The Only Good Way To Eat Lentils

Eat less meat! they say. Eat more beans! they say. Yuck! I say. Beans aka legumes are not my favorite whole food. I don't digest them as well as other foods and they are not as appealing to me, yet I still try to incorporate them into my diet for good measure. One palatable way to enjoy more beans is by roasting lentils. This makes them crunchy and you can add as many and different seasonings as you like to give them some much needed flavor :)

I have my dear friend, Hannah, to thank for sharing the idea and recipe of Roasted Lentils. I did add soaking and sprouting as an extra step to the process with the intention of making them more digestible. You see, beans have "natural agents that protect them from early germination that can wreak havoc in our digestive system. Soaking and sprouting replicated germination, which activated and multiplies nutrients (particularly Vitamins A, B, and C), neutralizes enzyme inhibitors, and promotes the growth of vital digestive enzymes." This is just one of many links where you can go to get more information on soaking and sprouting legumes and where I got my quick info from. http://www.vegetariantimes.com/blog/how-to-soak-and-sprout-nuts-seeds-grains-and-beans/

I will give you the recipe first so you can see how easy it is to make Roasted Lentils. It truly is simple and very flexible as you can fine tune it to your taste buds and to whatever seasonings you have on hand.

Let's start with one cup of dry lentils for now just in case you don't like it or the recipe fails for some reason. I use a one pound bag (2 cups) because I liked them so well and wanted to keep extra on hand for a quick snack :)

One cup of dry lentils cooked (boiled) until soft. Drain. Pour into a mixing bowl and add a little olive oil and seasoned with whatever seasonings sound good to you. I use salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Give them a stir and spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and season again if you'd like (I do). Bake at 400* for about 30-40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Set your timer for the 10 minute stir because they do easily burn! Feel them to check for dryness. When they are getting close, I will turn off the oven leaving lentils in the oven, and let them cool down as the oven cools down. Tada! that's it! I store my lentils in a glass jar IF there's any left (especially if you're only doing a one cup batch).

Now, to soak and sprout. You must do this BEFORE cooking the lentils. Here's what it will look like.

Rinse one cup of dry lentils:

Place rinsed, dry lentils in a glass jar or bowl and cover with lots of water. Let sit on your counter over-night or for at least 7 hours:

After a good soak, you will need to drain them in a colander and then give them a rinse and let drain. Cover with a dry towel and place a plate under the colander to catch any left-over drips. Let sit on your counter. You should rinse, drain, and cover twice a day until you see tiny little nubs or sprouts coming out from the lentils. This usually takes a day or two depending on the warmth of the kitchen. Hmm...it is hard to see the little sprouts in this photo but they are there! Click on the photo to enlarge.

After they have sprouted is when you would give them a quick boil just until they turn soft. Drain, mix lentils, oil, and seasonings in a bowl, then spread on cookie sheet, season again for good measure, and proceed to bake/roast:

Don't forget to check and stir every 10 minutes! Set your timer! The finished product should look like this:

Enjoy! ~ Lisa

Water Kefir & Grains Part Two.

In my last post I introduced you to water kefir; what it was, its benefits and how to keep them alive and healthy.

In this post we will discuss how to finish the fermenting process of the water kefir grains and turn it into a chilled, sweet, fizzy, fruity beverage. Sound good? It is.

After the kefir water has sat on your counter for 48 hours or two days you will need to drain the water off into quart jars. I use two. Using a small mesh strainer over a clean, empty jar carefully pour off the liquid catching the grains. I also use a larger strainer to dump my strained grains into because of the amount of grains I have the small strainer won't hold them all. Note the "empty" jar on the left side of the photo. Yeah, I have that many grains :P You only need 1/4 cup of fresh grains per quart jar.

Second ferment: After the grains have been strained it is time to add the fruit or fruit juice of your choice. So far we have experimented with fresh watermelon, fresh and frozen peaches, fresh cherries, fresh strawberries, fresh ginger, grape juice, and apple cider. The grape juice is my favorite, then peach, and then apple cider. The possibilities are endless!

In the photo above I have added one cup of apple cider (frozen and thawed) and one tablespoon sugar to the jar with the cap on it and am getting ready to add ingredients to the second jar. There are a few things to remember as you make kefir. One is to not fill the jar completely full of water. You will need to leave room for grain growth and for the fruit or fruit juice you are adding. Two is that for the second ferment you will need to tightly cap the jars to create carbonation. Leave the jars sit out on the counter for 24 hours, chill, and serve.

Rinse the grains in cool water, wash the empty quart jar (or jars), add 1/4 c. sugar, 1 t. molasses, warm water just enough to dissolve the sugar (about 1/4 of the jar), stir to mix, add cool (heat will destroy the life of the grains) water to fill jar about 1/2  to 3/4 full keeping in mind that you will need room to add fruit or fruit juice in the second ferment. Cover the jar with paper coffee filters held on with rubber bands and let the jar sit on the counter for 48 hours. Repeat the straining and second ferment process.

And don't forget, you can use the extra grains in smoothies, eat them plain, or share them!

If you have any questions please email me.
Happy fermenting and experimenting ~Lisa