Romanian Lentil Soup

One thing I love about living in Los Angeles is the diversity of cultures you come across.  

One of my dear friends is a Romanian woman.  A social butterfly who has a big, big heart.  A passion of hers is cooking, not just any dishes but...Romanian dishes.  

Recently, she's been sharing quite a few of her recipes and her secrets to cooking Romanian style.  Quite different from LA cooking, using international ingredients found in local ethnic food markets.  

The other day she brought me some Romanian Lentil Soup to try.  WOW!  Such flavor.  I would say it was one of the best soups I've had.  She prefers pink lentils over the brown ones, as they are more tender when cooked.  You can easily pick up a bag a Trader Joe's.  The rest of the vegetables are standard.  The only unusual item is the Vegeta, which is a powdered bullion flavor which can only be found in ethnic stores.  So as a substitute you could use chicken bullion cubes and everything will be fine.

Simple to make, and soooo delishhh!  I hope you try this dish.  It's wonderful to experience the flavors of another country in your own home.   


Romanian Lentil Soup


3 onions
2 big carrots, peeled
6 rib of celery
1 container of cherry tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
2 parsnip
1 T olive oil
1 bag of pink lentils (Trader Joe's)
3-4 cups water
1 T Vegeta or 2 cubes of chicken bullion
1 t paprika
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 t fresh thyme

Chop with the food processor the first six ingredients until finely diced but not pureed. 

Saute all the vegetables with olive oil in a dutch oven for 15 minutes then add the lentils and add water as needed.  

Make sure to add enough water to create a nice broth. Add chicken bullion, paprika and some crushed pepper for flavor.  Let the soup come to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add thyme and stir.  Serve. 

Seven-Grain Salad with Roasted Pepper, Feta, and a Mustard Dressing

Do you like grains?

Part of my "Eat Well 2013" motto is to incorporate more whole grains in my diet.  How about you? Are you on the whole grain train? 

I've found that there are a lot of grains that I'm unfamiliar with such as faro, buckwheat, and spelt to name a few.  They are just items not really found in our southern diet growing up.  Over the past year though I've dabbled in the cooking of grains.  I've taken grain courses to learn about the different types and their benefits.  We've cooked them and discovered a world of grains other than "rice"!  These edible seeds of cultivated grasses and other plants are a great source of carbs, fiber, protein, and many other nutrients.  Hence, they are good for you!  Quinoa was one of the first grains I fell in love with.  Here are some great recipes I made that you may like featuring quinoa. 

Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans

Veggie Gyro Salad

Black Bean, Corn and Quinoa Salad

 

Now I've been dabbling with a mix of seven grains.  Grains that are blended into a pilaf style mixture.  Shopping at Whole Foods, I found several wonderful blends of seven-grain pilafs.  One from Kashi, and the other from Seeds of Change.  They include wonderful grains such as long grain brown rice, barley, rye, bulgar, red winter wheat, quinoa, and wild rice. They are easy to make and wonderful as a side dish, or in place of rice in a Asian or Mediterranean meal. 

I've used them in a salad today.  Wonderful flavors of roasted pepper, tomatoes, mint, and feta.  This salad is going to knock your socks off.  The nutty grain flavors are the perfect base for this feast!

So be a little adventurous in 2013 and hop on the whole grain train.  It's a great way to change up the same ole', same old....

Eat Well 2013!

 
Seven-Grain Salad with Roasted Pepper, Feta, and a Mustard Dressing
adapted from BHG

serves 4-6

1 1/2 c seven-grain pilaf mix
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 t lemon peel
3 T lemon juice
1 T coarse ground brown mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t cumin
salt & pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 large cucumber, chopped
1/3 c chopped roasted red peppers
2 T chopped mint
2 T chopped parsley
1/3 c feta cheese, crumbled

Cook pilaf according to package directions.  Cool.

For the dressing, take a covered jar and add the olive oil, lemon peel, lemon juice, brown mustard, garlic, cumin and salt & pepper.  Shake well to incorporate all ingredients.

For a deconstructed salad:  In a large bowl, place cooked pilaf mix, tomatoes, cucumber, roasted red peppers each in their own place .  Top with mint, parsley, and feta cheese.  Serve with dressing.

For a tossed salad:  Place pilaf mix, and all vegetables in the bowl.  Top with mint and parsley.  Toss salad, and sprinkle with feta cheese.  Drizzle the dressing and toss to coat.  Serve.

Mediterranean Chicken

I had the great pleasure of being off from work last week in between the holidays.  Boy, was that nice!  I got to do several things I don't normally have time for, such as re-organizing and sorting out no longer used clothes and household items for the donation bins.  It feels really good to get rid of stuff.  You just feel lighter and less cluttered.  

But I did save some time out for some real fun, like visiting the Cleopatra exhibit on display at the California Science Center.   I've been wanting to go forever, and it's about to leave....so now was my chance.  It was a cold and windy day here, but out I went, all bundled up.  the exhibit was terrific.  The statues, the gold, the jewelry!  Awesome to see.

So after the museum it was back out into the cold and home for some comforting food for lunch.    All this Egyptian art got me to thinking grains...and chicken...and Mediterranean flavors.  (Not Egyptian but it was a tangent!) There I was rooting through the refrigerator to see what was on hand to make something with the flavors I was craving yet still provide a hot comforting meal.  One thing led to another and this Mediterranean dish was born.  

This is full of good for you ingredients.  Brown rice, lean chicken, zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes.  Add some spice for zip and you have a nice skillet meal that is hot and comforting.  Especially on a cold day.  This dish tastes as flavorful as it is beautiful.  A smart little side salad, which is now known as the Cleopatra salad, is a great accompaniment  Look for that recipe soon.  

So I hope this inspires you to get in the kitchen and make your family some Mediterranean Chicken.  It will please you to no end!




Mediterranean Chicken

Serves 4

1 c brown rice, uncooked
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes
1/2 t coarse ground black pepper
2 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c zucchini, cut lengthwise and sliced in half moons
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c onion, diced
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes with juice
1 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1 T dried oregano
1/2 t salt

Cook rice according to package directions. 

Sprinkle chicken with black pepper.  Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and heat.  Saute chicken in a large nonstick skillet, over medium high heat for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often.  Remove from pan to a plate.

Add the other 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet along with the garlic.  Saute for 30 seconds and add zucchini, mushrooms and onion.  Saute about 5 minutes.  Return chicken back to the skillet along with diced tomatoes.  Add broth, oregano and salt.  Stirring to combine.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 6-7 minutes, reducing the liquid until 1/4 cup.  Add cooked rice to skillet and mix well.  Serve hot.  

Veggie Gyro Salad

Boy do I have a salad for you!

Still in the grilling mode, I saw this meatless, Greek flavored salad in a favorite cookbook and just fell in love with the flavors.  It has all the flavors of a meatless, or veggie Gyro Sandwich!  Have you ever had one?  No, well you should try one right away.  They are just fabulous!

This salad is a take on that sandwich, using the flavors, but mixing them up a bit.  It has grilled vegetables, the flavors of tzaziki (cucumber, dill, and feta) and is all mixed with a wonderful grain, quinoa.  Do you know about quinoa?  It a little round grain that is full of protein and fiber.  Once cooked it turns a little curly and has a slight bite to it, sort of an al dente bite.  I've made several dishes with this hearty grain.  It's my new fad and I've made many dishes with it over the past year.  Make sure to grab a box of this and use it as you would rice or couscous.  It really takes well to additions and to dressings.

Back to the salad...like I was saying it has wonderful ingredients such as tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, and it is dressed with a wonderful red wine vinaigrette.  The only thing missing is the flatbread or pita that holds the sandwich fillings.  Not to worry, I have that covered.  You just serve this with some grilled pita wedges so you don't miss out on that flavor!

Salads are wonderful meals during this hot season.  Great as a main course for a "meatless" dinner, or a nice lunch.  I made this and had leftovers which were just as good the next day.  So I was a happy camper to have this for my lunch at work.  If you want to make this meal with meat, I would suggest grilling a nice piece of chicken and then cubing it.  It will go great with the other salad ingredients.

I hope you give this a try.  Enjoy!

Veggie Gyro Salad

Serves 4

¾ c quinoa

3 T olive oil

1 ½ T red wine vinegar

2 tsp minced garlic

1 t Dijon mustard

Salt & pepper

½ zucchini, halved

2 pitas

½ c grape tomatoes, halved

½ c diced cucumber

¼ c diced yellow bell pepper

¼ c fresh dill fronds

¼ c crumbled feta cheese

2 T diced red onion

Preheat grill to medium-high, brushing grill pan or grate with oil.

Prepare quinoa according to package directions.

In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and Dijon.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Brush zucchini and pita with some of the vinaigrette.  Grill zucchini cut side down about 7 minutes, covered.  Grill pitas until toasted.  Slice zucchini halves in thin slices.

In a medium to large bowl combine tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, dill, feta, and onion.  Add quinoa, zucchini, and remaining vinaigrette, tossing to coat.  Cut pita into wedges and add to the salad.  Serve.

adapted from Cuisine Grilling

shared with:  Weekend Potluck
Full Plate Thursday

Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans

My new love of late is Quinoa.

Don't you just love it?  Don't know what it is...or have never tried it?

Well let me tell you what you are missing.  It's a fiber rich whole grain that is classified as a superfood.  Who doesn't want that?  It a slightly nutty grain with a little bite to it like brown rice...or bigger couscous.  It's wonderful used in a salad such as this one, or as a side dish.  This salad is wonderful and light.  The flavors pop in your mouth, and it's very healthy for you.

Try something new this year, and be healthy with whole grains.  Try the quinoa, you'll love it.    

Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans

Serves 4

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 c fresh spinach, sliced

1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1⁄4 cup dried cranberries

1⁄4 cup pecans, chopped

3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1⁄4 tsp. sea salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and rinse well under cold water. In a saucepan over high heat, bring the 2 cups water to a boil. Add the quinoa and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the grains are tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the quinoa from the heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl and fluff with a fork to separate the grains. Stir in the spinach, vinegar, olive oil, cranberries, pecans, and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ham and Bean Soup

I grew up with my mom making what she called "Bean Soup".  We had pinto bean soup, great northern bean soup, navy bean soup...lots of bean soup.  And we loved it!

So I woke up Sunday to a very cold and wet Southern California day and thought, hmmmm...bean soup!

So MGG was coming over for dinner later that day and he loves soup.  He is a soupaholic...but not quite used to the southern bean soup my mom always made.  So I switched it up a little by making a more brothy bean soup.  Sort of like a Minestrone flavor with beans and ham!  A good southern favorite. 

You'll need to get yourself one of those bags of 15 bean soup mix. An onion, chicken broth, bacon, or a ham hock, a can diced tomatoes, italian seasoning, and a bay leaf.

Here's how you make it:

Put about 1/2 the bag of beans in a colander and sort and rinse, pulling out any broken or ugly looking beans.  Throw the seasoning packet away.
 

In a dutch oven or large soup pot add beans, bacon or ham hock (I used bacon cause that's what I had, but ham hock is really better at flavoring the soup).  Add about 4 cups of chicken broth and enough water to cover the beans by about 2 inches.

Place on the sotve and bring to a boil.  I add pepper at this point, as I layer the seasonings.
(sorry for the steamy photo!)

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 2-3 hours.  You don't want to let the broth all boil away, but if it does, just add more water to keep the bean covered and turn the fire down a little.

Make sure to stir the beans during this time which will allow some starch to deevelop in the broth.

Add onions, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, and more pepper (salt if needed).  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for another hour.

Fish out the bacon and/or ham hock, bay leaf and toss.  Add tomatoes and simmer another 1/2 hr. then add chopped ham (I used left over ham from a baked ham I made the other night) and simmer until heated through.

Enjoy!

Ham and Bean Soup

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

½  (20-ounce) bag 15 bean soup

1 (32-ounce) cartons chicken broth

Water

3-4 bacon slices or 1 ham hock
½ medium onion chopped
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf

salt

black pepper
1 14.5-oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped cooked ham
 

Directions

1. Sort and rinse dried beans pulling out any broken or ugly looking beans.  Through seasoning packet away.   In a dutch oven or stock pot add beans, bacon/ham hock, broth and water to cover 2 inches above beans.
2. Add black pepper.  Bring pot to a boil.  Turn down to a slow simmer and cook for about 2 -3 hours.
3. Make sure not to boil away all the water/broth mixture.  If you do lose some add more water to keep bean well covered.  
4. Add onions, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, and more pepper.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for another hour.  Fish out the bacon and/or ham hock, bay leaf and toss.  Add tomatoes and simmer another ½ hour then add chopped ham simmer until heated through.