French Style Braised Lentils

Fabulous fall! Though I wait impatiently all year for the first taste of spring berries, it is fall flavors that have my heart.

Yes, I am a big fan of pumpkin and all shapes and sizes of winter squash, but fall is much more than just a pumpkin spice latte! Fall is full of savory apples and sage, thyme and filling dishes like creamy mashed potatoes and French style braised lentils. All amazing flavors that I am excited to share with you this month.

Fall also seems like a great time to finish my time with The Secret Recipe Club. It has been an amazing ride and I have highlighted some amazing dishes here on Adventures in All Things Food. I have been honored to also have my dishes featured on various blogs over the years. There is something exciting about seeing my family's favorite dishes come to life on other food blogs.

For my final Secret Recipe Club feature I was honored to be assigned to cook from Lavendar and Lovage, where Karen shares some amazing dishes and recipes. She divides her time between North Yorkshire and SW France, and her food reflects that.

I have to admit that I love lentils. I have only two recipes in my repertoire that use lentils and was thrilled to find a hearty and easy dish with lentils on Karen's blog. Her French Style Braised Lentils sounded like the perfect fall dish to share with my family on Sunday. Paired with pan seared pork and apples, mashed potatoes and a little salad, it had everyone falling in love with these fall flavors.

This recipe is very simple and makes a lot of lentils. I made up a full batch for the family and was thrilled to have leftovers for several lunches. The dish begins with a simple saute of the vegetables and bacon. Then the remaining ingredients and lentils are added to simmer for 30 minutes.

This dish proves once again why dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar are staples in my pantry. The combination is amazing!

Once this dish is started, simmering leaves plenty of time to make the rest of the meal.

I opted for a mixture of green and red lentils. Though, the red lentils didn't come out as colorful as I had hoped. They had looked so pretty on the shelf at Trader Joe's. I just couldn't resist!

French Style Braised Lentils
recipe from Lavendar and Lovage

You Will Need:

• 1 tablespoon butter (or oil of your choice)
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 3 slices of bacon, chopped
• 2 c. lentils
• sprig of fresh thyme
• 1Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 4 c. water
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the butter in a dutch oven and add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and bacon. Saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. They should be softened and the onions should be translucent.

Add the lentils to the pan and stir to coat, then add the remaining ingredients. Stir to mix and then cover and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes. The lentils should be tender.

Season to taste and serve immediately, or keep warm to serve with the main course. This dish reheats very well and can also be made ahead of time.

Enjoy!

A fond farewell to all my friends in The Secret Recipe Club! So many amazing memories and delicious dishes have been shared. Thank you all!

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Southwestern Breakfast Scramble - Brunch is Served!

September passed like a whirlwind...

We started the month with a new school year and I can hardly believe that my oldest two are in 2nd and 3rd grade already. New teachers, new lessons and the end of lazy summer days outside. Our days  quickly filled with alarms and new school schedules. It didn't leave a lot of time for kitchen creativity.

Some nights I hit the pillow and feel grateful that we all made it through another day. Everyone was fed, but between work and keeping up with the kids' requests, it didn't leave much time or energy. Ever feel like that?

Not to mention my youngest is deep in potty training... and following in his Mommy's footsteps. Future food blogger. maybe? Currently he prefers video, but we can work with that! Which leads me to today's recipe share.

Being a busy Mom, ready to face fall, school carnivals and empty stomachs, I was excited to find Sarah's recipe for this Southwestern Breakfast Scramble as my October Secret Recipe Club blog assignment.

If you haven't seen Sarah's blog, Things I Make (For Dinner), you have to check it out! I have had the pleasure to blog with Sarah in the #BookClubCookbookCC group as we read and cooked our way through a year of deliciously inspired dishes. Sarah loves to cook and you will find a whole variety of delicious recipes on her blog for everything from Cherry Pecan Bread to Tandoori-style Chicken Burgers.

With the fall weather finally hitting Oregon, I was really excited to see all of Sarah's yummy comfort food recipes, like her Parmesan-crusted Stuffed Chicken. Yum!

But, I finally selected her hearty Southwestern  Breakfast Scramble. It was the perfect brunch option for a drizzly weekend. It was also simple, and tasted amazing!

I love any chance I can use up eggs... yes, I may have too many hens at the moment! There were a few late chicks from my broody hens. Hard as I tried to dissuade them from laying, they still managed to add a few young hens to the flock. This was also a great chance to use our farm's fresh salsa. Sorry, my husband and kids all prefer mild salsa. I think this dish was delicious with mild, but would be amazing with a little kick... or a few stray jalapenos. Just saying...

Do here is the cast of characters. I bet you have most, if not all, of these items in your fridge and pantry already.

And yes, on the left... those are tortilla chips. Just trust me.

Start by whisking the eggs and milk.

Yup, whip it good...

Then when the eggs are almost set, pile on the black beans, chips, salsa and cheese. Top them off with a lid and let them get all melty and cozy.

Before serving garnish with the green onions and a little more cheese.

We served three and still had leftovers for the next day. As Sarah mentioned in her post, they re-heat beautifully the next day so don't skimp.

This was a great hearty meal. The chips soften up in the eggs and salsa, so it is more like a breakfast casserole with some occasional crunch. So good. I will definitely be making this more over the cold months.

Ready for the recipe?

Southwestern Breakfast Scramble
from Things I Make (For Dinner)

You will need:

• 6 eggs
• 6 Tbsp. milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 c. tortilla chips
• 1 c. salsa
• 1 c shredded cheese
• 4 green onions, sliced

Whisk together the eggs and milk in a medium bowl.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the pan is heated, add the eggs and with a spatula, pull the eggs towards the center of the pan as they cook.

When the eggs are 3/4 set, add the drained beans, chips, salsa and cheese to the top. Cover the pan and let the eggs cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve immediately garnished with sliced green onion and additional cheese, if desired.

Enjoy!

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As July changes into August, it marks one of my favorite times of the year. There is such a bounty of local fruit and vegetables available that it makes evening meals so much easier!

Instead of traditional meal planning with lists and recipes, I usually just throw together what is ripe and ready on our farm. We have corn, cantaloupe, broccoli, peaches, etc. We also have just the start of tomatoes and lots of basil. And of course, there is the never-ending supply of zucchini - yellow and green, as well as summer squash.

So, while looking through Sally's fabulous blog, Bewitching Kitchen, for my August Secret Recipe Club assignment, I had an eye on tempting recipes with seasonal ingredients. Of course, Sally has so many amazing recipes, it would be hard not to find something to fit the season!

Sally was born in Brazil and so I was tempted by her list of Brazillian dishes like Shrimp Moqueca and Baked Coconut. Both of those I want to go back and try soon!

Sally also has an Ultimate Apple Cake recipe that I just had to try. ... and I have made it twice already it was such a smashing success. I was intrigued when Sally posted that the cake was not only fool-proof but contained so many diced apples, you might be skeptical that the cake would really turn out. This was not my first apple cake try, but it was my family's favorite by far!  Yes, since I was talking about seasonal fruits, we do have early apples now. Crazy, right?

But, that is not the recipe I ultimately decided to share here. I finally settled on Sally's Sauteed Zucchini With Sundried Tomatoes and Basil.

This just summed up summer flavors perfectly for me right now. It was also something my whole family could enjoy. I did make Sally's original recipe, but my only addition was a few grape and cherry tomatoes that we found in the field behind out house. I love sundried tomatoes, but my kids prefer the fresh tomatoes more. Either way you make it, I am sure you will enjoy this simple side.  !

Start with medium sized zucchini, washed and quartered so they are all about the same size. Smaller zucchini will have smaller and more tender seeds.  Pat them dry and then salt lightly to help draw out even more moisture.

No one enjoys a limp or soggy squash! Just 10 minutes will help with that.

Just blot them dry and saute with a little olive oil and garlic till they have some color and are fork tender. Then toss with the tomatoes, basil, and some fresh lemon juice. Season and enjoy!

This would also be a fun dish to make outdoors on the grill if it is too hot indoors for cooking. Either way, I hope you give this fun side a try and head over to see all the tempting recipes on Sally's blog, Bewitching Kitchen!

SAUTEED ZUCCHINI WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND BASIL

adapted from Bewitching Kitchen

You will need:

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp. virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 3 sundried tomatoes, drained and diced
• 6 basil leaves, sliced in thin strips *or fresh grape or cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and quarter the zucchini lengthwise. Pat dry, and arrange on a single layer on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Lightly salt the squash and allow to sit for about 10 minutes. Blot any excess moisture and make sure the zucchini are roughly the same size.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and garlic. Saute till fork tender and starting to brown. Remove from the heat and toss with tomatoes, basil, and lemon juice. Season to taste and serve immediately.

Enjoy! 

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Bahamian Chicken Souse and Johnnycake

Warmer weather and busy days does not mean we can't have a comforting home cooked meal ready to go for dinner. This month I brought out the slow-cooker to take a little culinary trip to the Bahamas.

I was inspired by Ellie, the talented blogger behind The Hobo Kitchen. I feel very fortunate to have found her blog because despite being another SRC member, she is in a different posting group from me. When I heard her group needed help covering a blogger this month, I agreed to get to know Ellie better and dive into her recipes! ...I had no idea how big of a treat it would be. So this makes my second Secret Recipe Club post for June.

I have never been to the Bahamas.

It would definitely be a place I would like to visit someday, but farm life doesn't really lend itself to vacations. All of my previous globe-trotting has been around Asia. Someday I hope to expand my travels. Luckily, I can enjoy recipes like this one right at home.

Ellie was born in Nassau, Bahamas. So, I had to pick a recipe from her site that would be true to her roots. Once I spotted these recipes, I was hooked. My only change was to put the Chicken Souse into the slow-cooker - for time.
Of course there were several recipes that caught my eye on her site, a recent Pecan and Goat Cheese Encrusted Chicken looked amazing, And I just must have some of her Nutella Bread Pudding in my life... and soon!

The Chicken Souse sounded both simple and delicious with chicken, potatoes, habanero peppers, whole allspice and a whole lotta lime! The flavor combinations really interested me. Ellie suggested serving this alongside warm and buttered Johnnycake, so I made that as well.

This Johnny cake didn't use the usual cornmeal base I was used to. It is simple, hearty and a great side to complete the meal.

Ready to get cooking? Grab your slow-cooker... a few simple ingredients and let's get started.

The original recipe shared on Ellie's blog is not made in a slow-cooker. As a busy mom of 3, dinner time can get a little crazy, so out comes the slow-cooker... a.k.a "dinner time machine". I also cut the recipe down by half for my family of 5.

Bahamian Chicken Souse
recipe adapted from The Hobo Kitchen

You Will Need:

• 5 lbs. chicken, skinned, cleaned and cubed
• 1 1/2 medium sized onions
• 3 celery ribs, sliced
• 1/2 habanero pepper, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. whole allspice seeds
• 2 Tbsp. salt + more for potatoes
• juice of 3-4 limes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 c, water
• 2 lbs. potatoes, washed and cubed (about 4 medium russets)

Combine all the ingredients in the slow-cooker, except the potatoes. Set for 6 hours.

With an hour and a half remaining. Place the cubed potatoes in a small saucepan and fill with just enough water to cover them. Salt the water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are softened, but still firm. Add the potatoes and potato water to the crock pot to simmer for the remaining hour.

Taste the broth before serving and add additional salt or lime juice as needed.

Bahamian Johnnycake
recipe adapted from The Hobo Kitchen

You Will Need:

• 1/2 c. butter, softened + more for greasing the pan
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 c. milk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a cast iron skillet with butter, set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the flour, water, salt and baking powder. Add milk slowly until the batter is sticky.

Pour into the skillet. Put a little flour on your hands and spread the batter out evenly. Bake for 1 hour, or until the edges begin to brown. The johnnycake doesn't rise much. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing, serve warm with butter.

Enjoy! 

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Caribbean Rice and Peas - #TheBookClubCookbookCC

I was provided with a copy of The Book Club Cook Book to use for this year-long endeavor of reading and food fun. All opinions and experiences and individual book purchases are my own.

This month's #TheBookClubCookbookCC selection, Love in the Time of Cholera, took us to the Caribean with an abundance of inspiration for diving off into our own food exploration. This is not a cuisine that I am familiar with, but am now loving. 

Danielle of Mostly Food and Crafts chose our selection for May and The Book Club Cook Book lists two delicious recipe suggestions, a mojito or a mango, jicama and corn salad. You can read Wendy's welcome post as she stepped in to cover this month's selection.

The many food references in this month's book sent me off searching the internet for Caribbean Recipes and I found myself looking through some mouth-watering jerk seasoning recipes. Ultimately I decided my dish would need to include Jerk seasoning.

What is Jerk seasoning?

Caribbean Jerk seasoning gets its kick from a blend of ingredients such as chiles, thyme, cinnamon, garlic, and nutmeg.  It usually includes allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers and can be a wet marinade or dry rub.

I also learned that amazon had some option for mild jerk seasoning - essential if I am going to get my heat-phobic husband to try it.

I think I have mentioned here, a few times, that I walk a thin line with spicy or hot foods. My husband doesn't mind a bit of warmth in food, but he likes his salsa mild and hit jalapenos with no heat. I always try to compensate for this while cooking.

But the heat here in this Caribbean Rice and Peas dish is easy to adjust. Even on the milder end of the spectrum it was full of flavor and very satisfying.

So what of this month's book selection?

Love in the Time of Cholera

In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career he whiles away the years in 622 affairs--yet he reserves his heart for Fermina. Her husband dies at last, and Florentino purposefully attends the funeral. Fifty years, nine months, and four days after he first declared his love for Fermina, he will do so again.

Despite being a hopeless romance and an ode to the many forms and power of the heart, I just couldn't get into this month's read. 

Ever had a book that you keep picking up and putting down so many times that you eventually give up? That was the way for me on this selection.

Now, one of the things that made me select this recipe to try were the black-eyed peas.

I am an Oregon gal and haven't had the pleasure to eat black-eyed peas... or even see them often in our local stores. So when my daughter's class planted their own black-eyed pea plants in First Grade, I decided it was time to figure out how to use them. Garden willing, by the end of the season, I will have an abundance.

This was a lovely one-pot dish and really stuck to our ribs. With kielbasa, peas and brown rice, it was hearty and left us with amazing left overs. I already plan to make this again.

Like I said, even a rural gal, like myself, was able to find a delicious Jerk Seasoning option on Amazon. This may now be my favorite condiment. I can't wait to try it on chicken.  And don't worry, there were plenty of "melt-your-face" options online, as well. I would say, go as hot as you dare!

Everything was sauteed, then simmered in my largest pan. All that garlic and spice created quite the welcome home at the end of the day.

And one of my favorite parts to this dish were the collard greens.

I only became hooked on collard greens in the past few years. I am always looking for an excuse to buy them... they are so dark and inviting. Though you could substitute another green in this recipe, I wouldn't suggest it. The collards bring an earthy tone to the dish that would be missed with spinach or chard.

Everything simmers together till the rice is tender and the collards have wilted. It is just magic to behold!

Okay, ready to start cooking? Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of this post for a chance to win your own copy of The Book Club Cookbook. And as always, come join in on our reading/culinary fun next month with Chocolat by Joanne Harris. Be sure to look for the announcement coming soon.

Caribbean Rice and Peas
recipe adapted from The Food Network

You will Need:

• 10 oz. frozen black-eyed peas
• salt
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 6 oz. turkey kielbasa, thinly sliced
• 1 large bunch of green onions, sliced and whites & greens separated
• 2 ribs of celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
• 2 tsp. jerk seasoning (or more to taste)
• 2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 c. brown rice, uncooked
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 c. collard greens, stemmed and chopped

Put the black-eyed peas in 3 cups of water in a small saucepan. salt the water lightly. Cover and bring up to a boil, then turn off and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and kielbasa to brown. Add the green onion whites, celery, garlic, jalapeno, jerk seasoning along with a large pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables start to brown, about 5 minutes. 

Add in the thyme and tomato paste, cooking till fragrant and stirring constantly. 

Add the bay leaves, rice and black-eyed peas along with their cooking liquid. Do not stir. Add the chopped collard greens to the top, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook till most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 50 minutes.

Let the dish rest for an additional 10 minutes before discarding the bay leaves, adding in the green onion green and giving it a good stir.

Enjoy!

Giveaway

This month Danielle at Mostly Food and Crafts along with Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm, this month's co-hosts, are giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!

One of our lucky readers - US and Canada only! - can enter to win a copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from May 1st till May 31st at 6 o'clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

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*Disclosure: Danielle and Wendy received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp as an opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.

Dry Fried Eggplant - November Secret Recipe Club

These past few weeks I have tried not to face the reality that our summer produce is coming to an end. I wait all winter for fresh veggies here on the farm, but when they finally arrive it seems like life also gets much busier.

This month's Secret Recipe Club selection had me thinking about what is still available. One of those items is eggplant.

It never fails, when I stop into the produce market to grab eggplant I am always stopped by someone wanting to know what I do with it. Maybe it has to do with the fact I buy it by the basketful? Who knows... The truth is I have so many ways to make/bake/puree/ and enjoy eggplant, but I am always looking for a new one.

You could say that while browsing through Lisa's blog, Cook Lisa Cook, I fell in love with it because of her use of Tapioca flour. From personal experience I know this is not a common pantry product. It is on hand in our home due to my children's PKU. They cannot have grains, meat, dairy, nuts or legumes. They do though, love eggplant!  Tapioca flour is low in protein and a great substitute for wheat flour. I was thrilled this month to pick a recipe, Dry Fried Eggplant, my children could enjoy with us.

Of course, Lisa's blog is full of many other great recipes besides the one I chose,  I also need to try her Baked Reuben Casserole as well as her recipe for Puerto Rican Eggnog. Be sure to check out all the delicious dish ideas on her blog!

For this recipe I used a small and tender Fairytale Eggplant. This is one of my favorites for the backyard garden, but this year my eggplant were all wiped out by my ravenous chickens. Thank goodness our eggplant plants are still producing on the farm. I tried this recipe earlier with some young Italian style eggplant, but the skins were tougher. So my suggestion is to go for a smaller variety.

Start by slicing the eggplant lengthwise to create the "fries".

This recipe doesn't use an eggwash, but instead just moistening the eggplant with a little water to help keep the tapioca flour sticking. This makes it a great "breaded" alternative if you need to avoid eggs and dairy.  All the seasoning is whisked up in the dredge and then fried till the eggplant is tender and the coating is crisp.

Serve immediately as tapioca flour tends to become soggy after a few minutes. We consumed ours as soon as we could handle them!

Dry Fried Eggplant
adapted from Cook Lisa Cook

You will need:

• Canola oil for frying
• 1/2 tapioca flour (or more for coating)
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. Szechuan Peppercorn flakes
• 6 small style eggplant ( I used Fairy Tale), cut lengthwise
• 1/4 c. flat leaf parsley, chopped

Pre heat cooking oil to 350 degrees. Prepare a tray lined with paper towels and a cooling rack to place cooked eggplant while cooling.

Whisk together the tapioca flour, paprika, Szechuan Peppercorns and a teaspoon of salt. Lightly moisten the eggplant sticks and then dredge in the flour mixture. 

Working in batches, fry the eggplant till cooked through and the outter breading is crisp, just a few minutes per side. When done, remove from the hot oil and place on the cooling rack. Sprinkle with additional Kosher salt while still hot. Serve with parsley and additional paprika and Szechuan Peppercorns, as desired.

Enjoy!

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