apricot and apple stew over lentils

i honestly was not sure what to call this one... "apricot-date stew, "tagine", "curry," "mix of what i had in the fridge," etc....

anyways, my husband is a big fan of fruit cooked in food. me- not so much. but as marriage serves the purpose of growing, i suppose my taste buds have expanded to include such dishes.

so i made this the other night as a little gift for him but ended up liking it a lot myself as well, and of course- it was simple to make which always makes me happy.

one more thing- i used chicken, but this would be great without it as well. can also add in chickpeas.

so here we are:

Lentils:
1 cup lentils
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper


Stew:

1 onion, sliced
1 lb chicken breast, cubed
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper or chili flakes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp saffron in 1/8 cup hot water
3 chopped organic carrots
1 apple, sliced and chopped
8 dried apricots, quartered
2-3 dates
1 stalk celery
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/8-1/4 cup water or broth

Lentils:

-Wash and pick over the lentils thoroughly- you don't want any crunchy rocks in your food.
-Cook according to your package (i believe i used 2 cups water for the one cup of lentils, and cooked for approximately 20 minutes). Check to taste that they are done when all of the water has evaporated.
-Mix in salt and pepper when they are cooked.

**To make saffron:
grind your saffron with a mortar and pestle. add boiled water to it and let sit for approx. five minutes.

Stew:

-Saute you onions in the olive oil until golden but not overcooked.
-Add all your spices except for the saffron and stir for a few seconds. Add chicken and cook until halfway done.
-Add chopped carrots, apple, and celery.
-Cook for a few minutes then add your apricots, dates, and prepared saffron.**
-Add water or broth and let simmer on low for approximately 10-15 more minutes depending on if your chicken is cooked and how much water is left in the pan. if too dry, add more liquid. Taste, add more seasoning if needed.
-Serve over the lentils and enjoy!

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carrot muffins

carrot muffins/cake has of course been done numerous different ways... when coming up with this recipe, i was trying to mix flours and flavor in a way that would give me a lot of protein, fiber, and other vitamins along with the natural sweetness of the carrots. so this recipe can of course have a number of substitutions depending on your taste, and i continue to play around with it depending on my mood. it's a favorite of my niece and nephew, so is definitely kid friendly :)


Carrot Muffins

1/3 cup millet flour
1/3 cup Teff Flour
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
*1/4-1/3 cup almond meal (if you like a more nutty flavor)
1 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt (i use Celtic Sea Salt)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon (i use saigon cinnamon-fairly strong)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
*(you can also sub 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice for all of the spices)
1/2 cup-3/4 cup agave nectar -0r- 1/2 cup agave+1/4 cup Sucanat (depending on how sweet you want it)
2 TBSP blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
2 eggs (or egg substitution)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup hempmilk, rice milk, or almond milk
1/4 cup water
1 cup grated carrots (i use 2 organic carrots)
*if you like them sweeter you can add pineapple or another juice
*if you like nuts, they would be a great addition as well. i've also added cocoa nibs too.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease muffin pans
-Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
-In your mixer bowl, mix your eggs, agave, water, milk, oil, molasses, and vanilla until incorporated.
-Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined.
-Add grated carrots to the batter and stir in by hand. - do not overmix! (i shred mine in the food processor in a matter of seconds) if your batter is too thick, add a little more water.
-Fill your muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake for about 15 minutes. ** the oven in our new place is a bit off with temperature, so i would say bake for 10, check them, and then every five minutes after check again, because each oven time will vary.
-cool on a wire rack

You can eat these as is, or you can also ice them with this wonderful coconut cream frosting made with agave from Elana's Pantry.

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