Thick Golden Beet Dhal

I wanted to explore another beet recipe today and thought of embedding beets in a thick dhal. I made the dhal and beets separately in my pressure cooker.


Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils
• 3 cups water
• 4 large leaves kale, hand stripped from the stems and then roughly hand torn into approximately 2" squares
• 1/2 cup whole or chopped spinach, fresh (washed) or frozen
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/8 t smoked paprika
• 1/2 t salt (or to taste)
• 2 medium beet roots (I had very small ones so used 5 or 6), rinsed but not peeled
• Another 3/4 - 1 cup of water
• 1/4 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• 2 t lemon juice

Process

1. I put the lentils, kale and spinach, water, turmeric, cumin, and paprika into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 20m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then removed from the pressure cooker and mixed in the lem
3. I used a new pot for the pressure cooker and put in a trivet to keep food off the bottom and sides, then added about 3/4 - 1 cup of water, below the trivet level, and the beets atop the trivet.
4. I pressure steamed. These were very small, only about 1 1/2" in diameter, so 10 minutes of pressure steaming nicely did it. For regular sized beet roots, I'd go with 15-17 minutes and for large ones above 3 1/2" in diameter, I'd go for 25-30 minutes.
5. When the beets were done, I did a "quick release" of pressure.
6. I waited a few minutes to handle the beets, cut the very top and bottom off of each beet, then held each under cold running water and rubbed the skin off.
7. I cut the beets into approximately 3/4" cubes and mixed into the dhal, along with the onion and lemon juice.

 

Results

This came out well though I preferred the beets with beans that I had made a few days ago. The beets were so delicious - I should cook beets more often! I'm glad that they were well done and soft.

Ideas for the future

Carrot would have gone great in this dish. If I had beet greens (I actually do have some but want to have them last till this Saturday's show), they would also be good. Using red beets would add a nice contrasting color, but I definitely prefer the sweeter flavor and much less staining of golden beets. I should make beets more often; they're easy, with these tips:

• Pressure steam, like I did today, for 10-30 minutes, depending on size
• Dice into 3/4" pieces and pressure cook, submerged, for 8-10 minutes
• Boil 25-60 minutes, periodically checking for fork tenderness
• Roast whole by covering in parchment paper and then roasting for 40-60m (check tenderness as above) at 400°F
• As I described in March 2017, you can also roast beets after cutting them and mixing in some herbs (and perhaps a liquid like orange juice or soy sauce); the cook time drops depending on the size of the cubes but I really like the ease of whole beet roasting, cutting the beet once cooked
• After removing the skin with a potato peeler, you can grate raw beet onto salads
• Greens are healthy and tasty but, unlike beets which can easily keep in the refrigerator for months, the greens limp quickly so they should be removed from the roots and stored, unwashed, in a separate bag for about 3-5 days

You don't have to remove the skins until you're done cooking. The skins slip off easily once cooked, like I described here.

Waterless Caulifower and Plantain, Bean and Lentil with Millet and Flax Crackers (Almost No Added Fat)

I had a head of cauliflower and decided to make a waterless main course. I simply cooked it in my large Saladmaster stock pan, putting in half moon red and sweet Vidalia onions, a chopped clove of garlic, then florets from almost the whole head of the cauliflower, and finally a little bit of spinach. I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped.

I let it cook for about 20 minutes, then I mixed in about 1 or 1 1/2 ounces that I had leftover of  an 8 ounce bag of Key Lime skillet sauce (I think it was 1g or 2g of fat per serving), a handful of chopped flat parsley, salt, and lemon pepper.

While that was cooking, I sauteed with no oil on a cast iron pan a plantain cut into 3/4" rounds. Once lightly blackened, I quartered the rounds and then, once the cauliflower was done, mixed them in to the main course.

When I was cooking a recent Food for Life class and needed baked tortilla chips, I instead used a cracker that I used to occasionally get, Sami's millet and flax
garlic and plain chips. They're great - I can't understand how they are so luscious (the garlic is quite strong!) and seemingly decadent, but they are only 2g (3g for the garlic) of fat per serving (sixth of the bag). I had (and still do!) plenty of leftovers from a few days ago when I made the bean and lentil soup; I didn't add more water but heated it up and spread the thick paste atop some of the crackers.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Roasted Cauliflower with Green Lentil Penne, Bagel Half with Miyoko's Roadhouse Cheddar and Marinara (Almost No Added Fat)

I was very pleased with the roasted cauliflower soup that I made about a month ago, and have been thinking of roasting cauliflower and doing something with it. Yesterday, I found cauliflower heads at a great price in sale (under $2) at Weaver Street Market, so took advantage and bought a head.

As I did when I made the soup, I was going to roast the florets at 400°F via convection baking for 15m, after first mixing in coconut aminos garlic sauce. I'm not sure why, but the cauliflower was nicely roasted after 12m, so I stopped at that point.

As with much of my cooking, I often improvise as I'm cooking. My original thought was to make a roasted cauliflower side dish or maybe puree roasted cauliflower and make a sauce (I'll do that sometime!). But when thinking of a protein to serve it with, I didn't have time to make beans but remembered that I had some lentil pasta (Tolerant Foods brand green lentil penne). It's a great product that has one ingredient - organic green lentil flour.

Each 3.5 ounce serving of the pasta has 25g of protein, 11g of fiber, and 2g of fat. 11g of fiber! In Food for Life classes, we recommend that adults eat 40g of fiber a day - one serving of this pasta, even with no vegetables or anything else, gets you a quarter of the way there!

I served the pasta, then put the cauliflower on top. I roasted some sesame seeds in a cast iron pan and sprinkled those on. I also served a bagel half with a smear of Miyoko's vegan "cheese" (9g of fat per ounce, but I used at most 1/4 or 1/5 ounce per serving) plus marinara. It was delicious!

Results

Dinner was good. My daughter didn't like the penne as much as my wife and I did, and the pasta was rather sticky.

Ideas for the future

I love the nutrition of the pasta. I should make this pasta in dishes where it could shine, with an appropriate sauce or maybe as part of a caponata dish. I'd like to experiment with more roasted cauliflower dishes. Kalamata olives would go well with roasted cauliflower.

Red Split Dhal with Vegetables, Arugula and Mixed Tomato Salad with Mango Miso Dressing in Celebration of Friends' New Baby (No Added Fat)

I'm so excited that friends of mine just had a baby and I'm first in the meal train to bring food over! It's always a privilege to be able to be connected in any way with a new baby and I'm thankful that I get to take food over.

I like to include fenugreek when I cook for new Moms to help stimulate lactation; I don't like the flavor of fenugreek but when I cook with it, I always make sure that the fenugreek is enveloped with many other strong flavors so it doesn't show through. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 3 cups red split lentils
• 2 cups kale (I used frozen, but fresh is fine)
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups carrot (2 medium carrots) cut into 3/8" chunks and then halved
• 1T finely (1/8") chopped ginger
• 2 medium cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped (about 1 1/2 T)
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 1t turmeric
• 1t garlic powder
• 1t cumin seed
• 1T fenugreek seed
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups chopped bell pepper (approx. 1/4" x 3/4" slices)
• 2 cups onion cut into 3/8" cubes (I used about 1/3 of a red onion and 1/3 of a Vidalia onion)
• 4T lime juice
• 2t salt

Process

1. Split lentils cook in a ratio of 1 : 2-2.5 parts water for 13-18m under pressure. I went with a 1:2 ratio for a thicker dhal for 16m. I put all of the ingredients except the onion, lime juice, and salt, into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 16m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the bell pepper, onion, lime juice, and salt.

I took this over along with long-grained brown rice (cooked in a 1:2.5 ratio for 45m) and various salad ingredients (arugula and mixed cherry tomatoes). I made a simple chickpea miso - mango dressing (a combination I'd not tried before but I think it came out well; I blended 2T miso with 1/2 t black sesame seeds - a great source of calcium, a medium shallot (maybe 2 T), 1T mango chunks, 1T maple syrup, and 1/8 t salt.  When I come home, this will all also be my dinner! 

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

India's Independence Day Dinner - Split Red Lentil with Roasted Red Pepper, Basmati Rice, and Blistered Fushimi Chile Peppers (No Added Fat)

Today is Indian's Independence Day! My wife had the suggestion of putting a dinner together that has orange, white, and green from the Indian flag and I agreed that it was a good idea. (The Indian flag picture here is from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India-flag-horiz-vert.svg and is in the public domain.)

I thought that I'd make a "striped" plate with white Basmati rice in the center (we prefer the taste and nutrition of whole grain rice, but white Basmati is also tasty and welcome for an occasional change). I chose split red lentils to form the basis of the leftmost stripe and some Fushimi chile peppers that I found at the local farmers' market a few hours earlier.

The farmers' market visit was quite productive. Among my purchases were these three interesting items, including two that were new (to me):

Fushimi frying pepper or chile pepper, said to be like the shishito pepper that I enjoy but with less heat and more flavor,

Petit Mersaillais pepper, a sweet yellow pepper

Habanada pepper, looking and tasting like Habaneros but with no heat (I have have had these before)

Split red lentils cook in a 1:2.25-2.5 ratio of lentils to water for 13-18m; I went with a ratio of about 1:2.25 and 18m cook time. To make the dish more orange than yellow, I blended some roasted red peppers in. Here is what I did:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup lentils
• 3 1/2 cups water
• (optional) 1 -  1 1/2 cups green tomato cut into 3/8" cubes (I used a small tomato which yielded a cup)
• 1T ginger, finely (1/8") grated
• 3 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped
• 1t turmeric
• 1/2 t cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup onion cut into approx. 1/4"x3/4" slivers
• 2T lemon juice
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 3/4 t salt
• 4 roasted red bell peppers (about 1/2 of a 16 ounce bottle)
• (optional) 6 Habanada peppers cut into quarters lengthwise

Process

1. I put the lentils, water, green tomato, ginger, garlic, turmeric, and cumin into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 18m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the onion, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt.
3. It looked good but needed to be more orange, so I blended the dish with the roasted red peppers.
4. Finally, I mixed in the Habanada peppers which were surprisingly close in color to the lentil dish.

I also made white basmati rice (1: 1.5 ratio of rice to water simmered for 15-20 minutes (I used 1 1/4 cups rice and approximately 2 cups water). Finally, I cooked on cast iron over medium heat Fushimi peppers till slightly blistered.

Results

Wow, dinner came out better than I had expected! I've tried for some time to get a thick dhal and today's dish was just right - any less water and I'd get some sticking. I was surprised how nicely yellow the red peppers made the main dish. We all enjoyed the taste and colors.

Ideas for the future

I should experiment with more color tuning in general, using foods and not coloring to harmonize my plates even more than I usually do. More rice would have been welcome. An option with the Habanada peppers could be to blend, taking away the chunk they contributed.

Brown Lentil Dhal with Potato (No Added Fat)

I thought I'd make a brown lentil dhal; lentils cook under pressure in a ratio of 1 to between 1 1/2 and 2 for 15-20 minutes; I wanted a souply dahl so thought I'd go for a 1:3 ratio for 20 minutes. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups Russet (or other) potato cut into larger 1/2" cubes (a medium potato)
• 1/4 cup onion cut into 1/2" cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (< 1/8") minced
• 2 cups carrot cut into 3/8" slices (about 3-4 small carrots)
• 1 packed cup kale, roughly hand-torn into approximately 1" pieces (stems excepted) and then cut down into approximately quarters via knife
• 1 cup frozen sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/2 t black salt
• 1/2 t cumin seeds
• (optional) small piece of organic Meyer lemon, skin and interior intact
• Another 1/4 cup onion, this time cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1T lemon juice (I used Meyer lemon juice)
• (optional) 2 T organic Meyer lemon skin, cut into 1/2" pieces

Process

1. I put the lentils, water, potato, 1st batch of larger cut onion, garlic, carrot, kale, mushroom, turmeric, salt, cumin seed, and lemon into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 20m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed
3. When I was ready to serve, I opened the pot slowly, and added the additional 1/4 cup onion, lemon juice, and lemon pieces. 

I was out of brown rice, so used white Jasmine rice on the side, as well as peas and carrots.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Red Split Lentil Dhal with Okra (No Added Fat)

I decided to make a red split lentil dhal with okra. Red split lentils cook in a 1 to 2 or 2.5 part ratio of lentils to water over 13-18 minutes; I went with 1:2 for 15 minutes. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

• 1 cup red split lentils
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups frozen chopped okra
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/4 cup shallot (medium shallot) cut into 3/8" cubes
• 1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen roasted corn)
• 1/4 cumin seeds
• 1/4 t salt (I used kala namak)
• 2T fresh lemon juice (I used Meyer lemon juice)

Process

1. I put the lentils, water, okra, and turmeric into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 15m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the shallot, corn, cumin seeds, salt, black pepper, and lemon juice, and served with tomato slices and brown rice.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Waterless Curried Cauliflower, Brown Lentils (No Added Fat); Oatmeal Raisin - Meyer Lemon Cookies

The weather became cold tonight and I felt like a warm soup. I thought I'd make a main course of a curried cauliflower dish along with a dhal. Frankly, I prefer a chunkier not even quite stew to dhal often, but though I've tried cooking dishes like lentils at the low end of the water and high end of the time required, I generally get a product more liquidy than I expect (I do like dhal and soup, but often try for something thicker, which I also like!). Tonight, I ended up with a nice consistency of my lentil dish which was actually just a tad bit dryer than it could have been. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown lentils
• 1 1/2 times as much water (i.e., 2 1/4 cups)
• 1 cup carrot cut into 3/8" slices (I used 3 small carrots; if they weren't thin, I'd have halved them, as well)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") minced
• About 2T organic Meyer lemon, including all (flesh and rind), cut into 3/8" cubes (if no organic Meyer lemon or no Meyer lemon at all is available, then skip and mix in 1T fresh lemon or lime juice at the end)
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/3 t fennel seed
• 1/4 cup onion cut into approx. 1/4"x1" half moons
• Florets from head of cauliflower (about 6 cups)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• Another 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/4 + 1/4 = 1/2 t salt

Process

1. I put the lentils, water, carrot, garlic, Meyer lemon, turmeric, cumin, and fennel into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 20m (lentils cook in a 1 part to 1.5-2 parts ratio of lentils to water for 15-20m).
2. While the lentils were cooking, I put, in this order, the onion, cauliflower, and peas into a large Saladmaster stock pan (I had a half dozen pieces of bell pepper cut up and went ahead and threw them in, as well). I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 20 minutes.
3. I mixed in 1/4 t salt and the additional 1/4 t turmeric, and served.
4. When the lentils were ready to be removed from the de-pressurized cooker, I mixed in 1/4 t salt and served.

Results

Dinner was good! The lentil dish was a bit more solid than I had wished for, but was good. The cauliflower was tasty. Everybody enjoyed the meal.

Ideas for the future

I should try this again with a ratio of 1 : 1 3/4 lentils to water. Mango powder would go well with the lentils.

Cookies!

I don't cook desserts often, though I like to blend frozen fruit with a little almond creamer to make an almost no fat "ice cream". We have a cookie exchange on Friday, and my daughter wanted to make oatmeal raisin cookies. I had the idea that I could mix in some delicious organic Meyer lemon juice.

There are many good recipes readily available. I came up with the following, similar to many that I had found, such as one from theveglife.com, and made a batch of 10 cookies as a trial tonight. We all loved the cookies! They're not without fat, but each cookie was about 4 or 4 1/2 g of fat, which isn't bad for a treat (a Tablespoon of Earth Balance margarine is 11g of fat; I used less than 4T for 10 cookies).

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 T) Earth Balance margarine (or other vegan butter or margarine) at room temperature
• 3/8 cup brown sugar (or turbinado sugar or some combination of the two)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 T ground flax
• 1 1/2 T water
• Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
• Skin of 1/3 Meyer lemon cut into 1/4" pieces

Process

• I preheated my oven to 350°F.
• I had my daughter mix with a utensil the sugar into the Earth Balance.
• Once homogeneous, I started adding a little bit of the flour at a time till it was all mixed in, then continued with the baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
• Next, we mixed in the oats, raisins, flax, water, and lemon/lemon pieces.
• We divided the dough into approximately tablespoonfuls an inch or so apart on a cookie sheet, and pressed down to flatten the tops a bit.
• With the preheated oven ready, I put the cookie sheet in to bake for 8-9 or maybe 10 minutes till the edges were just turning golden.
• I removed the cookies from the oven and let them sit a few minutes till firm enough that I could remove them to a cookie wire rack to cool.

The cookies were very good! We tried some cookies with a few chocolate chips put on top of the finished cookies while still warm. They were very good, too, but didn't add a significant flavor, though my wife was partial to them.

When I make these on Thursday night in a larger quantity for the Friday event, I'll increase the raisin content a bit. The sweetness was just right. I could have included a little more vanilla if I wished. Yum!

Sauteed Tofu and Vegetables, Lentil Grain Bread with Tomato and Guacamole (No Added Fat)

I was out and about and got home late; my family had eaten, so I made a simple dinner for myself. I sauteed on a cast iron stove with no added oil tofu, asparagus, onion, garlic, and mushroom. I also roasted a jalapeno pepper and mixed some of it in.

I like a veganic company, One Degree Organic Foods, and enjoy their cereals. I found their bread in the frozen section; they had an interesting lentil grain bread, which I bought, toasted, and served with tomato and a bit of guacamole.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Red Split Lentil Dhal with Pumpkin, Whole Wheat Pearl Couscous (No Added Fat)

I wanted to continue experimenting with pumpkin puree to add a holiday taste to main courses, like I did with my seitan dish last Wednesday. I thought that I'd try a dhal.

Ingredients

• 1 cup red split lentils
• 4 T pumpkin puree
• 1 cup eggplant cut into small 1/4" cubes (I used 6 small graffiti eggplants)
• 1 clove elephant garlic cut into small cubes app. 1/8"-1/4" (or regular garlic cut into 1/8" or smaller dice)
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 2 1/4 cups water (red split lentils cook in a ratio of one to between two and two and a half of lentils:water pressure cooked for 13-18m; I picked 16m)
• 1/4 cup onion cut into approx. 3/8" cubes
• 2T lemon or lime juice (we were out, alas, but tangerines have just started becoming available - yay! - so I used fresh squeezed tangerine juice, instead
• (optional) 1T vegan yogurt per serving 

Process

1. I put the lentils, pumpkin, eggplant, garlic, turmeric, and water into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 16m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the tangerine juice and salt. I served with my homemade soy yogurt.

I also made some whole wheat pearl couscous (one part to one and a half parts water, a vegan bouillon cube, salt, and carrot, simmered for 10m then allowed to sit off the heat for 2 more minutes). Oh, and

Results

My family enjoyed the meal. I did, too, but wish I had added onion to the couscous for more flavor. The dhal was fine and nice and thick, but I think could have also had more flavor.

Ideas for the future

Pumpkin didn't really enhance dhal, though I can try other approaches, such as a pumpkin soup with a little lentil dhal mixed in.

Red Split Pea Dhal with Brown Rice (No Added Fat)

I decided to make a thick dhal with red split lentils. These lentils are prepared in a ratio of one part to 2 - 2 1/2 parts water pressure cooked for 13-18 minutes. I wanted it to be thick, so I went with a 1:2 ratio for the full 18 minutes. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

• 1 cup red split lentils
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups eggplant cut into 3/8" cubes (maybe 2/3 of a medium eggplant)
• 2/3 cup fennel root cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1 1/3 cup carrot (one large carrot) cut into 3/8" lengths
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped 18m
• 2t baby ginger, finely (1/8") diced (or 1t regular ginger)
• 3/4 t ground cumin
• 1T lemon or lime juice
• 1/2 t salt

Process

1. I put the lentils, water, eggplant, fennel, carrot, garlic, ginger, and cumin into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 18 minutes.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the salt and lemon juice.

I served the dhal with brown rice (which I cooked in a 1:2 ratio with water and a vegan bouillon cube, simmered for 45 minutes, just like I always do).

Results

I loved the meal! The eggplant, as I've found in the past, didn't add much flavor, but I did like the subtle taste and texture that it contributed. I had forgotten to add onion at the end, but it turned out to be fine. I would have included a little turmeric but we're out. My wife has returned from her trip! She didn't like the dhal as much as my daughter and I did, and wanted more flavor, so added some hot sauce.

Ideas for the future

I rarely find that I use too little water, but this time there was a little sticking in the pan. I think that I slightly under-measured the water; in any case, I should next time try maybe 2 1/4 parts water to 1 part lentils. Additional vegetables like greens would have been good. I've been wanting to cook olives with a lentil dish like dhal, and should try that sometime soon.

Pinto Bean and Red Lentil Stew (No Added Fat)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups beans rinsed, soaked overnight, and rinsed again
• 1/3 cup red lentil
• Just enough water to cover lentils and beans
• 1 1/2 cup Yukon Gold potato (medium potato) cut into 3/8" cubes - 23m
• 2 cups eggplant (about 1/2 eggplant) cut into 3/8" cubes
• 1 1/2 cups carrot (medium carrot) cut into 3/8" width and halved
• 1/3 cup fennel cut into 3/8" cubes
• 1 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• 10-12 oregano leaves
• 2t lime (or lemon) juice
• 1 t garam masala (or 1/2 t turmeric)
• (optional) 1/4 t fenugreek seed
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 t (or to taste) salt

Process

1. I cooked the beans, lentils, water, potato, eggplant, carrot, and fennel for 23 minutes (20-25 would have been fine; I wanted a thick result, so went with 23m).
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the onion, oregano, and spices.

I served with a tomato salad (heirloom tomato and some grape tomatoes that our neighbor brought over while I was cooking, Kalamata olives, fresh basil, ume plum vinegar, salt, and black pepper), as well as a kale rollup from Fruitive from our Washington, DC trip that we returned from last night (that isn't gluten-free, but I am labeling this entry as such because of the main course).

Results

The main course was tasty! I love what pressure cooked eggplant does - it doesn't seem to add appreciable flavor (even my brother-in-law who doesn't like eggplant didn't notice when I served him an eggplant dish recently) but thickens a dish.

Ideas for the future

I should more carefully explore how lentils and beans cook well together. I just experimented with a third of a cup of lentil - I wanted to add more, but that's all of the red lentils that I had.

Eggplant - Potato - Brown Lentil Stew with Madagascar Pink Rice (No Added Fat)

I've enjoy cooking lentil stews and dhals, as I described, for example, in December 2014. I thought that I'd make a double serving so that we could send half to our neighbors who just had a baby.

Lentils cook in a 1 part to 1.5-2 part water ratio for 15-20m. I wanted something thick, so initially chose 1.5x water for 20m, but I put a lot of ingredients in, so added another half cup of water (with 2 cups lentils, it ended up being a 1:2 ratio).

By the way, I recently got a third Instant Pot, the Duo Plus 60 and donated my original Duo 60. I've used the Duo Plus 60 in making yogurt but tonight was the first time I've used it for dinner. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 2 cups brown (which I used) or green lentils
• 4 cups water
• Approx. 4 cups potato in 3/8" cubes (I used 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes and ended up with approx. 4 1/3 cups chopped potato)
• Medium eggplant cut into 3/8" cubes (about 2 cups)
• 3 medium carrots halved and then cut into 3/8" slices (about 2 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped
• 1t ginger, finely (1/8") chopped (I ended up skipping as, alas, we were out of ginger)
• 3/4 t fenugreek seeds (added in this small quantity to not add much flavor but to enhance lactation for our neighbors)
• 1/4 t turmeric
• Medium bell pepper 
• 2 cups onion cut into approx. 3/8" cubes ( maybe 2/3 of a medium onion)
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
• 4t lemon or lime juice

Process

1. I put all of the ingredients except the bell pepper, onion, salt, black pepper, and lime juice into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 20m.
2. While the pressure cooking was underway, I roasted the bell pepper by putting it directly on the gas range flame, turning occasionally till charred throughout (about 5 minutes), then I put in a brown bag that I closed.
3. After the cooking was done, I prepared the roasted pepper by running it under cold water and rubbing the char off, cutting it to let the water inside drain in the sink, removing the membranes, and then chopping into approx. 3/4" squares (about 1 cup).
4. I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the onion, salt, black pepper, and lime juice, as well as roasted bell pepper.

I served with some Madagascar Pink rice (1 part rice to 1 3/4-2 parts water, a vegan bouillon cube, and a dash of salt, simmered for 20m). Yesterday, for the vegetarian society 4th of July potluck party, I made watermelon gazpacho soup and had some leftovers, which I served as a kind of salad to complete the meal.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Brown Lentils with Edamame and Mung Bean Sprout Fettuccine (No Added Fat)

I love Edamame and mung bean sprout fettuccine  and wondered what it would be like with lentils. Even better, how about if I cooked the pasta not separately, but together with the lentils? They might get overcooked, but it's worth trying! Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups green or brown (I used brown) lentils
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t turmeric 
• 1 cup carrot (2 medium carrots) cut into 3/8" slices - 20m
• 1 cup Edamame and mung bean sprout fettuccine (or other pasta, but cooking time may have to be adjusted) cut into approx. 2" pieces
• Medium shallot cut into approx. 3/8" cubes (few tablespoonfuls)
• ginger
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t salt

Process

1. I put the lentils, water, cumin, turmeric, and carrot into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 20m (green or brown lentils cook with a 1 to 1.5-2 part ratio lentil to water for 15-20m; I wanted this to be thick so went for minimum water and maximum cook time).
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure. The pasta takes about 8m of cook time, but I wondered if it would cook in the residual heat of the Instant Pot, especially as smaller pieces (it did!), so just mixed in the pasta, as well as the remaining ingredients (shallot, garlic powder, and salt). 
3. I let the pot sit, covered, for about 5-8 minutes, then served.

Results

I loved the dish! The pasta cooked just fine and went well with the lentils. The moisture and texture was all great!

Ideas for the future

My daughter doesn't like this particular pasta, unfortunately, but I should explore more dishes of lentils and pasta. Dried lemon and/or citrus zest would go well with lentil dishes in general, and I should try it.

Barley, Pea, and Lentil Soup with Green Tomato, Frisee Salad, Grilled Artichoke Hearts (No Added Fat)

I had a pre-packaged combination of barley, peas, and lentils that I bought from Whole Foods Market. The packaged suggested cooking (conventionally, not with pressure; pressure would work but would take much less time, perhaps 1/4 - 1/3 as much) with three times as much water for 23m if one wants soft grains or 10m for tougher grains.

I cooked in the prescribed ratio of 1 part to 3 parts water, plus a vegan bouillon cube, a bit of salt, and 1 1/3 cups green tomato (a medium tomato) cut into 3/8" cubes. I forgot how long I cooked for, but believe it was 20-23 minutes. I mixed in a little lemon or lime juice at the end.

I had purchased the green tomato from our local farmers' market, and also purchased some frisee, which I used along with tomato as a salad. Grilled artichoke hearts completed the meal.

Results

The soup was good! I like the textures and the light flavor that the tomato contributed.

Ideas for the future

I should make more soups with green tomatoes - but it's not always easy to find unripe tomatoes in the market. Some turmeric and cumin would also be nice. My family didn't like the bitter frisee; I love the look and enjoy the taste in small quantities.

Indo-Italian Red Lentil Pasta with Tempeh (No Added Fat)

I have heard of people making curried tomato sauces and found a simple and interesting recipe that I could easily make vegan. It calls for cooking onion, bell pepper, garlic, curry powder, and thyme till vegetables are soft, then adding stewed tomato and simmering for 5m. I thought I'd use fresh tomatoes.

I was thinking of making a rich Indian-Italian inspired tomato sauce and mix in artichoke quarters, but as I got going, I thought that I had a good collection of vegetables and that artichokes wouldn't be properly hilighted. Below is what I came up with.

By the way, a fellow Food for Life instructor, Cathy Katin-Grazzini, shared today a very nice "cheese" sauce recipe that I should try. Her website is a great resource for healthful vegan cooking.

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") diced
• 1 medium shallot, finely (1/8-1/4") diced
• 3 spring onions cut into 1/2" lengths
• Medium bell pepper cut into approx. 1/2" squares (about a cup)
• 3 medium shiitake mushrooms cut into thick 3/8" slices
• 2 medium tomatoes cut into 3/8" cubes (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 4T tomato paste
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
• 8 leaves fresh oregano, finely (1/8") minced
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/2 t garam masala
• 1/4 t ground cumin

Process

1. I put the garlic and shallot into a stainless steel pan and cooked, stirring, on medium high, with no oil or water, for a few minutes till the garlic and shallot was starting to brown.
2. I then added the spring onion, bell pepper, and mushroom, and cooked for two more minutes, stirring.
3. I added the tomato, tomato paste, salt, and black pepper, stirred, and simmered for 15m (or longer), uncovered, on low.
4. I added the remaining spices and oregano, stirred, turned off the heat, and served atop organic red lentil penne, along with tempeh sauteed with no oil on a cast iron pan.

Results

Dinner was good, though my daughter didn't like the sauce. I thought it was a good first try, but I should not have used cumin, the flavor of which wasn't consonant with the rest of the sauce. I knew that it would be a little tricky marrying in a reasonable way very different flavor profiles. I rarely mix Indian spices with Italian herbs.

Ideas for the future

I should try again in making a curry tomato sauce. A pinch of cinnamon may work. I might try cutting the garam masala back and adding a little asafoetida powder, perhaps, as well as a bit of mustard powder. Perhaps a pinch of salt or a tiny bit of maple syrup may work.

Green Lentil Lasagne, Massaged Kale Salad, Waterless Baby Lima Bean and Bell Peppers

I recently bought a nice looking product, organic green lentil lasagne from Explore Cuisine and decided to make lasagne. These noodles are 50% green lentil flour, and otherwise are made of green pea four and brown rice flour. I like Rao's pasta sauces but have only bought them a few times as they are expensive. They were recently on sale, and I purchased their artichoke sauce. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 8 ounce dry uncooked lasagne noodles
• 2 ounces tempeh cut into thin slices approx. 1/4" x 3" x 3"
• About 20 ounces marinara or other favorite tomato based sauce
• Ingredient 2
• 8 ounces of seitan
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 2 cups onion cut into half moon slices approx. 1/4" x 1 1/4" ( maybe 2/3 of a medium onion)
• 1 1/4 cups carrot cut into 3/8" slices (3 small-medium carrots)

Process

1. In a glass baking dish, I put one noodle down and covered it with ample sauce. I repeated, with less sauce in the middle, and ample sauce again atop. In between two of the top layers I put the tempeh. I reserved three noodles.
2. I cut the reserved noodles in half and made a version of the lasagne for my daughter, skipping the tempeh, which she doesn't like, and using a bit of Daiya brand vegan cheddar "cheese".
3. I baked, covered, in an oven preheated to 400°F oven for 40-45 m, and then served.

I also made a massaged kale salad (kale leaves torn from stems and massaged with lime juice and salt) and waterless baby lima bean and bell pepper (beans and pepper started from frozen) side dish.

Results

The sauce has a little oil in it and weighs in at 6g of fat per serving, with 6 servings in the bottle. I used maybe 5/6 of the bottle, but this served three of us, so contributed about 10g of fat per serving, so I won't claim this to be a no added fat dish, but with typical sauces that I use, it would be.

Ideas for the future

Pending

Mixed Bean-Lentil Soup with Spinach, Tomato, and Homegrown Fingerling Potato, served with Broccoli Sprouts and English Muffin Half with Herb-Garlic French-style Vegan Cheese (Almost No Added Fat)

Early today, my daughter asked for bean soup, pulling out a bag that I had of a dry bean mix (I think it had maybe a dozen types of beans and lentils). She loves soup, and I was happy to make it for her. My wife experimented with planting fingerling potatoes and harvested her first 3 or 4, which I also included in the soup.

A friend brought some herb-garlic Treeline brand cashew-based soft French-style "cheese" back from Washington, DC recently. It's tasty and the fat content is not excessive; 11g of fat per ounce, and the container contains 6 ounces. I used a smear, which couldn't have been more than 1/4 ounce (or less than 3g of fat), on an English muffin half for a side.


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups mixed beans, rinsed and soaked overnight, then rinsed one more time (the bean mix that I used were all small beans and included lentils, so a 4-hour soak time and 30-minute cook time was more than enough)
• Medium tomato cut into 1/2" cubes (maybe 3/4 cup)
• 3-5 fingerling (or other type) potatoes cut into 3/8" pieces
• 8 ounces frozen (what I used) or fresh chopped spinach
• 1t ginger, finely (1/8") chopped
• 1/2 cup onion cut into approx. 3/8" x 1 1/4" half moons
• 3 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped (I was running late when I started the cooking so skipped this, but added garlic powder to taste at the end)
• Vegan bouillon cube
• Enough water to bring contents to about 5 1/3 cups total (I'm guessing maybe 2 1/2 or so cups)
• 2T lemon juice
• 1/4 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t (or to taste) salt
• (optional) 2T nutritional yeast

Process

1. I put all the ingredients except the lemon juice, oregano, salt, and nutritional yeast into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and simply pressed the "Soup" button to pressure cook for 30m.
2. When I was ready to serve, which happened to be several hours later (the machine keeps food warm for some hours), I was able to simply open the pot (otherwise, I'd want to slowly release pressure and open carefully)
3. I mixed in the lemon juice, oregano, salt, and nutritional yeast, and served, along with the English muffin and broccoli sprouts

Results

Everybody liked dinner!

Ideas for the future

I should make soups more often. This could have benefited from fresh garlic with the other ingredients instead of (or in addition to, perhaps) the garlic powder. A little bit of wine cooked with the soup would add a nice nuanced flavor. Other vegetables, like celery, carrot, and cabbage would go well cooked with this soup.

I should try a pasta e fagioli bean and pasta soup sometime. It sounds like it would be easy to just add uncooked pasta with the beans and other ingredients and cook together. I'll bet a rice and bean soup would be good, too!

Green Lentil Pasta with Blistered and Salted Shishito (Padrón) Peppers and Artichoke Hearts, Bagel with Mustard (No Added Fat)

Recently, I found an interesting green lentil pasta in the store; it only has green lentil and quinoa flours as its two ingredients. At the local farmers' market today, I picked up very tasty sungold tomatoes (my daughter usually heads straight for these and we ate one of the two pints before we got home) and a new favorite of mine since I discovered them last year, shishito peppers (also known as padrón peppers).

I love simply putting these small peppers in a cast iron pan with no oil and, on medium heat, occasionally turning till dark and blistered. Letting them cool off a bit, I dip each pepper in salt (ideally, large grained salt) and enjoy. It's an adult pastime as the occasional pepper is fiery. But most of the time, it's a great taste with no heat.

I decided to make a simple lentil pasta with artichoke hearts (that I cooked in a Saladmater stock pot with no oil, along with shiitake mushroom for a few minutes, adding sungold tomato for just a minute or so) and olives. I blistered and salted the shishito peppers and topped the pasta and vegetables with the peppers.

We had picked up bagels today, and I served each of us a half toasted bagel with mustard. Cucumber slices completed the meal.

Results

Dinner was good. I should have made some sort of a sauce with the pasta; I had some marinara on hand, and was thinking of using it but didn't. The pasta itself didn't have an impressive texture or flavor, but I liked the ingredients and nutrition profile. I love blistered and salted shishitos, especially when I avoid hot ones!

Ideas for the future

I'll have to try additional experiments with these peppers. I like them just warm with salt, but found a number of interesting ideas online, such as one that includes garlic and green onion. I should try making more pasta dishes with mainly cooked vegetables and some interesting sauces, such as a low-fat béchamel or something like my July 2011 Alfredo.

Chayote Squash with French Lentils (No Added Fat)

I purchased a chayote squash for the first time. I had read that it tastes good raw or pressure cooked for 2 minutes after being cubed. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 1 cup French lentils
• 2 1/2 cups water
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 1 small cabbage (I used purple, but green is fine) cut into shreds of about 3/8" x 1" (about 1 1/2 cups)
• Medium chayote squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes (I had read that the soft seed should be composted, but I only found a thin seed that was tasty; I ate it raw)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") diced
• 1/8 t turmeric
• 1/2 t black sesame seeds
• 1t fennel seeds
• 1/2 cup onion cut into half moon slices approx. 1/4" x 1 1/4" (maybe 2/3 of a medium onion)
• 1/2 t salt (or to taste)
• 2t lemon juice

Process

1. I put the lentils, water, and bouillon cube into my Instant Pot pressure cooker. Lentils should take about 7 minutes (like when I made a French lentil dish back in May 2014) and I wanted to cook the squash for 2 minutes, so I cooked the lentils for 5 minutes.
2. After the cooking was done, I could have waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, but I did the first step well before I needed to continue so was able to just open the top since the pressure was reduced. The lentils tasted quite done and good after just the 5-minute cook time!
3. I added the squash after tasting it raw. It was good raw and reminded me a lot of jicama. I decided to cook under low pressure for the remaining 2 minutes. I did that, after also adding the garlic, turmeric, sesame seeds, and fennel seeds.
4. When I was ready to serve, I opened the pot slowly, and added onion, salt, and lemon juice. I served with Madagascar Pink rice.

Results

Dinner was good - and I forgot to add the onions in! My daughter doesn't normally like squash, but this chayote squash doesn't at all taste like other squashes that we've had. For a change, I liked my meal more than my wife did; we both liked it, but I thought that the combination was particularly good. She wanted a bit more treatment of the squash.

Speaking of onions, my wife did prefer onion, which I added at the table to her plate. I was fine with no onion.

Ideas for the future

I'm delighted with the 1: 2.5 ratio over 5 minutes of pressure for the French lentils - and wonder if 4 minutes would be enough as the lentils were a bit soft. I love how they come out and form a thick base for additional ingredients. I should cook with French lentils more often.

I should buy chayote squash again and serve it raw, thinly sliced. I should also experiment with more cooked dishes, perhaps coating the squash with bread crumbs or just preparing it with more ingredients, such as carrots and sweet potato.