Lemony Lentil Soup

It is a wonderfully filling and delicious soup that can warm your body up in a cold weather.  It is something that I would make a big pot and bring it to work everyday for lunch.  I know the list of ingredients looks so long, but do not let that intimidates you.  Most of the items are just spices.  I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Green Lentils, rinsed

1 Yellow Onion, peeled and chunked

2 Carrots, cut into bite size

2 Potatoes or green bananas, cut into bite size

1 Zucchini, cut into bite size

3 Tomatoes, cut into chunked

7-8 Garlic Cloves, peeled and minced

2 cups Canned Diced Tomatoes

1 cup Cilantro, roughly chopped

4 Limes, juiced (can be substitute for lemon)

4 cups Vegetable Broth

2 cups Water

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil (for frying)

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Power

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1-2 tablespoons Red Chili (optional)

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Heat up the oil over high heat.  Add onion and garlic.  Fry until they are fragrant; about 5 minutes.

2. Add lentils, zucchini, potato, tomato and carrot.  Stir fry for about 5-10 minutes.

3. Add diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, water and all the spices.  Bring it to a boil over high heat and then continuously cook for another 15 minutes.

3. Turn off the heat.  Add cilantro and lime juice.  Season the soup with salt to taste.

Honey Oatmeal Quick Bread | 蜂蜜燕麥無酵母麵包

I often make a big batch of pancakes, muffins, or granola for our breakfast that is enough to last for the whole week.  Since I was so busy, I didn't continue this practice for quite awhile.  My son began to complain about it.  Well, he sounds a little spoiled here, but I am glad at the same time that he likes my cooking so much.

Usually my son doesn't pay much attention on what flavour of quick bread I make because I just bake often enough that he has the rotation.  But this time, after months of just munching on the store-bought cheerios, he said he had something to say.  "I want cinnamon and pumpkin," he suggested.  We negotiated and talked about the flavour of four seasons, and finally we both settled on the honey and cinnamon flavour for spring.

It is only a little piece of our funny story.  I hope you enjoy the recipe.

Honey Oatmeal Quick Bread

蜂蜜燕麥無酵母麵包

WET  INGREDIENTS:

3 Eggs, large, beaten

1/3 cup Milk

1/4 cup Butter, melted

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1/2 cup Raw Honey

DRY  INGREDIENTS:

2.75 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 tablespoon Cinnamon, ground

1.5 tablespoons Baking Powder

pinch of Salt

濕材料：

3 隻  大雞蛋，打勻

1/3 杯  牛奶

1/4 杯  牛油，熱溶

1/4 杯  菜油

1/2 杯  蜂蜜

乾材料：

2.75 杯  全麥麵粉

1 湯匙  肉桂粉

1.5 湯匙  泡發粉

少撮  鹽

METHODS:

1. Preheat the oven to 360F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add all the wet ingredients; mix well.

3. Add the dry ingredients. With a spatula, gently mix until it is totally incorporated and becomes a sticky batter.

4. Pour the batter in a baking tray that is lined with parchment paper.  Transfer it to the oven.  Bake it for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the batter.

5. To test the doneness insert a toothpick into the bread.  It is ready if the toothpick comes out not sticky.  Allow the quick bread to totally cool before slicing it to prevent it from breaking apart.

做法：

1. 預熱焗爐至360F。

2. 在一只大碗內，加入所有濕材料；拌勻。

3. 倒入所有乾材料；拌勻至濃稠麵糊。

4. 焗盤舖上焗熱；倒上麵糊。 放入焗爐；焗約30-40 分鐘，在乎麵糊厚度而定。

5. 要看麵包焗好沒有，把一支牙簽插入麵包。如取出牙簽沒有麵糊黏任做成。把麵包完全放涼後才切件，避免散開。

Jack O' Lantern Cinnamon Sweet Potato Chips | 萬聖肉桂蕃薯薯片

Jack O' Lantern Cinnamon Sweet Potato Chips

萬聖肉桂蕃薯薯片  

Ingredients:

1 Yellow Sweet Potato

1 Purple Sweet Potato (it's usually available in Chinese supermarket)

1.5 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/3 cup Sugar

DIRECTION:

Cinnamon Bread Sticks | 肉桂麵包脆條

Cinnamon Bread Sticks | 肉桂麵包脆條

Ingredients:

4-5 pieces Light Rye Bread

1/3 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature

1/3 cup Sugar

1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

材料：

4-5 塊   裸麥麵包

1/3 杯   無鹽牛油，室溫放軟

1/3 杯   糖

1 湯匙   肉桂粉

DIRECTION:

Mixed Fruits and Seeds Granola | 純素乾果麥片

Mixed Fruits and Seeds Granola

純素乾果麥片  

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Agave Syrup

3 cups Oats

1.5 cups Dried Fruits (I used cranberry, blue berry, and fig)

1/3 cup seeds (I used black sesame, white sesame, flaxseed)

1 teaspoons Cinnamon, ground

1 teaspoon Ginger, ground

1/4 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

Cinnamon Apple Chips (oven recipe) | 蘋果脆片 (焗爐版)

Cinnamon Apple Chips (oven recipe)

蘋果脆片 (焗爐版) 

Ingredients:

2 Granny Smith Apples

1/2 cup BrownSugar

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

材料：

2 個   青蘋果

1/2 杯   黑糖

1/2 茶匙   肉桂粉

DIRTECTION:

Baked Whole Wheat Tortilla Chip ｜ 焗全麥墨西哥玉米脆片

This snack needs only 15 minutes from prepare to finish.  I used whole wheat tortilla because it is healthier than the plain version.  You can use the same recipe with pita bread and it will come out just as nice and crispy.  I hope you will enjoy it.

My son was taking the tortilla out of the bowl for his afternoon snack.

Baked Whole Wheat Tortilla Chip

Ingredients:

8 pcs Tortilla, whole wheat

1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

5 tablespoons Agave Syrup (honey is also fine)

1 tablespoon vegetable Oil

pinch of sea salt

How to make it:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together agave syrup, oil, cinnamon, and salt; set it aside.

3. Stack a few tortillas together.  Cut them into eight wedges with scissors.  Add them into the agave mixture.  Gently rub the mixture with fingers.

4. Place the tortilla pieces on parchment paper without overlapping them.  Bake them for 12-15 minutes, or until they are crispy and the syrup dries up.  Store them in an air-tight container and they can keep up to 1 week.

My son and my husband gave this snack a thumb up.