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!

QUINOA SKILLET DINNER

QUINOA
A recently rediscovered ancient "grain" native to South America, quinoa was once called "the gold of the Incas," who recognized its value in increasing the stamina of their warriors.

Quinoa Skillet Dinner
Serving Size : 4

This is one of the quickest dinners around. Everything is in the pantry and ready to go! Just add a green salad for a great meal.


1 cup quinoa
15 ounces tomatoes with green chilis
15 ounces canned kidney beans - rinsed and drained
15 ounces hominy, canned - rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon onion powder1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt -- or to taste


Rinse quinoa thoroughly and cook, covered, on low heat for 15 minutes in 2 cups boiling water. Stir in tomatoes and chilis, beans, hominy, herbs and spices and heat thoroughly. Serve.

It was fun to share the history of Quinoa with my family during dinner! If you have time check it out this Whole Foods website for nutrition and benefits:http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142

History

While relatively new to the United States, quinoa has been cultivated in the Andean mountain regions of Peru, Chile and Bolivia for over 5,000 years, and it has long been a staple food in the diets of the native Indians. The Incas considered it a sacred food and referred to it as the "mother seed."
In their attempts to destroy and control the South American Indians and their culture, the Spanish conquerors destroyed the fields in which quinoa was grown. They made it illegal for the Indians to grow quinoa, with punishment including sentencing the offenders to death. With these harsh measures, the cultivation of quinoa was all but extinguished.
Yet, this super food would not be extinguished forever. In the 1980s, two Americans, discovering the concentrated nutrition potential of quinoa, began cultivating it in Colorado. Since then, quinoa has become more and more available as people realize that it is an exceptionally beneficial and delicious food.

BANANA QUINOA PUDDING

Still don't have my camera working....guess I need a new battery


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup quinoa (rinsed well)
• 2 cups soy milk
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 Tbs agave or substitute
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tps vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbs coconut oil or margarine (Earth Balance etc.)

1. Bring water and quinoa to a boil in saucepan over high heat, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. In blender combine milk, banana, sweetener and salt. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into saucepan with quinoa.
3. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture becomes thick and creamy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and oil.
4. Pour into serving dish(s) and serve warm.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

This is a good way to use your old hard wheat, you know, the kind that just doesn't cut it for bread! - although any hard wheat works fine.

• 5 cups whole wheat flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 very warm water

In a large bowl combine flour and salt

Cut in coconut

Pour warm water over mixture and stir together with a fork until well blended. Knead together until smooth - Adjust water/flour for smooth dough.

Form into golf ball size pieces of dough, cover with damp cloth and let rest for a minimum of 15 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Roll out to desired thickness and fry on medium hot ungreased skillet (preferrably cast iron). Cook approximately 30 seconds per side. Do not over cook. Tortilla should puff slightly with air and start to brown in spots. Keep finished tortillas in stacked in kitchen cloth or container to keep soft.

Gluten - Mock Chicken

Everyone in our family loves this "chicken"! Great for sandwiches, salads, "chicken" fingers-dipped in BBQ sauce, breaded, soups, casseroles --you get the picture and SO EASY!

• 1 1/4 cups gluten flour
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/2 tsp. thyme leaves
• 1 tsp. onion granules or powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 Tbs. light oil (olive, grape seed)
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbs. Chicken Flavored Broth powder (optional - but really makes a difference in taste)

1. Whisk together dry ingredients.
2. Stir together broth, oil & soy sauce
3. Stir together just until combined
4. Pat into 8 X 8 lightly oil pan
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes until completely set
6. Cut into cubes, cutlets or chop in processor to use as chicken salad etc.
   
   Stores 2 weeks in refrigerator
   
   
   

Whole Wheat Chip Cookies

• 2 cups fresh whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup sucanat or brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp blackstrap molasses
• 2 tsp pure vanilla
• 1/2 cup light oil (canola, grape seed, avocado etc)
• 2/3 cup grain sweetened carob or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients in bowl until well combined.

In separate bowl whisk together maple syrup, molasses, vanilla and oil.

Combine with dry ingredients along with the chips

Place large spoonfuls onto baking sheet and flatten slightly with bottom of cup

Bake 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool for on cookie sheets for 1 minute and transfer to cooling rack.

Whole Wheat Bread - for the bread machine

I finally got around to working on the conversion for my recipe to a bread machine. You can let the bread machine do all the work or just use a dough cycle and bake as a regular loaf in your oven. Either way works great for a busy day.

• 1 1/4 cups warm water


• 2 Tbl olive oil or oil of your choice


• 3 - 4 Tbl honey - adjust to your preference


• 3 cups fresh whole wheat flour


• 1 T gluten (optional depending on quality of wheat)


• 1 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 1/2 tsp yeast

Place ingredients in order into bread pan. Set your program and go!

Rice Pudding

• 2 cups water
• pinch salt
• 1 cup brown rice, rinsed (short or sweet)or 3 - 4 cups leftover cooked brown rice
• 1 1/4 cups non-dairy milk
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup brown rice syrup or maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  

In medium saucepan, place water and salt and bring to boil. Add rinsed rice, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 35 minutes or until all water has been absorbed. Add remaining ingredients, except vanilla, stir well and continue to cook over medium heat until desired consistency (most liquid has been absorbed). Remove from heat stir in vanilla and transfer to bowl(s) and refrigerate to chill. Serve garnished with additional cinnamon, if desired.

adapted from http://www.veganchef.com/

Moist Cornbread

2/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup plain soymilk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix first three ingredients together
3. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl
4. Mix wet and dry ingredients together and pour into a greased 9x9 square pan. Bake 35 minutes, until tester comes out clean. (Bake muffins for about 25 minutes)

Wheat is not Created Equal!

Okay, so now you know, wheat is not created equal. So many factors come into play when looking for a good bakery quality wheat, i.e. baking breads, rolls anything that would use yeast or making seitan (gluten).

The crop currently available is probably from 2007. Most hard wheat is harvested in the summer months. Here is the question that you need to ask before purchasing your wheat for food storage or baking - Very Important!

What is the gluten content?

Anything less than 13% will not make bread. I won't purchase anything less than 15%. If I am going to spend my time making breads for my family I want it to turn out well without any additives or conditioners. The 2007 year crop has not been the best. My favorite Hard White Wheat - Golden 86 came in at only 10%. In years past I have gotten some at above 17%. Prairie Gold came in at 15% - which is what we purchased to replace what we have used to keep our food storage supply replenished.

Here are to links to purchase bakery quality wheats - keeping in mind that you still need to do your homework before putting in an order......I am waiting on this years harvest of Golden 86 from Walton Feed. Hopefully is will be in the 17-18% area.

http://waltonfeed.com/

http://wheatmontana.com/

Hope this information is helpful. Check back often, we will be adding more tips and information soon.

Blender Pancakes

• 2 cups soy milk (or milk of choice or water)
• 1 cup soft white wheat berries
• 3 Tbs. fresh ground flax
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbs. olive/canola oil
• 1 Tbs. honey or sweetener of choice
• 1 Tbs. baking powder

1. Place milk and wheat berries in blender and blend for 1 min. - decrease time if using a high powered blender.
2. Add salt, oil, flax and honey and blender until mixed well.
3. Add baking powder, pulse 3 times.
4. Bake on non-stick pan.

I had some blueberries that I needed to use! You can add things such as nuts, fruits or chips when you bake them for everyone's favorites!

Quinoa Vegetable Paella

Quinoa - pronounced "keen-wah" Cultivated by the Inca for hundreds of years. The individual grain when cooked forms a pretty translucent ring. Quinoa is a complete protein and a great addition to food storage for a heath-conscience diet with a low glycemic index.

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
• 1/4 tsp. saffron, crushed
• 2 tsp. Spanish smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumim
• dash cayenne
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 14-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 3/4 to 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
• 1 can artichoke hearts, rised and quartered
• 2 Tbl. olive oil or broth for sauteing
  

1. Place quinoa into fine mesh stainer and rinse thouroghly.
2. Saute onion and garlic in deep skillet with olive oil or broth until soft.
3. Add the quinoa and saffron and continue to cook for 2 more minutes.
4. Add paprika, cumin, cayenne, tomatoes, pepper, beans, and 2 3/4 cup of broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to very low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes check to see if more broth in needed. If it looks dry, add the remaining broth.
6. Place the zucchini on top of the quinoa and revoce. Cook for 5 minutes more until quinoa is done.
7. Remove cover and stir in peas and cook uncovered until peas are warm and all liquid is absorbed. Arrange artichoke hearts on top and serve. Add salt at the table, if necessary

You will notice that not everyone like artichokes, so on our picture, only half of the paella have the artichokes.

original recipe from http://blog.fatfreevegan.com