Lentil Soup with Chicken Bacon

I love making big batches of hearty soup. In my house, it takes care of dinner, a couple of lunches and then there's still enough to put in the freezer for another time. The key to this one is the mix of chicken and beef flavours in the broth, and of course the chicken bacon. Start this recipe the day before to allow time for soaking the dried beans and grains.

Lentil Soup with Chicken Bacon
Serves 6 large bowls

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large carrots
4 stalks of celery
1 large onion
1 cup of green beans
1/2 cup of dried brown lentils
1/2 cup of "soup mix" (found in the dried bean section...it's usually a combo of dried beans, peas and barley)
1 chicken-flavoured bouillon cube
2 beef-flavoured bouillon cubes (I use the all-vegetable chicken and beef flavoured cubes....no MSG)
10 cups of water
3 strips of chicken bacon

Soak the dried lentils and dried soup mix in water overnight or for several hours (at least 6 hours).

Peel and chop carrots and onion. Tip and tail green beans. Chop celery. Place all vegetables in a large saucepan/stock pot with olive oil and sautee on medium until vegetables are soft and onion is slightly browned.

Drain the lentils and soup mix and add to the pot. Add the water and bouillon cubes, cover and bring to a boil. Brown the chicken bacon in a frying pan. It's very lean, so you may need to use a little bit of olive oil. (It may seem counter-intuitive to choose a lean bacon and then add fat, but I prefer the healthier olive oil to the oil in regular bacon...) Once the chicken bacon is crisp, cut it into cubes and add to the soup. Simmer on medium heat, covered, for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through and the beans and grains are soft.

Egg and Cheese Sandwiches and Root Vegetable Fries

Brunch!

This meal was awesome and unplanned. It all came together by accident...or by genius! We woke up too late for breakfast, so I decided to go straight to something a little more suited to lunch. A quick look in the fridge and I discovered some spicy hummus, eggs, and some extra old white cheddar. The last of my garden tomatoes had ripened on the counter. Sounded like the perfect mix of ingredients for a tasty sandwich. A few nights earlier, when I had the oven on, I'd chopped up some root vegetables to bake. May as well heat those up, I thought. Since I'd cut them in the shape of fries, my husband decided they needed ketchup. And wouldn't you know...with ketchup, they actually tasted a bit like fries! In less than 10 minutes, we had a and tasty meal that resembled a gourmet "grilled cheese and fries" but without the grilling, and without frying a single potato. Here's how:

Egg and Cheese Brunch Sandwiches
(Makes 2 sandwiches)

4 slices sprouted wheat bread
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons spicy hummus
1 medium tomato
several slices of old white Cheddar
salt and pepper

Special equipment: toaster oven

Toast the bread lightly. Meanwhile, fry 2 eggs in a little bit of olive oil on medium heat, breaking the yolks before you flip them. On one slice of bread, spread 1 Tablespoon of hummus, add 3 slices of tomato, salt and pepper, and one of the fried eggs. Lay cheese slices to cover the other slice of bread and return to the toaster oven on low to melt the cheese and toast the bread some more. Put the 2 sides together. Repeat for sandwich #2.

Recipe Improv: You can personalize this sandwich to your taste...choose your favorite rye or whole wheat bread, try a garlic hummus instead of spicy, and pick your favourite hard cheese if Cheddar's not your thing. This sandwich could also be done on a grill, or in the frying pan, but I wanted a version made without the oil/butter.

Root Vegetable Fries

3 large carrots
3 parsnips
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (remember this?)
salt and pepper

Wash and peel the veggies. Cut them in sticks - roughly 6-10 cm (3-4 inches) long, and 3/4 cm (1/3 inch) in diameter. A better measurement would be to say "make them look like french fries."

Toss them in the olive oil, with rosemary, salt and pepper. In an oven proof dish or casserole, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. Serve with ketchup.

(I made these ahead of time, kept them in the fridge and heated them up for brunch - the time consuming part of this recipe was already done. I'm a big believer in cooking stuff ahead of time and figuring out how to use it later. Whenever you have the oven on anyway, try throwing in a squash or a sweet potato (or a carrot, or a parsnip) to bake. Later in the week you can get creative.)

Marinated Tofu Stirfry

In general, I like working with a minimum of tools and equipment in the kitchen. A good knife, a cutting board and a cast iron frying pan go a long way.

My mom has had the same two cast iron frying pans for as long as I can remember. After experimenting (read: burning) with stainless steel and trying out (read: scratching) non-stick versions, I realised that I should admit that my mom might be on to something. I went out and got the best, most versatile pan I’ve ever had. And it will last forever.

In the old days, you had to worry about “seasoning” your cast iron – this involved coating it with oil and heating it at high temperatures to protect it from rust and to create a non-stick coating. But many brands today offer a pre-seasoned version, which means your pan will need very little maintenance from the day you bring it home until the day you pass it on to your great grandchildren.

A cast iron pan with a lid works well for a small stirfry. (I’ve got nothing against the tried and true wok, but why store two pans if you can make do with one?) Toss the marinade in with the veggies and it will infuse them with flavour as they steam.

Marinated Tofu Stirfry
Serves 2

1 cup of brown rice
1/2 cup each of broccoli, carrots, onion, and asparagus, washed and chopped
1/2 block of extra firm tofu, cubed

Marinade:
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sesame oil

In a medium bowl, combine all marinade ingredients except sesame oil. Add tofu and marinate for 6-8 hours.

Cook rice according to your preferred method.

In a cast iron or other large fry pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil. Add tofu in one layer to the bottom of the pan (reserve the marinade). On low, brown tofu on all sides.

Add marinade to the tofu, then layer the veggies on top. Bring marinade to a boil then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until veggies are tender crisp. When veggies are nearly done, uncover the pan, toss veggies and tofu in the marinade, turn up the heat and reduce the liquid slightly.

Pour over brown rice and drizzle with the remaining sesame oil.

Just a note: The jury is still out on tofu. Studies are mixed on its potentially beneficial or damaging estrogenic effects. My personal decision is to enjoy it occasionally, in moderation, choosing MSG free, non-GMO tofu. Please do what works for you.

Spring Roll Salad

The things we do for food...

There is something so fresh tasting about cold spring rolls. And there's something very addictive about peanut sauce. Together, they're great as a no-cook summer dinner. In fact, we like them so much, we once drove around town for 5 hours looking for rice paper. That's how determined we were to make them.

So, I had the bright idea of throwing all the ingredients together in a salad - the veggies, the wrapping and the sauce.

It's delicious and very filling. Be careful. I may have eaten too much.


Spring Roll Salad
Serves 4

1 package rice noodles
2 carrots
1/2 cucumber
1/2 red pepper
2 green onions

Dressing:
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (peanuts only!)
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of chopped ginger
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
red pepper flakes to taste
sea salt
dash of sesame oil
dried basil leaves (fresh if you have it)

Soak noodles completely in boiling water for 15 minutes until soft and then rinse in cold water. Set aside.

Grate carrots, chop green onions, slice cucumber and red peppers.

To make dressing, put all remaining ingredients except basil and sesame oil in a bowl and mix well. Heat in a saucepan on low, or microwave on high for about 1 1/2 minutes, until well combined.

Add veggies and dressing to noodles in a large bowl and toss well. Drizzle with a bit of sesame oil and basil and toss again. Chill and serve.