Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions

My pantry is full of ingredients. Full of ingredients I bought for one recipe. Special whole grains–amaranth, quinoa, farro, barley–and lots of lentils and beans. I have three (3!) different types of lentils.  I made Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything  because I wanted to make room in my pantry. I now only have 2 types of lentils. 🙂

I cooked a similar recipe from Veganomicon before. It’s a simple vegan comfort-food recipe that’s good when it’s cold outside (even Southern California cold).

You can find the recipe HERE.

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Southwestern Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

The past few weeks I’ve been on a sweet potato salad kick. This week marks my 3rd week in a row making one. Last week I mentioned finding this recipe on Mark Bittman’s website, that it sounded delicious, and that I would make it in a couple of weeks. Well, I couldn’t wait–I made it this week.

In this salad, unlike the others I made,  the sweet potatoes are relegated to a supporting role. However, it doesn’t mean the salad is any less delicious. In addition to the sweet potatoes and quinoa the salad has: avocado, toasted pepitas, red onion, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper (my addition). It’s all dressed in a lime vinaigrette, spiced with chili powder, and flavored with cilantro. It’s a great vegan recipe, packs a punch, and is immensely satisfying.

Although I found the recipe online, it’s also in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I think you should all run out and make this as soon as possible.

You can find the recipe HERE. I want to try the original version and then try the suggested millet. YUM!

World Bread Day 2009: Stout, Oat and Honey Knots

Today we celebrate World Bread Day, a global celebration of, well, BREAD. Bloggers  all over the world are baking bread and posting about it today. This is my second year participating. Last year I baked Anadama Bread (to see the round up of all the breads baked last year go HERE). I was a baby baker (I still am, but probably more of a toddler now).

This year the bread I baked–Stout, Oat & Honey Knots— is a truly global creation. The recipe comes from Dan Lepard, a British artisan professional bread baker. In order to bake this bread I had to convert oven temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit, figure out what a sachet of yeast is (It’s 7 grams), and remember that strong white flour means bread flour.

The knots are made with toasted oats & a bread flour/whole wheat flour mix. Instead of water, stout is used for hydration. I used Stockyard Oatmeal Stout from Trader Joes. Honey provides a bit of sweetness and butter a bit of richness. I really liked these rolls. The stout flavor was strong (which I liked) and paired really well with cheddar/sage scrambled eggs. The crumb was smooth and almost creamy.

The idea to bake this bread came from my blogging friend Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs and Corner Loaf . I baked the bread with Nancy (who lives across the country in Atlanta, GA) via Twitter. It was so fun. I often read about these bake-alongs on Twitter, but can’t participate because of work or other obligations. I look forward to doing it again soon!

You can find the recipe for the Stout, Oat and Honey Knots HERE.

Vegan Müesli with Fresh Figs and Whole Wheat Couscous

It’s still hot here. It was 102º F on Tuesday.  Instead of hot cereal, I made  müesli with some cooked whole wheat couscous I had on hand.  I also threw in some uncooked rolled oats, sliced almonds, pistachios, and chopped fresh figs (I heart fresh figs, too bad season is so short). I used soy yogurt instead of the traditional yogurt or cream. I spiced the cereal with Chinese 5-spice and sweetened it a bit  with maple syrup. Müesli, like granola, can be made in infinite variations depending on your mood and what you have on hand. This was my Vegan Tuesday version.

Vegan Müesli with Fresh Figs & Whole Wheat Couscous

Makes one serving

• 1 cup cooked whole wheat couscous
• 1/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 5 figs, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon raw pistachios
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in bowl. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, but preferably overnight. Enjoy!

Granola Bread

Mix My Granola contacted me a while back to ask if I would like to sample their product. I love making my own granola, but sometimes run out of my homemade mix and don’t have any for quite awhile. Mix My Granola is a great compromise.

While it’s truly not homemade, you get to make your own mix. You start by choosing your granola base and then can add in your choice of dried fruits, nuts, and other mix-ins. I loved all the organic options.

For my mix, I chose the Organic Granola Base,  Dried Raspberries, Dried Blackberries (I wanted to try them!), Pecans, & Sunflower Seeds.  Mix My Granola sends the granola in a tube with the customized ingredients and nutrition information listed.

I used most of the granola in my usual way of eating it: for breakfast with Greek yogurt and fruit. However, I also used some of it to make delicious Granola Bread from King Arthur Flour’s Whole-Grain Baking Book.  The bread is almost creamy and makes very delicious toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.