Lentil Squash Soup and Moxie Bread

This is another soup that comes from Love Soup - and its technically a winter soup - but who cares? Now I know what you are thinking....this looks like carrot baby food right? Yeah it does - but trust me its sooo good (even picky Ryan agrees) and plus, puree is super easy for your body to digest which means good absorption of nutrients and no bloating and burping...eww why are we talking about this?

In any case, this is a hearty vegan meal that will satisfy even the picky eaters in your life.

Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup
1 cup red lentils
1 small butternut squash (1.5 pounds)
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 yellow onion, sliced thin
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp tumeric
several generous shakes of cayenne pepper
the juice of one small lemon
4 cups veg stock (if you are using store bought then dilute it with a cup of water)

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. Rinse the lentils and put them in a soup pot with 4 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and boil gently for 20 minutes, skimming off the foam that forms.
3. Cut the squash in half and clean out the guts and seeds (put the seeds aside in a bowl for later). Put the cut side of the squash down on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes or until you can poke the squash and it gives easily. While this is roasting, saute the onions in the olive oil with a little salt over medium heat, stirring often, until they are soft and golden (20 to 30 minutes). Peel and dice the sweet potato.
4. When the lentils are tender, add the onions, sweet potato, ginger, cumin, tumeric and cayenne, and 4 cups of veg broth. Simmer everything, covered, for 25 minutes. As soon as the squash is ready, scoop it out (you dont want any of the skin) and add it to the soup. Cook until everything is soft.
5. Puree the soup in batches or with an immersion blender. Add the lemon juice.

With the squash seeds
1. Clean the seeds by placing them in a colander and running them under cool water - picking away bits of squash guts that cling.
2. Lay the seeds out in a single layer on a paper towel and let them dry completely (I usually leave them overnight). They may stick to the paper towel a bit so you could use aluminum foil instead if you want but it will take a little longer to dry.
3. When the seeds are dry throw them in a small bowl and toss them with a tsp of olive oil and a few pinches of salt.
4. Lay them flat on a baking sheet and roast them at 400 F for as long as it takes for them to get golden and crispy (10-15 minutes). These will keep for months in a air-tight container.
5. Sprinkle over your soup and enjoy!



The bread you see on the side here is a vegan herbed focaccia bread that I picked up at the farmers market in Frederick. It comes from the new bakery in town called Moxie down on Market between 6th and 7th street. Not only was the bread delicious, but when I read the little blurb on their postcard I was totally sold. They are run by Cakes for Cause and their mission is to "provide job training and support to youth in Frederick who have aged out of foster care or who live in public housing in our community." Pretty cool thing to have in Frederick - plus they are ensuring a healthy group of future bakers for Frederick's future.

Know what else is cool? Every saturday at 10:45 is Yoga Saturday. Instructors from Sol Yoga come over to give a class and then there are smoothies and apricot bars and other treats afterwards. May be checking this out soon!

Quinoa Cauliflower and Carrot Bisque

Another Soup Love inspired soup. I invited Nadia and Yohan over and we had a big dinner with Xavier and I tricked them all into eating vegan soup, mwahaha.

Enjoy

Quinoa Cauliflower Bisque

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 large cauliflower (2 pounds) cut into florets, stem discarded
4 cups veg broth
1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 medium carrots
1 large yellow onion
3 tbs olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp herbs de Provence
2 ounces soy creme fraiche or goat cheese if you aren't vegan

1. Put the cauliflower in a soup pot with 2 cups of water and the veggie broth. Scrub the lemon and zest off a 1 inch strip of the yellow skin. Be careful not to get any of the bitter white part! Juice the lemon and then add 2 tbs of juice and the 1 inch strip to the pot and a tsp of salt. Boil. Lower the heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Remove the lemon zest and discard.
2. While your cauliflower is simmering, heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a skillet and sautee the carrot, onion and garlic with 1/2 a tsp of salt until the onion is soft and turning color, about 20 minutes. Add the herbs de Provence and sautee a few more minutes.
3. Add your sauteed veggies to the cauliflower and simmer for 15 more minutes or until the cauliflower and carrots are very soft. Let the soup cool slightly then puree it with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Add the quinoa. Taste and add salt or lemon juice as needed.
4. Top each bowl with a dollop of creme fraiche, olive oil, and bread crumbs. You can take soft bread and break it into pieces then toast it in olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat until they are brown and hot.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

So I must have an obsession with chocolate chip cake/breads now. This one in particular I have made like 5 times already this year but while I wait for more bananas to ripen I thought I would make this. Its super easy, just like the other one, and if you like pumpkin flavored things you will love this. If I remember correctly I got this from Bread and Honey's blog, so props to those girls.

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Chocolate Chips
makes 2 loaves

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup veg or canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3 eggs
1 can pumpkin puree
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (im not going to lie...i poured a whole bag in..fatty fatty)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease 2 loaf pans

2. In a large bowl combine sugar, oil applesauce, eggs, and pumpkin

3. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt

4. Stir dry ingredients into the wet until just mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Spoon into the loaf pans and bake for 50-55 min.

6. Let cool 10 min before removing from the pan

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Its been a while since I posted any food related items. To be honest, I haven't been cooking with quite the same gusto as I used to, but I miss it so Im going to try to make more stuff. I tried a new recipe last week, it was a mac and cheese casserole with cauliflower and mustard in it...not a hit in our household. Luckily I was able to pass if off to the guys at work but it was a sad affair, cutting all that cauliflower only to have it taste exactly like mustard (not a fan of mustard by the way but i was trying to "expand").
Anywho! This banana bread actually turned out just right. Brian has been bugging me to make this for like...2 months now? So i finally did. I've never been a huge fan of banana bread...alright lets be honest I thought it was totally yucky - i dont eat nuts - but I knew it would make Brian happy and thus myself so I gave in and made it finally.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (this much sugar always makes me cringe and salivate simultaneously)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
whole darn bag of chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. With a wooden spoon mix the butter in to the mashed bananas in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture then mix in. Add the Flour and mix.
3. Pour into buttered loafpan (8x4 or 9x5). Bake approximately one hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack and then remove from pan to slice and serve.

That's it. Super super easy and well worth it :)

Hearty Bread made into a Cheesy and Yummy Bulgar side

Its been kinda rainy and drab here so I decided to make some new bread to cheer me up. I have been wanting to try this bread for a while but have had difficulties finding the ingredients, in particular cracked wheat. If you ever need this stuff Bob's Red Mill makes it, and it should be either with the cereals or the baking goods. Some of you might be fortunate enough to have a grocery store that actually carries things like this but I was forced to go exploring and finally came across it at MOMs.



I was surprised by the deep greyish color of the bread when I cut into it. I've never made bread with buckwheat flour and I just didn't know to expect it. It has great flavor though - and something else I didn't know, buckwheat is actually an herb. New fings we learn. I got this from the book Whole Grain Breads

Buckwheat and Cracked Wheat Bread : 1 qt

2/3 cup water
1 tbsp canola or corn oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cracked wheat
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp rapid rising or active dry yeast

For those of you with bread makers, put the water in first at room temperature. Then put in all the other ingredients in order. Make a dent in the flour to pour the yeast into, making sure it doesn't get wet. Use Basic or Whole Wheat Cycle and set the crust to medium.
If you don't have a bread maker and want the other directions just let me know

So it's raining still and my shoes are wet and I can't find my umbrella and I just really want some bacon. So I make this





Boy does this do the trick.

Bacon Buckwheat Cheesy

2 thick slices Buckwheat Cracked Wheat Bread
pesto
Havarti with Dill
Cheddar
3 slices cooked bacon

You all know how to make a grilled cheese so I wont bore you - but man do the flavors play well with each other in this one :)

On the side there you may notice some rice looking stuff with tomatoes, that's actually bulgar. It's something new Im trying as a substitute to rice ( I eat rice so much at work I have to have other options at home) and its really good for you too! Again, I had to go to an organic grocer to get this, but here is the deal:

Bulgar Pilaf for 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups medium-grain bulgar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed, coarsely chopped (or just used bagged salad spinach)
1/2 cup fresh basil (my favorite)

1. put oil, broth, bulgar, garlic, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper in skillet and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat to low, cover, and summer until bulgar is tender, 15 to 17 min
3. Add spinach and basil, stir until wilted then serve with fresh tomatoes

This one I got from Real Simple but modified it to fit my needs. I also halved these ingredients so that I wouldn't be eating this stuff for the next 3 weeks. I made it last night and then ate it again cold today with the samich. Enjoy

The Sloppy Avocado Cheesy, made possible by English Granary Bread

As promised I will now give you the recipe for the English Granary Bread. I always make the small loaves because I'm the only one here to eat it, so here is the measurements for that size.

2/3 cups water
1 tablespoon English Golden Syrup or honey (dont be afraid to use honey, I do)
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour (I didn't know what this meant when I first started making bread, but there is a special kind of flour that works best for bread, its not all-purpose, so check the labels)
1 teaspoon rapid-rising or active dry yeast

Right now I make all my bread in the bread machine because my 200 year old apartment only boasts the best of 1960's (with the exception of the new fridge) so my oven is tiny (about half the size of normal ones) and it's also terribly unbalanced and unreliable

So in the machine you pour the water in at room temperature and then all the other ingredients except the yeast. You then make a small indent in the flour to deposit your yeast into (it can't be touching any wet ingredients). Use either the Basic or Whole Wheat setting and set the crust to medium. And three hours later you have bread!
Now I know not all of you have bread machines so if you want the mixer/hand/ or oven version of the directions just let me know!

So! Now that you have bread what to do with it? Well this bread is just right for grilled samiches I would say because its not too soft and not too dense, so it holds up well. It also has a light, unobtrusive flavor so you can sauce the sillies out of your creation. Here is what I made:



The Sloppy Avocado Cheesy

two slices English Granary, buttered on one side
pesto, a nice thick spread on one or both pieces of bread (not on the butter side of course..duh)
sharp cheddar cheese
half an avocado, sliced

The reason this is called "the sloppy" is because avocado has a habit of slipping out of samiches and going all the places you dont want it to. So I would suggest using a panini press or George Forman or something to squish it down. Or not...be sloppy like me..still tastes good :)