Indian Dahl with Spinach
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes

This dish is hearty enough to be a complete meal! Serve with naan and basmati rice to complete the theme.

1 1/2 cups split red lentils
3 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 can (14oz) diced and drained (or 2 peeled and chopped) fresh tomatoes
1/2 pound fresh or frozen spinach
salt and pepper to taste

Sort and rinse the split red lentils and let soak for 20 minutes. Strain the soaked lentils and add to a pot with the water or stock. Bring to a boil. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté onion until translucent. Add curry powder, garam masala and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until soft and/or heated through, about 5 minutes. Combine the spices and onions with the lentils. Cook until lentils are soft and desired consistency has been reached.

Notes
Use cumin and/or coriander as a substitute for the garam masala.
As it cools, the dahl will thicken nicely. Tastes great as leftovers!
This dish freezes very well.
Mix this up any way you see fit. Many different spices can be employed depending on your individual style.
Add some cayenne or hot sauce to increase the heat.
Add more or less spinach if you would like. Drain the spinach if you like a thicker dahl.

Zucchini Cobbler
Serves: 18
Difficulty:  Easy/medium
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour

This should be called “I can’t believe it’s not apple cobbler.”

8 cups peeled, chopped zucchini
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups butter, chilled
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice until zucchini is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg and cook one minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 10×15 inch-baking dish. In a large bowl, combine flour and 2 cups sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir 1/2 cup of butter mixture into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining butter mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top of crust, and sprinkle remaining butter mixture and cinnamon over zucchini. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until top is golden. Serve warm or cold.

Notes
The completed cobbler is very sweet. The sugar can be reduced by a ½ cup for the filling and topping.
Slicing the zucchini using a mandolin or V-slicer will be faster and produce a more “apple-like” texture.
The topping/crust ingredient amounts can be reduced by half if you’d like to cut back on some of the sugar and/or calories. There should still be plenty to work with.
Mix the cinnamon into the topping to avoid burning or over-browning.
Try replacing half of the flour with old fashioned or quick cooking oats for a streusel-like consistency.
Baking the crust for 10 minutes prior to adding the filling will reduce sogginess and give it some extra crunch.

Roasted Vegetable Soup
Serves: 3-4
Difficulty:  Easy
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Roasting vegetables brings out so many flavors. This soup is simple yet extremely tasty!

1 medium onion
4 plum or roma tomatoes
1 medium red bell pepper
1 zucchini
1 medium carrot
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 1/2 cups or two 14.5 oz cans veggie broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Chop the onion, tomatoes, bell pepper, zucchini and carrot into medium/large pieces. Arrange in a single layer on a sheet pan and brush with olive oil. Roast uncovered for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove vegetables and let cool briefly. Dice into smaller pieces if desired. Add the leftover olive oil to a 4 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook briefly (1 minute or less). Increase heat to medium-high and add broth, roasted veggies and thyme. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes
This should keep in the fridge for a week or so.
Serve with pasta, couscous, quinoa, rice, or crusty bread.
Chopping the veggies into smaller pieces before roasting will reduce or eliminate the chopping later on, but keep an eye on them as they may roast a little faster in the oven.
We really enjoy thyme in this soup, but you can use whatever spice(s) you like.

Easy Mulled Cider
Serves: 10-12
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes

You won’t believe what an orange peel and three little cloves will do to two quarts of cider!

1 large orange
3 whole cloves
2¾ cups orange juice
8 cups apple cider/juice
¼ cup raisins
1 cinnamon stick

Peel the skin from the orange, leaving as much of the white pith behind as possible. Stick the cloves through the skin. Squeeze the juice from the orange and add it to the 2¾ cups orange juice. Place all the ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pot from heat, cover and allow the flavors to blend for 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Notes
Strain the mulled cider before serving to avoid any rogue raisins.
This should keep in the fridge for a week or so.
The cider can be kept warm in a saucepan over very low heat or in a slow cooker.

Music by: Gramercy Arms
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We take a little field trip with our friend Allie to get the key ingredient for a little something on those cold nights.

Music by: Conservative Man
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