Red Lentil Stew with Fried Onions

Servings: 2
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red split lentils (masoor dal)
• 2 1/2 cups distilled water
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small daikon, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1/2 cup red onions, diced
• 1 1/2 cup green chard, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup cooked bulgur
• organic fried onions

Directions:

Rinse red lentils and place in pot. Add water and bay leaves and boil over medium heat for 15–20 minutes, not allowing all liquid to evaporate.

Meanwhile, heat saucepan with coconut oil. Sauté diced daikon, celery, and onions for 8–10 minutes, and add minced garlic and chard. Do not overcook.

Remove pan from heat and add vegetables to cooked lentils. Add spices and tomato sauce and cook for another 5–8 minutes.

Add cooked bulgur at the very end and simmer until hot to serve.

The point is for this dish not to be too salty, but if you need it, you can add another teaspoon of salt.

If you are vegan, add 1–2 teaspoons of Gomashio for nutritional seasoning or pickled radishes.

Serve while hot and decorate with 3 teaspoons of fried onions.

Recipe and photo submitted by Noelle, East Lansing, MI.

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Virgin red palm oil is one of nature’s most abundant sources of antioxidants, containing the full range of carotenes (precursors to Vitamin A) and tocotrienols (Vitamin E). Because it is unrefined, it has a strong flavor which is familiar to African cuisine. But when used in a homemade bread recipe such as this, it looses much of its strong flavor and gives the bread a unique look and taste which is simply delicious, while adding significant antioxidants to your diet.

Virgin Palm Oil Bread

Servings: 2 loaves
Preparation Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups warm water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons dry yeast
• 1/3 cup virgin palm oil
• 1/2 cup cane sugar
• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3+ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 scant tablespoon salt

Directions:

Put warm water in a large mixing bowl and add two teaspoons sugar. Sprinkle yeast over water and let sit for about ten minutes until bubbly. Then add in the rest of the ingredients in the order given, adding more flour as needed. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, then put back in bowl, greased or floured, and let rise until double, about 45 minutes. (Depending on where you live it might take longer or less time.)

When risen, punch down dough and let rest while you grease two loaf pans OR two cookies/baking sheets with coconut oil. Shape loaves and place in/on baking pans or sheets. Let rise until double, about 45 minutes. (Again it varies.)

Heat oven to 350 degrees when loaves are nearly double. When risen (if doing loaves on sheets, score the top), bake for about half an hour until the tops are a nice brown color. Remove from oven, then loosen sides of loaves. Let cool 5 minutes. Then remove them from the pans to prevent a soggy crust. Let cool completely before slicing.

A note: The palm oil will make the bread an orange color. It reminded me of pumpkin bread. 🙂 It has a bit different taste from the oil, no doubt, but it’s very good and I love it!

Recipe submitted by Ra’chel, Heredia, Costa Rica.

Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.

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This is one of my favorite meatloaf recipes. It always gives you a moist, flavorful meatloaf that takes very little time to make.

As the video will demonstrate, all you really do here is mix everything together, pack it into the loaf pan, then bake. My tip for avoiding the infamous onion-crying is to stick the offending vegetable in the freezer for a few minutes. Or refrigerate it until cold. Either way, it’ll work if it gets cold enough. Just don’t let the thing freeze, as that’ll take away the flavor.

If you don’t want to bake the meatloaf right away, you can seal the loaf pan in a Ziploc bag (or something of the sort) and refrigerate it overnight (but no longer than that). When you want to eat it, simply remove the pan from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature as the oven preheats. This is an important step. Never, ever stick a cold pan in a hot oven. Not unless you want to try to crack your loaf pan or explode your meatloaf.

You’ll know your meatloaf is done when the center feels firm when pressed (as apposed to mushy) and it isn’t draining any more meat juices.

That’s it! Enjoy your meatloaf!

Sarah 🙂

Coconut, Rosemary Meatloaf

Prepared using Grass-fed Ground Beef

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs or oatmeal or whole wheat crackers
• 1/2 cup water with 2 teaspoons Coconut Cream Concentrate dissolved in it
• 1 teaspoon organic fermented soy sauce
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf rosemary, crumbled
• coconut oil

Preheat oven to at 350 degrees F.

Mix ground beef, salt, pepper, eggs, bread crumbs, water, and Coconut Cream Concentrate, soy sauce, onion, thyme, and rosemary.

Pack into a loaf pan greased with coconut oil or form into a loaf and place on a baking sheet with sides, such as a jelly roll pan. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. If desired, serve meatloaf with heated tomato sauce, gravy, or salsa.

Recipe submitted by Tammy, Cape Girardeau, MO.

Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.

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