Lentil Cookies

Always economical and nutritious, lentils are also surprisingly versatile. When I recently was able to get some of the basic brown lentils for 59 cents a pound at Costco (in a Costco-size 10 pound bag!), I knew that this was the time to really test their versatility.

I will be posting several recipes in the next few weeks for things as varied as veggie burgers, enchiladas and curried lentils with vegetables. Today, however, I'll start with the end of the meal, sweets, cookies to be specific.

When I try out these kinds of "what can I do with this ingredient" recipes, I start with an internet search to be sure that the idea I have isn't completely crazy or inedible. Sometimes, there are few if any precedents for what I might have thought of, and that usually scares me off from continuing.

With the "lentil cookies" search I started, however, I discovered dozens of sites with recipes. As I started looking at some of these, the same pattern emerged as for many similar searches in the past: Blog after blog includes a recipe that is identical with others, without any attribution and all too often without any effort to change even a single word in the instructions.

(As a side note here, one of the things that I aim to do with Frugal, Fast, and Fun is to be sure that anything I post here has some unique adjustment to ingredients and/or method so that I can claim it as an original OR, if I find something really, really worth posting as is, with only a few comments added, I will be sure to provide the source and link. If you ever find that I have violated my own "rules," never be afraid to call me out on this. Thank you.)

There is one bright side to this repetition of recipes: They are no doubt good enough to make lots of people happy.

That seems to be the case with the key lentil recipe out there, a version with oatmeal and coconut key ingredients. This seemed like a good start but, imagining what the recipe might yield, I foresaw two potential problems I wanted to overcome. First, they seemed a little bland. Yes, most of them used almond flavoring along with the vanilla, but overall, unless you really like coconut, I thought they might be a little too "tame" for many.

My second concern revolved around texture. Though the recipes all emphasized the need to be sure the lentils were very well cooked (or over-cooked), I still wondered if there might be a problem for some super-cautious people (read, fussy toddlers) who might balk at finding an almost whole lentil in their cookie.

Where to start to avoid these possible issues? Where else when making cookies? Chocolate chips! In particular, mini chocolate chips, for a couple of reasons. First, I generally prefer them because they mix in better, so almost every bite has a little bit of chocolate in it.

The second reason would directly address that texture problem for those  "suspicious" eaters. The small chips are just about the same size as any lentil that might not get mashed thoroughly, helping disguise this high protein, high fiber addition to the cookies.

Then one more flavor enhancer: upping the cinnamon content while keeping in both vanilla and almond extracts. I also made a texture change by substituting walnuts for coconut, but these would probably be good with a half and half mixture of both.

The finished product turned out to be more cake-like than crispy or chewy, but that didn't deter any of my taste-testers from declaring these perfect for a cookies and milk snack. About the only reaction I got when I divulged the presence of lentils was a, "great, now that I know they are healthy, I can have another one or two."

Well, maybe not exactly health food here, but there is a lot of goodness mixed in with the great taste, making them a snack that can be indulged in more often than some of the alternatives you might be craving.

Lentil Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 c cooked lentils, mashed (see NOTE)
1 c butter, softened
1/2 c oil
2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t almond extract
4 1/2 c flour (up to half can be whole wheat flour if desired)
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
2 t baking powder
2 1/2  to 3 c rolled oats--either "quick," but not instant, or old-fashioned
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips--I prefer the mini size, but any will do
1 c coconut OR chopped walnuts

NOTE: This recipe used lentils cooked until very, very soft. If you have cooked the lentils to just the firm stage (for use in multiple recipes), you may want to combine about 1 3/4 c lentils with a half cup of water and cook again, until they are very soft. Set aside to cool before proceeding.








1.  Combine the butter, oil, sugar, eggs, and flavorings. Beat until smooth and then stir in the mashed lentils.

2. Sift 2 cups of the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir into the lentil mixture and beat until evenly mixed.

3.  Add the remaining flour and then the rolled oats. When all ingredients are evenly mixed, stir in the chocolate chips and coconut or nuts.


4.  Drop the batter by tablespoons full on to a well-oiled cookie sheet. Flatten lightly with a spatula and bake at 375 degrees for 11 to 12 minutes, until well-browned.

Makes 5 1/2 to 6 dozen cookies. This recipe is easily halved too, but why not make the full batch and freeze some for later!

A few hints:

My kitchen was quite warm today so the batter was very soft and the cookies flattened out without needing to press them down. If your dough is colder, be sure to flatten them out or they may be rather thick and a little tough.

There is no need to use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to make these--that always seems just like one more dish to wash!

When making cookies that call for an oiled baking sheet: Usually you won't need to re-oil the pans; just scrape them clean if any cookie residue remains from the first batch. And don't ever feel the need to wash the pans between batches! Unnecessary work for sure.


Ways to make these even thriftier:

You could switch the proportions of oil and butter, i.e., a scant cup of oil and half a cup of butter.

The amount of chocolate chips and/or coconut can be reduced.

Variation:

Make half the recipe and pat the dough evenly into a well-oiled "jelly roll pan"--about 11 X 15 inches. Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes, until the center springs back when you press lightly on it with your finger.

Lentils and Sweet Potato Curry with Kale

Consider the lentil for a moment:  cheap, easily stored, quick cooking, high nutrition, and eminently flexible. And did I say cheap, er, inexpensive? Yet here in the US, the lentil is an ingredient probably the majority of home cooks have never tried to prepare on their own.

Time to change that, perhaps with a resolution to make a lentil dish at least once a month, if not weekly. And, at barely a dollar a pound, what do you have to lose?

Probably the best way to start using these magic beans (okay, so they aren't beans, but they are related) is in some east Asian, especially Indian, recipes. The one I'm introducing today is an incredible powerhouse nutritionally--sweet potatoes, kale, olive oil, lots of fragrant and wonderful spices and, of course, lentils. On top of all this, the dish can be prepared in just under an hour, and it is easily scaled up so you can have leftovers for lunches or a second dinner later in the week.

Some thoughts on the other ingredients
While I don't think of sweet potatoes as a "spring vegetable," my local Costco still had a ten pound bag of these for only 69 cents a pound. While ten pounds sounds like a lot, that low price gave me lots of excuses to include yams in my diet every day. (Easiest way to cook? Scrub well, cut out spots, and microwave until very soft, about 4 to 6 minutes for a medium to large yam. Allow to cool slightly and eat, as is or with just the slightest touch of butter and/or salt and pepper. And yes, the skins of sweet potatoes are very edible, and really quite tasty, especially if you also like the skins of baked "regular" potatoes.)

The kale in this recipe is frozen, just because I keep some of this convenience food in the freezer all the time. Fresh kale would also be good, but the markets here in the upper Midwest don't seem to feature this wonderful green nearly as often as I'd like. If you have fresh kale, by all means use it. Just chop it and add a little earlier in the recipe so it has time to cook

We have a food co-op in town (open to non-members like me too) that has a great bulk foods section, including an entire aisle of bulk spices and herbs. It is here that I became "daring" enough to try some Indian dishes. Before I discovered Good Foods (now Peoples Co-op), I was hesitant to lay down $2 or $3 for a tiny container of some spice I wasn't sure I'd like or would use more than once. Once I could bring home tiny bags of seasonings for mere pennies, I discovered that many Indian dishes I had loved at restaurants could be reasonably duplicated here at home. That said, it is important to note that "curry powder" is a mix that can vary somewhat from brand to brand, store to store. If you are not sure how much to use from your particular supplier, start with a smaller amount, taste, and add more as needed to reach your preferred result.  This probably can apply to other seasonings such as the turmeric. If it is an unfamiliar seasoning, start low and add as needed to get the flavor you are seeking.

As with the spices, I had been hesitant to try using fresh ginger root. Usually around $4 a pound, that sounded expensive and something I wasn't sure how to handle. Silly me. Try weighing one of those little things and you'll find a size large enough for several recipes is so lightweight, you'll be paying less than a quarter. For the amount of punch fresh ginger can give to so many dishes, I am really sorry I didn't try it before.

So now, to begin.

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Kale

1 large onion, chopped--about 1 to 1 1/2 cups

2 medium to large yams (16 to 18 oz total), peeled and cubed

olive oil

6 large garlic cloves, minced

2 to 3 t minced ginger

8 oz brown lentils, rinsed and drained

4 T low sodium vegetable soup base (see NOTE for other choices)

4 to 5 c water

1 t cumin

2 t curry powder, or to taste

1 t turmeric, or to taste 

2 c frozen chopped kale

salt to taste 

1. Saute the onion and cubed yams over medium high heat, in just enough olive oil to keep the vegetables from sticking. Stir occasionally.

2. When the onions are just starting to turn translucent, stir in the lentils, garlic, ginger, soup base, seasonings, and about 2 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium low, just enough to keep the mixture simmering.

3.  After about 10 minutes or so,  add another 2 cups of water. Stir, taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary, and continue to cook, covered, another 15 to 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Add water as necessary and stir occasionally. 

4.  About 10 minutes before serving, stir in the frozen kale, turn heat up to medium, and cook just long enough for the mixture to return to a good boil. 

Serve topped with yogurt or raita and cilantro if desired. This is especially good with naan, but rice could be a good accompaniment as well. Oh, and the kids in the family discovered they liked taking whole romaine leaves (smaller ones) and using those as "scoops" to pick up and eat the curry. Kind of like an Indian lettuce wrap?  

Makes about 4 to 6 servings. 

NOTE:     There are several choices for the liquid in this mixture. Replace the water and low sodium vegetable soup base with:

4 to 5 c stock, vegetable or chicken

4 to 5 c water and 2 to 3 vegetable or chicken bouillon cubes  

4 to 5 c water and 3 to 4 low sodium bouillon cubes

 

  

    

Flexible and Spicy Lentils and Vegetables

A local grocery chain has their 15 oz cans of tomatoes and chiles on sale this week and I was getting hungry for lentils. A little rummaging in the cupboard and I came up with a vegetarian main dish that would be great for left over baked or boiled potatoes* and can be made with a wide variety of other vegetables added in, depending on your own leftovers or freezer selection.

Spicy Lentil Stew--Vegan

canola or olive oil
1 c (or more) chopped onion--one medium
1 c French or other lentils--about 8 oz
1 14 to 15 oz can diced tomatoes and chiles
enough water to rinse can 2 times (about 4 cups)
2 t garlic powder OR 4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 t cumin
1 to 2 t curry powder, to taste
salt to taste
1 large or 2 medium cooked or baked potatoes, cut in large chunks--about 12 oz
1 sweet potato, about 6 to 7 oz, peeled and cut in large chunks or slices
other vegetables as desired--see list below

1.  Saute the onion in a small amount of oil until it is just turning golden.
2.  Stir in the lentils, seasonings, tomatoes and chiles and water. Turn burner to medium low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes
3.  Stir in the sweet potatoes, add more water if needed, and cover. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.
 4.  Add the cooked potatoes and any other vegetables as desired. Taste for seasoning, cover pan and allow to cook another 5 to 10 minutes, until all is heated through and flavors have blended a bit.

Optional vegetables can be anything, really. However, the most "traditional" would be these:

• frozen peas
• frozen or lightly cooked cauliflower
• spinach, kale, or other greens--if using fresh, add about 10 minutes before serving so they are just cooked through

This is a good place to use up leftover vegetables or those small amounts of frozen vegetables left when you followed that recipe that called for 10 oz of peas or corn or whatever and you had a 12 or 16 oz package.

Other notes:
Squash or carrots could also be substituted for the sweet potatoes.
If  you don't have any leftover potatoes, scrub the potato or potatoes, pierce, and put in the microwave for 3 to 6 minutes, depending on your own oven, until they are just barely tender.  You can do this while you are beginning the lentils. Allow the potatoes to cool enough to handle and cut into chunks.


*About "boiled potatoes" for younger and/or non-midwestern readers: Back in the meat and potatoes days, a very common way to make potatoes for "everyday" meals was to prepare and cook them as for mashed potatoes. When they were finished cooking, the water was drained--often as the liquid in gravy for the ubiquitous chops or steaks or meatloaf or whatever--and then served as is. Perhaps a little butter would be drizzled over along with some salt and pepper, but that was the extent of their preparation. I hardly ever see any reference to potatoes prepared in this way any more--you might want to try it out if you've never tasted this old-fashioned dish.

"Italian" Lentil Soup

A cloudy January Saturday is just the right time to fill the house with the aroma of homemade soup. Today I fell back on a variation of a soup I used to call Meatball Soup, but this has no meatballs and is almost vegetarian--it does have a base of some very good chicken broth left from some chicken I had used earlier in the week for some other meals. I have put Italian in quotation marks because I make no promises that this is in any way "authentic"-- I just chose to use seasonings commonly found in the southern Italian food we in America are familiar with and start out with spaghetti sauce, that oh-so-Italian, American staple.

Whatever it is called or whatever variation you make, the warm smells coming from the slow cooker are just right after an afternoon of skiing or snowman making, or just sitting by the fire reading a book. Enjoy!

"Italian" Lentil Soup

1 large onion, chopped (about 12 ounces or 2 cups)
2 c diced celery (3 large ribs)
1 c diced bell pepper
approximately 2 c finely chopped cauliflower (that's what I had in the fridge today--cabbage is what I would usually have used)
1 quart rich chicken broth
1 28 oz can "zesty" spaghetti sauce, or your favorite flavor
15 oz can stewed tomatoes with onions and bell pepper
water
3/4 c pumpkin puree
8 oz (about 1 cup) lentils
1 c alphabet pasta (or your favorite shape, or just omit)
1 T mixed dried herbs--basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram
1 to 2 t garlic powder
1 t fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle or just added whole
1 T cider or wine vinegar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
16 oz frozen corn

Saute the onions and celery in a small amount of canola oil (or chicken fat from the homemade broth if desired). Cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, until the onions become almost caramelized. (While this step may seem unnecessary, it really adds an incredible amount of flavor, and the onions can be cooking while you are assembling the rest of the soup.)

Put all the remaining ingredients except the corn and pasta into a large pot (see NOTE) and bring to a low boil. Stir in the onions and celery when done and add about a quart of water. (I rinse out every can and use this for the water in the soup, so sometimes I don't have a good measurement to provide.) Cover and reduce the heat to keep the soup just simmering. Allow to simmer for a few hours until the lentils are tender. Taste for seasoning after an hour or two. Add water as needed to bring to the consistency that you prefer for soup. Be sure not to add salt until you have tasted the soup after a little cooking, as many spaghetti sauces and even the tomatoes may already be very salty.

About half an hour before serving, stir in the corn and alphabet pasta. (Larger forms of pasta should probably be added an hour or so before serving.) Taste once more and adjust seasoning as necessary. This makes about a gallon or a little more of quite thick soup.

NOTE: This is an ideal recipe for a slow cooker, but it will take quite a large one. Put everything but the corn and pasta in as above and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, adding the corn near the end of the cooking period. You may want to cook the pasta separately and add it just at the end when using a slow cooker, though the smaller shapes like alphabet or circle pastas can be added at the same time as the corn without pre-cooking. (This is, by the way, an excellent way to use leftover pasta. If you have some in the refrigerator already cooked, adding it with the corn will work well.)

You can also speed up this soup if you put the lentils in water just to cover and cook them according to package instructions before adding to the soup. Because lentils take longer to cook, the older they are, you might want to take this approach unless you are sure they have not been in storage for too long. Nothing is quite so unpleasant as biting into a hard, barely cooked lentil in your soup.

Other options: Chopped spinach or other greens go well in this soup too; just add frozen greens along with the corn. Kidney or other beans are also good additions and any kind of pasta can be used too. Butternut squash can be substituted for the pumpkin puree or you can just slice or dice some carrots and saute them with the onions. The key is to include one of these orange vegetables, both for an added beta carotene boost and for the increased depth of flavor they provide. Ditto for the cauliflower or shredded cabbage--great ways to boost nutrition even for those family members who don't especially like vegetables.

Funny how many kids--and adults--who don't like vegetables can tolerate tomato-based things like spaghetti, pizza, chili, etc. Maybe tomatoes really are fruits! Here's your little information snippet for the day, a reference to the 1893 Supreme Court decision that officially declared tomatoes "vegetables:"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden

Dried Beans, Peas, and Lentils--Some Basics and Two Recipes to Try

As we move into cooler weather, beans will become more and more a basis of soups, chili, etc. Keeping a supply of canned beans of all kinds is a nice last minute/emergency kind of thing to have in the cupboard, but preparing dried beans "from scratch" can be economical, healthier (much more control over sodium) and more varied--there are many kinds of beans that are not readily available in canned form.

I spent many years thinking that cooking with dried beans was too labor intensive and time consuming, not worth the effort since the only beans we ate were baked beans (usually canned pork and beans with additions to make them palatable), kidney beans in chili, or beans or split peas made into soup whenever I had a leftover ham bone.

My daughter and daughters-in-law have all helped introduce me to the world of legumes, broadening our menus, saving money, and adding nutrition all at the same time. The more I cook with these wonderful ingredients, the easier it gets.

In case you are still where I was just a few years ago, a few basic hints can help get you started with your own fragrant pots of bean or lentil dishes simmering in the slow cooker or oven. The following site provides a few charts on cooking times for various kinds of beans, yields after cooking etc.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/driedbeantip.htm

I won't repeat all of Cooking America's valuable information, but a few points to emphasize or add:

• The older the beans, the longer they will take to cook. How old are the beans you are buying? Hard to tell, so just try to rotate your supply. Even older beans will ultimately soften, but this is one of the main reasons why cooking times may vary quite a bit. Older beans will probably benefit from a longer soaking time as well as longer cooking time.
• While you can soak beans overnight (or during the day while at work), I have found the best way for me is to cook the beans for a few minutes and then let them sit for an hour or two before draining and cooking. Which ever way you do the soaking, be sure you use LOTS of water. Beans expand exponentially it seems; if some beans end up not covered with water, they will not soften as much as the others and could be very difficult to cook to a softened stage.
• Draining the beans after soaking is recommended. The reason is that the "flatulence factor" beans comes from oligosaccharides, and many of these will be dissolved in the water you are discarding. Yes, there is some nutrient loss, but the beans will still be a major source of protein, minerals, and fiber; if draining makes them more "socially acceptable," the small reduction in food value is worth it.
• After draining, cook the beans in water or broth that has not been salted or that has acid ingredients like tomato juice--both salt and acid can change the structure of the beans enough to make it difficult or impossible to soften them completely. It can often take only another 30 minutes to an hour of cooking to tenderize the beans enough to add to your favorite recipe. Try doing this precooking before adding beans to the other ingredients for a bean soup or chili, and you will be surprised at how much faster the overall dish will take.
• Lentils and split peas never need pre-soaking and, unless you have had them in the cupboard for a long time, can take as little as 20 to 30 minutes to cook.
• Beans freeze well, and two pounds of beans take little more time to cook than one pound, so get in the habit of cooking up a large batch and freezing those you don't use right away in recipe sized batches, dividing up some of the liquid between all of the beans.
• Your slow cooker is a great way to cook beans. For best results, go back to the manual/recipe book for your specific cooker to find out maximum amounts you can cook and what are the recommended cooking time.

Now for two recipes to venture into the world of beans, peas and lentil cookery.

The first is an easy dish common in many Middle Eastern countries and is thought to be similar to the "pottage" that Jacob used to bargain with Esau in the Old Testament.

The second uses garbanzos or chick peas, a kind of bean we more often think of as something only from a can. However, these are as easily prepared as pinto or navy beans, though they may require a longer cooking time.

Lentils and Rice (Mjadara)

2 c lentils
1 1/2 c rice
salt
8 c water
olive oil
3 large onions, cut in strips

1. Boil the lentils in water until tender, about 20 minutes or so. Add the rice and simmer about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste. (NOTE: If brown rice is used, begin cooking the rice and lentils together, simmering until both are tender.)
2. Meanwhile prepare the onions. Cut each onion in half from top to bottom. Lay each half on a cutting board and slice in thin strips, again from top to bottom.
3. Pour about a quarter inch of olive oil into a large pan and saute the onions very slowly in the oil until they are a deep golden brown.
4. When the rice and lentils are cooked, pour into a casserole dish and spread the onions evenly over the top. If needed, this can be kept warm in a 200 degree oven for up to an hour or so.

Garbanzos and Shells with Spinach

1 T olive oil
1 med onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 finely chopped carrot (about 3/4 to 1 cup)
red pepper flakes to taste
1 T tomato paste
2 c garbanzos (use a 15 oz can if you don't have any cooked at home)
liquid from beans plus enough water to make 1 cup
salt to taste (if using canned beans, be very careful not to over-salt)
10 to 16 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, including liquid
8 oz pasta shells, cooked and drained
Parmesan--freshly grated if possible
Freshly grated black pepper

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil.
2. Add all remaining ingredients except pasta. Stir until just heated through and taste for seasonings.
3. Fold in pasta shells and serve topped with Parmesan and black pepper to taste.