 1/2 cups lentils

2 Tbsp white vinegar

A few dashes of hor sauce -- OR -- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

Salt to taste

Cook bulghur according to package instructions.

Cook lentils in 4 cups boiling water, covered, for about 25 minutes or until tender.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. Sauté onions and red bell peppers for 3-4 minutes, until just beginning to soften, then add garlic and sauté a minute more. Add the lentils, vinegar and hor sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for five minutes.

Stir in bulghur. Add salt to taste.

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

I love lentils. My husband tolerates them. He loves Moroccan food. I tolerate it. But this recipe had both of us emptying our bowls and going back for more! (UPDATE: Also good chilled on a hot day!)

Lentils
5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
3-4 dried apricots, chopped

Combine water and salt in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Add lentils and apricots; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until lentils are tender, which will take about 20-30 minutes.

Dressing
1/6 cup tablespoons olive oil
2 Tbsp cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 garlic clove, minced

While the lentils are cooking, whisk olive oil, vinegar, cumin, chili powder and garlic in large measuring cup.

Chicken
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large skinless boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced

Go ahead and start on the chicken while the lentils finish cooking. Heat olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add onion; sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken. Sauté until chicken is cooked through.

Once the lentils are tender, drain off liquid and pour the lentils over the chicken. Stir in the dressing. Simmer five minutes. Salt if needed.

Serve hot with toppings.

Toppings
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
lemon slices

Claire's traditional Alsatian onion tart

This is my friend Claire's recipe for a traditional Alsatian Onion Tart (la tarte à l'oignon), made with fresh onions from the morning market.

1 recipe pâte brisée or other flaky pie dough (Claire makes her own and adds about 1 Tbsp whole flax seeds in with the flour)
4-5 medium onions (purple and white), peeled and very thinly sliced
3 eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Grated nutmeg
Pinch of cumin

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.



Roll out the pâte brisée and place in a tart dish or pie pan. Sprinkle a pinch of cumin on the crust.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onions slowly, stirring regularly, until they are lightly golden. Remove the skillet from the heat.

In a small bowl, beat the egg and cream together. Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Add this to the onions, stirring to combine.



Fill the tart dish with the onion and egg mixture. Bake tart for 25 minutes, or until the filling is golden brown and set. Bon appétit!

Marinated vegetable salad

It started off as a Greek salad... but I just kept adding more and more to it! We ate huge bowls of it with some French bread for dinner the other night. And it's been requested again for tonight.

1/4 head cabbage, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 cucumber, sliced and quartered
2 med tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 sm onion, chopped
1 cup canned corn
1 handful black olives, pitted and cut into quarters
2-3 cloved fresh garlic, crushed
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
Italian dressing

Optional: feta cheese or sliced grilled chicken

Combine vegetables in large bowl, along with feta or chicken if you're including it. Pour 1/2 cup Italian dressing over top, and also the lemon and black pepper. Stir to coat vegetables lightly. Add more to taste.

Let marinate two hours in fridge before serving. Or don't :)

Empy-the-fridge pasta

Okay, so maybe I could have come up with a more appetizing name for this dish. But at least you know how it came about! Really great way to use up bits of veggies, and the dressing gives a good kick. I usually eat this in a wrap sandwich, but we didn't have wraps... so over pasta it went!

1-2 sliced smoked, sausages Italian sausages, or chipolatas
1 medium carrot, cut into thin rounds
1 large zucchini, cut into thin rounds
1-2 sliced red bell peppers
1 sliced onion
2 crushed garlic cloves
¼ c Italian dressing
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
goat or feta cheese (opt)
hot pasta

Heat a non-stick skillet to med-high. Cook sausage and carrot slices in Italian dressing for 3-4 minutes. Add remaining veggies and sauté until tender crisp. Sprinkle on vinegar or lemon juice. Serve over pasta, with cheese if you want.

Kendra's lentils with plantains

My friend Kendra, a vegetarian and amazing cook, shared her awesome recipe for lentils on her recipes blog. I adapted it to what I had in the pantry and then ate them two different ways. Here's the first one...

Lentils with plantains over rice

2 tsp taco seasoning (I didn't have cumin)
1 red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil for sautéing
2 cups lentils, rinsed
4 tablespoons tomato paste
5 1/2 cup water (or a little more)
salt to taste
cooked brown rice or quinoa (I did half and half, actually)
baked sweet plantains (I had some left over)

Heat oil in saucepan. Add red pepper and garlic, and sauté for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lentils, and continue to stir and sauté for another five minutes.

Add tomato paste and stir until it is mixed with the lentils a little bit, then pour in the water. Add taco seasoning and salt to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, then let simmer for 30-40 minutes until lentils are soft and mixture is thick.

Spoon over rice/quinoa, and top with plantains.

Middle Eastern chicken salad

I have no idea if this is actually Middle Eastern, but with the yogurt, mint, cumin and parsley... sure tasted like it to me!

2-3 cups rotisserie chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pot plain yogurt
1 small tart apple, chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 small handful chopped mint
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Let marinate 2-3 hours before serving.

You can serve it with crackers, as sandwich wraps in tortillas, in pita bread pockets, etc....

Garlicky sardine and tomato pasta

This recipe is for fish-lovers, like myelf. It is not for people who only like 'fish that doesn't taste like fish'. The sardines, tomato and lemon are beautiful together. And did I mention the sauce is ready in the time it takes pasta to cook?

1 small can sardines in olive oil
5-10 Tbsp tomato paste
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp hot sauce (opt)
green olives (opt)
lemon slices
hot pasta

In a small frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp of the sardine oil over medium heat. Cook the garlic for two minutes, turning down the heat if it starts to brown. Add5 tbsps of tomato paste and turn heat up to med-high. Dilute with 1/4 cup water. Add the sardines and stir gently. Once heated through, taste and add more tomato paste/water if desired. Add hot sauce and/or olives if you want. The squeeze of lemon just before serving is not optional. It's delicious.

Serve over hot pasta.

Beef stroganoff with mushrooms

Comfort food in 15 minutes

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 pound of top sirloin or tenderloin, cut thin
1/3 cup onions
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 dashes nutmeg
1/2 cup of sour cream

Melt butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the beef, browning on each side. When both sides are browned, remove the beef and set aside.

In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onions. Cook for a minute or two, allowing them to soak up any meat drippings. Remove onions, placing aside with meat.

Increase heat to medium and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Sprinkle in nutmeg.

Reduce heat to low and add the sour cream to the mushrooms. If sauce is too thick, add a few Tbsps water. Stir in the beef and onions. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over egg noodles, fettucine, or rice.

Sweet and sour pork

I love sweet & sour dishes: chicken, fish, pork... Yes, please! This dish takes about 30 minutes to make.

2-3 boneless pork chops, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 green pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 large onion, sliced into 8-12 wedges
1 can pineapple chunks or rings, with juice
1 Tbsp oil

Sweet and sour sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice from can
1/4 cup ketchup

First, make the make sweet and sour sauce. In a large frying pan, mix vinegar, sugar, salt, orange juice, pineapple juice and ketchup. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until it has evaporated to the consistency of maple syrup. Add pineapple chunks to the sauce and set aside.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cut pork into bite-sized pieces. Cook in frying pan until no pink remains. Add green and red peppers, carrot and onions for three minutes. Add to sweet and sour sauce and heat.

Serve the pork over hot white rice, with sweet and sour sauce pour over the top.

Spinach & pecan quiche

Look familiar? Well, the idea at least.

1 pie crust (pâte feuilletée)
5-6 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, crumbled OR fromage en faiselle OR full fat cottage cheese
handful of whole pecans, toasted
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper



Roll the crust out larger than you pie pan and place it in carefully.

Beat the eggs, then stir in milk, cheese, spinach, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour into the pie pan. Gently fold the pie crust dough in over the eggs mixture. Place pecans on top.

Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 30-20 minutes or until firm and golden.

Broccoli & pasta alfredo

I like my pasta alfredo to be about half pasta, half vegetable - all lightly covered in sauce.

1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 small handful spaghetti noodles
3/4 cup light cream (15%)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
3-4 cups frozen broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1-2 tsp olive oil

Start boiling water for pasta.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, broccoli, garlic. Cook until broccoli is super bright green. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.

Stir the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy pan to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Cook the pasta in boiling water until tender, then drain. Pour the alfredo sauce over the pasta and toss. Stir in the chicken and broccoli... et voilà!

Spinach and chipolata quiche

We at this at least once a week in winter. It's simple and hot, and also great leftover for breakfast!

1 pie crust (pâte feuilletée)
1/2 cup grated mild cheese (I used Gouda or Trappista)
1 chipolata sausage, cooked and sliced
6 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups spinach, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

Roll the crust out in a pie pan. Sprinkle the cheese and chipolata evenly on the bottom.

Beat the eggs, then stir in milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir in the spinach. Pour into the pie pan over the cheese and squash.

Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 30-20 minutes or until firm and golden.

Salmon baked with leeks and fennel

I was given this recipe this weekend and could not wait to try it. It was even better than I imagined when she told me about it! I had to make a few adjustments based on what we had on hand, so this really is a very flexible recipe - and so quick to make! The leeks and fennel worked together really well.

2 salmon filets
2 leeks
1 bulb fennel
1/3 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
1/2-1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp butter
salt
freshly ground pepper



Trim the leek of the thick green stalks and the root end, then slice into thin rounds. Slice the fennel. Rinse both well. In a sauté pan or skillet on moderately high heat, melt the butter. When the butter foams, add leeks and fennel. Cover over a moderate heat until the pieces sweat and soften.

Prepare the fish by rinsing it and patting dry with a paper towel. Place in a ceramic, glass or cast iron baking dish. Sprinkle with a little salt and freshly ground pepper.

In a small bowl, stir together crème fraîche and Dijon mustard. Remove leeks and fennel from heat and stir in cream mixture. Pour over top of salmon.

Bake in preheated oven at 375° for 15-20 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Mother-in-law's Swiss steak

I was introduced to Swiss Steak by my mother-in-law. It's a great cool-weather dish, served over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes (our favorite).

1 lb top round steak, sliced to about an inch thick
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, crushed
1-2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 cup flour
salt & pepper
4-6 slices of Gouda, Trappista or Colby cheese

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Season the steak with salt and pepper, then dredge through flour. Brown the steak in the pan, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the steak from the pan and set aside.

Add another Tbsp of oil to pan. Cook onions, peppers and garlic for 3-5 minutes, stirring often.

Add Italian seasonings and stir. Place steak on top of onions and peppers. Add the chopped tomatoes and cover. Reduce heat to simmer gently for at least an hour, preferably two. At the end of cooking, place cheese on top until melted.

Mmm... yum. Serve over hot mashed potatoes, or rice or noodles.

Mom's fish creole

This is a recipe based off a memory from a dish my mom used to make and called 'fish creole'. Internet searches yielded no such recipe that resembled my memory's, so improv it was.

3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 lg can chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp creole seasoning
1 tsp hot sauce
4-6 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
salt
pepper
1 lg white fish filet, cut into 1 inch pieces
3-4 sardines (opt, but good!)
cooked white rice

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add onion, celery and green pepper. Cook until onion is soft, about five minutes. Add tomatoes, creole seasoning, hot sauce, Worcestershire, sugar and black pepper. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in sardines. Add fish pieces. Cover and cook another 10 minutes. Taste and season as needed.

Serve ove hot rice.

Eggplant parmesan, direct from the Italian sister-in-law

This recipe came from my sister-in-law's grandmother. It's so rich and... wonderful. The marinara sauce is fantastic with fresh chopped tomatoes rather than canned. And fresh basil is a must. Buon appetito!

Eggplant

Peel 2 eggplants and slice thinly.

Beat eggs and milk (quantity depending on how much you are making – but about 2 eggs and 1 cup milk for 2 eggplants). Add a little salt, pepper and garlic powder to egg mixture.

Put a few cups of flour in a bowl. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture and then in flour.

Fry eggplant in hot oil. Brown eggplant on each side and let eggplant sit on paper towels.

Tip: The fried eggplant freezes well. If you are not ready to make parmesan, place eggplant on cookie sheet to freeze (so they don’t stick) and then store in container or plastic bag.

Sauce
Cover bottom of large pot with 4 Tbsp olive oil and 6 cloves garlic. Brown garlic in oil and add 2 large cans crushed tomato and almost one can of water. Be careful – oil spits! Add a large handful of fresh basil, 1 Tbsp oregano and a little bit of salt and black pepper. Simmer one hour.



Putting it together in a casserole dish:
Layer of sauce on bottom
Layer of eggplant
Thin layer of sauce
Sprinkle oregano
Layer of fresh basil
Thin layer of mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese
Layer of eggplant
Thin layer of sauce and a little bit of oregano and grated parmesan cheese

Bake for approximately 30 minutes in preheated oven at 350°. It's ready when the eggplant browns and some of sauce gets absorbed (but don’t let it to get too dry).

Serve with pasta or, as we did, garlic bread.

Eggplant and zucchini lasagne

This could have been called 'cleaning out the fridge', but I thought 'Eggplant and zucchini lasagne' sounded better. Instead of lasagne noodles, it uses thinly sliced vegetables. It was very rich and delicious - definitely worth a remake!

1 eggplant
1 zucchini
3 Tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup crème fraîche (sour cream)
1 round fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
olive oil

Cut the ends off the eggplant and zucchini. Slice them thinly into 1/4 inch slices. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large frying pan over med-high heat. Cook the eggplant for 2 minutes on each side, then the zucchini. Set cooked slices aside on a plate.



In a bowl, mix together crème fraîche, goat cheese, garlic, Italian seasoning and salt.

In another bowl, mix pesto and tomato paste. Thin with 3 Tbsp water.



In a baking dish, place a layer off eggplant on the bottom. Spread a spoonful of cheese mixture on top. Next layer the zucchini. Spread a thin layer of pesto mixture on top. Repeat layers, ending with cheese mixture.

Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

Roasted vegetable soup - oh yum!

So, so easy. And vegetablicious. My new favorite soup for autumn.

1 cup puréed roasted vegetables
1/2-3/4 cup water
dash salt or tiny sprinkle of chicken bouillon
toasted walnuts (optional)

Stir and heat slowly. Top with walnuts.

Vietnamese nems (with video!)

The beauty of nems, other than their deliciousness, is that they are so versatile. You can use many combinations in the filling. We made vegetarian nems using chickpeas, lentils and tofu. (I hear mung beans are good too.) But you can also use ground pork, chicken or shrimp, add in corn, peas or tarrow root, and even season them with curry. Have fun!

Ingredients:
60-80 spring roll wrappers (egg based)
1/4 bag of vermicelli (glass) noodles
4 zucchini, shredded
4-6 carrots, shredded
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cups cooked, cooled lentils
1 lg can chickpeas, drained
1 package firm tofu, crumbled
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
salt
pepper

Serve with nem sauce, mint leaves and/or green onions, and lettuce leaves for wrapping.




Dry vermicelli noodles

Soak the dried vermicelli noodles in cold water until soft, about 15 minutes. (You can break them if too large for your bowl.)



While the vermicelli soaks, you can grate the carrots and zucchini and whop the onion, placing them in a very, very large bowl, or dividing equally among several large bowls.


Soaked vermicelli

Drain the noodles.



Using kitchen scissors, cut the noodles into pieces about 4 inches long.



Using your hands, mix the noodles with the grated vegetables.



Firm organic tofu



Crumble the tofu, then mix in well. Don't be afraid to get elbow-deep!



Stir in cooked lentils, drained chickpeas, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, mixing well. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. When seasoning is good, add one egg (serves as a binder) and mix well. Fun, right? :)



These spring roll wrapper are MUCH easier to use than the rice based papers that have to be soaked individually. Plus, I think these have a much better taste and texture.



A lovely video of our expert showing us how to roll them. Once rolled, stack them on a plate. (Don't worry - they don't stick like the rice paper ones.)



Fry in batches, being careful not to crowd them in the pan. We fried ours on medium-high and it took about 10 minutes per batch. If you use meat, you need to be very careful to fry them long enough to cook through.

Place cooked nems on a plate lined with paper towels and serve hot.

If you want to freeze them, allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. Use wax paper to separate them and place in a freezer bag. To reheat, place frozen nems on a baking sheet and place in the oven as it preheats to 350°. Once oven is hot, cook 5-10 minutes until crispy.