Lentil Cranberry and Pineapple Salad with Basil and Balsamic Reduction - A Crunchy Granola Salad that Flies Under the Radar.

Legumes...C'mon say it... Legumes. No matter how you pronounce it its a weird word. Like fork.   And legumes are weird, right? Really the only socially acceptable form of a legume is chickpea hummus (C'mon say it with a middle eastern accent - hughhhmmmus), to be eaten - lets face it when you're day drunk - with greasy naan bread and pitchers of draft on pub patios. Legumes used to be a class of food banished to bean sprout cafes, to be eaten by beret wearing beatniks and hippies in Mexican ponchos and Birkenstocks with socks. However lately legumes have made a comeback and really gone mainstream so that you can find legume salads running rampant -"Legumes Gone Wild"-  through supermarkets.

I love putting legumes in my salads as a non-dairy alternative to cheese, but still packing a bit of a protein punch. The many different varieties really open up a whole new world of experimentation. Lentils reign supreme in my world but my hubby doesn't go in for all that West Coast crunchy granola stuff ( "Gag me with a legume!!!") so I have to be sneaky. The result,  I created this unique salad utilizing the tantalizing sweetness of cranberries and pineapple, fresh basil and a balsamic reduction to underscore the flavor of creamy light legumes - and to steal focus from any detectable foray into Hippyville. 

Its my kitchen, not Nasa. The point being that cooking in my kitchen is far from rocket science; it is actually  more akin to a small child finger-painting........with their feet. The bottom line is you should feel free to substitute another sweet fruit for the pineapple. Mango,apple or blueberry come to mind as some delicious alternatives.

And let me tell you, "This could be love..."

Lentil Cranberry Pineapple Salad with Basil and Balsamic Reduction

3 cups spinach
2 cups chopped kale
1 cup cubed pineapple
1/2 cup yellow pepper julienned
1/2 avocado cubed
1 spear celery diced
1/4 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup lentils
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Sprinkle of pumpkin seeds for garnish
4 leaves fresh basil finely cut

Balsamic Reduction
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 lime juice
1 TBSP strawberry jam

1) Bring to boil and reduce heat
2) Gently boil over medium heat for five minutes
3) Allow to cool completely before dressing salad

Healthy Blueberry Fruit Muffins - Minus the Taste of Kelly Ripa's Dryer Lint

Hey guys. I gotta admit I stopped blogging for awhile, until I noticed in my absence I was getting visitors from all over the world. If you want your post to generate hits apparently all  you have do to is include the words: banana bread, moist, sour cream and ricotta cheese.... I mean we're talking a universal language right there.


That being said this week in our household "To bake or not to bake" is the question.  No matter how many times I convince myself I am making muffins for my son or husband's lunch, experience shows I am really making them because I  would like to eat them, 3 or four of them in fact - ostensibly in one sitting and definitely with butter.


So once again I find myself back at square one: the search for the moderately healthy yet tasty muffin. So often "healthy" is synonymous with "tastes of Kelly Ripa's dryer lint" (no offense Kelly. You are awesome - like a super-ripped small child). Its just that healthy AND delicious appears to be a goal only conglomerate chains of healthy food supermarkets can accomplish with teams of professional chefs, nutritionists and actual scientists at their disposal.


However I assure you  these babies are good, real good - perhaps even a trifle too good....


In this case "moderately healthy" becomes synonymous with: " defrost in your oven at 10 p.m. at night because your microwave isn't working and - yes you know its 8 hours 'til morning when you could totally justifiably have a muffin but gosh-damn-it you don't want to wait that long, you gotta get you some blueberry muffin right now" - kind of good.


Uh Huh. I said it. There's no shame.


So without further ado, I hope you enjoy these.


Did I mention they freeze well?


Ha ha...They do.



Healthy Blueberry Fruit Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 TBSP ground flax seeds
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 TBSP ground corn flour
2 eggs
1/8 cup butter (plus butter to grease muffin tins)
1/8 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 - 2 cups frozen blueberries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup yogurt
1/4 cup milk (approximately)

1) Grease muffin tin and preheat oven to 375 (I always use butter. Lets face it, it just tastes better).
2) Stir together flour (white, brown, almond, flax, and corn), with salt and baking powder.
3) Beat eggs, add yogurt and vanilla
4) Mix brown and white sugar, and melted coconut oil and butter with your egg mixture.
5) Fold bowl of wet ingredients into dry ingredients, adding milk until mixture is wet enough to slowly slide off of a spoon.
6) Fold in frozen berries
7) Fill muffin tins to the top and bake for approximately 35 mins, or until a golden brown.