MIXED BEAN AND KALE SOUP

The weather the last few days has been up and down, just when you think you can pack away your winter stuff, it's chilly again. And of course the quickest way to bring on snow has got to be by packing up your winter boots. That's precicely what happened over the Easter weekend. I put away our heavy winter boots on Friday and Saturday night it snowed with a fair amount of accumulation. There is our dog running around the deck confused after all these snow free days. Maybe it was not packing away the boots as much as it was using our BBQ for the first time this year a few days ago. 

Cold weather begs for a warm bowl of soup and what better choice than protein and nurient dense legumes and kale. This one pot, ok really two pot meal because I sauteed onions, garlic and ginger before adding it to my instant pot (electric pressure cooker) was ready in half an hour. 

This tastes even better the next day. So make a pot and maybe the soup can chase away the cold days



SKILL: EASY
SERVES : 3 - 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of bean and barley soup mix soaked for 3 hours (what I used looked like in this picture, you can also mix up your own)
• 1 large onion sliced
• 2 cups of chopped kale
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 - 12 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 2 inch piece of ginger chopped
• 1 vegetable boullion cube
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• lemon juice to taste
• 4 - 5 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups water

METHOD

1. Saute onions and ginger to 2 Tbsp of olive oil to a hot pan. Add bay leaves
2. Drain soaking water from the soup mix and add it to the onions and stir
3. Season with pepper, salt, cayenne and add vegetable bouillon cube
4. Add finely chopped kale to the pan and pour in 4 cups of boiling water
5. Transfer to the instant pot if using or reduce the heat, cover and simmer till the barley and beans have been cooked. I have used a pressure cooker as well for two whistles.
6. While the soup is boiling, heat the remaining olive oil in a saute pan; add the chopped garlic and turmeric and fry until slightly dark and fragrant
7. Garnish with fried garlic and add lemon juice to taste 

Nutty Eggplant Dip

It feels like spring is trying really hard to show itself. We are at the end of April and my tulips are mere leaves with the promise of flowers sometime in the near future. In the hopes that seeing patio furniture would change the weather, we brought out our BBQ and deck chairs over this weekend, but it did not work - the temperature today is a mere 10 degrees C/50 degrees F. But, since the BBQ is ready, I put on some eggplant and garlic and decided to make a dip that I saw in Canadian Living recently. The dip is light and has a good blend of flavours and is smple to make. One of these days, (hopefully real soon), the weather will be warm and when you sit out on the deck with a cold beer, this will be an appetizer to try with pita or crackers, but for now, let me go and put away my patio chair cushions since they are calling for rain tonight and tomorrow.
Happy spring !!!

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup walnuts soaked in water for 8 hours (this makes the walnuts less astringent)
• 1 can chickpeas (540 mL)
• 1 clove of garlic grilled
• 2 large eggplants grilled
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp za'atar powder *
• 4 Tbsp Tahini
• 2 Tbsp chopped clilantro or parsley

*Za'atar is a Middle Eastern seasoning made using ground thyme, oregano, marjoram, salt, sumac and toasted sesame. Available in Middle Eastern stores but is easy to make at home by combining the following:

• 1/4 cup sumac
• 2 tablespoons thyme
• 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons marjoram
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months

METHOD:

1. Wash and dry eggplants. Pierce the eggplants and place on the BBQ and grill until soft. Remove and allow to cool

2. Cut the top of a clove of garlic and wrap it in foil and grill for approximately 15 minutes. Cool before using
3. Drain water from the walnuts and spread onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 300 degrees F turning once until they are dry and toasted

3. Cut and scoop out the eggplant and put into the food processor, add the drained and rinsed chickpeas, and peeled garlic and mix until it is well belended.

4. Add toasted walnuts, lemon juice, tahini, spices and salt and pulse until it is mixed

5. Refrigerate for an hour. Garnish with cilantro and serve with pita or crackers

Moth bean with buttercup squash

As the weather gets colder, we've been having a lot of soup. This year my squash of choice has been the buttercup variety. I had half a baked squash left over from the weekend and wanted to try incorporating it with some kind of bean - and moth bean with buttercup squash was created. I bought Moth Beans recently for the first time, mostly because I was curious about the this odd sounding, tiny bean. Looking it up, I found that it is pronounced Moat not Moth despite the spelling, is also known as Turkish gram and is called Matki in Hindi. 
This small, slightly longish bean is tan on the outside and brownish yellow on the inside. It has a nutty flavour and an earthy odour. Moth beans are available at Asian grocery stores or in the international aisles in large grocery chains. You can substitute with mung or adzuki bean. This high protein dish can be eaten as a snack or a meal. Serve with flatbread or rice.

 Skill Level: Easy
Serves: 4 - 6 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup moth beans (soaked for a min of 3 hours or overnight 
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 2 cups baked buttercup squash     (approx. 1/2 )
• 1/2" piece of ginger grated
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 dry red chilli
• 1/8 tsp cumin whole
• 1/8 tsp nigella * seeds
• 1/8 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/8 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 T coconut oil

* Nigella seeds look like black cumin seeds, they are part of a group of 5 whole spices called paanch pooran used in Indian cooking. 

METHOD: 

1. Wash and soak moth beans for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight
2. Drain water; bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add garlic and moth beans to the pot
3. Boil until soft, drain but reserve 1/2 a cup of the liquid
4. Put oil in a saucepan and add the dry red chilli, cumin, nigella, fenugreek and mustard seeds, allow them to brown a little until fragrant. Add onions, saute until transparent
5. Cube the baked buttercup squash and add to the onion mixture, stir gently to keep the squash intact
6. Add chopped tomato, turmeric, cayenne, salt, pepper and cumin powder
7. Put the drained moth beans to the onion quash mixture, add in the reserved liquid and mix. 
8. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Check seasoning. This dish is dry with very little liquid

Truffles

Around this time of the year, I am always on the lookout for recipes for my annual Christmas bake exchange. If the recipe has no added sugar, no egg or flour, then it covers most dietary restrictions in my circle of friends. This recipe I found on a blog called 
"An edible mosaic" is a winner. I used a combination of sunflower and pumpkin seeds simply because I did not have enough of the latter, otherwise made no substitutions It is moist and delicious and can be rolled in cocoa, nuts or seeds to have a variety of different looks with one recipe. Thank you to Faith Gorsky Safarini for this one.This recipe is a keeper; in fact, my blog partner's little guy loved it too, so it's thumb's up from a little person in addition to all the adults who tried it. Enjoy!

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 pitted chopped Medjool dates (approx 4 oz)
• 4 Tbsp roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2 T pumpkin puree ( canned is fine, do not use pumpkin pie filling) 
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1 T ground flax seeds
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 t coconut oil melted
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/8 t ground ginger
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch ground cloves

TOPPING IDEAS: 

Desiccated coconut, cocoa powder, sesame seeds, crushed nuts

METHOD: 

1. Pulse together all ingredients (except toppings) in a food processor until it comes together to form a ball.
2. Scoop the dough into 1 tablespoon-sized truffles, roll into balls, and then coat in any topping(s) you like.
3. Store the truffles in an airtight container up to 2 weeks in the fridge.