Garlicky Eggplant and Garbanzo Bean Skillet

This recipe happened.  I came home from work.  I didn't have a plan for dinner, but I had two eggplant.  I looked up vegetarian eggplant recipes and I found one that looked good but it involved lentils.  I didn't have lentils, but I did have garbanzo beans.  And that worked.  I had made bulghur pilav for mom the night before, so we heated the leftovers up and served this over it.  It's a quick dinner.  Start to finish takes about 30 minutes.
 I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 large Japanese eggplant, cut into 1/4" sliced into wedges (cut eggplant lengthwise, and then cut each half lengthwise again...then cut the wedges into 1/4" slices

1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp Herbs d'Provence (or Italian seasoning)

1 15.5 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

pepper to taste

Salt to taste

1 15 oz can diced tomato (with basil)

1 tsp paprika

a PLOP of greek yogurt to top off each bowlful

Directions: 

I use my wok for this, but a large nonstick pan would be great too.

Satue the onion in the skillet until it goes translucent.  Stirring.  Add a pinch of baking soda and your onions will start to brown.  Add the minced garlic and cook another couple minutes.

Add eggplant, water, seasonings and cover.  Let the whole thing cook down for about 10 minutes.  Stir frequently.  Eggplant should be soft.  Add all the rest of the ingredients .  Cover and cook about 15 minutes til the eggplant is saucey.  Add salt, pepper.  

OPTIONAL:  Add a heaping tbsp of greek yogurt on top of each bowl.  Serve on top of brown rice or bulghur wheat pilav.

Serves 5-6

Lentil & Barley Soup (Vegan)

I used yellow, red and orange carrots, but any carrots will do.

Now that the weather's cooling a bit (okay, seriously, it's 88 degrees outside!), I like to start making soups for dinner (and to pack for lunch).  This lentil soup is easy, filling, and totally inexpensive to make.  It cooks up in an hour, and is delicious.  Since I always have lentils in the cupboard, onions, carrots and celery in the fridge, it's my go-to soup when I can't think of what to cook.
This receipe makes about 5-6 good-sized servings





Ingredients:
1/2 cup pearl barley
1 cup lentils
1 medium onion, chopped
6 carrots, sliced
6 medium stalks of celery, OR the inner part of the celery with the leaves and such, chopped
4 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp of olive oil (or 1/4 cup water to saute)
8 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes (optional) and/or bouillion
Salt and Pepper

Rinse and wash lentils and barley, checking for little stones.

In a soup pot, add oil or water and saute and chopped onion, garlic, celery and sliced carrots until onions are translucent.  Add lentils and barley, stir.  Add water.  Cover, and simmer for one hour.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until lentils and barley are soft *but not mushy - about an hour.  Serve with lemon wedges.

NOTE:  I have added diced tomatoes and I have also added vegetable bouillion...but I like it just as described above.  It's not overly salty, the flavor of the onions, garlic, mushrooms is not overpowered by the broth.  

Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant with Rice, Tofu, Onion and Sprouted Adzuki Beans

On Thursdays in Downtown L.A., right in the plaza of my work place, they have an organic farmers market.  It's always great to see what's fresh, and I get to pick and choose a lot of great produce.  Today, I found these beautiful mini eggplants, about the size of a navel orange.  I bought three of them and spent my commute home thinking of ways to stuff them.  With what?

I had about 3 ounces of silken tofu in the fridge.  I've always got rice, onions, and the sprouts for the this week were some experimental adzuki beans that I started on Saturday.  So here's what I did:

Ingredients:
3 small (orange size) eggplants
2/3 cup basmati rice
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 oz silken tofu
1/2 cup sprouted adzuki beans (or any other type of bean sprout)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bottled reduced fat spaghetti sauce (or you can use tomato sauce)
salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Use small eggplant - the size of a navel orange. Wash and cut the top off and discard top. Using a spoon, hollow out the eggplant. Keep the insides and put in the bottom of a large pan. Once eggplants are hollowed, add a little salt on the inside and set aside and allow to weep. 
• 
  
• In a bowl, add 2/3 cup basmati rice (rinsed), 1/2 medium onion finely chopped, 3 oz silken tofu, 1/2 cup sprouted Adzuki beans (or other bean sprouts), minced garlic, and mix together. 
• 
  
• Rinse the salted eggplant and dry. Fill with the rice mixture. equally among the 3 eggplant. Stand the eggplant in the pan with the eggplant insides (the parts you removed) on the bottom. Spoon about a tbsp of the sauce on top of each eggplant, pour the rest of the sauce over the eggplant. Put an inverted plate over the eggplant to keep them from floating. 
• 
  
• Add water to the pan to about 1/2 way up the side of the eggplant. Cover the pan and cook on the stove under medium low flame for about 45 minutes. You can serve with plain yogurt on top (but count those points). 1 eggplant = 1 serving  About 8 weight watchers points plus per serving (without the yogurt)

Mardi Gras Salad - A festive salad with cauliflower, broccoli, quinoa and garbanzo beans

I went to Sprouts Farmers Market today and they had the most beautiful yellow and purple cauliflower for sale.  I didn't know what to make with it, so I experimented and this is what I came up with.

1 head purple cauliflower, cored and broken into small florets

1 head yellow cauliflower, cored and broken into small florets

1 1/2 cups red quinoa

3 cups water

3 tbsp white miso paste (or any type of broth)

1 large broccoli crown, cored and broken into small florets

1 15.5 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained

1 oranges, juiced

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

2 Tbsp ume plum vinegar

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

2 tsp garlic powder

Blanch the cauliflower seperately, then plunge
in cold ater to stop the 

1 tbsp Trader Joe's everyday seasoning

1 tbsp no salt seasoning

Salt to taste

Cook quinoa in 3 cups water with miso paste added (or you can use 3 cups of any type of broth). Uncover, move to bowl and cool.  You'll be adding this to the vegetables.

Clean both heads of cauliflower and broccoli and cut into small florets. Boil a large pot of water. First, drop in the yellow cauliflower. Boil about 2 minutes til tender but not mushy. Remove with a slotted spoon and put into colander. Run cold water over it to stop the cooking process. Drain and put in bow. Next, do the same first with the purple cauliflower, and then with the broccoli. Combine the cauliflower, broccoli, and drained garbanzo beans, and onion. Add seasonings, vinegar, juice,, stir and chill. Adjust seasoning to taste. Chill.

Note:  If I had lemon, I would have used it instead of the orange juice...but all I had were 2 oranges, and that worked .  I didn't add any oil to save on the points values.

Makes 14-15 cups

Points Plus Value =  4 points per 1 cup serving

I just thought this was pretty 

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Black Eyed Peas Salad

I first saw this recipe in Vegetarian Times Magazine.  I changed it up a bit, buy using dry beans instead of canned and changing up the seasonings/dressing.  I was really happy with the look of it (it's colorful!) and it tastes great!  Only 3 Points Plus for a full 1 cup serving.

1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup dry black eyed peas
3 large carrots, chopped
4 medium green onion, sliced
8 ribs celery - use inner stalks and leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped bell pepper (red or green)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup cilantro (chopped) (optional)
15 oz can stewed tomatoes (moderately drained) and chopped  coarsely
1 tbsp Tapatio hot sauce.

Use 1 cup dry black eyed peas. Put in a heavy pot, add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Cover and let stand for one hour. Drain and rinse. In a large bowl combine peas, carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion and green onion together. Add drained (oka if they are still saucey) stewed/chopped tomatoes. Add olive oil, hot sauce, and stir, mixing it all up. Refrigerate for an hour, stir. Adjust seasoning and hot sauce to taste. Serving size - 1 cup
1 cup = 3 points plus
Make 8 one cup servings

Zucchini Pancakes

Zucchini pancakes are easy to make, low calorie, light and healthy, and they cook up really quick.  You can serve this with a tossed green salad and some fruit and it makes a perfect lunch or dinner for a warm day.

2 large uncooked zucchini, Grated   1 egg 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (grated/powdered) 1/4 cup All purpose flour 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp table salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp sweet red pepper flakes Grate zucchini and set aside. Crack your egg right on top of the mound of zucchini, add flour, spices, parmesan cheese and I added some sweet red pepper flakes. Mix until everything is incorporated. Use cooking spray to spray a nonstick frying pan or griddle. Heat pan and use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop mixture into pan and then gently flatten into a patty. Cook until lightly browned, flip and cook the other side. Serve hot. This recipe with my 2 zucchini (about 7" zucchini) makes 7 patties. Serving size: 2 patties Makes 3.5 servings Points plus - 3   A nonstick grill pan is great for lots of different things.  Zucchini pancakes, eggs, pancakes, bacon, making quesadillas. You can pick one up pretty inexpensively at stores like Ross and Big Lots.  But if you want a top of the line...this one's pretty nice!

Checking In: Weeks 11 & 12

Wow...I don't know if I should post a "ta-da" picture or a "womp womp" picture.  First of all, I totally missed last week's check in here on Pudgy Pomegranate.  Life has been busy....so last week, I walked, tracked, and did great with my plan, but hopping on the scale at last week's weigh in I was disappointed - but okay with it - with the .2 pound loss.  Yep, only .2 pounds.  My justification was that the week prior, I had lost 3 big ol' pounds...and hey, the scale moved downward so who was I to complain, right?  

So I vowed that I would, in week 12, go for a loss to hit my 15 pound mark.  So I did great this week.  I walked (even on Saturday!) I earned 16 activity points for the week (that's really good!), I tracked, I kept within my points.  But I managed to get sick with a cold. And I don't know if it's the cold, the meds, or what, but today I went to weigh in and for the first time in 12 weeks, the scale was UP!!!!  WHAT????  Yep, it was up.  .6  And the thing is, I seriously don't know why.  I can own up to it if I had screwed up, not exercised, not drank water...etc.  but I did all those things.  So why the gain?  So today, I am feeling like I get the big "womp womp".  

Ta-Da!! It's week 12 and I've made
positive life changes even though
the scale didn't show me the love
this week.

But it's just a number, right?  And I'm so much more than just a number.  I have lost 12.6 pounds in 12 weeks.  That's still a pound a week (YAY).  My clothes are fitting better and my energy level is okay (if I didn't have this cold!)  

So the goal for this week is to try to change things up a bit.  Maybe have more points for breakfast and lunch and less for dinner - I usually save more for dinner since that's when I'm with my family.  So we'll see how it goes.

So for now, I'm giving myself the "ta-da" because in the long run, I'm doing well, enjoying life, eating a healthy variety, and making positive changes!

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms with Quinoa and Feta

This was my first attempt at stuffed portabellas and they came out great.  Even my non-veggie husband liked them - a lot!  They're good as a main course served with a tossed green salad. 4  portabella mushroom(s), washed and stems removed    1/2 cup uncooked quinoa 1/2 onion, chopped 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 1 Tbsp lemon zest 1 small zucchini, chopped 1/2 cup shredded carrots 1 Tbsp garlic paste (or minced garlic) 1/2 Tbsp olive oil 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned Heat oven to 350 degrees. I use my pizza stone, but you can use a cookie tray. Spray washed and stemmed portabellas with cooking spray,  and add salt pepper and garlic powder to the gill side. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until you prepare the filling. In a non-stick wok or pan with a lid,  add the oil, garlic and onion, chopped zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes and carrots and stir fry until veggies are tender. Add 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover with a lid and simmer. If you need more water, add a bit. til quinoa is tender about 30 minutes.   Remove portabellas from oven and cool on counter while quinoa cools a bit. Stir feta cheese into the quinoa mixture, add salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon zest. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop filling and mound on portabellas equally between the four mushrooms. Pop back in the oven and heat until hot about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. 5 Weight Watchers points plus each ****************************************************** I'm throwing this pizza stone on here for your consideration.  I love mine and use it for way more than pizza, including cookies, boregs, portabella mushrooms, baked kale.  You can see mine in the photo of the portabellas.  It gets a nice dark patina to it as it gets used (mine is unglazed) and I've had it for a few years now.  Things done stick to it, and it's easy to clean.  Do you have a pizza stone?

Pasta with Sprouted Lentils, Mushrooms and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (moist pack, not in oil)
2 cups sprouted lentils
4 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
4 large cloves garlic, chopped fine
Salt & Pepper
8 oz. pasta
1  1/2  Tbsp olive oil
Parmesan cheese (optional)
red pepper flakes (optional)

This recipe just "happened" because it's what I happened to have in the fridge at the time.  The result was very yummy and light, and a great way to use your sprouted lentils.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add a tsp of salt.  Add the pasta, and cook until tender.  Drain.

Add the spinach and lentils last to keep
lentils crunchy.

Heat your wok.  Add olive oil til heated, then add onion and garlic.  Cook til fragrant.  Add mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.  Stir cooking until soft.  Add spinach leaves next and stir til wilted.  Lastly, add your sprouted lentils.  You don't want to cook them too long because they have a nice crispy crunch that you'd like to keep.  Stir, turn off heat.

Add the drained pasta to the vegetable mixture.  Stir together.  Serve in bowls with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes, if desired.  Makes 4 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each)

It's best to get everything prepped ahead of time.

I use my walk for all kinds of cooking.  It's my favorite pan in the kitchen.  Here are a couple nonstick woks in case you're looking.

  

How to Sprout Legumes (and Make Your Own Sprouting Device)

If you know me, you know that I have really gotten into sprouting lately.  I have ready sprouts in my fridge, I just finished the lentil sprouts that have been sprouting 3 days, and I have mung beans and seeds in the works right now.

Last Friday, my daughter came to pick me up from work.  I asked her to make a quick stop at OSH so we could figure out how to make our own sprouting jar.  We walked out with some mason jars and some plastic screening.  A simple contraption that works great.

Here's all you need for legume sprouting (you will need a much smaller mesh for tiny seed sprouting).
1 mason jar (1 quart size) with ring top
1 piece of plastic mesh screen.
Cut the screen to go over the mouth of the jar and get held down by the rim.
Here's what it looks like:        

Grab a bag of lentils from the market.  Any ol' lentils will do (dry).  Put about a 1/2 cup of dry lentils into the jar.  Fill with water, and allow to stand for 12 hours.  The next morning, when you wake up, drain the water through the screen, add clean water.  Agitate lentils a little, drain, add some fresh water and drain again.
Once you've got all the excess water out, tip your jar into a bowl to keep it draining...and throw a dishtowel on it to make the lentils dark.

In 8-12 hours, repeat the rinse and drain process.  After the first
day you'll notice sprouts.  After that it seems like they really take off.  You'll want to harvest your sprouts in about 3 days when the roots are about 1/2 " long.

When they're the desired length open your jar and dump the lentils into a bowl. Fill with water and allow the hulls to come to the top.  Remove the hulls, drain, and now you're ready to eat them raw (very nutritious and high in protein) or use them in your favorite recipes.  Let me know if I wasn't clear or if you have any questions.  Happy Sprouting!
         

Anush's Sprouted Lentil & Garbanzo Bean Curry with Ginger/Cilantro/Lemon Sauce

I have been having a lot of fun sprouting my own sprouts.  On Friday, I started my first batch of sprouted lentils.  The sprout really quickly, and "GROW" (from 1/4 cup dry to 2 1/4 cups in just 3 days).  So once I had the sprouts, I needed to figure out what to do with them, so I started searching the web.  I found the basic idea behind this recipe at www.thenourishinggourmet.com, and though I did modify the curry recipe, the sauce - which is what makes the recipe - came from the Nourishing Gourmet site.

2 1/4 cups sprouted lentils (sprouted 3 days) - tails are about 1/2 " in length)
1 - 15 oz can garbanzo beans
1 tsp. Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp. red pepper paste (you can purchase this at the Middle Eastern store)
2 tbsp curry powder
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp allspice
3 large cloves garlic (pressed)

Sauce:
1 bunch cilantro leaves (removed stems)
1 clove garlic
Juice from one medium lemon
salt, to taste
Fresh Ginger, peeled and grated to a heaping 1 Tbsp

I started out sprouting 1/4 cup dry lentils (for 3 days) creating 2 1/4 cups of fresh sprouts.  Rinse and drain sprouts.

In a wok, or deep nonstick pan, add 1 tsp olive oil and saute the chopped onion.  Stirring, cooking about 4 minutes.  Add chopped or pressed garlic.  Add curry powder, allspice and 1 1/2 cups water.  Mix and cook about 2 minutes.  Add the sprouted lentils and one can of drained garbanzo beans.  Cook stirring every few minutes to get the flavors to mix.

In a food processor, process one bunch of cilantro, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon or more of fresh grated ginger, salt (to taste) and the juice of one medium lemon.  If you like spicy food, I added about 6 fat slices of jalapeno slices.  Process the whole thing.  It's going to be very pungeant, tart, tangy, garlicky...but a perfect combo to the creamy lentil/garbanzo texture.  Serve on top of your bowl of curry.  You may want to make extra of this sauce because i

One serving - 1 2/3 cup = 7 points plus (I know it seems like a lot of points, but it's very satisfying.).
Makes 3 servings

Serve with a salad.
Please let me know how your recipe turns out.  I'd love to know if you liked it as much as I did.
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I found this interesting:  There are so many different types of garlic presses.  You don't need anything fancy, but you do need something good and sturdy.  I have one I picked up at IKEA....uh, not too good...but then again, it was only $3.  I'd be more inclined to get the one of these on the left...the one on the righ looks a little nut crackery, and the ones in the middle?  too hard to clean.  Click if you're interested in seeing more.

Spaghetti Squash Marinara with Mushrooms

I distinctly remember the day my mom brought home our family's first spaghetti squash in the late 70's. .  It was big, yellow, hard and the size of a football.  We didn't really know what it would be like, but mom had heard that once cooked, the inside flesh would make strings like spaghetti.  She had also learned that you should eat this squash with lots of butter and brown sugar. And so that's what we did.  She cooked it in the oven, fluffed up the strings, mixed all kinds of butter and brown sugar in it and served it up in its own halves.

The strings may look like spaghetti, but the texture is not soft like pasta but still firm.  I remember thinking that I didn't particularly think the taste was that big of a deal, but hey, put butter and brown sugar on anything and it will taste good.

Once I grew up and got married and had my own household, I didn't pay much attention to spaghetti squash.  And then now that I'm following Weight Watchers, I'm experimenting with low cal/low points alternatives and I thought I'd revisit spaghetti squash given that it has 0 points (yes, you heard me right....0 points!!) as opposed to 5 points for a cup of spaghetti.

So this time I made it with traditional spaghetti in mind.  Using very few ingredients.

Here's what you'll need:

1 spaghetti squash
Pre-made spaghetti sauce (I found one for 2 points per 1/2 cup)
1 box sliced fresh mushrooms
1 yellow onion, chopped
salt, pepper, garlic powder &  red pepper flakes

I started with my oven at 400 degrees.  Baking your squash is going to take about an hour.  Line a pan with foil, use a sharp knife to poke some holes in your squash.  Put it on the pan and stick it in the oven for about an hour.

When it's done, it should yield to gentle pressure but still be holding it's shape.  Heat up your sauce.  In a nonstick pan, spray your pan with PAM (or the like).  Saute your onions and mushrooms...and then put a little water in it and cover to steam.

When your squash is ready, pull it out of the oven, carefully cut it in half lengthwise.
Allow to cool a little so you can scoop out the seeds.  Once you've got the seeds out, fluff up the squash with a fork keeping the strands long like spaghetti.  (This is the point where my mom would put on the butter and brown sugar.).  If you'd like to toss in some olive oil, this is the point to do it.  I am trying to cut the oils out so I didn't add any oil, but I did season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Serve on each plate with a ladle-full of spaghetti sauce.  Top with a spoonful or two of your mushroom and onion mixture.  That's it!

Serving size:  1 cup
Points plus value - 2-3 points depending on your sauce
The rest has 0 points.

Do you have a way you like cooking spaghetti squash?  I'd love to hear from you!
Here's a book that looks interesting.  I can up my squash intake if I knew what to do with it.  : )

Lentil & Butter Bean Salad

2.5 cups lentils (I like to use the Melissa's steamed ready-to-eat packaged lentils from Trader Joe's)

1 - 15 oz. can butter beans, drained

1 - 8 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

2 large tomatoes, chopped

6 green onions, thinly sliced

6 stalks celery, sliced 

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Juice from 2 lemons

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

1 tsp cumin

Combine the beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, celery together.  Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cumin and mix.  Serve chilled.

Makes 6 - 1 cup servings

I don't have either of these cookbooks, but they look pretty good!

Points Plus Value:  6 points

Vegan Rice Pudding with Arborio Rice and Almond Milk

It's mid-lent.  If you've been following our Armenian Orthodox tradition of a vegan diet, having something creamy and sweet sounds pretty good about now.  Here's a spin on the traditional rice pudding.  I had some arborio rice (the rice you made risotto with), so I used that.  It tends to be a little sweeter and a little starchier than regular rice.  But you can use any kind of rice (even brown rice) for this recipe.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup Arborio or regular rice

3 1/2 cups almond milk

1 cup water

1/4 cup sugar (or less)

cinnamon for the top

Use a heavy pan.  Add the rice and one cup of water.  Cook under low heat for about 5 minutes or so until the rice "opens".  This was a tip from "Auntie Zarouhi" up at summer camp the year I worked in the kitchen.  You want the rice to still be crunchy inside, but be open to receiving the milk.  : )  Add the almond milk and stir to make sure there are no grains sticking to the bottom.  Turn the heat to low and allow it to cook until the rice is totally cooked.  Stir every 5 minutes or so to make sure it's not sticking.  

Once the rice is fully cooked, pour the pudding into a dish.  Top with cinnamon and allow to cool.  Store in the fridge covered.  You can garnish with slivered almonds, raisins, cranberries.  But if you do top it, then count those points (if you're following WW).  I didn't calculate the points for toppings.

Makes 5 - 3/4 cup servings = 3 points a serving

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Pudding is the perfect thing to make in those heavy enameled iron Le Crueset (or knock off) pans.  I'm talking about ones like these.  I'm lucky enough to have my grammas knock off....gramma gave it to mom, and mom passed it to me.  Martha Stewart makes her own brand of these which Macy's carries.  I'm just spouting off here..you don't need one, but if you have one, they're a pleasure to use.  I use mine for all sorts of things from pudding, to dolma, to making in.  : )  It's a good investment (tho pretty expensive).  Click for more info.

   

Vegan Mini Kufte Ball Soup

Last week Ani came over for an impromptu visit since Eric was working late.  We were thinking of going out to dinner, but decided to cook together instead.  This is a fun soup to together. The broth has a nice tomatoey, lemony, minty base. It's pretty simple.

Kufta Balls:

1 cup of Cream of Wheat

1 cup of fine bulghur

1 Tbsp mint finely rubbed between your palms (I like it minty, but you can use more or less depending on your own preference )

2 heaping Tbsp of tomato paste

1 cup of water

1-2 tbsp of roasted red pepper appetizer…I used it cuz I had it in the fridge.  You can use Ajvar, or red pepper paste..or more tomato sauce. 

Add salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and let it stand a few minutes and then knead it into a dough.  Roll it into small balls, like marbles (maybe a little larger) I counted that it made 108 balls.  Wet your hands if the dough starts sticking to them.

Put these balls in a pot of boiling water and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Remove after 15 minutes and transfer into the broth.

The Broth:

You’ll need another can of tomato paste

A can of garbanzo beans – OR – about a cup of small pasta

Garlic

Dried mint

1-2 lemons

One big onion and some olive oil

Brown one large onion in some olive oil.  Add enough water to make broth for the family ( I did about 8-9 cups for our batch).  Add a can of tomato paste plus whatever tomato paste you have left over from the kufte balls.  If you have red pepper paste add some of that and a couple tablespoons of mint powder.  Simmer about 10 minutes this and adjust the seasonings.  Add about 3 big cloves of mashed garlic, one can of garbanzo beans (or you can sub out for some small type of macaroni).  Add the cooked kufte balls, and the juice of one or two lemons and boil for another 5 or 10 minutes.

Anush's Bulghur Veggie Salad

This recipe started out as an attempt to make "Eech", a favorite Armenian lenten dish.  So I got the bulghur out, poured the water in, and then realized I didn't have 1/2 the ingredients I thought I did (tomato paste, green pepper, parsley...none of them).  So I thought about what I liked about eech.  I love the sauced taste of the bulghur and the crunch of the pepper...so I used what I had ...added cucumber instead.  The end result was very delicious.  This packs really well for take along lunches.

2 cups fine Bulghur

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 bunch green onions, cleaned and finely sliced

1 Tbsp. Aleppo pepper

1 Tbsp. Sumac

5 Persian cucumbers

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 c. boiling water

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp Olive oil

First off, boil your water.  In a large bowl, measure out 2 cups of fine bulghur.  Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water on top of bulghur.  Add an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, sugar, Aleppo pepper (sweet roasted pepper flakes), Sumac and set aside.

Saute onion in a large pan with olive oil until the onion is soft and translucent.  Stir often so as not to brown.  Add onion to the cooled bulghur mixture.  Now add the chopped cucumber, tomato and green onion.  This would also be great with chopped bell pepper and parsley added at this point.  I just didn't have any to add. Next time.  This salad is great to a bed of mixed greens.  

This recipe makes 9 cups of salad.  If you're following Weight Watchers, the points values are as follows:

1 cup serving:  5 points      1/2 cup serving:  3 points

I pack my lunch every day and I love having the right containers to take it in...here are some I found that are cool:
                                                              

My Big Batch Mushroom & Barley Soup

This is a big batch soup recipe.  Enough for you to have some for dinner and freeze some for later.  OR, you can feed your family.  It's a vegan recipe, but it has a nice rich flavor because I used wine in the broth.

Serving size: 1 1/2 cups    Serves 9

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value:  5 points

Ingredients:

1 cup barley

8 oz. crimini mushrooms, washed, trimmed and sliced

3 - 32 oz cartons of organic vegetable broth

1 pound of carrots, sliced  

1/2 cup. red wine (I used a cab that I had in the fridge)

2 large onions, chopped

2 Tbsp. olive oil (because I'm counting points, yes, I measured)

8 oz. chard, washed and chopped

5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

                                                                Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions: 

In a large soup pot, add the olive oil, chopped onion and sliced carrots.  Cook on medium heat around 10 minutes until the onions and carrots start to soften.  Add 1/2 cup red wine.  Continue cooking the onion/carrot mixture.  Add vegetable broth, barley, sliced mushrooms, garlic and chard.   This has to cook until the barley is soft and tender.  It's going to take about an hour.  Stir occasionally.  I added another 4 cups of water at this point because I like my soup brothy, but if you like you soup more stewy, you can leave it as is.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE:  I would normally have added chopped celery hearts to the onion & carrot mixture.  I just didn't have any to add.  

                                                         

Baked Kale Chips - Light and Crunchy

 I went to explore the La Canada Sprouts Market today.  I've been curious since they opened, and I needed a break from making jewelry, so off we went.  It was very nice.  Great produce, and the prices weren't too bad.  I bought all kinds of veggies, one of which was kale.  I remembered a recipe for kale chips and thought I'd make a batch to snack on.  Needless to say, I haven't stopped eating them!  They're baked, so low cal, and they're fun to eat because they are very light and crunchy.  And simple to make. Here's what they look like when they're done. (see pic on left).  They should still be green, yet a little  brown on the edges.

Ingredients:
One bunch of kale, washed and dried
Pam cooking spray (or the equivalent brand)
Salt
Garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Wash your kale well, and pat dry.  If you have a salad spinner, this is a good time to pull it out and use it.  Use a sharp knife to cut away the stems from the leaves (see below).  Toss the stems.

With the stems gone, you should be left with a pile of leaves.  I baked my kale on a pizza stone, but you can use a parchment lined baking sheet as well.  Recipes I've read call for olive oil.  I'm trying to cut calories and maximize points, so I used PAM spray and lightly sprayed my kale.  Then I sprinkled with salt and a little garlic powder.

This is how it looked right before baking.  It's shiny from the PAM spray.   Once you've sprinkled with seasoning, bake in a 350 oven for 18-20 minutes.  Keep an eye on it.  My original recipe called for 10 minutes.  At 10 minutes, my leaves were still floppy and not crunchy.  So 18-20 minutes at 350.  Remove from oven.  They should be papery and crunchy.  If not, throw them in a while longer.

Cool.  Store in an airtight container.

0 Points!
  

Vegan Breakfast Idea: Tofu Scramble with Fresh Spinach and Sweet Peppers

Just because you can't eat eggs during lent, doesn't mean you can't enjoy a warm breakfast with your family. This is a simple recipe that everyone will enjoy.  You can change up the vegetables.  In the past I've used green onions to add a nice flavor.  Tomatoes are good, but they tend to add a little too much moisture...but they're good.  So are mushrooms.

I actually prefer my tofu scramble over traditional scrambled eggs.  It's a lot lighter than eggs, less fat, but more importantly, it doesn't have that funky egg smell.

This recipe serves 1 or 2.  If you eat it all, then it has a total of  4 Weight Watchers Points Plus.  If you share it with someone, you can count it as 2 points.

Here's what you'll need:

 8 oz of medium firm tofu, drained
2 sweet peppers, sliced
1 bunch of fresh spinach, washed well and chopped coarsely
1 tsp curry powder (for color and taste)
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder (optional)

Spray a nonstick pan with Pam (or the like).  Saute your sliced peppers and spinach until they're softened.  Put your tofu on a flat plate and gently break it up with a fork.  Add the tofu to the pan and stir, getting it all nice and warm.  Add the seasonings and the curry powder, stirring gently to mix thoroughly.  NOTE:  Because of tofu's texture, you don't want to aggressively "stir".  Instead, gently turn it over on itself with a spatula.  You may want to cover it and just steam it to get it nice and hot.  I like adding a little hot sauce.  Serve as you would scrambled eggs....with toast, fruit, coffee...etc.  Enjoy!


 I actually have these Orgreenic pans and love them.  They truly are nonstick and work really well.

Anush's Veggie Pasta "Sauce" (or side dish)

I concocted this recipe on Valentine's day.  I'm lucky to have an organic farmer's market in the plaza at my workplace every Thursday.  This week I bought cherry tomatoes, spinach, brussels sprouts and mushrooms I was making pasta for dinner, but didn't want the traditional red sauce but instead a chunky vegetable dish to serve on top.  Here's what I ended up with:

Ingredients:

1 pound brussels sprouts, washed, stems cut and cut in half

1 basket of cherry tomatoes, cut in half (about 2-3 cups)

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 TBSP Olive oil

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

Once bunch spinach (washed well), not shown in picture

salt to taste

pepper

Herbs d' Provence (or good Italian seasoning 

In a large wok, add olive oil and minced cloves of garlic.  Cook til fragrant.  Add brussels sprouts and cook, stirring every few minute until brussels sprouts soften and get tender.  Add tomatoes and mushrooms and allow it all to cook until the tomatoes start to soften.  The tomatoes will create their own "sauce" and the mushrooms will add to the flavor with their liquid.  Add herbs, salt, pepper, and continue to cook a few minutes more until all the flavors are married together.

At the end, add the spinach (not shown), stir in to cover, and put a lid on the pan and let the spinach steam until wilted.

Serve on top of pasta (which is really delish) or just as a side dish (which is equally as delish).  I made 4 servings out of this for 4 points using weight watchers points plus.  But I like a LOT of veggies.  The serving size was about 1 1/2 cups.

If you try it, let me know how you liked it...what you'd add or remove, and how you served it.