lentil spaghetti sauce

I found it here but it's a recipe I'd used before and lost. I used to eat it over pasta or rice but lately I just eat it plain like a stew, which is also good.  I'm adjusting it to what I've actually been doing:

1 bag (16oz) dried lentils 
oil
3/4 cup chopped onion (or more)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon dried whole basil (or more)
1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano (or more)
**I do not add any salt while cooking and rarely end up needing it, because most bouillon and most canned tomatoes have salt. 

Sort/pick over lentils to remove any debris or stones. Rinse them if you're feeling ambitious. Put them in a 3 quart pot with a few extra inches of water, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, put lid on, cook til soft-ish (anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes.) If they're getting dry add more water. It's not rocket science but I try not to end up with a huge amount of water when they're done, just enough that they stay covered.

Meanwhile: Chop onions and garlic. Put a few tsp of oil in a heavy pot (mine is 4 1/2 quarts), turn on heat to medium, let it heat up. Add onion and garlic and red pepper and oregano; saute until tender.  Add tomatoes, vinegar, and bouillon and simmer over low heat. Once lentils are mostly soft, dump them into the pot, add dried basil, stir well, and let it cook on a very low flame for a bit to help the flavors meld. (It can burn/stick more easily at this stage so watch out.) This tends to taste better after it's sat for a few hours or the next day - it's good as leftovers and good to freeze.

variation on lentil-rice casserole

I made a modified version of "Herbed Lentils and Rice" yesterday that turned out OK. I made it on the stovetop, in a probably 6-quart pot, using close to two cups of brown rice, two cups of lentils, and one large onion (which I did not sautee first.) I'm not sure how much water I used--probably close to 8 cups. I cooked it on the stove with the cover on until the rice was done - probably at least 45 minutes - and I didn't put the cheese in at all. Instead, I've been microwaving individual bowls of it with slices of cheese on top, and mixing the melted cheese into the rice and lentils before eating. And I subbed Mozzarella for Swiss because that's what I had. It's not great without cheese, but with the cheese, it's pretty tasty. And the whole thing made about 12 cups' worth.

Middle Eastern Chickpeas with Spinach

from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

Sauce:
2/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 tsp chopped fresh mint (I omitted)
dash of salt

Beans:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cubed
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin (I used 2 tsp)
pinch of saffron (I omitted)
1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, with liquid reserved (16 oz can) (I used close to two cups that I cooked myself)
10 oz fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed, coarsely chopped (I used prewashed baby spinach, which should still be chopped)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Combine the yogurt, garlic, mint and salt in a bowl and set aside to blend the flavors.

In a large skillet [or heavy-bottomed pot], saute the onions in the oil on medium heat until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper, coriander, cumin, and saffrom, and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chickpeas and 1/4 cup of their liquid and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are just tender, adding more of the reserved liquid if necessary. Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach is bright and wilted. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper.

Serve immediately over orzo, topped with the yogurt sauce.

notes:
I omitted the saffron (expensive) and mint(didn't have any) and basically doubled the cumin. It's not very flavorful, it seems. Maybe omitting a few threads of saffron and some mint was a big deal. Maybe it needed more salt, since I used dried beans cooked from scratch instead of canned (which have added salt). More yogurt sauce (and less liquid) might help; the tanginess of the yogurt was a high point. Baby spinach should still be chopped. I didn't eat it over a grain as they suggest. I don't think it has enough flavor to carry bland rice or orzo anyway. Maybe pita on the side would work, though.

Pinto Beans

Lately I've been eating a lot of pinto beans. They're cheap and I've realized they're a lot tastier than I thought, even with relatively little added to them. They also tend to make this nice goopy "gravy" which is pretty tasty and makes a bowl of pinto beans into a more cohesive dish (as opposed to just a bowl of beans.)

I usually cook one 1-pound bag of dried pintos at a time:

Sort and rinse 1 pound of dried pinto beans. Dump them in a large pot. (6 quarts?) Cover generously with water. Put the lid on and bring to a boil, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't overflow. Let it boil with the lid on for a minute or two, then turn off the heat. Let sit for at least an hour. I've been letting it sit for much longer than that.

When you come back and are ready to give the beans your attention again, peel and quarter a medium-large onion and stick that in the pot. Peel and slice 2-3 cloves of garlic and add it in as well. Splash a few drops of oil in the pot to prevent things from boiling up and getting too foamy. (This may or may not help, but I like to think it does.) Turn on the heat again and let it cook on as high a flame as possible without boiling over. I keep the lid on if I can find that magic temperature that's low enough that it won't boil over. Cook forever and ever (probably a bit over an hour?) until the beans are soft, adding a little water from time to time if necessary.

When they're done, add in salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder to taste. I eat them plain, sprinkled with cheese, or in a burrito. Originally I cooked them to mix with salsa, but I discovered they're nice without the salsa too.

whole wheat bread

Recipe from CDKitchen.com with slight modifications

100% Whole Wheat Bread

1 scant TBS yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used stone-ground because it's what I had)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
2 tablespoons oil
2 eggs

Sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir slightly and allow to proof for 8-10 minutes.
In large bowl, mix 3 cups flour, salt, and sugar. Combine milk, oil, and eggs in measuring cup, mixing them together well.  Pour proofed yeast mixture into flour mixture and stir to combine.  Pour milk mixture into flour mixture and stir.  Mix with fork/spoon until you have to start kneading.  Knead with well-floured hands, adding in reserved 1/4 cup flour as needed.  Knead for about 2 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl and turn dough over so that all surfaces are greased. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down. Roll dough on a lightly floured board into a 9x12 inch rectangle. Roll up, jelly-roll style, from the shorter side. Tuck ends under and place in greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise until double. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.

This came out fine. It didn't have a particularly fine crumb--either because of the stone-ground flour or because I didn't knead it long enough (it was tough to knead) or both.  It sliced okay, though, and tastes good toasted.

100% whole wheat muffins

from allrecipes, with modifications.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a muffin pan (for 12 medium size muffins.)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in one bowl.  Combine milk, oil, and egg (beaten) in another.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine - don't overmix. 

Spoon/ladle into prepared pan, bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick is clean. 

*I added 1/3 c. chocolate chips and a few dashes of cinnamon.  I also used stone ground whole wheat flour because that's what I had around.  Worked fine. Tasted good.  Texture was good, though not overly moist.

Lentil Feta Salad

(from the LJ vegrecipes community, with no modifications - though it's okay with regular onion instead of red)

1 cup uncooked lentils
1/2 red pepper (about 1/2 cup)
2 celery stalks
1/2 medium red onion (about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley
4oz feta, crumbled
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Place lentils in a large pot with enough water to cover plus a few inches. Bring to a boil, and cook until lentils are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water in a colander to cool. Let stand for a few minutes to drain well.

Finely chop all veggies & feta, put in bowl. In a separate container mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper. Once lentils are cooled add them to the bowl with the veggies. Pour the olive oil/lemon juice mxture, mix well. Allow to sit in fridge a few hours at least before eating. If you made it the night before that would be ideal.