egyptian lentils & rice

This recipe comes from a Mennonite cookbook, "More-with-less Cookbook"

Heat in a pot/pan,

2 T oil

add:

1 1/2 cup lentils

Brown lentils over medium heat for 5 min, stirring often. Add:

3 cups boiling water/stock

1 t. salt

dash pepper

Cook uncovered for 10 minutes over medium heat. Stir in:

1 1/2 cup rice

1 cup boiling water or stock

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 25 minutes without stirring.

Sauce:

In a saucepan, heat together:

3/4 cup tomato paste

3 cups tomato sauce

1 green pepper, chopped

chopped celery leaves (i did without, and it was great)

1 T sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cumin

1/4 t. cayenne or chilis

Bring sauce to boiling, reduce heat, and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Serve with browned onions,

Heat Oil in a pan and saute 3 onions & 4 garlic cloves until brown.

Serve sauce and onions on top of lentils/rice and serve with plain yogurt.

enjoy!

gingery asian pressed salad

an unusual and flavorful asian salad:

recipe from a cookbook called, Venturesome Vegetarian Cooking

Salad:

1/4 cup golden rasins

1/2 head small cabbage, thinly shredded

1 cucumber peeled and thinly sliced

4-5 radishes thinly sliced

1 med carrot

1/4 umeboshi vinegar

1 large apple

1/4 sunflower seeds

Dressing:

1/4 cup tahini

1 inch fresh ginger

1/4 cup mirin

1 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp apricot all fruit-jam

Place the rasins in a small bowl and cover with warm water. Let stand for 20ish minutes until they're soft and plump. Drain. Set Aside.

Combine the cabbage, cucumber and radish slices in a large mixing bowl. Use a peeler to shave the carrot into the bowl. Add the vinegar to the vegetables. Use your hands to massage the vinegar into the vegetables, squeezing gently, about 3 min.

Fun part!!! Place a plate that fits into the bowl on top of the vegetables. Weigh down the plate with something heavy, such as a pitcher filled with water. Let stand 1 hour.

When the salad presses, make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Once salad pressed, remove the weight. Holding the plate down with one hand tip the bowl over the sink to drain out any liquid.

Transfer the pickled vegetables into a medium bowl, squeezing gently to remove any remaining liquid.

Slice the salad in half and core. Cut each piece into thin half moon slices, add to salad.

To serve, toss the salad with the dressing, garnish with raisins and sunflower seeds.

spicy chicken kabobs with cilantro rice

[from a cookbook called THAI]

Serves 4

Chicken Kabobs:

3 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped

4 tbsp honey

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts

2 red bell peppers seeded and cut into 1 inch squares

Cilantro rice

2 tbsp oil

6 scallions chopped

generous 1 cup jasmine rice

2.5 c chicken stock

4 oz bok choy coarsely chopped

4 oz baby spinich leaves

LARGE handful of fresh cilantro

Soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 min. Mix all Kabob ingredients, except chicken and peppers in a bowl. Add chicken cubes and toss to coat. Cover and let marinate for 2 hours in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 375*

Alternate chicken cubes and red peppers on the skewers. Heat a ridged (or not ridged) grill pan until hot and cook the skewers over high heat for 3-4 minutes, turning until they're browned all over. Transfer to a cookie sheet and cook in the preheated oven an additional 10-12 min or until cooked through.

Cilantro rice:

Heat oil in preheated wok/pot. Add the scallions and stir-fry over medium heat for 30 seconds or until softened. Add the rice and stirfry for 2-3 min. Add the stock and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 10-12 min or until rice is tender, add more stock/water if necessary. Add bok choy, spinich and cilantro and cook, stirring for 1-2 min or until wilted.

Eat :)

banana pancakes

1 c flour

1tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 c milk

2 banana

1) mash bananas (we prefer using our hands)

2) mix everything together.

3) make pancakes!

sweet and sour chicken

this recipe is from kara at l'abri :) 

1/2 c ketchup

1/2 c chicken broth (last time i left this out and it still tasted good!)

2 T soy sauce

1 c sugar

1/2-1/3 c vinegar

(optional, pinapple juice-- drained from a can, save fruit for later)

Heat ingredients together in a sauce pan until boiling and set aside.

Cut Chicken (breasts) into small pieces. 

In a small bowl, beat 

2 eggs

2 tsp. water

1 tsp. oil

Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture then set on wax paper.

Sift cornstarch over both sides to coat (or dip into a bowl of cornstarch)

In a large frying pan, heat a bit of oil and some pressed garlic.

Add chicken and brown.

At this point you can add any type of chopped vegetables to the pot

(after having removed the chicken). I like to use an onion, different colored bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms. I also add some more garlic at this point and maybe more oil. 

Put everything in a 9x13 pan and pour the sauce over everything and cook in a 325-350* oven for 20 minutes covered in foil and an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

Serve over rice or asian noodles..... 

(I also have made noodles and put them as the bottom layer and then put the chicken and veggeis and sauce over top before baking) 

Colorful Curry Soup

2 onions, chopped

2 tbsp oil

saute

2 carrots chopped 

2-3 cloves garlic

3 bell peppers (yellow, red, green) diced

a few potatoes chopped

add and stir fry a minute or two

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

2 Tbs. curry powder

1 Tbs. Turmeric

add to taste

8 cups of water

2 chicken/vegetable bullion cubes

add and simmer until everything is done.

* At this point, I added some canned chick peas (rinsed)

in a seperate pot;

simmer

a cup of red lentils

2 1/2 cups of water

(optional, blend lentils) 

add to soup.

you can add some cornstarch to thicken the soup, if you'd like. 

just before serving add to the pot:

1 can coconut milk

1 cup sour cream or cream fraiche 

Set out (next to where you'll be serving the soup)

a small bowl of broken/chopped cashews

chopped dried apricots

fresh cilantro 

ginger syrup

This recipe is from Riana, one of the lovely ladies who cooked delicious meals at L'abri

This is my new favorite soup and several others said the same! It's a MUST TRY for all! 

Orange Lentil Soup

500 g Red lentils

A swig of olive oil

3 cloves garlic

a few chopped fresh tomatoes 

  (a can can be used in lieu) 

1.5 L Vegetable Stock

   (I used a spoonful of chicken stock powder)

peel of an orange

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried oregano

To speed up cooking time soak lentils in water for a few hours ahead of time!

Fry garlic in olive oil. Add other ingredients. Simmer for about an hour. I sliced up the rest of the orange sans skin and squeezed most of it into the pot and just decorated the soup with some chunks of orange floating on top. 

Optional: Process or Blend the soup if you'd like. 

This recipe is from Kara and Christa at L'abri!