Some Fall Delights

What a wonderful weekend catching up and hanging out with great friends! A great way to end a crazy week.  I must say, I have had a bit of adjusting to do lately with my current internship rotation.  I am now working at a hospital in Denver to complete my 400+ clinical hours.  To make things short, I am lacking in the area of any time to breathe.  Therefore, much to my dismay and sanity, I have not got what I call a sufficient amount of  kitchen time in this week. 
So tonight, with the help of the all-inspiring Julie and Julia playing in the background, (for possibly the 100th + time?! :-) I sit down to share a meal I enjoyed making a few weeks ago...Hope you enjoy these fall favorites:-)

 Last fall, I was just discovering how much I LOVE love curry...As you read, it's quite obvious I have a weakness for curry...Somehow it ends up in about 90% of the dishes I make. 

This soup contains a different green to most (collard), is high in fiber, and is probably one of my favorite soups yet.  The source of my obsession for curry dishes stems from one main place. In the lovely Boulder, Co, is my favorite restaurant. ever.  If you are ever in Boulder, I HIGHLY recommend that you take a visit to the little Nepalese restaurant, Sherpas.  Oh Sooooo good:-)

How fun is this?? A secret to some who may mistake this delicious place for a cute blue house and walk right on by...

                Below is my Curried Indian Soup and Naan.

Indian Curried Lentil Soup

1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast, cubed

1 can lite coconut milk

4 large collard green leaves, chopped and stems removed

1/2 cup dried green lentils

3/4 cup dried black eyed peas

4 cups chicken broth/bouillon

3 T curry powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 /2 tsp salt

       1/4" piece of fresh ginger-chopped

     2 cloves garlic, minced

   1 tsp cumin

   1/2 tsp turmeric

  1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cardamon

For a sweeter soup, add 1 T honey and 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted

 (To toast, turn on oven to 375, place coconut on oven sheet, and bake for 5-7 minutes or until coconut is just browned.)

Directions:

Put all ingredients minus coconut in crock pot for 3 hours or until chicken is cooked tho
roughly. Dish into bowls, top with toasted coconut and serve with Naan.  Wa-la. It's done!

                 ~The Nutrition Corner~

My nutrition plug for lentils...A cup of lentils contains nearly 16 grams of fiber, being one of the highest fiber-containing foods out there! (The recommendation for women is 25g and men is 38g of fiber a day which is not easy to do. 1 in 10 people get adequate amounts of fiber in their diet each day. Legumes (the family of beans and lentils) will help you reach your goal by throwing them in soups, salads, side dishes and anywhere else you may need a little fiber boost.  They have less than 1g of fat, contain 17g of protein per cup, and are packed full of wonderful vitamins and minerals!

This Naan Bread is definitely the best recipe I have found after experimenting with all sorts of recipes. Naan is an Indian flatbread that is great with soups and curries.  This recipe is gluten free & authentic-tasting...Almost to the point that you'd think you were in India or at Sherpas ;-)
The best part? All of you non-gluten's can substitute regular all purpose flour in the place of  the gluten free flour and omit the xanthan gum!
Enjoy and please share any successful results! :-)

Naan Bread

You can flavor your naan with various herbs. Cumin naan, garlic naan and butter naan topped with Parsley are some fun variations. 

1 cup millet flour
1 cup GF Flour Mix
2 teaspoons guar gum or xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup of warm milk or almond or rice milk
1/2 cup of soy or regular yogurt
1/2 tbsp oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together and make a well in the flour.

Mix milk, yogurt, and oil together and pour about half of it into the well and slowly combine it together until a soft dough forms. (There’s not an exact amount of liquid that should be added to the exact amount of flour to make a perfect dough.) The dough should be soft enough for you to be able to dig your finger into it without applying any pressure. If dough sticks to hand too much then use little bit of oil on hand and then punch into the dough.
Cover with damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for at least 1 hour.

Place dough in between two large pieces of plastic wrap on the counter.  Using the plastic wrap allows you to manipulate the dough without it sticking to the counter top. Shape the dough into a large rectangle and fold it into thirds, pick up the dough and turn it so you can fold it into thirds again. Throughout this process you will be removing the plastic wrap so you can fold the dough and placing it back on top as needed to manipulate the dough.

Divide the dough into 8 small balls and flatten the balls between the plastic wrap to make 8 naan shaped rectangles about 1/4 inch thick.

Heat a  heavy skillet (one with a lid). When skillet is very hot place the naan wet side down and cover it with a lid. Let it cook for about one minute.  When it is cooked it will release from the pan with a spatula. Cook the other side of the naan over the direct flame of the burner using tongs. When you see some charred brown spots then you know that the naan is done. 

Serve with soup and enjoy!

And of course, both recipes are gluten and dairy free!