Everyone is Making Lentils!

Yes, everyone is making lentils. It's awesome! Lentils are one of my favourite foods, perfect in soups and stews, stuffings and casseroles. One of the first things that I remember wanting to cook, was lentil soup with lemon and parsley. I had tried it at a local restaurant, and wanted to re-make it at home. I've made that soup several times since then, sometimes sticking to the original version, other times adding spinach, or tomatoes or using lime instead of lemon. Good ol' lentils -- always a good palate for kitchen experiments.



Last week, when everyone was trucking it back to work and I was enjoying another week of winter holiday bliss, I noticed that lentil recipes were popping up all over the blog world. Curries, baked like baked beans, stuffed into collard rolls .. so many different things! But I found myself wanting to make dinner with no lentils to be found. Oh well. When looking for an alternative, I came across a list of things that I had wanted to make -- this list was made way back in March when I was trying to slow down my cooking. I had checked off quite a bit of things: vegan chocolate brownies, Jamie Oliver's humble home-cooked beans, semolina cardamom cookies. But one of the things still left unchecked was the braised barely with lemon from A Cook's Guide to Grains.




It sounded perfect -- healthy and hearty and bright with lemon. I used a combination of pearled barely and yellow split peas (after seeing this recipe!), and added some veggies -- kale and purple cabbage. If you had some fresh herbs -- thai basil, parsely, cilantro -- I bet it would make this dish even better. If you're not into kale or cabbage, maybe you'd like spinach, or broccoli? It's totally up to you. It makes a perfect side dish, but I ate mine over buckwheat noodles because I was craving the extra yummy carbs. The lemon really makes your taste buds pop in this dish, and the chewy barley and bitey split peas provide lots of nice texture. And you get your veggies too. Totally January good. Go for it!

Barely and Split Peas with Lemon
inspired by a recipe in A Cook's Guide to Grains by Jenni Muir and Kayln's Kitchen

1/4 cup pearled barely, rinsed
1/2 cup of yellow split peas, rinsed
2 teaspoon of minced ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 a white onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 cup of chopped red cabbage
1 cup of chopped kale leaves
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
zest and juice of a small lemon
2 cups of water or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, saute the onions, carrot and celery in olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until things start to get soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for about another minute of so.

2. Add the cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Mix well. Add in the red cabbage, barely and split peas. Give it a good stir. Add the water or stock, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the barely and split peas are to your desired texture. Check occasionally to make sure there's enough liquid.

3. Stir in the kale and add seasoning if needed. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Give it one final good mix.

4. Serve with ... whatever you like! Over noodles, as a side to some roasted chicken or fish, on it's own or with some pita bread. Happy January!

A New Breakfast

I love breakfast. Are you a breakfast skipper? Please don't skip breakfast -- it's the best meal, totally the best. Haven't you heard of people eating cereal and french toast and pancakes for supper because all they really want is breakfast? I've eaten oatmeal for dinner many .. many .. many times. It's the best! You could love breakfast too ..

Ok, this is a harder question. Do you like porridge? Yup .. porridge? Definitely harder, but my answer would be a big YES. I know some of you are groaning, but .. but .. didn't we already talk about the wonders of oatmeal in the morning? If you're a porridge lover like me, I've got a really great recipe for you. If you're a porridge hater, I'll understand if you navigate away, but keep this post in mind when you're ready to come over to the porridge-loving side.


Like I mentioned, I love oatmeal on weekend mornings. It's wholesome and warm and really hits the spot, especially in the winter time. Lately, I've been wanting to try new grains in the morning and a few weeks ago, we picked up some kasha (or toasted buckwheat) at the bulk store. After we cooked some up in vegetable broth to go with our dinner one night, we kind of decided that it would probably be better as a breakfast food. The flavour was really intense and earthy, a bit too strong to be a neutral grain served at supper. I spent the week flipping through this great book called "A Cook's Guide to Grains" by Jenni Muir" for some inspiration before dreaming up this little recipe. It's a porridge made from a combination of kasha and barley that's baked in the oven with honey, raisins, apples and spices. It's super super delicious with an extra splash of soy milk, and a little spoonful each of yogurt and marmalade. It's the kind of breakfast that makes you feel like you're having a treat, even though you've just eaten some wholesome whole grains and fruit.


It would be even more delicious topped with a citrus fruit salad, like this one or this one. The citrusyness might cut through the strong taste of the kasha and balance it out a bit. If buckwheat really isn't your thing, you could probably do a combination of barley and wheat berries -- still nutty and flavourful, but less pungent and earthy. How about a gluten-free porridge? No sweat. Replace the barley with quinoa, millet, or even brown rice. Try replacing the water with apple or cranberry juice and reducing the sweeteners, or even coconut water .. I'm totally trying that one next. Whatever you do, make sure you check on it while it's in the oven to see if it needs extra liquid. It needs quite a bit of time in the oven -- about 45 minutes -- but the wait was definitely worth it.

Ok, porridge haters. I'll be back next week with something else, I promise!

Buckwheat and Barley Porridge
inspired by "A Cook's Guide to Grains" by Jenni Muir
serves 2-3

1/4 cup of pearled barley, rinsed well
1/4 cup of kasha (toasted buckwheat groats), rinsed well
3/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of soy milk
1 tablespoon each of honey and maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
a splash of vanilla extract
a handful each of raisins and unsweetened shredded coconut
1 small Macintosh apple, diced

1. Mix up all the ingredients except the apple in an oven proof baking dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven.

2. About 20 minutes into the baking, add the diced apple and additional liquid if things are looking a little dry.

3. Bake for another 25 minutes or so, or until the barley becomes tender and some of the buckwheat has broken down, but some are still in chewy.

4. Serve with an extra splash of soy milk and toppings of your choice.