Gluten Free, Seedy Lentil Protein 'Bread'

Well this continues to surprise me. The European recipe I used as a guide, used orange split lentils, which I thought I had, but mine were yellow mung bean lentils. I soldiered on, determined to try this interesting recipe. You'll need to use a kitchen scale that gives results in ounces and grams for this one since weights don't translate well to measurements with dry ingredients.

60g lentils - Grind these to flour consistency in your blender, food processor, or coffee type grinder, then combine with the following in a medium glass bowl:

6oz. warm-hot water - The recipe said 'a glass' of warm water, this amount worked for me, but you might need a little more. Let this soak a while, stirring occasionally until it cools a bit, then whisk in:

1T EVOO

2 eggs

~ Mix all this well, then add the following:

1t baking soda that's been stirred together in a small cup, with 1T apple cider vinegar

40g of ground flax and chia seeds (I didn't have my favorite mix this time so only used flax. Make sure they're ground though, not whole.

Mix all this together again, then let it soak for 10-15 minutes.

~ In a small, non-stick frying pan, dry toast until lightly browned and releasing their nutty scent:

30g EACH - sprouted pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, or 60g total of either. I only had the pumpkin seeds, so I chopped those up a bit before dry toasting. Mix the toasted seeds well with the ingredients in the bowl. Transfer the batter to a well buttered loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds, or a light shake of Everything Bagel Seasoning. Bake at 350° until risen and lightly browned on the surfaces, about 1 hour. Cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing.

I had some of this ↑ for breakfast with a boiled egg, a little chicken salad and a sliced McIntosh apple. Then again for lunch with some mixed nut butter combined with jalapeño jelly. The finished 'bread' is mildly savory. It's a recipe I'll make again, which is rare for me, and also a huge surprise. When I first tried it, I almost chopped it up and put it out for the birds and bunnies! So glad I didn't, I can already tell, this is something I'm going to actually crave!! Next time, I'll use the orange split lentils and probably make a couple other changes. (of course I will) . . . Lin

Whole Grains, Lentils and Greens

¾c basmati brown rice

⅓ yellow pepper-chopped

5 cloves of garlic-minced

2T black truffle EVOO

¾-1t Penzeys California Seasoned Pepper

3c fresh cold filtered water

½c quinoa, millet, buckwheat mix

½c brown or green whole lentils

2t Better Than Bouillon soup base

1 bunch of dinosaur kale

Sometimes I revert back to my vegetarian-vegan ideals and all I want is some really good grains and greens! Today is one of those days. Sauté the first group of ingredients, adding just a little water at the end, when everything starts browning, to prevent it from sticking. Next add the quinoa mix, the rest of the water, lentils and the BTB soup base - I always have several flavors, but for this, mushroom sounded good.

Wash the kale first in warm soapy water, then in cold water until the water is clear. De-vein the leaves by pulling or cutting them away from the center stalk and throw that away or out for your bunnies and squirrels. Bundle the leaves together, slice them and cross-cut the slices if they're too big. Add them to the pot. Stir this, cover and let it simmer slowly until the water absorbs, the grains are tender and the kale is nicely cooked.

Add the sliced cilantro leaves and stems, cover to keep everything warm. Fluff it up and check the seasonings just before serving.

Mmmmm, Grains and Greens! 😊 Lin

Turkey Gizzards For Your Dogs

1½# turkey gizzards

1 large carrot

1-2T bacon grease

¾c lentils

1½c water

½c ground flax seed

Chop the gizzards into tiny pieces.  Combine with the finely chopped carrot and bacon grease in a medium size pot.  Saute' for about 10 minutes.  Stir in the lentils and continue to saute until things start snapping.  Add the water and ground flax, stir then simmer another 20 minutes or so.  

Normally, if I'm only feeding the dogs their dry food, they each get about 1 cup in the morning and afternoon.  When I'm supplementing with homemade dog food, such as this, they'll get ½-⅔c of this, then about ½c of the dry.  I'll add some hot water and let it stand for a few minutes to soften the dry food and create a gravy.  When I've made homemade dog food for them, they only get it at one feeding per day though, so as not to upset their systems too much.

If you decide to make food for your dogs, please Google foods dogs cannot eat, or something similar.  There are many things that are toxic to them that are perfectly fine for people, such as chocolate, grapes, raisins. . .Just be aware, before you feed them anything other than commercially prepared dog food.  Keep your sweet pups happy!! . . . Lin 

Sprouting - French Lentils

½-¾c French lentils

pure filtered water
time = 3-4 days

Orange & Yellow = Soup--Not Sprouts

I LOVE SPROUTING!!

Why Sprout you ask??  Check this out —> sprout

If I had to pick only one thing to sprout for the rest of my life. . .it would be LENTILS!  Hands down!  No contest!

The subtle, peppery flavor and crunch of these great little legumes is so nice!  The fancy, blue-grey-green, smaller, French lentils I found at the Co-Op are wonderful, but the green or brown ones available in any grocery store in the dried pea and bean section, are also just perfect.

Pick through the lentils to be sure there are no small stones mixed in, rinse them, then soak them 24 hours in warm filtered water.  Drain and rinse, then repeat this for the next couple days until they're sprouted as shown.  Don't be put off by the paper-y coverings of each one, these just add some nice fiber to your diet.  

Today I woke up in a bit of a sugar haze.  You see, I ordered some Tuscan Herb olive oil and Traditional 18 year old Balsamic Vinegar from a favorite gourmet shop I know. . .and at the last minute decided on a pound of their fudge which I have heard is the best.  Well, all this arrived Saturday, and the fudge. . .it is really good!  I had a few pieces of that and, since my body doesn't handle sugar as well now, as it did years ago, I decided to counteract the bad effects this morning, with some good quality protein, vitamins, and cleansing-freshness for breakfast.  This little bowl (hard-boiled eggs, sprouts and black beans topped with some spicy, Thai chili mayonnaise, was just the thing! :-)  Lentil sprouts are ready 3-4 days from start to finish.  Try them, you'll love 'em on everything!! . . . Lin

Bean, Kale, Lentil and Yam Soup

* I only used the green kale in this soup

2T coconut oil

2T fig balsamic vinegar
2 lg. shallots - sliced thick

5 lg. cloves of garlic - minced

1 med. onion - chopped

2 celery ribs - sliced

2 yams - scrubbed, quartered, sliced

1T± Garam Masala

1t fresh ground garlic-sea salt

½t fresh ground pepper

4 c chopped kale - green, red or a mix*

2 14.5oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes

1-2 14.5oz cans mixed beans - drain-rinse 

⅔c dry brown lentils 

4c water

2-4T± chicken soup base
1T sugar or honey

Put the oil and vinegar in a 5qt pot and heat, just enough to melt the coconut oil.  Add all the prepared vegetables and seasonings.  Toss-stir around, gently, so everything is coated.  Leave this on the stove, with no heat, for a couple hours, turning over occasionally to continue to coat and marinate all the vegetables.

Sauté and stir for 10-15 minutes to brown a little.  (The oiled-seasoned vegetables could be oven-roasted, at this point, if you prefer.)  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on low until the yams, kale and lentils are tender.  Beans and lentils are a great combination.  I read the other day that brown lentils have the distinction of being one of the highest in the beans-legumes category, in fiber and protein.  I'll be using more of these in future recipes.

Check seasonings, making any changes needed.  This turned into a really interesting, sort of Indian or Indonesian, slightly sweet, slightly spicy soup.  Serve with some nice crusty, buttered bread. . .Lin

Curried Wild Rice, Lentils and Vegetables

1/2c wild rice

1/2c organic lentils

2t hot curry powder

2 lg. carrots

1+c celery

1/3 lg. green pepper

1"x1-1/2" piece of peeled ginger

4 lg. cloves garlic

Himalayan pink salt

In a 3-4 qt. pot, combine rice and about a-cup-and-a-half of water.  Simmer about 50 minutes then add lentils, and all the finely chopped vegetables.  Simmer, covered, another 20-30 minutes, adding a little more water, as needed.  Add finely chopped ginger, garlic and salt.  Simmer another 10 minutes.  Serve as a side dish, or even as an interesting, healthy grain-change for breakfast. . .Lin

Bean, Etc. Soup

I love sprouting!

Sprouts are so good on a sandwich, in soups, salads and even eaten alone or with a seasoned vinegar-oil type dressing - and they're high in protein too.  Yesterday I decided to sprout lentils with green and red mung beans.  I started with about 2" of this bean mix, in a half gallon jar, filled half way with warm water.  This morning the jar was half full of well-soaked-moisture-expanded beans!  So I'm using half for a nice bean soup.  Since they had soaked overnight - this is good timing.

2-3oz. precooked smokey meat

1 lg. onion
2 carrots

2 stalks celery or a celery heart

1/2 red pepper
3 sm. Yukon Gold potatoes
1-1/2c soaked beans
5-6 c water
celery tops

Slice or chop the first 6 ingredients into a 5qt. pot.  Stir and saute' in a couple tablespoons of butter, until onions are barely translucent.  Add the next 3 ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then back down to a slow simmer for half an hour.  You could stop right now; for a very thick, hearty soup - or - simmer longer for the vegetables to break down further.  Chill then reheat (this further develops the flavors.)  Taste then add: red or black pepper, sea salt, chicken or vegetable bullion if needed.  Serve with some artisan crusty, buttered ciabatta. . .Lin