Lentil and spinach soup

I have a total schoolgirl TV crush on Jamie Oliver. No kidding. He loves food, passionate about real food and is kind of cute. I can't help myself. I watched one season of his food revolution show and was swept off my feet. Swoon! So of course I had to buy his Jamie's Food Revolution cook book.

These days I am looking for recipes that are healthy, quick, easy and baby friendly. Our 11 month old son enjoys trying new foods and seems to like lots of flavor. This week I was inspired to make a lentil soup in J.O book that seemed to fit the healthy, quick, easy and baby friendly criteria. I blended the soup to make it easier for baby and I actually preferred the pureed form myself. We both ate it up for lunch, for dinner and for lunch and dinner leftovers the next day!

Lentil and Spinach Soup in Jamie's Food Revolution

2 - 3 carrots
2 - 3 celery stalks
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
 1 3/4 quarts chicken or veggie broth
olive oil
thumb-sized piece of ginger root
1 fresh red chili pepper (I used purple sweet chili pepper)
10 grape or cherry tomatoes
2 cups red lentils
7 cups spinach (I just threw in some handfuls, probably not that much)
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and roughly slice the carrots. Slice the celery. Peel and chop the onions. Peel and slice garlic.

Put the broth in a saucepan and heat until boiling.

Put a large saucepan on medium heat and add 2 TBS olive oil. Add all chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a spoon. Cook about 10 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape and the onion is lightly golden.

Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the ginger. Seed and slice the chili. Slice tomatoes in half.

Add lentils, ginger, chili and tomatoes to veggie saucepan. Carefully pour in the broth and give a good stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes with lid on, or until the lentils are cooked. Add spinach and cook about 30 seconds more.

Eat as is or puree in a blender.

Autumn Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette and Sugar Curried Walnuts

This salad is wonderful and can be adapted slightly based on greens available. It has been a couple years since I've made this salad but it was just as good as I remembered. While the recipe calls for spinach, I used a premixed bag of baby lettuces which worked out great. The recipe also calls for blue cheese, but I'm weird about the texture, flavor and "blueness" of blue cheese and opted to use goat cheese instead. I have had this salad with blue cheese before and it was delicious, so it's your preference. Seeing as how I forgot to buy a red onion, I substituted some green onion which worked out nicely too. The final adaption I made tonight was using white wine vinegar in place of cider vinegar because, well, it seems I was out.

Hmmm... seems I actually made an entirely different salad tonight!

So, here is the recipe as it was written but feel free to adapt! Enjoy!

Salad
10 oz or more baby spinach (use more)
1 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced OR 3 green onions chopped
4 oz crumbled blue cheese

Sugar Curried Walnuts
1 cup walnuts
2 TBS butter, melted
3 TBS sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp salt and pepper

Toss walnuts in melted butter. Stir together sugar and remaining dry ingredients. Sprinkle over walnuts and toss to coat. Spread onto nonstick aluminum foil-lined pan. Back at 350 for 10 minutes.

Maple Cider Vinaigrette
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 TBS maple syrup
1 TBS Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2/3 cup olive oil (or a little less)

Once the walnuts cool a little bit, sprinkle them over the salad.

Spicy Peas and Spinach

I have been so bad about updating the food blog - sorry! To my defense I have alot going on right now, but that is really no excuse to not share delicious recipes with friends.

This dish was part of a special dinner I hosted a couple weeks ago. We had Moroccan Ficken and this Spicy Pea dish which went together nicely. The Moroccan Ficken has a sweetness to the flavor due to the dried apricots, so the spicy of this dish is a nice contrast. I love sweet and savory in the same meal!

Spicy Peas and Spinach (from What's Coo.king Veg.etarian by Jenny Stacey)

1 1/4 cups green split peas ****need to soak before cooking!****
2 pounds fresh spinach
olive oil
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 tsp grated ginger root
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/4 cup veggie broth
salt/ and pepper

1. Rinse and sort through split peas, then transfer to a bowl and soak in water for 2 hours.
2. Heat oil in saucepan and add onion, spices and garlic. Saute for 3 - 5 minutes.
3. Add drained split peas, spinach and broth. Simmer covered 10 - 15 minutes until peas are cooked and liquid has been mostly absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.

Ravioli with Creamy Curried Spinach Sauce

I worked with a woman several years ago from Europe and she cooked wonderful, interesting foods. This dish is one she shared with me and has been a favorite ever since. It sounds weird, but tastes delicious! My hubby does not like curry at all, but he really likes this dish. He also dislikes cream cheese, I mean really hates the stuff, but seems to like it in this recipe. This dish cooks up quickly, so it is a good one for a busy night.

Ravioli with Creamy Curried Spinach Sauce

1 family size package cheese ravioli

2 X 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese

1 can coconut milk (reduced fat works well too)

2 tsp veggie bullion

1 TBS curry powder

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Salt to taste

1. Cook ravioli, drain

2. Add coconut milk, curry and bullion to a sauce pan. Heat over medium heat until simmering. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Add cooked spinach and keep warm.

3. Pour sauce over the pasta, gently stir to combine.

4. Serve and sprinkle with green onions and peanuts.

Sauteed Spinach and Temphe

We are in the midst of our kitchen remodel, and this means easy meals. All the contents the cupboards are currently spread across the living room, including spices, pots, pans, plates....

After a few hours of priming the cabinets, dinner had to be simple. I chose to make sauteed spinach and temphe last night. Not much to prepare, and ready in under 30 minutes.

Sauteed Spinach and Temphe

olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 - 4 cloves garlic

salt/pepper

1/4 cup soy sauce, divided

2 pkg temphe (your choice of flavor, I used wild rice temphe last night)

large bag fresh spinach

rice or egg noodles, cooked

1. Cube the temphe, then drizzle with about 1/2 the soy sauce, let sit

2. Heat remaining soy sauce and some olive oil in a large pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute onion and temphe until beginning to brown. Add garlic, stir. Cook for a minute or so.

3. Add fresh spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted.

4. Serve over cooked rice or noodles.

Kale and Spinach Bake

My mom used to make a great spinach casserole, which may appear on here one day. This was one of the few dishes my mom could cook, bless her heart! (I just had to throw that in, I do live in North Carolina after all.) This kale spinach bake is similar but different, maybe a cousin of mom's dish. It is a great way to eat dark leafy greens, which are packed with goodness. I modified the original recipe a little bit, and will give you the original, but note my changes.

This dish takes some time, so do not plan this dinner on a busy night. I forgot this, and to make up for it, I opted for a side dish of tater tots. Unhealthy, but tasty and easy. Since I did not get around to buying local chicken today, I used veggie chicken to make lemon pepper chicken.

Olive oil

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, mashed

1 lb kale, rinsed and coarsely chopped

1 lb fresh spinach, rinsed and coarsely chopped

6 oz plain low-fat yogurt (I used fat free Greek yogurt... we'll see what happens)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 1/2 TBS all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground pepper

1 (16 oz) 1 % cottage cheese ( I used 4% cottage cheese to make up for the fat free yogurt)

2 eggs

1 egg white

a little more grated Parmesan cheese

I added a sprinkle of mozzarella/ provolone on top too

Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over med heat. Add onion and garlic, saute about 3 minutes. Add kale and spinach, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 15 - 20 minutes until wilted. Stir occasionally. Don't over cook, we don't want yucky color greens with no nutrients left! Remove from heat, strain with spoon, then plop into a 2 qt. baking dish coated with oil.

Position knife blade in a food processor bowl. Add yogurt and next 8 ingredients. Process until smooth. Pour over greens, stirring gently. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake uncovered for 40 minutes at 350ish (I baked mine at 365 degrees).

Yummy! I just took a bite, and it is gooooood! Creamy, not too cheesy. Gotta go and eat my dinner.

Pictures coming soon.