Spicy Green Lentils

Went to Echo Hill today and picked up, among other things, a new bag of green lentils so I kinda had a hankerin' but was looking for a new way to prepare them.  I found a recipe for Warm Spiced Lentils on MyRecipes.com to use as a starting point but, as usual, took some liberties.  The result was good enough to post so I will have it for future reference, though maybe with further modifications:

~3/4 cup green lentils (original called for 1 c. petite green lentils)
1 small onion peeled
4 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 strip lime rind and 1 strip orange rind (original called for one 2" strip lemon rind; I used what I had on hand)
Coconut oil for sauteing (original called for 1 T. extra virgin olive oil)
1 med yellow onion, chopped (original called for 3/4 cup red onion)
1 can petite dice tomatoes w/Jalapenos (original called for 1 c. chopped seeded tomatoes)
~1 inch fresh ginger, minced (original called for 3/4 t. ground ginger)
1 t. ground cumin (original called for 3/4 t.)
1/2+ t. ground turmeric (original called for 1/2 t.)
1/2+ t. ground paprika (original called for 1/2 t.)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime (original called for 1 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice)
Salt, ground black pepper, ground chili pepper to taste.
(Original also called for fresh cilantro and fresh parsley which never made the scene tonight)

Lentils placed in sauce pan, covered with 2+ inches of water.  Small onion studded with whole cloves added to lentil water with bay leaves and citrus rinds.  I started this cooking with the intent to give it about 55 minutes.

Heat oil in skillet, add chopped onion, and saute.  Add ginger, garlic, spices, tomatoes and start cooking.  When lentils are soft, discard onion, bay leaves, and rinds, drain lentils and add to skillet.  Squeeze in the lime juice.  Salt, pepper, and chili pepper to taste.  Cook ~5 minutes until everything is blended and hot.  I served it with white rice and curried fish tonight.  Pretty darned good and a good place to start for a "throw together" spicy lentil and tomato dish any time.  Modify the seasonings to suit your mood!

Corn Meal Mush - Variation

I was making corn meal mush this morning for breakfast.  I use the roasted yellow corn meal from Echo Hill and usually like it with maple syrup, a really good combination with a long history.  Typically, I make extra to pour into a loaf pan to solidify for fried mush (now called polenta, if you please) at a later meal.

As we were dishing up, Mom said, "I wonder how this would taste with a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on it."

Me:  "I don't know, but I know how to find out."

In not too long, we were trying mush with parm as an aside to our conventional bowl of mush with maple syrup.  Gotta tell you, it was surprisingly good.

Mom:  "Well, that's something else to put pickled hot peppers on."  Had to try it, of course, so out came a jar of pickled Hungarian wax pepper rings to try.

If you had told me this morning that I would be eating corn meal mush with Parmesan cheese and pickled hot peppers today I would have figured you for nuts.  Turns out its really good, worth sharing here on the blog.  I'm not sure what meal context it might best fit - probably not breakfast - but it is definitely worth a taste and worth thinking about how to fit it into a menu.  Try it and let us know what you think.

Cranberry Lime Chutney

It took a couple of tries starting from scratch on this idea but the latest effort is worth reporting, I think.  Ingredients are pretty straightforward:

1/2 Onion, diced fine
3 Limes
2 1/2 cups whole Cranberries
1 cup Tarragon Vinegar
1 cup Honey
1 t. dried Tarragon

Limes are sliced thin, then slices quartered.  Everything mixed together and cooked with constant stirring.  I actually added the vinegar and honey a bit at a time working to taste, cranberries too, for that matter.  Add water as needed to prevent it getting too thick and burning.  Cook until cranberries and lime rinds are thoroughly cooked, then evaporate extra water, stirring constantly to avoid burning as it thickens.

I will spend some time tasting this then give some consideration to what else might be added.  In particular, I think it may be interesting to make some of it hot with dried red chili pepper.  We'll see...

Cheese Souffle

 

 

6 slices white bread buttered with the crust removed

 

1 teaspoon salt

 

1 teaspoon mustard powder

 

1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese

 

4 eggs

 

2 cups milk

 

1 tablespoon dried sage

 

Corn flakes and butter (optional)

 

 

 

Cube the bread and put into a buttered casserole dish...grate cheese and sprinkle over the bread...beat eggs with milk and seasonings and pour over the bread and cheese without mixing...spread a layer of crushed buttered corn flakes if desired over the top...allow to stand refrigerated for several hours and better overnight...place the casserole dish in a pan of hot water and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or more.