sprouted lentil soup

3 cups lentils
1Tbs olive oil
2 onions chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chopped celery, leaves included
2 carrots, chopped
1 Tbs curry powder, or to taste
1 1/2 liters chicken stock
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbs fresh mint, chopped
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Soak lentils overnight, then drain and place in large sieve.  Rinse three times a day until they begin to sprout.  Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in curry powder to coat and mix in with the oils.  Add vegetables and herbs and saute for about five minutes, adding a little water if necessary to prevent sticking. Add lentils and stock and simmer for about an hour or until lentils are tender.  Season to taste with vinegar salt and pepper.
Sprouting the lentils, and the addition of cider vinegar makes the lentils more digestible.

Tabbouleh

1/2 cup bulgar -soak in 1 cup boiling water for 1 hour, drain
juice and grated rind of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup chopped red or spring onion
1 cup chopped tomato
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Mix all together and let marinade for about  an hour or overnight.

Individual cottage pies with sweet potato topping

1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
400g minced beef
2 carrots, finely diced
1 stick celery, finely diced

1/2 cup chopped parsley or mixed fresh herbs
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 1/2 cup beef stock
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup grated zucchini
2 tsp cornflour
400g sweet potato
1 Tbs milk
black pepper

Heat oil, add onion and garlic and cook till soft. Add beef and cook till browned, add vegetables, sauces and stock. Simmer 20 mins or until vegetables are tender. Mix cornflour with a little water and add, stir until thickened. Boil sweet potato till tender then mash with the milk and season with pepper. Spoon meat mixture into four ovenproof dishes and top with sweet potato. Bake at 180 for 20 to 30 minutes serve with broccoli
Serves 4

adapted from CSRIO 1 unit protein, 1 unit bread, 4 units vegetables, 1 unit fat

Hot and sour fish soup

1 liter chicken stock
1 3cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 large tomato, diced
200g fish, cubed
1 cup button mushrooms
2 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs fish sauce
2 baby bok choy, chopped
sambal oelek or chili paste to taste
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup coriander leaves

Place stock, ginger lemongrass garlic and lime leaves in large saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat.  Simmer 5 mins. Strain out the lime leaves and lemongrass and discard. add tomato, fish, mushroom, lime juice, fish sauce, bok choy and sweetener and simmer further 5 mins or until fish is just cooked.   Season to taste with chili and pour into bowls over the bean sprouts and coriander.  Serves 4

Can be made with prawns or tofu.
You can also add other vegetables such as sliced carrot, snow peas, or spinach.

From CSRIO  1/2 unit protein, 1 1/2 units vegetables

Checkerboard cheese bake

3 yellow squash or zuchini, thinly sliced

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

10oz frozen spinach, well drained
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp oregano
1 Tbs chopped parsely
1 Tbs chopped basil
6 slices mozzarella cheese

Saute squash lightly with onion and garlic, season to taste and lay out in an ovenproof baking dish. (I use a square one) Combine cottage cheese, breadcrumbs and herbs. Add half of this cottage cheese mixture to baking dish on top of squash.  Layer spinach on top. Cover with remaining cottage cheese mixture.  Top with tomatoes.  arrange cheese slices on top checkerboard fashion.  Bake at 350*F or180*C for 30 mins or until hot and bubbly.

Broccoli soup

3 heads broccoli
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
1 stick celery, chopped
2 Tbs chopped parsley
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock

Peel broccoli stalks, then dice and dice heads of broccoli.  Heat oil in large stock pot, then saute onion until soft, add garlic and broccoli, stir and cook until coated with oil and softened.  Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and then turn heat down until low.  Simmer for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender but not too long so that the broccoli still stays bright green..  Blend with a stick blender to desired consistency.  Serve with a dollop of cream or yogurt.

Best ever dahl

Best Ever Dahl

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup lentils
2 Tbs curry powder
1 cup chopped sweet potato
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 cups frozen chopped spinach

Saute onion garlic and ginger in the oil until soft and fragrant.  Add lentils and curry powder. Pour in stock and sweet potato.  Simmer for 30 minutes until lentils are soft.  Add more liquid if necessary, but it must be fairly thick.  Stir in spinach and then coconut milk, bring back to heat and serve. 
This freezes very well and I often save in small microwaveable containers and heat for lunch.