COMFORT FOOD FOR HARD TIMES

I have promised a number of these recipes to some of my followers on Instagram, so I must needs do this! I have picked from 2 categories: 2 supper dishes--a nourishing soup, a comforting pasta dish, and a rich, chocolate dessert.

Now that we are all in lock-down, most of us are cooking a great deal more than usual, excepting yours truly. Making good homemade food is a wonderful way to lift our spirits, show our love to those we live with, and just have fun. Besides eating delicious food!

So the first is, "Smoky Red Lentil Soup" with a nod to the Overhisers who wrote, "Pretty Simple Cooking," (vegetarian cooking), also inspired by "Adventures in Cooking" with Eva Kosmas Flores. If you have not discovered her blog, run to your computer and log on. She is the best, and her photographs will make you drool.

Ingredients:

--1 chopped medium onion
--2 cloves garlic, chopped
--2 tablespoons olive oil
--1 cup finely chopped carrots
--1 cup red lentils (I use Bob's)
--4 cups Better Than Bouillon Chicken broth
--1 bay leaf
--1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
--1/2 tsp. cumin
--1/2 tsp. smoked paprika (I use hot version)
--1/4 cup tomato paste (I use, if I have it, "Tomato Magic" made with crushed tomatoes & sun-dried tomatoes, from Paula Wolfert's "The Food of Morocco")

--1/2 cup+ crushed tomatoes
--2 big handfuls of spinach at the end

To Make:

1/ Saute onion in hot olive oil over medium heat, add garlic after 5 min., cook for 1 min 'til fragrant.
2/ Add chop carrots, stir, cook for 8 min.
3/ Add lentils, stir to cover with oil, then add bouillon & balsamic vinegar.
4/ Toss in bay leaf, spices, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and simmer for 45-55 minutes; taste to adjust seasonings & add grinding of salt and pepper. Some folks add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice at the end.
5/ Throw in two big handfuls of spinach at the end, stir, and cook 5 min. Serve and enjoy with garlic bread or cheese biscuits!

Then, for the following day's supper, assuming you have walked the dog, gardened for an hour, exercised to Peppy-Peppy DVD, it is time to make another supper dish which does have a few carbs in it. 

Pasta With Garlicky Spinach and Buttered Nuts
 (courtesy of the New York Times recipes, by Dawn Perry)

Ingredients:

--12 oz. rigatoni or fusilli (you could throw in another handful to make sure this goes for 2 nights)
--4 tablespoons unsalted butter
--1/2 cup nuts, pistachios or I used flaked almonds
--3 big garlic cloves, chopped
--2+ tablespoons rinsed capers
--12-16 oz. fresh, washed organic spinach, stems cut off
--1/2 cup grated parmesan or I used gruyere.

To Make:

1/ Boil large pot of water, add pasta and cook. Fusilli takes about 13+ plus minutes to my taste.
2/ After 5 minutes, melt butter, sauté nuts, garlic and capers, stirring occasionally for about 2 min or so.
3/ Add spinach to pan one handful at a time, seasoning it with salt and a grind of pepper until wilted. (I wanted more than 12 oz. in this recipe, maybe more like 16 oz., or 2 cups, so recipe goes for 2 nights for 2 people.)
4/ Take a 1/2 cup measure and scoop out pasta water, reserving it, then drain pasta in a colander in sink.
5/ Add drained, cooked pasta to pan along with pasta water; cook and stir until water is reduced, about 2-3 min., then serve, topped with grated cheese.

Salut! If you drink, this goes well with either a strong, chilled white wine or a full-bodied red wine like Malbec.

Then comes the dessert, my friends. And this can be safely eaten with a cup of cappuccino in the morning for breakfast, if you like.

  Best Fudge Keto Brownies
   (From, "My Sweet Keto")--107 calories per square

Ingredients:

--6 oz. dark chocolate, 60% or 80%, chopped (I prefer 60%)
--6 tablespoons unsalted butter
--2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
--4 medium eggs, room temp. (I always forget, so take out of fridge and put in bowl with warm water for 5 min.)
--3/4 cup erythritol (remember, is poisonous for dogs)
--1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
--one dash of salt
--2 oz. almond flour plus 2 tablespoons
--1/2 tsp. baking powder
--1/4 cup of ghiradelli dark chocolate chips
(I sometimes stir in 1/4 cup of shredded coconut to batter)

To Make:
Preheat oven to 330 degrees

1/ Put chocolate, butter, and coconut oil in microwave safe bowl or a large measuring cup (I use 2 cup glass measurer); melt on high for 2 min. Take out and stir. Set aside to cool.
2/ With an electric mixture, froth the eggs, erythritol, vanilla, and salt on high for 3 min. (Salt brings out chocolate flavor.)
3/ Whisk or stir the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, but do not use electric mixer. Takes awhile to get it all stirred in so it looks like dark chocolate.
4/ Add almond flour & baking powder, stir carefully, add choc. chips and shred. coconut if you like.
5/ Take 8" by 8" pan you have greased with coconut oil first, then put parchment paper into it and pressed against bottom and sides so it sticks.
6/ Pour chocolate mixture into pan and slide carefully onto top rack of oven. (It doesn't do as much on this rack.)
7/ Recipe calls for 15-20 min. max, but I find I prefer closer to 23-24 so the center is not so wet.
8/ Remove from oven (will look shaky, don't worry and don't test with probe), sprinkle shredded coconut on top, cool for 5 min.
9/ Then carefully lift out brownies by the parchment paper on sides and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool for at least 1/2 hour or more. Cut into 20 squares, sprinkle with shredded coconut or chopped nuts, and enjoy. It freezes well.

Salut, my peeps. May you endure your time of lock-down with some modicum of joy; without too much frustration or anger; with some good times with whomever lives with you; with lots of good movies from Netflix (we are going to re-watch "Bedazzled" today); and hopefully with a fur baby to cuddle up to and a place to walk in that is safe and green.