Recipe Review from 5/28/2018 - Part III

The Lentil Soup and the Veggie Tofu Scramble wrap up the 3 Day Gut Makeover menu, which lasted a week...portion sizes a were a tich off. 

Best recipe:  Kale salad with spicy chickpeas and berries
Least favorite:  Chickpea pasta

The Meal Plan:
Sat  (L) Tabbouleh with Avocado   (S) leftover taco salad
Sun (L) leftover tabbouleh   (S) leftover tabbouleh with hummus sandwich

Mon (L)  green pea fritters and salad  (S) Chickpea pasta with peas
Tues (L) out     (S)  Kale Salad with chickpeas and berries

Wed - Summary Lentil Soup
Thurs (yoga) - leftovers       Chocolate Cake for a meeting
Fri - Broccoli mac n cheese
Sat - Veggie Tofu Scramble


One Bowl Chocolate Cake (AllRecipes.com)
Made this for a meeting - the group likes chocolate and this came up on a general search. Wasn't the best night for baking, what with high humidity and no air conditioning, but I thought I'd give it a whirl.

This was very well received. Only one short row of cake (I made the 9x13 pan) came home for the husband. I used a family recipe for the frosting, a pretty standard butter and powdered sugar frosting, with some cocoa added to the mix to make it extra chocolate-y.

I looked through the online reviews a bit and noted that several said the batter is VERY thin (and it is), and that the cake didn't release out of the 9' rounds because it is so moist (and it is). The cake is moist, crumbly, chocolate-y and good for a general gathering served right out of the pan.

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour 2 9" rounds or a 9x13" pan.

photo from AllRecipes.com

2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Combine above and mix well.

2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Add to above flour mixture, and mix for 2 minutes.

1 cup boiling water (I added 1 packet of instant coffee, about 1 1/2 tsp)

Add to above, mixing well. Batter will be very thin.

Add batter to prepared pan(s). Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If using 9" rounds, cool 10 minutes then remove from pans. Cool completely.  (I needed almost 45-50 minutes and even then I wasn't convinced it was entirely done.)

Summery Lentil Soup (Ckng Lght, June 2018)  gluten free, vegetarian, vegan
This was one of the recipes in the 3 Day Gut Health makeover, and the only recipe where I felt the portion sizes were way off.  All the recipes in the article were for single servings, so I was doubling for two of us.  I didn't realize that a "single serving" of this soup was 3 cups!  Yes - 3 CUPS of soup for one person.

Which would explain why we ended up eating this for four meals, including using it in the tofu scramble below.

Usually a portion of soup is 1 cup, 1 1/2 cups, for us.

Serves 2 as written below, in my opinion, with enough for the tofu scramble.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion

photo from cookinglight.com

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped (about 2 cups)
1 (4-oz.) eggplant, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked dried brown lentils
2 bay leaves
1 small zucchini, chopped (about 6 oz.)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons sliced scallion greens

Heat a large saucepan over medium. Add oil, and swirl to coat. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper; cook 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and eggplant; cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add 2 1/2 cups water, lentils, and bay leaves. Bring mixture to a boil; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until lentils are almost tender, about 22 minutes.

Stir in zucchini, salt, and black pepper; cook until lentils are tender and zucchini is crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Ladle 3 cups soup into a large bowl, and top with sliced scallion greens. (Optional - Reserve remaining 2 cups soup for the tofu breakfast scramble.)

Veggie Bowl with Tofu Scramble  (Ckng Lght June 2018) gluten free, vegetarian, vegan   

This uses leftovers from the Summery Lentil Soup.  As I noted in the soup review, I thought the portions were way off, and I think that here as well.  This called for two cups of soup to be reduced for one person - I did a very generous two cups for two people (+/- 2 1/2 cups?) with the tofu and it was plenty. 

The Husband was somewhat dubious about this dish, but admitted it was surprisingly tasty.  And it was.  I had originally thought of just scrambling some of our eggs, but I had leftover tofu that needed to be used.  This does come together fairly quickly, IF you time to make breakfast before work, this would be good.  Not a putter in the kitchen in the AM kinda personality?  Save it for the weekend.  

Recommended with some adjustments to portion sizes. 

photo from cookinglight.com

2 cups Summery Lentil Soup  (recipe above)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)
3/4 cup extra-firm silken tofu
(such as Mori-Nu) (6 oz.)
Dash of kosher salt
1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Hot sauce (optional)

Heat Summery Lentil Soup in a small skillet over medium-high until most of the liquid evaporates, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour into a shallow bowl.

Wipe skillet clean with paper towels. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high. Add cumin, paprika, and, if desired, turmeric; cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Crumble tofu; add to skillet, and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and tofu looks like scrambled eggs, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt. Top soup with tofu; sprinkle with scallions and parsley. Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

Broccoli Mac n Cheese (Ckgn Lght, June 2018)  vegetarian, gluten free option

This was surprisingly easy to pull together for a weeknight meal.  I did use regular elbow macaroni, and I had to use 1 1/2 tbsp of dijon mustard in place of the dried because I forgot I was out.  This hit the spot for a chilly summer evening.  

photo from cookinglight.com

Serves 4 

8 ounces (2 1/4 cups) brown rice macaroni (such as Tinkyada)
6 cups broccoli florets  (I used 4 cups)
1 (12-oz.) can evaporated milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large grated garlic clove
4 ounces (about 1 cup) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Cook brown rice macaroni according to package directions. Add broccoli florets during last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain.

Whisk together evaporated milk, cornstarch, dry mustard, kosher salt, and grated garlic clove in a large sauté pan over medium; cook, whisking often, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese and pasta mixture.