Mama Pea's Spicy African Peanut Stew and a Fabulous Dr. Fuhrman No Oil Salad Dressing

Today I want to talk about something really simple. Great food. I've got reviews of two delicious plant-strong recipes for you.

First up is a recipe by Sarah Matheny from her blog Peas and Thank You. There I was, chillaxin' on my couch this weekend, perusing the internet, when I stumbled upon this recipe. The planets all aligned and I saw that not only were the ingredients right up my flavor alley, but I had EVERY one of them in my pantry. How is that for awesome! You can get the recipe here for Spicy African Peanut Stew.

Here it is before undergoing crock pot magic. Red lentils, canned chickpeas, carrots, coconut milk, vegetable broth, peanut butter, diced tomatoes, Indian spices, garlic, ginger--of course I doubled the batch!

Try serving this stew over a big bed of fresh spinach leaves, some steaming hot brown rice, then topped with the stew. Incredible!

This morning I was itching to try a new salad dressing without oil and guess what showed up in my e-mail inbox? Today's recipe of the day from Dr. Fuhrman's member center just happened to be for a salad dressing and the ingredients seemed appealing to me. I was right, this one's a real keeper. But if you are not a fan of raw garlic, you might want to leave that out!

Leftover Spicy African Peanut Stew served with a salad dressed with Almond Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Dr. Fuhrman's Almond Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves: 6

Printable Version

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup roasted garlic rice vinegar (I used plain rice vinegar)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup raw almonds or 1/8 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup raisins
4 cloves garlic, pressed (I used 3)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender.

Did you catch Addicted to Food last night on OWN? What did you think?

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Easy Everyday Mujadara and Moroccan DIY Spice Blend

A few months ago I mixed up a batch of chai spice blend to liven up my green smoothie making. There really isn't a simpler or more economical way to wake up your food than to make your own spice blends. You probably already have tons of individual spices if you are preparing your own healthy meals. And those little dashes of spice used in each recipe mean that oftentimes jars of spices need to be replaced before they ever get used up. Why not mix up spice blends for yourself and even for gifts?

The second homemade spice blend to scream my name was a Moroccan Spice Blend. I made it at 5 am this morning. Sad, I know.

Moroccan Spice Blend

makes 8 Tbsp

5 tsp ground nutmeg
5 tsp ground cumin
5 tsp ground coriander
2.5 tsp allspice
2.5 tsp ground ginger
1.25 tsp cayanne pepper
1.25 tsp cinnamon

Mix together and store in an airtight container.

What to do with this you ask? How about a big batch of Mujadara? It's a Lebanese dish that, if you make this way, is extremely low in fat, is full of fiber, protein and iron, AND is exceptionally delicious! If I have frozen brown rice and packaged cooked lentils on hand, it's the easiest thing I can cook up for dinner when I'm tired and I just don't feel like cooking. In fact, this dish has become quite a staple in my house for just those reasons!

Ridiculously Easy Mujadara
Makes about 10 one cup servings

Printable Version

2 large sweet onions, diced
vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups brown or green lentils (Not red lentils or french lentils! I used one package of Trader Joe's cooked lentils.)
4 cups cooked brown rice (Trader Joes and Whole Foods sell frozen brown rice)
2 Tbsp Moroccan Spice Blend
salt to taste

Heat the largest skillet you have over medium heat and cover the bottom with vegetable broth. When broth starts to bubble, add chopped onions and saute, stirring every few minutes, for 35-45 minutes or until onions are very, very soft. Reduce heat and/or add broth to deglaze the pan as onions start to stick too much. Do not let the onions burn. Buy the end of the process, your heat will likely be on low and your onions will be very soft.

Meanwhile, cook the rice and lentils separately according to the package directions. If you have the TJ's packaged lentils, just open the package! If you are cooking your own lentils, they should be tender but not smushy or soupy, they should retain their shape.

When onions are ready, add brown rice, lentils and Moroccan spice blend and mix well.  Heat everything together until fragrant, warm and combined.

You can serve Mujadara with some toasted pine nuts or chopped parsley.

Have you made any of your own spice blends lately?

What do you make for dinner when you want some good food but are too tired to make a complicated dish?

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Two Holiday Gift Ideas that Keep on Giving

Have you noticed how much I am loving my copy of Clean Food by Terry Walters? I got it a few short weeks ago and suddenly all of my other cookbooks are badly neglected. Clean Food magically has recipes for all of the food that I want to eat RIGHT NOW. What exactly does that mean? I want to eat high nutrient, low calorie, fresh, primarily vegetable dishes. And this cookbook covers an incredible variety of just that. With simple tweaking to lessen the already fairly low quantity of oil in her recipes, if not eliminate the oil all together, it's like Ms.Watlers wrote a personal cookbook just for me.


So imagine my excitement when my friend QB walked into my house the other day holding her copy of Ms. Walter's brand new book, Clean Start. It took me 24 hours to acquire my very own copy and another 24 to make my first recipe from it, Sauteed Greens with Leeks and Garlic. Let's just say, I might die right now and go to heaven!

Both incredible cookbooks to give yourself or a loved one who is on a health quest, it would be truly magnificent to present your gift with a container of something that you prepared using one of Ms. Walter's recipes. Hence, my second holiday gift idea . . .
When I cook, I tend to make a lot. I do this because my time in the kitchen is really limited and I want to eat great, healthy, whole, real food all of the time. Oftentimes, because I double most recipes that I make, I have so much that even I can't keep it all. That's where my friends and neighbors come in handy! They are always happy to share in the bounty. So it got me thinking, if a large batch of soup is the gift you give yourself that keeps on giving, it could also be the gift that you give for the holidays that is creative, unique and certainly more useful than, well, most of what we give for the holidays! Just make a big pot full, freeze it in plastic containers, and it's always ready to pop in a gift bag whenever you head over to someone's home for holiday festivities.

Healthy Girl's Take on Goodness Soup

adapted from a recipe in Clean Food by Terry Walters

2 thumb-size pieces kombu
3 tbsp vegetable broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound mushrooms (any type), chopped
5 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup hulled barley, rinsed
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup mirin
2 Tbsp tamari
12 cups water2 15 ounce cans beans of your choice (kidney beans, canellini beans, really any beans will be fine), drained and rinsed

1 large bunch kale, rinsed, removed from stems and chopped
sea salt and pepper

Place kombu in a bowl with enough water to cover, soak for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain, mince and set aside.

In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute onion in vegetable broth for 4 minutes. Add chopped mushrooms and stir. Cook for 3 more minutes. Add carrots, celery, barley, lentils, parsley, basil, bay leaf, mirin and tamari. Stir to combine, add water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low, add kombu and continue cooking covered for 2 1/2 hours (it's okay if it cooks longer, it will not hurt the soup). Add beans and chopped kale and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Taste soup and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator (for up to 1 week) or in freezer (in airtight containers) for gift giving!

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Vegan Indian Spiced Lentils with Spinach and Brussels Sprouts

I am a huge fan of brussels sprouts. There, I said it. I don't care how gassy they make me, I love to eat them in mass. So when I was checking out some other blogs for recipe inspiration and I saw a recipe that combined Indian spices with brussels sprouts on http://www.pure2raw.com/, my head about popped off!

So here is my version of this vegan yumminess. I served it with brown rice and a nice dollop of leftover  Curried Cashew Spread that went beautifully with this dish.

Vegan Indian Spiced Lentils with Spinach and Brussels Sprouts

inspired by a recipe from the twins at pure2raw

1 1/2 large white or yellow onions, cut in half and then sliced

1 heaping Tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp cardamom

3/4 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cumin

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

salt

3 cups water

1 cup lentils

8 cups brussels sprouts, stems cut off and quartered

1 large bag or box fresh spinach

In a large skillet, place 1 Tbsp coconut oil over medium heat. When coconut oil is melted, place cut onions in skillet and saute for a few minutes. Add in chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/8 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir and saute for a few more minutes.

Add quartered brussels sprouts and stir. Continue to saute over low to medium heat until sprouts are soft, but not mushy (this will take some time). Onions and sprouts will begin to caramelize. (FYI-this alone would make an amazing side dish even without the lentils and spinach!)

While onions and sprouts are cooking, boil 3 cups of water in a sauce pot. Add 1 cup lentils and cook for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and let rest for 2 minutes. Drain excess liquid and put lentils back in warm pot.  Add spinach, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger, and  1/4 tsp salt and stir until spinach has wilted.

Once brussels sprouts have cooked to desired consistency, pour lentil and spinach mixture into onion and sprouts mixture. Stir and serve, with brown rice and Curried Cashew Spread if you would like.

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When Life Hands You Lentils, Make Fat Free Vegan "Mujadara"

It's Pot Luck Season here in Northern Ohio and that fortunately  affords me an opportunity to share my love of healthy food with other people.  In a matter of one week, I have four pot luck dinners to plan for, prepare for and attend .  That's probably why I have been so quiet on the blog these days! So much good stuff going on!

For yesterday's event I decided that I was going to tweak a recipe out of The Engine 2 Diet called Candle Cafe Brown Rice and Lentil Burgers. The tweak was that I was planning on making balls instead of burgers to make a vegan "meatball."  When it came time to roll the balls and I tried doing so, nothing was going to hold the mix of ingredients into a ball shape (I guess I missed the part of the recipe where it said to add whole wheat flour if the mix wasn't sticking together--oh well, it was a happy accident). So I tasted the concoction and decided that it was delicious as is, added a bit more brown rice, and brought it to the party as a warm salad. No hassle with rolling into balls! Yipee!

I loved it, my husband loved it, and so did all of the party goers. I brought along a bowl of Kale Butter and it was a great pairing. We just spooned the kale butter on top of the brown rice and lentils. When a guest at the party, who happens to be a local vegan chef, tried the dish, she immediately exclaimed that, "It's Mujadara!"  Mujadara (also spelled Mujadarah, Megadarra or several other variations) is a delicious, inexpensive, and simple to make Lebanese comfort food.  My version's spices are not the traditional cumin, cinnamon and allspice, but the results were just as spectacular.

Wendy's Warm Brown Rice and Lentil Pilaf

7 cups water
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and drained
2 cups uncooked brown rice or 4 cups cooked brown rice
4 garlic cloves
2 medium red onions, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp chili powder (or, for traditional Mujadara, use 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp cumin)

In a saucepan, bring 3 cups of the water to a boil.  Add the lentils, reduce the heat, and cook until the beans are softened, about 15 minutes (check for doneness, the lentils should be soft but not falling apart, this may take longer than 15 minutes).  Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, bring the remaining 8 cups of water to a boil, add the rice, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.  (Or, microwave two Trader Joe's frozen brown rice pouches to yield 4 cups of brown rice.)

In a saute pan, water or broth saute the garlic, onion, and carrots over high heat until lightly browned.  This may take a while. If mixture starts to burn, lower the heat a bit.  In a large bowl, combine the lentils, cooked rice and vegetables.  Add the salt and chili powder and mix well.

Delicious served with a dollop of kale butter on the top. http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-8-and-janes-kale-butter.html

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