Kale and Lentil Soup with Gluten Free Popovers

This soup was so easy and hit the spot on a chilly fall night!  The kids love to play outside with the neighbors when they get done with their homework.  They are usually out there until we drag them in for dinner.  That's good because pretty soon the snow will be here and we will be held captive in our home for months.  I exaggerate, but you cold weather people know exactly what I'm talking about.  The point is, when it's cold outside nothing beats coming in to something warm cooking on the stove. 

I found this searching for healthy soups online at Girl Makes Food.  You can click the link for her recipe.  The only changes I made were substituting dried oregano for parsley (because I was talking on the phone and grabbed oregano instead of dried parsley), 3 cups frozen chopped kale instead of fresh (because I always have it in the freezer), regular lentils instead of red (because I had them in the pantry), and no red pepper flakes since the kids and I are wimpy.  The boys loved the soup.  It's great because it can be made in about a half hour if you have the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

8 cups Vegetable Broth-I used organic from Costco

1 1/2 cup Red Lentils (rinsed)- I used Meijer's Natural lentils (not red)

2 Carrots

2 Onions

1 bunch of Kale-I used Organic Chopped Frozen Kale

1 clove Garlic

1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)-skipped this

1 T Parsley-added dried oregano (oops!)

Zest of 1/2 Lemon

You put the veggies and lentils into the pot with the broth.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes.  I did 20.  Add the seasoning and lemon zest when you turn off the burner.  It's just that easy!

The only changes I will make next time is to add more carrots.  It didn't seem like enough, my boys agreed.  I'm sure fresh parsley would be perfect.  I just hope I remember next time!  And don't take a phone call.  

This soup is gluten free and vegan!

I served this with gluten free popovers from my Gluten Free on a Shoestring cookbook.  Click the link for the recipe.  Mmmmm....  The popovers are GF, but not Vegan since it has eggs.  I'm thinking you could use an egg substitute.  It's a very simple recipe, so try it.  Let me know if you do make it vegan and I'll update my page.

Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread

One thing about going gluten free...I miss this kind of thing.  Whatever the holiday, I make a dinner with the foods from that country, we put on the Pandora to that style of music, and chat about the theme over dinner.  How can I possibly do St. Patrick's Day Dinner without Irish Soda Bread, a pint of Guinness, or Guinness Chocolate Cake?  Last year I perfected my Irish Soda Bread recipe and now I couldn't even make it?  

Then I began to think...and those of you who know me know where that can lead, but it actually lead me to the Perfect Flour Blend from Namaste Foods. I bought it on a whim in case I ever needed to add a little flour to something as a thickener.  Well, turns out I could make my Irish Soda Bread recipe and just substitute this flour...cup for cup!  

I did make one error, I'm not going to lie.  I left it to tall.  In other words, I should have patted it down a little.  In hopes for a high rise-looking bread I left it more ball shaped instead of flattening it out.  It was still delicious, don't get me wrong, but when I cut into the middle it wasn't cooked through, so I put some foil on it and put it back in the oven.  Came out better, but boys are impatient for that bread!  So I sliced it like biscotti and cooked the last few pieces that way.  UM, YUM!  They should make Irish Soda Biscotti.  No joke!  Sometimes mistakes can be a good thing.

Here's what I served it with for our Irish feast:

 

Shepherds pie, mixed greens with blackberries and balsamic vinaigrette, and delicious GLUTEN FREE Irish soda bread.  This is actually my son Marcus' plate.  He insisted I take a shot of his.  From this angle it looks like he has a piece of bread bigger than his plate!  It's not.  But boy does he wish it was!  Enjoy!

Gluten-free Sandwich Bread

Well, I have been venturing into gluten-free bread land.  The first attempt was an epic fail and it was only 1 1/2 inches high.  Ya, not something my kids want to take to lunch.  Although if you slather enough apple butter on anything it tastes good, so we ate some with apple butter. 

When I purchased my first loaf at the store, it looked like pound cake to me.  And when I made a sandwich for my son, it looked pretty small.  The main purpose for me to make this bread is to allow the kids to have a sandwich in their lunchbox.  Who knew going gluten-free would be such a pain find a GOOD bread recipe?  And by good I mean tasty!

Any-who...I have spent way to much time on way to many blogs looking for the perfect bread recipe.  This recipe rose all the way to the top of the pan, so I call that a success in itself.  Sure beats my flat loaf that I made previously.  I really should have taken a picture of that!  It was quite  sad.

 

I left it resting upside down on the cutting board to cool.  I think it's easier to cut straight slices without bread crumbling when you cut from the bottom.  I could be totally wrong, but I swear it works for me.

I let the boys taste test it when it cooled.  My oldest son asked for some peanut butter on his.  He started raving about it, and said that it's way better than the store bought kind.  My youngest son had his with some peach jam.  He raised his eyebrows, gave a loud "mmmm," and said "this one's awesome!"  So, I guess we have a winner.

Where did I find this delicious gluten-free bread recipe?  I was searching various gluten-free blogs and this one stood out to me because of the title of the bread.  I saw "Tender High Rising Gluten Free Sandwich Bread" and knew I found EXACTLY what I was looking for.  It's an adapted King Arthur Flour recipe.  Find this recipe and more at Barefoot In The Kitchen blog.  You will not be disappointed.  I think I just found myself another great blog to follow!  :)