Curry Lentil Butternut Squash Soup

A perfect one-pot fall dinner!

My mom is the master of butternut squash soup.  I tried to be like her and added my own flair while I was at it!

High protein with the lentils, high fiber with the squash, oodles of Vitamin A + friends, a gorgeous color, and a lovely Middle Eastern flavor profile- this is one that I make again and again.  This is a filling vegetarian dish that can also be easily made a *vegan dish if desired.

INGREDIENTS:

·      2 medium sized butternut squash, I got mine at the farmer’s market, which is even better!

·      2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken stock

·      2 cups water

·      1 cup dried lentils

·      4-8 fresh garlic cloves

·      ½ large (or 1 small) red onion

·      ½ t sea salt

·      1 t crushed black pepper (and/or pink pepper if you have it) 

·      1 T curry powder                                                                                  

·      ¼ t cumin                                                                                              

·      ¼ t cayenne powder

·      3T plain fat free Greek yogurt (optional)

·      3T chopped fresh herbs, like parsley or cilantro- I used parsley (optional)

·      ½ ounce plain goat cheese per serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

·      Cut 2 butternut squashes length-wise and bake in the oven at about 350 until very soft inside, probably around 30 minutes or so

·      Allow squash to cool enough so you can hold them without blistering your fingertips off

·      Use a spoon and scoop out the squash flesh into a bowl- this should be fairly easy if its cooked enough

MEANWHILE, as the squash was baking, you should have done this:

·      Heat a generous amount of olive oil in the bottom of a very large, heavy pan like a Dutch oven to MEDIUM heat

·      Chop garlic & onion and add to heated pan- cook until onions are translucent and put heat on LOW

·      Add salt, pepper, and other spices

·      Deglaze the pan with 2 cups of chicken stock (ie, pour in the stock and then use a wooden spoon to scrape the cooked bits off the bottom of the pan

·      Add water and turn heat to HIGH

·      When water is simmering rapidly, add the dried lentils and bring to a boil for several minutes

And now FINALLY…

·      Add the cooked squash

·      Stir well, put a lid on it, and simmer- stir occasionally

·      I simmered & stirred mine for about 30 minutes and –BAM- it was finished.  Lentils should be tender and most of the squash should be broken down

·      If you’re fancy, you can use an immersion blender to slightly puree the soup

·      If you’re kinda fancy, you can use a muddler to break down large squash pieces in the pot

·      If you’re not fancy at all, use a fork to break up larger squash pieces

The soup will be thick, regardless of how you choose to eliminate the squash chunks.  You can thin it out if you want by adding more water or stock.

·      Stir in fresh herbs of your choice at the last minute

·      Stir in Greek yogurt if desired

·      Serve immediately!

I topped mine with goat cheese and gave it a swirl- it was awesome!

When it comes to spices, I say go big or go home.  So feel free to tone down the cayenne, etc. if that’s not your style.

**Can easily be made VEGAN by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and using pureed silken tofu or vegan yogurt instead of Greek yogurt and goat cheese.

Pan-Fried Soft-Shelled Crabs

Cuz I'm fancy like that.

One of the perks of living in the Mid-Atlantic Region is FRESH, WILD-CAUGHT, LOCAL SEAFOOD!  Not farm-raised in Chile, not shipped over from Sweden, not frozen and carted around in cargo planes.  So whenever I'm at the fancy market and see the words LOCAL and WILD in big orange letters, I take my chances.

I asked my local fishmonger (cuz I have one now, and its amazing- he's from Canada & just became a citizen and this is his first US election!) how one might properly prepare a fresh, local, wild soft-shelled crab and he recommended deep frying and adding some fancy soft cheese. 

I said, "Frying..?"  And he sighed and said, "Or I supposed a sauté will work if you want to be healthier or whatever," obviously peeved that I second-guessed him, but still glad that I asked.

So that's what I did!  Sauteed (or basically pan-fried) breaded soft-shelled crab!

It was really so easy and looks UBER impressive, plus no shell-cracking required- you just eat EVERYTHING!  Kinda weird at first, but you'll get over it; promise.

DIRECTIONS:

• Rinse off crabs under cold, running water & pat dry with paper towels
• Soak crabs in buttermilk (or whatever, I even used vanilla almond milk once and it was fine!) for at least 5 minutes
• Dredge through a pan or large plate of whole wheat flour, whole wheat Panko crumbs, sea salt, crushed black pepper, and a generous sprinkling of Old Bay (I'm still a Maryland girl at heart!).
• Shake off excess flour and transfer immediately into a large pan heated to a MEDIUM temperature with enough oil to almost cover the bottom of the pan
• Sprinkle crabs with Parmesan cheese as its closer to being done and allow it to caramelize slightly
• Flip when golden brown
• Allow to drain on paper towels
• Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top
• Serve with goat cheese, homemade tartar sauce, ranch dressing, or whatever you prefer (Mine are shown with roasted beets & rutabagas!)

Seriously VERY impressive!  And delicious!  And fast!

Gluten Free Lemon Coconut Tofu Squares (ie, fancy Lemon Bars)

 I adapted this recipe from the Whole Living issue with my doppelganger on the cover:

My version is gluten free & sugar free PLUS has like triple the amount of lemon-protein goodness on top!  This is less of a traditional lemon bar, and more of a coconut shortbread bar with super lemony custard on top.  WARNING: you may need to eat with a spoon...or just be prepared to get it all over your face & fingers

FOR CRUST:
-1/2 cup coconut oil
-1/4 cup Splenda
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp coarse salt
-1 1/2 cup white rice flour (Bob's Red Mill)

FOR FILLING:
-1/2 cup silken tofu
-1/4 cup Truvia
-3 Tbs grated lemon zest
-1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
-1/4 tsp baking powder
-2 Tbs white rice flour

DIRECTIONS:
-Heat oven to 350

-Brush an 8inch square baking dish with oil or butter, line with parchment so that there is an overhang over the sides of the dish, brush parchment with more oil

-Make crust: stir together oil, sugar, vanilla & salt. Add flour and stir until just combined
-Press dough into prepared dish and bake for 20-30 minutes
-The crust will only lightly brown on the edges

-Meanwhile, make filling: place ALL filling ingredients in a food processor until smooth and there are NO visible tofu bits

-Pour filling onto baked crust and bake until set, 50-70 minutes

(you can see my fingerprints from where I touched it to check its doneness^ oops)

-Let cool completely

-You can of course dust with powdered sugar, but I find it superfluous to top a dessert with even more sugar.  But that’s just me :)

It cooks for A LOT longer than you would expect.  I actually took mine out, tried a piece and ended up putting it back in the over for like 20 MORE minutes.  But then it got this gorgeous yellow color:

The bars have a great tropical flavor thanks to the coconut oil- delish!

Fancy Pinecone Dip!

I hosted a Fall dinner party this week (SO fun; I have the coolest friends!) and the hit of the party was the gorgeous pinecone dip.

Looks impressive, but WAY easier than it seems!

Here's how it turned out:

Here's the how-to:

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whole natural almonds
1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
3 crispy cooked bacon slices (or chopped prosciutto, which is what I used), crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
Fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish

Directions
Mix together the cream cheese and the mayonnaise. Add the bacon, salt and pepper, dill, and onion. Chill overnight.
On a serving platter, make 2 pine cone shapes with the cheese. Begin to press the almonds at a slight angle into the cheese, starting at the narrow end of the pine cone shape.
Add the sprigs & voila!

I served it with crackers and it was a hit.

Personally...I HATE mayo and so honestly, I didn't like it much...but my roomie was CRAZY about it and everyone else seemed to like it too.

(The recipe came from Amy Sedaris on FoodNetwork.com)

Honey Cake- the food of the gods

First, a little lesson on honey- one of my most favorite things and, for me, a kitchen staple.

I have become a honey connoisseur as of late and my new favorite is PEPPER HONEY! :D

My old favorite was Avocado Honey, if you must know.

Lesson: honey is, in fact, bee vomit.  Its flavor, colors, and other properties are heavily influenced by the type of plants the bees have been pollinating.

I have the great opportunity to have local bee keepers in PA and NJ (I live in Philly) who can supply me with awesome local raw honey.  My favorite, however, are The Bee Folks in Maryland because they have SO MANY different varieties and, yes, they DO taste subtly different and ALL are delicious :)

Yum, yum, yum!

So the relevance is that made a Honey Cake and I used Buckwheat Honey, which is a thick, dark, almost molasses-y honey and so the cake tasted a little reminiscent of gingerbread cake, which I loved.

Usually I tweak a recipe to add a little healthiness, or at least subtract a little badness, but when it is a special occasion, I go ALL out!  For real, I had to buy tons of butter to do this, since I didn't have any cuz I'm not really down with butter...

So this is a recipe that my mom used and even though I am absolutely a chocolate woman, this is my FAVORITE cake recipe.  I believe it originated from Martha Stewart.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:
(cake)
3/4 cup butter

3 1/4 cups + 2 T sifted flour

1 T baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

2 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of cloves

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

2/3 cup honey

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups milk

6 large egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

(Honey caramel glaze)

2/3 cup honey

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup (5 1/2 T) butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

-Heat oven to 350'

-Grease the daylights out of a bundt pan because they are fancy

-Sift together the ingredients from flour through cloves into a bowl

-Cream together butter and sugar. Gradually add in honey and continue to beat until very light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla. Alternately add the flour mixture with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

-Whip egg whites and cream of tartar to stiff, glossy peaks.  Fold egg whites into cake batter.  This may take a little while, so don't lose hope and get rough with it.  Your cake WILL be dense, but this will help so its not a honey pound cake.

-Pour batter into pans. Bake 40 minutes.  Cover with aluminum foil and continue baking for 15-20 more minutes.  Test until cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes.

-Turn out cakes and cool on a wire rack. Once cool wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.

-In a small saucepan, bring honey, sugar and butter to a boil; stir until sugar dissolves.  Add vanilla; remove from heat. Cool 1 minute. Use immediately.

-Spoon warm glaze over the entire cake until it's completely covered.

DROOOOOOLLL...check out that honey-caramelly goodness...

I had some for every meal today.

I wish that^ was a joke.

Bonus: I had leftover caramel sauce which I put in a little bowl and dipped apple slices in!

Pumpkin Strikes Back!

FIRST PUMPKIN RECIPE OF THE SEASON!

I had a cool man friend over last night and to celebrate the impending autumnal equinox, the vote was to go with a pumpkin recipe.  That's when Grandma came to the rescue with her super famous big, soft pumpkin cookies!

RECIPE (with minor tweaks, cuz I do that)

Place the following ingredients in a mixing bowl:

• 1/3 cup Canola Oil
• 1 cup sugar (or Splenda/Truvia equivalents)
• 1 egg
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t ground nutmeg
• 1-1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t ground ginger 

Gently mix them just until combined.  If using a standing mixer, mix on low for several seconds.

Then alternate adding in pumpkin and flour in the following quantities:

• 1 can of organic pureed pumpkin
• 2-3/4 cups 100% white whole wheat flour (you may need a little extra if its too runny)

When all that^ is just mixed together and the consistency is thinner than cookie dough, but thicker than cake batter, you can gently add the best part:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  
   (Usually I don't mess around with pansy and head straight for the Ghiradelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Chips because -let's be real, here- they're clearly the best.  But some somebody on Food Network recently ranted about how semi-sweet goes better with pumpkin, so I went on his word here.)
   
  Grandma suggests baking at 375 for 10 min; I baked mine for about 20 minutes.  Cookies will be firm in the center to the touch when finished.
  
  
  
  
  These cookies are more like pumpkin bread- super fluffy and substantial-feeling!  Everyone LOVES them!!  AND they are whole grain, include a VEGETABLE(!), and really have very little fat in the entire recipe, none of which is animal-based fat (not including the chocolate chips).  
  
  
  So eat away!  I've already had 5 1/2 today and its only 3pm- so I'm not kidding when I say they are DELICIOUS!
  
  
  Thanks, Grandma <3 
  
  
  

Summer Oats

Oats are a great breakfast food- whole grain, all natural, gluten-free, and they even have some protein!  But on steamy summer mornings when its already 80 degrees at 8am :/ a piping hot bowl of oatmeal is somewhat less than appetizing.

So here’s my recipe for Summer Oats- no cooking required- a tasty, natural, (mostly) raw foods dish that you will make again and again!  Also great for getting all the use you can out of summer's amazing seasonal fruit.

TOOLS

-Glass jar with lid, reuse one that you would have recycled, like from a jar of apple sauce or peach butter (so good!)

-Small food processor, or blender, or the will to chop the daylights out of your fruit du jour

INGREDIENTS

-1/3 c oats, I prefer Bob’s Red Mill old-fashioned oats, but even quick oats work fine

-1/2c plain nonfat Greek yogurt (its got a lot more protein than the regular stuff)

-1/2 large peach or nectarine or 2 small plums or ½ c hulled strawberries or pitted cherries- whatever fresh, local, summer fruit is your favorite!

-1T chia seeds, I also like to add dried hemp seed and ground flaxseed, but the chia plumps up so nicely in the yogurt that it makes it a for sure winner!

-Pinches of SALT & CINNAMON & GINGER & why not add some nutmeg or clove for flair

-1T almond slices

 

-1/4C ALMOND MILK or coconut, rice, or cow’s milk, etc.  I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk

-1 or 2 or 3t AGAVE NECTAR or honey or 100% maple syrup

~~As you can see there’s lots of wiggle room here^.  Make it your own and use up what you have on hand!  If you want a jumpstart on your daily veggie intake, try adding pureed pumpkin to the mix too.  Unsweetened shredded coconut is great as well as other nuts like pecan and walnuts, preferably in pieces or chopped~~

DIRECTIONS

-Spoon yogurt into glass jar

-Top yogurt with oats, seeds, salt & spices {here’s where I add my secret ingredient of Maple Sugar- dehydrated 100% maple syrup from a little shop called Savory, so great!}

-Blend 1/2 peach in food processor and spoon into jar (I usually make 2 batches at once, so I put in the whole peach, obviously)

-Give ingredients a gentle stir with a butter knife, try to not have any visibly dry oats

-All almonds now, or wait until you serve the oats and use them as garnish

-Pour almond milk over any dry spots and give another gentle swirl

-REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT with lid on, or at least for a few hours

-Top with agave and any reserved nuts

-Enjoy a cool taste of summer, ready as soon as you’re out of bed!

Based on my calculations at Livestrong.com, here’s the nutrition profile:

333 Calories

9.6g fat (less than 1g is saturated)

9.5g fiber

21g protein

-WHOA protein and fiber powerhouse!  AND full of Abs Diet superfoods- enjoy!

*Peach photo credit to http://ilfbpartners.com/illinois-fruit-calendar/