Slow-Cooked Lentils with Greens and Aromatics

Honey. Sugar. Sweetie. All terms of endearment that many of us toss around without much thought. Just like the empty calories we often find ourselves indulging in each day.

I've been giving the matter some thought. Well, mostly the terms of endearment part. I've come to the conclusion that perhaps, as with eating well - and thoughtfully - we should also use a different sort of endearment entirely.  

Why, when it comes to evocations of love or tenderness, must we conjure the names of empty carbohydrates which provide mere bursts of energy followed by the inevitable crash when we can instead pay tribute to that which provides sure sustenance while offering goodness and flexibility?

That is undoubtedly what the humble legume is about. It's also precisely what many of us strive for in a healthy relationship.  

Try it out: "My little lentil." "My dear chickpea." "Ooh la la, my pinto bean."

Cute, certainly. Adorable, possibly. Adoring, no doubt.

I will admit that the legume has long sustained a reputation just the opposite of sexy. Neither love nor our diets need suffer from stodginess, however.

With this recipe, I hope to change any ideas you may have about legumes being bland or boring. I assure you, when cooked well, lentils in particular have the ability to become so elevated as to enter into the realm of sensuousness, if not sexiness itself.

During the eleven or so years I was a vegetarian then vegan, I relied on the lentil, among other legumes, as a cornerstone of my diet. I loved and cooked with them furiously. But, since moving toward eating as an omnivore three-plus years ago while pregnant with my son, and continuing to do so after his birth, I haven't been eating as many lentils as I probably should.

I haven't forgotten about you, dear lentil. I still hold you close to my heart.

Let's cook up some gorgeous lentils then, shall we?

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Here's how I have been making them lately. I start whatever type of sturdy greens I happen to have on hand (swiss chard, beet greens, collards, kale) chopping them up finely. Added in with the lentils and greens are many cloves of peeled garlic, a few whole red chilis and a good amount of chopped shallots. 

For the non-vegetarians, small pieces of bacon cooked with the aromatics in the beginning will more than bump up the sexiness quotient. Let this mixture cook very slowly on low heat, for as long as it takes for everything to become rich and at one with each other. This might take an hour, perhaps more. This depends on the type of lentil and whether or not you choose to soak them or not. I advocate fully for soaking any legume.

While you may use any type of lentil of your choosing, the small, dark varieties - du Puy, for instance - work best here as they submit fully while still retaining some shape after the long period on the stove.  

Freshly grated nutmeg sprinkled in at the end adds roundness to the already earthy flavors. You may drizzle the dish with a healthy amount of good olive oil. I suggest a spoonful of creme fraiche, which melts into the already giving lentils and greens, providing additional richness.

This dish is simple, warming and one of the best things you'll ever eat. Enjoy it on its own in a good-sized bowl with some bread for a vegetarian meal or as a side with a larger meal, perhaps next to some roasted chicken. 

Now who says lentils can't be sexy?

Slow-Cooked Lentils with Greens and Aromatics

Ingredients
1 cup small, dark lentils, such as du Puy
5 or 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 whole dried red chilis
2 large shallots
4 Tablespoons of good-quality olive oil, plus more for finishing the dish
2 bunches sturdy greens such as collards, chard or kale, finely chopped
2-4 ounces bacon (about 2-4 slices bacon cut into small pieces), optional
3 1/2 cups water
Salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Creme fraiche, optional

Instructions

Pick over lentils, removing any stones. Add warm water and soak for 8 hours or overnight. (Note: This requires some advanced planning, but the additional step improves digestibility and may shorten cooking time.)

Heat pan over medium-high heat. If using bacon: Add to pan, along with half the olive oil. If not using bacon, add the 4 tablespoons olive oil to the pan. Then, add garlic, chilis and shallots. Allow to cook for a minute or two then toss in the greens. Cook until greens are wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes longer. Add drained lentils. Add water and two generous pinches of salt. Turn heat down to very low and allow mixture to cook for an hour or so, until the greens and lentils come together (the lentils should be giving and the liquid mostly gone). The mixture should be thick and not brothy. If it becomes too dry before this happens, add liquid and continue cooking as needed.

When the lentils and greens are done, add nutmeg and give the mixture a good stir. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed.

Spoon into a large dish or individual dishes. Garnish individual servings with a generous pour of olive oil and if desired, a spoonful of creme fraiche. 

Serves 4-6.

Adapted from Buvette, by Jody Williams.

Jennifer Lawrence's Banana Coconut Oat Chip Cookies

First things first.

Sorry, movie star-Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence. This cookie isn't named after you.

This cookie is for my dear friend and our son's godmother who just happens to have the same name.

The two Jennifers do have some things in common. Most obviously and superficially, they are both blonde, attractive and some might say, quirky.

Although I loved Actress-Jennifer as Roslyn in American Hustle last year, our Jennifer is special to us in a way that cannot be compared. If regular folks could win Oscars for being themselves, she'd have plenty of those golden statues.

I met Jennifer twelve years ago when I walked into the first class of our Master's-level clinical psychology program at Antioch University. I don't quite remember if I sat down next to her or if she sat next to me but we ended up alongside one another for the remainder of our program as our cohort moved through courses and out into the community toward clinical training, eventually completing our preparation to become therapists.

Training to be a clinician is, not to mince words, grueling. There are things you have to look at inside yourself that you might rather ignore. The coursework isn't always easy. The three-thousand hours of supervision by a licensed clinician before you can even sit for the first of the two exams you need to pass in order to become licensed can seem endless.

Most cases do not match up to those we might have read about in school. They seem more difficult, extreme or ungraspable. If you have someone you can lean on like I did with Jen, it's that much easier.

Both Jennifer and I have now been on the other side of all that for a while now. Though we've taken different paths, with her continuing on as an amazingly empathetic and attuned therapist, I've gone another route which allows me to sit here writing this now. 

Life sometimes serves up problems that can seem insurmountable, moments that taste so bitter or otherwise unpalatable that we try to spit them out as soon as we get a taste. 

If you cook, as I do, you know that it is all about balancing sweet and sour, salty and bitter (and yes, let's not forget umami), with it being not merely cooking or food, but life itself. 

Jennifer's been going through some big transitions and facing challenges that might seem more on the bitter and sour end of things. So, I wanted to make her these cookies to remind her that better, sweeter times lay just ahead. 

There is no wheat gluten in this cookie since Jennifer is gluten-sensitive. It is sweetened only by super-ripe bananas and the addition of chocolate chips. The cookie is free of eggs and is bound together by a bit of coconut flour. Oats and finely shredded, unsweetened coconut give the cookie texture, especially when the ragged edges turn golden. 

The chocolate here has a back story. Last year when my 23-year-old nephew, Matt, flew here for Thanksgiving from Antwerp, his hometown, his suitcase was empty except for chocolate. Which is to say, it was completely full, packed to bursting with chocolate of all sorts - dark and bittersweet, white and milk, milk chocolate with hazelnuts.

Then there was the bag of Callebaut dark chocolate chips in that suitcase. Forget how much it weighed. Let me just say, no wonder there was no room for any clothes. Yes, someone hauling that much chocolate to you from an ocean and continent away is what you call love.

Well, I used some of that Callebaut here. It makes this cookie extra-special, I think. Delicious, just sweet enough, and rich with the little nibbles of chocolate goodness.

Jen, I hope you like these.

Here's to sweeter times ahead. xxoo

Jennifer Lawrence's Banana Oat Chip Cookies

3 large, very ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 Tablespoons coconut oil, just warmed so it’s not solid
2 cups rolled oats*
¼ cup coconut flour
1/3 cup coconut, shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, placing racks in the top third of oven. Place parchment paper or Silpat liners on cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In a separate bowl whisk together the oats, coconut flour, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

You will notice that this dough is a bit looser than most cookie doughs. Squeeze 1-2 teaspoons of dough at a time between your hands and place on a cookie sheet an inch apart. These cookies are best on the smaller side. Alternatively, drop dollops (1-2 teaspoons) of the doughan inch apart, onto your cookie sheets. Bake for about 14 - 18 minutes. I bake these as long as possible to have golden-brown bottoms and tops. In my oven that is about 18 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.

*Note: Use rolled oats labeled 'gluten-free' to ensure that they have not been processed in a plant that also processes gluten-containing products.

Recipe adapted from 101cookbooks.com.

Coffee Jelly with Chantilly Cream

It’s hot out. Finally.

I heard someone say in passing the other day that the summers here in Western Washington don’t technically start until July 5th.

That’s only if we’re lucky.

If it’s a year when we aren’t so fortunate, we’re still wearing our rain coats through July, pulling up our pant legs to look at our pasty-white ankles and turning on the heat while wondering why we have chosen to live up here.

Then August arrives. And we remember why.

Using the word glorious to describe what it’s like here then is to thoroughly undersell the very brief - but glorious - summers we do enjoy.

Clear blue skies. The smell of cedar and cool earth in the woods. The lake sparkling, stretching out nearly eight miles in the sunlight, from Blodel Donovan to Lakewood and beyond.

Right now we’re in the midst of a two-week period where temperatures are heading into the mid-to-high 80's. Yes, we are getting dangerously close to “glorious” here.

When it’s like this, your mood switches. As you meander along the trails snacking on huckleberries and wild cherries, things seem possible. Life isn’t closed off. Light is streaming in!

It’s “real” summer.

This morning, the weather made me think of my brother. Warren lives in always-sunny Southern California.

I remember describing to him what it’s like to live here. That during the shortest, rainiest days it is only by dreaming of the short burst of summer (someday) that we are able to get through the dark months.

“God, it’s like you live in Siberia,” He said.

Whenever we are visiting him in Southern California, we make a point of stopping at our favorite Japanese curry place inside a Little Tokyo mini-mall.

After the rich curry, Warren often orders coffee jelly. It’s slightly bitter, creamy and caffeinated. Even with milk or whipped cream topping it, it’s a refreshing dessert that never feels heavy or decadent.

Coffee jelly might seem a little weird at first, but if you’ve had Boba tea, the milky tapioca drinks that all of Asia and much of the rest of the world have long been wild about, it will fall easily into your comfort zone.

It’s good. Trust me.

There are as many ways to enjoy coffee jelly as there are ways to make a cup of coffee. If you like milk, pour some over the jelly. Want ice cream? That’ll do. Condensed milk Vietnamese style is another route worth exploring.

I like mine fairly unadorned, just whole milk and a generous spoonful of Chantilly cream – a softly whipped cream with small amounts of sugar and vanilla added. If you like more of a flourish, add a dusting of cocoa powder or raw cacao. Cinnamon might be nice.

A couple of additional notes. Initially, I used less liquid, which made the jelly too firm for my liking. But, if you prefer a less wobbly result, decrease the liquid by ¼ cup and your jelly will be more resilient.

And, because there are so few ingredients in this dessert, do use the best you have. In our home, we prefer Tony’s Coffee, a local roaster who produces rich and complex coffees.

We’re also somewhat particular about our dairy. We use non-homogenized, vat-pasturized organic cow's milk and cream. We also consume raw milk from a local producer whose cows are wholly grass-fed.

If your preference is for non-dairy, leaning toward almond or coconut milk, use that.

Choose what you like. That’s the beauty of it.

Happy Summer to all! Hopefully it is here to stay.

Coffee Jelly with Chantilly Cream

Ingredients
For the Coffee Jelly:
2 envelopes powdered gelatin (1/2 oz.)
1 3/4 cups very hot double-strength brewed coffee
½ cup cold double-strength brewed coffee
1 ½ Tablespoons sugar

For the Chantilly Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Cold whole milk for assembly of final dessert

Instructions
Coffee Jelly: Set aside a small glass square- or rectangular-shaped container. A small glass loaf pan will also work. You want your jelly mixture to reach 3/4 to an inch of height when you fill the container. You can spray the container with an aerosol oil (such as coconut) or later just place the pan in some warm water to allow for easier release of the jelly.

In a medium bowl, sprinkle gelatin on top of cold coffee. Allow to stand for 1 minute.

Add sugar to hot coffee. Stir to dissolve. Add hot coffee to gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.

Pour coffee mixture into your prepared container. Place flat in refrigerator to allow jelly to set. This will take a minimum of two hours. I like to make mine the night before serving.

Chantilly Cream:
Just before serving, place whipping cream and vanilla extract into mixing bowl. Add confectioner’s sugar by sifting in (optional – I don’t always do it). With an electric mixer, whip initially on low to combine ingredients then turn up to medium-high. This goes quickly. You will have soft peaks in 1 ½ minutes.

Assembly: Once jelly is set, cut into bite-size cubes. It’s easy to lift cubes out of the pan with an offset spatula or even a butter knife.

Place cubes in glass. Pour milk over the jelly. Top with one or two spoonfuls of Chantilly cream and any other additions to your liking.

Enjoy!

Serves 4.