Lentil Croquettes

I wish I could say that I have been eating perfectly, but the truth is I am adapting to this way of eating a little at a time. I am really enjoying it though and already feel better. It's neat to come across a favorite recipe that is already in line with what the book is wanting me to do. One of those recipes is for Lentil Croquettes. I love this recipe and I thought I would share it here with all of you! I have these in my freezer at all times for a quick and healthy go-to meal. Here it is:

1 cup split red lentils, washed really well
1 green bell pepper, washed, seeded and chopped finely
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons peanuts, toasted without salt and coarsley chopped
2 1/2 cups water

1 egg, beaten
salt
pepper

3 tablespoons chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 tablespoons olive oil

1. Place the first 10 ingredients in a large pan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer slowly, about 30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. (I put the heat down to about 3 and stirred about every 7 min. or so. If you turn the heat down lower and don't stir, this could cook for well over an hour.)
3. Note that the above steps can also be done in a pressure cooker if you have one-it's much faster.
4. Remove the mixture from heat and cool slightly.
5. Now beat in the egg and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Let the mixture cool completely. (I find that the mixture holds its shape better if it has been refrigerated for a couple of hours.)
7. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the mixture and place on parchment paper. At this point you may freeze the mixture and then once it's frozen you can place the croquettes in freezer bags for future use. Or, you can actually cook them on the parchment paper at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Or, you can go ahead and pan fry them.
8. If pan frying now, combine the flour and turmeric in a small plate.
9. Place the croquettes in the flour mixture (they may be a little difficult to work with) and coat well.
10. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the croquettes in batches, turned once until crisp and brown on both sides.
11. Serve immediately with chutney, rice and a crisp salad.
12. Note- It is very important for the liquid to be fully absorbed in the lentil mixture so that it can bind well with the help of the egg.
13. This recipe makes 10-12 croquettes using the 1/4 cup measuring cup.

NOTE: If you like things spicy add 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder to the lentil mixture before you cook it and then add 1 teaspoon chili powder to the flour mixture. If you like even more spice, try a tomato chutney along with the croquettes. It is so very good, but a little too spicy for me. If you don't care a whole lot about what flour you use then you may use all purpose flour in place of the chickpea flour. The chickpea flour is flour friendly for people that need to eat gluten free, but it also has more protein and is better for you than the all purpose flour. Play around with this recipe and the different chutney's out there and have fun. Most of all enjoy!! Lentils are so good for you!

Cooking with Cast Iron

I love cooking in cast iron. It distributes heat evenly, you get traces of iron in your food (which we all need) and if you are as nostalgic as I am it will take you back to yester-year. Plus, food just tastes better cooked in cast iron.

For YEARS I have tried to season my cast iron and it has never truly worked. I would still get a black film on my towel when I would wipe it, food would stick, it was impossible to clean, and it would get sticky... until now. I finally found a way that really works. It's so much better for you to cook with cast iron than the non-stick stuff that's out there, safer too.

So, here it is, here's a tried and true method for seasoning your cast iron. You might set aside a good part of a day to do this.

Caution! This method will create a lot of smelly acrid smoke. If you do it inside, be VERY SURE to have incredible ventilation. I opened both of my kitchen windows, turned the ceiling fan on in my kitchen and turned the vent fan on over the stove and I never had a problem with smoke in the house.

The first thing you want to do is get rid of the wax/mineral oil rust-prevention coating that came on your cast iron. Do that by using SOS/steel wool pads, lots of soap, lots of very hot water and lots of scrubbing. NOTE: This is the one and only time that you're cast iron should ever come in contact with soap. OR... I just put mine in the dishwasher and then moved on to the next step.

As soon as you've gotten rid of the last of the wax/mineral oil, rinse your cast iron thoroughly in very hot water, dry with a clean towel and place in a 250 degree oven to get bone dry. After about 20 minutes, take out of the oven (using hot pads / gloves) and rub in an extremely light coat of Crisco with a clean low-lint rag. Cover all surfaces, inside and out. (If your coat is too thick, it won't stick and will flake off with use.)Place your cast iron back into the oven, upside down so that no excess melted shortening can accumulate on the cooking surface. I placed a jelly roll pan lined with foil on the rack underneath the cast iron to catch any excess shortening that dropped. Crank the oven up to 400 - 450 and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, venting as much of the nasty smoke as you can. Then, turn off the oven and allow everything to cool to room temp, without opening the oven.At this point, you should have a shiny black coat on all surfaces. (If you'd followed the usual advise and done it at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour, you'd have a sticky, brown coating, which is what I kept getting.)

Then, just because you want to be a bit obsessive, repeat the Crisco coating and baking process two more times. After the third pass through the oven, your cast iron will look (and cook) like treasured heirlooms from your grandmother. Please take the time to do this process a total of 3 times, it is really worth it!

Care Tips: Try to avoid stewing things, especially acidic things like tomato sauces, the first few times you use your cast iron. It's best to do a bit of frying with adequate fat at first. When you're done cooking, simply rinse out the cast iron with very hot water and a nylon "scrubbie." No soap, as it tends to remove your hard-won seasoning and can be tough to rinse out fully. If you have stuck on bits, don't fret. Simply put the cast iron on the stove and bring an inch or two of water to a boil, with a lid on. The heat will loosen whatever is stuck and you can then scrub and rinse with hot water. Dry the cast iron immediately and place back on some heat. Melt a touch of Crisco, spread around in a very thin layer and heat until smoking. Then allow to cool and put away. (This will not only add to your seasoning, it will sanitize the cast iron.)

Happy Cooking!!