Spiced Lentil Sweet Potato Soup

I made soup for band practice...totally improvised, as my soups tend to be...but this one was so good I have to document it! My aim was a lentil soup with sweet potatoes and warm (Moroccanish?) spices. It's vegan, GF and all that stuff. I did not measure anything so the spices etc are my best guess! This makes a huge pot - my Dutch oven was almost overflowing!

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 small can tomato paste
1 can petite diced tomatoes
2 boxes vegetable stock
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed small
2 bay leaves
minced cilantro
lemon juice
1 bag baby spinach

Heat olive oil in a large pot and saute onion, carrot & celery until softened. Season with salt. Add garlic & ginger, cook briefly, then add spices & stir.

Add tomato paste and cook about a minute. Add canned tomatoes, stock, lentils, sweet potatoes & bay leaves. Simmer covered for about 30 minutes, until lentils & sweet potatoes are tender. Taste for salt - you will probably need a good amount if using low-sodium stock. Remove bay leaves.

Puree some of the soup with an immersion blender (optional, but gives it a nice texture). Add cilantro, a squeeze of lemon juice, and spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

I whipped this up to take to vegan friends of ours who just had a baby. With the weather getting colder I figured it would be a good comfort meal for now or they can freeze it for later. I'm kinda sad I don't get to eat it! But I tasted the components and they are good. I basically just used my regular shepherd's pie recipe with lentils instead of ground beef, and swapped out some other things.

Other things you could add: sauteed mushrooms, other vegetables cut into small pieces, some cooked quinoa for added bulk/protein/texture (you could cook it along with the lentils also). This made one 8x8 pan; for a 9x13 pan I would cook maybe 1 1/2 cups of lentils and more potatoes. Amounts are very forgiving - that's the great thing about shepherd's pie!

- 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 Tbl tomato paste
- 3 tsp flour
- 1 cup (approx) veggie broth
- 1 Tbl soy sauce
- frozen peas
- 5 medium potatoes (I like yukon gold), or fewer larger ones
- non-dairy milk of choice
- garlic powder
- 1 green onion, chopped

Boil the lentils in a few cups of water with bay leaves for about 20 minutes, until soft. Add some salt about halfway through (the lentils should be well-seasoned). Drain and remove bay leaves.

Meanwhile, saute onion & carrot in olive oil until carrot is just tender. Add garlic, spices, salt & pepper and cook for about a minute. Add tomato paste, stirring for a few seconds, then mix in flour. Add veggie broth slowly until you get a gravy-like consistency. Add lentils to mixture, and more broth if necessary. Add frozen peas (maybe half a small bag) and simmer for a few minutes. Add soy sauce and taste for seasoning (I added a fair amount of salt).

Wash & quarter the potatoes (I leave the skins on, but peel if you want). Boil in salted water until just tender. Drain and mash with "milk," a splash of olive oil, salt, pepper & garlic powder. Mix in green onion.

Put the lentil mixture in an 8x8 square pan. Spoon mashed potatoes on top and spread to the edges. Draw a fork through potatoes to create wavy lines, and sprinkle top with paprika.

At this point you can refrigerate the pie for a day or two before baking, or freeze it (thaw in fridge before baking). Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until hot & bubbling. Run under the broiler for a couple minutes to slightly brown the top. Let sit about 10 minutes before scooping & serving.

The prebaked pie...looks like ground beef, eh?

Spicy Coconut Peanut Stuff

I recently discovered Budget Bytes - she's been around for awhile, but I started looking through more of her recipes and thought "hmm, this lady cooks a lot like me!" Lots of room for improv, largely vegetarian and an eye on budget. Going to look at her site more when I need inspiration.

This recipe caught my eye, and I already had most of the ingredients around. It's a Spicy Coconut Vegetable Stir Fry, and she encourages you to use whatever vegetables you want and add protein if you want. The sauce is delicious! I've been upping my stir fry game recently, but I often wish there was more sauce. That's solved with a can of coconut milk! 

For veggies I used broccoli, tri-colored bell peppers and onion, and I added [of course] tofu. Use whatever you want! This would also be good with a can of chickpeas - though you can nix the protein if you have a good assortment of vegetables.

Her recipe has fresh garlic and ginger added to the sauce, but I stir-fried mine in to the vegetables at the end of cooking. 

For the sauce:

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine:

- 1 can coconut milk (I always use full fat)

- 1/4 cup peanut butter

- 2 Tbl sriracha, or to taste

- 1-2 Tbl soy sauce

- 2 Tbl lime juice (1 lime)

- 1/2 Tbl brown sugar

I also added a little fish sauce, and some Penzey's Bangkok Blend.

Microwave for 1 minute, and then it should be easy to whisk everything together. Taste and add more of whatever to suit your taste.

Stir fry your protein and vegetables however you like, then add the sauce and heat through for a couple minutes.

If you like, garnish with cilantro and/or chopped peanuts, and serve over rice.

Tofu Bánh mì

Oh NO it's ANOTHER tofu recipe! I'm on a roll (as is this sandwich, snert!).

I made these for band practice and they were a big hit. This made 6 sandwiches, but you can halve the recipe. I'll probably also try this over rice as a bowl, instead of as a sandwich. Baguette is traditional - the store was out of it so I used "bollito" sandwich rolls - not bad. Apologies for lack of quantities, but I don't measure stuff like this - and it's very forgiving/easy to adjust. You can marinate the tofu/pickle the veggies for as little as 30 minutes, but longer is good, even overnight. If you can find daikon radish, that's traditional to add to the pickled veggies. I think most banh mi places use fresh/raw jalapenos; I pickled them as well to soften the bite (but kept them separate in case anyone wanted to opt out). Everything can be at room temp, which is nice for a summer meal. Also - super cheap! 

Tofu:

- 2 boxes firm or extra firm tofu, drained

- 1/2 cup soy sauce

- couple tablespoons fish sauce (omit for vegan)

- some lime juice (probably 1 fresh lime; I used bottled)

- glug of maple syrup or honey

- squirt of sriracha

- 2 garlic cloves, sliced or minced

- small piece of fresh ginger, sliced or minced

Pickled vegetables:

- a couple carrots, julienned (I used most of a bag of pre-shredded carrots)

- 1/2 large cucumber, halved, seeded & sliced thin, or julienned

- 1 large jalapeno, very thinly sliced

- 1/2 cup rice vinegar (or white/cider vinegar)

- 1 Tbl sugar

- 1 Tbl salt

To assemble:

- Baguette or sandwich rolls

- fresh cilantro

- Mayo (use vegan if you wanna) & sriracha mixed to taste

Slice the tofu 1/2-inch thick and lay the slices on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Put more paper towels on top, and press with something heavy for a little while. Meanwhile, mix up the marinade ingredients. I added water to make about 1 cup marinade for 2 blocks of tofu. Marinate in a container for at least 30 min; longer/overnight is good.

Microwave ~1/2 cup water until warm enough to dissolve salt & sugar, then do that! Add vinegar and then pour over vegetables (I kept jalapenos separate). Refrigerate at least 30 mins, longer is better. The veggies will shed some water; stir a couple of times.

Take the tofu out of the marinade (try to brush off garlic/ginger bits). Cook in a very hot skillet (cast iron is great) in a little oil until browned & crispy, about 3 minutes per side. You'll need to do this in batches if doing 2 blocks of tofu. Or you can bake or broil the tofu.

Very lightly toast your bread, and spread with sriracha mayo. Build sandwiches with tofu, pickled veggies (let liquid drain a bit as you scoop out), jalapeno, and a few sprigs of cilantro. Best to eat soon as these can get a little soggy from the pickled veggies.

Tofu Noodle Soup

An improvised soup for a sick husband that turned out well, despite Asian dishes not being my forte. You can use any vegetables you have on hand, just cut them small and cook them quickly in the broth. The noodles I used were just labeled "Chinese Noodles" (wheat noodles that look like ramen)... you can use any type of noodle you want, but cook the amount you want to eat immediately separately from the soup so leftovers don't get mushy. All quantities are flexible, as with any good soup! 

- 1/2 block extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
- soy sauce
- 1-inch piece ginger, grated or chopped finely
- 1 large garlic clove, sliced thinly
- sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- assorted vegetables, chopped/sliced small (I used red pepper & broccoli)
- splash of fish sauce
- lime juice & sriracha to taste
- couple handfuls baby spinach or other greens
- 3 green onions, sliced
- noodles of choice, cooked separately

Toss tofu with a couple tablespoons of soy sauce (I also added a shake of Penzey's Bangkok Blend) and let sit while you prepare everything else. Get all your veggies cut and ready to go.

In a large pot over medium-low heat, saute ginger & garlic in a bit of sesame oil just until they start to smell fragrant.

Add broth & turmeric, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add in tofu and veggies and cook just a few minutes, until veggies are tender.

Add a splash of fish sauce (optional), lime juice & sriracha or other hot sauce to taste. I added a little sugar to cut some of the spiciness (but spicy is good)

Toss in greens & green onions.

To serve, mound cooked noodles in a bowl and ladle soup over them. 

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

Why did I wait so long to try this recipe? Apparently I have denied myself years of delicious and easy homemade bread. If you look through this blog, you'll notice that there are very few baking recipes - I'm just not that into the whole measuring thing, and my tiny kitchen doesn't accommodate much room for kneading, mixing, shaping and what-have-you. Well, none of that is needed (kneaded?) with this bread. The active prep time is like...less than 10 minutes? The Dutch oven helps create a nice crust on all sides, and the crumb is tender and airy. This is the perfect bread for serving with soups, stews, or just slathered with butter, toasted or not.

Besides your flour, yeast, water and salt, you need two things: 1) a Dutch oven, aka large enameled cast-iron pot with a lid, and 2) to remember to start the dough the day before you want to eat your bread. You do have to let the dough sit for 12-18 hours, but that eliminates the kneading and punching down/multiple rises many other breads require. I've been mixing the dough at like 11pm and then I'll bake it the next afternoon.

I've now made this 3 times in the last couple weeks, and have tweaked the recipe slightly to work for me. This seems to be very forgiving, if you fudge quantities & times a bit. Everyone's ovens, flours and yeasts are different, so feel free to experiment and adjust. As long as you don't majorly burn the bread, I think you'll be happy with whatever comes out! My latest loaf came out with a weird lizard ridgey - thing on it...just an extra piece for the baker!

A note on quantities: most recipes call for 3 cups of flour and 1 1/2 cups water. I've always had to add a bit more water (usually another 1/4 cup or so) to get a moist enough dough, but start with 1 1/2 cups and add more if needed. You can also use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast if that's what you have. The first two loaves I made with 1/2 tsp active dry yeast, and the third loaf I added a bit more (actually just to finish out the packet). I've seen recipes with instant yeast calling for as little as 1/4 tsp, but it varies.

Parchment paper is optional, but makes it easy to transfer the dough in and out of the hot pot - and you don't have to clean the pot! 

OK, so here's how you make it:

Ingredients:

- 3 cups all-purpose flour (I've actually started using 2 cups all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat flour)

- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

- 1 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 to 2 cups lukewarm water

Put the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir with a wooden spoon. Add more water if needed to make a wet, shaggy dough. It should definitely be wetter than your typical kneaded bread dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it on your counter (or in the oven) for 12-18 hours. After this time, the dough should look something like this:

When you're ready to bake:

Put your Dutch oven with its lid into the oven and preheat to 450. I leave it in a few minutes after the oven says it's preheated.

Meanwhile, get a large piece of parchment paper and sprinkle some flour on it. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of flour over the dough, and flour your hands.

Use your hands to scrape the dough out of the bowl, and form into a loose ball. Plop it on the parchment paper and form into a rough round or oval, depending on the shape of your pot. Cover with a tea towel or paper towel until the oven & pot are preheated.

Carefully take the hot pot out of the oven. Take the corners of the parchment paper and drop the dough (still on the paper) into the hot pot. Cut away excess paper if needed and cover the pot.

Bake for 35 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Most recipes say to bake 45 minutes covered and 15 uncovered, but I found that was too long for me...

Lift the parchment paper out and let the bread cool for at least 15 minutes before tearing into it.