QUINOA WITH BLACK BEANS AND APRICOTS

QUINOA WITH BLACK BEANS AND APRICOTS

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 small onion chopped
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
1 3 inch cinnamon stick
1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans
1 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

(1) Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Stir in quinoa, apricots, and cinnamon stick, return to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until quinoa is tender. 12 minutes.

(2) Stir in black beans. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir in parsley.

Per serving (3/4 cup): 197 g, 248 Cal., 4 g Total Fat, 0 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 0 mg Chol, 240 mg Sod, 43 g Total Carb, 6 g Total Sugar, 7 g Fib, 10 g Prot, 56 mg Calc.

6 PointsPlus per serving

Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook



....just a note....

I just made this from the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook, which just came out in the last couple weeks - along with Weight Watchers revamp of their weight management system. New PointsPlus are different from the points system they had been using for the last decade or so.

ALSO - I doubled the recipe (if I am going to go to the trouble of cooking - I want some for the week)

While this is listed as a side-dish, I'll eat this as an entrée. It is a bit different from what I gravitate to flavor-wise. This is warm/sweet/savory. I tend to go for spicy-zesty - but this is good. I look forward to trying other recipes.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Jalapeño Hummus

Jalapeño Hummus



My sister sent this recipe which is easy to whip up in moments.

(you can find her blog HERE; I recommend it!)

She made it for my niece who doesn't even like Hummus - and my niece LOVES IT! I am not going to even type it out.....

You can find the recipe HERE

First picture is my batch

Second picture was my sister's batch - I lifted that pic from her Facebook page

I couldn't find a 1/3 cup can of jalapeños at my terrible large grocery store full of things I DO NOT WANT! So I purchased the ONLY sliced jalapeños they had and measured out 1/3 cup. Everything turned out fine.

I find it very tasty myself - an interesting intersection of Middle Eastern and Mexican/American flavors and textures.





SOLI DEO GLORIA

African Sweet Potato Stew

African Sweet Potato Stew

My sister and my mother raved about this. I happened to be at my mother's up in the Twin Cities over Memorial Day. My mother sent some of this recipe home with me. I gave some to a friend home in Chicago before trying it. My friend called me and asked for the recipe. I tried it. It is good. ALSO Easy to make. I like the taste and the texture! I really don't know how "African" it is, it might be African like how French - French Toast is.

My sister found this recipe on line HERE

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cups chopped cabbage (to save time, use packaged slaw mix)
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 18-ounce can sweet potatoes, drained and chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can tomato wedges or diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
3/4 cup apple juice1 to 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups frozen cut green beans
1/3 cup natural peanutbutter



1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 2. Add onion; Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Mix in cabbage and garlic; Cook, stirring, until cabbage is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tomato juice, apple juice, ginger, and red pepper flakes.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low; Cover.
6. Simmer until hot and bubbling, about 6 minutes.
7. Stir in green beans and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. 8. Stir in peanut butter until well blended and hot, about 1 minute. 9. Serve stew with crusty bread and a salad, or spoon it over rice or mashed potatoes.


Comments
6 Servings
Per Serving:
261 Calories; 8g Protein; 9g Fat; 40g Carbohydrates; 0 Cholesterol; 425mg Sodium; 8g Fiber.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

VARIATION ON A THEME

Just because I haven’t posted recently doesn’t mean I am less interested in blogging. Like anyone, I have competing priorities in my life.

I’ve mentioned before that expressing what I am eating (through this blog) just makes me more mindful of what I am eating. Expressing what I am eating has sparked conversations within my own circle of friends, family, and coworkers of the food choices we all make.

Before I blogged, for vegetarian choices I basically switched between the BOILED BEANS recipe the RICE & HERBED LENTILS recipe. Not much variation. A couple weeks ago I tried substituting the rice in the RICE & HERBED LENTILS for Wild Rice (as suggested by my mother), and I found that I really liked it, especially if it was topped with sliced toasted almonds.
Well butter-my-butt-&-call-me-a-Parker-House-Roll….I actually ventured myself and thought Quinoa could be substituted for the brown rice. Today I made (based on RICE & HERBED LENTILS) QUINOA & HERBED LENTILS!

I used Red Lentils and Red Quinoa.


Each of the three have had slightly different tastes, textures, and appearances, but none drastically different that would have me never make any one of them again. I would make all of them again.

Since we add ½ cup of brown rice –or– wild rice –or– quinoa to the recipe I decided to compare nutrition information.


For overall taste and texture I still like the brown rice variation the best; however, I would easily venture over to wild rice or quinoa for slightly better nutrition value.

QUINOA & HERBED LENTILS

SOLI DEO GLORIA

THANKS MOM!

I haven’t been posting in awhile. Lent is over, Eastertide/Spring is in full swing. My silence here has basically been the weight of my day job. I will be off of work both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

People have asked me, are you going to continue to post? I am, when I have those magic ingredients of time and energy. I haven’t run out of things to say.

People have asked me if I’ve gone back to eating meat. Lent on the whole for me was about being mindful – and on the whole I was flexitarian in my approach. While I am eating a little more meat, I am sticking to preparing vegetarian dishes and making vegetarian choices when I can. I promised myself I would have a peppercorn encrusted filet mignon (medium-well-thankyouverymuch) when Lent was over. I still haven’t had it, but still plan on doing so.


This is a photo of what I ate on Easter Day. HAM! (not very Kosher, but there you go)

Which brings me to the post title – Thanks Mom!

One of the earlier posts on this blog is where I share my Rice & Herbed Lentils Recipe. I noted that my mother immediately asked if she could make it with wild rice instead of brown rice. My mother immediately thinks of ingredients she can substitute in about any recipe you give her. She indeed made it with wild rice and said it was ok. Now me, on the other hand, tends to make dishes exactly as the author/chef intended. In order to challenge myself – I made Rice & Herbed Lentils – with wild rice. I made it for a couple of reasons – to try something new, but also to use up some wild rice I’ve had for awhile.

When I first made the dish – I thought it felt short of my expectations. To me, the color was a little on the ‘grey’ side and there seemed to be a bit of leftover liquid in the bottom of the casserole. I took out a portion for work – but as luck would have it – one day I got cancelled half way through the shift and left it for the next day. The next day the catering manager had an extra dish of salad and offered it to me. It wasn’t until the next day after that I tried it. Since my mother told me it was chewy and nutty, I just happened to garnish with leftover sliced toasted almonds from a previous dish. Moreover I garnished with little bits of curly parsley. I think curly parsley is often overlooked in contemporary cuisine. I finally was able to eat the dish at work. The leftover liquid seemed to have soaked in and the flavors and especially the textures were wonderful. So, a new dish – different from the Rice & Herbed Lentil is discovered (Wild Rice & Herbed Lentils). Again, I seldom venture very far past the written recipe – though this got me thinking – that I am going to try the same recipe substituting quinoa for the brown rice. I will keep you posted.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

CURRIED QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND ALMONDS

I made this dish once before years ago when the Dining for Two cookbook came out with Weight Watchers in 2004. The first time I tried using quinoa was with this recipe. I haven’t made it much since then, mostly because I was so overly busy in nursing school, and then being a new grad nurse.

I made this Thursday – so I could have it available for my lunches over the next several days. I also set aside a portion for a friend of mine (who follows this blog). When I made it I doubled the recipe so I could share (we all need to share more of what we prepare) and also so I could have it available for meals at work. I avoid our cafeteria. The food is mediocre, the prices are outrageously expensive, and the employees are just plain mean to customers.

I’ve listed the recipe as written below. What I ended up with isn’t exactly as written below. How often is life NOT exactly what we expected. Lesson: be flexible with your expectations. One way my dish is different is that I purposely omitted the toasted almonds because the person I share with can’t tolerate nuts. I will sprinkle toasted almonds on top when I eat a bit when I am at work tonight. Another way my dish is different is that I MADE A MISTAKE and read the garbanzo beans as one can instead of ½ can, so the dish pictured has lots of extra garbanzo beans. No problem. I’ve learned that I like ‘red’ quinoa when I can find it. I am out of red quinoa, I was thinking of buying more, but really I had a lot of plain quinoa so this was an opportunity to use up some of that.

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CURRIED QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND ALMONDS

½ cup quinoa, rinsed
½ cup orange juice
½ cup water
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion chopped
1 garlic clove minced
½ cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
½ 10 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 Tablespoon sliced almonds toasted
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ cup golden raisins
2 scallions chopped
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated orange zest


Combine quinoa, orange juice, water, curry powder, ½ teaspoon of the salt, the cumin, and allspice in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed 12-15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and peas and carrots; cook stirring frequently, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Sir in the chickpeas and almonds; cook stirring about 2 minutes longer. Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper.

Transfer the quinoa mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the raisins, scallions, cilantro, and orange zest; toss well. Stir in the chickpea mixture and serve at once or let the mixture cool to room temperature before serving.
Per serving (1 ½ cups); 422 calories, 10 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg chol, 110 mg sodium, 75 g carb, 10 g fiber, 14 g protein, 126 mg calcium. POINTS: 8


SOLI DEO GLORIA

Kashi™ Friendly Fiber Muffins

In the 1960’s and 1970’s there were entire cookbooks devoted to cooking things using already prepared/processed foods and particular brand names from the grocery store. In this current age of the Food Network and “foodies” one doesn’t always admit to shortcuts or that former way of cooking. Often I avoid prepared/processed foods in order to avoid things like high-fructose corn syrup and sodium. Not only do I like to cook, but I also like to just read cookbooks, even if I am not going to make anything. Cookbooks I like to read are often the older ones. I especially like old church cookbooks with the flexible plastic binding.

This recipe, I do make an exception to using a processed food, mostly because it is indeed good for you. I make these periodically for breakfast. I like them because I like the taste and texture and they are good with coffee. I like them because I store them in a relatively airtight container and they keep for a couple of days. They are portable and I can grab one or two of them on the go. I also re-heat them gently sometimes in the microwave.

The recipe is found HERE on the Kashi company website.

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Kashi™ Friendly Fiber Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free)
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1¾ cups Kashi® Good Friends® Original cereal
1 cup organic skim milk, rice or soy milk
2 free-range egg whites
¼ cup honey
½ cup organic unsweetened applesauce
1 medium organic ripe banana, mashed
Nonstick cooking spray


1. Preheat oven to 400° degrees.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine Kashi® Good Friends® Original cereal and milk and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Add the egg whites and beat well. Stir in honey, applesauce and banana. Add flour mixture and mix only until dry ingredients are moistened (over-mixing will produce rubbery muffins).
4. Fill sprayed muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size 1 muffin, Calories 100, Calories from Fat 0, Total Fat 0g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 240mg, Total Carbohydrate 22g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 11g, Protein 3g



SOLI DEO GLORIA

KENNETH'S HUMMUS

I tried ANOTHER new recipe today. I made hummus myself for the first time. Recipe told to me verbally by chef Kenneth from “Taste of Thyme: Good & Good for You Food”

I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, we were talking about LIGHT recipes – I can’t remember if I am to add some olive oil or not – but if you add any, add very sparingly, otherwise the calories begin to add up. The batch I made was without olive oil and was fine by me.

I am thrilled at the economics of making my own hummus. $.89 for a can of Trader Joe’s Garbanzo Beans and $.39 for a fresh lemon from Trader Joe’s as well. It was a bit of an outlay for the tahini, but will only use that 1 Tablespoon at a time. Tahini pays for itself after creating only two batches of hummus. I used ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper & ½ teaspoon ground cumin for spices and it is very flavorful and delicious. I am looking forward to an opportunity where I can make this for others.

My round-up of ingredients shows the blender, but I transferred the concoction to the food processor and I found my old 1980’s food processor worked better than a blender.

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Kenneth’s Hummus

1 15 oz can of Garbanzo Beans
1 lemon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 clove garlic

Open can of Garbanzo Beans, drain, but reserve liquid. Squeeze or ream and save juice of one lemon. In food processor – mix beans, lemon juice, spices, tahini, garlic clove. Add reserved garbanzo bean liquid until desired consistency. Garnish with lemon zest. Makes 12 oz by weight.

This is zesty, tasty, light and less calories without olive oil.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

RED LENTIL AND SPINACH STEW

Thanks to everyone who has contacted me looking for RUMINATION postings. I’ve had a bit of silence on here. I have been OK. I had to work at the “day job” four days in a row – Monday through Thursday. Most of you know that I am a registered nurse, but for those of you who don’t know, four days in a row of caring for acutely ill patients can be exhausting.

There is a link on my blog for “Geranium Farm” which is the very popular home to priest, author, Barbara Crafton who I had the opportunity to meet earlier this month. I was agog. Barbara Crafton has noted in her writings that sometimes you get so tired emotionally, physically, spiritually, that you really just want to sit and look at the wall. That’s how I have been this past week. Doing my work. Doing whatever else had to be done, and resting the best I could.

I’ve continued with my generally meatless Lent. I’ve realized we are nigh on Holy Week and facing another ‘door’ as it were, or another milestone. Before I started on this particular Lenten journey, I thought I would start preparing vegetarian things I knew and move to doing something new. I realized I had been surviving just fine on what I knew and I was NOT plowing any new ground. Playing it safe. So to keep my word to myself that I would try something new, I tried preparing a new vegetarian dish today.

Often, in order to grow spiritually, we need to do something new. It’s ok that it’s not good or perfect. Just new. Drive down a new street. Shop at a new store. Talk to someone you’ve never talked to before. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. Things won’t be different unless you DO something different. Once you’ve done it, there’s no going back. Even if things don’t go the way you expect them to, even if your experience is horrible, it’s still experience in which to glean wisdom.


I serendipitously found this recipe in the Weight Watchers “DINING FOR TWO” cookbook published in 2004. It has been long out of print. I had never made this recipe before today.

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RED LENTIL AND SPINACH STEW

1 teaspoon vegetable oil (I used olive)
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 Tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ to ½ crushed red pepper
½ cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
1 ¼ cups water
1 cup frozen leaf spinach, thawed
¼ teaspoon salt
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, curry, cumin, and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the lentils, broth, and water; bring to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in spinach and salt and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.



Per serving (scant 2 cups): 230 Cal, 3 grams fat, 20 gram saturated fat, 0 grams trans Fad, 0 mg Cholesterol, 1188 mg sodium, 39 grams carb, 13 grams fiber, 15 grams protein, 131 grams calcium. POINTS: 4


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I doubled the recipe. Even though it is from a “Dining For Two” cookbook – AND – I live alone – I have a cook once, eat all week philosophy. I am always in search of recipes that are good enough to each every day and do well as leftovers. I omitted the salt, there is already sodium in the vegetable broth.


What did I learn from this foray to a new dish?


I learned that there must be a difference between chopped spinach and leaf spinach; I will aim for the leaf spinach next time and see how that is, though the chopped seems to be fine. I did not realize this when I was purchasing frozen spinach at the store.


I learned one of the beauties of red-lentil dishes is that they can be prepared relatively quickly – even from dried lentils.


I made with Hot Curry (obtained from Penzeys)– which I really like but could be made with sweet or mild curry. To me, my experience is that it is very flavorful with the Hot Curry, though very light at the same time.

This could be easily garnished with a dollop of greek yogurt.


I would definitely make this again. I am glad I made it, I’ve now expanded my repertoire of vegetarian dishes. I do know that sometimes you try a new dish and there are a number of things that could be that you don’t make it again. Difficulty in preparation; peculiar hard to find ingredients; cooking time; taste; texture, etc. This one measures up. Moreover I think I would enjoy it in both summer and winter.


I got some experience. I got some wisdom.


SOLI DEO GLORIA

EASY CHICKPEA CURRY

Not only are you getting two posts today, this second post is a two-parter.

The first part is some of my comments about today’s recipe as well reader comments about a previous recipe.

Of the recipes I’ve posted, I’ve posted the chef’s original intent, followed by various cooks adaptations on recipes. Those of you who have cooked in my kitchen, cooked along side me in kitchens know I have a personal rule – that if I am cooking something for others – that is NOT the time to test adaptations, I must have a tested recipe if I am cooking for others.

The first two entrée recipes I posted – the Boiled Beans and the Herbed Lentils & Rice, are two recipes I’ve made for over 20 years. Not much of a stretch in trying new things really. But making these two recipes over the years was the foundation of knowing I could truly enjoy vegetarian dishes.

My own mother has been following this blog. (Perhaps this is a blog only a mother could love.) She calls me up and asks.

“Can you make the Herbed Lentils and Rice with Wild Rice?”

I say, “I don’t know – never tried it, and you know Wild Rice is NOT a rice Mom, it’s a grain!”

She says, “I’m out of brown rice.”

I say, “ya can do what you want, but no guarantees.” I add, “who runs out of brown rice!? I will buy you a giant bag of brown rice.”

Imagine all this with a Minnesota accent. She still lives in Minnesota, I in Chicago.

My sister and I will attest, our mother is someone who will change a recipe even before she tries it the first time.

She called me a couple days later to say the recipe was good with wild rice. Same amount as the brown rice -?- , I don’t know.

Today’s recipe “Easy Chickpea Curry” is a newer recipe. The first time I had it, my Provincial within The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory – Br. Nathanael Deward – made it for me. I loved it. I asked where he got the recipe, which was a Weight Watchers cookbook we both owned: “Now & Later” Cookbook published in 2009 – still available in some meeting rooms. I tried making it myself. It was ok, but not as good. One day talking on the phone, I asked what he did differently – substitute the coriander and cumin for hot curry powder (if you like it spicy). If spicy is not your deal, keep the original recipe.

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Easy Chickpea Curry


1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 red onions finely chopped
2 jalepeño peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
2 (16-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (14½-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup quinoa rinsed

2 cups water

For some reason, the jalepeños did not make the first casting call of ingredients photo-op

(1) Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Add the jalepeños, garlic and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, and salt; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the chickpeas and tomatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.

(2) Meanwhile, mix the quinoa and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes.

(3) Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl. Top with chickpea mixture.

Approx 4-6 servings - 1¾ cup serving – approx 8 points.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Talents

All brothers shall be alert to the possibility to a call to retreat at the weekend closest to the patronal festival of the Brotherhood, or at the embertides.
– The Rule of The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory.

For me, this means a Provincial Quiet Day. A “Province” for The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory is generally a geographic subset of the entire community. I am blessed with having four other geographically close brothers that live less than five miles from me. Other brothers live regionally, but not in the area and I happen to be hosting a brother from Muncie, IN.

A brother will develop the talents given to him by God in his service in the work and worship of the Church. A brother shall use these talents to the best of his ability in the apostolate and ministry to which he is called.
– The Rule of The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory.

The particular brother that I host – has many talents; however, some that I experience particularly is not only his generosity, but his ability to bake. When he visits us, he has often blessed us with fresh baked scones. With his permission I asked if I could share what he does here on this blog.

The recipe that is his source is from a now old-ish SUNSET cookbook published in 1994 called. ‘Starbucks Passion for Coffee.” It is out of print, but scads of used ones are available on Amazon, eBay, etc.


Like my own recipes, there is the original and how he has adapted it with experience. What I am grateful for today was I was awakened to him cooking in my kitchen, specifically to the sound of breaking eggs, and then the smell of baking scones. I had ground my coffee the night before and he mercifully pushed the “on” button before I got out of bed. The adaptation he was making today for the community was the blueberry version. When we gathered at Seabury Theological Seminary in Evanston today he was bringing scones for the whole province. By the time we gathered, I already had a hot one out of the oven at home. (I will leave detailed nutrition information up to the reader)



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Br. Francesco’s Bakery’s Famous Scones

For the Scones:

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (no substitutes. will effect flavour and quality)
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
¾ - 1 cup finely diced dried apricots
(Use soft, moist dried apricots. If yours are chewy, soak them for 15 minutes in boiling water, drain well and pat dry.)
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup buttermilk

For the glaze:
2+ tablespoons heavy cream (no substitute. Will effect flavour and quality)
2 + teaspoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425º and butter a baking sheet or stone (I have found that using a baking stone produces the best results). In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda (I use a whisk for this step). Blend the butter into the dry ingredients, using your fingertips or pastry blender, until the mixture is crumbly. Add the orange zest, apricots and pecans. Toss to combine. Make sure that all of the apricots are evenly coated with the flour to prevent the fruit from clumping. Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough is rough and shaggy. With your hands work the dough mixture until just all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Don’t over mix. Scones are similar to bisquits and pie crust if you overwork the dough the scones will be tough and chewy. Place one of the dough pieces on the baking sheet or stone and pat into a circle about 7inches diameter and ½ inch thick. Brush the dough (I gently spread the cream with the back of a spoon) with the cream and sprinkle with the sugar. Cut each round into eight pie-shaped wedges. Bake until puffy and golden, 15- 18 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and re-cut the scones and place on a wire rack. Enjoy. For a truly English experience, serve with clotted cream and or butter.

Other Variations:

Blueberry-Citrus Scones (as pictured)

Substitute 2-3 handfuls of blueberries for the apricots and pecans (be sure to mix in the 2 tablespoons of orange zest. This enhances the flavour of the blueberries) and follow the recipe as written. Using fresh blueberries works best but frozen will also do the job. When you use frozen blueberries, you either can mix them into the flour mixture frozen or defrosted. If you defrost your blueberries, be sure to drain them and pat dry with a paper towel. The blueberries will still be “wet” but the less moisture the better. Too much wetness can make the scones “soggy”. I have made these scones using both these methods and I have found defrosting your blueberries work best.


Cherry-Almond Scones

Substitute 2-3 handfuls of tart pie cherries for the fruit and coarsely ground almonds for the pecans (no orange zest). Mix in a drop or two of almond extract into the buttermilk before mixing it into the dough. After you glaze the scones, press a few sliced almonds on the top of them. Same advice for using frozen cherries applies as for frozen blueberries.

Have fun experimenting with different flavours.


SOLI DEO GLORIA

RICE & HERBED LENTILS

I worked this past weekend and today Monday, I was off of work, and today needs to be my cooking day.

Today I made a recipe I’ve made for years. It is from a short compilation of recipes my brother and I made when we happened to work in the same office in the 1980s. My brother and I asked coworkers to submit recipes, we scotch-taped them to 8 ½ x 11 paper, scotch-taped some more clip-art that we really clipped with scissors and Xeroxed the whole bunch and just stapled the upper left corner. The compilation is called “Holiday Recipes” but when one reads the recipes, you really couldn’t tell what holiday it was except that we have the occasional Santa Claus included on the sheet. There really wasn’t any organization, these were really just non sequiturs of food.

It was a different time then, we had large Steel-Case brand desks that were in rows out in the open. We were clerks. There was an amazing amount of privacy in the openness and din of conversation. We all had IBM correcting Selectric Typewriters. I prized mine, after all, I was a “clerk-typist.” One had to pass a typing test to be a clerk-typist. Actually a number of the recipes were typed on these typewriters.



While I still have the compilation of recipes (I should scan them all at some point and share here mostly for a good laugh) I got this recipe from that compilation.

ORIGINAL RECIPE

Rice & Herbed Lentils

2 2/3 cups chicken broth
¾ cup dry lentils
¾ cup chopped onion
½ cup brown rice
¼ cup orange juice
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon oregano dried
¼ teaspoon thyme dried
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces Swiss cheese

Combine broth, lentils, onion, uncooked rice, orange juice, and seasoning. Shred half of the cheese, stir into lentils. Bake in 1 ½ quart casserole at 350º for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Cut remaining cheese into strips. Uncover casserole then top with cheese. Bake 2 to 3 minutes more until cheese melts.

Over the years I made only a couple tweaks to this recipe, I’ve changed the broth to vegetable broth to make the recipe vegetarian; however, with the cheese it still would not be vegan. I use low-fat cheese. I don’t measure herbs exactly and I am generous with them. It is not necessary to stir while cooking.

Today I used three different kinds / colors of lentils for interest. Black / Red / Green

One thing I’ve noticed in my collection of cookbooks, there have been forays into vegetarianism over the years and decades. If you read some recipes it seems that as long as you avoid killing an actual cow for your recipe it could be deemed vegetarian. I see a number of 1960s & 1970s “vegetarian” recipes that call for chicken broth.

CURRENT ADAPTATION

Rice & Herbed Lentils

2 2/3 cups vegetable broth
¾ cup dry lentils
1 chopped onion
½ cup brown rice
¼ cup orange juice
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon oregano dried
¼ teaspoon thyme dried
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces low-fat Swiss cheese

Combine broth, lentils, onion, uncooked rice, orange juice, and seasoning. Shred half of the cheese, stir into lentils. Bake in 1 ½ quart casserole at 350º for 1 ½ to 2 hours,. Cut remaining cheese into strips. Uncover casserole then top with cheese. Bake 2 to 3 minutes more until cheese melts.


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BOILED BEANS

My original thought when I was thinking about blogging is that I would just blog what I prepare to eat, well, we are finally to a place / day / time to write about what I am specifically cooking and eating here.

I am about to mark my 49th year on God’s green earth next week – so one advantage of being older / sage is cooking gathering recipes I’ve tried over the years.

This recipe is from a 1984 printing of the 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking. That cookbook was a gift from my mother over a quarter century ago, I still use it as my main kitchen reference book.



This is a vegetarian dish I’ve made for years – the original recipe would be ovo-lacto-vegetarian since it includes butter. One could substitute the butter with 2 more teaspoons of olive oil to the adapted version in order to make the dish vegan if they so choose.

I often prepare dishes that I am able to take individual servings to work over a number of days. Since I live alone, it is economic for me to “cook once, eat all week.” My cook-once-eat-all-week dishes have to be delicious enough for me to want them every day – this is one of them! The dish of beans I am working on right now I made with dried small red beans. Nice earthy taste.

BOILED BEANS

Original Recipe

Soak (overnight) one pound dried beans: Kidney, Navy, or Marrowfat
Place them in a saucepan and cover with water
Add:
6 Tablespoons of butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 whole cloves
2 teaspoons of salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
Simmer beans covered 1 – 1 ½ hours. Stir from time to time
Add and cook for about 20 minutes longer:
1 cup red wine or stock
When beans are tender, serve hot garnished with chopped chives or parsley.

Adapted by my own experience over the years as well as with help from Chef Kenneth over at Taste of Thyme: Good & Good for You Food

Soak (overnight) one pound dried beans: don’t be afraid to try any dried bean – black works wonderfully
Place them in a saucepan and cover with water
Add:
2 teaspoons butter
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 Chopped Onion
3 Whole Cloves
1 teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
Simmer beans covered 1 – 1 ½ hours. Stir from time to time
Add and cook for about 20 minutes longer:
1 cup red wine or stock
When beans are tender, serve hot garnished with cilantro, ¼ cup fat-free sour cream, chopped scallions

adaptations in italics



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