Meatless Mondays: Sweet and Sour Lentils

Lentils are low in cost and high in protein (18g) and dietary fiber (16g) per 1 cooked cup! Sweet and Sour lentils is a favorite recipe of mine from living in a house full of volunteers during Brethren Volunteer Service. It comes from the More with Less Cookbook.

Sweet and Sour Lentils
Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes:
1 c. lentils
2 c. water
2 bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf
1 t. salt
When lentils are cooked, add:
1/4 c. apple or pineapple juice*
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/8 t. cloves
sauteed onion, if desired
Heat to bubbly. Serve over rice.

*You can pair this meal with creating a Pineapple Upside Down Cake, if you buy pineapple rings!

Bonus: Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Gooey mixture (ends up being the gooey top of the cake):
¼ cup butter (4 Tbs.)
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 can (8 ¼ ounces) sliced pineapple, drained
Maraschino cherries – place one each in the center of each pineapple slice

Gooey mixture directions
Put the 4 TBs. butter (1/2 a stick) in a pie pan in the oven on low (300 degrees or so) and let it melt. Remove pan and sprinkle the 1/2 cup of brown sugar on top all around. Arrange the pineapple slices on top of the butter and sugar. Put a maraschino cherry in the center of each slice. Then “crank up” the oven heat to 350 degrees.

Cake dry ingredients: Mix together separately
1 ¼ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

Cake wet ingredients:
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup shortening (let it set out a bit til it gets soft enough to smash/mix in)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cake “dry ingredients” together separately and then add all the wet ingredients (milk, shortening, egg, vanilla) in and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl at times. Then beat on high speed for 3 minutes. (If there’s no hand mixer, use “elbow grease” and beat the daylights out of the batter until it’s smooth!) Pour into pan over the sugar/margarine/cherry gooey mixture.

Bake 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and cake looks nicely browned. Let it cool and then use a knife to scrape around the edge. Flip it by placing a plate on top and carefully turning upside down on the plate.

A family recipe submitted by Tim Heishman