Surprisingly Good Prune Bread

This is sweet, delicious, and higher in fiber than your average quick bread. I found it online when I was looking for a recipe to help me use up a half-finished bottle of prune juice.

1 cup prunes, cut into quarters
1 cup prune juice

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup buttermilk + 1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup corn oil or canola oil
3 eggs

Cook prunes in prune juice until soft, then let cool.
Preheat oven to 300.
Combine dry ingredients.
Combine remaining wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
Stir dry ingredients into wet, and then stir in prunes and juice.

Spread into loaf pans (I use 5 small ones) and bake until tester comes out clean. 1 hour + 10 minutes for small loaf pans; closer to 90 minutes for large loaf pan.

Baked Bean Soup

Perfect for cold winter nights. I served this with sautéed collard greens and plain white dinner rolls (the amazing ones from Whole Foods). Simple and so good! The soup recipe is from Moosewood Restuarant Daily Special.

2 cups chopped onions
1 Tbsp olive oi
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 cup peeled and diced carrots
1 Tbsp chili powder
2-3 tsp dijon or German-style mustard
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups undrained canned stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz. can)
1 2/3 cups cooked white beans (15 oz can)
2 tsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp unsulphured molasses
1 Tbsp soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste

In a soup pot on medium-high heat, sauté the onions in teh oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent. Add celery, carrots, and chili powder and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in mustard, water, tomatoes, beans, vinegar, molasses and soy sauce. Cover and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and gently simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Curried Lentil Dip

Easy and nutritious . . . and wicked yummy. Serve with crudites or crackers or wedges of toasted naan. From Moosewood Restaurant New Classics.

1 cup red lentils
2.5 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups peeled, cored, diced apples
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
0.25 cup raisins
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala (optional)
0.25 cup reduced fat coconut milk (or use apple juice for lower fat)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
0.5 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan, bring the lentils and water to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are very soft and most of the water absorbed -- about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onions, apples and garlic with a dash of salt, for a bout 5 minutes on medium heat. Add raisins, curry, and garam masala. Continue to sauté for 10 more minutes, until tender.

Combine lentils, onion mixture, lemon juice and coconut milk in food processor and puree until smooth-ish. Add salt to taste.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.