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Traditional Food for Urban Families

Trad Urban Lecture

Later this month I’ll be giving a talk at the August meeting of the Queens Holistic Moms about eating and preparing real, traditional food, entitled Traditional Food for Urban Families.  Specifics include how to:

  • Soak beans and lentils for increased nutrient assimilation
  • Sprout and soak grains for easier digestion
  • Lacto-ferment produce to boost the immune system

I’ll also bring up the subject of raw milk, traditional sugar alternatives, pastured meats, and encourage people to eat a more unrefined diet in general.

And although I do not have children, I have a very busy life schedule, from my day job, to my work with my CSA; from  running to writing; to spending time with family and friends, and more (including getting back to playing music)!  So, I know what it’s like to be pressed for time.   My goal is to help people understand that eating whole, real, traditional food is totally possible even with time constraints and demands, with a little planning.

If any of you reading this are local, please join us!  Women and men are welcome, as are those of you that don’t have kids. You can RSVP here.  Here are the logistical details:

Traditional Food for Urban Families
Talk by Meg Cotner for the Queens Holistic Moms
ARROW Community Center
35-30 35th Street (between 35th & 36th Aves) in Astoria
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010, 6:30pm – 8pm

Hope to see you there!

Photo credit:  image by Queens Holistic Moms

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Sprouted Lentil Soup

sprouted lentil soup

So, last week I showed you how to sprout lentils, and also mentioned how they make for a delicious sprouted lentil soup.  I made such a soup last week; it was a perfect dish for a cold winter night, and my household enjoyed it immensely.

The original recipe specifies using lentils du puy, a lovely little french lentil.  To be honest, I’ve never tried sprouting these lentils, but I think it would be worth a shot.  I used brown lentils, which are more common.

My favorite moment when making this soup is toward the beginning of the cooking process.  Onions, leeks, and garlic cook with thyme and cumin, and it smells amazing.  They don’t call them aromatics for nothing!  I feel like I could eat just that sometimes.

onions, carrots, celery

The soup recipe came from an old copy of Food & Wine, in an article about Bobbi Brown, the founder of the cosmetics company bearing her name.  She originally got the recipe from the  Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

I halved the recipe; a full recipe will make 8 pints of soup!  You can, of course, double what I indicate below, as it would be an excellent way to feed an army of people.  This soup tastes even better the day after.  It also freezes beautifully.  Enjoy with a red wine of your choice (perhaps the same kind you put in the soup).

Sprouted Lentil Soup
adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1/2 pound sprouted lentils
a generous glug of olive oil, plus more for serving
1 large onion
2 medium garlic cloves
3 large leeks, whited and tender green parts only, chopped
celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 tablespoon chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 celery ribs, cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock or water
1 pint crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine
freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving

Heat the olive oil in a large pot.  Add the onions, garlic, leeks, 1/2 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, the thyme and cumin, and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, 15-20 minutes.

Add the celery and carrots and cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.  Ad the stock/water, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and sprouted lentils to the pot.  Increase the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat to moderate and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about an hour.

Stir in the red wine and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan.

Makes 8 cups.

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Sprouting Lentils

I love sprouting lentils.  It’s easy to do, fun to watch the lentils grow their little sprout tails, and by doing this their nutritional value gets a big boost.  Sprouting also makes them easier to digest by neutralizing the phytic acid, which is found in all grains and seeds.  Additionally, sprouted lentils provide two amino acids – methionine and cystine – that unsprouted lentils do not.

Throughout history, sprouting has been a traditional treatment of seeds and grains prior to eating.  The Chinese knew about the benefits of sprouting centuries ago, sprouting mung beans in order to prevent scurvy (germinated seeds contain vitamin C ).  In the West, myriad beers were made from sprouted grains.

lentils under water

lentils after first soaking

Your lentils must be organic; conventionally grown lentils will not sprout.  Sprouting should only take a couple of days from start to finish.  I like to use a colander as the vessel for my lentil sprouting.  Here is a reasonable timeline:

  • In the evening put the lentils in a bowl and cover with water.
  • The next morning, rinse the lentils in a colander, and shake out as much water as you can.  Leave the lentils in the colander, and place it on a plate covered with a towel.  Cover the lentils with another towel and set someplace where the lentils will be undisturbed.
  • That evening, repeat the process.  The next morning, repeat the process.
  • That evening, your lentils should have little sprouts coming out of them!

You can repeat this for a couple more days, depending on how long you want the sprouts to be.  For lentils, it’s best for the sprouts to be no longer than a quarter inch.

rinsed lentils

baby sprouts

So, how do they taste?  As delicious as unsprouted lentils.  Just like with any legume, it’s best to not eat them raw.  They are great lightly steamed, or used in my favorite way, in delicious sprouted lentil soup.

Happy sprouting!

sprouts up close