The Nourishing Gourmet

Nourishing. Satisfying. Gourmet.

Lindsey Proctor

Curried Lentils with Apples and Onions (Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free)

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Curried Lentils with Apples and Onions - under $1 per serving!

By Lindsey Proctor, Contributing Writer

What’s your most favorite food in all the world? I always had such a hard time answering this question, until one day I was discussing it with a co-worker, and she rephrased the question this way – “When you’ve had a hard day, what’s the thing that you want to go home and eat? What’s your comfort food?” and I thought for a moment and answered “I do believe that would be curry.” I love the simplicity and ease of making it, the distinct spicy flavors, and the warmth that comes with it.

These curried lentils have all of those qualities – spicy, unique Indian flavors tempered with some creamy coconut milk, ease of preparation, and the ability to warm and comfort you on a chilly day, plus the added benefits of being quite nutritious! Dr. Weston Price considered lentils the most nutritious legume, and they are high in calcium, potassium, zinc, iron, and B vitamins.* They don’t have a lot of flavor on their own, which makes them great for dishes such as this because they take on the flavors of the other ingredients and seasonings you add to the dish. After a short soaking period to neutralize the phytic acid, (so plan ahead) lentils pack a lot of nutrition at little cost.

And little cost is what we’re looking for! When Kimi asked us to come up with a recipe for October that cost no more (or not much more!) than $1.00 per serving for the Healthy $1 Menu, my mind automatically went to the standard frugal staples  – beans and rice. I knew I needed something with lots of flavor and spices to take it from boring to interesting, and curry was a natural choice for me. The two apples sitting on the counter were a last-minute addition, and I’m glad I added them, because, along with the onions, they add good texture to the dish.

Here’s the cost breakdown for each ingredient, total ingredient cost, and the total cost per serving. All prices are taken from a nation-wide department store chain – the blue one. 😉

Lentils – 1 1/4 cups (8.5 oz) dry lentils = $0.60 ($1.12 / lb)

Jasmine Rice –  2 cups (14.4 oz) uncooked rice = $1.00 ($1.14 / lb)

Apples  – 1/2 lb (2 medium) apples = $0.75 ($1.50 / lb)

Onion – 1/2 lb (1 med-large) onion = $0.50 ($0.98 / lb)

Coconut Milk – 1 cup (a little over half a can) = $1.07 ($2.14 / 14 fl oz can) (or you can make your own for even less!)

Garam Masala Seasoning – 3 tsp = $0.70 ($2.30 / 1.7 oz jar)

Curry Powder – 1/2 tsp = $0.29 ($3.48 / 1 oz jar)

Ginger – I couldn’t come up with an estimate for this. I used about a teaspoon of fresh-grated ginger root and it didn’t even register on my gram scale. I do know the average price for ginger root is $3.00 – $4.oo per pound, and if you peel it and keep it in the freezer and grate some off as needed, like I do, it lasts through many, many meals.

Coconut Oil – 2 TB for sautéing – $0.50 ($6.98 / 14 oz jar)

Total Ingredient Cost = $5.41

This recipe makes 6 servings so the total cost per serving = $0.90

*Fallon, Sally Nourishing Traditions  pg. 507

Tip: Since this recipe only calls for half a can of coconut milk, why not double the amount of lentils, freeze both them and the coconut milk (in separate containers of course! 🙂 ) and then you’ll have a head start the next time you want to make this dish!

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Late-Summer Garden Veggie Soup (Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free)

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Late-Summer Garden Veggie Soup

By Lindsey, Contributing Writer

Summer is winding down, and my favorite season, Autumn, is upon us. Yay for crunchy leaves, bonfires, apples, pumpkins, sweaters, baking, and soup!

Soup like this one, brimming with the last of the garden’s bounty. Tomatoes, zucchini, onions, wax beans, and basil combine to make a nutritious chunky soup that’s perfect for this transitional weather – warm enough ward off the slight chill in the air, yet light enough to not be overwhelmingly hot. A spoonful of pesto (use Katie’s dairy-free pesto recipe, linked to in this post, if you need to keep it vegan/dairy-free) in each bowl makes the perfect finishing touch, and of course, a piece of crusty sourdough bread rounds it out and makes a great late-summer meal.

I created this recipe with one of my favorite (but sadly, not real food!) soups in mind – Panera Bread’s Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto. I love that soup, and I really wanted to create a real-food version of it so I could enjoy it at home. While I didn’t succeed in recreating that “pizza in a bowl” taste the original version has, I do believe I like my version better, even though it turned out very different from it’s inspiration. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it just as much!

Late-Summer Garden Veggie Soup (Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free)
 
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4-6
Print
 
Ingredients
  • 4 cups peeled diced tomatoes (Romas or other meatier-type tomatoes suggested)
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 TB extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
  • 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 2 cups yellow wax beans
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini
  • 1 TB rapadura sugar
  • 1 TB Italian seasoning
  • Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large stock pot, combine tomatoes and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until tomatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Process tomatoes in a blender until they are smooth. If desired, strain out seeds. Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in the bottom of the pan, add onions and peppers. Cook until onions are translucent and peppers are soft. Add garlic and basil, cook until garlic is translucent.
  3. Add tomato broth, beans, zucchini, sugar, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 30 minutes. Garnish each bowl with a spoonful of pesto, if desired. Serve hot with crusty sourdough bread and enjoy!

 

Lindsey headshot

Lindsey Proctor is a twenty-something foodie, with an emphasis on great tasting real food. She lives  with her parents and sister on Hickory Cove Farm, a small, natural and sustainable farm in South-Central Pennsylvania where they raise Alpine and Nubian dairy goats, and a flock of pastured laying hens and a few roosters. Her favorite place to be is out in the pasture with her goats, but she also enjoys spending time in the kitchen cooking, baking, preserving food, and cheese making. She also enjoys photography, music, and a really good cup of coffee, and blogging at The Life Of Linz. She views her life in the country as a great blessing and it is her firm belief that she has been placed there for a purpose; to help others get back to living and eating the way she think God intended us to – a simple, fresh, local, and seasonal way of life.

Tutorial: 2 Simple Soft Cheese Recipes

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Two simple ways to make a fresh soft cheese

Did you know that it is incredibly easy to make a simple soft cheese right in your kitchen? It really is! The easiest cheese I know of requires only two ingredients – milk and an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice – and five tools – a stainless steel pot, a thermometer, a bowl, a wooden spoon, and some cheesecloth, and you can go from start to a finished product in two hours. The next-easiest cheese I know of requires three ingredients, the same set of tools, and a bit more time, but it’s still very simple to make and so delicious!

Kimi adds: Plus, making your own cheese can save you a lot money when you consider how expensive cheese can be. When I buy high-quality cheese from local cheese makers, it’s a frugal price if the cheese is around $12 a pound. Consider that even the highest quality milk is fairly inexpensive per gallon when you think of the amount of cheese you can make out of it! Our tip for today’s 52 ways to save money on a healthy diet is: Make your own cheese!

A little cheese-making adventure

Before writing this tutorial, I’d never tried to make soft cheese using just milk and an acid, so that was a new experience for me! The process is simple – heat the milk, add the acid, and drain the whey from the curds. The resulting cheese is known by a few different names – lemon cheese, whole-milk ricotta, or queso fresco. It is meant to be used fresh and makes an excellent spread for crackers.

Most of the recipes I’ve seen for this type of cheese instruct you to heat the milk to 180*F before adding the acid, but since I’m using raw milk and would like to keep the cheese as raw as possible, I decided to find out the lowest temperature I could use and still achieve the desired separation of curds and whey. Since most of the recipes for this type of cheese suggest using lemon juice for the acid, that is what I used as well.

Here is how I made lemon cheese:

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Nourishing & Simple Strawberry Kefir Popsicles

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There’s not much better than a frosty treat on a hot day, is there? Popsicles are my favorite! Not the artificially dyed, sugary water kind, but the kind that are made from just a few real food ingredients, like these, made with fresh strawberries, probiotic-rich dairy kefir, honey, and carob chips. What could be easier than whirling it all together in the blender for a minute, pouring them in a mold, and popping them in the freezer for a few hours? The most difficult part is being patient while you’re waiting for them to freeze!

Honestly, I almost feel like I’m cheating by calling this a recipe, because it’s basically a frozen-smoothie-on-a-stick, and who needs a recipe for a smoothie? On the other hand, it’s really nice not to feel guilty for eating a popsicle for breakfast!

A word on popsicle molds – I have a BPA-free plastic mold that makes 10 pops, which I purchased on Amazon a few summers ago. Even though it’s plastic, I really like it because I think it’s a good size and I like the shape as well. If you don’t feel comfortable using plastic, there are some nice stainless steel options out there, and I’ve seen a few silicone push-pop type molds as well. Of course, all you really need to make a popsicle is a small container and a stick. Maybe you have a popover pan hiding in the back of your cabinet? Even paper cups will work! (Kimi- My Amazon partner does carry a variety of fun BPA-free popsicle molds, everything from this cute bug version, to this awesome silicone ice pop mold. They also carry these stainless steel versions, which I own.)

 A few notes about the recipe: The strawberries I used were very sweet, which meant I could be light-handed with the honey. Because dairy kefir can be a bit tangy and not everyone loves the taste, it’s best to taste the mixture to make sure it’s sweet enough for you and your family. If you need a dairy-free option, I’m sure that substituting an equal amount of your favorite dairy alternative for the kefir will work just fine. And if you choose to include carob or chocolate chips, it’s best to go with mini-chips or shave pieces off a bar of chocolate. Even then, they may all settle at the bottom of the blender, so you might need to stir them through just before pouring into the molds. This recipe made enough to fill all 10 c0mpartments of my mold, which are 3 oz each.

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