Red Lentil Dal

This recipe is from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook written by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre. This recipe is 6 or more people, so feel free to make 1/2 :)

 

 

Ingredients:

2Tbsp virgin coconut oil (it needs to be without taste)

1 1/2tsp black mustard seeds

1 1/2tsp cumin seeds

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic crushed

2tsp turmeric

2tsp ground cumin

cayenne pepper to taste

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

3 medium red potatoes, cubed

2 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained

6 cups water

1 can coconut milk

2 cups chopped tomatoes or one 14oz can diced tomatoes

salt to taste

 

 

 

In a large 8-quart pot heat the oil over medium heat, then add cumin seeds and black mustard seeds. Sauté until they begin to pop. Quickly add onions and garlic and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.

 

Add turmeric, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, carrots and potatoes, and sauté a few more minutes.

 

Add lentils, water, coconut milk and tomatoes. Stir well. Bring to boil and then let simmer, covered for 20 minutes (original recipe says 45 minutes but I found it's way too long, at least for the kind of lentils that I use). Add salt to taste and stir. Serve hot.

 

 

 

 

 



Spaghetti With Meat Sauce

 

 

Ingredients:

300g - 400g lean ground beef

1 package spaghetti

marinara or some other tomato sauce

1 onion

salt/food seasoning

ground black pepper

oil

parmesan for serving

 

 

 

Put the water in a big pot. Lots of water because spaghetti will be better. Put some salt in water and bring it to boil. Cook spaghetti according to package instruction. When spaghetti are cooked, drain them and put them under the cold water so they stop cooking right away.

 

 

 

While water is heating up, dice the onion. Put some oil in the big deep pan. Add onion and cook until onion becomes translucent. Add meat to onion and continue cooking until meat is browned. Add salt and pepper.

 

 

 

When meat is done, add tomato sauce and stir. Cook until sauce is hot.

 

 

 

At this point you can take the pan off the heat and add spaghetti or you can keep it on the stove, add spaghetti and stir while still on the stove so spaghetti warm up if they got cold.

 

 

Serve on the plate topped with parmesan cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Pizza Dough

 

When it comes to pizza, I am very picky :)

 

 

Ingredients for dough (makes 4 medium crusts):

2 cups lukewarm water

2Tbsp dried yeast

1/4tsp sugar

4Tbsp olive oil

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1Tbsp salt

 

Combine yeast, water and sugar. Stir it until yeast is dissolved, put it aside in a warm place until bubbles appear (about 10 minutes).

 

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir and then knead until you incorporated all the flour and dough became smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

 

 

Turn the oven to 375 F (200 C).

 

Divide dough in 4 balls and stretch each ball, by hands, to the size and shape of your baking sheet.

 

 

Spread some tomato sauce (whichever you like, it doesn't need to be pizza sauce). Top with whatever you like. Bake for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Naan

 

 

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

1tsp dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

1/4 cup sugar

2tsp salt

oil for the bowl where dough will rise

1/4 cup melted butter

 

Put yeast and sugar in warm water and stir it until dissolved. Leave it in a warm place until it becomes frothy.

Meanwhile, combine flour and salt. When yeast is ready, add it to flour. Knead until smooth. Make it into a ball and spread some oil over the dough and on the sides of a bowl.  Cover with a plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or longer. Now, punch down the dough and knead a little bit. Then pinch off pieces the size of a golf ball and put on a baking sheet covered with bakers (parchment) paper. Cover lightly with aluminum foil and leave for at least 30 minutes to rise again.

 

 

Melt the butter.

 

 

Take one ball and roll it out as thin as you can. If you can't roll it thin with a rolling pin, just flatten it and roll as much as you can. Then stretch dough with your hands.

 

 

Heat up a non-stick pan. With a silicon brush, spread thin layer of butter on top of flattened dough.

When pan is hot, put buttered side down in the pan and fry for couple of minutes. While frying, brush the top side with butter. Turn and fry the other side.

 

 

Take it out on the plate and repeat the process.

 

While one is frying, roll out the second ball and spread butter on top, to be ready when first one is done.

 

 

It's meant to be eaten with Indian food but it's so good that it can be eaten alone. Instead of sandwich, you can put ingredients for sandwich on top of naan and roll it up.

 

 

 

 

 



Lazy Pie Squares

I don't know why it's called Lazy Pie. If you are lazy like I was yesterday and didn't want to pull out food processor but took old fashioned grater and grated apples, it's all but lazy.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and grated

260g softened butter (unsalted)

260g icing sugar

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

440g white flour

1tsp baking powder

icing sugar to dust on top

 

Butter bottom and sides of the baking pan. Dust with flour. Turn on the oven to 375 F (180 C).

 

Mix all ingredients, except apples and make a soft dough. Dough is going to be very soft. Wet your hands and take the half of the dough and spread on the bottom of the baking pan to cover it. On top of that, put grated apples and spread them evenly.

 

 

This part is little bit tricky. Since dough is so soft you can't roll it out and put it on top of apples. Wet your hands and take just a handful of though. Press it between your palms and put on top of apples. Continue doing this and patch dough on top. Poke with fork all over.

 

 

Bake for 40 minutes, then take out from the oven.

 

 

Dust with icing sugar using fine sieve.

 

 

Let it cool down before serving. It is the best next day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Crumpled Pie (Pita Guzvara)

 

This recipe is good to make when you are upset with someone and need to relieve the stress. It involves crumpling phyllo pastry sheets and throwing them into the pot.

 



 

Ingredients:

1 package phyllo pastry (454g)

200 - 300g feta cheese

5 eggs

about 500ml sparkling water

1tsp baking powder

splash of vegetable oil

butter to cover the bottom and sides of a baking dish

 

 

Butter the bottom and sides of a baking dish. Turn the oven on 375 F (180 C).

In a bowl, beat 4 eggs (leave one egg for later). Add crumbed feta cheese, splash of oil and sparkling water.

 

 

Take two phyllo pastry sheets and line the bottom of your baking dish, folding it to fit the bottom.

Take one phyllo pastry sheet, put it into egg and cheese mixture and crumple it. Now fun part begins.

 

 

 Throw it like that into baking dish. Repeat the process until you have one layer of crumpled balls in a baking dish. Leave the air in these crumples, do NOT squeeze them too tightly.

 

 

Take one phylo pastry sheet and cover the layer of crumpled sheets.

Repeat the process and end with one or two flat, dry (without eggs and cheese mixture), phyllo pastry sheets.

In a bowl, beat the remaining egg and add a splash of vegetable oil. Mix it well and pour over the last sheet.

 

 

You can poke few times with a fork before putting it into the oven. Bake for 1 h 15 min. Check around 45min and if top is golden brown, put some aluminum foil over (do not close foil tightly, just put it lightly on the top of baking dish.

When it's done, take it out of the oven and let it cool a bit before cutting and serving. It can happen sometimes that when you start cutting it, top drops down. It is OK, it will be delicious that way, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garlic Brussels Sprouts

 

If you don't like Brussels sprouts, like we didn't, try this recipe. It might change your mind. It certainly did change our minds about this healthy vegetable.

 

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds (about 600g) fresh Brussels sprouts

4 garlic cloves, minced

1-2Tbsp oil (original recipe calls for some butter but I don't like cooking with butter so I put only oil)

1/2 cup (125ml) chicken stock or water+chicken soup cube

salt and black pepper to taste

 

Tip: To get all bulbs cooked at the same time, cut an x in the bottom of each bulb.

 

 

Sauté garlic in oil for about 2-3 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts and toss to coat.

 

 

Add chicken stock, stir and cover. Cook for 12-14 minutes or until sprouts are tender. I finish it here. It's done and delicious. However, original recipe says to drain sprouts, add butter and toss to coat.

 

 

 

 

 



Kimchi Bokumbap

 

Several years ago we had a Korean student living with us for awhile. He expressed a wish to cook a meal for us and that's how I got this recipe. It is my comfort food and everyone in my family likes it.

 

 

Ingredients:

500g kimchi from the jar

1 cup rice (steamed)

soy or tamari sauce

1 Spam

2 eggs

1Tbsp oil

about handful of wakame sea weed

 

 

Rinse and steam rice. If you don't have rice steamer, as I don't, it's OK. Put rice in a pot and add cold water to be just 1/2 inch or little bit more above the rice. Cover the pot and put on high temperature to cook. Once it starts boiling, stir with cooking spoon and cover but not all the way. Cover just a half of the pot and turn the heat to the lowest temperature. Cook until all water is absorbed, then turn the heat off and cover the whole pot. Leave it like that while you are preparing the rest.

 

 

Cut up kimchi and add with oil into big pan. Start frying, stirring occasionally.

 

 

While kimchi is frying, beat eggs in a bowl. Set aside.

 

 

Cut Spam in small pieces.

 

 

When kimchi is cooked (vegetables become softer), add Spam and continue frying for about 5 more minutes.  

 

 

Add rice and soy or tamari sauce and continue stirring. When everything is well mixed, add beaten eggs and stir fast so you don't get scrambled eggs on top of your kimchi :) Cook stirring for few more minutes. Sprinkle with crumbled wakame weeds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Zuccini And Carrot Fritters

This is the recipe I've got recently from my FB friend. I made it and it became instant family favourite.

 

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis

3 carrots (if you are using huge carrots, use only one)

2 eggs

flour

salt

oil for frying

 

 

Peel and grate zucchini. Put it in a strainer, salt it and leave it to get out as much liquid as possible (about 1/2 an hour). Press it with the back of the spoon to get even more liquid out.

 

 

 In a bowl, beat eggs. Add zucchinis and grate carrots in. Add some flour to get a thick mixture (not very thick).

 

 

Pour the oil in a frying pan and turn the heat on. When oil is hot, lower the heat to medium. Use tablespoon to take out mixture and drop it into hot oil.

 

 

After awhile, turn fritters over and flatten them with the fork.

 

 

Continue frying, Turn over again and again if necessary until you think they are done inside. Take them out from the pan and onto the plate covered with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Then transfer to the serving plate. They are good hot or at the room temperature.

 

 

The other day I made sandwich for Filip for lunch at school with bread, fritters, feta cheese and roasted pepper salad. After school, he told me that his lunch was awesome!