Over the summer, we belonged to a C.S.A. (community supported agriculture). The positives were that every week, we got a loaf of bread, dozen eggs (protein and 8 fruits and veggies. Never lacked in the fruits and veggie department in our household. However, we should have found something closer to where we live, because every Thursday…from the time we would drive from work in town, clear out to the farm and back home, it was about 1-1/2 hours in the car   So that kind of made us dread going there as the summer went on. Who wants to drive that much after working an 8-hour day?  Sometimes the veggies or fruits, we just weren’t in the mood for, so we may not have eaten everything. A couple times we were out of town, and lost out on that prepaid food. But all in all…I felt great about supporting a local farm. Probably won’t do next year, although I highly recommend anyone trying it at least. It’s a good thing. We’ll just continue to support our local grocery store ‘Roots‘ as we always do.

Lentil and Quinoa Stew

OKAY….so I did make this REALLY GOOD stew yesterday. Very hearty (yet light and nutritious!) and perfect for the chilly Fall weather. It originally started out as a recipe for a “Pinto Bean and Barley Stew,” but I realized that the barley I had in a storage container was probably a little too dated too use, so I used quinoa. And I felt like using lentils instead of pinto beans (more protein!)  So…it became my own (But you can totally use pinto beans and/or barley instead of lentils or quinoa

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 1 TBS of EV olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup quinoa (I used Traditional, but you could totally use Red Quinoa)
• 7 cups vegetable low-sodium broth
• 1 can of lentil beans (about 1-1/2 to 2 cups)
• 1 cup salsa (I used mild Muir Glen, but you can use whatever you want, however spiciness you prefer)

Spices:

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon celery salt

Method:

Sauté the onion in EV olive oil for a few minutes until the onion is a little translucent. Add the carrots and garlic and sauté for a few more minutes. Add the vegetable broth and quinoa, stirring in the bay leaf and the rest of the spices as well. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover for 15 minutes. Stir in the salsa and lentils. Cover and keep on simmering for as long as you would like. (The longer it stews, the longer the flavors can work into each other. So it’s especially good the next day.)

Once you’re ready to eat, serve with a dollop of sour cream, some Parmesan cheese and some yummy gourmet bread on the side.

There probably are about 8 servings. Perhaps less if you love this as much as we did ENJOY!!!!

I’m trying to get back to my weekly new dish thing, like I was doing a couple months ago…so here I go with another one. (Does 2 in one weekend help me catch up any?!)

I came across this recipe and wanted to try. We like mushrooms. We like pasta. So why not little itty bitty pasta with mushrooms? I was having a heck of a time at the store today finding ingredients that I needed, so instead of Orzo, which I couldn’t find, I found this other little bitty pasta instead. I threw the bag away before I grabbed what sort of pasta it is, but by the look of the image, just find anything as small as this…or find the orzo! haha…

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
For the mushroom stock:
• 1/2 cup of dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 ounce)
• 1 sprig fresh thyme

For the itty bitty pastas (or orzo):
• 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup of mixed wild mushrooms (I used only crimini mushrooms), chopped into 2 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp coarse-ground black pepper
• 2 TBS of dry vermouth
• 1 1/2 cups orzo

To finish the dish:
• 2 TBS butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 TBS parsley
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Method:
For the mushroom stock: In a small pot, immerse the dried porcinis in 4 1/2 cups of water. Add the sprig of thyme whole. Bring the mushroom mixture to a boil over high heat, then remove immediately from the stove and set aside for 5 minutes (or until you’re ready for it).

For the little bitty pastas: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until it takes on a light golden color, about 3 minutes, stirring to prevent burning. Add the crimini mushrooms and stir well to combine. Sauté on medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mushrooms are just starting to color. At this point, but not before, add the salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and continue cooking for another 30 seconds or so, until the mushrooms have started to reduce and color.

Move the pan away from the heat and add the vermouth. Stir to combine and then return to the heat for just a few seconds, until the vermouth and mushroom juices form a syrupy mixture in the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and add the pasta and mix well, so the grains are all coated with the pan juices.

Remove the thyme sprig from the porcini mixture and discard. Pour the porcini and liquid over the pasta. Return the pan to the medium-high heat and bring up to a low boil, stirring well to combine. Turn the heat down to low, and keep the mixture at a very lazy bubble for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The pasta is done when it’s swelled up and becomes tender. There should be just a little bit of syrupy liquid on the bottom, but the pasta mixture should be a bit wet.

To finish the dish, remove the pot from the heat. Add the butter and mix in well, then add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and continue stirring. Add the parsley and thyme leaves and mix well until the texture of the dish is softer and richer from the butter and cheese and all the ingredients are well combined. Serve quickly as possible and top with more cheese.

I served with a side of quick-boiled spinach which you can find under the Yummy Veggie Wrap here. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 9, for dinner, I prepared a breakfast-for-dinner meal and it turned out quite delicious. It was a little different tasting than what we are used to, but definitely a good different taste. Typically I prefer my potatoes roasted and I think the ingredients that I prepared totally could have been roasted, but I followed the cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook where you pretty much sauté everything.

Zucchini and Potato Hash ingredients included:
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, cut into half moons
• 2 or 3 medium (or 5 small) red or yellow potatoes, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 large zucchini, sliced also into thin rounds
• 1/2 bunch green kale, chopped small (although, if I were to make again, I’d chop it larger than I did)
• 1 to 2 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 garlic clove minced
• sea salt to taste
(says it serves 4, but it could be more or less depending on how much you eat, obviously)

Scrambled Eggs ingredients:
• 3 organic, cage-free eggs (or as many as you want)
• I used Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to season my eggs, but definitely use the seasonings that you prefer

First, I prepared all the vegetables to be used. For the potatoes and zucchini, I used my mandolin slicer (DEFINITELY using the hand guard at all times…), but if you don’t have one, thinly slice the vegetables using your veggie knife. Once I had all the veggies ready to go, in a large stainless steel skillet (11-inch works well), I heated the olive oil over medium heat.

Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes. Add potatoes and stir into the onions. Put a cover on the skillet and let cook for about 6 minutes. I noticed that my potatoes wanted to stick to the bottom of my skillet, so keep stirring them as much as you need to so that they don’t. They say to add any necessary water to prevent burning, which I did, and I think that helped a little.

(See below to get your eggs cooking.)

Then add the zucchini slices, kale, thyme, garlic and salt and gently mix. Put the cover back on and cook a few minutes more until the zucchini and kale are tender, stirring occasionally. Add salt as you like.

As for the eggs, you may want to start them going after you have the potatoes in the skillet. Heat up some butter or extra virgin olive oil in your stainless steel skillet. Crack open your eggs into your skillet (watch out for broken shells!), add your seasonings and mix. As they begin cooking, stir as needed to get them good and scrambled. I prefer my eggs really cooked, but you can keep them cooking as long as needed to get them to your liking.

I also toasted up some rosemary bread because I LOVE eggs and buttered toast. So after everything was done cooking, I dished out everything onto the plate and enjoyed! Again, very very yummy. Definitely worth cooking again. (Oh, and we had plenty of leftovers, enough for lunch the next day )