Barley & Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 cups broth (I use vegetable)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves, crushed
• 4 large carrots, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup uncooked dried lentils (brown or green)
• 1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley

Place all ingredients into a 3 1/2 - 6 quart slow cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours until lentils and barley are tender or HIGH for 4-5 hours.

We like it served with crusty italian bread with olive oil and a fresh fruit salad.

This is a great Sunday dinner. Easy to fix before you leave for church!

Favorite Hummus

• 3 cups cooked garbanzo beans
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1 large or 2 small lemons, juiced
• 2 cloves garlic, coursly chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil - or oil of choice or water to consistency
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. salt or to taste
• for garnishing: few garbanzo beans, parsley and paprika

Cooking your own beans makes for a much better flavor, canned can be substituted (rinsed very well).

1 cup dry garbanzo beans equal approximately 3 cups cooked. Soak beans in fresh water for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight. Rinse and cook soft and tender. I cook my beans in my pressure cooker. Follow this link for soaking and pressure cooking times.

http://missvickie.com/howto/beans/beanframe.html

Place beans, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, cumin, coriander and salt in food processor or high powered blender and process. Add water as needed to get things moving nicely.

Add tahini and continue to process until smooth and creamy

Note: When I cook beans, I always cook as much as my pressure cooker will hold. When they are done, rinse and let cool. Lay on cookie sheets and freeze then place in ziplock bags to use for other recipes and salads. "Individually frozen" and bagged makes them easy to measure and store.

Black Bean Burgers

• 2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tsp. miso, any kind
• 1 small thumb size piece of ginger finely chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
• handful walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup flour (rice, semolina, whole wheat)
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 Tbs olive oil
  

1. Chop ginger, green onions and mushrooms and saute in olive oil until mushrooms are soft. Add chopped nuts and continue sauteing for another minute to toast.
2. Please beans in food processor, reserving a few to add later with miso and process until smooth.
3. Add to vegetables. Add cumin, flour and remaining beans and mix.
4. Form into patties (4 or 5)
5. Lightly oil or spray non-stick pan and fry for 10 minutes, turn and continue to cook for addition 5 minutes.

Note: If you prefer, you can bake them in the oven at 400 degrees on oiled baking sheet.

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
• 3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 8 green onions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilanto, chopped
• 1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
• 3 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed

1. Bring broth to boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous.
2. Cover and Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes
3. In a large bowl, shisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin.
4. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans, and toss to coat.
5. Fluff the couscous well and add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate until cold.

recipe from http://www.recipezaar.com/