Legume and Mushroom Stew

Looks like I need more ground cardamom!

I'm a big fan of legumes. Legumes are a big family of delicious foods including lentils, peanuts, cashews and split peas, amongst other things. Lentils are also a staple dish of South Asia, and since I am most definitely in the middle of a huge Indian food kick right now, they are perfect.

This curry (basically an Indian stew, any dish with a saucy texture) combines mushrooms, two types of legumes, tomatoes and corn to form a spicy hot bowl of deliciousness. Serve this on top of some rice, if you'd like, and/or alongside your favorite flatbread, such as naan or chapatis.

For the spicyness here, I used my own crushed red peppers. This past summer I bought a large amount of dried Thai chilies from Hun's Garden at the Kansas City Farmer's Market. Sometimes I use them whole and remove them before serving to impart a small amount of spicy flavor. To make crushed red peppers, simply chop off the stem and the rest of the tiny pepper pretty much crushes itself - if the pieces are too big, rub them between your fingers. Be careful though - WASH YOUR HANDS WELL before you touch ANYTHING else... I don't know how many times I've gotten flaming hot capsaicin in my eyes or nose after handling super hot chilies! Keep your freshly crushed peppers in a glass jar and they're ready to go to top pizzas or go into any recipe you'd like to add some flavor to! Be warned, though - Thai chilies are VERY spicy, WAY more so than the stale crushed red peppers you can buy at the supermarket. I pureed one in a pot of soup once and the soup was too hot to handle! Use a small hand at first and then continue if you can handle it.


Legume and Mushroom Stew

• 1/2 cup lentils
• 1/2 cup split peas
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pound mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 cup corn kernels (thawed if frozen)
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
• olive oil
• for garnishes: minced cilantro or parsley, crushed peanuts or cashews, green onions

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Chop the onion and add to the pot, along with the garam masala, turmeric and cardamom. Cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent and the spices are fragrant, about five minutes. Add the lentils, split peas and broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the lentils and split peas are tender but still retain their shape and the water is almost absorbed but not quite - about 25-35 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat some more olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Slice the mushrooms and saute in the pan until they are browned and release their juices, about five minutes. During the last minute or so add in the garlic and some black pepper to taste.

Once the legumes have finished, remove the lid and stir in the mushrooms/garlic, tomatoes and corn. Taste, and add crushed red pepper to taste. Garnish and serve.

Kale and Wild Rice Soup

Everyone seems to have their own recipe for a beans and greens soup. Mine is a little different, with the additions of wild rice and Indian spices. I am most definitely on an Indian spice kick lately - maybe it's the cold winter causing me to dream of warmer climates. I'm thinking an Indian risotto next...

Here I used curly green kale, baby portobello mushrooms, wild rice leftover from the night I made this, and kidney beans that I thawed from my freezer. I never use canned beans - see my tips and tricks page for more info on how I handle convenient beans from dried. I love the spicy aroma of Szechuan pepper, but if you don't have it on hand you can use crushed red chilies or black pepper, depending on how spicy you like your food.

This would be delicious with chicken, vegetable or beef stock. Use whatever suits your fancy - just make sure it is well flavored. If you are using store-bought stock or bouillon, be sure to mind the salt content or look for varieties that do not contain salt.

Kale and Wild Rice Soup

Makes about four to six servings

• 1 onion
• 1 bunch kale
• about 1/2 pound mushrooms
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 cups cooked beans
• 3 cups cooked Lundberg Gourmet Blend of Wild and Whole Grain Brown Rice
• 8 cups stock
• extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt and ground Szechuan pepper

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot. Chop the onion, add to the pan and saute until it begins to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Chop the mushrooms into small bite sized pieces and mince the garlic. Add to the pot along with the garam masala, turmeric and cardamom. If the pot is really dry, add in some more oil. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and the spices are fragrant, about ten minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the kale leaves and remove the fibrous stems. Chop or tear into small pieces. Add this to the pot along with the stock. Cover and bring to a gentle simmer. Continue simmering until the kale is tender to your liking, anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. When the soup is almost done, add in the cooked beans and wild rice, and season to taste with sea salt and Szechuan pepper. Heat the soup just until the beans and rice are hot, then ladle into bowls and serve.

Spiced Wild Rice Bowl

In the winter, I crave hearty one-bowl meals full of vegetables and hearty whole grains and lots of flavor. This was a quick meal I threw together last night before my husband and I attend a meditation class at The Rime Buddhist Center. A perfect grounding meal for a lovely, grounding evening  :)

Wild rice is incredibly expensive, so when I am craving it I usually go with Lundberg Gourmet Blend of Wild and Whole Grain Brown Rice. I get it in the bulk bins at Whole Foods Market and cook it in a rice cooker - if you don't have a rice cooker, follow these instructions: mix four cups of water with two cups of rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit with the lid on for ten minutes before serving. This will make more rice than needed for this recipe, but leftovers are always great for later!

I like to cook a lot of my rice in vegetable broth instead of water because it imparts a lot of flavor, however you can use regular water just as well.

This recipe makes enough for two to have for dinner - double it up if you'd like some leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Spiced Wild Rice Bowl

• 1 onion, chopped
• half of a head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces
• about 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
• about one cup of thinly sliced carrots
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• sea salt and ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• about 1 and a half cups of cooked wild rice blend
• about half a cup or so of vegetable stock

Heat some olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion, cardamom and turmeric and let cook until the spices are fragrant and the onion is translucent, about five minutes. Add in the cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms and garlic and stir. Add a couple of tablespoons of the vegetable stock and cover. Let cook for five to ten minutes, until the cauliflower and carrots are tender to your liking. Stir in the cooked wild rice and season to taste with salt and pepper. If the dish is dry, add in some more stock - use a light hand at first to ensure the dish doesn't turn soupy.

Fruit and Citrus Tea (caffeine free)

Some mornings I don't feel like drinking caffeinated beverages, and I especially never drink any at night. I came up with this gentle, unobtrusive tea that is full of flavor. The ginko in the tea gives you a boost of brain power, and the cool, fruity flavors of rosehips and lemongrass keep you calm.

I used a peel from a clementine that I dried myself and had stored in a glass jar. I would use some other type of orange peel - orange, blood orange, tangerine, so on. 

To dry your own citrus peel, simply peel it off the fruit (it's easy to do this in one piece with mandarins, but oranges have a thicker peel so it will be in many pieces) and lay someplace where air can get to it on all sides. I rigged mine up to the handle of a cabinet using string and clips. Let it sit for a day or two until it is hard, and store in a glass jar or airless plastic bag.


This recipe makes a tea concentrate - that is, you keep it around a mix it with water to make the perfect cup of tea. I like to make concentrates because they are easier to store in my refrigerator (I can't ever seem to have enough room in there) and I can still have the same cup of tea all week with minimal effort. To make the perfect cup of tea from the concentrate, simply follow these instructions:

• To make hot tea: Heat one part tea concentrate with one part water in a saucepan. Let simmer for a second and sweeten to taste using raw honey, honey, agave nectar or your favorite sugar (if desired).
• To make cold tea: Mix one part tea concentrate with one part cold water and some ice. If you'd like sweetened cold tea, follow the instructions to make hot tea, add in the sweetener and then chill before pouring over ice.
• To make caffeinated tea: After bringing the tea concentrate/water to a boil, simply use that as your steeping water. I haven't tried any yet, but I'm guessing this would be delicious with black, green, oolong or white tea!  

Alternately, you could simply mix together all of the herbs and store it in a glass jar, taking out one teaspoonful at a time to brew one cup of tea at a time the way that you normally do; however, simply steeping the tea blend won't produce as strong of a flavor as simmering it for a longer amount of time. 

Alternately again, to simply make tea that you and some friends would like to drink in thirty minutes or so - double the amount of spices but keep the amount of water the same. Strain and enjoy.



Fruit and Citrus Tea
Yields enough concentrate to make about eight to ten cups of tea.
All ingredients are dried

• 4 tablespoons ginko
• 4tablespoons lemongrass
• 4 tablespoons rosehips
• 2 tablespoons peppermint
• 1 small or 1/2 large dried citrus peel
• 10 green cardamom pods
• about 4 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the tea is dark and fragrant - about half an hour. Alternately, put everything into a slow cooker and simmer over low heat for 8 hours.

Simmering tea, relaxing me...

Pear and Oatmeal Muffins

These, I think, are the best muffin recipe I have come up with so far. They are moist without being squishy and are firm enough to eat without too many crumbs. To top it all off, they are reasonably healthy enough for breakfast and also sweet enough for dessert. Try enjoying them warm with a small spread of Shatto unsalted butter. Yum!



Pear and Oatmeal Muffins

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups diced fresh Anjou pear (do not peel - about 1 large or two medium)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 400°. Line a muffin tin with If You Care Baking Cups (eco-friendly brand of unbleached parchment paper liners - I looove them! They peel off the muffins very easily :) or spray generously with non-hydrogenated cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flours, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, salt and walnuts. In a separate large bowl, mix together the almond milk, applesauce, eggs, ginger, vanilla extract and fresh pear. Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined - be careful not to over mix or the muffins could be dense.

Carefully fill the lined muffin tin with batter using two spoons and immediately wiping off any batter that drips onto the top of the tin. Bake in the oven until they are golden brown and the centers feel springy to the touch - about 15-18 minutes.