Sausage, Kale, and Lentil Soup

One of the best soup I've ever made and had, hands down.

Done in less than an hour, and can be made ahead of time in a slow cooker if you want. I love Rachel Ray, she packs her meals full of flavour, and this one is on top of her recipes in my books. I adapted her recipe, and the original is found here.








Sausage, Kale, and Lentil Soup
Serves 4 (very generous portions)
Total time: less than 1 hour (15 minutes prep)

INGREDIENTS_____________________________________________________

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 pound hot sausage, casing removed*
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 1/2 Tbs ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bundle kale, stemmed and very thinly sliced
•  1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup water (minus 2 Tbs) PLUS 2 Tbs cider vinegar (to make a cup total)
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 3/4 cups lentils (you can mix with pearl barley i.e.: 1 cup lentils and 3/4 cup barley)
• 4 cups beef stock (or chicken)*
• 2 cups water

DIRECTIONS______________________________________________________

1. In a soup pot or large dutch over, heat olive oil. Add the sausage, break it up, and cook until lightly browned. Add onions, celery, carrot, potato, rosemary, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook to soften for about 8-10 minutes.
2. Add in the kale until it wilts a bit, about 1 minutes, and sprinkle the nutmeg onto the kale. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the water/cider vinegar mixture. Reduce by half, about 3 minutes, then stir in lentils, stock, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer the soup until the lentils are tender, about 35 minutes. Add water if it's too thick (usually needed if you add in barley).

*Note: you can easily make this vegan by omitting the sausage, and substituting the beef stock for vegetable stock.

Serve with crusty bread and/or crackers.

Bon appétit!

Cathy

Raw Brownie Bites (healthy, delicious, and vegan!)

It's hard to believe that these are brownie bites and healthy.

It's true.

It's probably harder to believe that these actually taste good. Actually, they're delicious. I have a major sweet tooth, and these satisfy that crave. I'm also the kind of person who thinks that junk food shouldn't be healthy. This is my first exception!

Try it, you'll like it…I love them!

Healthy Delicious Brownie Bites

Yeilds: about 24 small bites

Recipe slightly adapted from paleogrubs.com

Ingredients______________________________________________________________

• 1 1/2 cups walnuts
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• Squirt of agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup (optional)

Instructions______________________________________________________________

1. Add walnuts and salt to a blender or food processor. Mix until the walnuts are finely ground.
2. Add the dates, vanilla, and cocoa powder to the blender. Add the a bit of agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup if you want a bit of extra sweetness) Mix well until everything is combined. With the blender still running, add a few drops of water at a time to make the mixture stick together.
3. Using a spatula, transfer the mixture into a bowl. Using your hands, form small round balls, rolling in your palm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Enjoy and bon appetit!

Cathy

Moroccan Quinoa Salad

My aunt made this at a family gathering and I was hooked!! It's easy, healthy, and the ingredients are things I usually have on hand. It's got your protein, fibbers, and it can even be VEGAN if you use vegetable broth instead of chicken. A huge thank you to the Looneyspoon sisters!

Still growing a baby over here, 5 days late (not too bad)!


Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable to make this vegan) (reduced sodium)
• 1/2 cup dried raisins, apricots (chopped), or currants
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp honey (or sugar)
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
• 1/2 cup packed grated carrots
• 1/3 cup green onions
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 2 Tbs minced mint leaves (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium pot, combine quinoa, broth, raisins, curry, cumin, coriander, honey, and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, let it sit covered for 10 minute, the uncovered until it cools completely.
2. Meanwhile, chop up and combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Combine the quinoa and the vegetables, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Slightly adapted from the Looneyspoons Collection

Enjoy!

Cathy

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Wok Steamed Collards and Quinoa

So when I made this, it actually didn't smell very good. Usually you know something will taste good when it smells good, and when it smells bad, well that's not a good sign at all. When my husband came through the door, he secretly thought the same thing, "what on earth is she making?"

Well to both of our surprises, it tasted delicious! You can find the original recipe here over at the 'VeganYumYum' site (with more appetizing pictures demonstrating every step!)

We actually WILL make this again, and it's a great dish and very different from our usual.

Here we go: Serves 2-3

1 Block Tofu, extra firm, 14 oz

Sweet Chili Lime Sauce
3 Tbs Sugar
3 Tbs Reduced Sodium Tamari (or soy sauce)
1 3/4 Tbs Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 Zest of the Lime
1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes (or 1-2 fresh hot chilies, minced)
1 Clove Garlic, pressed, optional
1/4 tsp Salt
4 Mint Leaves, chiffonaded (optional, I didn't have these and it was still good)

Quinoa
3/4 Cup Quinoa, rubbed/rinsed in cool water, drained
1/2 Zest Lime
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/3 Cup Water

Wok Steamed Collards
1 Bunch Collard Greens, middle veins removed, washed
2-3 Tbs Water
1 Pinch Salt
1 tsp Lime Juice

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients for the quinoa in a pot that has a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, then turn off heat. Do not open lid. Let steam for 10 minutes before serving.
2. Prepare the sweet chili lime sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together until the sugar and salt is dissolved.
3. Drain tofu and cut it into small squares or triangles.
4. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. A 10″ skillet will fit all the tofu, so if you’re using a smaller skillet, you’ll need to do this in batches. In order to properly “dry fry” the tofu, you’ll need a pan the tofu won’t stick to even without any oil. 
5. Spread the tofu out in one layer in the pan. Using a spatula, press the tofu. The liquid will squeeze out and boil away, and the tofu will begin to turn golden. The more water that evaporates, the sturdier the tofu will be, so be gentle at first to prevent the tofu from breaking up. After several minutes, flip the tofu over and press the other side. After about 10 minutes of dry frying proceed to adding the sauce (step 7 is how to finish the tofu).
6. While dry frying the tofu, stack the collard leaves on top of each other, 3-4 at a time, and roll. Slice the roll in 3/4 inch segments. Run your knife through the chopped collards to make smaller pieces, then add them to a wok with the water, lime juice and salt. Cover with any lid that will contain the collards and cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes until the collards are steamed and tender.
7. To finish the tofu, you want to heat the pan and the tofu over high heat, making sure the tofu is hot all the way through. Add the sauce and stir to coat the tofu. Turn off the heat. The sauce will bubble up, reduce, and form a glaze. If it isn’t bubbling up and forming a glaze, turn the heat back on high and cook until it glazes.

For plating, arrange the collards atop of a bed of quinoa. Add tofu over the top, drizzling any leftover sauce over the dish. Garnish with lime slices and mint leaves.

Enjoy!

Cathy

I'm no Veganator, but..

This stew is flippin' amazing. Now, it's delicious and hearty as-is, but I would even go as far as adding some ground or sliced sausage to give it even more of a punch. I will do that next time and let you know :)

This recipe was found in January 7-9th, 2011 edition of metronews in the metrofood section. There was no title, so I will call it:

The Veganator Mediterranean Stew

Time: 1 hour start to finish
Servings: 6 big ones
My rating: 9.5




Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 shallots, finely chopped 
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 28 ounces can chopped tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
• 4 cups vegetable broth 
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1.5 cups pearl barley
• 12 ounce jar of roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips (I make my own using 1 red pepper, broiling it until the skin gets blackened, then peeling the skin)
• 5 ounces of fresh baby spinach
• Half cup of castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced (I used the regular green jar olives, and it was great)
• 1 cup water
• Salt and black pepper

Step 1: In a large saucepan over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, shallots, and onions, and saute until soft and translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Step 2: Add the tomatoes, broth, rosemary and barley, then bring to a simmer. Cover and continue to cook until the barley is tender, about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Step 3: Stir in the roasted red peppers, baby spinach, olives and water. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Bon appetit!
Cathy