Lentil Granola

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2012/05/lentilgranola/

This is really good. I think I boiled it too long, like 8 minutes instead of 5. I had to bake it an extra 30 minutes to get it dry because of the longer boil I think. This is calorie dense like granola tends to be, but more because of the almonds than anything else. It is mildly sweet. I made it with cinnamon, and had one serving mixed with some fresh blackberries I happened to have (rare occurrence) and two scoops of plain yogurt.

The finished product fits in a 1 quart yogurt container. (Mine is in a 1 kg container and has a tiny bit of extra room).

Servings: 12. Each serving 1/3 cup.
Calories 220 per serving

Parisian Lentils

Adapted from http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2012/12/a-lesson-from-my-new-favourite-cookbook/#

I love love this recipe. It is so fast and healthy too, with tons of fiber and protein and very minimal effort. I used part-skim ricotta, regular brown lentils, and halved the olive oil. Everything else the same, and it was so tasty.  The lentils cooked in 20-30 minutes. I wasn't watching because people came to visit during cooking.

Serves 2. 370 calories/serving (with like 30 g protein, 33 g fiber, crazy! I need to do lentils more.)

note: I think the calories are low. THe lentils I used said they were 80 cal per 35 g. But it also had 20 carb+10 protein per serving, which is 120 calories. So assuming 120 is correct and 80 is not, the cals would be 480 per serving.

Lentil Soup

Originally based on http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000549829

3 slices bacon

2 quarts beef broth

(Add the water/oil from any containers of tuna or sardines you may have saved. It adds some complexity to the flavor.)

2 diced carrots

1 tsp dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 parsley sprigs

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons butter

3 cups chopped onion (2 onions)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 3/4 cups dried brown lentils (about 1 lb)

6 cups torn Swiss chard (or just torn leaves from 1 bunch of chard)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cut up bacon and drop into large pot. Saute until cooked. Add chopped onion, garlic, and carrot. (Keep bacon drippings for flavor). Saute for a couple minutes and then add broth and everything else but the last 4 ingredients. Cook on low.

30 minutes before you want to serve dinner, add lentils.

When lentils are cooked, turn off heat and add lemon juice, chard, and pepper and stir until chard is wilted. Remove bay leaves and parsley.

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I like this better than the Alton Brown recipe I've made in the past. I like the bacon and beef base.

Lentil Soup with and without ham bone

I have made this lentil soup before: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lentil-soup-recipe/index.html

and it was great. I think I included sausage last time too and swapped chicken for vege broth.

With Ham bone (4/28/2010):

So I used the same recipe but replaced the chicken broth with broth from boiling a ham bone for a few hours.

The result: bland. The ham bone (from a ham shank) was not enough flavor to spread over 2 quarts. There was still some meat on it too, but that didn't make enough difference.

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Without ham bone (10/25/2010):

I made this recipe again tonight, but used leftover black bean broth from cooking black beans (salted with garlic) combined with beef broth instead of the 2 qts of chicken broth the recipe calls for. I also added 1/4 lb hot bulk sausage, which I would increase to 1/2 lb next time. It turned out extremely flavorful, if a bit salty. (I'd forgotten the bean broth was already salted.) But it was the best version of lentil soup I've made so far.