A pinch of saffron deepens the flavor of this mildly spicy lentil soup.
Beautiful Daughter, Michelle eating Moroccan Lentil Soup from Leslie Cerier's Going Wild in the Kitchen
Serves 4 to 6
1 cup lentils, rinsed
6 cups water
3-inch-piece dulse (optional)
Pinch of saffron
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups bite-sized cauliflower florets
1/2 cup coarsely chopped carrots
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 pinches cayenne
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 3/4 cup coarsely chopped plum tomatoes
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
1. Place the lentils, water, dulse (if using), and saffron in a 6-quart stockpot. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer covered, 15 to 20 minutes, or until the lentils soften.
2. While the lentils are cooking, place the oil in a 10-inch skillet, and warm over medium heat. Add the cauliflower, carrots, celery, garlic, ginger, cumin, and cayenne. Sauté vegetables for about 5 minutes, or until they become brightly colored, and the cauliflower begins to soften.
3. Add the sautéed vegetables and turmeric to the lentils. Simmer covered till the lentils are soft, about 10 more minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes; simmer covered for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
Hazelnut Butter Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
These are one of my favorite cookies. They’re rich, satisfying, and, if you make them with coconut oil, vegan—and proof that sometimes the simplest things are also the best.
2 cups teff flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup hazelnut butter (see page 00)
1/2 cup extra-virgin coconut oil or butter, softened or at warm room temperature
1/2 cup maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl.
Put the hazelnut butter, oil, and maple syrup in a food processor and blend until creamy. Add the mixture to the flour and stir until well combined.
Shape the dough into walnut-size balls and place them on an unoiled baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Gently flatten the cookies with the tines of a fork.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cookies lose their shine. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before handling. They will be soft when they come out of the oven but will crisp up when they cool.
Tasting mildly like chocolate, teff flour has plenty of natural sweetness and blends well with nuts and chocolate. These cookies, a classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate, are delightful treats.
ingredients
1 1/2 cups teff flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, optional
1 1/8 cups peanut butter
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil or canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the teff flour and salt, if using. Set aside.
3. Place the peanut butter, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla in a food processor, and blend until creamy. Add to the flour along with the chocolate chips, and stir to form a moist dough.
4. Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls, and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet about 3/4-inch apart. Flatten gently with a fork.
5. Bake 15 minutes, or until they lose their shine. Remove from the oven.
6. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
For a Change . . .
• To make Hazelnut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies, use hazelnut butter instead of peanut butter. You will also have to increase the teff flour to 2 cups and use 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
• If teff flour is not available, try another whole grain flour.
Spicy North African Vegetable Soup with Chickpeas
There are dozens of different basil varieties from which to choose. The delicate sweet-flavored “sacred basil” called for in this soup is commonly used in the cuisines of Africa, India, and the Far East. Although sacred basil is recommended in this recipe, you can use any basil variety.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
2 quarts water
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thickly sliced
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
1/2 cup coarsely chopped carrots
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped unpeeled sweet potatoes
2 cups bite-sized cauliflower florets
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups coarsely chopped mustard greens
2 tablespoons dried sacred basil or other basil variety
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1. Bring the water, chickpeas, and cinnamon stick to boil in a 6-quart stockpot. Reduce the heat to medium-low,
cover, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cinnamon stick uncurls.
2. While the chickpeas simmer, heat the oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, chili flakes,
onions, and carrots, and sauté, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until the onions begin to soften.
3. When the cinnamon stick uncurls, transfer the sautéed vegetables to the stockpot along with the sweet potatoes,
cauliflower, and turmeric. Simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and cauliflower are tender.
4. Add the mustard greens and continue to simmer 2 to 3 minutes, or until bright green. Stir in the basil and salt.
Adjust the seasonings, if desired.
5. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and serve.
Yams and collards combine with teff, herbs, and spices, creating a beautiful mosaic pattern in this robust grain loaf. Serve as a side dish or as a vegetarian main dish.
Makes: 8 slices Serving size: 1 slice
3 cups water
3 1/2 cups thinly sliced yams
1 cup teff
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped leeks
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cups coarsely chopped collard greens
2 cups coarsely chopped basil
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1. Bring the water, yams, teff, and salt to boil in a 4-quart stockpot. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
2. While the teff mixture simmers, heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, leeks, fennel, and cumin, and satué 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant. Stir in the collard greens and sauté about 3 minutes, or until bright green.
3. Transfer the collard mixture to the teff mixture, cover, and continue to simmer another few minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed.
4. Turn off the heat and stir the basil and cilantro into mixture. Adjust the seasonings, if desired.
5. Spoon the mixture into an 8-inch unoiled loaf pan, and let stand about 30 minutes, or until firm.
Although I have a few favorite flavored oils and vinegars that I make every year, like Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar with Vanilla Bean and Garlic Scape ( GArlic Flower) oil, I am always experimenting and concocting new combinations. I also encourage you to use your local harvest of fruits, herbs, spices, edible flowers, nuts, and more to create your own tasty flavored oils and vinegars. Start with one spice like a chili pepper or garlic scape or one herb like basil and then let that be a springboard for your imagination. You can combine several spices and herbs together: one of my favorites is cilantro, basil and chilies.
To show you how simple it is, I have a whole chapter on Making Your own Flavored oil and Vinegars in my cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen. Here is the recipe from Going Wild in the Kitchen for Garlic Flower Oil. It is easy to make and very tasty and keeps well for months, too.
Garlic Scape Oil recipe from Leslie Cerier's cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen
Garlic Flower Oil
Capture summer in a bottle with the mild garlicky flavor of garlic scapes. Use this oil to add the essence of garlic to marinated sun-dried tomatoes, roasted vegetables, pizza, pasta, eggs, sauces, soups, and dressings—on anything you would use fresh garlic and olive oil.
Yield: About 1 cup
2 cups coarsely chopped garlic scapes (stems and blossoms)
1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
1. Loosely pack the scapes in a clean pint jar, leaving about an inch of space at the top. Add enough oil to cover (still leaving an inch of space). Using a butter knife, gently press down the scapes to eliminate any air pockets.
2. Put the cap on the jar, and add a label that includes the contents, date prepared, and approximate date the oil will be ready (2 to 6 weeks from the preparation date).
3. Place the jar on a small plate and set on a windowsill. After 2 weeks, taste the oil. If stronger flavor is desired, let it continue to steep. Continue to check once a week.
4. When the oil is ready, pour it through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a bowl, wide-mouth jar, or measuring cup. Before discarding the strained scapes, either squeeze them with your hands with and without the cheesecloth or press them against the strainer with the back of a spoon to get every last drop of oil.
5. Transfer the oil to a clean clear or dark bottle or jar with a lid or cork, and label it with the type of oil and date. Store in a cool dry place, where it will keep for at least a year.
Hope you are thriving and eating local, seasonal treats like this one:
Here is a recipe for Pumpkin Pecan Pie. I also taught this pie with a gluten-free pie crust recently when I taught a gluten-free cooking and baking class at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health.
At the end of this post is also another gluten-free pie crust that you can mix and match with this pie filling or any pie filling you like. That is the fun of “Going Wild in the Kitchen” my cookbook and approach to cooking and baking: Creativity!
Now here’s the delicious recipe:
Reprinted from Going Wild in the Kitchen by Leslie Cerier
A cheese pumpkin is a cross between a butternut squash and a pumpkin. It is sweeter than a pumpkin, and almost as sweet as butternut squash. This pie is like 2 pies in one: pecan and pumpkin.
2 cups spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup + 1 teaspoon canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla or ½ teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pie filling
1 small cheese pumpkin (about 2 pounds) baked, peeled and seeded (becomes 2 cups)
¾ cup pecans
3 tablespoons maple sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse cheese pumpkin and bake on a baking dish for about an hour, or until tender.
2. Mix all the piecrust ingredients in a bowl except 1-teaspoon oil.
3. Lightly brush 9-inch pie pan with 1 teaspoon oil.
4. Press dough with your fingers into pie plate.
5. Poke holes in dough with a fork.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Put the pecans in a food processor and grind into a meal.
8. When the cheese pumpkin is ready, peel, seed it, and add 2 cups to the food processor with the pecans. Add maple sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and puree together.
9. Adjust the seasonings, if desired.
10. Pour the sweetened pumpkin filling into the baked pie crust.
11. Bake for 5 minutes. Turn off oven and let pie sit for 10 minutes before removing to blend flavors.
Variations
Replace the cheese pumpkin with 2 cups cooked pumpkin or butternut squash.
Here is a new piecrust recipe from my cookbook, Gluten-free Recipes for the Conscious Cook
1 1/2 cups raw hazelnuts
2 tablespoons hazelnut oil or melted coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
To make the crust, put the hazelnuts in a food processor and blend until finely ground, like flour. Add the oil, maple syrup, and salt, and pulse to form the dough. Press into oiled pie crust and in above pie crust recipe.
Super easy and super good and this one is gluten-free. In the new cookbook, this is the crust for a Chocolate Mousse Pie.
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