“The proud man counts his newspaper clippings, the humble man his blessings” ~ Fulton J. Sheen
Photo Credit: Instagram
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Admittedly, from time to time, I feel a bit nostalgic about paper and print.
For as long as I can remember, I've been a reader. Making the switch from a paper copy to digital in most cases, without a care. That is unless it's a
cookbook
I love thumbing through a stack of them on a Saturday afternoon .. gathering ideas for the week ahead. Inspired by my brother, I'll scribble little tips and tweaks in the margins, and often write a few sentences after dinner, about how the dish was
The small stains, and fingerprints, are the legacy I'll leave behind; the physical evidence of the recipes I've loved the most
Sitting in a coffee shop this afternoon, as I reached for the iPad to browse one of my favorite recipe apps, I couldn't help but smile. A reminder of the many ways we're all a swirling mix of contradictions.
One one hand I wax nostalgic for a cookbook to page through, although if I'm out and about, you're sure to find me browsing healthy recipe apps.
They're like having your favorite nutritionist right by your side
Recipes like vegan sweet potato brownies, vegan hazelnut chocolate cake with saffron yogurt, Korean lettuce cups, and raw mushroom lasagna. Not to mention, tips and tricks about how to make the best green smoothies.
Thought it might be fun to share a few I've been enjoying as of late.
Healthy Recipes from Spark People
An app that offers more than 500,000 recipes from the world's largest healthy recipes website – SparkRecipes.com
All of the recipes have been tried and tested by home cooks, and the app makes it easy to sort through them based on special dietary needs like vegan, gluten-free, or low-carb.
All of the recipes also include extensive nutritional information like calories, carbs, and protein.
From the makers of the influential film Forks Over Knives, an app whose aim is to help people make healthy & delicious vegetarian meals.
The app includes articles with tips on adopting a plant-based lifestyle and more than 180 plant-based recipes. All have beautiful photos and step-by-step instructions.
Luckily for us, we don't have to shop at Whole Foods to get the benefits of their healthy recipe app
With 3,000 + recipes, it's easy to search. The app will also make suggestions based on the ingredients you have in the fridge, creates shopping lists, and even lets you budget your food spending for the week or month.
An inspiring source of organic and delicious vegetarian recipes from the authors of one of my favorite blogs
The app features creative recipes made with whole food ingredients: whole grains and seeds, good fats, unrefined sugars, and plant-based proteins
The Blender Girl Smoothies App
On the heels of her cookbook, Tess Master's app will have you elbow deep in smoothies.
It also includes a unique search feature that lets you find a smoothie to match your needs that day. Type in how you feel (sluggish, happy, tired), need (a detox, to take off a few pounds, or relax), or crave (light and fruity, clean and green, something exotic)
This app makes it fun to find your perfect blend
I've been a long-time admirer of her blog, and quickly found I didn't want to be without her app either
Deliciously Ella is all about celebrating naturally healthy food. It has 100+ simple, plant-based and gluten-free recipes, along with five menu plans if you need a detox.
The perfect introduction to the world of delicious and healthy living
Incorporating raw food can sometimes be a bit daunting
With 100+ recipes to choose from, most are simple to prepare and have only a few ingredients
From raw chocolate pudding and pumpkin pie, eating healthy never seemed quite so painless and decadent
Another app from Green Kitchen Stories, with recipes filled with natural sweeteners, healthy fats, whole grains, and fresh fruit
This app is an inspiring source of organic and tasty desserts for every possible sweet tooth. Regardless of whether you aim to eat healthier or just want to spice up your menu of desserts for the weekend
This app is loaded with free features and 30,000 recipes taken from top magazines, cookbooks, and restaurants.
You're able to sort through recipes based on a huge number of categories and keywords, find recipes based on ingredient and meal-type, and create shopping lists.
It also provides nutritional information, so you know exactly what you're getting.
If you'd like to cut genetically modified and processed foods out of your diet, Simply Organic is a great place to start
The app offers a variety of healthy recipe categories based on course, cuisine, or meal.
Once you've figured out what you'd like to make, the app will find organic groceries in your area that carry everything you'll need
With the past few days in Iowa being rainy, windy, and down-right chilly, this week's risotto has been a beautiful thing
I'm using the name “risotto” here for context more than anything else; this is risotto-style daal. If you've made risotto in the past, the idea here is similar, with the final dish having a nice creamy, porridge-like texture.
This version isn't as delicate as many of the rice-based risottos I've cooked over the years, but we enjoyed the toothsome bite and overall heartiness of the daal, especially during risotto season, which for me is fall and winter.
That's not to say you couldn't do a delicious variation of this any time of year .. but I like to fill up with a creamy, warm bowl when it's chilly out. Like right now
The pan-fried herbed mushrooms and dusting of cheese were a winning combination when it came to toppings
You can also do lots of fun things with the leftovers as well. One idea? Thin the leftovers out with broth, add some veggies, greens, and make a soup of it
A few notes about the recipe:
You can easily make it vegan by leaving the shredded cheese & rind out, but my goodness is it ever good if they're included.
The original author from where I drew inspiration had words of wisdom when it came to cooking the mushrooms. The secret is not to move them around much in the pan (think no stirring).
“The secret to great mushrooms is a caramelized crust and that only happens with high heat and no mucking about. You are allowed to check the bottom of one (one!) after 3-4 minutes, but if there is no color yet, flip it back until you have some serious golden going on. Also, don’t crowd the pan too much – this causes the mushrooms to steam instead of fry – an important distinction” ~ Sarah Britton
Enjoy!
xoxo
~ Adapted from My New Roots
Urid Daal Risotto with Herbed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 cups urid daal, soaked for 8-12 hours if possible as it will cut down the cooking time
- 5 Tbsp clarified butter, divided (or coconut oil)
- 2 medium onions, finely diced (white or yellow onions)
- ½ tsp fine grain sea salt + a heavy pinch when cooking the mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- 1 rind Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan)
- a generous grating of Pecorino Romano to garnish,
- 3 - 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth, + more if needed
- 1 ¼ lb mixed mushrooms, cleaned of all dirt and debris, and de-stemmed (I used a combination of trumpet, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms, although any type will be great)
- a few sprigs fresh thyme leaves removed + a few stems for garnish
- pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, optional
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the daal until the water runs clear. Set aside.
- If pre-soaking, add the daal to a small bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Allow to soak for 8-12 hours
- Melt 2 Tbsp clarified butter in a large stockpot.
- Add the onions, ½ tsp salt and stir to coat.
- Cook the onions over medium heat for ~10 minutes, until they've softened and just starting to caramelize. (Keep an eye on them, so they don't brown too much, or they'll color the dish)
- Add garlic, the daal, 3 cups broth and the cheese rind, if using.
- Stir well and make sure that the broth is covering the lentils by at least half an inch. If not, add a bit more.
- Bring to a simmer, stir, and cover.
- Over the next half an hour or so (the cooking time will depend on whether or not you were able to presoak the daal), stirring the pot every few minutes (this helps release the starch and add creaminess). As it cooks, watch the level of the broth, adding more as needed to just cover the daal.
- After about 20 minutes, start to prepare the mushrooms.
- Melt the other 3 Tbsp of clarified butter in a large skillet and add the mushrooms.
- Turn the heat up to high
- Stir lightly to coat them and allow them to cook without touching them (!) for at least three or four minutes.
- Flip and repeat until they're golden on all sides.
- Add just a little bit more clarified butter, garlic, & thyme leaves to the pan. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until they're fragrant
- Season with a strong pinch of sea salt freshly ground black pepper, and a splash of balsamic vinegar, if desired.
- The daal is done when they are tender, but not mushy.
- (The consistency of the dish should be very much like a classic risotto: more solid than a soup, but thinner than a stew, so make sure that there is enough stock in the pot)
- Remove the cheese rind.
- Divide the cooked daal between the plates, garnish with shredded cheese a little more freshly ground black pepper.
- Place the mushrooms on top and garnish with a sprig of thyme
2 Comments
These are great apps! I use lots of Pinterest to get inspiration for breakfast idea to dinner at home. I thought about using app but there are too many I didn’t know which app is good to use. But I would love to try Simply Organic and Wholefood and the blender smoothie girl app! 🙂
Hi. We love this dish! Thank you. Question, does it freeze well?