Red Lentil Soup

I had this soup at my sister Mary's home this fall. I especially like the lemony flavor the soup has.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1½ cups red lentils, sort and rinse before using
• 3 cups spinach or mix of greens, I used a “power greens” blend of spinach, arugula and baby chard
• 1 lemon, zest and juice

Instructions

1. In a soup pot, heat the avocado or olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the garlic, grated ginger, cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, ginger powder, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine and coat all the veggies in the spices.
3. Let cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant, and then add the vegetable broth, water, tomatoes, and red lentils. Stir and bring to a boil, then turn down and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the red lentils are soft. Taste, and add more salt to your tastes if desired.
4. If desired, puree half the soup to help make it creamier. You can also just leave it as is if you prefer a more broth-y soup. I pureed some of mine with an immersion blender.
5. Stir in your greens and let them wilt, and then add in lemon juice and zest. Serve with more lemon if desired (I recommend), and garnish with some microgreens!

 

Zucchini Fritters

Adding more vegetables to my diet is my current goal and finding tasty recipes helps me to reach that goal. Although I didn't have the cheesecloth needed in this recipe, I was able to strain out enough moisture of the zucchini that they still held together okay.

4 servings

• 1 ½ pounds zucchini, grated

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 large egg, beaten

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

  Toss the zucchini with salt and let drain. Squeeze out the excess juice with a cheesecloth, mix the zucchini with the remaining ingredients, then cook the fritters in oil until fried on both sides.

Lamb Burgers

Long-time friends Carol and Dave invited us to join them for dinner under the grape arbor on their patio a few weeks ago. Dave's bountiful garden (his summer passion) provided all of the greens and vegetables, which were deliciously fresh. The main course was lamb burgers and they were so good that I had to look for a recipe so they could become part of my summer grilling routine. Here's the recipe I found.

Lamb Burgers 
4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb
  1 tablespoon garlic powder
  1 4-inch sprig rosemary, chopped
  4 sprigs thyme, chopped
  1 pinch salt
  1 pinch ground black pepper
  3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
  4 thick slices tomato
  1 cup baby mixed salad greens

  Directions

  1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.

     Mix ground lamb, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Shape mixture into 4 patties.

     Place patties on the preheated grill and cook until firm and slightly pink in the center, about 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Alternately, you can cook the patties to your desired degree of doneness.

White Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Blondies

From Williams & Sonoma--

Ingredients

1 stick of butter (8 TBSP)

• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. instant coffee or instant espresso
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
• 3-4 oz. white chocolate chips

 Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8 x 8 inch pan with baking spray & parchment paper. Cut the parchment in two 8 x 12 rectangles. Overlap the sheets of parchment, one in each direction, so that you have overhanging "handles" of parchment with which you can lift the blondies after they are baked.                                                                                                                                                          
2. Beat the butter, brown sugar, espresso powder & vanilla until they are light and fluffy. Add the eggs and blend until well mixed.
3. Fold in the flour with a spoon and then mix in the nuts and white chocolate.
4. Use a spatula to empty the batter into the prepared pan. Even the top.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift out of the pan using the parchment handles. Cool completely before serving.