Red Lentil & Roasted Chestnut Soup

I'm taking a poll (over on the right sidebar) to see what percentage of people actually like V8 Juice.

Anyone?

That stuff stinks. Everytime I smell it, I think it will somehow smell better, but no. Occasionally, I take a tiny sip from the Bup's glass, forgetting how bad it was the last time. It's always horrible. I just can't handle drinking something savory.

I love soup, but I'm not a broth person. I like a thicker soup, so that I can have the broth in each spoonful instead of drinking it at the end.

The Bup would just drink broth. He has no trouble with drinking V8, plain tomato juice, or straight up broth. He'd probably love a Bloody Mary if he ever had the opportunity to try one. Me? I'll take a mimosa, thanks.

This soup tastes nothing like V8. In fact, if V8 tasted more like this soup, I might be able to drink it. The chestnuts add a hint of sweet to the soup & cut the tomatoes' acidity. The lentils add a thickness to the broth that I love. It's a very filling soup, perfect for warming up on a cold day.

A Few Notes:

• I used the chestnuts that I roasted & froze in the fall, but you can purchase roasted chestnuts at the store.
• If you don't want to buy fresh thyme or basil, you can use dried. I would use about 2 tsp. of dried thyme & 1 T dried basil. Start with a small amount & add more to taste.
• You can easily halve the recipe. It makes a lot!
• It would be delicious pureed as well, so if you like a smooth & creamy soup, cook according to the directions below & then puree using an immersion blender (after you remove the bay leaves!).

Red Lentil & Roasted Chestnut Soup
Adapted from Lidia
Serves 8-10

3 T extra-virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves
1 28 oz. can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
3 quarts water
8 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 pound roasted chesnuts, quartered
1 pound red lentils
1 T salt
freshly grated parmesan (optional)

In a large pot (at least 6 quart in size), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is warm, add the garlic. Stir & cook until the garlic is lightly browned & fragrant. Remove thyme leaves from stems & add to pot along with the bay leaves. Cook for a minute to release flavors. Stir in the tomatoes. Bring to a boil & allow to cook for 2-5 minutes, to concentrate the flavors.

Pour in the water, basil & chestnuts, & return to a boil. Partially cover the soup, leaving room for steam to escape, & simmer until the chestnuts soften, about 1 hour.

Rinse the lentils. Stir them into the soup. Add salt & return to a full boil. Turn heat down slightly, cover, & cook at a low boil for 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Remove the bay leaves.

Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with cheese if desired, & serve! 

Roasted Garlic & Kale Spread

What if every night could be pizza night? I think it'd take me a pretty long time to get tired of pizza, especially with all of the varieties out there. We make 2 pizzas so that there are leftovers for lunches. One is always topped with bbq sauce, the Bup's favorite & a standard in our house. The other one is always different & I like to experiment a little.

I wanted to try carmelized onions & pears, but that got vetoed. :-( Maybe next time...

Instead, I made up a roasted garlic & kale spread, inspired by Ashley's Kale Pesto. We had 2 heads of garlic that were ready to sprout, so I roasted them before they went bad. Roasted garlic is fancy. The garlic turns creamy & spreadable after a short time in the oven., transforming it into a different food altogether.

We used the spread as a sauce on the pizza, but I can see it being great as a topper for baked potatoes or crusty bread, a spread in a sandwich/wrap, or mixed with pasta. I have some leftover to use!

Roasted Garlic & Kale Spread
Inspired by Ashley's Kale Pesto
Yield: about 1 cup

2 heads of garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
2 c kale, chopped (about 100g)
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/3 c roasted hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350*F. Slice off the top of the garlic heads, to expose the tops of the cloves. Wrap each head seperately in aluminum foil & drizzle each head with 1/2 tsp. of olive oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until garlic is soft. Squeeze cloves out of the husks. Place garlic & remaining ingredients into a food processor or blender & blend until combined. I left mine with some chunks, but if preferred, continue to blend until smooth. Taste & add additional salt and/or pepper if desired. Store extra spread in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer for future use.

Honey Mustard & Onion Potato Wedges

Did you get your fill of potaotes on Thanksgiving? Don't worry. These taste nothing like what you had. They aren't mashed. They don't have butter in them. Instead, they're crispy & flavorful!

You know those pretzel pieces from Snyders of Hanover? The really addicting honey mustard & onion ones? That's what these taste like. Except they're made with just a few ingredients instead of a zillion.

Chop up your potatoes into wedges. You don't have to bother with peeling. Didn't you do enough of that for all those mashed potatoes? Plus, the skins are where the good nutrients are!

Stir them up with the honey mustard marinade & lay in a single layer on a baking tray.

I threw in a bell pepper for color & a flavor kick, but it's not necessary. They're yummy with or without it! Enjoy!

Honey Mustard & Onion Potato Wedges
Serves 4

6 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper (optional)
1 1/2 T honey
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2-1 tsp. salt, to taste
1 tsp. dried minced onion

Preheat oven to 375*F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Scrub potatoes and slice into wedges, keeping a uniform size. Chop onion and pepper (if using) into chunks the same size as potatoes. Combine in a large bowl. Whisk together honey, Dijon mustard, turmeric, onion powder, mustard powder, and salt. Pour over potato mixture and stir to coat. Arrange pototo mixture on baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly spray mixture with cooking spray. Sprinkle with dried minced onion. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir to loosen from sheet and then bake for another 25-30 minutes. Potatoes are done when they are lightly browned and crispy. Serve hot!

Cranberry, Beet & Pear Salad

I'm in a festive mood! I'm so ready for the upcoming holidays & everything they include. I love all of the family & friend time, yummy foods, decorating, gift wrapping/giving, & general excitement!

As we go into the holidays, I'm trying to keep our dinners healthy, light, & full of nutrients. With the weather getting cooler, it's so tempting to cozy up by the fireplace in the evenings & become a lot less active. The chilly weather also makes people much more susceptible to diseases, so I want to make sure we're fueling our bodies with lots of healthy foods.

Our oven has been on almost every night. Something about this dreary weather makes me crave warm foods. I may or may not also want to use the oven because it warms up the kitchen. I always leave the door open after I turn it off to let all the heat into the room. :-)

You're looking at our entire beet crop. I planted 2 rows! :-( They just didn't get big. It took me forever to clean these because they were all about the size of a vitamin. There were only about 4 or 5 that made it to ping pong ball size. Still, they tasted the same! I'm thankful to have gotten any at all.

I love the way beets color everything around them. Cranberries do the same thing, so this made a really pretty medley. The onion wedges turned a pinkish purple after they were done baking. 

Maybe this looks more like Christmas than Thanksgiving...

The cranberries add a lightly tart flavor to the salad. Combined with the crunch of the hazelnuts & the sweetness of the beets & pears, this salad was warming & fresh at the same time.

Cranberry, Beet & Pear Salad

Yield: 2 main dish salads or 4 side salads

4 large beets

1 medium white onion

1/2 c fresh cranberries

1 T balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp. black pepper

4-5 c lettuce mixture (romaine, red leaf, spinach, radicchio, etc.)

2 pears

1/3 c roasted hazelnuts

1/3 c Cranberry Dressing (see below)

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Cut beets and onion into uniform wedges. In a medium bowl, combine beet wedges, balsamic vinegar, and pepper. Arrange on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once. Add onion wedges and cranberries, mixing with beets. Bake another 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.

In the meantime, divide lettuce between two (or four) bowls. Thinly slice pears and arrange on top. Once beet mixture is done roasting, divide between salads as desired. There may be some extra - this will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated. Top salads with hazelnuts and Cranberry Dressing.

Note: If you don't feel like making the Cranberry Dressing, you can still make this salad! There are cranberry dressings available in some stores, or you could substitute either Raspberry Vinaigrette or Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Cranberry Dressing

Inspired by How Sweet Eats & Oh She Glows

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

1 c fresh cranberries

1/2 of a pear, roughly chopped

1/2 of an apple, roughly chopped

1/4 red onion, roughly chopped

1/2 jalapeno, chopped & seeded

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

2 T lime juice

3 T orange juice

2 T honey

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 T dried cilantro (or 1/4 c fresh cilantro)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine everything in a food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth. Taste & add more honey or salt if desired. Store remaining dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

How To: Roasted Chestnuts

Have any of you actually eaten a roasted chestnut? There's The Christmas Song (aka Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) about them that we hear every year, but for the majority of my life, that was all I knew about them.

Turns out, they're delicious! As an added bonus, they automatically make your house smell like the holidays!

My in-laws have a chestnut tree in their backyard & this is the second year that they shared the nuts with us. It's probably the last year, too, as the fall snow storm severely damaged the tree.

It's not hard to roast the chestnuts at all. If you know anyone with a tree, it's practically free, but even if you don't, they aren't overly expensive to buy, either.

First, you score each chestnut with an X. You want to cut the skin all the way through so that they're easier to peel. Last year, I just barely cut them & it took me forever to get them open. This time, I cut them with scissors - push the tips into the side of the chestnut & close the blades, then repeat to form an X. Unless you're trying to have perfect, whole chestnuts, it's okay to cut into the meat. You'll see a white X on the roasted nut later, but it doesn't change the taste.

They bake in the oven for about 30 minutes & make the house smell delicious!

As soon as they come out & cool enough to handle, it's time to peel them. While they are still warm, the nut is pliable so you can squeeze the shell to break them open at the X's. As they start to cool, you'll notice that peeling them gets a lot harder. If they cool too much, just stick them back in the oven for about 10 minutes to warm up again.

Ta-da! A big bowl of roasted chestnuts to enjoy!

Roasted Chestnuts

1 lb. chestnuts (or as many as desired)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Use scissors to score chestnuts with an X, making sure to cut all the way through the outer skin. Be cautious as to not cut yourself. Lay chestnuts in a single layer on baking sheets (use as many as needed for the amount of chestnuts you have). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the outer skin peels back around the X. Remove from oven & let cool briefly. As soon as the chestnuts are cool enough to handle, peel off the outer skin. Store chestnuts in a loosely covered container (not air-tight) for up to 2 weeks at room temperature. They can be frozen in a freezer bag for future use for up to 1 year.

Note if you are using naturally grown chestnuts: as you score them, check for little holes. If they have holes, they have worms, so just get rid of them right away. After you bake them, there may still be a few duds, so if you see one that's black or white or just looks a little off, don't eat it. Better safe than sorry!

Dinner for One + Roasted Curried Butternut Squash

When I'm eating alone, I get creative. It's probably a good thing that I rarely eat alone.

If left to my own devices, I'd be eating a lot of popcorn, apples, bananas, & carrots, with some chocolate dipped marshmallows thrown in for balance.

Yeah...

This meal, however, was a healthy mish-mash of foods. I'm really into orange lately. Maybe my beta carotene levels are down? Or maybe it's just fall & pumpkin season.

Don't forget the wine. When you're peeling & cubing 1 mini pumpkin & 2 small butternut squashes, you get thirsty.

See how my meal progressed? Toast with Dijon mustard, carrots, roasted yellow tomatoes + eggplant, & pumpkin seeds....

...turns into toast with Dijon mustard topped with roasted yellow tomatoes + eggplant, carrots, & roasted butternut squash.

It was completely worth the effort of preparing the squash. That stuff is like candy! I just can't stop eating it. It's melt in your mouth creamy & has just the right salty/sweet ratio.

Those pumpkin seeds sure did grow fast!

Roasted Curried Butternut Squash

Serves 2-4

1 large or 2 small butternut squash

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cumin

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Peel & remove pulp from butternut squash, saving seeds for roasting seperately. Cut squash into small cubes, about 1/2"-1" in size. Spread on prepared tray in an even layer with all cubes touching the tray. Sprinkle with sea salt, curry powder, & cumin. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir & bake another 15 minutes. Stir again, checking for burning. Squash can be eaten when it's soft (check by poking with a fork - if it goes in easily, squash is done). If you prefer your squash to be a little crispier on the outside (like I do), leave in oven for another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm. Leftovers can be refrigerated for about 4 days & reheated as needed.

Champagne Roasted Cauliflower

Our dinner tonight was pretty small. I was too busy making cupcakes to bring to work tomorrow.

It may have been small, but it was delicious!

I was recently selected to be part of a Foodbuzz Tastemaker program with Marzetti Simply Dressed. We don't generally use bottled dressings, preferring instead to make our own, but this dressing was delicious!

They have a nice variety of flavors available, ranging from Ranch to Champagne to Ginger Sesame. I'm very picky (who me??) about ingredient lists, so when I saw that their Simply Dressed line uses minimal ingredients, all of which I can pronounce and recognize, I was happy to try it.



I used a gorgeous mixture of purple & orange cauliflower. Any variety will work here, I just like the fun colors. You can use both the florets and parts of the stem, as long as all the pieces are of uniform size.

After roasting, it gets all caramelized and delicious. This would work with any veggie, but would be especially good on Brussels sprouts, aka roasted deliciousness. We like our veggies roasted no matter what seasoning is on them.

The dressing is an added bonus. And a very tasty one, too!


Champagne Roasted Cauliflower
Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side


1 head of cauliflower
1 large onion
3 T Marzetti Simply Dressed Champagne Dressing

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray a large baking sheet with olive oil spray. Wash and chop cauliflower florets & stem into 1" pieces. Chop onion into similar sized chunks. Toss together with dressing. Spread in an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir. Bake another 20 minutes. Depending on the size of the baking sheet, the cauliflower may need more time. Check every 5 minutes after the first 40 minutes, being careful not to let it burn. The cauliflower pieces should be slightly browned and starting to crisp.

Enjoy!

Foods We've Been Loving

Apple Pie

Behold, my very first 2 crust pie!

It's a little shaggy around the edges, but the taste & texture are what pie is all about. Everyone says the crust is the worst part of making pies, but if you ask me, it's all the chopping/peeling. As you can see if you look closely at the picture, many of my apple slices still had peels on them. I did a haphazard peeling, mostly because I hate doing it, but also because the skins hold so many of the nutrients. I hate to throw them into the compost!

I followed a Betty Crocker recipe from an old cookbook I got at our church bazaar. The apples came from trees around our cabin. Most of them got made into applesauce for a grand total of 65 pints & 6 quarts of applesauce.

[Almost Chipotle Burritos]

Enchiladas

After my Chipotle burrito remake last week, I was still hungry for more beans & tortillas. I had a link saved for Roasted Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas from Daily Garnish that I was anxious to try, so I made it for dinner with my parents. I made a few changes & additions, as usual, but not as many as I do for some recipes. These were SO good. All of the textures & flavors just blended together perfectly. The prep time was long, with cutting & roasting the squash & cooking the sauce, but it was completely worth it!

Green Smoothies

Our kale crop is seriously out of control, and this is the fastest way of ingesting it (kale chips rank right up there, though!). Kale is pure health food, nourishing our bodies in so many ways. Just a few examples include Vitamins A,C & K, manganese, fiber & calcium. With the addition of the VitaMix to our lives, we're especially loving these thick & creamy smoothies.

Fresh Tomato Soup

The tomato crop is slowing down, but they're still coming in. With all the rain we've had lately, they're a little ragged & split, so I've had to use them quickly. The best use we've found so far is tomato soup. We can't stop eating it! I've made it several times already, with plans to make it again this weekend. I just chop & core the tomatoes, add a few handfuls of basil, and puree it in the VitaMix. (Can you tell I'm obsessed with this thing? It's crazy!)

Recipe coming soon!

What are you loving right now?

Roasted Beets

Two weeks ago at the farmer's market, I bought a bunch of golden beets and a bunch of red beets. Mostly, I just wanted the greens for Wall of Green Soup and the red beets for Red Velvet Cupcakes (for this man in my life), but I knew the rest wouldn't go to waste.

Very dirty

Yes, I was one of those weirdo kids that liked things like pickled beets and prunes dried plums. You guessed that a long time ago, I'm sure.

Freshly scrubbed - but why are the golden ones greenish? Boo!

Golden beets aren't really on my radar. If I can have purple-ish food, why would I want anything else? I'm not even sure why I bought these except they were big and had nice greens for the soup.

The mixture looked pretty with yellow and red onion chunks. I love the lines that show up when you cut beets. They're like zebra stripes.

With a little Mmmm Sauce, tomato + couscous, and kale chips, they were perfect.

Roasted Beets

Serves 2 as main dish or 4 as sides

3 golden beets

5 red beets

1 large yellow onion, wedged

1 large red onion, wedged

olive oil spray

1 tsp. fine sea salt

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray 1 or 2 baking pans with olive oil spray. Gently scrub beets to remove all dirt. Cut off the greens and set aside to use another time (unless you already used them!). Trim off ends and any spots. If preferred, peel, but you do not need to as long as you scrubbed them well and cut out any blemishes. Cut beets into wedges of similar thickness (they do not need to be the same length). Arrange along with the onions in one even layer on baking pans and spray again. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Depending on the thickness of your wedges, they may need to roast longer. If so, keep an eye on the onions, as they may roast slightly faster than beets. Serve immediately.

Roasted Beets

Roasted Curried Root Veggies

Remember the Roasted Squash? And the Roasted Deliciousness? This is better.

It has the added bonus of being nice and soft for this poor girl to gum down. It embarrasses me to admit it, but I had to go to the dentist today to get cavities filled. Yes, more than one. Some people will never let me live that down. There was only one major one, though. I'm proud to say I suffered the drilling naturally. It hurt; it was a icy chill pain. Now I'm probably going to be gumming food for awhile because it sends shooting pains when I chew on that tooth.

These were so good I didn't even notice I was gumming them down!

Roasted Curried Root Veggies

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Serves 2

3 small sweet potatoes

2 small potatoes

1 large onion

1 T olive oil

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425*F. Spray a large jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Scrub potatoes and slice into wedges. Slice onion into large chunks. Mix together both kinds of potatoes, onion, olive oil, and spices. Spread veggies in a single layer on the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir veggies and spread evenly again. Bake another 20 minutes or until crispy. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato

Super Bowl Treats A Week Late

 

Our dessert for our Super Bowl party for 2 was Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows from Joy the Baker. I was happy there were only 2 of us because these were delicious! I had an extra sheet of phyllo dough in the freezer so when I came across this recipe I knew it had met it's destiny.  Since I waited so long to post these, may I suggest having them as a Valentine's treat instead of party fare? They're multi-purpose pillows!

Mom helped me stuff the pillows. It was a messy process. I wish I had put more peanut butter on each square but I can't imagine the mess if I had! (Sorry for the shadows in the picture.)

Aren't they so cute? At this stage they reminded me of ravioli. Which makes me think about stuffing savory things into these pockets...mmmmm!

Eat me! Eat me!

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas! A great snack for football games!

Oh the beer. This one was tasty but 1 bottle was plenty for one sitting. It's pretty heavy and full of spices!

A Taste of Heaven and Roasted Deliciousness

The Bup declared tonight's dinner a success. He came up with the nicknames for each food. We had A Taste of Heaven (Baked Portobello Caps) with Roasted Deliciousness (Roasted Brussels Sprouts). On our ski trip, Laura mentioned the brussels sprouts were her new veggie obsession, so when we got home I was hungry for them!

The brussels sprouts were easy. The Bup chopped them into uniform pieces.

I mixed in the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.

We put them in the oven at 400* for about 20 minutes, added chopped pecans halfway through, and then they were done! In the meantime, we prepped the mushrooms.

I rinsed them, added garlic, salt and pepper...

...and poured on the balsamic vinegar. During which I cut my finger on the metal screw top of the bottle. Beware of hidden sharp objects.

The spinach didn't add much flavor but I added it for the color and nutrients. Did you know mushrooms have Vitamin D? They're one of those foods that I know are good for me but I always forget why.

Mmmmmm!

It shriveled up a little during baking and the balsamic soaked in nicely. If I hadn't been so hungry I probably would have left them in a little longer to let the feta brown.

Baked Portobello Caps
Serves 2

2 Portobello mushroom caps
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup chopped spinach
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray a small pan with cooking spray. Clean mushroom caps and place gill side up in pan. Sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. Pour balsamic vinegar into the gills of the mushrooms. Lay spinach on each cap, dividing evenly. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until feta begins to brown. Serve hot!