Tortillas

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com, and I think these taste way better than the stuff I buy at the grocery store. Hope you enjoy.

YOU WILL NEED:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt (yes, a whole teaspoon)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

Mix everything except the water. Okay, now you can add the water. Half-a-cup probably won't be enough, so gradually add more until the mixture reaches a sticky consistency, but not too sticky. Just trust your gut.

When all the ingredients are incorporated cover with a clean cloth and do something else for 15 minutes. I think it's nice to do dishes, but you could read a book or lift weights; whatever you want, really. After 15 minutes, divide the dough into 12 semi-equal pieces. Roll each piece on a floured surface until flat. Fry in an un-greased frying pan over medium heat for about a minute on each side. It will become golden and feel somewhat hard.

These are good to eat right away, or you can cover and store for a few days. Serve with butter and jam, honey, peanut butter, beans, salsa... anything. Feliz Navidad!

Mediterranean Lentil Soup

I decided that it is about time that I contributed something to this site. Actually, I just remembered that it existed about 5 minutes ago... Last night Brandon and I had Dan and Nicole over for dinner and games. It was such a nice evening! We were so excited to plan a meal together. We decided we would have one of my old time favorite soups as a starter. Then we made Panini's on Sourdough bread with turkey, avocado, tomatoes and smoked gouda as the main dish. I think that was mostly because we were dying to try out our new Panini maker. :) And to top it all off, Brandon made peach cobbler with vanilla ice-cream for dessert. Like I said, a very nice evening. Instead of putting up the recipes for everything now, I decided to focus on the Mediterranean Lentil Soup. After all, that was the one that I made. :) This soup is also very similar to my mother's Barley-lentil Soup that we all adore, so I will put the substitutions at the end if you would ever like to try that variation. They are both wonderful fall/winter soups!

Mediterranean Lentil Soup

Red lentils, also known as Egyptian lentils, are a great source of calcium, vitamin A, and iron. If you have trouble finding read lentils, you may substitute brown (European) lentils. Serve with whole wheat crackers, if desired.


1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried dill
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 (16-ounce) package dried small red lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
Salt
Pepper

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, cook 6 minutes or until onion is translucent, stirring frequently. Add dill and garlic, and cook 1 minute or until tender, stirring constantly. Add broth, lentils, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are tender.

2. Add chickpeas to pan. cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 3/4 cup).


Barley-lentil soup variation:

Substitute the 1 tablespoon dried dill for 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed.

Substiture the package of lentils for 3/4 cup lentils and 3/4 cup barley.