FBAH: Slow-Cooker Lentil Soup aka my kids’ FAVORITE meal

What a way to launch the new website, eh? I’ve had a rough few weeks realizing that I must be very, very old in technical years (is that like dog years?) since I have no clue what I’m doing. Or maybe I’m technically young? All I know is life has been consumed by the fabrication of this not so fancy website. I don’t know how other people manage, but assume they hire someone much savvier in web skills.

But today is a big day. I am participating in Food Bloggers Against Hunger, a collaborative effort of more than 200 food bloggers attempting to bring awareness to the realities, and perhaps failings, of the American Food System. My head is full of things I want to say, but nothing is quite right, and so I leave you with this.

I believe not just with my intellect, but also my heart, that the Standard American Diet lies at the core of many of our greatest societal problems. The What AND the How. Do we eat as families or standing by the fridge or in our car? Do we have to play the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game to get our food to its whole and original state? Are the toxins in our food making us sick – not just the ones we put on, but the ones inherent – sugars, processed fats, animal proteins in excess? Do our children even know where food, REAL FOOD, comes from? Do bugs and dirt make them squeamish, do bees terrify them?

When my kids publicly eat salad, fresh vegetables, or green smoothies with glee, I am frequently told I’m a lucky mom.

I am not a lucky mom. I work my TAIL off teaching my children.

I have spent countless hours growing, buying, and preparing wholesome food. Our most effective classrooms are our garden and our kitchen table. Smoothies are best when green. Farmers’ markets and produce co-ops are a way of life. I have taught them over and over again the most important truth about food, that our bodies are special and a MAGNIFICENT gift, and treating them poorly is wrong.

If everyone believed they were special enough to take care of, we would demand good food. Especially for our children. Everyone would, and it would make a difference.

My kids are special. So, so very special. My almost 6YO son’s favorite food is a raw red pepper. My daughter who turns three next week sneaks seaweed to the table. My baby knows the blender means food and eats everything I put on his tray, including the first food he happily ate … Lentil Soup. It is easy, totally affordable, homey, makes a TON, and I want to share it with you.

More information about Food Bloggers Against Hunger is below.

 

Easy Slow Cooker Lentil Soup

Yield 4 quarts (or more)

Ingredients:
1-2 T. olive oil (option)
2 Onions, chopped
5 Carrots, sliced
4 stalks Celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1-2 bay leaves
1-2 t. dried thyme leaves, or 3-4 sprigs fresh
2 c. brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 quarts broth equivalent:
2-3 T. vegan stock powder
1-2 T. vegetable base (I like Better than Bouillon’s)
1-2 cubes Rapunzel vegetable bouillon
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 bunch kale, ribs removed, chopped (substitute: spinach)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Sauté onions, carrots and celery until soft, but not browned, over medium heat using oil or water-sauté method. Add garlic and cook quickly for 30 seconds. Dump the vegetables in your slow cooker, adding your bay leaves, dried thyme, lentils, and broth. Cook on high for 3 hours. Add tomatoes and salt, add more water if needed, and continue cooking for another hour or two until lentils are soft. Twenty minutes before serving, add kale and cook until just barely tender. Adjust salt and pepper, and serve.

Serve with homemade bread and salad.

*Cooking variations:

• Without sautéing, add everything but the kale and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Add the kale just at the end.
• After sautéing the vegetables, add everything but the kale to the slow cooker and cook for 8-10 hours.
• Stovetop: follow directions, but allow soup to simmer on the stove for 30-40 minutes instead of in your slow cooker, adding the kale at the last five minutes.

Use this link to send a letter to congress asking them to support anti-hunger legislation.

And watch “A Place at the Table” to learn more. Trailer here.

 

Spring Changes

 

I’ve been burning the midnight oil lately trying to prepare the next big thing. We’re days (I hope!) away from launching our very own, REAL WEBSITE! I ‘m really quite terrified, especially after a long hiatus and with a busy life, but I’m sort of over waiting around for something awesome, so instead I’m making it. I’m working on branding, designing, and hopefully making it a beautiful and welcoming place for you to visit, to peruse, dream and maybe even decide it’s time for you to dig in. This is hard work for the computer UN-learned.

We’ve had spring snow the last two days here. Cold and icky, but prior to the icky, we got a good taste of real spring. Buried under a thick blanket of hay, we had some winter survivors. Beautiful, tasty green things. My almost three-year-old little girl thinks she’s sneaking when she tucks away a spinach leaf, and then another, and then another, chewing them up with great delight.

Our garden is much more than a place to grow food. It is our hard-work training ground, a science experiment, an escape, our favorite picnic spot, the raspberry patch, our compost pile, and place to dig badger holes, get dirty, take out aggressions, and yes, even sneak a spinach leaf or two.

Spring changes

Spring always brings changes, and this shifting over to a REAL website (one I’ve invested money in), is a big one. I’m tired, and this is hard. I’m also really quite terrified, especially after a long hiatus and with a busy life, but I’m sort of over this “waiting around for something awesome” thing, so instead I’m making it. I’m working on branding, designing, and hopefully making it a beautiful and welcoming place for you to visit, to peruse, dream and maybe even decide it’s time for you to dig in. This is hard work for the computer UN-learned.

We’ve had spring snow the last two days here. Cold and icky, but prior to the icky, we got a good taste of real spring. Buried under a thick blanket of hay, we had some winter survivors. Beautiful, tasty green things. My almost three-year-old little girl thinks she’s sneaking when she tucks away a spinach leaf, and then another, and then another, chewing them up with great delight.

Our garden is much more than a place to grow food. It is our hard-work training ground, a science experiment, an escape, our favorite picnic spot, the raspberry patch, our compost pile, and place to dig badger holes, get dirty, take out aggressions, and yes, even sneak a spinach leaf or two.

“Mexican” Quinoa in the rice cooker? Yes.

I am not an overly scheduled person. I can’t handle a full calendar – that’s what college was for, right? But my son has a reading group at the library on Wednesday afternoons that goes right up to 5pm and my husband has meetings at 6:30. Soooo, if at all possible, I like to have dinner waiting for me when we get home to keep the yelling to a minimum.

I got creative this afternoon. My rice cooker (similar to this one) is very smart and can cook rice 6 different ways. But I don’t understand it very well and the instructions aren’t all that helpful. In fact it came with two special measuring cups for different uses that hold the exact same amount – explain that to me. But I do know how to use the timer (that sings “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to my daughter’s delight) so I wanted to have something ready when we got home.

Nearly every recipe online for Mexican rice in a rice cooker calls for white rice, not what I wanted and besides, this was for our standard burrito/wraps and we like quinoa better anyway. Though this time I wanted something with more heft than plain quinoa.

Knowing that quinoa and white rice take about the same amount of time to cook made this a more universal recipe, meaning any rice cooker should work. All I needed were the ingredients and a plan – I had the former and came up with the latter. And I’d say it worked since all three kids, the Matt, and I loved it.

Mexican Quinoa in a rice cooker

Ingredients:

2 ¼ c. water
1 c. quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
½ c. frozen corn
½ medium onion, diced
1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced or 1-2 t. garlic powder
3 T. tomato paste
1 T. dried green chiles or 2 T. fresh or canned, keeping seeds for more heat
1 T. Veggie powder or 1 t. vegetable Better Than Bouillon
1 – 2 t. salt (or to taste)
1 t. cumin
Juice of one lime
Cilantro, for garnish

Directions:

Add all ingredients except lime juice to the rice cooker and cook (or set the timer on your rice cooker to be done when you get home!). As soon as it’s done, fluff it up and stir in the lime juice. Enjoy as is, or use for topping your burritos or tacos or salads.

A Celebration of Green (including guilt-free vegan ice cream)

I know, I know. The whole world is talking about green and leprechauns and luck today. So let’s embrace it!  To celebrate my happy feelings on this very GREEN holiday, I give you my celebration of Green!

Green Smoothie Goodness

1. The every morning, make me feel awesome, make my kids happy GREEN SMOOTHIE. Mine is always different from the day before, but it’s always good.

2. My happy green plants in my early garden. Somehow we managed to overwinter quite a bit. The spinach is READY and baby lettuces and chard and kale and even my little garlic tips are coming up!

Nut based mint chip ice cream

3. This green by nature (Spinach!) nut-based Mint Chip Ice Cream.  And I never fail to obliterate my chips, so I’m going to have to work on that, but it’s fantastic. And it’s (almost – I want to try the sweetened cacao nibs in it when I get some) completely unrefined plant-based awesomeness. The recipe is below!

Giant Green Frisbee

4. This GIANT green frisbee. It represents a lot of wonderful things in my life, most recently the chance to play with my almost six year old, and not the least of which was getting to know some random guy in Monterey while playing frisbee in the dark more than nine years ago.

5. This little girl in in the little green shirt, and this little boy in the little green dinosaur pajamas. Happy, happy green-ness!

It’s this good.

Nut-based Mint Chocolate Chip Vegan Ice cream (almost guilt-free)

Yield – about 3 cups

1 c. mixed nuts*
8 pitted dates, soaked + 2 T cold water
OR 3 pitted dates + ¼ c. sweetener (agave, maple, honey for the non-veganers)
Small handful of spinach (your natural food coloring!)
2-3 drops peppermint oil or ½ t. peppermint extract
Pinch of salt
2 ½ c. ice

¼ to ½ cup chocolate/carob chips or sweetened cacao nibs

Blend everything but the chocolate in a high powered blender until it just starts to move together. It will look nicely mixed but still really thick. If you can tamp it down (Vitamix) that might help it along. Add your chocolate and blend on low until just broken up. And enjoy!

Try not to overblend. I usually do and am disappointed when mine is more like soft serve than ice cream, but you can always pop it into your ice cream maker to freeze it up more like ice cream.

* If using all cashews, add 3-4 pecans to neutralized “that” cashew flavor. I’ve tried the Costco roasted mixed nuts, and that was awesome. Any blend will do, but a stronger flavored nut will make itself known if given the chance.

The Pantry Project – a small space DIY pantry for $270

Until last Saturday, I had food in the following places in my house:

Under my bed
Under my children’s beds
Behind books on the shelves
IN THE BASEMENT (the bulk of it)
In the coat closet
On some scary shelves in the most stupidly designed hallway (The DMZ – we demilitarized it for our children’s safety)

I told you I got inspiration from IKEAHackers.com. One night while holding my sleeping baby and looking at the most horrifying example of organization I received inspiration. Call it divine, call it genius, call it “about time”. But after six years of living here, I finally came up with a way to get my food and my kitchen together (don’t judge me by the contents).

But no more. For $270 and a half of a weekend’s work, I have a beautiful pantry that takes up no more space than my junk did.

A long-ish trip to IKEA one Saturday after measuring and researching products and sizes online. The following Friday – cleaning out the scary and stupid hallway between taking care of kids. Friday night – painting that hallway and building shelves. Saturday, installing shelves, adding doors, and moving food. Saturday afternoon – trip to the park and a walk around the neighborhood.

We used the Billy Bookcase because they are cheap, versatile, easy to put together, and they were a perfect fit. They also have the great benefit of being only 11″ deep. This is deep enough for binders, my food processor, cereal boxes, and almost two #10 cans. Our trash can required some modifying, and I don’t have a place yet for my dirty napkins, but everything else is accounted for.

(When looking at the pictures, remember this is the most horribly designed hallway with terrible lighting, but it totally fills this need.)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

What we used and what it cost:

• A bare and useless wall, painted white to disappear – Free (or the cost of paint)
• Billy Shelves from IKEA with doors (sold separately)
  • Two 31 ½” x 78” bookcases= $50/each (2) = $100
  • One 15 5/8” x 78” bookcase = $40
  • Five doors = $25/each X 5 = $125
• Hooks (if desired) = $4.99/4
• Drywall anchors (we had some on hand, but maybe a couple bucks at the hardware store)
• Tools we already had: A cordless drill, tape measure

Total Cost: $270 (+ tax)

How We Did It:

1. Make a plan. We measured our work area (84 1/2″ x 85″), and decided we needed two of the wide and one of the narrow bookcases, which made almost a perfect square of 78” x 78”.
2. Get our stuff – yes, we braved IKEA with three children. On a Saturday. Brutal.
3. We prepped the area. We had to clean it out, remove the baseboards and cold-air intake, and paint the area white.
4. We built the shelving according to the instructions, but did not put the backer board on. This allowed us to mount it to the wall, creating a built-in pantry system that feels like it belongs, as well as securing it more firmly to the wall for safety’s sake.
5. Positioned the bookcases where we wanted them (we had a light switch to work with), and then mounted the bookcases to the wall using the included brackets (two come with each shelving unit plus one per door).
   1. Make sure to use drywall anchors if NOT attaching to a stud.
6. Attached the doors to the bookcases. We had to keep in mind shelf location relative to the hinges, since the shelves are easier to move than hinges. I trusted Matt’s judgment. (Remember, you will need to load heavy stuff on the bottom – these aren’t designed to hold 10 shelves full of cans of beans.)
7. Adjusted and loaded our shelves. These shelves are super easy to move, but it got tricky when working in a small area, so I recommend you go either top-down or bottom-up, rather than meeting in the middle like I tried to do.
8. We added some hooks for my kids’ helmets and bag of onions, taking over the less visible end of the pantry.
9. Smiled at our awesome, affordable, space efficient new pantry full of all of the things we didn’t remember we’d shoved in the back of the basement.

Just a few changes

Things might look a little different around here the next couple of weeks. Bear with me. I’m experimenting. But I’ll totally be pulling out all of the stops in the kitchen, the garden, and every other random thing you’re used to being subjected to.

Pi Day – 3.14

From geek.com

We do school here, as in within the walls of our home. You know, like “HOMESCHOOL”? I don’t know how to spin or weave, so they don’t wear homespun (j/k), but we do call playing soccer in the backyard and going on trips “school”. We also teach our five year old about mobius strips, birds of the world (he can identify more than a few), indulge his desire to read books about the desert, legos, and scriptures, and let him color his leprechauns whatever color he wants…though they’re usually green. But if he WANTED, I wouldn’t care if they were red or yellow, or if he didn’t even color one.

So, today, March 14th, aka 3.14, we celebrate Pi. That obscure number that helps us calculate the circumference and area of circles and other roundish things. I think I’ll be making a strawberry pie to celebrate to teach my child mathematical principles. How will you celebrate learn?

Whole-grain Sourdough [Vegan] Waffles

It’s Saturday morning here, and breakfast time. And odds are good that my kids are running around and yelling for breakfast. And they’ll be having these. So, are you ready for this? Are you sure, because that title is a mouthful. I only promised it half your life ago, but it was totally worth the wait, right?

Still light, even at 100% whole grain

A few words to the wise [my notes], before laying it all out – and yes, there are A LOT of notes, for which I’m sorry if you don’t like notes. But I love them and wish more people had lots of them.

0. These are my favorite waffles to make, largely because I can store and use the culture that would otherwise get thrown out after feedings. I just pour it into a lidded container and save it for waffle day.

1. The batter can (and probably should) be made the night before. You’ll have breakfast at a normal time if you do. And the batter will keep in the fridge for a day or two after.

2. This recipe is for a single batch. It will probably feed a small family. A 1 ½-x batch makes 8 1/2 cups of batter, feeding my family with enough for leftovers. A double  batch may bury you, but that’s okay. I do it all the time.

2.5. The hydration level of your sourdough culture will determine the amount of liquid to add. I usually pour off some of the hooch (that black liquid on top) after pulling my collection of culture from the fridge. Start with the prescribed amount, but don’t be surprised if you need more.

3. The amount of fat you add is flexible. I have made it with no added fat (a bit difficult to choke down when reheated, no too bad fresh) and with full fat (much lighter and richer). The recipe is for full-fat. Half-fat is perfectly good, but not the best.

4. Use a variety of flours. I have used all white flour through various and sundry versions of all whole grains, including kamut, oat, cornmeal and varieties of whole wheat flour. I grind my own so I use whatever I have on hand, but love kamut and oat because it keeps the waffles from being too dense.

5. Sweeteners. Use some. I’ve used organic sugar, honey, malted milk powder, barley malt syrup, and probably agave or maple syrup. I can’t remember.

6. Egg substitute. Both flax eggs and Ener-G egg substitute work great. Heck, I’ve used eggs, but not so much lately. They work though. I try to give mine time to set up before adding it to the whole shebang.

7. Freeze and toast these. Much better than anything you’ll get at the store.

Powerstack

He’s BLEEDING. 😉

Raspberry syrup is yummy

Still light, even whole grain

And yes, that’s homemade maple syrup in the background.

the last bite.

The BEST Whole-Grain Sourdough Vegan Waffles

Egg Substitute: (4-egg equivalent)
4 T. ground flaxseed + ½ c. water
2 T. Ener-G + ½ c. water
2 c. Flour (mix up with white, whole wheat, pastry, kamut, oat, cornmeal)
2 t. Salt
1 t. Baking soda* (directions change if making the night before)
1 t. Baking powder
2 T. Sweetener (or to taste)
2 c. sourdough culture
1 ½ c. Lukewarm milk (almond and hemp are two favorites in our house)
½ c. Coconut Oil or Butter substitute, melted
1 t. vanilla

Directions:

• Mix together your egg substitute and set aside.
• Whisk together dry ingredients* in a large bowl. If you have one of those pitcher bowls, use it. It will be better. I don’t.
• Add wet ingredients to dry, including sourdough culture, milk, melted coconut oil, vanilla and your “eggs”. This is when you adjust your liquids, adding enough for it to be pretty loose – very pourable and not clumpy, because it will thicken as it sets up.
• Stir until smooth. Let it hang out for as long as you can. Overnight in the fridge is happiest, but even if you just let it hang out while your waffle iron heats up for 20 minutes or so, it will be better.
• *If doing this overnight, omit the baking soda in the second step. Instead, add it right before you plug in your waffle iron, mixing in quickly so reaction is disturbed as little as possible.
• Then … waffle! Cook as your waffle iron likes to cook them.

***And if you don’t feel inclined toward sourdough, no worries, I’ve got a standard vegan waffle in my queue. (Isn’t queue a lovely word?)

My new favorite website

This has absolutely nothing to do with food. Directly anyway. Especially since I don’t buy food at IKEA. But it will have everything to do with my pantry situation in a few days.

See, the current reality of my life is that I choose not to afford a contractor to remodel my 1980 kitchen and update my storage options (plastic shelves and cardboard boxes) in a townhouse that has lost at least $20K in value since we bought it. We haven’t upgraded a lot because these were all temporary solutions … right? And so, like any suburban mom trying to pay off her law school and minivan, I shop at IKEA.

But until recently, I did so aimlessly and helplessly, like my deliriously tired children having tantrums about checker pieces. I wasn’t good at it and it wasn’t pretty. I am one of those “think inside the tidy box” types, which served me beautifully all through school, but this whole freestyling bit of motherhood and home ownership proves that skill to be less than ideal.

And then I found this:

It’s full of pure genius. Seriously, the people who do some of these are totally OUT OF THE BOX types. And I envy them. And one day, I will learn that skill. And until then, well, I will just COPY them. Thank you, IKEA Hackers.

Check out this one (LOVE). And this one is brilliant. Don’t get lost on there.

And the rest of you, you [hopefully] will be seeing the results of their recommendations in my KITCHEN soon.