Curried Lentils

One of my favorite recipes, My Favorite Lentil Soup, comes from Jane Brody's Good Food Book, a cookbook I bought when my eldest son was still in my tummy 20 years ago. I've enjoyed every recipe I've made from that book, but often overlook it when I'm in the mood to try something new. One afternoon, I had an overabundance of lentils and an underabundance of money, so I pulled Brody's book off the shelf, hoping for some more Brody magic. After I cooked up her Curried Lentils, I was hooked. Everyone in the house loved it over a dish of piping-hot basmati rice and a hunk of bread. We make it as a side dish to Chicken Paprikash and it's always a hit. The one difference between my version and Brody's is that I don't drain the lentils. The sauce oozes into rice perfectly!

The "time" involved in this dish is about a half-hour for the lentils to cook, but, other than that, it's an extremely simple dish and very inexpensive to make.

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1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked through for debris or stones
3 cups broth or water (use vegetable broth or water for a delicious vegan dish!)
2 large onions, chopped
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder

In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils, water or broth, half of the onions and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender.
While the lentils are cooking, heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and cook until they begin to brown. Turn off heat and add minced garlic and curry powder.
When lentils are soft, add the curry powder mixture to the lentils and stir well. Heat through.

Easy enough for a child to make...

What's a great project for a child on a cool fall morning? No-knead rosemary bread, of course!

13 year old Monet, 9 year old Sweetheart and 5 year old Baby made their rosemary bread with verbal help from mama, from determining the right temperature of the water (warm, not hot or cold), to the measuring of the ingredients, to the harvesting of the rosemary, to the slathering on of the olive oil (what fun!) and finishing up with the eating of the final product. Monet even improvises a dipping oil which I will have him post for your enjoyment later this afternoon.

In the meantime, enjoy the photos of my previously posted No-Knead Rosemary Bread!

Mixing the yeast into the warm water.

Measuring the flour and salt.

Snipping in the fresh rosemary.

A pleasant goo.

After rising.

Place it in baguette pans, or...

...a cast-iron skillet (or other baking pan/dish), slather with olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt.

Snip some more rosemary on top.

Bake until golden brown!

It's not a tall loaf. Think of it as more of a thick foccacia.

Spread with real butter or dip in an olive oil mixture...

...and enjoy!

All-American Baked Beans

For my eldest daughter's graduation party, I made Grandma Jane's Special Potato Salad, Barbecued Chicken and All-American Baked Beans from a cookbook I bought years ago--The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukens. On Saturday evening, I soaked the beans, and on Sunday morning, I cooked them, leaving them to drain while we were at church. When we returned on Sunday afternoon, I finished up the beans, adding the bacon and sauce and pouring them all into a big electric roaster. They were very well-received, especially by my mother-in-law Kathie who asked me several questions about the recipe throughout the afternoon. It wasn't until the next morning that she told me she'd never known that baked beans came from navy or Great Northern beans, and that she'd never seen baked beans made from scratch!

Because beans are so inexpensive, the addition of the more costly real maple syrup justifiable. These beans take a long while because you have to soak them the night before, cook them ahead of time, and then bake them for about three hours. Don't forget, like I did, to reserve the liquid in which you cooked the beans, but if you do, it's not a tragedy. If your beans are getting too dry, add a bit of water.

I multiplied this recipe by six for my party, and it half-filled my electric roaster.

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All-American Baked Beans
Serves 10-12

1 pound dried navy or Great Northern beans
8 ounces slab or thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 cups ketchup
6 tablespoons maple syrup
6 tablespoons dark molasses
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Rinse and pick through the beans. Soak them overnight in a large pot of water.
Rinse the soaked beans well under cold water and place them in a heavy saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Place a 2-quart flameproof casserole or dutch oven over medium heat and saute bacon until slightly crisp and fat is rendered, about five minutes. Add the onions and garlic, cooking until it's wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add the brown sugar and stir over medium-low heat until it has dissolved, about five minutes. Stir in the ketchup, syrup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Add the drained beans and mix well.
Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 2 1/2 hours. Make sure you scrape the bottom when you stir.
Add 3/4 cup of the reserved bean liquid, cover, and bake another 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake, stirring once, until the sauce is thick and syrupy, another 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Galette de rhubarbe

Spring means rhubarb, and rhubarb means Galette de rhubarbe, which is just a fancy name for a rustic tart. It's like a pie, but not nearly as fussy. The hardest part is cutting the rhubarb, and waiting for it to bake!

The amount of sugar I used just cut the tartness, so you might want to add just a bit more if you don't like really tart things. We like it to be a bit on the tart side and then we serve it with a good-quality vanilla ice cream, either homemade or Breyers. Serve it warm! It will serve about eight small pieces. The pate brise recipe makes two crusts, so you can either save one for later, or make two at once!

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Galette de rhubarbe

1/2 a recipe of pate brise
2 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb (washed and leaves removed!)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
pinch of cinnamon

Preheat oven the 350F

Roll the pate brise into a 9" round. You can cut off the edges to make it look prettier, if you like, but I like mine with as much crust as I can get, so I leave it on! Place the round onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Mix the rhubarb, sugar (or a bit more, if you want it sweeter), flour and a pinch of cinnamon. Toss it all together to thoroughly coat it.

Heap the rhubarb mixture onto the round of pate brise, and gently fold the edges of the dough partially over the rhubarb mixture. Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft and the crust is golden brown and crisp.

Serve warm with ice cream.

Hot Sauce for Refried Beans

This recipe goes along with the refried beans and comes from one of Mollie Katzen's books, I think. I can't remember which! It was given to me by a friend, and it far surpasses any of the store-bought hot sauces. Use it to make tostadas with deep-fried flour tortillas. Top with cheese, Greek yogurt, fresh chives. YUM!

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Hot Sauce for Refried Beans

1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons dry red wine
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Saute the onions and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the olive oil until onion is clear. Add spices. Transfer to a saucepan and add tomatoes, water, tomato paste and wine. Add remaining salt.

Cover and simmer 1/2 hour or longer. The longer, the better, up to several hours

You can puree some or all of this, or leave it chunky. We like it chunky. :-)

Homemade Refried Beans

Canned refried beans from the store are often filled with fat and sodium. Once you've made refried beans yourself, you'll see that the difference is astounding.

Be sure to think ahead when you want to make these refried beans, because you'll need to start soaking the beans about 3-4 hours before you need to eat. After you've made them, spread them on tortillas, either homemade or store-bought, and sprinkle on some hot sauce, cheddar cheese, green onions, olives...whatever you like, and warm them up a bit. A dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a bit of fresh cilantro, and you'll be hooked.

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Refritos

2 cups raw pinto beans, soaked for at least 1 1/2 hours
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup minced green pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
olive oil

Once the pintos have been soaking for at least an hour and a half, cover them with more water and cook, partially covered, until they are soft. Be sure to keep the water level above the beans, as it cooks away. When they're done, drain them and use a potato masher to mash them very well.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the onions, garlic, cumin and salt. Cook over low heat until the onions are soft. Add the peppers, cover and simmer until the peppers are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the veggies to the beans and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve very warm.

Red Beans and Rice

Last year, when finances were really tight, I had to come up with creative ways to feed a large crew. One very excellent blessing was that I learned to cook dried beans. What's even better...we actually liked them!

This is the best red beans and rice recipe I've found. It certainly takes time, but it's quite delicious!

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Red Beans and Rice

1 pound red kidney beans, dry
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
As much garlic as you like, minced (I like lots, 5 or 6 cloves)
1 large smoked ham hock, 3/4 pound of Creole-style pickle meat (pickled pork), or 3/4 lb. smoked ham, diced, for seasoning
1 to 1-1/2 pounds mild or hot smoked sausage or andouille, sliced on the bias
1/2 to 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 or 2 bay leaves
Tabasco to taste
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
Creole seasoning blend, to taste; OR,
red pepper and black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice, links or patties, grilled or pan-fried, one link or patty per person (optional)
Pickled onions (optional)

Soak the beans overnight, drain and put fresh water in the pot. Bring the beans to a rolling boil, making sure the beans remain covered by water. Boil for 45 - 60 minutes, until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Drain.

While the beans are boiling, sauté the onions, celery, and bell pepper until onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add the ham hock (or ham or pickle meat), smoked sausage, seasonings, and just enough water to cover.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2 hours at least, preferably 3, until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Stir occasionally, making sure that it doesn't burn and/or stick to the bottom of the pot.

If possible, cool the beans, refrigerate, reheat and serve for dinner the next day. They'll taste a LOT better. Add water to get them to the right consistency.

Serve over basmati rice.

YIELD: 8 servings