St. Patrick's Day Rainbow

This is Hadley's idea for St. Patrick's Day. . .so cute.

Curried Lentils and Rice Casserole

I made this dish last night for dinner and it was the perfect wholesome-goodforyou-comfort-food. It has a creamy texture almost like potatoes and although Gaby thought it was a little sweet, I couldn't get enough of it. It makes a huge pan so I was happy there were plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week. Anything Ali makes over at is fantastic, I changed up a few little things according to what I had on hand but this has definitely made it to our regular cycle. It has a long cooking time so you have to plan ahead in that way but it's a synch to put together.

a few Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger, or 1/2 tsp of powdered

1 tsp dried turmeric

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons sea salt

4 carrots, chopped or 1 yam peeled and cut into cubes

1 1/2 cups french lentils, or any lentil

1 cup brown rice

5 cups water

1 can coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add ginger, turmeric, spices, and salt. Continue to saute for another 2 minutes until fragrant.

Place onion-spice mixture into a large casserole dish. Add carrots, lentils, rice, water, and coconut milk. Mix together well. Cover and bake for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, turn oven temp up to 425 degrees F. Remove cover and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes to let excess liquid cook off. Stir and serve!

Rosemary White Bean Soup

I got this recipe from one of Ina Garten's books and I LOVE the flavor. For supper club my beans were quite done so it actually may needed longer cooking time than is in the recipe. I've also read that the sugar in the onions makes it hard for beans to go soft so maybe you could try cooking the beans first and then adding the onions.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried white beans
• 4 cups sliced yellow onions (3 onions)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large branch fresh rosemary (6 to 7 inches)
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium bowl, cover the beans with water by at least 1-inch (and 2 Tbsp of kefir or lemon juice to further break down the beans) and leave overnight. Drain.

In a large stockpot over low to medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 3 more minutes. Add the drained white beans, rosemary, chicken stock, and bay leaf. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the beans are very soft. Remove the rosemary branch and the bay leaf. Pass the soup through the coarsest blade of a food mill, or place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until coarsely pureed. Return the soup to the pot to reheat and add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot.