orange lentil soup recipe

I was experimenting in the kitchen the other day and came up with a winner soup!  The name may be a bit deceiving as there is no orange fruit in the recipe just lots of delicious orange ingredients - red lentils, butternut squash, yams, and carrots yummy!

Saute: 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1" piece fresh ginger, minced
Add: 
1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed
1.5 cups butternut squash, chopped
2 med yams, chopped
2 carrots, chopped

8 cups water

1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried savory
2 tbsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp paprika
sea salt to taste
Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 30 mins.

I used a potato masher to make the chunks of cooked vegetables a bit smaller just before serving.

I hope your family enjoys it too!

~ joey ~

blueberry spelt muffins - wheat, sugar and dairy free

This is our kids' favourite muffin at the moment so I thought I would share the recipe with you if you have family members with food intolerances.

Spelt Blueberry Muffins

2 cups spelt flour

1½ cup spelt lite flour

6 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ cup dairy free margarine

3/4 cup maple syrup

2 eggs

1½ cup almond milk

blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Toss all ingredients into mixer and blend well.

Spoon batter into greased muffin pans ½ to ¾ full.(they rise quite a bit)

Poke 7-8 berries into each muffin.

Bake at 400*F for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Let sit a minute before removing from pan.

Makes approx. 24 muffins

Enjoy!

~ joey ~

quinoa sushi - vegan/gluten free

I have been on a bit of a quinoa kick lately so last night I made up our favourite sushi using quinoa instead of rice.  If you haven't already tried quinoa, I highly recommend it as it is packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and is a complete protein.  Rice seriously pales in comparison but then I must confess to being bias as I'm allergic to rice!

Ingredients: (for 4 servings)

4 nori sheets (makes 8 pieces per sheet)

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 cucumber

1/2 avocado

 Braggs or regular soy sauce (wheat free if celiac)

You will also need:

Sushi rolling mat

Serrated knife

Rinse measured quinoa in a strainer.  Bring 1 cup of quinoa to a boil in 2 cups of water and then let simmer for about 15 mins.  (yes it even cooks quickly!)  Slice cucumber into long strips  Cut avocado lengthwise into strips.

Place 1 sheet of nori onto sushi mat with the rough side up.  Spread about half a cup of cooked quinoa onto the bottom third of the nori sheet.  Top with a row of cucumber and avocado.  Roll sheet away from you up the mat to form a cyclinder.  Wet the top strip of seaweed slightly and seal closed.  Roll the sushi mat around the cylinder and press tightly.

Unwrap the sushi and with a dampened serrated knife cut into bite sized pieces.  Serve with a small dish of soy sauce to dip in.  Feel good about all of the extra superfood ingredients you are getting in this simple little snack!         ~ joey ~

DIY: crispy seed crackers

 

These crackers don't last long in our house, and I'm sure your family will love them too!  They go great with soup, slip easily into a lunch box or make a savoury snack for a chilly Autumn day.

Crispy Seed Crackers

1 cup raw sesame seeds

2/3 cup raw sunflower seeds

2/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

2 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp sea salt

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 handfuls fresh basil

1 lg clove garlic

2 sweet potatoes (or yams)

8 tbsp water

Topping:

1 sheet of nori (seaweed) ripped into small pieces

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 tsp course salt

1 tbsp onion powder

Prepare topping first as the food processor must be totally dry.  Combine all topping ingredients in the food processor and pulse until the nori is in small pieces about the size of a pumpkin seed.  Remove and put in a small bowl.

 

To make the crackers:

In the food processor combine all seeds, onion powder and salt, pulse a few seconds to chop the seeds and mix together.  Remove and put in a bowl.

Combine the remaining wet ingredients in the food processor and pulse until it's a semi-thick liquid.

Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the seeds and stir to coat.

On a lightly greased cookie sheet spread the mixture as thinly as possible.  Using a fork dipped in water helps to smooth it out.

Sprinkle topping over crackers. (there will be more than you need, save the rest for the next batch of crackers!)

Bake tray at 300*F for about 45 minutes, checking after about 30 mins to make sure it's not too brown.

Remove from oven and slide a metal spatula under the cracker breaking it into strips the size of the spatula.  If crackers are still soft, flip each piece over and return to oven for another 10 minutes until crackers are crisp.

Break crackers into bit sized pieces and store in an air tight container.  Makes 1 cookie sheet of crackers.

Enjoy!

~ joey ~

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recipe: spicy carrot salad

 

With carrots in season right now we have stocked up on locally grown bulk carrots to store for the winter.  I shred and freeze them to add to muffins, loaves, soup, stir fry and to make this delicious Autumn salad! (yes, you can use thawed shredded carrot for this salad)

To feed our family of four the recipe goes something like this:

5-6 large carrots, shredded

1/4 cup raisins

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp flax oil

Mix together and let it sit for about 30 minutes to blend the flavours.

You can add or subtract any of the ingredients to suit your family's tastes, it's one of those "taste it as you make it" dishes that can be easily tweaked.

The sweet carrot and raisins mixed with the tart lemon juice and warm spices makes it a salad perfect for the Autumn days ahead.

Do you have any carrot recipes to share?....I've got a lot of carrots!

~ joey ~
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Please visit them to see what other creative ideas have been shared.

vegetarian summer spaghetti

Oh my!...with all of the farms around us bursting with wonderful fresh produce even I am getting more creative in the kitchen!  Spaghetti with tomato sauce wasn't doing it for me last night so I came up with Summer Spaghetti!  It was a hit with the entire family (who I might add are crazy for traditional spaghetti) so we'll be having it again.  Here's the recipe...

Vegetarian summer spaghetti

(makes 4 servings)

corn spaghetti (or grain of your choice)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium zucchini, diced into small pieces

1 medium bell pepper, chopped into small pieces

2 large handfuls basil, chopped

1 ripe avocado, diced

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tsp dried oregano*

1 tbsp onion powder*

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp garlic powder*

salt to taste

shredded cheddar cheese (or dairy free cheese)

Cook pasta according to directions.

Saute chopped zucchini, pepper, basil and all seasonings in olive oil until vegetables are soft.  Remove from heat, add avocado and tomatoes and stir well.

Spoon pasta sauce over pasta and sprinkle with cheese.

Additions:

Sprinkle with nutritional yeast

Sprinkle with dried kale

Top with cooked tofu

Top with beans of your choice

Add other in season veggies

*I should mention that fresh onions, garlic and oregano can be used, I used the dried versions as I was out of onions and thought of using fresh garlic and oregano after I tossed in the dried!

And just because I'm so excited about this, the peppers, basil and tomatoes were all grown by us! ;o)

Enjoy the summer harvest!

~ joey ~
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drying your homegrown herbs

I have been getting a head start on drying herbs from our garden.  I trimmed some of the Spring growth from several of our herb plants to encourage them to bush out and to tidy some of the unruly ones!

There are basically two methods of drying your homegrown herbs: hang them to air dry or

dry them in the oven.

(it can also be done in a microwave but they can burn very quickly!)

fresh rosemary and mint

Start by gathering your herbs from the garden.  Ideally you would do this in the early morning when the essential oils are the strongest.  If it is raining (like it was the morning that I did this) or if you need to wash your herbs, the oven drying method is certainly the fastest and easiest way of drying.

When hanging your herbs to dry make sure that they are completely dry, gather them up like a bouquet and secure with an elastic.  Hang in a well ventilated warm spot in your home and check every week until they are completely dry.  This is the best method for retaining the colour of the herb as drying in the oven does darken the colour.

dried rosemary

To dry herbs in the oven place the herbs on a cookie sheet and bake at about 200-225*F.  A lower temperature will lessen how dark the herbs end up but will take quite a bit longer.  Check the herbs after about half an hour and rub a few leaves to see if they are completely dry.  If not then put them in for another 15-30 minutes and check again.

crushed chocolate mint tea

When you are sure that the herb is completely dry you can crush the leaves so that they are easier to measure when cooking or leave them whole and crush them directly into your cooking.  I crush all of our dried herbs as I am more familiar with using crushed herbs measurements in my cooking.  To do this I use a bowl and the rounded handle of a honey spoon that my hubby made when he was young!  A mortar and pestle is ideal, or just crushing the herbs with your fingers works fine too.  Store in labeled airtight containers away from direct sunlight.  I also like to date each batch so that I know how old the herbs are.

storing dried herbs

My goal is to fill as many of these 1 litre herb jars that I can by the end of summer.  We container garden so this may be a stretch, but the more herbs that we grow ourselves the better for us, the earth and our pocketbook!

This year I will be drying our homegrown:

Thyme

Parsley

Sage

Rosemary

Basil

Oregano

Lemon balm (tea)

Chocolate mint (tea)

Spearmint (tea)

Peppermint (tea)

Bergamot (tea)

Stevia (sweetener)

Will you be growing herbs this year in your garden?

~ joey ~

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