flashback to lentils: curried coconut lentil bisque

i love lentils. so does my husband. so does my daughter. remember when i 1st started this blog and wrote about why lentils are amazing? remember when i made taco meat out of lentils? yum. remember when i posted lentil meatloaf? it's still fabulous. it sounds scary - it's not. i promise. (and yes, i have a label for lentils - i realize that is scary.)

i recently fell in love with lentils all over again when i made this fabulous meal last week.

i like ANYTHING made with coconut milk... coconut meets lentil and curry? has to be even better. this is one of those ultra-complete meals - it was dirt cheap, pretty, it felt good on its way down, it is super healthy and balanced and it tasted fabulous. and don't let the peas scare you - the sweetness of the peas is the perfect balance to the curry.

curried coconut lentil bisque
mildly inspired by recipe here
6 servings

a dash of olive oil
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder (another teaspoon if you want it hotter)
1 1/2 cups dry lentils, rinsed
6 cups chicken broth
1 can light coconut milk (always 99c at trader joe's!)
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch cumin
1 pinch ginger
salt and pepper to taste

1 cup white rice, cooked in 2 cups water for 2 minutes
1 12 oz bag green peas, cooked according to directions

1. heat oil in large pot. add onions and carrots. cook 5-6 minutes. add garlic and curry. cook 1-2 more minutes or until curry is fragrant.
2. add chicken broth, lentils and coconut milk. bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer 35-40 minutes or until lentils are soft.
3. add other spices. use immersion blender to blend soup into a bisque (a thick soup). salt and pepper to taste.
4. put rice and peas in a bowl. pour bisque over the top. enjoy!

spicy pasta with broccoli

here's a quick and easy meal i made a few weeks ago. it was delicious - and even without the parmesan!

spicy pasta with broccoli
adapted from culinary in the country
4 servings

12-15 ounces dry short pasta (i used penne)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 head broccoli (roughly 1.5 pounds), florets sliced into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup water + a little more (i used 1/2 lb more broccoli than the original recipe...)
salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) fresh grated Parmesan, divided (optional)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, seasoned and cooked according to your liking

in a large pot of boiling salted water, add pasta and cook according to package directions. reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain and place back into the pot off heat.

meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium. stir in garlic and crushed red pepper - cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. add broccoli and 1/3+ cup water - season with salt and pepper. cover skillet and cook until broccoli just begins to soften, about 5 to 8 minutes. uncover and continue to cook until the excess water has evaporated and the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 1 to 2 additional minutes.

scoop broccoli mixture into the pot with the pasta and add 1 ounce (about 1/4 cup) parmesan and enough of the reserved pasta water to create a thin sauce. serve with the remaining parmesan scattered on top. serve with chicken on top.

avocado shakes: my new favorite snack

since going dairy-free for my baby boy, snacking has been slightly more painful for me. my favorite snack is fruit, which still works, but i really love to snack on cheese during the day and a few bites of ice cream is a perfect snack right before bed. clearly i needed a solution to this problem.

i found one! thanks to my little brother. an avocado shake. no ice cream or yogurt needed - the avocado makes it smooth and creamy. if you love the taste of avocado then try just that. if you want it to be subtle - add more fruit! my hubby's favorite is avocado-banana-apple. my fav it avocado-apple.

skinny bovine's avocado shake

puree the following in your blender:

• crushed ice (less for 1, creamier shake - a little more for 2, slightly icier shakes. see about how much in pic below.)
• 1 ripe avocado (makes 1 or 2 shakes, depending on how much ice and fruit you add)
• milk (i use vanilla soy milk, just enough to get it to blend)
• sugar (a few spoonfuls, but add to taste. if you have a little extra cash lying around, i think this shake would be fabulous sweetened with agave nectar - and healthier too!)

other yummy things to add:

• other fruit - we've tried and liked grapefruit (see pic), apple (the whole thing, decored of course) and banana (for 2 shakes i'll do 1 avocado, 1 whole banana and 1 whole apple)
  
• apple juice (instead of part of the milk)
  
• a dash of lime juice

perfect deviled eggs - perfect for your super bowl party

i'll admit, i'm not a football fan and i honestly won't be watching the game on sunday. i will be eating yummy food along with the rest of the world though - just to celebrate life instead of football! :) here's one of my favorite appetizers. i only like them the way my mom has always made them, so here's our family recipe!

perfect deviled eggs
recipe for 36 deviled eggs (18 whole eggs)

18 hard boiled eggs (see here for my method), shells removed
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (and more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (and more to taste)
light mayonnaise to taste
salt to taste
paprika, sprinkled on top for decoration if desired
1. after removing shells, cut eggs in half lengthwise. put all yolks in mixing bowl and set whites aside. see below.

2. add 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard as a base and mash into egg yolks in bowl. add mayonnaise a little bit at a time, as well as a bit more vinegar and mustard and salt, taste testing as you add. mix and add until consistency and taste is to your liking.

3. sprinkle top with paprika, if desired. chill in fridge - serve cold!

recipe of the week: coriander chicken with mango salsa and coconut rice

i promised avocados, so here's a fun one i whipped up a few weeks ago with an avocado option! feel free to leave it out if avocados aren't as cheap where you are as they are where i am (2 non-walmart grocery stores have 25c avocados this week for me! yahoo!). don't leave the mango out, but watch for sales. i found mine 3 for $1. :)

this barely sweet coconut rice is a perfect compliment to the sweet and spicy salsa on your chicken. and i'm a believer that there's no exact recipe for salsa, so below is just what i used in mine.

and sorry no pics. use your imagination!!

coriander chicken with mango salsa and coconut rice
4 servings

chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and split (you'll have 4 pieces total)
coriander salt and pepper

1. grill chicken by method of choice sprinkled on both sides with coriander, salt and pepper.

mango salsa:
1 mango, peeled, cored and diced
1-2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 small/medium jalapeno, seeded, deveined and diced
a bit of diced red onion (go easy on the onion or it will overpower the other flavors)
1 avocado, diced (optional)
chopped cilantro, lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper to taste

1. combine all ingredients. let marinate 30 at least 30 minutes before serving.

coconut rice:
1 cup long grain white rice
1 14 oz can lite coconut milk (always 99c at trader joe's if you're lucky enough to have one!)
1/4 cup water
dash salt
a few teaspoons sugar, to taste
a handful of chopped cilantro

1. boil water, coconut milk and salt. add rice, reduce heat. simmer covered for 20-30 minutes until rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed.
2. stir in sugar and cilantro.

serve salsa over chicken with the coconut rice on the side. enjoy!!

the breadman (& honey whole wheat bread)

confession: i've always wanted to be one of those people who makes fabulous homemade bread.

confession #2: making bread is way too time consuming to actually be worth it to me on any regular basis.

solution? meet the breadman.
my sweet hubby bought me one of these a few months ago. it's amazing. just put all the ingredients in and viola! bread!

i admit that i don't love the shape of the loaf, though. luckily the breadman gives me an easy way to fix this. so i did an experiment and ran a recipe through the dough cycle and then punched it down, let it rise in a loaf pan and baked it in my oven. perfect.

so here's my favorite bread recipe so far. it's amazing. i can hardly keep my hands off of it.

please share if you have a favorite bread recipe. i need more!!

honey whole wheat bread
modified from here

1 1/8 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon bread machine yeast (or 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast)

1. add ingredients to your bread machine in order suggested (mine suggests the order above).
2. run through dough cycle on bread machine.
3. punch dough down and transfer to a greased loaf pan. cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 to 60 minutes. (option: put a pan with a few inches of water on the bottom rack of your oven while baking the bread. i haven't decided if i like it this way or without it better!)
4. bake in oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. (if your 1st loaf is a tiny bit doughy bake the next one for 26-27 minutes - i think my oven is a little funky though.)
5. let cool 30 minutes before cutting.
6. try not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting! :)

rainy day vegetable soup

happy national soup month (my only excuse for so many soup posts, i guess)! the skinny bovine's kitchen is a part of a new website/parenting forum called babble. i'm honored to be a part of it such a great group of bloggers (food and otherwise) and it really is a great resource for parents.

the folks at babble reminded me today that it's national soup month which fit perfectly with this soup i made last night for dinner. it's been so rainy all week here and i think i'm in good company with the rest of your westerners who are experiencing similar conditions. make this simple soup with a great loaf of homemade bread (i'll post the one i made soon) and you'll feel warm, toasty and satisfied in no time - for a ridiculously low-cal and low-budget dinner.

babble posted an article on soups for kids. here was my commenter's input on getting kids to like soup:
"a trick i used to get my 2 year old to like soup was to strain out the soupy part. then all that's left is the beans, noodles, mushy veggies, etc - all kid friendly and coated in a delicious broth that sooner or later they'll want to try too. i think soup can be intimidating for kids because it's hard to eat - so make it easy!"

and forgive me for no pictures - they turned out terrible for some reason!

rainy day vegetable soup
6 large servings

a dash of olive oil
1/3 of a medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
8 cups chicken broth
1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can french style sliced green beans
1 large or 2 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 zucchini, chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 large pinch rosemary
1 large pinch thyme
a dash of black pepper
salt to taste

1. heat olive oil in large pot. add onions, garlic and carrots. cook until onions are soft - about 5 minutes.
2. add remaining ingredients, except zucchini. bring to a boil. reduce heat and cover, simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. add zucchini 5 minutes before serving.