I am constantly amazed to find that many of the items I bought at the grocery store are easily made from scratch. I lived on frozen food for so many years that it just tickles me to find I can make something quickly that’s better.

This recipe for Curry Lentil Soup by Martha Stewart is a perfect example.

For the soup
1 teaspoon safflower oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
6 cups Vegetable Stock
1 1/2 cups yellow lentils (12 ounces), rinsed well
Coarse salt

For the chutney
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons safflower oil
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
Directions

Make the soup: Heat oil and coriander seeds in a medium saucepan over high heat for 1 minute. Add stock and lentils. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer gently, partially covered, until lentils are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 40 to 50 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt.
Meanwhile, make the chutney: Pulse cilantro, lime juice, oil, and ginger in a food processor until cilantro is finely chopped. Serve soup topped with chutney.

There is a great section in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver about how to impress your wife using a breadmaker. It’s been in the back of my mind. The bread I’ve been making in my breadmaker is OK. Good but not great. I think the key is to use the breakmaker to make the dough and then cook it in the oven. This is my first try:

French Baguette recipe from Allrecipes. It is good but doesnt taste at all like a baguette since the crust is like a dinner roll.

From PioneerWoman. Sounds AMAZING!

4-½ cups Water
1 stick Cinnamon
1 piece Fresh Ginger Chopped
7 whole Cardamom Pods
2 whole Star Anise Pods
10 whole Cloves
¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
½ teaspoons Freshly-ground Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Orange Zest
10 teaspoons Green Or Black Tea Or 10 Tea Bags
⅔ cups Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Preparation Instructions
Bring the water to a boil. Add the spices and tea, remove from heat and let steep 15-20 minutes, depending on how strong you want it. Strain and add the brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
Mix 1 part concentrate with 1 part milk, heat and enjoy or pour over ice.
For a stronger flavor, mix 2 parts concentrate with 1 part milk or half-and-half (if you’re like me).

From SouleMama!

Nut & Seed Granola
from Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods by Cynthia Lair (shared with permission)

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch sea salt
1/3 cup cold-pressed vegetable oil (we like to use coconut, though all wet ingredients need to be at room temperature to do so)
1/3 cup brown rice syrup or maple syrup
1/4 cup apple or orange juice (in a pinch, most other juices have worked for us too)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 300degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, seeds, almonds, flour, cinnamon and salt; mix well. In a separate bowl, combine oil, syrup, juice and extracts. Slowly pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, using a spatula to fold and evenly coat the dry mixture with the wet. Spread on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan and bake. Turn granola every 15 or 20 minutes so that it toasts evenly. Bake until granola is dry and golden (45-60 minutes). Store in an air tight jar.

Ok, the spice pumpkin cookies turned out more like cookie muffins. Good but strange. Next try Chocolate Buttons!