Month: February 2017

The Goodness of a Bowl of Lentils in Pasta Form

I’m always on the lookout to try new ways to incorporate lentils in my diet. I LOVE lentils!

So, when I was grocery shopping last week you can imagine my delight when I came across a pasta made exclusively from 100% organic red lentils.

In thinking what to do with it, I decided to go with a saute of Swiss chard. I often add Swiss chard to lentil soup-  the flavors complement each other nicely.

Cooking this pasta was an experiment and I am very pleased with the results.And as a bonus, it’s a quick, easy meal to put together. Give it a try- I think you’ll be pleased as well.

Red Lentil Pasta with Wilted Chard

Ingredients:

½ pound (8 oz) red lentil pasta

3 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 bunch of Swiss chard, woody stems discarded and leaves chopped

Large pinch of red pepper flakes

2 TBS pine nuts, toasted

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

In a large sauté pan, over low heat, cook the garlic in the olive oil for a minute or two.

Add the Swiss chard, the red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook over medium heat until the Swiss chard is wilted. Remove the cover.

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Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water cook the red lentil pasta according to the package directions. Do not overcook.

Using a spider or sieve, add the pasta to the wilted chard.IMG_4046.JPG

Cook stirring for a minute or two until the flavors have blended. Add a little pasta water if necessary.

Serve, garnished with the pine nuts.

Makes 4 servings.

 

Bakery Crawl in Portland, Maine

A Nibble Here, A Nibble There, A Little Nibble Everywhere

I’ve mentioned before that I’m very fortunate to have children living in “Foodie” destinations and Portland, Maine is no exception. On a recent visit to see our daughter, Rebecca, we did a Bakery Crawl- how perfect is that! We hit 6 bakeries – all wonderful in their own way. Who knew that in a city of 68,000 we would find so many great places and I’m sure there are more to discover in future visits.

Are you ready to go on the Crawl with me? Let me share with you the highlights!

First stop, right around the corner from Rebecca’s home is The Holy Donut https://theholydonut.com/

They have a great selection of interesting flavors- my personal favorite is the chocolate with sea salt and Rebecca is partial to the gluten free lemon poppy seed.

Next on the list was the Standard Baking Company. http://standardbakingco.com/

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The Standard Baking Company specializes in artisan breads and classic pastries. The baguette has a wonderful crust and I also sampled an apricot almond galette- a rich almond pastry filled with apricot jam- delish!!

Third up was Aurora Provisions ( a name close to my heart) auroraprovisions.com/, a place perfect for a great cup of coffee and a small bite. Try the cinnamon bread puffs- you won’t be sorry!

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It was a great sunny (but cold) day in Portland so we visited the Lighthouse and then hopped a ferry and took a 4 mile walk around Peak’s Island. That made me feel justified in continuing “The Crawl”- wouldn’t you feel the same?

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So, back in town, it was on  to Tandem Coffee and Bakery, http://www.tandemcoffee.com/bakery. Tandem is in a converted garage- so fun to see re-purposed buildings!

We sampled two very interesting flavored classics- a banana bread with black sesame and a shortbread cookie but made with rye flour and also rolled in black sesame seeds. You know something’s special when the flavors remain with you long after you’ve eaten it. So stay tuned for a future post when I recreate the rye shortbread for you.

Four down and the last two to go.

Two Fat Cats Bakery, twofatcatsbakery.com , offers homestyle american cookies, cakes, and pies. They are famous for their Whoopie Pies and rightly so!

 

And finally- a short drive to South Portland brought us to Scratch Baking Company, www.scratchbakingco.com

What a way to end our day…the aromas of freshly baked breads surround you as you walk through the door. Stuffed to the gills we decided to make our purchases and save them for breakfast the next day. The whole wheat sour dough English muffins are simply the best! I’m going to put in a special request to have some brought to me on Rebecca’s next visit home.

So that ended our Bakery Crawl adventure- but I’m so looking forward to returning and sampling more!

 

Love is in the Air – Heart Scones

I loved the holidays at my bake shop…We always created special holiday themed treats- from sugar cookies to cupcakes to breakfast treats. On Valentine’s Day you could always find a heart shaped scone for your love.

Try these- start to finish in about 1/2 hour. What could be sweeter than for your Valentine to wake up to a special breakfast or to join you for afternoon tea?

Heart Shaped Cream Scones

Heat oven to 400; yield 1 dozen 3 ”  scones

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all purpose flour (10 oz)

1 TBS baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ cup sugar (1 ¾ oz) (plus 1 TBS for sprinkling if not using glaze)

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

1 TBS melted butter

GLAZE: Optional

½ cup powdered sugar (2 oz)

3 TBS milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 drop of pink food coloring

METHOD:

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder and salt.

Slowly add the heavy cream mixing with your scrupulously clean hand until the dough comes together and no dry particles remain. Stop adding cream as soon as the dough comes together. Depending on the weather this could take 1 cup of cream up to 1 ½ cups.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 4 or 5 times.

Roll or pat the dough to about ½ inch thick.

Cut the dough with heart shaped cutters and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

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With your forefinger, lightly make an indentation in the center of each scone. This helps the dough keep its shape while baking.

Brush the dough with the melted butter.

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If not using the glaze, sprinkle the top of each scone with sugar.

Bake 14-17 minutes until lightly browned and firm to the touch.

When done and cooled, combine the glaze ingredients until smooth.

Spread glaze over each scone.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower and Kale Soup with Lentils

Brrr….it’s cold outside! So- that means it’s soup time!

This soup is sooooo good for you- cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens and legumes- what more could you want? It’s the ultimate comfort food.

INGREDIENTS:

3 TBS olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 TBS tomato paste

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 cup lentils

4 quarts of vegetable broth- you know, the ones you’ve made using my technique 🙂 If you don’t have vegetable broth, use water and increase the crushed tomatoes to one 14oz can.

6 cups cauliflower florets

1 bunch kale, woody stems removed, and chopped

salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

In a large soup pot, saute the onions, carrots and celery in the olive oil until soft.

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

Add the crushed tomatoes and lentils and cook for another 2 minutes.img_3941

Add the broth, salt and pepper to taste . Please note the amount of salt is dependent on the sodium content of what vegetable broth you use. My homemade broth has not salt- so I use about 2-3 tsp of salt for this recipe.

Cover and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes.

Add the cauliflower and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the kale and cook uncovered for another 10 minutes or more until the vegetables and the lentils are soft.

Enjoy!!