Red Lentil Soup with Lime (Deborah Madison)

Published on February 28, 2014 in Recipes. 0 Comments

adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison.

We love this soup and eat it regularly since introduced to it by our friend Leslie!

2 cups spit red lentils
1 T turmeric
4 T butter
Salt
1 large onion, finely diced, about 2 cups
2 t ground cumin
1.5 t mustard seeds of 1 t ground mustard
1 bunch chopped cilantro
juice of 3 limes
1 large bunch kale (we use kale; Deborah suggests spinach)
1 cup cooked rice
4-6 T yogurt

Put lentils in a soup pot with 2 1/2 quarts of water, turmeric, 1 T of better, and 1 T salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered until the lentils are soft, about 20 minutes.

While soup is cooking, prepare in skillet, the onions in 2 T of remaining butter with cumin and mustard. When soft, add cilantro and cook another minute. Add this to soup then add juice of 2 limes. Just before serving, saute kale or spinach in skillet with remaining T of butter, and add to soup. Adjust salt and serve over rice. Optional dollup of yogurt in your bowl, also optional vinegar from your jar of pickled jalapenos.

Elsie Peterson’s pie crust

Published on October 27, 2013 in Miscellany and Recipes. 0 Comments

The same pastry blender and rolling pin I've had since age 18

When I left home for college at age 18, my mom made sure I first knew how to make a good pie crust.  She sent me off with a pie pan, rolling pin, bowls, measuring devices and a pastry blender.  She has always been know for making great pies.  Here is her pie crust, which is as much about the process as the ingredients.

Ingredients

For each crust (an open topped pumpkin pie has one crust.  A closed topped apple pie has two.)

1 cup unbleached white flour

1/3 cup butter

1 t salt

approximately 2 T to 1/4 cup cold water.

The process:

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.  Measure the butter but only add half or a bit more than half of it.  Cut half the butter into the flour using a pastry blender, until it is very thoroughly mixed in.  Now add the second half of the butter and mix it in with the pastry blender a little less thoroughly.  The resulting mixture of flour and butter might have little chunks the size of a split pea.

When the mixture has reached the consistency described above add the water.  You want to stir/knead/mix as little as possible.  So quickly mix, with your hand, the water with the flower/butter mixture.  The right amount of water results in a dough that holds together and is not sticky, or is just a tiny bit sticky.  As soon as it holds together stop mixing and roll it out and put it in the pie pan.

Yummy Beans

Published on August 27, 2013 in Recipes. 0 Comments

1 pound beans

2 cloves minced garlic

grated ginger equal in volume to minced garlic

Sesame oil or olive oil

1/3 cup sesame seeds

Salt or tamari to taste

Option A (beans are softer) Steam beans, then saute quickly in skillet or wok with oil garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds, add tamari or salt last.

Option B Start with raw beans in skillet or wok, add garlic, etc. when beans are most of the way cooked.