Cooking by Kevin - May 16, 2009

Today's recipe: Spicy chicken and barley soup

This is a slow cooker recipe, but it could be adapted to just a soup / stew.



It's pretty spicy, but you can make your own adjustments. The goal is something healthy, low sodium, and with a good balance of carb/protein/fat. Here we go:

1 cup dry pearled barley (I used Arrowhead Mills)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2-3 cups kale, chopped (about 6 large leaves)
4 roma tomatoes - chopped
4 stalks green onion - cut into 1/2" sections
1/2 lb chicken breast - 1/2' cubes
4 cups water

and for spice:
2 jalapenos - sliced in half, with seeds. (take out the seeds to make it milder)
6 cloves garlic - cut in to 1/4ths

Place everything in a slow cooker on "high" and let cook for 2-3 hours. Check occasionally, make sure to stir at least once.
Depending on how things are looking, either let it cook one more hours on "high", or else put it on "low" and let it go a few more hours.

Should make a relatively thick, tasty stew.

If you make too much, you can freeze it. I'm eating a bowl I just thawed and it still kept decent texture.

Cooking by Kevin - May 12, 2009

Today's Lunch: Chana Dal and Brown Rice with Spinach

Have you heard of Chana Dal? It's a legume or bean or something in that family. It may be a little difficult to find, but it is a great source of protein and fiber with a low glycemic index. For more details, see this writeup: http://www.mendosa.com/chanadal.html

However, on to the business of lunch.

Chana Dal is easy to make. I primarily treat it like rice and cook it in a covered container. It takes about 40 minutes, so it is a good companion with Brown Rice or other lentils.

1/3 cup chana dal - rinsed
1/3 cup medium grain brown rice
1/2 cup frozen spinach or frozen green peas
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp olive oil - unrefined, organic
1 1/3 cups water

Simmer about 35 minutes. You might have to add a little more water...

At the 35 minute point, I add in 1/2 cup of either frozen spinach or frozen green peas. Also add in the curry powder and cayenne (if you like it spicy), stir, and cook 5 more minutes.

Pour it out in a soup bowl and drizzle the olive oil across the top.

This creates a meal of about 500 calories with a good balance of protein, carb, fat, and some green stuff to keep you healthy.

Enjoy!