Easy Lentil Soup

Teaspoon or so of olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 medium carrots chopped (similar sized pieces to the onion)
2 stalks celery chopped (similar sized pieces to the onion and carrot)

1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or one cinnamon stick (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of mixed lentils (see http://kamalkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/ajwaini-panch-daal-five-lentil-mix.html for a photo of what dry mixed lentils look like)

8 cups of water or chicken/vegetable stock (I use whatever I have on hand - usually it is a combination of the water and stock)

Put the oil in a large pot, add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook until onion is translucent. If the pot gets too "dry" add a bit of stock or water to cook the onion mixture - don't add more oil.
Next add the spices and stir around for about 15-20 seconds.

Add the lentils and water and stir.

Bring to a slight simmer and cook until the lentils are tender - covered. Check every once in a while to ensure that the liquid is evaporating or soup is getting to thick. You may need to add some water. This will probably take about an hour.

As usual, this is gluten-free

Slightly Spicy Tomato Soup

I made a chicken curry with turmeric rice and peas last night. I also made a soup that turned out delicious. It was very easy to make and tasted great.

1/2 onion chopped into small dice
large can of tomatoes - preferably organic (can be diced or whole)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 cinnamon stick (If you don't have this add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon at the same time as the other spices)
bit of olive oil
1 cup of chicken stock (can add more if you like a thinner soup)
bunch of green onions sliced (I used about 8 green onions)
handful or two of fresh arugula chopped (optional)

Saute the onion and the cinnamon stick (with a bit of olive oil) in a pot until almost translucent
Add the ground spices and stir around for about 5-10 seconds
Add the tomatoes and chicken stock
Let simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes to let the flavours combine and the soup to reduce a bit
Add the green onions and fresh arugula at the last 2-3 minutes of cooking, just enough to heat through.

Salt and pepper to taste.

This was delicious!

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D.

Plantain Chips

To go with the jerk chicken I made plantain chips. This is super easy and there is no added fat.

Oven at 425 degrees - I used a "convection roast".
Take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper for easy cleaning.

peel the ripe plantain - should be yellowy/blackish on the outside.

slice on the diagonal about 1/2 centimeter thick. Lay out on pan.

Roast for 10 minutes then take them out and flip them over. Repeat another ten minutes. They should be golden brown in spots.

Leave them on the pan until you are ready to serve. They should be a mixture of crunchy and chewy. They are great with a bit of sea salt or just plain they are great too.

Enjoy!

Jerk Chicken (easy)

Great recipe for chicken from http://www.dianaskitchen.com/page/poultry/jerkchk.htm

The basic recipe is: (note my changes that I made in capital letters)

• 1 tablespoon Ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon Dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground sage
• 3/4 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons Garlic powder or fresh
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1/4 cup Olive oil (USED ABOUT 1/8 CUP)
  
• 1/4 cup Soy sauce (USED ABOUT 1/8 CUP)
• 3/4 cup White Vinegar (USED ABOUT 1/2 OF THIS)
  
• 1/2 cup Orange juice (SQUEEZED AN ORANGE)
  
• 1 Lime juice (SQUEEZED A LIME
  
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (habanero) - DID NOT HAVE.
• 3 Green onions -- finely chopped
• 1 cup Onion -- finely chopped
• 4 to 6 chicken breasts

Instead of barbecuing I put the chicken in a skillet and browned and then put the lid on to cook. Took about 20 minutes.

I served this with "plantain chips".

Cauliflower, Peas and Rice (on the Side)

I served this with the sole dish in my previous post. It was simple and the kids loved it. I used leftover brown rice that I had in the fridge already.

What you will need:

1/2 head of cauliflower (cooked or uncooked)
1.5 cups of frozen peas
1.5 cups of brown or white basmati rice (cooked)
2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese (more or less)
salt and pepper

I had to cook my cauliflower so I sliced it up, and together with the peas, microwaved it until it was 3/4 cooked. I put a bit of water in the bottom of a casserole dish (with a lid) to get it to steam a bit.

Just before the fish was ready, I added the cooked rice and mixed it up with the cauliflower/peas mixture. I sprinkled the Parmesan cheese on top and then put it back in the microwave for just long enough to heat the rice. Add a dash of salt and pepper and then serve.

All gluten-free all the time!

Enjoy!

Sole with Tomatoes and Lemon Zest

What you will need:

Enough sole for however many people you are serving - I had about 1 pound of sole filets for the 4 of us.
1/3-1/2 cup of gluten-free flour mix
salt and pepper
4-5 tomatoes (chopped) - or you can use a small can of chopped tomatoes if you don't have fresh
1 lemon for zest (optional)

In a large heavy frying pan (I use a big cast iron pan) put in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you have a non-stick pan you could get away with much less I suppose. You need a bit of olive oil as it adds to the taste. Heat on medium-high.

Put the flour on a large dinner plate, add a few dashes/turns of salt and pepper. Dredge the sole in the flour (put the fish in the flour so it is lightly coated with the flour). When the pan is hot, put the sole in the pan. Let it cook for a few (3-5 minutes) minutes - checking that it does not burn, then turn it over gently. Don't overcrowd the pan. Cook for another 3-5 minutes in the other side then remove to a large shallow baking dish (like a glass rectangular dish). Place in the oven at 180, lightly covered with a piece of tin foil. Do the remainder of the fish in this way.

Once all the fish are complete and removed from the pan, then add the chopped tomatoes to the pan, scraping up any remaining bits. Add a bit of salt and pepper (optional). Reduce the tomatoes until they are kind of mushy and saucy.

Take out the fish, pour the tomatoes (or scoop as they will be thickened) over top of the fish. (It won't cover all of the fish.) Then take the lemon and zest it over top of the entire dish - I used about half the lemon's zest.

Serve with rice and vegetables. (See my other post for cauliflower/peas/rice concoction that I made to go with this.)

Gluten-free does not have to be complicated.

Enjoy!