Spanish Lentils

I have been searching for years for a lentil recipe that tastes like what we were served while missionaries in the Canary Islands. And I finally found this recipe over on smitten kitchen. Aaahhh... the lentils, the tomatoes, the carrots, the thyme - and to finish it off... a splash of good red wine vinegar. It tasted just as good as I remembered, although perhaps slightly healthier. If you want to make it really authentic, add sliced Spanish chorizo when you add the lentils.

(Note: Spanish chorizo is NOT the same as Mexican chorizo. Spanish chorizo is cured and sold like salami - you can usually find it at a gourmet grocery store like Whole Foods or Central Market.)

Sweet Potato Fries

WARNING!
The following recipe is highly addictive!

My kids won't touch mashed sweet potatoes (crazy), but they literally inhale these sweet potato fries. I'm pretty sure you will too... I may never make sweet potatoes any other way again.

2 sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Heat oven to 400F. Wash the sweet potatoes really well - you will not be peeling them so make sure you scrub all that dirt off. Slice the potatoes into sticks, wedges, slices, or however you like to eat your "french fried" potatoes. The side on the pan will caramelize somewhat so you may not want to much surface area. I recommend sticks about 1/4 wide. Mix all the spices and brown sugar together in a small bowl. Toss the potatoes with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the spice mix (I like to use a produce bag so I can shake them up really well and get them coated evenly). Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake 20-40 minutes depending on the thickness. The single layer is important if you want crispy fries as sweet potatoes will get soggy if they are piled on top of each other. Fries are done when soft all the way through - allow to cool and enjoy. (My kids like them with ketchup, but they taste great on their own.)

Alice Waters' Cauliflower Soup

After years of wondering how anyone could like cauliflower, I now have several recipes in my repertoire the use the strange little vegetable - and two of them happen to be soups. I found this recipe by Alice Waters over on Jane Spice and tried it the other night - and liked it even better than the creamy Pioneer Woman version.

All the spices in this soup make it ideal for a cold winter night, alongside a salad and some nice crusty bread. I used an immersion blender to get the consistency where I wanted it - with just a few chunks of cauliflower here and there and the rest thickening the broth. I didn't have coriander seed so I just substituted 1/4 teaspoon coriander - I imagine you could do the same with the cumin. I also don't like the taste of cooked cilantro so I left that out... and if you decide to use it as a garnish, I recommend mincing it very finely otherwise the texture clashes with the creaminess of the cauliflower. Don't forget the splash of lime juice - it will make all those spices jump! Very yummy!

CranApple Acorn Squash

I first tried this recipe Christmas morning the first year I was married. We thoroughly enjoyed it and then I promptly forgot about it - until Andrew reminded me this year. So I dusted off the recipe and tried it again. This time it tasted even better!

2 medium acorn squash (about 1 lb. each)
2 cups finely chopped peeled apple
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
1/4 cup raisins
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cut each squash in half lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds. Trim a small piece off the bottom of each squash half, if necessary, to allow the squash to sit upright. Combine the apples, cranberries, raisins, brown sugar, and pecans in a medium sized bowl and stir to mix well. Divide the mixture among the squash shells and sprinkle a pinch of nutmeg over each. Coat a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and arrange the stuffed shells in the dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes or until the squash are tender. Serve hot.

I think the first time I made this I used craisins instead of cranberries and I will say that it is MUCH better with the cranberries - not quite so sweet and the flavors pop a lot more. Also, this time I drizzled a little pure maple syrup over the squash just before serving which put it over the top!

Christmas Fare

Last year I made an elaborate Christmas meal, only to have all my kids get sick and not be able to enjoy it.

This year I decided to chill out and enjoy the day a bit more, so here is what we had for dinner:

Christmas Eve

My family has a long standing tradition of eating a "Jerusalem Dinner" on Christmas Eve. Depending on the age of the kids, we would sometimes dress up in nativity costumes and we almost always ate by candlelight. Dinner would consist of things that Joseph and Mary might have eaten in their day. This year we ate fish (lightly pan fried in a little EVOO), dried plums and apricots, olives, and pita bread with goat cheese (as well as some other cheeses that the kids would like). I also had some smoked oysters that a friend gave us when he cleaned out his pantry, so I made a cream cheese spread with them to eat on the pita bread. We drank grape juice with the meal. Leah added to the scene by placing nativity characters around the table.

Christmas Brunch

After the excitement of opening presents, we sat down to cinnamon rolls, mango-berry juice, and CranApple Acorn Squash. I was going to serve grapefruit as well, but we really didn't need anything more - it was a perfect snack to keep us going as we tried out our games and toys.

Christmas Dinner

The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the kitchen all day, so I found this great recipe for Posole which cooked in the slow cooker all day and served up great with a batch of cornbread and a little salad.

Harvest Pound Cake

This recipe is the result of me trying to make a recipe I found online and realizing I was out of many of the ingredients. I liked it so much I figured I should make note of my "recipe" for posterity.

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup pumpkin or sweet potato puree
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour (I used half white/half wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups chopped or grated apples or pears
1 cup dried fruit (I used a dried berry mix)

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in fresh and dried fruit. Pour into a two 8x4 loaf pans (greased and floured). Sprinkle with coarse decorating sugar. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bread Pudding

This is one of those great comfort food recipes that has been passed down through generations... my mom remembers eating it as a child and her mom (my grandma) does as well - it goes back at least as far as my great-great grandmother, Johanna Jurk. It was always a special treat for us as children - we loved it warm and fresh from the oven.

2 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups dry bread, cubed
nutmeg or cinnamon to taste
1/4 cup raisins

Place bread in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Beat the eggs and mix with milk, sugar and spices. Pour the liquid over the bread and let stand until thoroughly soaked. Add raisins. Bake 20 minutes or until firm in a 350 oven.

Those of you who know me know that I view recipes more as suggestions than as a hard and fast rule - which means my favorite recipes are those that are somewhat flexible in their execution. This is one of those recipes. I recently found a bag of gingerbread waffles in my freezer that had been there too long to taste very good on their own, so I used them to make a gingery bread pudding. I didn't add any extra spices to the liquid and replaced the raisins with chocolate and butterscotch chips - it was scrumptious!